If you've ever spent hours cleaning out your garage or attic or any other space in your home, you will be intrigued by today's guest's story. About eight years ago Joshua Becker decided to clean and organize his garage. He spent hours doing it, while his young son played on a swing set in their yard by himself. When Joshua's neighbor mentioned minimalism to him, a light bulb went off. He realized not only was all his "stuff" not making him happier, it was keeping him from the things in his life ...
Aug 11, 2016•35 min•Ep. 88
Now that I've been working as a speaker there are things I wish I had known at the beginning of my career that I know today. On episode 87 of The Speaker Lab, I'm sharing the top 10 items on that list! Whether you're brand new to speaking or have your career in hand, there is something you can learn. Listen in to hear topics like why you shouldn't bother with a speaking bureau or agent, what your best marketing piece is and the importance of investing in yourself and your business. That's all he...
Aug 09, 2016•21 min•Ep. 87
How do you know when it's the right time to hire someone? Whether you think you need help now or you simply have an eye to the future, today's episode is all about hiring a staff to grow your speaking career. On episode 86 of The Speaker Lab, I'll be sharing my personal staffing journey: who I hired, when I hired them and how I paid them. I'll also answer the most pressing hiring questions we all have as speakers: do we need to hire someone? How do we know if we can trust them? How should they g...
Aug 04, 2016•29 min•Ep. 86
Have you ever heard those crazy stories about musicians who would include ridiculous requests in their riders, like Van Halen and their brown M&M clause? Ever wonder exactly what a rider is, and if you need one? While you don't need to go the Van Halen brown M&M route, a speaking rider is still a good idea. On today's solo episode I explain what a rider is, why you should have one, and why sometimes those ridiculous requests have a good reason behind them! You'll hear about all of that a...
Aug 02, 2016•15 min•Ep. 85
When you started speaking did you give much consideration into how it would serve your business? If you didn't, you are not alone! Often, people begin speaking without thinking about how it will fit into their business model. Whether your career is successfully underway or you'll still getting started, you should give some thought as to why you want to speak. You should also ponder how it fits into your overall business, both brand and long-term goals, as well as what type of speaking engagement...
Jul 28, 2016•15 min•Ep. 84
What if you could travel to Australia for free? Or take your family to Hawaii for next to nothing? Our guest on today's show, Travis Sherry, knows how and he's built a business by helping others with his knowledge. Travis was teaching English in Japan a few years ago and wanted to travel more and spend less. That led him to Google which led him down a virtual rabbit hole. To help him better understand what he was learning, and to share it with other people, he started a site called Extra Pack of...
Jul 26, 2016•41 min•Ep. 83
Have you considered creating a lifelong speaking career? Whether you've pondered your speaking longevity or you just want to break into the speaking world, you'll hear about both topics from Harriet Turk, our guest on today's show. Harriet has been speaking in the youth and education areas for nearly two and a half decades, earning her stars and stripes along the way. On episode 82 of The Speaker Lab, Harriet Turk joins us to talk about her lengthy career as a speaker, how she got started and wh...
Jul 21, 2016•37 min•Ep. 82
Have you ever wanted to speak to college students or collegiate staff? If you have but weren't sure where to start this is the show for you! Recently a listener named Eric wrote in wanting to know how to get booked for speaking gigs at colleges. To answer his question, we'll talk about how to get started speaking at colleges, and where there are the most opportunities in this market. On episode 81 of The Speaker Lab, I share my personal experiences and insights gleaned from speaking on the colle...
Jul 19, 2016•18 min•Ep. 81
Can you imagine speaking for 3 days? What if it meant making 7 figures a year - can you imagine it then? Our guest for today, Cole Hatter, doesn't imagine it - he lives it. Cole began as a multi-million dollar real estate investor who continues to run several companies in that industry today, as well as speaking from the stage around the world. On episode 80 of The Speaker Lab, Cole is here to talk about how he got into speaking, how he uses his own successes and failures as examples for his aud...
Jul 14, 2016•38 min•Ep. 80
Do you think your niche is ready for a conference or other major event? How would you know if there's enough interest, before booking a venue, speakers, etc? Our guest today is here to answer those questions. He is Phillip Taylor and is the founder of FinCon, the world's largest Financial Content Expo. Not only will PT talk about how and when it's the right time to create an event for your particular area of expertise, and he also shares what works and what doesn't work when connecting with the ...
Jul 12, 2016•35 min•Ep. 79
One of the surest ways to excel as a speaker is to find someone who is a success, and then follow their early steps. It's true in speaking, it's true in business and it's true in other avenues of life. A man who has done just that is Bob Burg. Bob is the best-selling author of The Go-Giver and Endless Referrals . After picking up audio cassette tapes at a Zig Ziglar event and enrolling in their speaking program, Bob's speaking career took off. On today's show, Bob shares how the National Speaker...
Jul 07, 2016•35 min•Ep. 78
Today Scott Stratten is a world-renowned keynote speaker, best-selling author and all-around awesome guy who is known by nearly everyone in the speaking community. But did you know that in the early days of his career he flew around North America training people to sell bubble wrap?! As our guest on episode 77 of The Speaker Lab he shares that amazing story, and much more. Scott also shares his earliest experiences as a corporate trainer after college, and why he chose that path. He explains the...
Jul 05, 2016•54 min•Ep. 77
If you already have a business becoming a speaker can only expand your reach, your audience and how many people you can serve. A great example of this is our guest, Jordan Harbinger of The Art of Charm. Jordan is the co-founder and host of The Art of Charm. The AOC, as it is called for short, is an in-person school as well as a podcast focused on helping men achieve peak performance in every area of life. Jordan's been interviewing experts for his show since before most of us knew what a podcast...
Jun 30, 2016•42 min•Ep. 76
Is there a connection between acting and speaking in public? There most certainly is a link between, according to today's guest. Amy Port joins us to talk about that connection, and how to tap into it to become an even better speaker. Amy is an amazing speaker, performer in her own right. Her background is in acting, theatre and performance. She earned a Master of Fine Arts from Yale's School of Drama and consistently worked as an actor after graduation. But the transient life of an actor was no...
Jun 28, 2016•35 min•Ep. 75
Continuing from our last show today I'll be sharing more of my personal travel tips for your speaking engagements. On episode 74 the topic is what to do when things go wrong during your travel. Mishaps are simply a part of the travel experience. In fact, you're better off if you plan for delays, lost luggage, cancellations and anything else that could get in your way of getting to your client. As you travel more you'll be able to spot potential problems before they arise, and today's episode wil...
Jun 23, 2016•17 min•Ep. 74
When most people think of traveling for speaking gigs they think it's glamorous: you travel first class, visit a new city, stay in a nice hotel, etc. And sometimes it is fun and exciting - and other times it is exhausting. Like when the airlines loses your luggage, or when your flight is delayed and you have to sleep in the airport or a sketchy motel because nothing else is available! I've been in all those scenarios, the glamorous and the not-so-glamorous. On episode 73 I'm sharing what I've le...
Jun 21, 2016•24 min•Ep. 73
Do you dread taxes or worry you aren’t using the right entity for your business? Then this is the episode for you! Josh Bauerle, CPA, accountant and all-around tax wizard is here for the 72nd edition of The Speaker Lab. Josh has started his own business working directly with entrepreneurs as a CPA. Between tax entities, business entities, and deductions, there’s a lot to know, and Josh has you covered. Josh has worked as an accountant for over a decade, and currently works as a CPA for Entrepren...
Jun 16, 2016•33 min•Ep. 72
Have you ever wondered what goes on in the world of mobile marketing? Perhaps you’ve heard of the website System.ly and are curious about its origins and its purpose. Then Greg Hickman is the man to talk to! As the CEO of System.ly, Greg focuses on making marketing as easy as possible for speakers and entrepreneurs who are busy building their careers. He also has a background in speaking so he understands the nature of the speaking business and how hectic a speaker's lifestyle can be. Today on t...
Jun 14, 2016•31 min•Ep. 71
If you've considered creating your own online course but never pulled the trigger because it seemed too complicated then episode 70 is just what the doctor ordered! My friend and fellow mastermind member, Joseph Michael, is here to give us the inside secrets. Joseph was a pretty typical 9 to 5 guy until he noticed a pain point in the marketplace: Scrivener. Scrivener is a powerful writing software that most users initially found confusing and hard to use. Seeing so many struggle to implement the...
Jun 09, 2016•37 min•Ep. 70
If I told you today's guest has had such notable clients as Michael Port and Seth Godin, would you be impressed and pay attention to what she has to say? If you said yes then get ready to tune in because that is exactly who our guest on episode 69 of The Speaker Lab has worked with. Elizabeth Marshall helps thought leaders and people who want to be seen as thought leaders get their message out to the world. A major milestone came in 2006 when she helped Michael Port launch his acclaimed book: Bo...
Jun 07, 2016•34 min•Ep. 69
Many of us as speakers love what we do - so much so we'd consider doing it for free! But since we also need a roof over our heads, food in our stomachs and clothes on our back it's important to know how to negotiate fees for your speaking gigs. On episode 68 of The Speaker Lab, I'll give you insights based on the lessons I've learned in my speaking career. I'll also get into if you should negotiate and exactly how to do so. With that in mind I've also included the nine circumstances when it's ok...
Jun 02, 2016•23 min•Ep. 68
Will having your own book help you land more speaking gigs? Should you write a book before even trying to land your first speaking job? And how exactly do you navigate the self-publishing waters if and when you decide to write your own book? The man to answer those questions is none other than Chandler Bolt, and he's our guest for episode 67 of The Speaker Lab! Chandler is the founder and visionary creator of Self-Publishing School, a site devoted to helping you write, market and publish your ow...
May 31, 2016•34 min•Ep. 67
Have you ever wondered what it takes to host a successful webinar? My good friend and future webinar co-host, John Corcoran, offers some valuable help on episode 66! John excels in many vital aspects of it, including marketing and networking. He's found that the webinar model is a great business model because it creates so much communication with an audience. On today's episode, John discusses how he found webinars and how he integrated them into his business. He also breaks down how to research...
May 26, 2016•32 min•Ep. 66
Have you heard of seminar companies? Do you know what they do and if they are of value to your speaking career? Today's special Q&A will answer those questions and more about working with seminar companies. Seminar companies are companies that present seminars for a fee. Usually they are attended by employees who have been sent by their employers to learn a specific skill like accounting, social media or finance. The seminars happen all over the country on a daily basis. On today’s episode I...
May 24, 2016•19 min•Ep. 65
Are you interested in speaking to youth or a school audience? On today's episode of The Speaker Lab my close friend and mentor Phil Boyte joins us to share his insights on that very topic. Phil focuses exclusively on speaking in schools, everyone from students to teachers to the district administrative team. He begins episode 64 by discussing what speaking looks like for him. He also offers his advice on how to truly make an impact when speaking to young people, and why his assembly schedule wor...
May 19, 2016•35 min•Ep. 64
Would you like to talk about faith or speak to faith-based audiences? On this episode of The Speaker Lab, my friend and accomplished speaker Paul Evans joins us to talk about that very topic. Paul began his career in speaking after his first wife passed away, and was inspired by his experience with the life insurance company. Since then he has focused on positive encouragement and utilizes faith as a unique aspect in his speaking business. Paul offers his guidance on several different topics tod...
May 17, 2016•29 min•Ep. 63
Do you have a personal story that could help others, but you aren't sure how to get it out to people? Our guest on episode 62 will share how he took his own experiences and turned them into several businesses and a profitable speaking career to boot! Joe Sangl owns several businesses, has authored multiple best-selling books and speaks around the world. His own personal financial journey took him from dealing with debt and living paycheck to paycheck to being a successful entrepreneur, coach, sp...
May 12, 2016•32 min•Ep. 62
Have you been asked for your speaking fee but weren't sure how to bill for the travel aspect of your gig? Or have you ever wondered how to handle that topic when it does come up in the future? Wherever you are at in your speaking career the issues of travel expenses is going to come up. On this edition of the show I outlined the two ways to address travel expenses for your speaking gigs, including the pros and cons of each. I'll also share which of those two options I personally use and why. Tun...
May 10, 2016•20 min•Ep. 61
On today's episode of The Speaker Lab, I have a very specialguest for you! My lovely and amazing wife Sheila Baldwin is here. Ibrought her on the show to talk about what it’s really like to bemarried to a speaker. Today we share the inner workings of our story and our lifetogether, so you can learn from our struggles and our triumphs. On this episode of The Speaker Lab, Sheila and I talk about theearly days of our relationship and our marriage, and how we havealways made things work even when we...
May 05, 2016•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 60
If you are truly serious about becoming a speaker there are twothings I recommend you have: a web site of your very own andownership of your name as a domain. For example I have The SpeakerLab as well as Grant Baldwin.com. On episode 59 of The Speaker Lab I explain why I have bothsites, and why owning the domain of your own name is so important.I also share why you'll want to create a separate web site ifyou're going to have other speakers present your materials in thefuture, and how this is sim...
May 03, 2016•23 min•Ep. 59
