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"The audience first plan is not really a strategy. It's a hiding place. Because posting into the void is safe. Nobody tells you no." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! This is one of Dan's solo episodes — just you and him, coffee-shop style — and he's tackling a belief that keeps a lot of speakers stuck: the idea that you need to build a big audience before you can get booked and paid to speak. Here's the truth about planners: they're not checking your follower count. They're asking one question — can I put this person in front of my people and will it go well? Dan breaks down who actually hires speakers (associations, companies, conferences, schools), what those buyers look for when they find your name, and why the four trust-building assets every planner checks have nothing to do with how many people follow you online. He also shares the story of a speaker inside TSL's coaching program — a manufacturing operations expert with just over 200 LinkedIn followers — who landed her first paid booking about six weeks after one phone call to someone already in her network. Her line afterward says it all: "I spent a year trying to get strangers to notice me when the person who could book me was in my phone the whole time." Whether you're a new speaker wondering when you'll have "enough" of a following to start reaching out, or an experienced one still defaulting to content as your main growth strategy, this episode lays out a clearer, faster path. You'll learn: The one question every event planner is really asking when they find your name Why "build an audience first" looks like a strategy but often functions as a hiding place The four kinds of buyers that hire paid speakers — and the two things every one of them is hiring for Why a clear talk title beats a clever one (and the three-second test to know the difference) What your one-sheet is actually for (hint: it's not about impressing the planner) What a demo video needs to show — and why a break room with 40 people works Where content actually fits in the booking process (it's the second impression, not the first) How one speaker with 200 followers turned a single warm phone call into her first paid gig The forward test: the one exercise that tells you if a planner can sell you internally Why more stages — not more posts — is the fastest path to building real trust And much, much more! "Every month you spend waiting for an audience is a month that room goes without you." What would a planner see if they looked you up right now? Find out with TSL's free Speaker Business Assessment — in just 15 minutes, the team evaluates your talk title, abstract, video, and testimonials and shows you exactly what to fix so planners trust you enough to book you. Episode Resources: Speaker Business Assessment MySpeakerFee Apple Podcasts Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"I made a decision in my head, I'm going to America. I'm going to come here, build a business, live a life, get a green card, then get citizenship, do it all above board. But the decision was massive. How do I make it stick?" Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight, Dan pulls up a chair with Julian V. Taylor — a British-born media entrepreneur who spent more than two decades building businesses on both sides of the Atlantic. Julian started in magazine publishing in London, launched RedCoat Publishing in Boston, and produced television for networks like the History Channel and Discovery. Now he speaks to CEOs and leadership teams through his workshop, "Decisions That Stick," part of his broader Bold Bridge Method for working with the C-suite. Julian walks through how a couple of outreach phone calls landed him in front of Vistage groups — one of the toughest rooms there is — and what it was like running his first workshop for a brand-new group in Tallahassee after losing his voice on a London work trip. He breaks down the hands-on tools he brings into those rooms, including a Decision Contract (each participant writes a contract with themselves to keep a decision on track) and a Consequence Ladder that maps where a choice actually takes you. He also gets honest about the session that didn't go well: a third workshop with too many people dialing in remotely, a score that came back below where it needed to be, and the rule he built from it. But the real surprise? The content wasn't the hard part. Julian expected building his curriculum to be the biggest climb. It wasn't — that flowed naturally. The brick wall was everything else: who to call, who to talk to, and the hours it takes to work the phones. Dan and Julian dig into what's actually working now — from a longtime friend who told Julian poolside that his team needs exactly what he teaches, to Vistage chairs recommending his workshop to other chairs. Dan coaches on depth over breadth (go deeper into rooms you've already been in before going wider) and the 85/15 reality of speaking: maybe 15% of the time is on stage, and the other 85% is everything that gets you there. Whether you're building your first workshop, trying to crack into executive peer groups, or grinding through the middle stretch where the content is ready but the pipeline isn't — this conversation is full of practical, honest insight on what it actually takes. You'll learn: How two outreach calls to business owners in Ohio turned into three back-to-back Vistage meetings in FloridaWhy Julian ran his first Vistage workshop with almost no voice, and why not overthinking it helpedThe Decision Contract: the agreement each CEO writes with themselves, on paper, to keep a decision on trackThe Consequence Ladder, Julian's three-lane interstate for seeing where a decision's consequences push youWhy you can't blanket-call or blanket-email Vistage chairs, and what to do insteadWhat a low score on his third workshop taught him, and why he now turns down rooms full of people dialing in remotelyThe part Julian expected to be hardest (building the content) vs the part that actually is (finding planners with an event six months out)Dan's 85/15 rule: how little of a speaking business actually happens on stageWhy a friend's comment by the pool and chair-to-chair referrals beat a bigger list, plus Dan's case for 30 minutes of outreach a dayHow speaking pulled Julian into consulting, including a succession plan for an owner whose four kids are buying the business "I've got two or three other chairs that are considering my curriculum and my workshop. And they've spoken to the other chairs. So now they're, oh, you came highly recommended. How would you do this for my group? That's worth its weight in gold." Are your best opportunities hiding in rooms you've already been in? Take the free Speaker Business Assessment and find out where your speaking business actually stands. Episode Resources: Speaker Business AssessmentJulian V. TaylorJVH Media GroupMySpeakerFeeApple PodcastsSpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"The famine is not caused by the famine. The famine is caused by what you did not do during the feast." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this episode, Dan Irvin pulls up a chair for another one of his unfiltered coffee shop conversations — just you and Dan across the table. Everybody talks about the stage. The standing ovation, the packed room, the nailed close. Nobody posts about the morning after — back in your home office, adrenaline gone, thank-you messages slowing down, staring at a calendar with nothing on it. Every speaker has had that Tuesday. The ones with full calendars and the ones who are stuck had the exact same Tuesday. They did something different with it. Dan breaks down the feast-famine loop most speakers are trapped in — land a gig, ride the high, go quiet, panic, scramble, repeat — and what it actually takes to replace it, starting with the 85% of the business that happens off stage. He walks through the five pipeline stages working speakers run every week, shares the simple math behind consistent bookings, and opens up about the personal experience that made him swear he'd never build something for someone else without building something for himself. Whether you're booking your first paid gig or you've had your best year ever and still can't see next quarter, this episode is the framework for a calendar that fills without the panic. You'll learn: Why the feast-famine cycle isn't “the business” — it's the absence of one The 15/85 split: what the stage actually represents vs. the work nobody sees Five pipeline stages every working speaker runs on repeat — prospect, reach out, follow up, close, rebook Dan's illustrative math: how reaching out to 10 organizations a week could map to roughly 24 paid gigs a year (your numbers will differ, but the shape holds) Why your outreach emails aren't landing — and the simple flip that gives planners a reason to reply The real reason planners don't respond, and why following up three, four, five times isn't desperate Dan's post-gig routine: the handwritten thank-you note, the Zoom call, and the question most speakers never ask What you actually need to run a pipeline — a tracker, a weekly block, reminders, and a checklist (that's the whole infrastructure) The reframe for speakers who say “I didn't get into speaking to be in sales” Why Dan still does his own outreach — and the personal story behind his pipeline obsession And much, much more! "The stage is the reward. The pipeline is how you earn it." Wondering what the gaps in your speaking business actually look like — and what to do about them? Book a free Speaker Business Assessment — a 15-minute session where our team looks at what you're doing now, where the holes are, and what your system should look like. Episode Resources: Speaker Business Assessment MySpeakerFee Apple Podcasts Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Undercharging is not humility. It is a positioning problem and oftentimes a confidence problem. And that confidence problem is wearing a humble costume." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this episode, Dan Irvin digs into one of the most common — and most expensive — mistakes speakers make: undercharging for their talks. And not just because it shrinks your paycheck. Dan makes the case that pricing too low actually makes you harder to book. Here's the scene he sets: you're on a call with an event planner, the conversation is going great, they ask what your fee is — and a much smaller number comes out of your mouth than the one in your head. Dan's been there himself, early in his career. Inside The Speaker Lab, he's had this exact conversation with speaker after speaker. The problem goes deeper than money. When you price too low, planners treat you differently — worse time slots, skipped introductions, ignored A/V requests. Same speaker, same talk, totally different experience. Dan breaks down the three traps that keep speakers stuck in the discount cycle, shares a story about how one "we don't pay speakers" event turned into more than $50,000 in workshops, and walks through his own approach to the fee conversation — the questions he asks, how he frames his number, and why he doesn't commit to a final number on the discovery call. Whether you're brand new and figuring out where to set your first real fee, or you've been speaking for years and suspect you've been leaving serious money on the table, this episode gives you a clear framework for pricing with confidence. You'll learn: How undercharging actually makes you harder to book, not easier The three pricing traps that keep speakers stuck (free gigs, comparison shopping, and fear of hearing "no") How "exposure" builds the wrong reputation and trains your market to expect you for free Why somebody else's fee tells you absolutely nothing about what yours should be The direct link between your fee and how event planners treat you — from your time slot to your introduction What actually determines your fee (hint: it's not just how good your talk is) Why getting uncomfortably niche leads to paid gigs Dan's story of turning a "we don't pay speakers" event into more than $50,000 in workshops How to handle the fee conversation without apologizing, hedging, or negotiating against yourself The one question Dan never skips on a discovery call — and why it reframes everything When to adjust your fee down as a strategic choice and when to raise it And much, much more! "Stop discounting yourself. Your message is worth more than you're charging for it." Not sure what you should be charging — or how to say the number without flinching? Take the free Speaker Business Assessment — In 15 minutes, the team looks at your positioning, niche, and assets and helps you figure out the right fee and how to present it. Dan's on some of those calls himself. Episode Resources: Speaker Business Assessment MySpeakerFee Apple Podcasts Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"And I realized I had bought into someone else's definition of what success looked like and even career path. And I find that so many people do that. And so we're living a life that someone else designed for us. And my whole thing is just determine what's important to you and then find a career that enables you to do that." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight, Dan pulls up a chair with Carlos Hidalgo — keynote speaker, executive advisor, and author — who spent years building and running the company he co-founded before walking away to design a life and career on his own terms. That decision opened doors. Fellow executives started calling to ask how he did it — because they were miserable. Carlos built an advisory practice, wrote a book, and started gaining traction as a speaker. Then, right after joining The Speaker Lab, he suffered a stroke. A brain bleed with a 50% mortality rate. Seven days in a hospital bed. About eight weeks derailed. He came back, caught up, and graduated from the program in April. The experience sharpened everything: his message, his sense of urgency, and his willingness to do the daily work most speakers skip. In this conversation, Carlos breaks down the exact moves he's making to build his pipeline — from the digital audit that revealed he was positioning himself three different ways on his own website, to the warm network strategy that turned 100 messages into real conversations and real opportunities. He talks about his "power hour" habit, why he held his fee when a past client pushed back on price, and what it actually looks like to grind through the messy middle of building a speaking business. The stage, as Carlos puts it, is the cherry on top. Whether you're just getting started, rebuilding after a setback, or deep in the daily grind wondering if any of it is going somewhere — this one will remind you that the work compounds. You'll learn: Why Carlos walked away from the company he co-founded — and what fellow executives kept asking him afterward How he and his wife use a "mental whiteboard" to pressure-test big life decisions (and how that landed them in the Adirondacks) What happened when a stroke hit right after he started with The Speaker Lab — and how he caught up and graduated that April What TSL's digital audit uncovered about his website and positioning, and how he fixed it in about a week The warm network move: how he turned roughly 700 real LinkedIn relationships into speaking opportunities with 100 targeted messages His "power hour" — one daily hour of cold outreach and follow-ups, tracked and consistent Why a seventh follow-up finally landed a response and what that tells you about persistence and pipeline How he stays "always ready" with his messaging locked, full-day availability built into his fee, and a referral-first mindset when he's not the right fit Why he held his fee when a previous client passed on two events over cost — and the long-game math behind that decision The one-small-change-per-day approach to redesigning your career without blowing everything up And much, much more! "So I just started to call that list and I didn't go out and say, do you have any opportunities? What I said was, here's what I'm doing and I'm building this. Here's my message. Here's who I work with. If you know of anybody who wants or needs a speaker, I would love an introduction. And if there's any way I can help you, please let me know." Are you building your speaking business around your own definition of success — or someone else's? Take the free Speaker Business Assessment and find out where you actually stand. Episode Resources: Speaker Business Assessment Carlos Hidalgo MySpeakerFee Apple Podcasts Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Constancy of purpose says we're in, we're locked, we're going until we get to a point where we have sufficient data or an understanding of what we're doing that we need to make a change.” Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this episode, Dan sits down with TSL alumnus Bill Englehaupt — founder of Auditology and a 30-plus-year veteran of financial services audit. Bill works with CPA firms and Fortune 500 internal audit teams to root out what he calls “the hidden factory”: the invisible, below-the-line work that quietly eats organizations alive. Bill's speaking business had been dormant for months. Then he submitted a proposal for a national conference in Las Vegas, got the nod, and walked into a breakout room with more than 200 people — his first talk back after a long dry spell. He's also an author twice over: his first book, Managing the Hell Out of Your Audit, became the springboard for Auditology, and his brand-new second book, The Productive Auditor, just hit Amazon. He didn't wait for anyone to hand him credibility. He stacked proof: one book, one webinar, one talk at a time. Whether you're trying to crack the chicken-and-egg problem of getting booked without a track record, wondering if writing a book is worth the time, or just trying to stay consistent when outreach feels like shouting into the void, this conversation is packed with real-world tactics from someone building it right now. You'll learn: What “the hidden factory” is and how Bill turned a 30-plus-year audit career into a speaking nicheHow he landed a 200-person breakout session at a national conference after months of his business being dormantWhy writing a book gave him “a platform to stand on” — and why you don't actually need one to get startedThe chicken-and-egg problem: what to do when event applications ask for experience you don't have yetHow webinars for continuing-education content providers became his lower-barrier proof engineHow to turn one strong talk into a demo reelDan's five-week contact strategy and why most responses come from email three, not email oneWhy Bill calls the book “an avoidance activity” — and how to catch yourself dodging the real workW. Edwards Deming's concept of “constancy of purpose” and what it means for speakers chasing shiny objectsThe 30-day win Bill is actually chasing — human-to-human contact, before any bookingAnd much, much more! “Well, for a speaker, it's just stick to your plan, right? I think that's the one main thing. You know, if you've got your power hour, get your power hour going. If you're, you know, having trouble getting your follow-ups going, stick to the plan.” Ready to stop guessing and start building your own proof-stacking plan? Take the free Speaker Business Assessment and find out exactly where you stand. Episode Resources: Speaker Business AssessmentBill EnglehauptMySpeakerFeeApple PodcastsSpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“You can't get through it if it's not real.” Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this alumni speaker connection episode, Dan sits down with Robin Blair — an ordained minister, award-winning speaker, singer, and media producer who spent decades inside network television and radio before walking away from it all to pursue ministry and professional speaking. Robin's career arc reads like a Hollywood pitch: TV shopping host on network television, then a key player in the first children's radio network to go national, then co-founder of a children's television production company. She and her team created a live-action, puppet, and music children's show, made four pilots, and sold the show to Animal Planet. But at the New York City Toy Fair in the 1990s, she watched an executive preview a show being imported from the UK and announce to the room that one-year-olds were now advertising targets. That moment gutted her. Shortly after, discouraged with the direction of the industry, she answered a call to ministry and headed to seminary — all the way through to a doctorate. After a couple of decades preaching from the pulpit, Robin has stepped back from congregational ministry to build a professional speaking business. Her body of work, Digital Discipleship Matters, takes a faith orientation to the digital culture we all live in — helping families discern media rather than making an enemy of it. And she's working through a mindset shift that will sound familiar to a lot of speakers: moving from speaking for little or nothing to truly valuing the expertise she brings. You'll learn: How Robin's decades inside network TV, radio, and children's media became her strongest speaking credentialWhy your past career detours are qualifications, not wasted timeWhat “digital discipleship” means and how Robin carved out a speaking niche from itThe mindset shift from speaking for free (or nearly free) to getting paid what your message is worthWhy Robin created a family discernment tool as the key to unlocking hesitant audiencesDan's advice on finding the smaller group who desperately need your message instead of trying to reach everyoneWhy slow, relational trust-building beats aggressive outreach — especially when you're just startingHow to handle silence after a pitch (hint: it's normal, even when it stings)Robin's approach to treating the internet as a mission field for her messageThe difference between having something important to say and assuming everyone wants to hear itAnd much, much more! “What I'm bringing has value to people for their lives and for generations of their lives. And it's perfectly okay to receive compensation for that.” Are you sitting on years of hard-won expertise — but still struggling to turn it into a speaking business that actually pays? Take the free Speaker Business Assessment and find out exactly where you stand. Episode Resources: Speaker Business AssessmentRobin BlairMySpeakerFeeApple PodcastsSpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"And so I'm sending out the emails, I'm doing the work, I'm following the process, and I'm not really getting any responses. And so by the end of the day, I'm like, well, am I doing this right? Or, you know, imposter syndrome kind of sets in, you know, am I really built for this?" Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight, Dan Irvin sits down with Marcus Dove — a performance mindset coach based in Tulsa who helps coaches and programs turn talented athletes into consistent performers under pressure. Marcus played basketball for 30 years, earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year two years in a row at Oklahoma State, then spent 16 years playing professionally overseas across six countries. He knows what it takes to perform when it counts. Now he's building a speaking business around that expertise — and in this episode, he's just signed his first paid gig. Here's what makes this conversation worth your time: Marcus did not have some easy path to that first booking. He was doing the work. Sending the cold emails. Following the process. And hearing nothing back. By the end of the day he'd be down on himself, questioning whether he was built for this at all. Then his TSL coach Corinne made one suggestion — stop reaching out to coaches, start reaching out to athletic directors. Two days later, an athletic director responded. Five to seven days after that, the gig was locked in. Marcus also walks through the tools that made the difference day to day: the CRM that replaced running outreach off memory (he calls it a lifesaver), the speaking agreement negotiation that nearly sent him spiraling when the buyer countered, and his game film method — recording himself giving the speech 30 to 40 times at home and watching it back, the way an athlete watches tape. Whether you're in the stretch where nothing is coming back and imposter syndrome is creeping in, or you're past the first booking and trying to figure out how to actually prepare for the stage, this is a conversation with someone standing exactly where a lot of listeners are standing right now. You'll learn: How one pivot in Marcus's outreach strategy — from coaches to athletic directors — booked his first paid gig in under a week What the stretch of silence and non-responses actually felt like day to day, and how imposter syndrome set in Why Corinne's suggestion worked so fast, and what Marcus wants every student in the program to hear about it How switching from memory-based outreach to a CRM gave him a clear plan every morning for his power hour The moment a buyer countered his speaking proposal — why he thought the deal was dead, and why it closed within 24 hours His game film method: recording himself giving the speech 30 to 40 times at home and watching the playback to find what to add and cut Why he does a couple of free gigs at local high schools before a paid stage How comparison hit hardest in group sessions — seeing other students further along with their websites already built The reframe that got him past it: everyone's on their own journey, and their progress is information, not a verdict Why a mindset speaker has to practice what he preaches — and Dan's point that what we speak on is often the medicine we need His pre-stage nervous voice, what it says, and the counter-script he runs against it His answer to "a no from a client really means…" — and why reframing it as "not right now" changes how you carry the rejection And much, much more! "Growth comes in uncomfortability, right? If you don't step outside your comfort zone, if you don't step outside your norm, growth doesn't happen. And so try to do something different. Try to push yourself to a limit you haven't been pushed to." Stuck in the stretch where you're doing the work but nothing is coming back? Take the free Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA and find out exactly where you are in your speaking journey and what to do next. Episode Resources: Speaker Business Assessment Marcus Dove MySpeakerFee Apple Podcasts Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"You do not need a superpower. You simply need a system that gets you one step at a time, one day at a time, toward your goal." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! This week's Alumni Spotlight features Amy LaBelle — founder and winemaker of LaBelle Winery in New Hampshire, which she started with five thousand dollars and a dream and opened 4,083 days later. Today that's two locations, 250 employees, 16,000-plus cases a year, two restaurants, roughly 700 events annually, a distillery coming online this fall, and lodging and a spa on the way. She's also an author with two books out and two more in progress. And she speaks — mostly to rooms of women leaders — on a framework she calls Count Each Day, Make Each Day Count. The through-line of this conversation is what Amy does with the material she already has. In March she took the stage at a conference for women leaders in hospitality, held the room for a full hour, then ran an hour-plus workshop right after it. Here's the part Dan wanted underlined: she didn't write new content for that workshop. She built one worksheet — one page, one side — and used the extra hour to walk the room through the framework on a goal each person actually had, so the thing they'd just learned got applied before life could crowd it out. Months later she ran into an attendee who was still chasing the goal she'd set that afternoon. Amy is also refreshingly honest about the money and the misses. She earned enough from speaking to cover her Speaker Lab investment, then enough to take her family on vacation — a trip she admits she could have paid for anyway, but that felt different coming from found money. And when two organizers came up after a talk last summer, asked for her contact information, and then went silent on her follow-ups, she does the thing most speakers skip: she looks at her own side of it. She had their emails. She didn't have their phone numbers. Dan pushes on the awkwardness underneath that — the instinct not to take up too much of someone's time — and the two of them land on why follow-up isn't a nuisance when you're the one holding the value. Whether you're weighing how to turn one keynote into a bigger booking, wondering if a speaking business can coexist with a demanding day job, or sitting on a stalled lead you're afraid to chase, this conversation is a practical, warm look at building it one day at a time. You'll learn: Why a system beats a superpower, and how Amy's daily framework built a winery in 4,083 days How to turn an hour keynote into a keynote-plus-workshop booking without writing new content The one-page worksheet that made her framework stick after the room emptied How to run a speaking business alongside a company with 250 employees What it felt like when speaking income crossed over into family money Why "found money" from a side hustle changes how you spend it What to do when the organizers who asked for your card never write back The contact-info fix that would have saved a stalled opportunity Why following up isn't being a nuisance when you're the one holding the value Why women hesitate longer before saying yes to their own dreams The pre-stage ritual and playlist that get Amy's energy right before she walks on The one action she wants every listener to take before the week is out And much, much more! "Sometimes people just need one person to believe in them." Sitting on a talk you know is worth more than you're charging for it — or a lead you've been too polite to chase? Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment and find out exactly where you are in your speaking journey and what to do next. Episode Resources: Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business Assessment Amy LaBelle's Website Calculate Your Speaking Fee Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"We're always going a hundred miles an hour. So we never even realize that we're driving through fog all that time." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! This week's Alumni Spotlight features Scott Hacker — thirty-plus years in corporate sales, now a certified high performance coach who goes by the clarity coach. His signature talk is called Navigating the Fog of Life, and the premise is simple: when you drive into actual fog, you slow down, turn off the radio, and pay attention. In our lives, we just keep going a hundred miles an hour and never notice the fog is there at all. Scott's recent run is a case study in the long game. He found a whole new market for his workshops in chambers of commerce and nonprofit boards, and none of it happened in one meeting. He joined the chamber. He spoke at a breakfast for free. That turned into a longer workshop, which turned into a chamber president asking him to facilitate a board retreat he had never facilitated before — so he said yes, built it out, and walked away with a board member offering to personally fund an ongoing engagement. Then there's the story Dan wanted the room to sit with: a free two-hour workshop for a women's council of realtors in January of last year, which came back around eighteen months later as a four-month multi-series mastermind. Dan also puts on his coaching hat for a stalled deal, digging into what happens when a chamber executive tells you his members want "real tools," not the soft, touchy feely stuff — and why Scott held his ground instead of building a talk that wasn't his. Whether you're weighing whether the next free gig is worth your time or trying to decide how hard to hold your positioning when a buyer pushes back, this conversation is a clear-eyed look at how patient, aligned work compounds into paid opportunity. You'll learn: How a free talk for a local realtors' association came back as a four-month paid engagement Why chambers of commerce and nonprofit boards are an overlooked market for workshops The long game that turns one free breakfast talk into a multi-workshop contract How saying yes to a board retreat he'd never run led to a funded, ongoing program Why Scott starts with the business owner's mindset instead of the nuts and bolts The criteria that decide whether a free stage is worth your effort What to do when a decision maker says your message is too soft for his members Why building the talk they asked for would have shown up on stage as incongruent How alignment with your own message keeps you calm when a room pushes back The once-a-month touch-base system that keeps a stalled opportunity warm The daily habit that keeps a clarity coach clear And much, much more! "As soon as you get clarity on what it is you truly want, your actions will become a lot easier, the priorities will become easier." Wondering whether that next free stage is worth your time — or how to turn the ones you're already doing into paid engagements? Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment and find out exactly where you are in your speaking journey and what to do next. Episode Resources: Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business Assessment Scott Hacker's Website Calculate Your Speaking Fee Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“The better the foundation is, the more opportunities I'm getting to do exactly that.” Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! This week's episode is another alumni spotlight, and it might be Dan's favorite combination yet: Matthew Sharpe is a licensed therapist — and a stand-up comedian. He put the two together in Standup Therapy Live, where the laughs do the heavy lifting for the mental health lessons. Matt works with high-stress, high-stakes professions — healthcare workers, law enforcement, corrections officers — teaching resilience through humor, complete with a “humor lab” where he makes rooms full of uniformed officers sweat bullets by writing jokes on a 15-minute deadline. But the real story of this episode isn't the comedy — it's the business. Matt just booked out a full week of paid speaking for the first week of October, and every gig in it traces back to a different lesson from The Speaker Lab playbook: cold outreach to people he'd never met, follow-up that turned one law enforcement gig into a repeat booking, and a Department of Corrections client bringing him back to train staff from around their state. He's even had a gig land completely cold — the National Conference of State Legislatures found him through SEO he didn't set up. And then there's the lesson most speakers never learn: Matt genuinely loves the process. The prospecting, the pipeline, even the rejections. Dan also coaches Matt through a proposal that died on price, unpacking budget questions, decision makers, add-on gigs, and the “menu” of offerings that can save a stalled deal. Whether you're still chasing your first paid gig or trying to figure out why your calendar isn't as full as your talent deserves, this conversation is a masterclass in falling in love with the 95% of the work that gets you the 5% on stage. You'll learn: How Matt booked a full week of paid speaking by following the process step by stepThe simple cold email (“quick question — who books your talks?”) that keeps turning into gigsHow follow-up after a gig — the harvest — creates repeat bookingsWhy an inbound gig from SEO is the bonus you earn for doing the workThe mindset shift that separates speakers who burn out from speakers who buildHow to reframe the business side as your foundation, not the tax you pay to performThe 85/15 rule of speaking — and why Dan thinks it's really 95/5How Matt learned to price himself with confidence (and who convinced him to raise his fee)Where a proposal to a doctors' organization stalled — and the budget questions that could have saved itHow add-on gigs and geographic prospecting give you room to get creative with your feeWhy offering a menu — keynote, workshop, reception comedy set — adds value for event plannersAnd much, much more! “Find something new and exciting that makes you laugh every day. It just opens your eyes to new possibilities.” Ready to build a speaking business that books itself — and actually enjoy the work that gets you on stage? Take the free Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA and find out exactly where you are in your speaking journey and what to do next. Episode Resources: Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business AssessmentMatthew Sharpe's WebsiteCalculate Your Speaking FeeSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"What if I didn't let it stop me? What if I just push past it?" Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight episode, Dan Irvin sits down with Speaker Lab alumni Jennifer Ryan — a speaker who just hit a real turning point. She finished her book, Be the Donkey, Not the Jackass, she's ready to take it on the road, and she's built a talk that is unmistakably her own. Jennifer's message starts with fear — the greatest motivator and the greatest deterrent to everything. It began with a movie, sparked a "year of yes" where she said yes to literally everything, and led her to a horse and dog rescue where two donkeys handed her the metaphor that became her book. Along the way she learned what it takes to write something deeply vulnerable, rebuild a talk after rereading her own book exposed the gaps, and differentiate herself in a world where "a million people speak about yes." But this conversation doesn't stay in theory. Jennifer and Dan get honest about the hard stuff: the conference that suddenly had no space for her (and no explanation why), the self-doubt train that follows silence, and the moment she realized her talks were entertaining people without actually moving them to act. Her fix — be prescriptive, give your audience exactly what to do next Monday — is a masterclass in building talks that create change instead of just applause. You'll learn: Why fear is both the greatest motivator and the greatest deterrentHow a "year of yes" can completely change your trajectoryHow to find your signature story in unexpected placesWhy writing a book is a "humbling" exercise in vulnerabilityHow rereading your own book reveals the gaps in your talkHow to differentiate yourself when your topic is "already taken"What to do when a reliable speaking avenue suddenly closesHow to handle negative feedback (and why the 2% matters)The difference between entertaining an audience and moving them to actWhy prescriptive next steps are what turn talks into transformationAnd much, much more! "A talk has done its job the moment one person decides to try something new." What's the question that flips the switch on your fear? Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA and turn "what if" into your next step. Episode Resources: Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business AssessmentJennifer Ryan's WebsiteCalculate Your Speaking FeeSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"When you're late, you tell people you don't care. I didn't agree with it at the moment. But then I started really just disciplining myself. And it is hard work for me every single day to be early." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight episode, host Dan Irvin brings on Michael Hidalgo — a keynote speaker who helps teams actually talk to each other. His core idea is deceptively simple: words are vehicles, and what the receiver unpacks may not be what you loaded them up with. But what makes this episode fire is the business side of Michael's story — and the habits that are fueling a serious run right now. Start with the headline: Michael just landed his highest-paid gig yet off a single email. Except it wasn't really a single email. He did the homework — researched the organization, understood the need, sent a tailored pitch — and then heard nothing for two months. Instead of chasing with "did you get my email?", he followed up twice by adding value: an article relevant to their challenge, a lesson he learned from a client. Seventy-three days later, the planner wrote back with four words: "Are you still available?" Booked on the spot — and now they want his consulting, too. Then there's the keynote that produced six hot leads. Michael put a Calendly QR code on his final slide with a $50-value team assessment offer. By the time he walked off stage, four CEOs had already booked calls. He stayed for dinner with another contact who introduced him to two more executives. Two proposals went out that week. And every one of those consulting opportunities came from the speaking — the keynote was the tip of the spear. Whether you're figuring out how to follow up without being annoying or wondering what separates speakers who get rebooked from speakers who get forgotten, this one is a masterclass in the business behind the business! You'll learn: Why Michael's biggest booking came 73 days after his initial pitch — and what he did in the silence that made it happenHow to follow up with event planners by adding value instead of asking "did you get my email?"The QR code + free assessment strategy that generated six hot leads from a single keynoteWhy speaking is the tip of the spear for consulting revenue — and how to build that pipeline from stageWhat "be fun and easy to work with" actually looks like in practice (hint: show up early and set up chairs)The pre-talk ritual Michael never skips: handwriting an abbreviated outline, connecting with the tech team, checking in with the planner, and glide-handing the roomHow to pivot mid-call when an event planner says "this isn't what we want" — without getting defensive or losing the gigWhy the two magic phrases "tell me more about that" and "help me understand" buy you time and keep conversations aliveThe difference between value addition and value extraction — and why givers get rememberedWhy the gig is actually won before you ever send the first emailAnd much, much more! "How can I leave someone with something that is going to make them either personally or professionally better? How can I give something to them? I promise you that will pay dividends." Give more than you take? That's the whole business plan. Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA and build a system that turns generosity into bookings. Episode Resources: Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business AssessmentMichael Hidalgo's WebsiteCalculate Your Speaking Fee Subscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"I didn't get paid to go to Seattle, but I made a good connection there that I will be paid for." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight episode, host Dan Irvin sits down with Dr. David Chastain, a speaker who works at an intersection most people are afraid to even name out loud: grief and addiction, and the way the two are wound together. Grief can delay recovery, and it can trigger relapse years into sobriety — and David speaks on it from both professional expertise and lived experience. David has been quietly stacking wins, and almost every one of them traces back to the same source: relationships. A paid webinar that came through a former colleague. A talk for an addiction professionals association in North Carolina where one conversation with the executive director — and one leader who happened to be in the room — turned a "our keynotes are full" into a three-hour pre-conference workshop. An unpaid conference in Seattle where he worked the empty expo hall and walked away with three or four potential webinars in the pipeline. He didn't chase the money. He tended the relationships, and the money followed. Dan also puts on his coaching hat for a candid working session: how to handle the conference that passed on your proposal (spoiler: "apply again next year" is an invitation, not a brush-off), why you should retitle your talk to match a conference theme without rebuilding it, and the insight from a local speakers association that unlocked a whole new pitch — framing grief and addiction as the employee-retention problem businesses are already paying to solve. Whether you're waiting on your first paid gig or wondering whether the free rooms are worth it, this episode will change how you measure a room! You'll learn: Why grief and addiction intersect — delaying recovery and triggering relapse even years into sobrietyWhat landing a paid webinar meant after years of speaking for free ("it's okay for me to ask for money")Why your existing network beats cold outreach — and how to actually use itDavid's "tiny book" strategy: 40 portable pages designed to sell at conference tablesHow seeking out one executive director turned a filled keynote slate into a three-hour workshopThe empty expo hall trick: working vendor rooms while everyone else is in sessionsHow to respond when a conference passes on your proposal — and why you should always reapplyRetitling your talk to fit a conference theme without changing the talk itselfThe reframe that opened a corporate lane: grief and addiction as a turnover and retention problemWhy David stopped saying "I'm not good at networking" — and what changed when he didAnd much, much more! "I've stopped saying I'm not good at networking, because the evidence says I am. It's not only the process of the events happening again — it's the process of believing that I can make this work." Measuring every room by what it pays you today? The unpaid room might be the seed. Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA and build a system that turns connections into bookings. Episode Resources: Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business AssessmentDr. Chastain's WebsiteCalculate Your Speaking Fee Subscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"It's never gonna be right. It's gonna be good enough to get started. You have enough to get started — just get started." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight episode, host Dan Irvin sits down with Chris Jackson — a speaker and consultant building his business from the foundation up, getting ready to land his first paid gig in this chapter of his career. And the message he's building on is one every listener needs to feel, not just nod along to: momentum, breaking the inertia of the start, and getting comfortable with an ugly start. Chris's favorite analogy says it all — spaceships burn most of their fuel breaking gravity, not cruising through space. He and Dan unpack how perfectionism keeps speakers grounded, how the Speaker Bureau intake (plus some smart AI brainstorming) finally gave Chris clarity on his niche — helping high-performing dentists shift from clinician to CEO — and the proposal he sat on for weeks despite knowing every single decision maker by name. He just wouldn't pick up the phone. If you've ever been the dog sitting on the nail, this one's for you. Then there's the story that gave both of them goosebumps: 19-year-old Chris bombing his first tour at Atlanta's Cyclorama, until an older gentleman shook his hand, told him to slow down, and gave him a five-dollar tip — his first paid speaking gig and the feedback that launched a lifelong study of the craft. It pairs with the harder lesson that came later: someone told Chris he sounded "too motivational," and he let it shrink him until speaking wasn't fun anymore. The takeaway? Take the feedback that serves your mission, and let the rest go. Whether you're frozen at the starting line or sanding down your voice to fit someone else's idea of you, this episode will get you off the nail and into motion! You'll learn: Why breaking gravity takes most of your fuel — and what that means for starting your speaking businessHow perfectionism disguises itself as preparation (and keeps your talk grounded)Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business AssessmentFind Chris Jackson on InstagramCalculate Your Speaking Fee Subscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifyHow the Speaker Bureau intake questions gave Chris real clarity on his clinician-to-CEO topicUsing AI as a brainstorming partner, not a do-it-all machine — and why mastering one tool beats drinking from the tech fire hoseWhat private equity did to dental service organizations, and the pain point Chris solves for dentistsThe "too motivational" feedback that almost cost Chris his voice — and what it taught himHow to tell the difference between feedback worth taking and feedback worth letting goThe Cyclorama story: a stranger's $5 tip that became a first paid gig and a turning pointWhy Chris knew every decision maker for his first proposal — and still wouldn't make the callWhy momentum is a decision, not a feelingAnd much, much more! Episode Resources: Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business AssessmentFind Chris Jackson on InstagramCalculate Your Speaking Fee Subscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on Spotify "Do the thing that you fear the most. Make the phone call, send the proposal, show up. When you show up for yourself, that's when the magic happens." --- Sitting on your own nail right now? Stop waiting for perfect and take the first step. Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA — a real look at where you are and what to do next. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.