"There is so much value in saying no because not every event is the right event for you."

This week, Brittany Richmond sat down with Nathan Wray, an inspirational speaker who speaks on teen mental health and substance misuse prevention. Together, Brittany and Nathan dig into dozens of practical topics including recovering from rough feedback, showing up for and supporting event planners, finding direction in your career as a speaker, and more!

"So I'm going to go as far as I can go to help an event organizer to make sure that they're successful. And if that includes setting up 300 chairs at 01:00 in the morning, then I'm gonna do it."

In this episode, Brittany and Nathan get into:

• 04:49 Who does Nathan serve and what’s his message?
• 08:00 How do you take feedback on your message and build something better?
• 10:58 Nathan’s turning point for storytelling.
• 15:41 The importance of community in the speaking world.
• 16:58 Why you should say no to some events
• 20:05 What to focus on as a speaker?
• 24:32 Why your superpower matters and will shape the way you show up.
• 26:59 The importance of pre-event meetings.
• 30:20 Why making the whole event a success matters.
• 35:09 How to support decision makers and event planners.
• 37:01 Why showing support and value changes things.
• 42:53 What the speaking community is like.
• 44:10 How the audience impacts us as speakers.
• 49:52 Where to find Nathan and our hope for every aspiring speaker out there!

“I reshaped the whole thing, and then I went and delivered it at a school, and it was the first time that kids came up to me afterwards and were like, can I take a picture with you? Can I tell you what happened to me? Can I tell you my story? Can I ask you a question? And that's when I knew, like, okay, I don't have it where I want it, but I'm on the right path."

Episode Resources:

• Connect with Nathan on Facebook
• Connect with Nathan on LinkedIn
• Follow Nathan on TikTok
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

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“I feel like I've always been Reggie's administrative assistant with our life. So it was kind of a natural transition just to slide into that.” - Patrice Wright

This week, Grant sat down with not 1, but 2 lovely guests to chat about building a speaking business with your spouse! You may remember Dr. Reggie Wright from Episode 471 last fall, but this week, we’re hearing from him AND his better half, Patrice.

“My first year as a full time speaker, I wanted her to resign. I wanted her to retire the first year and come on board as my COO. And that was a little bit of some tension there, because she wanted to kind of wait and see how things would play out, and that kind of put some stress and strain on things." - Reggie Wright

Grant, Reggie, and Patrice get into:

• 00:00 Where does the story of Reggie and Patrice start?
• 04:31 What’s your history of supporting each other in your marriage?
• 06:24 When did you start using help to scale your business?
• 10:56 What point made sense to put more time and energy into the speaking side of things?
• 14:59 Where was the tension in the decision of Patrice still holding down a full-time job?
• 16:36 How did Patrice know it was time to make the jump?
• 20:57 What habits/thought patterns/routines do you instill to focus on your family and marriage first?
• 24:37 What are some examples of setting boundaries around your time?
• 27:01 How do you balance work and rest and each other’s work ethics?
• 31:10 Reggie’s reflection on the growth process to build a business like he has
• 34:15 What should you think about before picking a support system?

“I would not be half of what I am right now if it wasn't for my wife." - Reggie Wright

"Knowing my own worth and value and knowing what I bring to the table helps me to never feel less than or never feel like, you know, he's up here and I'm down here. We're on an equal playing field." - Patrice Wright

Episode Resources:

• Connect with Reggie
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• 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.

"If you can align your expertise with a specific industry and then really bring tremendous value with a clear ROI, you're always going to win the game."

This week, Grant’s on the show with TSL legend Erick Rheam. We’re a little late to this year’s state of the speaking industry, but better late than never, right?

"It's not necessarily that budgets are cut, but what I would tell you is that event planners, they tend to be intentional with the money that they're spending. Instead of saying "I've got a $100,000 budget for this event," it's "Yeah, I've got $100,000, but I need to see a return on that $100,000."

In this episode, Grant and Erick get into:

• 00:00 Current trends in the speaking industry
• 06:06 Why do relationships matter more now than ever before?
• 07:32 How do you focus on building relationships?
• 11:20 The importance of offering a virtual service as part of your speaking business
• 15:51 The key to growth right now, even in a tough economy
• 19:44 Why you should focus on relationships and providing long-term solutions for your clients
• 21:50 How to leverage industry expertise to prove ROI
• 26:35 What it looks like to tweak your message to withstand the test of time.
• 28:00 The importance of iterating and meeting your client’s needs.
• 31:11 How to balance other streams of income + being on stage
• 35:28 How to get comfortable creating value for clients
• 36:44 Reflections and wrap up

"Something that is not attractive is desperation. And you could tell it, you could smell it from speakers — when they're just trying to get the gig, they're trying to get the money, as opposed to speakers who are like "Hey, I want to add value and I'm willing to go on a long term type of commitment with you."

Episode Resources:

• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• 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.