Friday, October 24, 2025
The final lessons I’ve collected on building a thriving speaking business involve strategic growth and cultivating the professional relationships that continue to sustain me. These lessons include smart referrals, increasing rates with confidence, staying relevant, and engaging meaningfully with our professional community—all while maintaining the personal well-being that makes success truly worthwhile.
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15. Refer friends on different topics whenever possible.
If your client is set on your topic, and it doesn’t work out for you because of dates, of course picking an NSA friend in your space makes sense. But don’t assume the client is set on your topic. Clients are often flexible with the topic. If you refer an NSA friend on a different topic, then you have the opportunity to book the gig the following year. (Hat tip to Christine Cashen, CSP, CPAE, for sharing this tip with me!) Also, I always suggest giving the client a few names to choose from.
16. Have a plan to increase your rates.
For most of my career, this was an inconsistent, haphazard process for me. I earned less than I could have because I feared that raising my rates would price out the clients and events where I had earned a reputation. This is a reasonable fear, but it creates downward pressure on your fees and limits your earning potential. It’s hard to grow into larger clients with bigger budgets until you let go of some of your smaller clients.
I had to learn to have faith that if I kept increasing my knowledge and my platform skills, I could earn larger fees and transition to bigger clients with bigger budgets. Also remember that higher fees mean you can do less client-facing work for the same income, and then you can use the extra time however you want. For example, you can tackle the operational or marketing work you always put off because you’re too busy with clients, or you can volunteer, or simply work less. Personally, I take the “life” in “lifestyle business” very seriously.
17. Stay relevant and fresh.
In my experience, your business needs a major initiative/improvement/accomplishment about every 12 months, whether that’s a new book, a new website, a new keynote, a major improvement to your existing keynote, an award…something that is keeping you fresh, relevant, and newsworthy. Another important benefit is that it prevents your own boredom. Because if you’re bored with your content, if you sound too rehearsed, if you can’t go off script and shake things up, your audiences will know. Some people will say 12 months is too long, but I find more than that exhausting and makes me more susceptible to burnout.
18. Engage with your community.
Join and stay involved in the National Speakers Association locally and nationally. And don’t just join, participate. Volunteer. Mentor. You’ll receive more than you give. Succeeding in this business is much harder alone, and engaging with a community of peers has given me so much. The biggest professional mistake I made was waiting too long to join NSA. (Thanks to Thom Singer, CSP, for the continual harping until I finally did it—you were right!). I’m proud to say that next year will be my 10th year of membership, and my eighth year as a CSP. I’ve attended 19 conferences, and I’m registered for four more in the next 18 months. (I register for each conference—Influence, Thrive, and CSP Summit—at the conclusion of the last one. I get the best rate, and it makes the decision easier).
19. Have the right attitude when engaging with peers.
Attend chapter and national events with an open mind, be authentic, check your ego at the door, and resist the (strong) temptation to compare yourself to others. Compete only with yourself, to be a better version of “you” than you were last week or last year. Sometimes new groups can seem “clique-y,” and NSA is no exception. But remember, this is the result of people’s natural tendencies to hang out with people they know! It’s not about excluding others; it’s about enthusiastically reconnecting with friends. Sometimes people just forget to notice those they don’t yet know, in the midst of the pleasure they get from reconnecting with those they do. In my experience, most people in NSA are friendly and welcoming, and if you’re feeling a little left out, consider leaning in a little more.
Here’s another thing I’ve learned: so many people on the main stage at NSA events name other people, or reference inside jokes. If you’re new to NSA and don’t get any of the references, this might make you feel excluded. But keep in mind that this is usually coming from a deep desire to honor and recognize those people who have helped and supported them in their journey, and don’t take it personally. One day, you’ll be on that stage, doing the same thing!
20. Life is short, make it sweet.
Being in this industry is such a gift in so many ways: the community of kind, generous, inspirational people who have a passion to make the world a better place; the freedom to make our own decisions and craft our lives with intention; and the platform to help people and transform lives for the better—to name just a few. Don’t let your drive for success, or your comparison of yourself against others, cause you to leave casualties in your wake or divert you from being the kind of person you aspire to be on your best day. Helping strangers is less valuable if you neglect or take for granted the ones you love most in the process. Also, if your success comes at the expense of your personal or emotional well-being, what’s the point? Any success you achieve will be short-lived.
Be grateful: “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” (Robert Brault).
Be kind: “Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people.” (Karen Salmansohn)
Be generous: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” (Winston Churchill)
Be mindful: “Life is short, make it sweet.” (Old Dominion)
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These 20 lessons represent a sample of the education I’ve received over two decades in an industry that has given me far more than I could have imagined when I earned that first $100. Our industry offers unique opportunities for freedom, impact, and financial success—but only sustainable if you approach it with intention, systems, and genuine care for both your clients and your fellow professionals. Take what serves you from these lessons, adapt them to your own journey, and remember that building a sustainable business is a marathon, not a sprint. The industry needs your unique voice and perspective, so invest in yourself, support others, and refuse to simply react to circumstances. Instead, craft your career—and your life—with deliberate intention, and become a model for others that extends far beyond your expertise.
In case you missed them, be sure to read the earlier installments in this series:
Part 1 for the foundational lessons that set the stage for sustainable success, and
Part 2 for the systems and strategies that help your speaking business thrive.