This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Let's talk about public speaking as a side hustle. Let's talk about talking for money. Today's listener wants to get paid for public speaking and he's got a good story to share. He's really passionate about it, but does he need a more specific topic? That's what he's wondering.
So I've got some general commentary, a specific response and a referral to a couple of people I know who've done very, very well with speaking as a paid side hustle, actually now paid full time. So if you're interested in doing the same, you should follow them and watch what they do. We'll get into all of those things in today's episode. Can I pursue public speaking as a side hustle? [Music]
Hi Chris, my name is Galen Elmore from Minneapolis, Minnesota and I've been listening to the show for a couple months now.
And I'm just thankful for this resource that we have as a lot of us stumble our way through having a side hustle. So I've been public speaking for some years now and I've just recently began actively pursuing it as a side hustle. I believe that I have a very unique story to tell that would allow me to speak to a very wide range of audiences. But what I've picked up for me listening to you over time is that having a specific category or niche to fill is better. So what I'm wondering is the same true for public speaking.
I've created my website, I've sent out cold and warm emails and I've taken a ton of other steps making this side hustle work. But I seem to continue to stumble over the topic or genre that I want to fit into. I ask this because I truly feel like my story, experience, qualifications, and resume have the ability to cover a vast amount of different speaking opportunities, not just specialized ones. And I don't want to take myself out of job opportunities just because I was so narrow and specific. So yeah, any other advice you would have for someone getting into public speaking would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Chris. - Galen, what's up? Thank you so much for calling in and for this detailed message. I spent some time taking a look at your website. Love what you're doing, I love the approach.
So let's talk about how perhaps you might reach more people and maybe hone this message a bit. In fact, that's where I think we should start. What is your message? So not just for Galen, but for anybody out there who might want to one day get paid to do public speaking or is just curious about how it works, this is the number one question. I think far more important than the genre thing, the niche thing.
Just imagine that you're in front of a large group of engaged listeners. Like all these people are there, they're happy people, they've had their coffee and they're ready to take notes. Like they're looking at you. What do you tell them? What is your truth?
And that I think is far more important ultimately than finding that niche per se. It is how will your talk change people's lives in a positive way. And ultimately that is what people want. We're talking this week about how to give people what they want. I often think that the model for motivational speaking, that whole thing is kind of backwards.
People are like, how can I be a motivational speaker? And I'm like, well, if you believe in something and are passionate about it and could communicate that well, that is motivational, like that is it. You don't have to try to put the icing on top of it. Alternatively, go do something that is epic and amazing or at least interesting. And then you have something to talk about.
So Galen in his case, he clearly has a personal story. He's doing pretty well and posting on his Instagram every day. Be sure to check out his website, it's galenspeaks.com. Galen is spelled G-A-E-L-I-N, so galenspeaks.com. And what I think needs to happen here is sharpening that message a bit.
It's not really clear on the website. There's a lot of language about big concepts, but not a lot of specific takeaway. And so I don't think, you know, Galen's question about, should I really try to, you know, niche down and then worry about losing something else? So he used to be a football player, an elite college football player, and then I think was drafted or even signed with a pro team. So I don't think the answer is like, Galen, you know, talks about one aspect of playing football at the elite college level, so much as it is, you know, this is what people will take away or feel after one of his talks.
And then a couple of practical things. He's got a video on his website, which of course is critical and important in this world, but it's pretty long. I think it's about eight minutes. So I would suggest cutting that way down, just showing off some highlights, showing off the shorter one. You know, this business also runs by referral.
So again, on giving people what they want, what do event planners, HR managers, anybody who hires speakers want? They wanna know first of all that you're reliable. They don't have to worry about anything. They also want to know that you're gonna provide a great experience for the audience. So any way that you can reinforce that feeling, provide that reassurance from a distance is good.
And before I go, I had two referrals for you, two people that have done very well in this industry, kind of starting with a very similar goal to what Galen has. One of them is Michelle Polar, her Instagram account, which is the best way to check out what she's doing, is Hello Fears. So hello, A-T-L-L-O, fears, F-E-A-R-S. She's originally from Venezuela, now living in the US, travels and speaks just about every week. She had a really cool project long ago, 100 Days of Fear, or conquering 100 of her fears, and now she travels and speaks about that.
Another guy is Ryan Avery, and for him, I think you should check out his website, RyanAvery.com, R-Y-A-N-A-V-E-R-Y.com, because his website is very much geared toward getting people to hire him to speak. And he's got lots of information, lots of testimonials. It's really, really clear what you're gonna get when you hire him to come. So I think that might be a good site to emulate or at least derive some inspiration from. Thank you again, Galen.
Let us know how it goes. And listeners, if you got a question, just come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. This was episode 11.61. We've got more coming up tomorrow, so be sure you are subscribed. It is completely free.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
