This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Side hustle school episode 2,497. We are almost at 2,500. So excited to be on this journey with you. Thank you for tuning in today. My name's Chris Guillebeau.
Welcome as well to Throwback Thursday. This is a weekly segment conveniently happening every Thursday after Wednesday before Friday, where we take an in-depth look at someone whose story has evolved since we first featured them. Now, last week we heard from a ghostwriter who once specialized in romance novels. She has since broken into the true crime genre. And she shared how some market saturation in the romance genre led her to diversify, find some new success in that new genre.
Today in our latest feature, we'll hear from a longtime event planner who transitions to the world of helping authors and experts get paid speaking gigs. I know a bit about the world of speaking. It's a whole interesting world. We should do a detailed case study on that at some point, the whole art of being an author and expert and getting speaking gigs. But that is what this person helps authors and experts transition to.
So I should get out of the way here and let's hear from the Throwback Thursday feature. So I'm gonna come back at the end with a quick wrap up, but let's hear from someone who helps authors get paid speaking gigs, navigate that process, and what is happening in the second chapter of this person's life, or at least second chapter of this update. All right, speaking agent for authors builds out roster. Let's hand over the mic. [Music]
Hey again, you might remember me from three years ago when I started helping authors and subject matter experts tap into their lucrative paid speaking market.
Since then, a lot has changed. When I last shared my journey, my client list was small, mostly comprised of people in my network. Now, let's dig into the second chapter of this exciting venture. Initially, I was handling everything manually, contracts, scheduling, invoices. It was becoming unsustainable.
So I decided to implement a customer relationship management or CRM system. The software automated most of these processes and freed up a lot of my time. I went with Salesforce because it allowed me to tailor my pipeline to the unique needs of this business. If you're entering the space, don't underestimate the power of automating administrative tasks. It can definitely be a game changer.
On the client acquisition side, I also made some strategic changes. I had been relying on one-to-one consolations to bring in clients. However, I switched to hosting monthly webinars, which also allowed me to reach a larger audience at once. The webinar served as a preview of my consulting services and funneled more qualified leads my way. It took me three tries to nail the right webinar format, but it's been consistent revenue since then.
I usually charge $99 for the sessions, but real value comes from upselling attendees to my more in-depth services later on. One critical aspect I've refined is my pricing model. I initially offered flat rates, which seemed simple, but weren't maximizing my revenue potential. I now employ a value-based pricing model that takes into account the individual needs and budgets of each client. This approach lets me offer more customized solutions and has significantly increased my average deal size.
The industry itself has evolved too, with virtual speaking engagements becoming more accessible. These developments expanded my client pool, as many experts who were hesitant about in-person gigs found this a comfortable first step. But however, this also meant helping clients adapt their presentation skills to a digital format, which became an additional service I offered. Networking is the lifeblood of this business. Conferences and trade shows are where I find most of my high-value clients.
I mean, over the past year, I've managed to foster relationships with event coordinators, who often refer speakers to me for coaching. If you want to operate in this sphere, focus on relationship building, not just with potential clients, but also with the industry stakeholders. I can confidently say the business has more than doubled in revenue since we last spoke, primarily due to these strategic shifts. I've also started offering group coaching sessions at lower price points, giving me a chance to serve clients who can't afford my one-on-one rates. In summary, the second phase of my journey emphasized automation, refined marketing, sophisticated pricing models, and strategic networking.
These are the components that not only sustain my business, but also facilitated its growth. I've been really happy in this role. I'm very glad I followed my original side hustle idea. [Music]
Thanks so much, really appreciate the update. Always great to hear how businesses, side hustles, entrepreneurial projects evolve over time.
I'm a big fan of encouraging you to try new things, try new projects, don't be afraid to adjust strategy, adjust tactics. Your vision often remains the same, but you've got to change things up along the way. Or sometimes you may just change your mind entirely. We have a question from a listener coming up, I think it's in a week or two, about selling their website because they're just not feeling the joy anymore, they've decided to focus on something else in life, and so they want to actually sell the digital asset they've created. So that's also an option as well.
So don't be afraid to evolve or change or grow. And I appreciate the updates here about paid speaking and how it evolves and such. Let me know what you think and who you'd like to see featured from our archives of more than a thousand stories, almost 2,500 total episodes so far. If you have a question or an update for us, sidehustleschool.com/questions. Today's note, sidehustleschool.com/2497.
Thank you so much for being out there. New episodes coming up. My name's Chris Guillebeau, this is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the "Onward Project."
