Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Leisa Reid, Founder of Get Speaking Gigs Now, located in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

You've probably heard that public speaking is a powerful way to build your business and attract your ideal clients. But even if you have a desire to be a speaker, you might not know what to talk about, where to go to find gigs, or how to offer your services on stage without sounding salesy.

As the Founder of Get Speaking Gigs Now, I mentor professionals who want to use speaking to grow their business. Clients who work closely with me "Get Their Talk Ready to Rock" and build their speaking skills and confidence through the Speaker's Training Academy. As a speaker myself, I've booked and delivered over 600 speaking engagements. I teach my clients all the strategies I use so they can get booked, stay booked, and monetize their talks.

Tell us about yourself

As a child of two former teachers, it was no accident that I also dreamed of becoming a teacher. That is what speaking feels like to me - teaching. And from my first public speech to my entire middle school at the age of 13 to my first day in college, when I heard I could major in Speech Communication, I was hooked. I ended up getting both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Speech Communication - and had the honor of teaching Interpersonal Communication at Cal State Fullerton University in my 20s.

After completing my Master's degree, I decided that although I LOVED teaching, I didn't feel called to continue on the path of becoming a college professor. And the path I ended up on was unexpected and extremely valuable. This was back in the early 90s; I remember looking for jobs in the newspaper's classified section, mailing in paper resumes and cover letters for Corporate Training jobs. One day, I had a meeting with a recruiter, and he said, "You should be in sales!" I immediately disagreed, but he was a better salesperson than I was, and guess what? I ended up in sales! This ultimately led me to various positions throughout my career with amazing companies and to learn the power of consistency, listening, and relationships. But what about my passion for teaching? What was I going to do with my degrees? Well, I will admit, no matter where my career led me, I always managed to write manuals to make everyone's lives easier, be asked to speak, and lead meetings and trainings.

In my late 30s, I was fortunate to have participated in some deep personal growth work with a privately held company here in Southern California. I had experienced massive results from this work and was intent on creating a life that felt in alignment with my own inner voice. As luck would have it, they were looking for someone to handle their business development. And guess what? My role would be to speak about mindset to groups of people and invite them to take workshops so they could create more extraordinary lives. That is how I became a speaker at 40 - only a mere 16 years after getting my Master's degree! I remember starting out - I had ZERO clients and ZERO speaking gigs. BUT, remember all of that sales training? I had that. AND I had something else even more potent. I had a passion for what I was offering. Remember, I had experienced massive results from my work - I couldn't wait to see the results that other people would get.

In that first year, I booked 83 speaking gigs in my local area and invited hundreds of people to participate in personal growth workshops. This translated to thousands of dollars in sales (that kept growing year after year). Along the way, I founded the OC Speakers Network (OC stands for Orange County because, at the time, we would meet in person in Orange County, California - and yes, you can imagine it in sunny California - we literally met in a beautiful location directly facing the Pacific Ocean). I created the OC Speakers Network so that people had a place to connect, learn and collaborate with each other. Networking for speakers was different from other networking groups. The leads we were looking for were different - we wanted speaking gigs! You know how sometimes you get an expected result? That's what happened to me from the OC Speakers Network. Speakers kept asking me how I got all of my speaking gigs. I have averaged 60 gigs a year for many years. They were seeing me on stages everywhere and wanted to know the secret sauce. Initially, I told them I didn't have time to teach them what I did. It wasn't that I didn't want to, but I realized it was more than just a couple of magic beans. Although what I did was duplicatable, it was also a combination of strategies that would take longer than a few minutes to explain.

A couple of years passed, and I was on the phone with one of the members of the OC Speakers Network. He asked me to tell him about my speaking coaching business. I said, "I don't have one." We finished our conversation, and I decided, at that moment, that I was open for business. By the next day, my speaking coaching business, Get Speaking Gigs Now, was born. Have you ever really leaned into your zone of genius? I know that when I have that experience, the words pour out of me easily, and I feel in "flow." It's like, "FINALLY, I'm home!"

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I've now given over 600 talks (at the time of this writing) and have coached many powerful, intelligent, confident professionals who are heart-centered and truly want to make an impact with their message in the Speaker's Training Academy.

One of my favorite things to do is help fellow speakers give birth to their talks through my "Get Your Talk Ready to Rock" sessions. That's where the magic begins! It's where YOUR message comes to life and is given to others who can benefit. Soooo yummy!

AND getting your talk ready to rock is just the beginning. I'm there every step of the way as my clients get "ready to be ready" and really announce themselves as speakers and learn how to turn on a continuous faucet of speaking referrals because you can use the power of speaking for the rest of your career (and for the rest of your life if you want to)! You can have the best talk in the world, but if no one hears it, then it won't do any good for the world.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

I think one of the biggest challenges of being a business owner is learning how to let go of tasks and allow other people to help. It takes both trust and time to train other people.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Get clear on what you love to do (delegate the rest).
  2. Read "Profit First" by Mike Michaelwicz and follow it!
  3. Monetize your knowledge through speaking, coaching, and digital courses.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

If you have the sense that you're meant to share your knowledge in order to make an impact on the world, visit https://GetSpeakingGigsNow.com and get your free copy of the 5 Top Tips to Get More Speaking Gigs Now.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://getspeakinggigsnow.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/getspeakinggigsnow/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getspeakinggigsnow/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/leisareidspeaks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leisareid/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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