Grant Baldwin is the founder of thespeakerlab.com where he teaches speakers how to get booked and paid to speak consistently. We talk about the value that speaking can provide to you and your life, whether you do it full time or just a bit. We discuss the biggest fallacy that stops many people from becoming successful speakers. We also discuss the importance of being GREAT both onstage and offstage, how the best marketing for a speaker is a great speech - (have you ever been to Baja Burrito in Nashville!), and he shares the SPEAK speaker's roadmap: Select a problem to solve. Prepare your talk. Establish yourself as the expert. Acquire paid speaking gigs Know when to scale. We discuss the Bates Equation of Public Speaking and recommend you watch Comedia, a documentary about Seinfeld because it is such a great learning experience. We close out with some of the "messes" of his speaking career and what he learned from them.
Grant Baldwin always enjoyed speaking and helping other people. So much so that he actually went to Bible college and became a youth pastor. He did that for a little while but eventually felt like there was something else he should be doing. While his wife was five months pregnant with their first daughter, he quit his job with no real plan for what he wanted to do with his life.
He felt like he was having a quarter-life crisis.
Grant spent months reading, exploring, and trying to figure out what he was put on this planet to do. He knew some of the things he was good at, and he knew what he enjoyed doing, but he was never sure how it all translated into a career. After several months, Grant decided to start a career as a speaker.
He worked hard and hustled to build his business and get booked to speak.
In the last several years, Grant has been fortunate to speak to audiences all over the country. He has spoken at hundreds of events and has given literally thousands of presentations at conferences, assemblies, conventions, and other events. He has spoken to audiences of just a handful to arenas filled with 13,000 people.
Connect with Grant Baldwin on LinkedIn, and see the great things he's up to at The Speaker Lab