Moving My Professional Speaking Business to Florida Was a Challenge
Developing My Professional Speaker Business
As a keynote speaker, I travel a lot. Sometimes, I present at 5+ events in a month. And, I’m often asked to present an interactive breakout or pre-conference session too. It’s a blast and something that I’m very good at doing. But it wasn’t always that way. I connected and communicated with speakers better than me. Most had a nugget that I could implement into my business and many were kind enough to offer up their time. I was grateful. Learning the ropes can be a challenge.
I wrote two books and wanted additional sales and publicity. Speaking professionally would give me the foundation I needed, the platform I desired and connections/mentors that would help propel me forward. As my keynotes became popular, I continually polished the content and worked tirelessly behind the scene to become an elite speaker. It took time, hundreds and hundreds of presentations and breakout sessions began to lead to more opportunity- more keynotes.
The more I spoke, the more I’d get hired or requests to present a keynote at a state or national conference. Corporate speaking was easy for me as my background included 25 years of award-winning sales and management at a Berkshire Hathaway company. And, the corporate opportunities began to come my way too.
Moving to Florida
To a degree, moving to Florida upset the apple cart. New contacts needed to be made. New prospecting, sales and marketing from a new location were essential if I was to continue growing my professional speaker business. Once again, I reached out to other speakers, immersed myself in the Florida speaking community and worked behind the scenes because it was my business and new and existing clients were going to hire me, regardless of my move.
Selling a home, downsizing some possessions and moving 1500 miles is both daunting and liberating. Less clutter, Florida sunshine, and new speaker friends to connect with proved to be a good thing.
As I prepare for a pre-conference presentation that leads into a closing keynote presentation for an event of 1500 people in two weeks, I remind myself to respect, admire and appreciate my journey. I am fortunate to be a full-time professional speaker. I am honored to speak at 40+ conferences and events a year. And, I’m going to a Florida beach this weekend to celebrate!
What are you proud of professionally? What goals have you set and reached? Have you congratulated yourself for accomplishing them? You should, ‘cause you did great!
Continue the Leadership Conversation
The ideas in this article are part of a broader conversation about leadership, employee retention, workplace AI, and organizational change. Scott helps organizations across healthcare, government, manufacturing, financial services, technology, human resources, safety, early childhood education, and professional associations develop stronger leaders and build more engaged workplaces.
Explore Scott’s keynote programs:
- Leadership Speaker – Build stronger leaders, improve communication, and create high-performing teams.
- Employee Retention Keynote Speaker – Strengthen engagement, reduce turnover, and build workplaces where employees want to stay.
- Workplace AI Speaker – Help leaders and employees prepare for the future of work while keeping people at the center of organizational success.
- Change Management Speaker – Equip leaders with practical strategies for navigating disruption and leading organizational change with confidence.
