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Joshua: hey welcome everyone to the wealthy speaker podcast I am so pleased to have the amazing josh shipp back with us josh welcome it is an honor good to see you.

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Jane Atkinson: i'm so happy to see you we haven't had you on the show in a few years, so I wanted to go like right back to the beginning with your story, you know, like tell everybody how you grew up and how that kind of formed your earlier life in speaking.

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Joshua: yeah so I sort of got into speaking in the youth and education market because I had this very you know sort of tumultuous upbringing with lots of difficulty I grew up in that I was abandoned by my biological parents.

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Joshua: I got I was very sort of angry as a kid you know I say what kids don't talk out they act out and that was certainly true for me so.

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Joshua: You know the way I dealt with that anger is I got myself kicked out of.

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Joshua: All my foster homes.

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Joshua: and actually kept score in a notebook and I would try to get kicked out of.

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Joshua: My current foster home quicker than the previous one.

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Joshua: And so.

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Jane Atkinson: The game for you how many foster homes, did you live in.

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Joshua: Altogether 12 to 14 sort of depending on your definition of them So yes, it did become a game to me, as you said it.

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Joshua: As as a vehicle to sort of deal with the psychological and emotional trauma and gain some sort of control.

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Joshua: You know in something that felt so so much out of my control so at 14 i'm moving with what would be my final set of foster parents delightful people loving people.

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Joshua: Key key additive I think relentless people, regardless of how much I pushed back and.

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Joshua: You know, looking back as an adult and the dead now I realize.

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Joshua: Just how terrible in moments I was to them and now how deeply I regret that and then frankly embarrassed of it but.

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Joshua: Eventually, there was a teacher and you know, I imagine, not uncommon to the speaking profession, the way I was sort of dealing with being this foster kid is I developed a sense of humor.

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Joshua: And I realized if I could make my peers laugh, then they were less likely to sort of make fun of my situation.

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Joshua: Right and understandably, this was a disruption to most teachers, but one teacher pulled me out in the hallway.

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Joshua: And said, you know josh you can't act like this, but I do see a gift in you have you ever considered joining speech and debate.

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Joshua: And so I did.

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Joshua: I loved it I got into it, I joined other student leadership organizations and I eventually I grew up in Oklahoma became the State President of that leadership organization.

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Joshua: And this was my entry.

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Joshua: into public speaking, is that I would have to go around I was a high school student, but I would have to go around to the middle schools and give.

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Joshua: The organization was called deca and I would have to give sort of a deca propaganda speech to the middle school kids like hey when you come up to high school there's all sorts of clubs, you can join here's why you should consider deca.

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Joshua: Right and then what would eventually happen is certain teachers would circle back and say hey.

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Joshua: The kids really responded to you, they seem to like you hey you're welcome to come back sometime and you don't even have to talk about deca.

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Joshua: just maybe talk to them about life and things are that are going on, so that was my unknowingly sort of ignorantly backing into the public speaking profession and then having to go and learn the entire business side of it.

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Jane Atkinson: Is there anything other than an accidental speaker I mean, do you know I don't know very many people, maybe a handful of people who said in college or or in high school that's a profession i'm interested in.

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Joshua: Like yeah I know a handful of sort of altruistic cases as you speak of but, but then the other ones that come to mind it's like ooh that's so like manipulated and so calculated that it kind of feels icky as to.

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Joshua: Why they're getting into the profession for.

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Joshua: You know, being on the stage or getting you know the big check which those don't come in the beginning, anyway, so.

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Jane Atkinson: Right right, and you have paid your dues What was your teachers name, who made the difference for you.

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Joshua: Jane sadowsky.

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Jane Atkinson: name was Jay.

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Joshua: Yes, that's that's the only reason I agreed to come on this podcast.

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Joshua: Now ski Irish American making making James look good.

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Jane Atkinson: I love it um you know isn't it funny how one person in your life so i'm gonna give you a little backstory here.

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Jane Atkinson: My step daughter had a baby when she was 18, and so I have a 14 year old grandson who we joke was 10 years premature.

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Jane Atkinson: And he is having some trouble right now, and I was excited to come on I just set up a date for us to bring them up to the lake with us for a weekend, because I feel like he needs somebody just to like really, really, really believe in him.

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Joshua: Indeed, indeed I mean.

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Jane Atkinson: that's what Jane did for you.

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Joshua: She did and and, eventually, you know I look back at Jane I look back at my foster parents rodney and Christine I look back at you know my counselor Dr Harrison i've looked back at that baseball coach.

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Joshua: You know, and eventually my entire message as a speaker would become that.

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Joshua: Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.

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Joshua: so good.

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Joshua: And that's something looking back, I can go, will you know she was the one caring adult he was a one caring adult.

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Joshua: But then, if you dig into the research Harvard did a research, study on it.

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Joshua: they're their exact one sentence was the key difference between you know kids have become a statistic versus a success story is having one stable committed.

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Joshua: Adult in their life, and I think many of us can kind of look back and go, you know, hopefully, you had more than one, but you can at least look back and say I didn't realize it at the time, you know, I was, I was a pain to them at the time, my way at the time but, but they were that one.

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Jane Atkinson: yeah I think my grandson will be doing some apologies when he's.

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Joshua: later on in life, I had to do many, many hours of those.

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Jane Atkinson: Do the apology tour.

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Jane Atkinson: Oh Okay, so all right, you you fall into speaking in this way.

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Jane Atkinson: And you get on to the education circuit the youth and education circuit, I just want to tell people in a an easy This is like road warrior at it's like.

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Jane Atkinson: Times 100 because when you get to a town one school Board will use you but they'll really try to make sure that they get their money's worth and you'll do talk about what a day looks like in an education speakers world now we're talking middle school up to what high school.

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Joshua: Well, I mean the way I define it is speaking to students or educators, but the educator.

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Joshua: That you know, the first five years, I did not speak to educators and school staff that's an entire different message its entire different marketing, but just to just to specify middle school and high school, you know I got into it.

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Joshua: And mainly I would start getting initial invitations locally in Oklahoma just because I was this deck a kid you know they heard about me something that I did, and so yeah I mean my I was starting to get paid speaking at night teen years old, but you're talking about you know 250 bucks.

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Joshua: yeah you know 500 bucks was sort of the first couple years.

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Joshua: of my speaking career and my my my desire to do it was very high my earnestness to do it was very high and my message was extraordinarily undeveloped.

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Joshua: The, the only thing I had going for me was passion and relate ability to the audience merely by default of my age.

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Jane Atkinson: So, by looking back now Is there something that you wish, you would have done sooner.

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Joshua: well.

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Joshua: You know I mean I feel like I just got kind of swept away in it so quickly, I.

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Joshua: didn't want to miss out on the opportunity I was enjoying it when I did.

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Joshua: sort of you know minor research into it, I was like Oh, there are people out there that make a living at this, so I don't want to miss my window of opportunity so looking back on it, I mean the good news is I wasn't saying anything egregious that you as a parent or teacher would.

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Joshua: wildly disagree with whatsoever it's just looking back it's like you know my message wasn't that helpful, it was sort of like.

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Joshua: entertaining anecdotes that I could relate to, because I was still a teenager they were a teenager and then sort of some success or repost or quotes.

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Joshua: Right sprinkled in there.

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Jane Atkinson: Let me talk about that for a second, because I think it's not uncommon for people to deliver book reports when they become speakers okay so you've read some motivational books.

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Jane Atkinson: Yes, and you decided that you wanted to speak and and you know who I see this with is an athlete's.

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Jane Atkinson: They kind of somehow don't recognize that their own personal story is the most important part of what you know that's why they're hiring is you, is for you, for you people don't want a book report, they want to know what you personally have experienced in now.

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Joshua: Yes, yeah I mean, I can tell you that anecdotally and now qualitatively now I run a speaker's bureau in the education.

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Joshua: world and we book, you know 1000 paid engagements each year and and the hardest thing to do, as a speaker, but the most effective thing to do is to be yourself.

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Joshua: is to bring you know, whatever sense of humor you do or don't have just all of that.

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Joshua: In service of the audience but.

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Joshua: That is the most terrifying thing to do when you get started, so what I did is it's like you know it's like i'm going to be Ziegler, but if he was 19.

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Joshua: You know i'm going to be i'm going to be this proven entity of a speaker that I saw you know if they were 19 so you.

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Joshua: Know part of me wishes that you could skip over that phase and maybe some people can, if your strategic intentional enough hire a coach do the homework.

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Joshua: You know, but for some folks maybe that is just a phase that you have to pass through and like looking back at your middle school photos you're like what was I thinking like.

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Oh.

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Jane Atkinson: My goodness I can't believe anyone hired me, are you kidding me.

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Joshua: But.

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Jane Atkinson: You know, this really is a good conversation about finding your identity, and I have seen it over and over again, when someone steps into their truest most authentic self.

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Jane Atkinson: Is when it's almost like they put out this vibration, to the universe that says, I have something really cool and really unique because it's only me.

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Jane Atkinson: Yes, then the world responds with bookings.

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Joshua: Yes, yeah.

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Joshua: Because now you're a product category of one.

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Joshua: But I mean you know, I think, looking back working on that message and delivery and being comfortable in yourself.

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Joshua: That is so incredibly hard because it's so wrapped up in your emotional psychology of you know why why aren't you comfortable being yourself why.

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Joshua: Why are you only skating over your personal story of foster care, instead of going deep into it and talking about the emotions and not expecting the audience to extrapolate the lessons.

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Joshua: But having the personal healing where you can speak about it.

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Joshua: From a place of you're you're healed you're not still hurt and you can extrapolate the lessons and hand them to them to to your point I think some folks look at the youth and education industry as well, this is an easy place to get started.

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Joshua: I would say it is all the difficulty.

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Joshua: of presenting in the corporate market.

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Joshua: Yes, you know.

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Joshua: One half to one fourth of the budget.

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Jane Atkinson: that's.

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Joshua: It that's the frank reality.

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Jane Atkinson: it's not easy for sure, and what I was alluding to earlier is they work you so you might come in and maybe three school districts are sharing you so you're you're you're doing multiple events, every day, sometimes.

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Jane Atkinson: Those kinds of things are you booking today, you said you do 100 bookings a year with your speaker's bureau.

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Jane Atkinson: which by the way, tell everybody, the name of that congratulate.

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Joshua: Oh, thank you it's top you speakers.

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Joshua: Top you speakers calm I started that five years ago.

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Joshua: And yeah we do not 100 but 1000 paid bookings each year and we only have a roster of 30 speakers.

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Joshua: they're all exclusive so that we can handle the marketing and administrative side of things, so that they can solely focus.

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Jane Atkinson: A lot of things for speakers and that holy cow.

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Joshua: It is and that's 1000 contracts, so to speak to your point of like you know, often a district will work you hard so you know I said I got started in 19 doing $250 speeches by the time i'm roughly 24.

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Okay.

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Joshua: i'm doing about $250,000 a year.

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Joshua: yeah but.

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Jane Atkinson: How many speeches, is that.

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Joshua: that's 100 dates.

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Joshua: You know, at about 2500 bucks a pop and a typical day would be two to four presentations.

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Jane Atkinson: yeah yeah.

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Joshua: So a typical day could be.

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Joshua: speak at the middle school twice at the high school because we can't fit them all in the auditorium at once, and then in that evening we want you to speak to the parents, you know, or you know, in the afternoon you're going to you know pull together our student Council or leadership kids.

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Joshua: And there's going to be a bit more Q amp a, so it is, I mean the bad news is they work too hard The good news is, if you get your REPS in.

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Joshua: And with suit you know now.

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Joshua: When I do occasionally speak it's only to educators and staff and that even if you're not great.

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Joshua: they'll be super polite like worst case they're just going to.

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Joshua: pull out their phone kind of check out.

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Jane Atkinson: This is, educators and staff.

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Joshua: Not school staff yeah.

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Joshua: Like on it with middle school and high school, you will like they will just talk.

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Joshua: You will get heckled.

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Joshua: They will throw things at you, I mean it can it the feedback loop is instant and there were times when I was getting good and earning the right for my speech to be good.

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Joshua: There were three or four instances genuinely were three minutes into a 60 minute speech it's like this is going to be the most painful hour of my life, even if I was getting paid, you know Bernie brown money like 80 grand to give the speech it like no I would.

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Joshua: This is our.

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Joshua: And then I would like cry for half hour afterwards.

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Joshua: And i'm a very pragmatic like non emotional person, and then I would say that is it.

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Joshua: I am done.

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Joshua: Now, forget about this, so the feedback loop.

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Jane Atkinson: Cry what happened at the three minute mark that made you think this is going to be incredibly painful there was just a zero connection like where do you think people can make the biggest mistakes, if they are speaking to youth speakers.

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Joshua: Okay, so there's there's there's.

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Joshua: there's two parts of this first is all the premeditated elements, meaning being professional enough that you politely demand a certain setting like AV requirements.

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Joshua: People brush us off because they're like I don't want to be a diva and.

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Joshua: My response to that is you're being a diva if you ask for it last minute.

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Joshua: You communicate it.

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Joshua: At the three month mark, where we signed the contract.

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Joshua: or one month ahead of time hey just want to remind you of this, you know couple weeks before in the call hey not trying to be difficult, but these three things.

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Joshua: really make a big difference.

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Joshua: yeah i'm not trying to be difficult.

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Jane Atkinson: But those things.

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Joshua: So, for example in a gym you want all the students on one side, not on both sides.

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Joshua: Right in a gym which is made for basketball not communication.

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Joshua: hey go grab those stand up speakers that are in the band room and let me speak through those instead of the ones, out of the ceiling.

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Joshua: which are going to bounce all over the place.

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Jane Atkinson: Okay, good.

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Joshua: So half of the equation is being professional enough and systematic enough in treating each good with that level of intentionality and respect.

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Jane Atkinson: Right.

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Joshua: That you get yourself into a system where you're.

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Joshua: or or a environment where you're more likely to connect.

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Joshua: And then the second component is the speech.

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Joshua: And what I have found works best with students is in the beginning, if you can have self deprecating humor at all, you know sort of you know they're coming in expecting to be preached at lectured spoken down to.

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Joshua: You know yelled at you know stay off drugs, you know get the College, you know pull your pants up these sorts of things.

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Joshua: So anything.

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Joshua: anything you can do to.

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Joshua: Appropriately self deprecating make fun of yourself and to combat what they're expecting.

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Joshua: Surprise them suck them in.

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Joshua: then get vulnerable, so you start you get vulnerable, so you start funny.

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Joshua: Then you get vulnerable and then now you have earned the right to extrapolate hey here's how my story relates to you what about you and your life, and how are you.

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Joshua: People who can do that.

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Joshua: And i've seen people do it.

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Joshua: In 100 different flavors.

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Joshua: But if you can make them laugh make them cry and give them hope.

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Joshua: They will, unlike the corporate audience.

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Joshua: If you nail the speech.

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Joshua: And I have friends who are phenomenal corporate speakers i've done a handful of corporate speeches they've gone quite well that's not a world i'm interested in, but was student, they will treat you like the Beatles they will line up a mile long afterwards.

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Joshua: tell you, thank you to.

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Joshua: genuinely say hey I was going through a tough time this was super appreciate it, you know i'm very appreciative of this.

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Jane Atkinson: isn't that night.

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Joshua: So the response in both if you ain't good like they're going to give it to you, and if you are good they're going to give it to you is really unprecedented.

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Jane Atkinson: Lots of love lots of left what you were talking about though disarming them with self deprecating humor and the the scenario all of that is good, regardless of who you're speaking to I think that when you open with something that self.

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Jane Atkinson: deprecating you do disarm and you say I don't take myself very seriously and i'm not here to preach to you like it sets the stage for a lot of audiences there's a lot of audiences who would appreciate that so.

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Jane Atkinson: that's a good one, that regard.

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Joshua: Agreed agreed.

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Joshua: Now speaking to educators and staff, I actually take a slightly different approach do.

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Joshua: sort of I sort of very serious I get right to the moment of vulnerability.

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Joshua: I try to within the first three minutes deliver one of my best takeaways because I, I think the posture of a student is.

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Joshua: skepticism.

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and

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Joshua: A worry of irrelevance.

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Joshua: Okay, so you kind of win them over that way, I think the posture in interviewing.

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Joshua: In serving educators and school staff is you know what does the speaker know they don't spend day in, day out in a classroom.

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Joshua: I.

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Joshua: With educators and staff, I tried to get to the point of like hey this guy's got some things to say, and then I started sprinkling in self deprecating humor and like now we're off to the races.

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Jane Atkinson: Give them a little gold first.

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Jane Atkinson: Yes, and disarm them I love that approach josh this is.

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Joshua: The way I think about it honestly if, like if I think if I was a band if I was like ranked my most popular songs i'm not playing songs number one, but I am giving them song number two in the first three minutes, like, I want to prove to them i'm not messing around.

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Joshua: This is going to be valuable, this is going to be worth.

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Joshua: The 6090 minutes of your time.

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Jane Atkinson: This is so good, I have so many questions for you, and so many things to unpack, let me just look at my notes and see if there.

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Joshua: was a.

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Jane Atkinson: thing in here that I think what is worthwhile um.

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Joshua: Well, I have something that's kind of interesting dancing around what we're talking about yeah so we did i'm talking about the importance of getting the speech right, I mean that's a lot of what we're talking about whether it be with.

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Joshua: Students or with educators and and staff folks at work with students so for our for agency, we surveyed 1300 of our clients so roughly you know year and a quarters of our clients and and got them to articulate what was the single decision point of you hiring X speaker.

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Joshua: So and and rough and.

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Joshua: Like 88% of them came back with one of the following four categories.

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Jane Atkinson: You tell.

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Joshua: us all of these point back to the common denominator of the quality of the speech but.

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Joshua: Number one I the decision maker so i'm the superintendent.

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Joshua: Right saw that person speak.

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Joshua: And knew we had to have them so that's that's.

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Jane Atkinson: Your has got to be.

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Joshua: For sure.

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Jane Atkinson: One business builder and if it's not happening.

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Joshua: The speech is broken.

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Jane Atkinson: His speech, we do examine the speech, there is no better form of marketing than a great speech and that's why you were able to build such an amazing book of business so quickly.

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Jane Atkinson: Even though you're saying you weren't super super good, you must have had something, because the business came in the repeat business.

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Joshua: Yes, yes, and I eventually got good, but the first couple years just being honest, it was it was Okay, it was okay all right so so category number one.

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Joshua: I the decision maker saw you speak right so so I saw you and I am the final say I can sign the check I can send contract.

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Joshua: Yes, way number to someone one seat away from me, the decision maker.

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Jane Atkinson: mm hmm.

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Joshua: Maybe my assistant principal.

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Joshua: Yes, i'll you speak then circle back to me but.

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Joshua: But then I want to, I want to ask trick that one because of these next two categories so that's category two or four.

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Joshua: Category three or four I the decision maker saw a video not live of you speaking.

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Joshua: And I was impressed or number four someone one seed away from me so video of you speaking, was impressed forwarded it to me now the interesting thing is, if someone one seat away from you.

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Joshua: From the final decision maker sees you speak you almost think Well, this is a done deal, but at least in the youth and education world here's what happens so let's pretend Jane you're my boss.

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Joshua: Right you're the superintendent you're the final say.

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Joshua: On the assistant principal.

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Joshua: And I see I see you know, Michelle speak she's unbelievable we got to have her she's great.

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Joshua: I come back to you, I say all this she's great exactly what our students need to hear exactly what our staff needs to hear, even though you trust me.

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Joshua: Yes, here's the big thing in the education world.

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Joshua: they're not risking their money.

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Joshua: they're risking their reputation.

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Joshua: As a superintendent if I put you up in front of our 2000 students or our staff and it isn't a home run.

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Joshua: Like I don't care about the five grand eight grand 12 grand.

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Joshua: I got to do with the blowback so what you're going to do is you're going to go watch the video just to make sure and typically what happens is the person in person, indeed, is a nine out of 10 speaker yeah.

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Joshua: And you heard that when I came back from the COMP they're great we got to have them.

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Joshua: You go watch the video.

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Joshua: Very common with folks we work with the video is a six out of 10.

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Joshua: A seven out of 10 so now there becomes this chasm between my enthusiasm and your due diligence.

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Jane Atkinson: become skeptical.

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Joshua: And so, if you can close that gap where step one work on the speech.

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Joshua: You know, make sure the in person speeches as good as humanly possible because there's no video editing or trickery you can do to solve.

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Joshua: For a speech that's lacking, but then secondly intentionally strategically obsessive Lee focus on that video you know when I say we're doing 1000 bookings a year.

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Joshua: Our internal research shows.

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Joshua: 85% of those are either from speaking on that stage, or that video that's why we, those are really the only two marketing elements we obsess about.

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Jane Atkinson: That is so, in what you're talking about crosses into all industries, no but everybody's reputation is on the line.

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Jane Atkinson: mm hmm, especially in corporate.

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Jane Atkinson: You know the VP tells the President, you need to get this person, and then it doesn't go over well that.

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Jane Atkinson: That could be ending I mean that could be very, very bad thing right and so reputation is always on the line and I love this decision making this the one seat away.

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Jane Atkinson: idea so good, and your emphasis on making sure that your video is indicative of your talent.

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Jane Atkinson: Yes, not not spend the money on the video because you think something else will be more important it won't.

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Joshua: And I remember one time very early in her.

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Jane Atkinson: career trajectory kendra hall had an idea will speak for video so well before she was getting the 30 K speaking fees she might have taken five in order to get this absolutely.

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Jane Atkinson: Big stage footage because that three camera shoot with audience reactions, is going to do the trick for you there's a lot of ways, so that phrase will speak for video becomes more and more important.

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yeah.

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Jane Atkinson: Long videos we're talking under three minutes right.

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Joshua: yeah I mean most of our videos that we create.

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Joshua: Are between five and seven minutes and two things i'll say about this.

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Joshua: Number one what I tend to see well intended speakers do is they go well i'm a great speaker so what I need to do is I need to go find a great videographer.

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Joshua: And then I put my trust in them to make the video.

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Joshua: This you will inevitably get a great video, but not a persuasive or priests waste of video to the decision maker, so you need to think of yourself as a speaker, as both the talent, yes you're the one in the shoot but you're also the director.

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Joshua: know your client, you know your customer you know the decision making rubric not the videographer and nor should they.

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Joshua: And then, and that leads to why kind of the five to seven minute range is you'll see some videos that are awesome like you know here you are being interviewed by oprah or whatever and it's like.

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Joshua: You understand i'm not hiring you for an interview.

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Joshua: that's not the due diligence on.

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Jane Atkinson: A game yeah.

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Joshua: I need to see you know we talked about those best songs like I.

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Joshua: Do not my best advice put the best stuff in there.

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Joshua: Yes, i'm.

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Jane Atkinson: hide it don't keep it concealed we made that mistake with vince pesenti he would get up on the chair and demonstrate what it was like to speed ski at the Olympics at 150 miles an hour and I thought originally when we first got together that seeing him on the Chair would scare people.

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Jane Atkinson: I thought they would be like that guy doing is he crazy.

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Jane Atkinson: And so, but as soon as we recognize that that was a mistake let's bump it up to the very beginning that's the best song.

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Jane Atkinson: Indeed, to the very beginning we're not giving away, you know the the gold on the preview video everything changed.

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Joshua: Indeed it's impossible to give away the gold, I mean.

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Joshua: Even in schools where if you're quite good, I mean the youth and education fee elasticity if you're quite good if somewhere between 20 $515,000.

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Joshua: that's that's sort of the range.

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Joshua: Put the golden there, because if a school is so budget strap that that they can't do any of that range.

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Joshua: What the worst case they're going to show your five minute video in a classroom they were never going to bring you in anyway.

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Joshua: yeah for all of those schools and organizations and nonprofits that work with youth that are qualified to do have the budget.

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Joshua: Again, they don't want to risk their reputation, so they you know they're worried about what are you actually going to say to our students, what are you going to say to our staff.

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Joshua: Because again reputation and want this to go well, I don't want parent blowback you know if you're funny I want to see some of that funny so I understand it's like PG PG 13 because, as a principal I get you need to engage the kids.

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Joshua: But you know I don't want parents calling me up mad because you made you made some inappropriate joke to their kid and now they're telling the parent about it, there are lots of subtleties.

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Joshua: You know the make the the youth and education industry a joy, but also, you know there's there's different externalities in there.

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Jane Atkinson: let's talk.

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Jane Atkinson: The idea of not putting your top three songs in the DEMO video I liken that back to being a decision based in fear.

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Jane Atkinson: just give it to them yeah.

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Jane Atkinson: yeah so So what if they show it to all their teachers and students and they don't pay, you who cares.

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Jane Atkinson: yeah yeah yeah exactly gonna destroy the church directory of your career, no, no.

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Jane Atkinson: let's just go ahead and put it in there um talk a little bit about your average booking fee level right now I know you're being worked really.

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Jane Atkinson: Hard during a day, but what might a day rate be in the youth and education again let's just clarify we're talking what elementary middle school high school, but not college right.

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Joshua: We do book college stuff, but most of our most of our stuff is K through 12 school.

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Joshua: Students or the educators.

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Joshua: So so i'll talk you through those and and let's for all these examples i'm going to give you let's say that you're a.

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Joshua: Eight out of 10 speaker.

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Joshua: Okay, with a eight out of 10 DEMO video.

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Joshua: Okay, good so let's let's have those two underlining assumptions.

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Joshua: In elementary.

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Joshua: This is a space you're going to get work the hardest just because of budget and size and venue most middle schools and high schools, a lot of them have a nice.

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Joshua: 800 seat auditorium.

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Joshua: thousand seat gym most elementary schools, do not have this so it's simply out of a you know limited space.

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Joshua: If you are that eight out of 10 speaker in the elementary space you're going to command 2000 to 20 503,000 for a bay and you're probably going to speak two to four times.

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Okay.

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Joshua: middle school high school if you're that eight out of 10 speaker you're going to do 123 school assemblies in a day.

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Joshua: And you're gonna get paid three to five grand.

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Joshua: Or you defy hmm.

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Joshua: If you're an eight out of 10 speaker for college you're not a celebrity nor micro celebrity that's known for something.

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Joshua: you're going to get four to seven.

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Joshua: Okay, and if you're speaking to.

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Joshua: educators and school staff.

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Joshua: And you're the eight out of 10 you're going to get.

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Joshua: Eight to $15,000.

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Joshua: Okay, for and that's typically for one speech.

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Jane Atkinson: that's good that's very, very helpful, I think, for a lot of people who might be thinking about dipping the toe in the water, or maybe they're just saying nope i'm good i'm going to stay here in corporate.

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Jane Atkinson: A lot of people in my world will come up through education and then transfer over to corporate and it makes perfect sense, but what I know about those people is that they they have proven themselves over and over.

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Joshua: And over sure.

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Jane Atkinson: They are road warriors they know how to do it, they know how to book and the business, and now they just need to transfer their knowledge over to doing it in corporate and it's not always easy, I know I know you know that.

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Jane Atkinson: Well josh shipp um if somebody wanted to let's say they like to be considered as one of your exclusives what should they do you have a process for that.

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Joshua: yeah I mean we we get about 300 applications, a year and we tend to take on one speaker, a year after.

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Joshua: 12 months of due diligence.

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Jane Atkinson: Oh wow okay.

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Joshua: So, because the way I built the Bureau is I was represented by a couple bureaus coming up as a speaker.

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Jane Atkinson: And I built it can imagine, this is uncommon around the things i'm most appreciated about certain bureaus and the things it was like as a little frustrating like.

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Joshua: You know if I was to build my thing I would do it this way, so we deploy all the marketing and we pay for all the marketing.

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Joshua: Okay, you know, so our thing is like hey if you literally just want to be the talent.

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Joshua: And you want to spend your days.

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Joshua: Working on your next speech, making the current speech better.

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Joshua: You know, searching a book writing a book out parts of things that actually lift the business will handle.

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Joshua: Everything and marketing administrative business, so I mean, like any bureau, we want to see that you've booked I mean in our world probably 40 grand of your own business.

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Joshua: And it's not.

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Joshua: exclusively about the money but it's about.

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Joshua: If you've booked 40 grand of your own business, it means like I had to go through at 19 2021 years old.

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Joshua: You have slowly painfully.

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Joshua: figure out.

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Joshua: How to articulate what you do and your actual message.

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Jane Atkinson: yeah that's the scoreboard right, I mean you've paid your dues and.

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Jane Atkinson: Yes, we've got a number that allows us to see that.

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Joshua: So our typical like success story and folks that were.

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Joshua: Really lethal with is someone who's doing 80 grand a year on their own, they work with us and by year, two or three they're doing 250 grand and all they got to do is show up and do what they love.

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Jane Atkinson: I love it that's really good let's say the name of your Bureau again.

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Joshua: Sure, its top youth.

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Jane Atkinson: Speakers hop youth speakers COM.

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Joshua: that's correct.

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Jane Atkinson: Okay josh shipp you are always.

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Jane Atkinson: a wealth of knowledge it's so great, to talk to you i'm so excited for you in this adventure how how long is.

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Joshua: that the Bureau for for five for five years now and.

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Jane Atkinson: that's how long it's been since we've talked so well there you go and I love it because.

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Joshua: It was like i'm not interested in corporate my heart because of that foster kids story.

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Joshua: I shared is with educators and I thought you know I wish I had someone like me who could who could have guided me.

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Joshua: On both like you know what are you actually saying and your message and the business side of it so it's it's and if you don't check out the site.

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Joshua: folks can see some examples of kind of what we were talking about with the video that's five to seven minutes and making sure you give away the gold.

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Jane Atkinson: Okay, I love it Thank you so much josh shipp I know you listening at home will have taken a page of notes on this one, hopefully you're not driving.

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Jane Atkinson: There was a lot of gold in them there hills Thank you again for your time and with that we'll say see you soon wealthy speakers bye for now everyone.