The Speaker Lab Podcast

How to Find and Maintain Excellence in the Speaking Industry with Jon Acuff

Mar 4, 2025

Jon Acuff, a renowned speaker and author, dives into the intricacies of excelling in the speaking industry. He shares insights on transitioning from a solopreneur to a business owner, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and community engagement. Jon discusses his successful speaking model, the balance between keynote speeches and longer training sessions, and how pushing beyond comfort zones fosters growth. He also addresses the challenges of honest self-assessment and shares strategies for creating engaging content, including live events that enhance audience interaction.

48:42

Episode guests

Jon Acuff

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Constantly facing challenges that exceed your current skill set is essential for maintaining excellence in the speaking industry.

Transitioning from a solopreneur to a scalable business model through partnerships can unlock new growth opportunities and enhance sustainability.

Hosting live events allows speakers to foster deeper connections with audiences while showcasing their expertise and enhancing community engagement.

Deep dives

The Key to Booking Paid Speaking Gigs

To secure more paid speaking engagements, it's essential to focus on creating a powerful marketing asset that showcases one's value. A notable example is cited where a speaker booked over $36,000 in gigs before even having a website, underscoring the power of effective marketing strategies. The podcast details a live training opportunity designed to teach aspiring speakers how to craft this marketing asset, emphasizing that understanding how to present oneself can drastically enhance booking chances. This practical approach enables speakers to prioritize what truly matters to get noticed and hired.

Intro

2min

The Paradox of Close Friends and Professional Speaking Success

2min

Navigating the Dynamics of Speaking Engagements and Training Sessions

2min

Transitioning from Solopreneur to Business Owner: The Journey of Hosting a Live Event

3min

From Solopreneur to Business Partner

16min

Navigating the Speaking Landscape

14min

The Art of Engaging Speaking

10min

“You have to regularly find things where the challenge exceeds the skill set."

In this week’s episode of The Speaker Lab Podcast, speaker and author Jon Acuff joins Grant to talk about the challenge of maintaining excellence as a speaker and the importance of continually pushing yourself beyond your comfort zones.

Jon also took the time to break down his successful speaking model, primarily focusing on keynotes and the occasional longer training engagements. There are pros and cons to every speaking business model, and Jon talks through what has worked well for him over his extensive speaking career. Additionally, Jon talks about making a transition from solopreneur to business owner and how he brought in a partner and president to scale his business and reach a larger audience. This transition was driven by Jon's desire to take his business to another level, prevent boredom, and not hide from potential growth.

Moreover, Grant and Jon also discuss the challenges of being honest with yourself about strengths and weaknesses and focusing on areas where you can excel. The conversation shifts to Jon's decision to host a live event, including insights into how he has navigated planning, content creation, and incorporating various elements like engaging stories and audience interaction.

Finally, Grant and Jon touch on the variety of potential business expansions Jon is considering, including workshops, masterminds, and enhancing social media presence while balancing personal enjoyment with business requirements. Overall, the episode provides great insights into Jon's speaking career, his strategic business decisions, and the meticulous efforts that go into creating meaningful content and events in the speaking industry!

You’ll learn: