38/100 days - which week was it?! No idea. The grind is on.
Hi friend!
🍁🌿🍂 🔜😵🫠 🔜 🦃🍽️
Is it just me or does the entire work world go crazy in between mid September and Thanksgiving?
But back to the super important intro: I still send this update only to a handful of people
All of whom I have spoken to about my goal over the last month or so AND
Who have expressed their unabridged support, interest and enthusiasm about my goal.
Thank YOU for being one of them.
Please don't hesitate to respond, share your thoughts or just say hi. Two-way communication is always much more fun 🙌 - thank you for all the messages so far.
The purpose of this 100-day challenge 🚀 is to get me to say “I speak for a living, I am a professional speaker” by Dec 20, 2024.
***
Ok, so last week’s shift AWAY FROM 😃 The Good & 💡 The Bad aka Lessons Learned was pretty profound.
Things JUST ARE and if you reflect on them, you can deduct your lessons 🤷.
A friend forwarded me this story about the Chinese farmer - what a great reminder that we humans assign meaning to the reality that just is, just happens.
The single most important thing is WE. KEEP. GOING. even the tiniest wins compound over time 👣.
So let’s go - updates!
***
✅ Update #1:💰 I sent my first invoice for speaking.
The “firsts” are often weird.
I should be elated, right? I am! Kind of.
The activating public spaces project (Bricks Embarcadero) was no longer interested in a big production, multi-person programming we have done for them with the Golden Gate Club.
All they wanted was me at a stand during the lunch hour, engaging passers-by about an interesting activity one can do in the city. And they were game paying me a few hundreds for that.
The fact that I help the Toastmasters club where I am the President attract new guests is an extra bonus.
Me At Work: Yes, I swapped cushy offices and glassy boardrooms for the public square.
Is this how I want to make money long term? You guessed the answer.
But experiences like this one, or being the Talking Tree on the local TV show (more on that below!), are the gritty parts of any remarkable journey.
And I have a total hate-love relationship with it. Yes, objectively, one can say it sucks and it makes no sense what I am doing… but subjectively…
“There’s an immense thrill in throwing away pretense or posing and just marching towards your goal.”
These 3 events, together with my tech roast comedy show are putting me on track to make very close to 4 digits from speaking/ performing in October, the first full month of my professional speaking career.
Yes, I do need to make at least 20x than that monthly to “make living“ in this city… but hey, this is NOT BAD.
✅ Update #2: A Speakers Bureau is interested in representing me
A connection referred me to a speakers bureau (~a talent agency for professional speakers), we had an intro call and…they are interested in adding me to their roster!
The person I talked to really liked my background, the combination of management consulting, product management and startups with the common theme of communication and connectivity… She was also rock solid on that the minimum I should be asking for a 45 min in-person speech is $5k - if I want to be taken seriously.
Impostor’s syndrome flared up.
But then it kinda made sense. A client in Europe would pay that as my per diem (alas not to me, but to my employer) when I was an acting project manager and that was already 5 years ago.
So ballpark-wise it totally makes sense.
Where’s the catch?
In order to be taken seriously, I need a good recording of a good speech.
Something better than this. Across all 8/8 criteria (see below). But hey, at least we have the 🥇💩Shitty First Draft!
I created a 8 point checklist for what that means:
detailed topic where I have credibility + interest
well-written incl. audience engagement 3.
well-memorized (so well it seems effortless & off-the-cuff)
enhanced delivery
visuals (slides)
polished look
good video quality
professional looking venue + audience
Without boring you with too much details here, this is what I am doubling down on next week.
✅ Update #3: Local TV production perks… say what?!
Remember that Talking Tree story?
Helping out on my friend in that supporting role on her kids show, introduced me to the world of the BAVC Media and the local SF TV broadcasting. #embraceserendipity
As of this Wednesday, they accepted my application to join as a producer and I will have my 2-hour studio onboarding session next Friday.
Why?
Once I am producer, they let me check out their pro equipment for in-field recording. And in-field can be wherever I want to do a speech (point #7 - video quality could be taken care of!)
I pitched them my theme of connecting people as a show with working title Superconnectors, the guy in charge of programming was interested, so there might be path towards producing show that actually airs in the local media (wait, do i actually want it?? Idk, but just the optionality sounds cool to consider, right?!)
That’s it.
Outside of these “updates“, I feel tired, slightly overwhelmed, slower than I wish I was, permanently in the catch-up mode (remember my online writing? not much progress on that, ugh, not enough hours in the day).
💥 EXTRA:
If you have read this far, I’ll leave you with this emoji.
👣
Whatever you are trying to achieve, keep taking steps forward. No matter how small they are, no matter how strong the headwind blows.
Okay and the Talking Tree again.
Preview of me as the Talking Tree.
xoxo, Katka
PS: If you want to refer back to any of my previous updates, I put them online here 👇 (you need to be on my list to see the whole updates, this is still in a closed beta 🤐).
