Have you noticed that you are always giving advice? When
someone is asked to speak on a topic or conversation, do you readily volunteer?
Or are you an introvert, but still need to market and promote your business?
Finally, are you already speaking in front of groups but would like to go to
the next level and MONETIZE it?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions,
this topic is for YOU! As an iconic entrepreneur who has been a public speaker
for over 35 years, I have spoken in many different platforms. From those
speeches, I have had people write, text, and email me about the impact I made
on their life a few days to a few years later!
Share Your Journey with Our Future
Just share. Dr. Martin Luther King stated,
"Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through
continuous struggle". As a speaker, our struggles are the reason we share
our story. As CEO and Founder of Essence of a Lady focuses on recruiting women professionals
and entrepreneurs to become philanthropists in the Essence Ladies Network(E’Ladies
Network). They share their stories of success to young women in Young Essence
Ladies...Learning (YELL!Mentoring) and now Young Men Empowered (Y-ME?Mentoring)
The Essence Men (E’Men Network) also share their struggles, their triumphs, and
their tenacity to become professionals or entrepreneurs. The benefit of participating
in the networks of philanthropy is two-fold: they have an opportunity to impact
youths’ lives in a positive way, and they make connections with others that may
help them LEVERAGE their business. For example, our speaker for the month of
February was contacted to speak at its Mother's Day event...LEVERAGE in action!
Level of Experience Not Relevant
Experienced or aspiring? It doesn't matter where you
are in this spectrum of your business, speaking to others will help you brand
your business as you market and promote your products and services to a
targeted group. Simon Mainwaring explained it best, "...a brand needs to
embrace the first principles of marketing, which involves brand definition and
consistent storytelling." Major brands, McDonalds, Coca Cola and Amazon
are billion-dollar companies, but they continue to market and promote
themselves through media, in addition, they continue to evolve with society.
They are also involved in the community by connecting with organizations,
businesses, and community agencies in order to have their marketing and
promotions department staff come in front of the audience of the entity they
are supporting to SPEAK on its company's behalf! They tell stories to show how
they are connected to the community.
The benefit of becoming a philanthropist is the opportunity
to become connected with strategic partners. Most major brands partner with
other businesses and nonprofits to market and promote their products to their
target audience. Essence of a Lady provides a platform for its strategic
partners to participate in its annual Females are FABULOUS Empowerment Conference.
This conference brings females from around the world for a weekend to be
pampered, fed, and empowered. They shop, network, and build lifetime
connections. This conference also allows speakers with all levels of experience
to engage the audience with great storytelling. In 2022, it will be held in
Houston, Texas.
All
Personalities Can Be Great Speakers
Shy and Introverted? Susan Cain described introverts
as people "who will go to a party or event but after a short period they
prefer to be at home in pajamas, they don't like wasting energy, therefore they
exert most of it on close family and friends and also prefer to express
themselves in writing." As I read these comments, I recall a conversation
with an introvert. My suggestion to turn
her blog posts into an ebook resonated with her and from that point forward,
she and I connected. When she talked about being an introvert on her
award-winning Fall Fusion Tour, I was not surprised. The most excitement of all
was watching her blossom from a very shy, yet motivated young entrepreneur to a
classy, stylish, self-motivated one with a burning desire to LEVERAGE her
business...one speech at a time. She went from having a name for her business
to using her own name as her business name for personal branding. She has been
invited to many speaking engagements, including the hard-to-get-into Texas
Conference for Women Conference in 2013. Is she still shy, of course! But that never
stopped her from pursuing her dreams of building her brand her way.
She validated you can leverage your business one speech at a
time, regardless of your struggle, experience or personality.
As Essence of a Lady prepares to kickoff its mentoring
program activities this October, you may join our network of philanthropists,
who donate their time, talent and treasure to further our mission to educate,
mentor and empower youth.
We are recruiting this year’s speakers to share their journey
to success, so…LEVERAGE your business…one speech at a time! Be a speaker at one
of our monthly workshops, quarterly culturally relevant trips or at our Females
are Fabulous Empowerment Conference May/June 2022. Go to www.eladies.org.
Dr. JoAnn Ajayi-Scott is a professor who provides
instruction for graduate students in writing and public speaking, publisher of
blogs and magazines, and philanthropist to nonprofits and community
organizations. Her goal is to create a community of entrepreneurs providing
products and services to each other in one place. You may reach her at www.joannajayiscott.com. Twitter: @ELadiesNetwork Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn: @DrJoAnnAjayiScott
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