132: Getting started with speaking in your business (the systems to start incorporating now) featuring Jessica Rasdall

Dolly DeLong: Hello, and welcome to another Systems and Workflow Magic podcast episode. I am your Systems and Workflow BFF and Guide, Dolly DeLong. Today, I’m so excited to share that I have the only Jessica RadsdaleRagsdalepodcast. Now, a bit about Jessica: She is named one of the top small business experts to watch and the founder of one of the top websites for solopreneurs. Jessica is helping small business owners scale their impact and income through tried and tested communication strategies. As a best-selling author, motivated, motivational speaker, and host of the Speak to Scale podcast, Jessica partners with business owners and leaders to scale their businesses. And impact from the stage. Jessica has shared her story of turning her mess into a message for over 18 years and has. She has acted on major international media outlets such as ABC’s 2020, Katie Couric, The Guardian, MTV, and Netflix. Today, Jessica is fiercely dedicated to helping small business owners craft presentations and speaking strategies that connect with their audience and scale their business from the stage. Now, when she’s not handcrafting presentations for industry experts, she’s homeschooling her children in sunny Florida. And she’s also hanging out with her chickens. I added that particular part. So Jessica, welcome to the podcast. Did I leave anything out?

Jessica Rasdall: Oh, thank you so much for having me. No, I swear I just heard one of the girls start clucking. So if we listen to them, I’m not sorry.

Dolly DeLong: It’s okay. I okay you; I’ve deemed you the queen of speaking and as one of my chicken lady friends. So,

Jessica Rasdall: yes, I will. I will hold that title with pride. Absolutely.

Dolly DeLong: well, thank you so much for coming on. I am so thrilled that you’re on the podcast. I’ve wanted to have you on, especially since, like, again, I’ve deemed you the queen of speaking and helping other business owners. They will hone in on their mess so that they can talk on stage and feel comfortable speaking in different outlets. Before we get started, could you share a little more about your backstory of what your message into a message means and why it’s been so impactful for you?

Jessica Rasdall: Yeah. I think so often when people hear me, like the bio, or they stumble upon me and find me today, they see. Oh, she, you know, she, she was an overnight success or she, you know, they, there’s a lot of assumptions that when you only see, like, I don’t want to say the end of the story because this is certainly not the end, but when you see the other side of the story and you can see like the business and the fancy clients and, and the work that we’re doing in the world, which is excellent and fun and fabulous, but. That’s not where we started; none of this was ever a part of my plan today. I have the honor of helping business owners scale with speaking, but I didn’t set out to scale. I don’t even honestly like speaking. I am a massive introvert. I love being at home with my kids and chickens and in my garden, where my sunflowers bloom. It’s so beautiful. But sometimes, our plans are not the plans. And my journey started when I was a college freshman. I was only 18 years old, and I had big dreams. Again, I had my plans, which were not the plans. And I was a scholarship student in college. I thought I was going to do all these big things. And then, one Friday night, my best friend and I, who I had known since I was five years old, was the driver in a fatal car accident that took her life and nearly ended mine. And I was worrying about midterms and what I was going to major in within a matter of hours to worrying I was going to make it out of the trauma unit and how I would ever go on.

For the rest of my life, I knew that there was blood on my hands. I could not wash off. I, I’m a fixer. Like I am, I’m a fixer through and through. I’m the kind of person who acts as an act-of-service gal. I’m a, let me do it for your type of person. And when this happened, I could do nothing to change it. There was nothing I could do to fix this. Nothing anyone or I could do could bring her back or make this right. But I was determined not to let her life be lost in vain and not let her just become another underage drinking statistic and do something to keep her memory alive, prevent others from repeating our mistakes, and maybe, Somehow, find a reason to keep going within this process.  So I started speaking. I started sharing our story with high school and college students because prom time was coming up, and all I could think about were all of these kids getting ready to go to prom who were at the same age that I was when this happened, thinking this could never happen to me. And what if I could put my ego aside, get up in front of them, share our story to help them make a connection, and realize, wow, like we’re the same, this?uTh This happens to me. And. The impact was incredible, like it just lit a fire in me as soon as I saw a tiny glimpse of what was possible, like a small glimpse into the impact that could be made when you got up on a stage and shared a message, your story, whatever the case may be with the intention. I want to leave people better than you found them to do something good, not from a place where you let me share my story because I want to talk about this. Like that was never part of it. And I am seeing the result of that, like seeing the difference that could be made in the world, like my eyes were opened. I was on a mission to speak wherever they would have me. In two years, I talked to over 15,000 kids in a mass. This is why I left the car that night. All signs pointed to it should have been me.

Dolly DeLong: Yeah.

Jessica Rasdall: side of the car that rolled. Like my side of the vehicle hit the tree, everything said it should have been me that night. And I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why. And so part of me was like, I may not have an answer to that question. I’ll never have an answer to that question, but I can feel good about what I’m doing with the second chance.

Dolly DeLong: Wow. Jessica, thank you so much for sharing that. Do you mind briefly sharing what happened after those two years of speaking? Like, what, like, did you, like, continue to talk? Did you, like, what, what was your story after

Jessica Rasdall: Ooh. So, this whole time that I’m going out and talking and very openly sharing, these are the decisions that I’ve made. This is what I did. Like, this is what happened. I am very openly sharing our story. I. I had an open court case on the table, and I was facing ten and a half to 15 years in prison while going around and publicly declaring, yes, I did this. It’s not something your lawyer recommends. Many of them were very angry about what I was doing, but I didn’t cause it again; I remember sitting there, 19 years old, at my kitchen table when many people were telling me I should not do this, that I should not be speaking. And I remember sitting there thinking, it blows my mind looking back that I was having this conversation at this age, cause now being not 19, I’m like, that was so good. But I remember sitting there saying; I know that this moment is the pit right most resounding, like this. I’m at the bottom, I’m at rock bottom, and this is not where you are from, which decisions. Like, too emotional; you can’t see the other side. And I kept thinking, ten years from now when I’m on the other side of this, when I look back, will I regret that I went out and shared this message? Or will I regret that I didn’t? Because I knew the reality was I was going to go to prison at some point. Like this would be part of my story, at least I thought it would be. So I was like, okay, so what? I’m gone for ten years, then I come back and decide to share my story. All I could think was, it’s going to be too late. I’m not going to be relatable anymore. I will no longer be their friend, peer, or person they can see themselves in. I’m now this woman who looks like their mother, who tells them what to do and what not to do. And I was like, People are going to talk about me, whether I do this or not. So I will impact it, and we’ll deal with that. So I did; I went, spoke, and spoke as much as possible.  Possibly, life is short, tomorrow’s not promised, and I can never return and do it again. After about two and a half years of doing that, waking up every morning and wondering, like we were going through this legal battle, I finally reached a point where I said I couldn’t. I can’t do this anymore. I need to move on to the next chapter. I’m ready for that. So I walked into court and surrendered myself. Was Anden a youthful offender departure? I was sent, and I spent the next four years of my life that I should have spent at the University of South Florida in the Florida Department of Corrections.

Dolly DeLong: Wow.

Jessica Rasdall: Sorry, I just took your breath for a minute. 

Dolly DeLong: Yeah, that’s a lot for a 19 year 19-year-old 

Dolly DeLong: When your quote is unquote-unquote “begins.”

Jessica Rasdall: Very, and the life I was ending is really what it was. I came home, um, four years later, and Again, like this was the time when all of the kids that I had gone to school, that I had graduated high school with, that we had been friends with together, you know, they’re finishing college, they’re starting their careers, they’re beginning their little families. And I felt so behind like I would never look back. I have very different opinions on this, but at the time, I felt like I would never be able to catch up, right? Like that, I would never feel like I was running some race with them. It was so silly, but I felt so behind that now I had, you know, this check box that I had to check with job applications. All of these storms were slammed into my face when I came home.

Dolly DeLong: wow, I’m so sorry about that.

Jessica Rasdall: Um, that’s why I started my own company. Like there were so many doors slammed into my face. I tried to go back to school, but I couldn’t because this happened while I was a student, and I violated the student code of conduct. There were, I couldn’t prove that I was a Florida resident, even though I’d been a state property for four years because I didn’t have a driver’s license. I didn’t like it; there was just so much in these years when I first came home. I felt defeated and like I was trying to do the right thing. I kept trying to take the right next step, but everybody was trying to take me ten steps back. Victim mentality is not my jam, but there were days when that was present. And I remember at one point where I was just like, I’m not waiting for anybody to hand me anything. Like, I’m done waiting. I’m done trying. I’m done trying to fit into somebody else’s box. Um, and I decided to start doing my own thing. And it started with me, like, I had still been speaking when I came home. I was still sharing my story. I was, was no longer like the girl waiting to go to prison. I was now the woman who made it out the other side. And it was from a different angle and a different perspective. But I’d go, and I’d speak. And people would come up to me afterward, and they’d be like any, ore, like, I want to work with you. I want to, and I’m like, I don’t know what that means. I didn’t have a business at the time. I didn’t have any of this built out, but I really, people kept, I was just started listening, like slowing down and listening to what people were asking for and what they were coming to me for. I realized that one thing I had gotten good at over all these was putting myself in my audience’s shoes. I was being put in other people’s perspectives and sharing a story that could be difficult and painful. In a way, it left people better than I found them and still protected my own heart because there’s no way I could continue to share that story repeatedly if I didn’t figure out a way to share it. That was sustainable for me, too. So, I  started getting into these little business circles and realizing that, wow, my friends are business, but they’re acting up as the face of their company and explaining why they do what they do, why it matters, or why they got into this in the first place. Like that part, they were just way too close to it. Do it to put themselves in somebody else’s shoes and say, this is what they need to hear. So, that’s how I started coaching entrepreneurs to figure out their story and how they shared it. And then, over the years, I took that one step up and was like, okay, once they have the story, how do we help them share it from a stage? So, Star and Ted are working on the speaking side, crafting their presentations and sharing them on social media. And now, we take a lot of that off their plate and find opportunities for them, pitch them, manage them, and all that. So, it has evolved over the last decade and almost two decades of speaking, but again, it was never part of my plan. And I think that the best moments in my journey and the best moments in my business, or when I’ve released the plan and have just focused on you, Where am I being called? Like, what is next? Um, that, that has changed everything.

Dolly DeLong: Thank you so much for sharing all that, Jessica.

Jessica Rasdall: Of course.

Dolly DeLong: I appreciate it. Yeah, of course. I know that’s, you’re, you’re like sharing it with me, but really with my entire audience. Soaudience, I like that You think DM Jess and say thanks for sharing that. That’s like, we are seeing the fruits of it from the other side, but I know when you were going through it, oh gosh, that’s hard. That is like a heart I cannot even fathom. So I’m so glad that you are on the other side. I’m just saying I’m glad you are happy on the other side.

Jessica Rasdall: And when I, it’s never a fun thing to share. There’s a lot of shame and guilt, and many feelings are associated with that. But I know that the feelings are universal, and the idea of me sharing something and telling you and letting you know like this was never, this was not an easy journey. I know how hard it is to get up and share something that feels uncomfortable, messy, broken, or that you’re still in the thick of it because I was sharing in the thick of it. And while I do not recommend going and sharing things like that in the thick of it, I’m glad that I did because I understand why now. Because I know that it has helped me feel exceptional in helping business owners share when they’re on the journey, not just when they’ve reached success. Um, again, I don’t recommend going out and sharing traumatic things while you’re dealing with it. You should probably keep those inside of therapy. And I was there, too. Okay. So, to disclose that part again, I put myself in my audience’s and customers’ shoes and understand what they are feeling. What are they going through? And be able to bridge that gap a little bit.

Dolly DeLong: Can I ask you a question that has nothing to do with systems and workflows and everything to do with being a human? Absolutely. Have you always been so articulate, or was this something that you honed in on when you had, in a way, been forced to be very still for four years while life was, like, while you were waiting?

Jessica Rasdall: think, I mean, if you go back and listen to my first podcast episodes, please don’t, but if you did, you would realize I’ve not,

Dolly DeLong: the very first podcast episode in the show notes.

Jessica Rasdall: it was before I got my tonsils

Dolly DeLong: I’m kidding. Hmm.

Jessica Rasdall: This is the best thing I have ever done for myself. Um, I honestly practice. And it sounds so unsexy and boring,

Dolly DeLong: It is. It is boring. It is unsexy. That’s why a lot of people.

Jessica. Rasdall: but they don’t do it

Dolly DeLong: 1%. Yeah, it’s just a 1 percent step every.

Jessica Rasdall: Like when people, I just delivered a presentation last week and, and like the feedback, the, the head of one of the software companies that I use and love was there, and he was sitting front row because I use the software and I was talking about it in the talk and he emailed me afterward and he was talking about how, how great the talk. And I’m, I’m. Good. I’m not bragging. I’m going to share what I’m going to share. It comes with a note. Um, he was talking about how I, he’s like, your presentation was so good. So smooth. And the delivery was just like, you knew exactly what was coming. It was obvious. You’ve done this many times. And it was like, you don’t get that kind of feedback. You don’t have that confidence in what you’re delivering if you’re offering it for the first time.

Dolly DeLong: Oh, 100%

Jessica Rasdall: It doesn’t come that way, so I think being articulate and able to communicate these thoughts and the s and sto,ries and piece things together is from the last two decades of having to answer these questions. You get good at knowing your sound bites and knowing these are the pieces of the puzzle that I want to share because if you don’t have those, you spend a lot of time ripping yourself open and sharing raw pieces. Something good might come out, but more than likely, you will feel exhausted afterward. It will feel like you gave more than you were, and that’s never a good place to be. But for me, the act of consistently sharing, um, developing my messages, getting clear on what I share and what I do not share, practicing that in different formats, from podcasting to stages to Instagram stories to interviews, taking the time to just. Keep talking about the same things that make you suitable. As business owners, we often feel like we need to jump to something new and change things up, but it doesn’t make you an expert at your craft. Like you, you always feel like a beginner because you’re always starting over. I’ve been talking about the same thing for so long. So I feel very confident in being able to talk about any of this stuff on any given day. I’m like, fire away because I doubt there’s a question you could ask that I haven’t been asked and that only comes from doing the work. That’s it. Like I was not born articulate. I just have been in the trenches for a while.

Dolly DeLong: So you’re saying you must do the work and one percent daily. Listeners, I’m being sarcastic. Still, in a way, I’m like trying to hit home, like I’m so glad Jessica is reminding us about this, and even as silly as it sounds, like even implementing Systems, workflows, SOPs, and the back end of your business that takes time, that takes practice. And as Jessica said, I love the point you shared that if you are starting something new all the time in your business, then you will show up as new. You won’t know how to communicate that topic adequately because you’re learning it. Thank you. That was an excellent little sound bite from you.

Jessica Rasdall: Thanks,

Dolly DeLong: I was thinking, what are my sound bites? Mine are like, like, definitely not articulate, but

Jessica Rasdall: But it’s so true with, like, I see this often when people come to me, they’re like, Oh, I want to develop a new talk. I’m like, do we like or need a new talk? Or do we need to? Is it time to go through our old talk and speak it better? Because that is the biggest thing. There’s so much value in Completing the reiterations version 2 of the thing you did rather than product B. If you can take product A and work on making it the best product A it could ever be, It will outsell product B a hundred times over. And it’s the same thing with presentations, or if you’re like, I wanna if you book a summit and speak on a summit, that should be the only presentation you ever pitch anywhere else. It will be so good for the next year by the end of that year.

You will feel confident and can take that content and jump on Instagram stories. You’ll be able to pitch yourself to speak at a conference. You can jump on a podcast interview and feel confident in the subject matter because you’ve gone through it so many times. And I know a lot of times people push back, and they’re like, but I already heard it. Who? It does. There are so many people out there who didn’t hear it. Listen to I will say that I will counter you a hundred times over on this because I have had so many people come to my talks, like in person, like my motivational presentation; I gave the same talk for like a decade, and they, but let’s, let’s go back to those like first two years when I was speaking, I was giving the same talk for two years straight, the same talk, never a different version. And people would come. In-person to watch, they’d come back, and they’d come back. They’d come two or three or four times, and at first, I was very embarrassed. I feel bad they’re watching the same thing, but then they would share with me. They’d be like Jess, but I hear something different every time.

Dolly D.eLong: time. Yes.

Jessica Rasdall: we sometimes know what our main words might be, but our audience hears what they need based on what’s going on in their lives or theirs. There is so much value in continuing to show up and share the same messages over and over again, not just for the people who didn’t hear it the first time but for the people who maybe need to listen to it again or whatever it’s going to hit differently in whatever they’re walking through right now.

Dolly DeLong: love thaI t. this is Thisrfect segue into, okay, listeners, we’re trying to like segue into then I know that I was sharing with Jessica earlier before we Hit record that a lot of my listeners. I know you are in a DIY season. I was DIYing many of your business’s systems and processes; You might. It is in years one through three, and you might be thinking right now, Dolly, I cannot imagine and fathom a time for myself where I would want to speak, or I would wish to tunicate I can’t fathom being the go-to expo-toor somebody wanting me to talk on this topic. But here’s the thing: as you progress in your business, you will hopefully become that go-to expo-to as you niche down and work on that skill. Now would be the perfect time to start thinking about using those systems. Um, and so I’m willing to talk to Jessica about how to get started in this area, like, if you are in year three or year four of your business.

Jessica Rasdall: Yeah, and with speaking, like the system, items are such crucial systems that create creativity in your business, to speak. Like you, you cannot, it is; itsustainable if you don’t have systems. I can. I’ve s; I’ vee back end of all the businesses you want to watch speak, okay? And the Andple who can do it consistently, who can a lot of stages, and Contcontinuee their clients, keep their business running all these things. It’s because they have systems in place. You can’t just step away from your, you can’t say, Oh, you know what? I want to speak at that big conference stage. Step away from your business for four days and assume you’re going to jump back, have a bunch of new leads from the event, have, you know, all of these things. If you don’t have systems in place, like systems, give you the space and the freedom to do these bigger speaking and PR activities. What you don’t speak amplifies whatever you’re doing, right? So you don’t want to have a great opportunity come across your desk, and you turn it away. Because you’re saying, like, I can’t sustain what that’s that will. I’d never want that for a business owner. Like, if you can do anything right now to pave the way to start speaking, it is as unfun as it sounds; it’s to set up your systems now and to start creating the white space because the white space allows you. To start showing up and doing these speaking activities. And when I say speaking activities, I’m not just talking about speaking on a stage in front of thousands of people. I’m thinking about showing up as the face of your company and being able to communicate who you serve and what you do, leaving your audience better than you found them. So that’s how you show up in your emails. That’s how you show up on social media. That’s getting on podcast interviews, summits, or whatever it might look like for you, but it’s also about mastering your communications. It’s accurate at the heart of it. And once you know what your message is, you can breadcrumb it everywhere. So, I love to start with, like, w, hat, what is my talk? Like, let’s map this out. What would I say if I were to speak on a stage to my ideal clients? Because it means you need to cover the beginning from g to the end. The objections that they might have as well as the hope that you want them to have for their future as well as you’re like You get to cover all of the bases and get really c how well How would I say that thing and then from there you can pull out all the nuggets and the,y become great social media posts They become great videos. They become great things. But if you’re jetting comfortable showing up, my two favorite things to start with are: You’re youram stories because they disappear. And who cares if you mess it up, right? They’re gone the next day. So, the best thing to start is just showing up in your stories and getting comfortable hearing your voice. That is very weird in the beginning. If you haven’t had to listen to yourself, it’s so strange. So you have to get comfortable with hearing and seeing yourself. And then my next thing is podcasting. Podcasting is such a great place to start because, again, you’re getting conversational. You don’t. You’re probably way too close to your craft to understand what other people think is exciting or interesting or what they want to know more about. But when you let other people interview you, you get to see what they are asking. What do they want to know more about? And it gives you a lot of insight into, ooh, I should probably start talking about those things a little. 

Dolly DeLong: Okay. I love that you have a good starting place; first, I want to say amen to the edgy stories going away in 24 hours. Cause that, I like a rc place to start. I know the temptation for business owners, and I’ve also fallen into this trap: I want to be known for something. So does that mean I need to go and start applying to all of these different conferences and being on the stage? And that terrifies me that terrified me in the past. And it still terrifies me a little bit now, but a very realistic place to start is

Jessica Rasdall: thoughts on that?

Dolly DeLong: on IG stories. Yes, sure.

Jessica Rasdall: Like that. Likeea of like, I wanted something now. That is a very valid feeling. Okay. I need you to know that this is very valid because I want everybody to be known for something. After all, that increases our referral rate. That means we have to do less work to secure a client. That means people are coming to us, and we’re not hunting them down. But being known for something is not equal. To being knobby more people. Okay. I need to make that clear. This part always trips up business owners as we focus on how many people know us, not what they know us for. You will make more progress in being a thought leader. If you stay on your platform and stick to a subject matter, then you will, if you go, speak on a bunch of stages and conform to whatever their lineup says.

Dolly DeLong: Oh, wow. Wow. Rewind and hit play. Mm

Jessica Rasdall: want to be known for something, if that’s really what matters and it’s what should matter to you as a business owner, what’s more important is saying, I, this is the thing that I talk about all the time on my platform. This is the same message that I’m sharing. If somebody finds me on Instagram, it aligns with what they find on my website. If they see me talking somewhere else, it’s the same thing like that. Builds thought leadership. That increases your referral rate, trying to get on as many stages as possible without a clear strategy. I can almost promise you’ll be in the wrong room in front of people who are not your ideal clients. You will be speaking about things they asked you to talk about that aren’t aligned with your becoming a thought leader. So it’s much more important to stay focused on your topic, what you’re known for, than getting in front of your peers because that scratches our egos. And I promise you that doesn’t, that doesn’t pay the mortgage at all.

Dolly DeLong: I love that. I love that you brought that up. Cause that, um, that’s hard for a lot of business owners because, well, I don’t know about you, Jessica, but I want, I want everybody to like me, and I want, I want to say yes to everyone. If they asked me to do something, I would bring up this example because it perfectly represents you. I pitched you to be part of a bundle. And it was; the theme of the bundle is great, but like you said, is it in alignment with what you teach? No, it’s not. Instead, you would have had to grasp for straws, and then people would have probably been confused. Oh, is she an S, like an SEO expert now? Like, does she speak like,

Jessica Rasdall: Such a great example.

Dolly DeLong: I was like, you know because it’s always, I appreciated, I want you to know, I did, I did appreciate you telling me straight up, like, Dolly, I want to support you, but this would not be the best fit for me. And let me know about other opportunities, but I can’t do that. And I’ve had other people say yes in the past. I don’t want to say this one, but they’ve said it in the past. And then it just did not make sense. Like later on. I’m like, why did

Jessica Rasdall: And I said no confidently because I said yes. Like I have said yes in the past, and I know that things like that, like when I’m stretching myself and honestly, whether it’s experienced or just that I’m getting older, I understand that every yes is a no to something else. I’m very aware of that because I homeschool my kids. I have limited work hours. I know that saying yes is something to something, which is saying no to something else, whether that’s no to my kids, no to a client, or no to something. So my yeses have to be 110%. Um, and then, again, like when I return to my speaking strategy and where I’m putting myself out there in places like it needs to be 110 percent aligned. And this season of my life was such a small capacity. I can’t, but I know that as a business owner, especially if you’re in a season of wanting more people, more reach, and more sales, it’s tempting to say yes to everything. And, stand’s this fear of. If I say no to this, another opportunity will never come across my desk. That’s always in the back of our minds, but as somebody who searches for speaking opportunities for clients, there are more than you could ever believe. Something is happening every single day. There will always be something else there for you. And it might be outside of your current bubble. It might be outside of your current network, but if you are in a mastermind group, if you’re in a program with other people, we get in these little incestuous bubbles on the internet, and we only,

Dolly DeLong: I’m like, that is such a more faithful, actual order that hay has never been spoken. That

Jessica Rasdall: but we see like the same 50 people, and we all buy from each other and refer this, and then we feel like, well, If I’m not known in my bubble, I’m not known, but I need you to know there’s a whole world outside of our bubbles and there’s so many other business owners who you can serve. And when you can get crystal clear on what I need to be known for and who needs to know me for that? Not everybody needs to know me—my, my. A lot of times, we put ourselves in rooms with our peers. Your peers are not buying from you. Your peers are supporting you. So we need to look for the rooms of our clients, the rooms of our customers. When you put yourself in those rooms, what do they need from you? And do not stray. It’s hard. We want to say yes to everything, but you will make a more significant impact without burning yourself out. If you say, this is what I talk about, and this is who I speak to, you can start seeing more of those opportunities. It’s like when somebody says, ” I’m getting a red car, and you see all the red cars. When you get clear on this, it is who I talk to; this is what I talk about. You’ll start seeing those perfectly designed opportunities for you, not your mastermind friend.

Dolly DeLong: Mm-hmm. Um, Jessica, this has been the best motivational talk I’ve ever realized. You would pull out the motivational card. Um, but I’m going back to creating systems for getting started with speaking. I love that you brought up, okay, a good place to start, a realistic place to start listeners. I do stories, even pitching myself to podcasts that align with that. Who is your client? Does your ideal client listen to those podcasts? Oh, I’m curious to know what else. I’m sure there are hundreds of systems that one could set up, but besides that, what is another step a business center can take to start refining and articulating its services? And then they’re just talking to each other. And then they’re talking, or I don’t want to say articulate. We’re just refining their message. And then what other things can they be doing to help? If they do have that speaking opportunity. And they want their business to run still while they step away from their desk.

Jessica Rasdall: Yes. Two things. When it comes to your actual message, it’s just setting the side. Time each week to

Dolly DeLong: you hear that, listeners?

Jessica Rasdall: I know it’s not fun. Like you, you do, though. It would be best if you had time to work on your stuff, or you’re always going to work on your Goliath stuff. But, like time to whether that’s because you have a talk coming up, but you said yes to a summit, or you’re doing and working on it. And if it’s not, that’s time to look at what people say in my inquiry forms. What are people asking me in my DMS? What’s coming up on sales calls? Again, you’re probably too close to your subject matter to see.

What is helpful? And when you can start to see the same questions that come up all the time, you’re like, I’m good at answering that question. That’s something that I would love to talk about. So, one of the best things you can do to get clear on that message is to look at who pays you. Again, the right people, people who are purchasing from you, people who are working with you, what are they asking for? What do they need? And how can you easily support them? Whatever that is, that’s probably the perfect thing for you to discuss now. That’s perhaps the best thing for you to start with. Showing up on stories with, but I would take some time and start to think like if I had to answer this question, if I had to advise on this, what would I say? I am working on refining that into some bullet points and some of those sound bites. So you can get comfortable doing that. Regarding the systems, I would say it depends on your business model, but my biggest concern when people start speaking is that I don’t. When somebody comes to work with us, it is a qualifier that the system is in place.

So that’s how important it is for me. Is there a transparent sales system in place for you, whether somebody can purchase your product or there’s a way for them to inquire and work with you? And then you have the backend process of that, that like onboarding for somebody to join, there needs to be an obvious, Proven process for you to generate revenue, because what happens is if you think that you’re making sales right now, your little bubble, and then you start going outside of your bubble and sharing what you’re doing, you’re going to get a significant influx of new leads, new people looking at your stuff, potential leads, and if you don’t have a way to be able to support the influx of leads, you’re going to end up spending more money on speaking than you’re making.

Dolly DeLong: Yeah.

Jessica Rasdall: I will not work with somebody who doesn’t have that in place. Cause I know I’m going to do their business more harm than good by getting them on some of the stages they want.

Dolly DeLong: Yeah.

Jessica Rasdall: It’s a hard thing to say too. For example, I I. was in person, flew out, and worked with a client hosting a two-day workshop. I was designing the curriculum for her workshop, and this workshop was supposed to move. The goal was to convert the people in the room to move back into this particular service that she had. The sales side of it was so broken that it would have put her business in the red. And I was like, I cannot do what you have hired me to do in good faith. We need to revisit the drawing board. So, I know this is not easy to look at, so I ask myself, am I ready? Or am I not prepared? But if there’s one system that you could pay attention to today to be able to start speaking in the next few weeks, it is making sure that you can generate revenue. Even if you’re not at your desk,

Dolly DeLong: that. Does that mean through like? Digital products or even people inquiring to book with you for your one-to-one service. Like, what, what does that mean? I have a feeling I know what it.

Jessica Ra issdall: both. And so whatever it looks like for your business to bring in revenue. So if you have digital products in your business, um, there needs to be a way for somebody who heard your message and wants to take the next step to be able to go purchase that product. It can’t mean that. You’re going to ask them to email you, and then you send them a link or an invoice, and then you send them some Dropbox links. Dropbox links like that can’t work. Or if you are coaching consulting, or a designer. There needs to be a way for somebody to hear your message. They just listened to you on a podcast and said they’re not in your DMs. I am asking if you have it set up so they can fill out an application, book a call with you, or do whatever. Still, people need when nobody is more motivated to buy from you than right after they hear you speak, and you want to be able to capture that in that moment and help them take the next best step.

It’s not just about securing the sale; your product or service will probably help them. Hopefully, implement and take the next step on the journey of whatever you just talked about. And we want to be able to continue serving them beyond the stage. So when you have those sales processes and systems in place, it allows you to help more people at scale sustainably.

Dolly DeLong: Jessica, I was looking at the time. I was 35 minutes, and cause I was like, Oh, it’ll take like 20 minutes, and then we’ll chat. But this is men. A fantastic master class, and I’m like, you should invoice me and my heart. This is an excellent talk and um, I want to say thank you so much again for coming on and sharing well sharing your story, sharing how you got started, and sharing with the audience how They can get started quickly by taking, like, showing up 1%, like, doing that 1 percent work every single day, and that means showing up on Instagram stories or podcasting and then developing their talk and sticking with what they want to be known for, not molding to everybody’s whims and what they want for them. Does that make sense?

Jessica Rasdall: Absolutely.

Dolly DeLong: It was an encouraging talk. As we wrap up, I want to ask how a person can work with you, find you, and connect with you. Because I’m sure there will be a listener like, Oh, I need some Jessica in my life.

Jessica Rasdall: Yeah, I’m pretty easy to find. Um, the best place to find me is probably on Instagram. I’m at Jessica Razzle. Just shoot me a DM. It’s me. You can; I will chat with you there, but, um, one of my favorite things if, and if you like, I just want to start getting more of this in my brain; I want more encouragement to start speaking. I would say subscribe to the Speak to Scale podcast. We’ve got hundreds of episodes of business owners sharing what’s worked for them. And it’s a great encouragement on your journey. But if you’re like, this is the year I want to speak. I don’t know how to get started.

My always recommended way to get started is to figure out what’s why. Why do you want to speak? Because it will be different for us, all of us, based on our business. If we wish to talk to increase our influence or get more sales, all of that is different, and why and how you speak is different based on that. So I have a swift 10-question quiz you can answer. It will also tell you the best path based on your unique business. And then, um, if you opt-in to get the emails with it, I will send you exactly how to figure out what you should be talking about based on your path, how to find opportunities based on your path so that you can take those micro steps each week to use speaking for your unique business.You can see that at howtostartspeaking.com.

Dolly DeLong: I love that. And you all, I will be sure to link that in this episode’s show notes and the corresponding blog posts. So you will have the links, but, um, Jessica, I want to thank you again. And listeners, if you enjoyed this podcast episode, please do me a favor and shoot her a DM and just let her know what points you loved about this because this is a good episode.

I’m so proud of you. Listeners, if you listened all the way through, I just want to say thank you so much. Please share this episode with a friend and a business peer, leave a review, and subscribe to this podcast. It really would mean so much to me.

Until then, have a streamlined and magical week, you amazing muggle. Next week, I will talk to discuss the new Systems and Workflow Magic episode. Bye!