Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Ep: 117 - Amani Roberts : How to become a speaker
107 Plays1 year ago
Happy Woo Wednesdays. Today I have my friend, Amani Roberts in the Get a HECK YES house. He is a DJ, Speaker, Author, and Professor. A graduate of Howard University and Berklee College of Music, Amani loves R&B music, pancakes, and his Washington DC sports teams.
Hot Topic: How to become a speaker
Connect with Amani
https://www.instagram.com/AmaniExperience
Connect with Carissa
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Amani Roberts
00:00:00
Speaker
Happy Woo Wednesdays! Today I have my buddy Amani Roberts in the house. He is a DJ, speaker, author, and professor. And today we talk about the speaking industry. He's helped me tremendously in becoming a wedding professional speaker. And so he's going to talk all about this. Amani, he's the best. Enjoy this episode.
Podcast Focus on Wedding Creatives
00:00:26
Speaker
Welcome to Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. I'm your host, Carissa, and I've been a Los Angeles wedding photographer for over a decade. I've traveled the world, built my team, and seen it all. I now coach wedding photographers hit 10K a month and build a thriving business. In this podcast, we are going to deep dive into how top wedding creatives get that heck yes from their dream clients. We are not holding back on the struggles of the business and how to push through the noise. Some healthy hustle, mindset shifts, up-leveling your money story,
00:00:54
Speaker
Time packs because I'm a mom of two, a little bit of woo-woo, and most importantly, self-love and confidence are just a few of the many things we will talk about. I want to give you a genuine thank you for following along my journey. I hope to inspire you every Woo Wednesday so that you say heck yes to listening to this podcast. See you guys soon!
Carissa's Podcasting Comeback
00:01:17
Speaker
Hey everyone, welcome back to Get a Heck Yes with me, your host, Carissa Wu. I feel a little fresh and a little rusty. I feel like I haven't recorded for a long time. It is Thanksgiving week. It is a, oh, it's a Wu Wednesdays. And yeah, and I didn't post the podcast for two weeks. So that's why I'm feeling fresh. And I was super excited to talk to my dear friend, Amani Roberts. What's up Amani?
00:01:44
Speaker
What's up, Carissa? Good to see you again. Happy to be here on your podcast. I'm just ready to chat. Let's go. Yay. I was just looking up the pod because I put, get a heck yes, I'm Monty Roberts. And guess when our last podcast was? Oh.
00:02:00
Speaker
couple years. Like it's exactly two years ago. Nice. It was 10 2721. So that was, Oh my God, that's so weird. Okay. I'm tripping now. That is, that is weird. Cause the day that it's a 22nd, we're off by a day and we did not plan on that. And I was on a Monty's podcast.
00:02:18
Speaker
and the money experience and it was titled I'm on a budget and that was 2017. Yes, yes. Wow, like over six years ago, my goodness. Yeah, that's when I got the podcast bug. And are you still doing your podcast?
00:02:33
Speaker
So that one I don't do anymore. Now I have one I do with my co-host, Mandy Graziano, Adventures in Business. So we do that one now, and we're up to about 40 or 50 episodes. I'm probably going to bring mine back or have a different iteration of it focused on maybe like music business, streamers. I don't know. It's, I just figured out a way I can be consistent because it is a challenge. Yeah. Are you still passionate about podcasting?
00:02:57
Speaker
probably less than I was in 2017, but I still can't believe in it and everything. I just, I have to find the way to make the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember you telling me it was a intimate way of networking and that always stuck with me. And, you know, two years later, I do feel like I made some really intimate connections through the podcast, including yourself.
Amani's Move to Vegas
00:03:19
Speaker
So yeah, so you just moved to Vegas. You know, you're in Marina Del Rey. Tell me about your new move and why you moved to Vegas.
00:03:28
Speaker
Good question. So moved to Vegas. You know, I've been in L.A. for like 16 and a half years. And I, you know, the past two or three years, I found that most of my DJ gigs were actually outside of L.A. I was traveling and doing a lot of traveling. So I was like that. But I also teach in L.A. I teach at Cal State University of Fullerton, which I love. So I was just trying to figure a way where I could still keep my teaching, but maybe get a new city where I can save some more money.
00:03:54
Speaker
with the pandemic, that like a relationship I had, it was a rough kind of two or three years. So a fresh start would be good for me. And you know, in Vegas, it can be busier for me for corporate events, for the speaking, which we're going to talk about, because all the conferences come through here. And I can save money because it's cheaper to live here. So I said, you know, let me maybe
00:04:15
Speaker
moved to Vegas, it happened quickly, it happened very quickly. I said, okay, I looked at a couple other cities, but in order to keep teaching, I said, let me move to Vegas. I can still commute back and forth to teach Fullerton, because I still have a California residence too, and just kind of roll that, try it out. I didn't expect it to happen so quickly, because it happened very fast, from Labor Day to beginning of November. It's pretty much less than two months, two months, which is very fast.
00:04:44
Speaker
And here we are. Well, congrats. You show me the new house and it's beautiful. You could get a lot bang for your buck in Vegas and a lot of space. And yeah, I'm super happy for you. Any plans for Thanksgiving?
00:05:00
Speaker
You know, nothing too crazy, because I still got a lot of boxes here. So just unpacking, might visit it with some friends. I'll watch some football. My team is not doing the best this year, but I'll still kind of watch them just to see. And then just kind of chill. I have to grade some papers. I have to do a little like research and editing for my second book. So I have things that I have to do that have kind of been put by the side because of moving is quite hectic. Somehow I'm still able to kind of at least keep pace.
00:05:27
Speaker
So I'll be a little ketchup. I don't know, maybe I don't know much shopping, maybe online shopping, you know, Friday. You know, just go for some walks. Just chill. Yeah, I love that. So a little backstory of me and you's friendship. Let's see. Did we meet through Marla's course? Marla
00:05:48
Speaker
Diane, she's like a money coach. And we were part of a program, I think it was about like making impact or something like that. And yeah, it was just good to be friends with like like minded people, me you and Robert Hilo, we started hanging out and going to lunch together. And we would always pick each other's brains, you know, down the business and just talk all things relationships, business,
00:06:15
Speaker
crazy yachts. Kate was there with us too. Yeah, Kate was there with us too. Oh yeah, Kate too. Kate. And so I've seen you blossom throughout the past couple of years. You said you wanted to be a speaker and you really did it.
00:06:35
Speaker
You wrote a book and you inspire me to write my book that just launched this year. And if it wasn't for you, oh, you have it. Yeah. I signed it too at lunch. And yeah, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have written my book. But yeah, I've seen you blossom.
00:06:53
Speaker
into this amazing speaker. So we're going to talk all about that today. But before that, just tell everyone who you are, who you serve, what you've been up to, and just a little bit about your business.
Amani's Diverse Roles and Interests
00:07:05
Speaker
Yes, my name is Amani Roberts, also known online like Amani Experience, which is the name of my business, or DJ AMRO. I work a lot with corporate events, you know, either doing the DJing, MCing, also speak at professional events, I do workshops, I stream one or two days a week on platforms like Twitch, LinkedIn, Facebook.
00:07:26
Speaker
I'm a professor at Cal State University Fullerton. I teach music business and entertainment operations. I love my students. We have a great time to get everything learned together. And I'm also the executive director for the Center for Entertainment and Hospitality Management at Cal State Fullerton. Like Carissa said, I've written one book and I'm working on my second book. And, you know, outside of that, I love pancakes. I love my dog, Nyla.
00:07:52
Speaker
and crab cakes and my Washington DC sports teams. That's a nice summary about me. Yeah, that's a great resume. Thank you. Thank you. What was the one about the I know professor and then the one after it?
00:08:06
Speaker
Oh, so executive director for the Center for Entertainment and Hospitality Management. So like I help bring recruiters on campus to talk to our students, I help and work with the students and our advisory board to make sure our curriculum stays cutting edge. And then I try to fundraise so that our center can be financially self-sufficient. Wow. Okay. That's,
00:08:29
Speaker
That's amazing. And tell me about like you're speaking. I'm not you're speaking your teaching experience these last couple years because you weren't a teacher before that and you got this gig and I feel like it's really your passion teaching these
Journey to Teaching and Balancing Roles
00:08:44
Speaker
students. So tell us a little bit about that.
00:08:46
Speaker
Yeah, I, when we first met, I wasn't teaching and I was DJing and doing kind of like, you know, networking in the community. I was volunteering at this DJ camp for kids one summer, like the middle to end of July. I got an email while I was there saying, we have an open position because a professor just resigned. Do you think you'd be interested in teaching these two classes? And I had learned by then, we had learned, actually you and I and Robert and Kate, like we have to diversify our income because we can't just have like,
00:09:15
Speaker
one income stream because it's too volatile. So I was like, okay, I'm interested. So they interviewed me, did a background check, and like a week and a half before the school year started, they said, okay, you're in. Here's the old syllabus. Here's an old test. Have at it. I'd never taught in high school or college before. I had to prepare. I went to orientation.
00:09:37
Speaker
And going into it, I didn't realize that, you know, because I was teaching new classes, I get full benefits. So I actually got full benefits and I started teaching my first semester. My classes were one to four and four to seven on a Tuesday. So it was back to back. It was not easy, but I somehow was able to survive.
00:09:56
Speaker
They asked me to come back the next semester. I said, okay. Then I had a class from like 10 to one and four to seven. I'll never forget my four o'clock to seven o'clock class. It was amazing because it was like 30 of us stuck in this little room, but the kids were engaged. And that was really when I kind of hit my first stride. I said, oh, I can do this. And the kids responded. It went really well. I'll never forget that class we were in.
00:10:17
Speaker
some dilapidated building and so that was my second class and then it kept going on they added more classes to me to teach like I was teaching project management
00:10:28
Speaker
Then I was teaching this one class strategic business seminar, which all seniors have to take. And I have to credit like Dr. Chandler for giving me these classes, which allowed me to be more well-rounded as a professor. So if one class was eliminated, I could still teach. Then I created this music business class. It took me three years to get it through the system with all the politics and red tape.
00:10:51
Speaker
And this is the first semester we've taught it. So now I teach four classes there. I've been there for five and a half years. I love it. It challenges me every week. The students, I learn from them as much as I teach them. And like you say, it's something that I love to do. And I'm just very fortunate that I was able to get this position and stay there.
00:11:13
Speaker
That's crazy. It's kind of interesting how like your book DJs Mean Business kind of turned into a course for for kids to for future generations. And it's just a testament to you that, you know, if you work hard, you know, even a volunteer and
00:11:29
Speaker
People are always watching you and, you know, if you put your all into little things like that, it could turn into these big opportunities where now you're like pretty much full-time. I'm like a full-time adjunct professor, really part-time. I don't get compensated like a full-time professor, but I work just as much. So yeah, but it's good. And I just, like you said, I got it from volunteering on the board for MPI, Meeting Professionals International, the Southern California chapter.
00:11:56
Speaker
And it was only because we were at the local schools, Fullerton, Long Beach, Northridge, Pomona, and UNLV. That's the only reason why I got this opportunity because I was working with them. So I'm forever gracious or happy. Thank you. All of those words. It all makes sense. Cool. Cool. Okay. And then tell us about your speaking career and how it has evolved.
00:12:21
Speaker
So I started speaking pretty much when I got involved with MPI, meaning professional, we would have like breakouts and workshops and I would do like stuff on social media, stuff on like writing a book. And then I would begin to get more involved on the global level for the global chapter, which is like the organization has over, I think it's like 14 or 16,000 members. We have these global conferences.
00:12:44
Speaker
One of my highlights was that at a global conference, let me think here, where was the first one? So I think we were in Toronto and I ran this DJ session with Stephen Foster where we did this team building activity for about 300 leaders of all the chapters across the world.
00:13:01
Speaker
And that was like a big stage there. That was a big stage for me. And then I went and I did some sessions at, I think we were in Nashville. I did some sessions there, like breakouts. I did some sessions last year at, we were at San Francisco.
00:13:18
Speaker
And these sessions have like 75 or 100 people then this year. So, you know, it's just continuing to grow. Also in my local chapter, I would do sessions. I'd be speaking because I became chapter president. So there'll be in-person events. We have to speak to people there. You know, it was just a lot of speaking. Most of this was for free, but the global work I did, I was getting compensated for.
00:13:38
Speaker
Then this year they asked me to be the digital host for the digital programming. So all the keynote speakers and breakout speakers, they would come and see me. We had like a digital booth and I would interview them because as you know, we are podcast hosts. I love to interview people. I love the kind of intimate, very intimate. And so I would, I was being broadcast across the world for people who were registered for the digital broadcast or on the LinkedIn page.
00:14:04
Speaker
So I was interviewing people three days and we did that. We were based in Cancun, so I did that. Then also I hosted or co-hosted a breakout session where I was DJing and then myself and a good friend of mine, Courtney Stanley, we shared the stage and we also did another breakout. We were talking. I was DJing. We were interacting with the audience.
00:14:23
Speaker
And, um, there, and then, you know, recently just continue to do, like I spoke to national speakers association, the black NSA chapter, the new Orleans NSA chapter. And so it just continues to kind of add onto it. And that's kind of my speaking career. Cause I say it's probably been about six or seven years of speaking and just continuing to
Evolution as a Speaker
00:14:44
Speaker
kind of grow. I spoke at podcast movement before two times. So yeah.
00:14:50
Speaker
So basically, you just talked a lot. That was a lot of talking. Do you feel like the podcasting really helped you become a speaker? Like, how did you develop your speaking skills? Because I know it's not hard, not easy in the beginning.
00:15:11
Speaker
Pardon this short interruption, but guess what? I have a new program. It's for all wedding professionals. It's called The Triple Threat. We redo your brand messaging, the homepage of your website. Part two is we do all your marketing.
00:15:28
Speaker
create a beautiful brochure so you could start getting on Prefer venue vendor list. And we do all your sales so we actually make you a sales presentation leading your client to the heck yes so you get paid. I have a free 20 minute demo training. It's only 20 minutes. Go to my Instagram at Carissa Woo.
00:15:51
Speaker
and DM me the word DEMO. I will send it right over. It's how to get 10 to 15 quality leads in your inbox per month. Enjoy, guys. Krista Wu is a LA-based wedding photographer who's actually turning business coach. She helped me grow and change, and I'm so proud to call you coach.
00:16:14
Speaker
tell us how you're feeling. Like, I want to just know a little bit more about your thoughts. Yeah, it's beautiful. And you're, you're awesome. It's beautiful. I'm speechless. I just like the fact that it feels like myself. I can I feel myself when I see this. Oh, man. Well, you got me pumped and excited for this. Carissa, thank you.
00:16:35
Speaker
Yeah, definitely both interviewing people on podcasts, but also being interviewed, like what we're having conversation now, because it allows you the chance to like practice, get your story, you know, kind of learn how to tell your story, which is probably one of the most important things in terms of speaking, slowing down so you're not talking too fast, making sure you kind of listen.
00:16:56
Speaker
Um, that's really some of the biggest learnings and then just, uh, just getting your reps in. So whether it's an interview, whether I was speaking at a chapter meeting, but podcasting really just helps you get your story right. Learn how to tell different stories, tie them into your message and then be able to think on the fly. Cause you know, someone who's interviewing you could ask a question that catches you off guard. So you have to be able to stop pause and keep it moving. Yeah. What are your favorite topics to speak upon and what is like your,
00:17:25
Speaker
messaging for your brand. I love to talk about like how to unlock your creativity under, you know, and get through imposter syndrome with the background of music. That's one. I also have a topic that's based on my new book, which is like how to rejuvenate company culture. But I draw parallel to like black R&B groups where when we were growing up, we had our TLC, our Boys to Men, Destiny's Child, you know, New Edition.
00:17:54
Speaker
back in the day, they had like the Supremes, they had Temptations, Shylights, but now you look up, there's no Black R&B groups. So I'm talking about that subject and it related to company culture, whereas
00:18:08
Speaker
You wanna do what you can to maintain the history of your company culture and keep it alive and thriving. Cause I share like a cautionary tale about how Black Army groups have kind of gone away and we don't want that to happen. So those are kind of two of my favorites. I also have a talk that I do. I do it actually a lot with my students where we use The Artist Way by Julia Cameron. And we talk about just, you know, rediscovering your youth in your current age and your current time slot. So those are some of my favorite ones.
00:18:38
Speaker
Those are really, those are really interesting topics.
Upcoming Book on Black R&B Groups
00:18:40
Speaker
I just got back from wedding MBA, and the topics weren't as specific as that. But it's interesting, like, remember, two years ago, you talked about the RV thing. Yeah, and now your book is coming out. When is it going to launch and tell us a little bit about it?
00:18:56
Speaker
Yeah, so we're working on it now. I finished the first draft. You know, it's funny, I went this summer, I went to Minnesota for a solo writing retreat, and I was able to get so much of the writing done there, which was a great springboard. It's about, the book is about why there are no longer any Black R&B groups in existence. And we go back from the fifties, we examine each decade, the growth and the groups that were popular. Then towards the end of the book, we say, what happened?
00:19:24
Speaker
Why are there no longer any groups and what's gonna happen in the future? So it's kind of a part encyclopedia and then part kind of prediction or analysis, what's happening. You know, two years ago, I was just getting ready to finish grad school. I went to Berkeley College of Music in Boston for grad school, and this was like my thesis. This is my big project. And so afterwards, I told you, I was like,
00:19:45
Speaker
you know, I wanna write this book, but to be able to finish the thesis in say December, 2021, and then be able to put all that work into a book was very difficult. It was very hard. There's lots of like delays, just procrastination, maybe a little bit of imposter syndrome, but I was able to do it. I turned in my first draft. I think I turned it in like August timeframe, you know, 120,000 words, which is a lot of words.
00:20:11
Speaker
and it's being edited now and I just can't wait for it to come out and then share the word and then just keep the discussion going. Was it a solo trip? Was it hosted by someone or you just literally like loved solo?
00:20:26
Speaker
Went solo. I found an Airbnb. You know, I have to show you a picture this time I see you. It was like right across. The Airbnb was right across from like Lake Superior. We were in Grand Marais, Minnesota, which is about 20 minutes from the Canadian border. And I just was there writing all during the day, take breaks, go for walks, go eat, keep writing. Wow. And I think I did like maybe 35 or 36 chapters there. So I did probably almost half of it while I was there. And it just really helped me
00:20:53
Speaker
keep going. And it was good because I planned it around a wedding. I was going to a wedding in Chicago. So I went early, a whole week early. And this was like the first time I was able to really travel post pandemic because last year was still a little bit tricky. It just it was life changing because it allowed me to get that book done. I got a shout out my good friend Melissa Majors who recommended the city for me. And it was it was amazing. It just was so impactful. Wow. Me and you like we really hustle and we work really hard at everything. But
00:21:23
Speaker
um you know you have a lot going on you're always very driven but where does like this drive come from?
Influence of Amani's Father
00:21:29
Speaker
I would say like watching my father growing up because he hustled he was like a college professor he was a real estate real estate agent too but then he was also a father he would come to all my soccer games he'd drive me into soccer games the practices like like and only now looking back i was like how do you have the time to do all this because i can i can barely manage like me one person where he had me my brother our mom like
00:21:52
Speaker
So I think that's kind of where the hustle and the drive comes from, because I watched it growing up. Oh, that's beautiful. I love that story. It really touches my heart, and I hope my kids see that in me. They will. They will. My next question is, how do you manage your time? Even with the teaching, that's even, like you said, a full time. And then with the speaking, and the Twitch, and the live streaming, and even during pandemic, you did a lot of trivia. You still do weddings.
00:22:22
Speaker
and you do a lot of corporate events and you know, you manage a team. So how do you, how does all these things in your brain like, you know, get organized?
00:22:33
Speaker
Yeah, it's a work in progress. I think I try to kind of bucket my time. I create lots of lists kind of work through during the day. I kind of take out time in my schedule to make sure I have time for like grading or preparing lesson planning. I have a virtual assistant and so she'll help me with like some of the grading and the papers and things. So that helps and just really bucketing my time.
00:22:57
Speaker
I set aside time for the meetings I have to go to. I really need to spend more time doing sales activities. I've kind of fallen off with that, so I have to build in more time. I've kind of reprioritized, like, whereas I used to stream, you know, during the pandemic, five, six days a week. Now I'm down to, like, one, maybe two. So, you know, just doing that. Now I have to do more networking events because I'm in a new city.
00:23:19
Speaker
So it's really just bucketing my time, trading lists, trying to stay to a routine, and just kind of taking things as they are. Like I know like Tuesdays, I'm pretty much gone all day teaching, most of Thursdays. So I try to do grading. I can't really get grading done then. So if I have to do grading or prep Saturday mornings, I try to prep for my classes for the next coming week, and then at Mondays I do a lot of streaming.
00:23:45
Speaker
So I try to bucket my time the best I can, and then fit it in. And then it's still a work in progress, though. It's not easy. Yeah, me and Robert, we're talking about you when we were at Bobo. We're like, oh, Amani loves this Bobo place. But we're saying you do value your friendships a lot, but you always have somewhere to go. But brings me to my next question. But what has your students, what was the biggest lesson your students have taught you?
Lessons from Students
00:24:15
Speaker
Ooh, great question. Um, like they've helped me maybe improve my communication because, you know, students, they need a lot of communication. So, you know, I have to communicate with them more. They've taught me the value of like,
00:24:32
Speaker
We use discord for all my classes and you know that way they can feel a little bit more comfortable asking questions on a platform that they're used to I can share information, so I kind of have to make myself be available to them a little bit more. And then ask questions they've they've taught me to be more curious they're very curious they ask a lot of questions and they've also taught me that.
00:24:55
Speaker
If they ask me something and I don't know, it's okay to say, you know what? I don't quite know that. Let's put that on the parking lot. Let me research and come back to you on that. I think that they've taught me that they've made me very humble with that. And they just taught me to be open to their ideas, maybe shifting projects around, due dates around, maybe the way I grade, the way I communicate grading, like it's, I'm still learning, you know? So I think those are some of the most valuable things that they've taught me and they've just taught,
00:25:26
Speaker
But they've also like, they've taught me that people can tell whether you're passionate or you're enjoying what you're doing. It's very obvious and they know, like you'll see on the surveys, unsolicited, they're like, oh, the professor, he comes to class every day. He's excited to be with us. You know, it's like my favorite class because at least they know when they come to my class, we're going to have a conversation. We're not just going to read a PowerPoint and, um,
00:25:52
Speaker
So they can tell. And you just try to be on it. I mean, even, I'll be honest with you, Carissa, even when I was going through a really tough time like a year ago with like a relationship, I still had to teach. Like life doesn't stop. And so they were actually able to like give me positive energy to help me through. And like, I didn't really tell them, although we do have this one activity where we did get into a conversation about it in one of the classes, but like, they were able to give me energy, help get me through this.
00:26:22
Speaker
And during the pandemic, like it was their energy that kind of allowed me to get through. Because besides them, I didn't really talk to many people during the pandemic because you're at home, you're stuck in. So they've given me a lot of like energy, good vibrations in tough times. And they just taught me a lot. So that's a long answer to your really good question. No, I mean, that's so sweet because kids are so like intuitive, you know, they could probably even feed your energy when you're down and kind of like
00:26:50
Speaker
What's wrong with Robert? So yeah, I don't understand. I'm sure how I'm gonna word
Music Industry Revenue Streams
00:26:58
Speaker
this question. But I'm curious, because I would say maybe like parents, some parents think that you can't make money in music. What is like a mindset shift for these kids and maybe to tell their parents of like, hey, you could actually make a really good career music? Yeah, yeah, that's a common concern.
00:27:17
Speaker
And especially, you know, because when you look at musicians in the media, most of the communication is very negative. Like they always talk about, oh, this artist failed to do a follow-up album, or this artist got caught doing this. Whereas if you know about how to work the music industry, there's money to be made consistently. And so one of the things, you know, you talk about if you're an artist, like you definitely will have your shows, your touring, that's one way.
00:27:41
Speaker
but it's really important for artists to get their songwriting credits and to be publishing because that's the long money. If your song is used in a movie, maybe you wrote a song 10 years ago, but your song is used in a movie 10 years later, and as long as you have the songwriting credits and you own the publishing or a portion of the publishing, you're going to get compensated and that's going to keep you going throughout the tough times of your career.
00:28:03
Speaker
In addition, there are different ways for musicians to make money outside of performing. You have streaming revenue, but that's not really for the majority. Only a minority amount of musicians, the top 1% make a lot of money from streaming, but you have merge.
00:28:19
Speaker
You have intimate shows. There's different ways. So I try to show and then on the flip side, you can also be like an A&R where you like discover artists and maybe you sign some artists and you're helping to develop artists. So you can do the same, both at the same time.
00:28:35
Speaker
So I try to show my students just the different avenues that there is to make money, show them the concerns and what if they're managing people how they should help them determine do I sign this this deal to work with the label do I go independent, maybe I just sign a distribution deal.
00:28:50
Speaker
Do I make sure I keep all my merch revenue? What about sponsorship? There's a whole bunch, especially nowadays, there's a whole bunch of revenue out there. So it's just, if you teach people and give them the knowledge, then they can communicate that with their parents, they can make better decisions too. Yeah, it's pretty eyeopening of like the different ways that you could, like you did in your career, like diversify your income. Just a little bit about your backstory, which I don't think
00:29:20
Speaker
people know is like you were in the hotel hospitality business, you know, making six figures and you know, you climbed your way up the ladder and
00:29:29
Speaker
You know, you were just over it. And I love that story that you said last our last podcast where you took the DJ program and you actually failed and it was extremely humbling, but you kept going and you can look back now and you know, talk about that story to your students. The little plaque right there. That's from the DJ program right there. What is it called?
00:29:52
Speaker
Scratch Academy based in LA. Yeah, Scratch Academy. Oh, okay. Oh, I love it. Yeah, I love that failure turn into a success story. Getting back to our hot topic real fast, but if someone is listening, wedding professionals and they want to be a seeker for 2024, which is just around the corner, what is one tip they could do today or this week after Thanksgiving?
00:30:20
Speaker
A quick message from our sponsor is Seventeen Hats. I'm collabing with them because this CRM company has made my life so much easier. So here's a question. What's holding you back? What's keeping you from finding success as a small business owner? It's not passion. The fact that you're listening to the show shows that you're eager to learn and get better.
00:30:42
Speaker
No, what holds most entrepreneurs is the chaos of business, paperwork, mailed invoices, and no system to handle it all. That's where Seventeen Hats comes in. Seventeen Hats is a better way to manage your small business. It's an all-in-one platform that streamlines everything from lead capture to client communication,
00:31:02
Speaker
to click and you're done automated invoices. 17 Hats paves away for your success and you deserve by giving you back hours in your day. I've been using 17 Hats for over a decade. I always know how much I'm going to be getting paid throughout the year and most importantly, I always get paid.
00:31:23
Speaker
Thank you, Automation. Find what success looks like for you with 17 hats. Get started for free at 17hats.com or use my promo code, heck yes. Back to the conversation. Well, what kind of occasion to use the model that you've exemplified, whereas you have a topic, you apply to speak, like you apply to speak at WIPA, right? WIPA Los Angeles. Yep. You spoke at WIPA and then that's it. Like start to identify different opportunities where you can go speak.
00:31:52
Speaker
Maybe you're compensated, maybe you're not, but...
00:31:55
Speaker
You have to start somewhere and then just keep applying and keep getting opportunities where you can speak. And then you wanna go to like wedding MBA, the big conferences and you wanna apply to speak there and look at different conferences. Maybe you can go and speak if you're traveling to Texas or to Florida, go speak to a local WIPA chapter there, say, I'm coming in town, I've got this, I've spoken here and try to travel around to speak. I think that overall, within you look at the whole speaking industry,
00:32:23
Speaker
We and when I say we I'm talking about Hospitality industry meetings and events the wedding industry There's not a lot of speakers out there that speak to our industry like our industry We do things that anyone can learn from whether it be time management project management managing different people how to manage emotions if you're doing a wedding and how to handle you know a
00:32:47
Speaker
emotional bride, father, mother of the bride. Like there are lots of different topics that are out there that we are experts on in our industry that we can speak to that people outside of industry would be interested in hearing from. So the key is just to get out there, apply to speak, speak at different opportunities and just continue to progress through it. That's a good one. I never thought about that to like branch out to other industries because
00:33:12
Speaker
you know, branding could be for any creative or like sales could be for any industry. So that's a good tip.
Advice for Aspiring Speakers
00:33:18
Speaker
And just letting the audience know like my first speech, remember like how nervous I was. And I was like, you helped me with my structure. And it really did come down to structure. And I listened to like a ton of TED talks, a lot of Michelle Obama, Oprah, just in strong inspiration. And then when it came down to it, it was just getting that structure and like kind of
00:33:43
Speaker
I don't know, putting in my personal stories, making it not too long, but just giving it like, some of the stuff is, it's like people have heard before, but you give a little bit of your own flair, your own charisma and turn it into a beautiful speech. So once you do your first one, I'm sure like the next one is a thousand times easier. Like, you know, a couple of things to add to what you said is like stories.
00:34:09
Speaker
Like if you're thinking, if you're doing a speech, you're known as 20, 25 minutes, 30, 35 minutes, like try to get three stories in there. And maybe you have, you put your story in orders of like your best story. So maybe you have your third best story. You start off with that. Like that's your, that's the first story you share.
00:34:24
Speaker
then in the middle of the presentation maybe you share like your second best story and then to close it out you tell your best story so you can leave people like like wow i find that that storytelling is the key because we all kind of have similar messages where we fail we come back we'd succeed but if you tell your story first of all you don't need to memorize anything because you're telling it from personal experience
00:34:46
Speaker
It will resonate with the audience because like, oh, okay, well, I've been there before. Oh, I've gone through a tough time and been able to bounce back. I can do that too. And so I think that's the key with like the structure is like you kind of pattern your message around your stories you're telling. And I've just watched people who are much better than me do this and I listen and I see it now through my like my participation with the National Speakers Association.
00:35:09
Speaker
And then also start to keep a story journal. Just write down any stories that you have that you think could be beneficial for you, you know, during one of your speeches. It could be the story about something you've been through with one of your clients. It could be a personal story when you were a child. It could be even, you know, although you're not supposed to do therapy from the stage, it could even be a story about maybe a tough time you've been through personally. It could be with a family member, with a significant other, a job, you know,
00:35:38
Speaker
a class like for me, I took this whole program, I didn't pass by two points, but then I came back to it again, like that's one of my favorite stories. Yeah, yeah. So keep a journal of all your stories and everything. And then you can figure out what story to use for what speech. And you would be surprised at the amount of stories you have that would be relevant. That's a really good tip. I think I'm going to start doing that. Those are there's a lot those are a lot of good tips in that one answer. Two more questions, Amani. You talked about one of your hot topics is, you know,
00:36:08
Speaker
battling or overcoming imposter syndrome.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
00:36:13
Speaker
This is you know, imposter syndrome is a real thing. It's literally a syndrome. So what is one tip that you could overcome imposter syndrome and we'll always have it. Yeah, I think the key is like to recognize that you have it. Remember that you can't compare your chapter five to someone else's chapter 20.
00:36:36
Speaker
because a lot of times we get a position like that, so we can't compare. And just acknowledge it and move forward. I'll tell you a funny story. So in my classes, I teach Measurement 449, Strategic Business Seminar. We have a day. We just had it last week. It's called the Artist Way Day. So we go through the Artist Way Day, and we talk about different things in the book. We do a lot of sharing. I share as well. I'm very honest and open and vulnerable with the students.
00:37:03
Speaker
And one semester, it was last semester, there's a topic, there's a section on our class about imposter syndrome. I play this video, I say who here thinks they suffer from imposter syndrome. And many times we have students who are first time college graduates, because they're the first ones in their family to graduate. They're getting ready to work in maybe these prestigious companies. It could be like accounting firms, consulting companies.
00:37:29
Speaker
So some of the students were like, yeah, I'm going to work. I'm going to be the youngest one there, but I'm going to be working with people who are 10 years senior than me, but I'm like their level. I just don't know if I'm up to it. So we talk about that. I had one student raise his hand. He said, Professor Roberts, I think I suffered, but it's really with my girlfriend. I don't think I deserve her. She's so much higher and better than me, and she's dating me. I don't think I deserve her.
00:37:53
Speaker
And the woman that was next to him said, oh my gosh, I can't believe you're saying that. And that was his girlfriend there. And so it was so funny. We were like, oh my gosh. But you've already done the hard work. You've got the girl. She's here. You love her. You don't need to be a pastor. You've got the girl. It was hilarious. I love it. So we helped him, whatever. And now we joke about it when I saw them for graduation.
00:38:19
Speaker
and they were there and then on like LinkedIn or whatever. It's like a joke we have. So that was funny. Oh, I love that. And then part two is that the next semester we had a guy and we were talking about imposter syndrome, or no, this time it wasn't about imposter syndrome. It was about what's something that you need to do, but you've been stuck. And what's the payoff for you staying stuck? Oh, shoot. That was another question we talked about. And then this one student said, you know, I need to ask my girlfriend to marry me.
00:38:50
Speaker
but I'm scared. I don't know what her parents are going to think. I don't know what my parents are thinking. And you know, all the women in the class like, Oh my gosh, let's figure this out. They like were helping out or whatever. I know I went off on a little left turn, but that was just another story about imposter syndrome and how it can be professional of course, but it can be personal too. And it was just a funny story about how we were able to help him too with professional personal imposter syndrome. Oh, I love that. It's like a mindset shift and confidence boost for
00:39:19
Speaker
Full story. That's so cute. Thank you for sharing that. One last question. You always give the mic drops. But last episode, you gave me this quote, which always stuck by me. But you said, you teach people how to treat you. And I hold that with me every day. Because even if I do get in the situation, I always bring it back to what could have been communicated better.
00:39:48
Speaker
So I always ask myself that and if you do let people walk all over you, like it's kind of on you. So that's something I always keep is what is one quote you could leave us with today?
Believing People's True Selves
00:40:06
Speaker
It's kind of like a similar one, but when people show you who they are, believe them. And I think I first heard Maya Angelou say that, but I
00:40:18
Speaker
you know, I tried to ignore when someone showed me how they were and it came back to bite me. And I think that in business and personally, people are going to show you how they are. And you know, you just, you have to say, okay, that's how they are. Is this something that I want to deal with or I need to walk away and it's okay to walk away. And that just really, um,
00:40:45
Speaker
I had to learn that lesson. So a lot of times you hear these quotes and you're like, oh, that's a nice quote to put up on the wall or whatever. But until you live it, it won't resonate. But that quote now, that quote now 100% resonates with me because it's true. Like if they show you who they believe it, because it's going to come back and they're going to continue to show you who they are in different ways. So that's the quote I'll share with you this time, because
00:41:08
Speaker
It's 100% true. And it's always around us. Yep. You'll see red flags really, really fast. Could you add a lot of them? Cool. Well, we, I love this conversation. Tell everyone where to find you, the podcast, the Instagram, the live streaming, the book, everything and everything.
00:41:28
Speaker
Yeah. So like, uh, Amani experience, a M as in Mary, a M as an NCI experience. One word that's where you can find me on like Instagram, Twitter or X Facebook. You can look up Amani space, Robert space DJ on LinkedIn. I spent a lot of time on LinkedIn as you can find me twitch.tv, back sesame experience, YouTube, the same thing. Those are all the platforms I spend most of my time on like LinkedIn, maybe a little bit on Instagram, a little bit.
00:41:53
Speaker
even tiktok a little bit book is going to come out of hopefully first quarter 2024 first late first quarter you can find that on amazon or my website which is amaniexperience.com just reach out say hello to me i'll respond back
00:42:09
Speaker
But yeah, that's kind of how to reach me. And I just wanted to also say like, Carissa, I'm so proud of you because you continue to do this podcast. You continue to try new things like the speaking, your business has evolved, you added the coaching and like, you know, you've been in the game now over almost 15, 20 years, but you're still very consistent. And that's the one thing that will continue to set you apart. So it's like an honor for me to be on your show a second time and to see the growth
00:42:37
Speaker
And I just wanted to say I'm really proud of you. So keep going because you inspire me. Aw, thank you so much. And I'm proud of you too. That means so much to me. Thanks for joining me this week on Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. Make sure to follow, subscribe, leave a review, or tell a friend about the show. Take a screenshot and post to IG. Tag me. Also, don't forget to download my free guide on how to become a lead generating machine. See you next time, wedding pros.