Yep, you read that right. I’ve said goodbye to a signature program — The Speaking Strategy Academy — that’s been a core part of the business since 2019. Learn why I retired my speaking group coaching program and what I hope other business owners can learn from my experience.

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When things feel off…pay attention

Sometime in 2022, I had an odd feeling.

My business didn’t feel quite right. But I wasn’t sure what was wrong or what I needed to do to fix that feeling. But I brushed it off.

It’s not because I didn’t want to understand what felt off. There was a lot happening in my and my family’s personal lives. You probably guessed that I needed a break last summer when I put the podcast on hiatus.

I simply didn’t have the bandwidth to reflect on how I was feeling. I didn’t have the brain space to dream about the future of my business. I just kept moving, putting one foot in front of the other.

It was like I was afraid of what would happen if I stopped.

A few weeks ago, I blocked off time on my calendar to work on The Speaking Strategy Academy curriculum I had worked on since the start of this year. This block of time without calls and without having to create new content? It gave me the space I needed to finally see things clearly. The space to listen to what my heart and my gut were telling me for over a year…

It’s time to retire The Speaking Strategy Academy.

The road to get here — what we accomplished with the Academy

We launched The Speaking Strategy Academy in 2019. Since then, it has helped biz owners learn how to use speaking to scale their business, connect to a community, and get 1:1 support from me.

It’s been our signature program. I’m so proud of how many business owners we’ve helped get clear on their signature topics, craft incredible keynotes, practice their presentations with the community cheering them on, and learn how to pitch and negotiate.

So, I didn’t make the decision to retire the Academy lightly! I’m still wrapping my head around it. But it's a long overdue decision that I ignored for too long. To be clear, I’m not going anywhere, I’ve just said goodbye to the Academy.

Everything is fine. Except that I hate change and letting people down.

It’s hard for me to admit this stuff because of those two things. I always want to show up for my people, even though supporting others in a group setting has been heavier than expected because of personal events and health things. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, and certainly not my audience.

But I couldn’t put it off any longer. I needed to understand why I was feeling a certain way and what needed to change.

Why I retired the Academy

When you’ve been in business for a while and things are going well overall, it’s difficult to acknowledge when something needs to change. Change isn’t always necessary when a thing is broken and needs to be fixed. Sometimes your audience shifts. Sometimes your business model does. Sometimes your business simply evolves and outgrows what it started with.

For me, it was a combination of three things:

Life
Wanting to reduce overwhelm
Wanting to serve my audience better

I realized that I didn’t want to build and run a huge program; I’m not a #girlboss. As much as I loved the Academy, I’m not in a place to support a speaking group coaching program now.

And honestly, I think there are better ways to help small biz owners like you. A year-long commitment and $3k investment ain’t it when you’re worried about keeping your business afloat.

Plus, I’ve been hard to access the last few years. Sure, I’m dishing out speaking strategy and tips every week on the podcast, and I’m always up for chatting on Instagram. But to work with me 1:1, it required a big time and money commitment. I’d unknowingly been building a wall around myself, closing myself off to the people I wanted to serve.

It’s time to tear that sucker down.

What the future will look like

No one’s speaking journey is linear. Not all of us begin at step one. While I’d love for all of my clients to have a complete speaking strategy ready from the start, it’s not always feasible.

Sometimes you’re asked to speak at an event before you even have a talk developed. Or you see an amazing opportunity that you need to pitch before your speaker website is up and running. Sometimes you need to be prepared to negotiate pay before you’ve built out your pricing and packaging structure.

In an ideal world, we’d all have speaking strategies and start at the beginning. That’s the easy way. But since that’s not how life works, I want to be available when you need me, no matter where you are on your speaking journey.

I don’t want to be the recurring payment that freaks you out and makes you worry about your budget. Speaking isn’t always top priority 24/7, and I get that! Speaking should be an exciting (and profitable) adventure, not a chore or a source of stress.

That’s why I’m recommitting to meeting our audience where they are, even if it doesn’t follow an ideal timeline. I want to get back to doing great work that, in turn, helps biz owners do great work in their space and with their businesses.

So, I’ve narrowed down our offers to The Speak to Scale Shop, Strategy Sessions, and 1:1 coaching.

The Speak to Scale Shop gives me more room and flexibility to meet people wherever they are, with the resources they need most at that time.

Still choosing your signature speaking topics and don’t want to worry about pricing yet? Totally understandable and doable. Want to spend time booking more engagements before perfecting your website? Done and done.

And if you find that you need more involved strategy sessions in addition to the resources you’ll find in our shop, I’m available for 1:1 coaching! Together, we’ll figure out how you can make a bigger impact with your message — starting with where you are right now.

Take time to reflect on your business

To recap, I’m still here! I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not shutting down the whole factory. We’ll just be focusing more on serving you all through 1:1 coaching, speaking, and providing resources through The Speak to Scale Shop.

If you’ve been going through the motions in your business, I encourage you to take some time and dream. What do you want your business to look like in the future? Has your vision for your business evolved since you first launched it?

Remember, it’s okay if your plans change! Your biz doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s with a course, a membership, a program, whatever. Focus on your vision and how you can best serve your audience. Trust yourself. Trust your instincts.

And to all of our Academy members over the years who already know the news…

Thank you for being here for this journey. Thank you for allowing me to share my speaking knowledge and stories with you. Thank you for letting me support you. I’m grateful for the experience.