Dr. Meredith Bailey Jones of the Debt-Free Vets Facebook Group recently asked me a few thought-provoking questions. I was initially going to respond on the Facebook post, but the post was so long that I decided to write a quick article instead!
These amazing questions were sparked by an inspiring YouTube video speech I recently gave, in which I told my personal story of going from poor wellbeing/wellness to what I consider a life of my dreams and complete happiness!
I’m seeing more and more veterinarians branching out into business ownership (other than hospitals) and public speaking. What advice do you have for veterinarians who are interested in becoming better public speakers?
If interested in public speaking, the first recommendation is to start practicing at every chance you get! There is an international public speaking club called Toastmasters, and I highly recommend them if you are looking to sharpen your speaking skills. There are prepared speeches and improvisation speaking opportunities at their weekly meetings. This is also a great way to network with other talented and aspiring speakers. So if you are serious about being a speaker, you MUST join Toastmasters! There are literally chapters everywhere! there are very experienced speakers and also novice speakers! My Toastmasters mentor listened to and critiqued this speech, where I spoke at the NCSU CVM Class of 2018 Oath and Hooding. Most of the people in our club are motivated to continue their own personal development, which is a mindset that we must bring over to the veterinary profession!
What books or web sites do you recommend?
As far as books, I like The Wealthy Speaker 
by Jane Atkinson and The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie. The former gives tips on how to actually go about starting a speaking business and provides tips on being an effective speaker. From setting up your website to setting up your home office, the wealthy speaker is a complete guide to everything you need to know. The latter is mostly based on how to speak well – things like getting over stage fright, fear/anxiety, and such. It also gives many tips on how to captivate your audience every time you open your mouth! There are many other books out there, but these are two great ones to get you started.
by Jane Atkinson and The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking
by Dale Carnegie. The former gives tips on how to actually go about starting a speaking business and provides tips on being an effective speaker. From setting up your website to setting up your home office, the wealthy speaker is a complete guide to everything you need to know. The latter is mostly based on how to speak well – things like getting over stage fright, fear/anxiety, and such. It also gives many tips on how to captivate your audience every time you open your mouth! There are many other books out there, but these are two great ones to get you started. How did you get started with speaking/teaching at vet hospitals and colleges?
First, you have to have something that you are completely passionate about. For myself and Renee (co-founder, Get MotiVETed), we really wanted to make a difference for our veterinary colleagues who we frequently observed as struggling in areas of life both personally and professionally. We wanted to help because we each had our own struggles and dark days. Through tons of effort, tons of reading and studying, and investing in ourselves, we were able to overcome them. Our strong passion allows us to push past the difficulties that come with starting a company. Otherwise, you will be defeated by the rejection and other challenges that are bound to come your way. Depending on your topic, hospitals may or may not be interested in what you have to offer.
My best recommendation is to package what you would like to say into an actual service. From there, start trying to introduce yourself to hospitals, and let them know what you have to offer. For schools, you can approach the same way. In both cases, relationship building will be key. It takes time to build a relationship with an organization, so go ahead and GET STARTED! Remember that each speaking opportunity that you have will likely breed another opportunity, provide you with a testimonial, or give you experience on do’s and don’ts! Therefore, the sooner you get started, the sooner you succeed! The growth is exponential!
How do you pitch yourself?
Businesses and organizations really care about their bottom lines. You should know how your topic will help them grow their business. If this doesn’t come naturally to you, then you must learn how to sell! My favorite book on understanding the importance of selling is Sell or Be Sold by Grant Cardone. In other words, as speakers, we need to learn how to articulate the fact that we are giving them more in use value than we are asking in cash value! A few other questions to ask yourself are: How are you serving the hospital or school (or other speaking client)? How do you add value to the business organization? What is your intention? What is your purpose?
by Grant Cardone. In other words, as speakers, we need to learn how to articulate the fact that we are giving them more in use value than we are asking in cash value! A few other questions to ask yourself are: How are you serving the hospital or school (or other speaking client)? How do you add value to the business organization? What is your intention? What is your purpose? Getting Speaking Opportunities/ How to Get Invited to Speak:
1. Practice your craft! Embrace your uniqueness! Put yourself out there! When you are at conferences, make comments at the end of the talks. Speak with confidence, enthusiasm, and conviction! Meeting planners could be in the audience! That’s happened a few times in my case!
2. Attend conferences and summits and meet people! Introduce yourself to others as a speaker! Have a price in mind! If you tell enough people that you are a speaker, people will instantly think of you when they need someone to speak! Better yet, eventually someone is going to ask you what your fee is…. make sure you have one! lol (been there done that :-). I was at a high school career fair in the beginning of my speaking career, and I hadn’t really thought about what I would charge. I hadn’t thought about it because I wasn’t expecting to be answering the question of “How much do you charge?”. Sure enough, by the end of the career fair, I had been asked by several school administrators what my fee was. So I had to quickly make something up lol. Know what you’re going to charge!
3. Embrace your own personal story. No one else has one exactly like it! This you can always lean on! Better yet, people need to know your story! There has to be beauty in your story because there is beauty in you! So embrace your story and share it!
4. Learn and embrace the profession of selling! True professional salesmanship will help you be successful and effective in every area of your life. I know that most people think of slick used car salesman or pushy sales people when thinking about sales. Nothing could be farther from the truth! I have a radio show called “Sell to Excel“. The topic of the show is how to master the art and science of selling to get your way in business and in life. Ultimately, selling allows you to effectively get your amazing product or service to others! Take a quick look around you, wherever you are! Everything you see, is likely a result of a transaction! Veterinarians can easily apply the principles to their own business and live the lives they want to live! You can find some of the episodes on www.soundcloud.com if you search the name.
5. Understand the concept of “You become what you think about.” I believe this is the key to success in all ventures. You can apply this to any area or thing in life. For at least 8 years (and for many veterinarians longer than that) you thought about being a veterinarian… and now… you are a veterinarian! The same is true for writing books, giving speeches, being an amazing husband/wife/mother/father, having a fit body, being debt-free, being well, etc. You become what you think about most of the time. Think about writing a book long enough, you’ll eventually write one (I wrote 2 in 1.5 years, while I was still practicing!).
Therefore, if you desire to be a speaker, start thinking about it frequently (daily at least), and the rest will fall into place. You’ll find yourself reading articles like this one! 🙂
Please let us know if you have a web site or more resources to share with us.
The company Renee and I started is called Get MotiVETed, and we provide wellbeing solutions for all members of the veterinary community! We aspire to make terms like burnout and compassion fatigue things of the past! www.getmotiveted.com . Our next seminar will be in Wilmington on July 8th from 9am – 3pm! We still have some slots available if anyone wants to attend! You can find more info on our website! We have an amazing 9 person team (2 veterinarians, ex-practice manager, veterinary nurse, pre-veterinary student, mental health professional (suicidologist), and 3 pre-vet interns.), and each of us works hard to spread awareness of the importance of self-care and personal and professional wellbeing! We recently started an internship program, and we have a few interns who are really passionate about wellbeing, and they are helping us with our mission!
Are you still practicing, or are you solely doing consulting and selling information products?
I stopped practicing on January 12th, 2018. I enjoyed my time practicing. There was some burnout. Mostly, my growth wasn’t there. I wasn’t really feeling challenged. Ultimately, I knew there was so much more to this world than just my career as veterinarian, and I wanted and needed to explore that! I wasn’t bad at practicing. I loved every coworker, client, and most of the pets (there were a few bites/scratches that I don’t miss). However, I know my strengths, and now, I’m catering to where I excel and where I believe I can make the biggest impact in the veterinary profession and ultimately the world. If I can help vets be happier, then I will be helping even more clients and pets/livestock than I was helping as a practicing veterinarian!
That said, my wife has a mobile acupuncture practice. I help her with some of the appointments. I recently did a rabies clinic, as well. I’m also the President of the N.C. Association of Minority Veterinarians, and I also serve on NC State’s Vet School Admissions Committee. So I’m still heavily involved in the profession. However, I’m mostly coaching (personal development), speaking, thinking, writing, taking massive action, studying life/wellbeing/prosperity, and enjoying every moment life has to offer as I do my own thing!
Thanks for the thought-provoking questions Dr. Meredith Bailey Jones! I truly hope to meet you someday! I love what you all are doing with the Debt-Free vets group, and I hope that this article has been useful!
What an inspiration for the veterinary community! I think that you’re providing a much needed service, so hats off to you for branching out and creating your space to help those within this profession.
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