The Diversified Speaker
At a recent NSA national event, past National President, Certified Speaking Professional, CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame recipient, and Cavett Award Winner: Nido Qubein told us it was very important for the successful speaker to diversify... He told us that too many speakers "go broke" because they only rely on speaking engagements to pay the bills. Nido diversified his income by investing in real estate, by serving on the board of a bank, by serving as the chairman of Great Harvest Bread, Co. and most recently as the president of High Point University! Many NSA greats have always agreed with Nido's perspective... Art Linkletter, Bill Brooks, CSP, CPAE, Allen Weiss, CSP, CPAE, Randy Gage even Zig Ziglar. Joe Calloway, CSP, CPAE is well known for his brilliant speaking style. But in addition he is a guest lecturer with the Center for Professional Development at Belmont University and is the owner of Mirror, an award-winning restaurant in Nashville, which was recently featured on television's Food Network.
Curt Samborski and his bride Marilynn Semonick Certified Speaking Professional have been doing well with Marilynn's speaking, training and consulting... but they have also been making a killing with the Network Marketing company Quixtar!
Naomi & Jim Rhode both Certified Speaking Professionals and both CPAEs run Smart Practice which in addition to speaking and training contains its own full-service printing company and is a huge medical & dental supply store!
My name is Michael Scott Karpovich. I am the youngest person to ever When considering the advice of my mentors and heroes I looked at what I could do. I considered real estate and dabbled in it. I considered going back to teaching college where I was quite successful. I even considered to follow my college education and becoming a counselor. However each of these "diversifications" would significantly limit my freedom to do many speaking engagements! Speaking had to be KING in my professional life... I couldn't let any "diversification" become a distraction to my "calling!" What my "dream diversification" had to be was:
Well, I found it! I found a company that met all of my 20 goals! It even pays (a very modest) $40-$80 per person for trainings (which are not great training fees unless the audiences is very large -- but it complements our love of speaking and training). It will even allow me to help my friends and colleagues who want to make extra money in addition to their main income. And ... I can make money in a lot of other ways other than "training!" BOTTOM LINE: The reason I wrote this page and directed a few of my colleagues to it is so that you and I can make money together as partners from a mutually beneficial income source. How? Here is a list of the ways:
Finally and perhaps most importantly, I want you to seriously consider becoming my partner in this "diversification endeavor!" I get paid for talking on the phone, surfing on the internet, and watching TV, and I get paid when my friends and colleagues do the same! Please, my friend, do me three favors:
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Diversification:
All have alternative sources of income beyond speaking, training, books and products!
serve as president of the National Speakers Association of Michigan, I am the only Honorary Lifetime Member of NSA Heartland, NSA Indiana, and one of four Honorary Lifetime members of NSA New England! I am a Certified Speaking Professional who has been speaking professionally since 1978 (28 years) and the last 21 years this has been my only means of income. I am, of course the president of my own speaking corporation (a C-Corp) and I am the president of my family's farm/gravel corporation (an S-Corp)... but for these twenty some years my income has depended only on speaking.