How to Find Speaking Opportunities through Networking, with Chelsea C Williams

Chelsea C. Williams

Award-winning Entrepreneur, Workplace Educator & Speaker

As the Founder & CEO of Reimagine Talent Co. she & her team support employers, education institutions, and nonprofits in spearheading multi-generational workforce & talent development solutions that drive employee engagement & retention.

She is a frequent contributor to media outlets like CNBC, Fast Company, Investment News, Insider, and Forbes on managing & leading multi-generational teams and engaging & developing Generation Z.

Chelsea’s honors include: receiving the 2021 Forbes Next 1000 Award for small businesses redefining the American dream, being selected as a 2022 Tory Burch Entrepreneurial Fellow, and receiving the 2023 Entrepreneurial Impact Award by J.P Morgan Chase Commercial Bank and Women Presidents Organization (WPO).

Prior to founding Reimagine Talent, Chelsea spent a decade on Wall Street in Global Human Resources at Lazard and Barclays.

She obtained her B.A. in Economics from Spelman College. She is a graduate of the Tuck Executive Education Program – Building a Successful Diverse Program.

SHOW NOTES

How can we as speakers expand our networks to meet some amazing people and, probably more importantly, secure speaking engagements?

We need to be strategic about our networking efforts. But what exactly does that mean, and what are the steps we should be taking to get our names out there more.

Today, Jess is joined by Chelsea C Williams, and she has some tips!

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• How can I continuously improve visibility and generate referrals for business growth?
• How can I balance personal stories and business topics in public speaking?
• Why is it crucial to incorporate DEI into workplace conversations and leadership?

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Rate Amplify on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Jess Ekstrom.

Amplify with Jess is produced by Earfluence, and brought to you by Mic Drop Workshop.

TRANSCRIPT

00:00:01 – Chelsea C Williams

If that feels icky to send the email initially, get out of your home. Yeah, get to social events that are happening. Jess and I are in the same city, so we’re going to chamber events, we’re going to women’s empowerment conferences, we’re going to things that naturally are exciting. And when we’re there, we’re showing up and we’re saying to ourself our little pep talk in the way in ooh. I want to make three connections that feel values aligned in this opportunity. And then we’re following up after welcome.

00:00:34 – Jess Ekstrom

To amplify with Jess Ekstrom, a show designed to help women get out of their head and into their zone of influence. Today’s guest is Chelsea C. Williams, entrepreneur, workplace educator and professional speaker. Chelsea is one of those speakers who’s skilled at both keynotes and workshops and who speaks both for lead generation and direct speaking revenue. Those leads are for the company she founded, Reimagine Talented, which delivers HR and career development solutions to support employee engagement, development and retention. And much of her speaking content is about why diverse companies are set up for success.

00:01:10 – Chelsea C Williams

We don’t believe we can talk about organizations without being mindful that different people exist, different experiences. And what we want to be able to do in workplaces is help have them connect, communicate and work together towards a goal that impacts the business. So for us, there are times when I am discussing people management and leadership is an example of work that we do a lot of. One focal point is new managers. How we upskill new managers to be effective in hybrid, remote or in person spaces. One of our sub topics in people management and leading well, is feedback as an example. Well, here’s the thing, Jess. Everybody in the world, I would say, should understand feedback, be open to feedback and certainly give feedback. But there are diversity related conversations that impact the space of feedback. So when I am planning out a training or planning out a keynote, and I’m talking about feedback as an example, I’m going to bring in some of the things that I know are impacting underrepresented individuals in the workplace. An example that we all know is women. The fact that could be addressed to women in the workplace, especially in industries and sectors where they are in the minority, sometimes is focused on gender. It could be women are aggressive, women are sensitive in nature. Those are things we’ve heard in workplaces before. And so how I am offering feedback to my team of mainly women or women of color. I do need to be mindful of biases and stereotypes that might exist in feedback and how the person’s going to receive it if I want it to be empowering feedback. So that’s an example of a topic feedback where most people in the workplace would say, yeah, this is important, and if I’m a manager, I need to be giving it. But the behind the scenes understanding of a DEI lens to how I give feedback helps me be a manager and leader who understands their people.

00:03:13 – Jess Ekstrom

And I just think what you’re saying, too, is so important in that, like, diversity, equity and inclusion is like a box that you would check on a speaker application or what topic is this? But it is in. It should be in everything that we talk about at work. And I think about this with entrepreneurship. I get asked to speak on social entrepreneurship, and I’m like, I don’t even put the word social in front of it anymore because I think that if you’re going to start a business, it’s not just a trend to do something good, it’s a responsibility to do something good with your business. Same thing with Dei. It should just be in any kind of leadership, discussion, communication and all of that, which is why I love that you and reimagine talent have that as, like, a pillar of one of your values. So going back to you and your speaking career, you know, I feel like with growing a business and also having a speaking career, there’s kind of two different ways you can go about it. There is, I’m going to go speak, and maybe it’s for free because it’s going to be as a lead gen for my business. And then there’s the I’m going to speak and it’s going to be that my keynote will be the product, and I’m not going to be pushing my business because I’m getting paid to speak on this topic or this idea. So there’s like the revenue generating side of speaking, and there’s a lead gen side of speaking you personally. How have you navigated that? Because you’ve kind of been able to do both.

00:04:48 – Chelsea C Williams

You are speaking all the things right now about this.

00:04:51 – Jess Ekstrom

Absolutely.

00:04:52 – Chelsea C Williams

I think about this stuff all the time, and I’ll tell you, it is something. Again, I’m sitting here as a founder and CEO who speaks. You could be a person who simply wants to speak. I think the concept of knowing, especially through time, what is working for you and your organization is very important. So when I think about reimagine talent today, 60% of speaking for me is paid speaking through a keynote or even a facilitated session or something like that. 40% is for Legion, meaning I’m going and speaking at a professional associations conference. You know, name a state in the US, their nonprofits council as an example. Right. And I’m going and I’m delivering a topic related to what we do at reimagine talent that’s also supportive to the membership body of this organization. I’m thinking about one that I did in February for, again, a nonprofits council. I’m in North Carolina, in the state of North Carolina that was focused on what employers need to know about emerging generation zenith. And so you could think about, you know, the nonprofit space. Certainly there’s this social impact and mission driven focus that many nonprofits have. And yet Gen Z, who’s very different from other generations in their mindset, value that. And so my whole talk to them was, how do you start to think about building that pipeline of Gen Z into your nonprofits? I was not paid for that, but I knew that being in front of that audience and sharing the research that we found through our organization could be an opportunity of two things, actually, Jess. Certainly to share what we do with a little bite size of information, but also hear what’s top of mind for the leaders who were in that session here shaking your head. So we were using it to collect data, insights, ask questions that we could kind of get a sense of how much are they thinking about this now? Or how much will it become, you know, a big focal point in the next five years?

00:06:58 – Jess Ekstrom

So interesting. Like using a free opportunity to test a topic, one for your speaking career, but also for your business. Like, we’ve been doing that with, you know, we call it mic drop workforce, which is our training for women at work. And it’s like, is there, are there groups of women or departments of women at work who aren’t looking to get paid to speak? They just want to get better at presenting and handling Q and A and giving feedback. And so we’ve been able to do these, like, little pop ups at conferences to see, like, how many people show up. Is this something that people want? Is it what they pay for? And so being able to create those sandboxes where you can play a little, get some feedback is, I mean, priceless when it comes to building your business and with you. So you have the, a lot of tactical stuff that you can teach on building teams, culture. You also have your story of, like, being this amazing woman who started this company, who is young and, like, inspiring all these people. How do you balance, like, talking about you versus talking about your business?

00:08:17 – Chelsea C Williams

Oh, that’s a good one. You know, my truth is, I have not. We kind of talked about this.

00:08:24 – Jess Ekstrom

We did a little bit. So maybe this is my way of telling you that you should insert a little more of yourself.

00:08:29 – Chelsea C Williams

Let’s see what you’re doing, Jesse. See what you do. You know, candidly speaking, I think it’s an opportunity for your listeners. I have been almost exclusively, I say 90% focused on this work that we do because, like you, I’m passionate about the work that we do. So for me, it’s like talking about it is I could do it all day because I really care. But I think you bring up a really good point. And it’s interesting because it’s where I’m often asked the questions. Like afterwards, you know, folks will certainly ask, let’s stay in touch. But they’ll say, can I talk with you about how you left your corporate job on Wall Street? I get these little nuggets of people wanting to know the story because we’re human and we want to be able to get empowered. But I haven’t really scratched that surface as an opportunity for myself long term. But it’s absolutely something that I’ve thought about.

00:09:17 – Jess Ekstrom

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I can help you with that. We’ll just get another coffee sometime. And, you know what you can help me with is actually what I want to talk about next is like, a lot of people who start this, you know, a lot of creatives, creators and thought leaders, you start because you have ideas, you have words. 1 minute you’re alone in a coffee shop writing your novel, and the next minute you’re like, I need to hire someone to promote this. I need to hire someone to help me with my podcast, or I need a team that is helping me do the back end of this growing business. You are the go to person of building teams. I guess for someone who is starting out, who maybe is a solopreneur, a thought leader, when do they. When is it time? You know, I feel like a lot of people have a tough time relinquishing control or even making an investment in something that in other. It’s just a lot of risk.

00:10:17 – Chelsea C Williams

A lot of risk. This is its own episode, Jess.

00:10:21 – Jess Ekstrom

I know, I know. I’m like, I gotta get. While I have you, I’d be remiss to not ask you this.

00:10:25 – Chelsea C Williams

And it’s a big question that comes up. So for my solopreneurs out there, what you’ll want to do, and candidly, it’s a conversation of time will tell, right. The more that you are in this work, doing this work, I would tell you you want to start to get in a habit of documenting where your time is going. I mean, that’s really what it is. You’ll want to document where your time is going on a week to week basis. You’ll also want to be very honest about what you enjoy doing and what you get done rather quickly, candidly speaking. So, example, when you’re a solopreneur, yeah, you’re doing all the things you’re delivering on service. You might be writing your marketing copy to include in your email or on LinkedIn or Instagram, whatever your platform is. And then you’re also doing business development. Those are just a short list, but I think you should be honest about what energizes you and what depletes your energy. So for me, the operation and administrative piece I know is incredibly important, but it’s not a strong suit for me. I’m a people person. Be out there. I like to engage, allow me to do the business development and client work. But I knew that I needed brilliant people to help me on the back end, the project management, Jess the copywriter. While I enjoy being interviewed, writing itself long form, it’s just not my strongest suit. So I knew over time, as I was thinking about getting myself in front of new audiences and helping to share more thought leadership with new groups, that a person who writing was natural for, who could help take all the things in our brain, and I know you’re like that too, and then put it into white papers, put it into LinkedIn copy, put it into emails, would save a lot of time and help me devote my energy to what I do best, which is this development and the client work. So I think you have to be honest with yourself as you start to grow and build, and you should start documenting where your time is going on a weekly basis. Just so you are very clear about what’s going where. And I’ll say this final thing on this, because again, this is its own session. When you are starting out as a solopreneur, please do not forget that your sole driver should be business development and getting in front of new groups, because revenue is what you’re trying to get to for most of us. We’re listening. So you, you know, I was given the advice that 60% of my week time should be, should be going towards income producing activities. That’s what it’s called at a minimum. So when I look at my week, 60% of what I’m doing should be going to things that are going to, maybe not directly, but if I’m being interviewed for a media post that is getting me to income producing because if my buyers read it and they’re like, let’s set up a call that’s getting me close to the proposal, the contract, the partnership.

00:13:19 – Jess Ekstrom

Yeah, I think about that. I’ve been thinking about that more and more, especially, like, with delegation in my, in just that becoming a new priority for me, being a mother. But I’m like, also, why did it take me having a kid to realize that I need to focus on where I’m spending my time? And sometimes I catch myself in canva editing a document or there are other things that I could be doing with this time. And so I think you’re right. Auditing where you’re spending your time and are you directly using that time in revenue? What did you call them? Revenue generating income activities is what it’s called. Even if you google it, you’ll find income producing activities. Chelsea, one more piece of advice that you have. Maybe it’s like for someone who is like you, who has, was at a corporate job looking to take the leap, maybe it’s someone who’s aspiring to be a speaker, someone looking to grow their business. How have you gotten, is there some piece of advice or a mantra that has gotten you to where you are that you can leave people with?

00:14:33 – Chelsea C Williams

I think it’s a beautiful question and I’m so honored to support your community. I will really say, and you’ve heard this, folks, speaking is certainly about passion and capabilities. You do have to build your skillset as a speaker. That’s non negotiable. We have to continue to do it, get better, collect feedback, et cetera. But there also is the business to speaking that I know Jesse talked about as well. So there, you know, practical things that have helped me as an individual speaker and as a business one is doing a great job because when you do a great job, it leads to referrals. Business comes. Yes, yes, we’ve talked about this. The amount of referrals we, we get, I get, I’m so grateful for it because it’s the low hanging fruit that if you do well when you show up, you’re bound to be able to have, you know, inbound requests. But there is the other piece of this where we do know that putting, I know that putting in effort and intention is also important. So, you know, a couple times a quarter, a couple times a month, depending on what’s going on, we are actively on Google. Jess, I know you send those newsletters with call for speakers, which I think is so incredible that you’re generous in that way. But folks, that’s something that you should be doing as well. Doing a Google search, if you’re in marketing or hr or diversity or supply chain, doing a Google search of call for speakers, supply chain, call for speakers, human resources, checking your state, checking your region, because we still do that as well. And opportunities that have come from that targeted effort to find opportunities that we’re excited about, that could be lead gen opportunities. It truly takes both.

00:16:13 – Jess Ekstrom

And I love the way that you like because someone could look at you and say, oh, Chelsea, it just has opportunities fall into her lap because of what you’ve been able to build. But we’re the same way. We still do outbound there. I think there is a connotation that, like finding places, reaching out, actively pursuing stuff is beneath you when you’ve reached a certain point. No, it never is. Like, you always need to let people know you exist.

00:16:41 – Chelsea C Williams

Exactly. Exactly. And I’ll say to that, figure out what your flow is. For some people, you’re comfortable either yourself googling opportunities, creating a spreadsheet, keep yourself organized, or have an admin or VA support you in that. But if that feels icky, to send the email initially, get out of your home. Yeah, get to social events that are happening. Jess and I are in the same city, so we’re going to chamber events, we’re going to women’s empowerment conferences, we’re going to things that naturally are exciting. And when we’re there, we’re showing up and we’re saying to ourself our little pep talk in the way in, oh, I want to make three connections that feel values aligned in this opportunity. And then we’re following up after.

00:17:24 – Jess Ekstrom

You have inspired me to do that. I’m not taking credit for that. You have inspired me to do that. Chelsea, where can people find you? And yeah, how can they connect with you? You’re a great follow on LinkedIn.

00:17:35 – Chelsea C Williams

Yes. So again, just thank you so much for the opportunity to serve. You are doing such an amazing job, inspiring folks. I can be found on LinkedIn. That’s my primary place. So Chelsea C. Williams, C Dot. That’s how you can find me amongst all the chelseas in the world. Reimagine talent is my. If you go to www.reimagintalentco.com, you can learn more about our. And I will also share with Jessica. We produced some white papers last year at my organization, how to build multi generationally connected teams and what employers need to know about Gen Z. It’s a freebie and we will link that so that you have a chance to explore some of our thought leadership that we use for speaking. So you’ll see how our flow works.

00:18:24 – Jess Ekstrom

We would definitely love to see that and I’ll put it in the show notes. Chelsea, thank you so much.

00:18:29 – Chelsea C Williams

Thank you for the opportunity.

00:18:34 – Jess Ekstrom

Thanks for listening to amplify. If you are a fan of the show, show us some podcast love by giving us a rating and reporting you and give us a follow. Iikedrop Workshop and essextrum. This episode was edited and produced by earfluence and I’m Jess Ekstrom, your host. Remember that you deserve the biggest stage, so let’s find out how to get you there. I’ll see you again soon.