How to Create a Signature Talk That Gets You Paid with Jess Ekstrom

Earn Your Happy

Lori Harder

Entrepreneurship, Business

4.8 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 27 April 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Think you need more experience before you can get paid to speak? Think again. In this episode, I sit down with Jess Ekstrom, a Forbes Top Rated Speaker, to break down how to turn your lived experience into paid speaking opportunities. Jess shares how she went from speaking for a slice of pizza to commanding $35K per talk. We also dive into the shifts that get you booked, how to think about pricing without tying it to your self-worth, and how to optimize your online presence so opportunities come to you. Get ready to create a signature message that people want to book. Check out our Sponsors: Granola - Granola is an AI-powered notepad built for the way real people actually meet. Get three months free at http://granola.ai/earn. Shopify - Try the ecommerce platform I trust for Glōci, Sign up for your $1/month trial period at http://Shopify.com/happy Indeed - Spend less time searching, and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Indeed is giving Earn Your Happy listeners a $75 SPONSORED JOB CREDIT to help get your job the premium status it deserves. Just go to http://Indeed.com/podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on Earn Your Happy. Rella - Rella is a project management platform built specifically for social media managers and teams. Go to http://getrella.com and use code EARN for 10% off your first three months or annual plan. HIGHLIGHTS 00:00 Why people can’t book you if they don’t know you’re a speaker. 08:30 How did you get into speaking? 11:45 The massive pay gap between male and female speakers. 15:00 The mindset shift that helps you confidently raise your rates. 17:30 How to identify your signature message. 25:00 Tips to handle fear, nerves, and worst-case scenarios on stage. 32:30 How to think about pricing without attaching it to your worth. 35:30 When do you say yes or no to free speaking? 38:00 Why you don’t need to be an expert to start speaking. 40:00 Step-by-step framework for a signature message. 46:00 Ways to optimize your profile for opportunities. RESOURCES Join Jess’s Mic Drop Workshop to become a paid speaker HERE! Start with Jess’s FREE speaking training HERE! Text “HYPE” to get weekly mindset + speaking tips from Jess - 704-228-9495 Pre-Order Jess’s book Making It Without Losing It HERE! Apply for the Elite Entrepreneur Mastermind HERE! Get on the waitlist for Mentor Collective Mastermind HERE! Try glōci for 40% off your first order with code HAPPY at checkout - head to getgloci.com FOLLOW Follow me: @loriharder Follow glōci: @getgloci Follow Jess: @jess_ekstrom

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is sponsored by Granola. Granola is an AI powered notebook built for the way real people
0:06.9	actually meet. You can try it totally free for three months. Just head to granola.aI forward slash earn.
0:13.0	Shopify. Try the e-commerce platform I trust for Glosi. Sign up for your $1 per month trial period
0:18.0	at Shopify.com forward slash happy. Indeed, need to hire. This is a job
0:22.8	for Indeed sponsored jobs. Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying
0:28.7	you heard about Indeed on Earn Your Happy. Rella, go to getrella.com and start your 14-day free trial.
0:35.8	Use code earn for 10% off your first three months and
0:39.0	see why social media teams are ditching the tool chaos people can't book you to speak if
0:43.9	they don't know your speaker focus on how do I optimize my social platforms I'm not talking
0:49.1	about followers but just to look like a speaker if you have a photo of you speaking can you
0:53.6	pin it to the top of your profile I got got speaking gigs, not because they even looked at like, was she a good speaker? What topic was it? It was like, hey, I saw you speak. There was a person on your social. I would say don't make it hard for people to give you money. Tell them how they can work with you. Get the visuals there, get the word there, and just optimize yourself for inbound opportunity.
1:19.1	Jess, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.
1:21.6	Thank you for having me.
1:22.6	It's been a minute.
1:24.2	I know, we were just chatting.
1:25.5	I think we had figured out the last time
1:27.1	we had spoke was
1:28.0	maybe, or like gotten to see each other was 2019. Yeah. I know. I'm like, have we might have been in
1:34.9	our world or each other's worlds earlier than that though. I'm not sure. I think so. Yeah.
1:39.8	Especially with Lindsay as a mutual friend and it's obviously you're working with your headbands. I'm like,
1:45.6	your headbands. Did we do that Bliss project and headbands? I think so. I think there's been a lot of
1:51.8	things that brought us together. And now here's another one that we can put on our friendship
	...

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