Learning Business from Kids, Really!

Posted on October 2, 2017 by MarleneMB

The day after Hurricane Irma hit Orlando, FL, I spent time with my nieces and nephew. Little did I know that they were going to teach me how to operate in business.

Yes. These are valuable points they taught me:

To be innovative when thinking of my customer

Avoid the pitfalls in business

Have a Plan A, B and C!

Take time to rest – Balance Life

Great Teamwork and Leadership are important for a business to succeed.

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Marlene M. Bryan is a Distinguished Toastmaster, DTM. She is a certified speaker and leader by Toastmasters International. Marlene is the owner of Small Biz Evolution, LLC. She is a Keynote Speaker, an Author and a Business Consultant.

So You Want to Be a Paid Speaker – Get the Blueprint

Posted on June 3, 2015 by MarleneMB

After delivering a speech, oftentimes some people will approach me about doing what I do. That is public speaking. When they tell me that they are interested in becoming a public speaker, I often ask: “What is your message?” “Do you know the group that will be willing to listen to your message?” “Do you know how to market yourself?” “Do you know how to put a value on the delivery of your message?”

The responses may vary from: the deer in the headlights look, to some attempt at explaining how they can deliver any topic to any audience. This usually indicates to me that they have not done their homework and may be in for a rude awakening.

The speaking business is just that: a business. Some people may view it as something simple to do. It is not. If you do not have a plan, you will experience more failure than success. It is not an easy business to get going. But if you learn what to do and act on it, it can become a great business.

1) First, start with defining your message. If you say you can talk about any subject. You are wrong. If you are not an expert in a particular area or have no experience in some areas, you will not be a credible speaker. You don’t want to get in front of an audience and flop.

2) Define your target audience. Not everyone is going to listen to your message. Nor should you try to speak with everyone about your message. Be smart about it. Find your target audience and spend time speaking in front of them to get the most results.

3) Identify how you would deliver your messages to your audience. Is it through books, webinars, DVDs, online videos, workshops, etc. Learning the different methods and media to reach your audience is important.

4) What is your rate? I find that most people don’t know how to put a price value on the delivery of their messages…Really this is the price value of yourself! What experience do you have? How long did it take you to get it? How much will someone pay you for it? These are just a few of the questions that one has to determine to really put a true value on your intellectual property/knowledge.

Becoming a successful Public Speaker takes some work. One of my mentors, Dawnna St. Louis, will be conducting a workshop, The Platform Expert’s Speakers Mastermind Class, on June 13, 2015 (8 a.m. to 3 p.m.) at the Hampton Inn located at 1900 NW 150th Ave, Pembroke Pines, Florida 33028. You can link to register here: http://theplatformexpert.com/.

Here is some of what she will be covering:

Pick Your Profitable Topic
Position Yourself in the market for big money
Build multiple streams of income while you sleep
Market yourself Powerfully and Profitably
Break 6 figures in the first year
Set your speaking fees and earn more than you expected
Create Books and Publications your audience crave
And much more!

If you truly want to be a Paid Public Speaker, sign up to learn from Dawnna. I certainly did.

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Marlene M. Bryan is a Distinguished Toastmaster, DTM. She is a certified speaker and leader by Toastmasters International. She is currently the District 47 Public Relations Officer, and leader of the Public Relations Team. She provides her services to over 3800 members throughout the district. Marlene is the owner of Marlene M. Bryan, Corp and Small Biz Evolution, LLC. She is a speaker, an author, and a coach.

3 Lessons I Learned About Leadership at the Toastmasters District 47 Conference

Posted on April 28, 2015 by MarleneMB

He stood up before a room filled with over 200 of his Toastmasters peers. With confidence in his voice, he made his pitch to us, the leaders within the District. Elvis shared why we should vote for him as the new Division F Director. He only had two minutes to convince us to trust him with this important position to oversee over 400 people in Division F.

After Elvis’ well outlined speech, he sat down to listen to his opponent do the same. Once they were both done, the District Governor gave the go ahead for the leaders to cast their ballots. The ballot count took about 20 minutes to complete. During this time, the candidates sat nervously awaiting their fate. The election official came in and handed the results to the District Governor.

The winner was announced. Elvis had successful won over the confidence of his peers to entrust the role of Division F Director. A loud cheer went out across the audience. The emotion on his face said it all. This victory was a sweet one for him.

This was not Elvis’ first attempt in his pursuit for the Division leadership role. It was his third! His first attempt was a bruiser. He lost handily to his opponent. In my observation, Elvis was a young leader in his Toastmasters career. The group of leaders felt he had more to learn. Normally, a lot of folks would walk away dejected by this defeat.

Not Elvis, he came back the second year. Again he was defeated. I believe this time his speech was not a winning one. Elvis did not logically state his case: what did he learn in the previous year as a leader, or how he intend to help his Division grow. His opponent did and she won.

Instead of going to the corner and licking his wounds, Elvis did something that make leaders great. He went back to the drawing board. Here are some of the things that I learned from observing Elvis:

Reflect: Elvis took time to reflect on what went wrong. He reflected on what actions he needed to take to demonstrate his commitment to the organization and to improve his leadership skills.
Refresh: Elvis refreshed his attitude and volunteered to be one of the District’s Club Coaches. He went around the division assisting clubs that were struggling in membership growth or needed guidance in conducting successful meetings for their members.
Resilience: Elvis did not give up. He knew he had it in him to be a leader over his Division. He did not quit when he experienced two losses. Instead he committed himself to prove to the District Leaders that he was deserving of their trust.

Some of the greatest leaders known have faced defeat in one form or another. Yet they did not give up. They reflected, refreshed and were resilient. Elvis’ journey to the Division F Director position reminded me of these three points. This was one of the most memorable leadership moment for me that I had to share it with you all.

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Marlene M. Bryan is a Distinguished Toastmaster, DTM. She is a certified speaker and leader by Toastmasters International. She is currently the District 47 Public Relations Officer, and leader of the Public Relations Team. She provides her services to over 3800 members throughout the district. Marlene is the owner of Marlene M. Bryan, Corp and Small Biz Evolution, LLC. She is a speaker, an author, and a coach. Pick up the latest copy of her book:

Live a Diamond Life, A Life of Purpose: Diamond Cutters

Her Habits Are a Part of My Entrepreneurial and Personal Spirit #IWD2015

Posted on March 8, 2015 by MarleneMB

Her smile and twinkling blue eyes welcomed me as I entered the classroom. Sister Mary Catherine was my fifth grade teacher. She stood perhaps 5 feet 3 inches. She wore her habit over her gray hair that protruded from beneath it. She had a soft voice that she did not have to raise for the twenty plus kids to pay attention to her.

Being a student of Sister Mary Catherine was a blessing for me. Today I share what I learned from this wonderful, strong woman that laid the foundation of my Entrepreneurial Spirit. I hope I am able to give her the honor she is due on International Women’s Day #IWD2015. Here are some of her habits I learned:

Be Welcoming: I was terrified of my first day in my new school, Sacred Heart, in my new country, the Untied States. I came from Jamaica at the age of ten. My mother immediately enrolled my sister and me in this school. Interacting with new people and learning new customs was overwhelming. But Sister Mary Catherine’s smile was the beginning of my lesson of welcoming strangers with warmth.

Defend the Weak: It was rough for me to make friends with some of the students. The bully of the class had her crew tease me about my Jamaican accent. Whenever, they started, Sister Mary Catherine immediately stepped in. Her small stature seemed to grow into a large shield in front of me, as she reprimanded these students to leave me alone. In her defense of me, Sister Mary Catherine taught me to stick up for justice and those that need a voice.

Use Your Knowledge and Skills to Win: She discovered that I had an aptitude for mathematics and science. Sister Mary Catherine would encourage me in these areas. She and my mother agreed that I would get extra homework to increase my knowledge and my skills in these disciplines.

Sister Mary Catherine entered me into a Science and Mathematics contest, I placed first in the school. I represented the school at the county level and placed third in my age group. This taught me to use my passion, knowledge and skills to go after the things I want.

Sacrifice: American History was a challenge for me, because I was an immigrant. Sister Mary Catherine told my mother that she believed that I could skip the sixth grade and move to the seventh; if I mastered American History. She sacrificed her summer vacation to tutor me in American History. Her sacrifice opened a new world to me, the love of history. I won the History award at my school’s graduation ceremony two years later.

Research: Whenever I didn’t know a subject, Sister Mary Catherine encouraged me to research it. My mother purchased a set of encyclopedia (remember those) for me to explore the areas I didn’t understand. With Sister Mary Catherine’s prodding, I utilized those books many times to learn more. I still do conduct research in my career to learn new ways of marketing my products or to make a decision on a matter.

Compassion: Sister Mary Catherine’s compassion for others, her love of her faith, her sacrifice to make children like me become better people in this world, are just a few of her habits that I take with me everyday. Whenever I’m mentoring young children, the youth in my Toastmasters club, young adults or the grown folks, I draw from her’s habit of compassion to share with them.

Becoming an entrepreneur is a frightening journey. Yet armed with the lessons I’ve learned from Sister Mary Catherine, I know that it takes sacrifice to get where I want to go. It takes research to learn more about my field of expertise and how to service my clients. It takes having a welcoming spirit to get the clients to open up to me. It takes sticking with it to get through the doubts and fears. Finally, it takes using my talents, skills and knowledge to win in business and as a leader.

There is so much that I recall about Sister Mary Catherine that it would take pages to write about her. I did this in my book Live a Diamond Life, A Life of Purpose: Diamond Cutters. Diamond Cutters are what I call my coaches and mentors. The folks that have positively impacted my life. Sister Mary Catherine is one of my important Diamond Cutters.

Below are some of the medals I won at Sacred Heart School because of Sister Mary Catherine’s efforts and habits. Though I appreciate them and they sit in a special place in my home. They cannot replace the admiration and love I have for Sister Mary Catherine. I lost touch with her. I tried to reach out to her, but the school has since closed. I pray that she realizes the difference she made in my life and the lives of many other students. Thank you, Sister Mary Catherine!

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