How do you go from living in a $20-a-month shack surrounded by mice to generating $50M+ in sales and standing on global TEDx stages?
In this explosive, high-energy episode of The Public Speaking Podcast, hosts Lucas Reuterstig and Alexander Grabner Jarlung sit down with international speaker and investor, Steven Dossou.
Steven shares his personal story where he went from hawking vacuum cleaners door-to-door in South Africa to scaling multi-million dollar organizations and building a global public speaking business.
Steven pulls no punches when breaking down the reality of getting booked. He opens up about applying to over 150 TEDx and also explains the critical differences between getting booked in Europe versus the US, and breaks down his daily routine for unbreakable confidence. Plus, he introduces Real Speaking Gigs, an AI-powered tool trained on a decade of outreach data to help speakers connect directly with event organizers and land paid stages.
Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
02:18 - The Speaker Agency Dilemma: Exclusivity vs. Freedom
05:58 - 10 Tough Thoughts with Steven Dossou
07:08 - Growing Up in a $20 Shack in Togo
08:54 - Door-to-Door Vacuum Sales to $50 Million in Revenue
11:13 - Losing Everything & Finding His True Calling in Speaking
13:49 - Cold-Pitching Directors to Build a Career
15:57 - The Truth About TEDx
18:31 - How Credibility Precedes Paid Gigs
19:11 - Getting Booked in Europe vs. The US (Market Realities)
22:07 - Finding Your "Touchstone Message" & Signature Speech
24:51 - In-Person Stage Energy vs. Digital Speaking
28:02 - 3 Daily Habits for Unstoppable Confidence & Resilience
32:59 - Guest Recommendations
35:03 - How "Real Speaking Gigs" AI Helps Speakers Land Bookings
37:30 - Where to Connect with Steven Dossou & Outro
Connect with Steven
Linkedin: https://fi.linkedin.com/in/steven-dossou-action-man-3623b5106
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steven_dossou/?hl=en
Website: https://stevendossou.com/
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