9 Public Speaker Success Stories [2025]
Motivational speakers share powerful messages based on their life experiences. The focus is on helping others gain life's wisdom and become successful.
If you plan to become a motivational public speaker, learn how you can transition your genuine passion to becoming a professional public speaker who inspires others.
Then, start a social media channel and share your videos widely to go viral.
In this list, you'll find real-world public speaker success stories and very profitable examples of starting a public speaker that makes money.
1. The Creative Collective ($2.4M/year)
Yvette Adams, founder of The Creative Collective, came up with the idea to start her marketing agency out of both ambition and necessity. With a diverse background in marketing and media, she saw the potential in offering a one-stop-shop for creative services on the Sunshine Coast. She began by offering her services to people she knew and quickly gained clients and referrals, positioning her agency as a pioneer in the industry.
How much money it makes: $2.4M/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 20
The Creative Collective is a full-service marketing agency that has grown its revenue and doubled its team in the past year, with around 100 active clients and responding to an average of 160 inquiries each month.
2. Dean Bokhari ($1.44M/year)
Dean Bokhari, founder of DeanBokhari.com, was working as a marketer for a tobacco company until he had an emotional breakdown and decided to pursue meaningful work. After years of personal development and taking action, he started sharing what he had learned through writing, podcasting, and speaking, which eventually led him to start his membership platform. Now, with over half a million readers and monthly revenues exceeding $100,000, Dean is helping others improve their lives and achieve their goals.
How much money it makes: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 17
Founder Dean Bokhari shares how he launched a membership platform focused on self-improvement, generating over $100,000 per month in revenue, attracting customers via high-quality content, guest blogging and Facebook ads, with plans to grow to $1,000,000 per month over the next 3-5 years.
3. Natasha Zoryk ($1.34M/year)
Natasha Zoryk transformed a favor for a friend's website into a six-figure digital marketing agency within six months, pivoting to a business mentorship role in 2020 and now generating close to $2 million annually.
How much money it makes: $1.34M/year
How much did it cost to start: $119
How many people on the team: 9
Learn about the journey of Natasha Zoryk, a 3x founder and business mentor who currently generates close to $2 million per year and over 6 figures in cash per month, as she shares her entrepreneurial story and tips for building a successful business.
4. Ellen Yin Media LLC ($960K/year)
Ellen Yin, founder of Ellen Yin Media and creator of Cubicle to CEO, started her business after quitting her corporate marketing job. She initially took on small projects, but when a coworker became her first client, she realized she could monetize her skills into a service. She then made a pivot to focus on creating and scaling digital products, launching her first program with zero content and pre-selling it to beta students. To attract and retain customers, she leveraged partner campaigns, utilized a self-liquidating offer funnel, and gained media features. Today, the business has reached seven figures in lifetime revenue and is on track to make over one million dollars in annual revenue.
How much money it makes: $960K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 3
Founder Ellen Yin shares how she profitably bootstrapped growth from a $300 client project into 7 figures in lifetime revenue and how she launched a $10K/month online course using pre-selling to test and validate her offer.
5. The Big Talk Academy ($600K/year)
Tricia Brouk, an award-winning director and producer, came up with the idea for The Big Talk Academy after directing a friend's talk. Realizing there was a market for speaker coaches, she immersed herself in online marketing and invested in mentors to grow her business to a 7-figure company in less than 3 years. Brouk's risk tolerance and dedication to serving her clients have led to the success of her virtual and live speaker programs.
How much money it makes: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
How many people on the team: 8
Tricia Brouk went from having zero online presence to building a 7-figure company in under 3 years by creating The Big Talk Academy, where she offers virtual signature speaking and thought leadership certification programmes, and The Speaker Salon, a live speaker intensive course which grew into a $30k investment.
6. World Renowned Coaching & Consulting ($576K/year)
Neal Oates, Jr. identified a growing demand for coaching and consulting services in the real estate sector and launched World Renowned Coaching and Consulting in 2022. By leveraging his luxury real estate experience, Neal turned his business into a $48,000/month enterprise that serves nine different industries.
How much money it makes: $576K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.2K
How many people on the team: 0
Case study about the founder building a successful coaching and consulting business generating $48,000 monthly, expanding from real estate to service-based businesses in nine industries, with growth for three consecutive quarters.
7. Cary Jack - The Happy Hustle ($300K/year)
Cary Jack, founder of The Happy Hustle, experienced burnout while working 100+ hour weeks for his tech startup. After rejecting a 7-figure funding deal and taking time off in Thailand, he developed a way to find happiness within the hustle and created The Happy Hustle™ to help entrepreneurs achieve work-life balance. Through various revenue streams, such as podcasting, books, and mastermind adventures, Cary has built a successful business that focuses on serving his tribe and creating positive impact.
How much money it makes: $300K/year
How many people on the team: 4
Cary Jack started The Happy Hustle to help fellow purpose-driven entrepreneurs avoid burnout and achieve blissful balance in their personal and professional life while putting the Happy in their everyday Hustle, offering multiple revenue streams including a mastermind, book, and course.
8. The Unofficial Shopify Podcast ($108K/year)
Kurt Elster came up with the idea for his podcast, The Unofficial Shopify Podcast, after realizing the potential of content marketing and wanting a consistent way to market his ecommerce consulting services. He decided to host his own podcast after receiving positive feedback from guest appearances on other podcasts, and with the help of his business partner's editing skills, he was able to launch the podcast and grow it to 750,000 downloads and four sponsors.
How much money it makes: $108K/year
How many people on the team: 0
Unofficial Shopify Podcast has generated 750,000 downloads and has four sponsors, resulting in significant monetary gain for ecommerce consultant and host, Kurt Elster, who has created a thriving business and community around his podcast.
9. Simply Hudson ($84K/year)
based on Simply Hudson's core values and vision. By offering strategic advising and process design services, along with additional public speaking packages and online business development courses, Simply Hudson attracts and retains customers by providing tangible and effective solutions for their businesses. The company's focus on simplicity, effectiveness, sustainability, integrity, and trust resonates with clients, leading to meaningful and impactful results.
How much money it makes: $84K/year
How much did it cost to start: $16K
How many people on the team: 0
Simply Hudson, a process design and strategic advising company, has saved over 800 manual work hours and $80,000 in annual overhead costs through designing streamlined, semi-automated processes for their fully remote, globally distributed team.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
