Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie May.
Hi Julie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
We had one of those really bad years where everything went wrong. It all started when one of my daughters (we have 7 kids) who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder got put on the wrong medication by her doctor. The medication caused her to go into a spiral where she was constantly trying to kill herself. I quit my job as a first-grade teacher to be home with her and make sure she was taken care of at all times.
Two months later, my husband got laid off from his job. With both of us out of work and medical bills for my daughter starting to pile up, we ended up in bankruptcy, losing our home to foreclosure, and my husband and I got separated from the stress of it all. I spent a year on suicide watch with my daughter, all while trying to look for work and trying to hold it together for the rest of the kids… and through 5 moves in 1 year.
I realized something during that time- if the mom of the home can hold it together and have the resources she needs to be stable: emotionally, financially, healthwise, etc. Then the rest of the family tends to thrive. When the mom goes down, everyone goes down with her. During our big time of struggle, I had found some great tools for creating not only stability but JOY through the struggles and our family made it through to the other side more connected and healthy than ever
So I had this idea to put together an event that would teach women how to find JOY in all circumstances. I arranged it all, found speakers to come in and share messages of hope and resilience, and put together the first Joyful Living Women’s Conference. Over 300 people attended our first event in the small town of Vernal, UT. Through several years of holding this event, we were able to bring in amazing keynote speakers like Elizabeth Smart, Kirk Cameron (from tv’s Growing Pains), Frank Shankawitz (the founder of Make a Wish), and many more
As time went on, I become more and more passionate about helping people share their messages of hope with others (meanwhile, I was getting trained by some of the best speakers in the world so that I would be effective at sharing my message from the stage). I believe that there are so many people out there with stories to share and messages that would help others. The more people share their messages of light with others, the more we uplift the whole world
My mission is to help 100,000 people share their message of hope with the world. That’s how Total Speaker Makeover got started. It started with me wanting to share my message, creating events to help that happen. And now I help others to share their powerful stories, and to support their families financially doing so
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been many struggles along the way. I started my business when I was completely bankrupt. So finding the financing to put together a large-scale event was extremely difficult. But we found sponsors through the community and used every little bit of our tax refund to put that first event together.
In 2020, all live events were canceled, which is most of what my business consists of. So we had to translate something to an online platform, and other things just got moved several months down the line. Trying to keep up with all of the new regulations with meetings and events was very difficult.
But we managed to make it through, and by the end of 2021, we were having the best business year ever. So many people realized what was really important during 2020 that wanted to share their message and really get it out!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Total Speaker Makeover?
We specialize in teaching people how to speak from stage and monetize the message they have in their hearts. Many speaker trainers teach people how to share an effective story (which we also d0), but most trainers don’t teach speakers how to actually market themselves and make a real living doing what they love by sharing their message.
We also teach our clients how to help the audience far past the hour they have to speak to them from the stage by creating courses and mentoring programs that can help people long term. Then we help them with pricing, branding, marketing, and everything they need to create an actual BUSINESS that supports their family, through their speaking career.
It’s a Total Speaker Makeover.
What we’re most proud of is watching our clients succeed. There is nothing more satisfying than watching someone go from a brand new speaker that just got the pull to share their message, to being able to quit their day job and creating a 6 figure business inspiring others within a year is the best thing ever
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
We hold a Speaker Championship every December where speakers of all levels from all over the country compete to be the Total Speaker Champion and win over $30,000 worth of prizes.
Contact Info:
- Email: julie.shineevents@gmail.com
- Instagram: @totalspeakermakeover
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/totalspeakermakeover
