This interview with Michelle Poler, originally appeared on Forbes.
Michelle Poler’s career started with fear at her door — literally. A project during her master’s program at the School of Visual Arts led to challenging herself to take on her fears and telling the world about it.
“I was facing one fear a day and uploading the video to YouTube — from the smallest things that were limiting my every day life to fears I never thought I would be able to conquer,” explains Poler.
At the end of her 100-day project, she decided to take on one more fear by launching a career as a public speaker. Her goal was to help others face their fears and choose growth when possible.
“I missed out on so many experiences because I thought the ‘worst’ was going to happen,” shares Poler “I was not really living my life, I was only checking ‘society’s boxes; and that is not living!”
Poler is consistently encouraging her close to 80k followers on Instagram to learn from her mistakes and to act on her encouragement. When COVID-19 shut down the public speaking circuit she had scheduled her year around, Poler shared the behind the scenes of what her career pivot actually looked like. Her hope was that others would see that pivots were nothing to be ashamed of.
Now, as she prepares a virtual book tour for her first book, Hello, Fears: Crush Your Comfort Zone and Become Who You’re Meant To Be, she’s also reinventing her revenue streams to meet this moment.
Below Poler shares how she’s booked public speaking gigs as a virtual speaker, what advice she has for others looking to turn their passions into their careers, and tips on how to not let fear stop your next step.
Vivian Nunez: What advice do you have for Latinas who are looking to turn their passions into their careers?
Michelle Poler: Take yourself seriously because when you do that others will also take you seriously. Know your value and never settle for less than what you know you deserve. Because when we believe in ourselves so much, we make others believe in us as well.
Nunez: What tangible steps did you take to pivot your public speaking career to a virtual public speaking career?
Poler: First, I gave myself one week to feel sorry for myself. I cried every day, and my focus was nowhere to be found. After one week I started setting short term goals, because we don’t know what will happen long term. So, I committed to weekly goals that excited me and that I had full control over. For example: my first goal was to democratize my talk, and launch a live event for my community. Even though lots of people started doing free classes and webinars, I decided to charge for my talk, just like I would charge for an in person event.
Like I said before, we need to know our worth and take ourselves and our work seriously if we want to be taken seriously by others. The event was a huge success, over 500 people connected live. We did two sessions, one in English and one in Spanish. I was exhausted by the end, but so fulfilled. It was exactly what people needed to hear to feel confident about their situation and their future.
Then, I was able to use that experience to pitch my online presentation to clients. We were able to convince existing clients to do their event online, and attract new ones who never considered this option before. So far, I’ve given a handful of corporate presentations to over 5,000 people, and it’s been amazing to be able to connect with so many and still be able to pay my bills.
Nunez: How did you communicate value to corporations?
Poler: Clients need to feel confident that you’ve got this and that you know what you’re doing. This is why the first live conference I did for my community was key in all of this! It’s hard to promise something you’ve never done before. My advice is to test out your product first, have proof of it, have tangible results and testimonials, and then share it with the world.
Clients were able to see the quality of the content, the graphics, the interaction with the audience and the powerful testimonials from those who attended. It’s [also] a matter of tying your topic to the current situation as a way to make yourself relevant, even if that means adapting your topic a little bit.
Nunez: What are your tips for navigating fear and not letting it stop you from taking your next step?
Poler: I always thought the “worst” was going to happen, my question for [others] is: but, what’s the best that can happen?
What’s the best that can happen if you start your project? If you launch your business? If you quit your job?
What if things go right? That is my tip for [others], focus on the rewards, and don’t allow the possible risks to get in the way of your dreams.
Michelle Poler is a creative and passionate social entrepreneur, keynote speaker, fear facer, and branding strategist. She is the Founder of Hello Fears, a social movement empowering millions to step outside of the comfort zone and tap into their full potential. Michelle is also the creator of the project 100 Days Without Fear and author of Hello, Fears: Crush Your Comfort Zone and Become Who You’re Meant To Be.
