WANT AN AMAZEBALLS SPEAKER AT YOUR NEXT CONFERENCE, MEETING OR EVENT?
Then you want some When I Grow Up Coach goodness!
Whatever you need, I’m your speaker!
I’ve given talks, workshops and keynotes to:
I’ve also been interviewed for dozens of podcasts. Here’s a select list:
CreativeLive team
“Immediately connected with her audience”Michelle is an absolutely incredible teacher. The entire staff at CreativeLive loved working with her. Her energy, passion, and optimism are infectious, and she’s a total pro in terms of preparation and engagement. From the minute she took the stage she immediately connected with her audience, both those in the studio and those watching online.
Freelancers Union team
“Brought her back to guide a workshop solo”Michelle is an energetic, inspiring speaker who has the unique ability to motivate an audience, communicate helpful nuts-and-bolts resources, AND make sure everyone has a good time. Our attendees gave us such great feedback about her when she was on a panel at one of our events that we brought her back to guide a workshop solo. She clearly loves what she does and that passion is infectious!
Danielle Maveal, former Etsy Seller Education Lead
“Attendee favorite”We loved having Michelle speak at Etsy’s first Etsy Success Symposium. Her energy, enthusiasm and professionalism was impressive. Attendees rated her workshop one of their favorites! I personally love how Michelle’s workshops are inspirational while providing tactical exercises that will help attendees put her wisdom immediately to good use!
Kate Gremillion, Mavenly + Co.
“An energetic and vibrant speaker”If you’re looking for an energetic and vibrant speaker that keeps it real while leaving the audience inspired to act, Michelle is your lady. Michelle was a keynote for our Women, Work, and Worth Conference, and her workshop-style keynote was an awesome way to set the tone for conversations and connection for the rest of our conference. We would happily recommend her to any group!
With my BFA in theater from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a former membership in both actors unions (SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity Association), I’ll light up your audience with my stage presence, natural enthusiasm, kick-butt questions and guaranteed a-ha! moments for all.
I’d be super thrilled to speak on the following topics:
Discover Your Dream Business
Yes, it is possible to uncover your dream business in a keynote! By honing in on big dreams, lifestyle goals, and what your attendee finds enjoyable and fulfilling, they’ll leave with next steps to start exploring their grown-up, authentic careers.
Leave Your Job & Launch Your Business
Here’s where your attendee will pinpoint her Quitting and Launching dates (down to the month!), and walk away with a customized action plan to follow that’ll get her there on time and on budget.
Build Your Client Base
How can new-ish business owners get away from the busy work and start doing what will actually get them clients? I offer my tried-and-true ways to bring in the money.
YOUniquely You: How to Pinpoint Your Stand-Out Factor and Use It as Your Brand’s Foundation
Is your audience seeking a standout business just by being themselves? Let’s clarify their business message, market, and power words so they can create a streamlined marketing and communications plan that’s based around what makes them special.
Ready, Aim, Engage: 10 Steps to Your Simple (yet Effective!) Marketing Plan
Because if you speak to everyone, you speak to nobody. If you’re on every platform, you’re not anywhere. Let’s figure out how and where your audience can streamline their efforts to best engage with their desired audience and bring on their ideal clients or customers..
Unboxing the End Game: Goalsetting for Creative Business Owners
Sorry, but the usual time and project management systems just don’t work for us. I’ll share my own goalsetting process that has increased my revenue each and every year. Swipe this system and see your attendees productivity (and income!) soar!
Spot On: Learn EXACTLY What to Say When People Ask What You Do
Does your audience know how to answer The Dreaded Question, “So, what do you do?” After this talk they will! No more “ummmm…”s, “well…”s or “uuuuuuhhhhhh…”s for them! They’ll leave this talk with the coherent answer that’ll make them stand out and resonate with their ideal clients.
If any of these topics interest you, or if you want me to customize a topic just for your group, click below. I love to color outside the lines!
Tracy Candido
Founder, Lady Boss
“Authentic personality, empathetic tone, contagious energy”Michelle’s authentic personality, empathetic tone, and contagious energy brought attendees at the Lady Boss Career Compass Workshop the insight and passion they needed to start answering tough questions about their career direction. Michelle created an amazing environment for attendees to feel comfortable and at ease while facing a challenging investigation about where they are in their careers and why.”
Nate Cooper
Co-Founder, Reboot
“Unique brand of storytelling and down-to-earth honesty”Michelle’s unique brand of storytelling and down-to-earth honesty brought an incredible tone and vitality to Reboot Workshop. I heard many in the audience say how “perfect” her delivery was in order to liven the mood but also make them think. She has just the right balance of humor and vitality.”
Jim Hopkinson
Co-Founder, Reboot
“Content was tailored exactly for our audience”From the word go, Michelle was incredibly easy to work with, beyond prepared, and her content was tailored exactly for our audience of career changers and aspiring entrepreneurs — she’s a real pro. But what really sets her apart is her energy. Michelle instantly took command of the room, lighting up faces with her jokes, her storytelling, her presence, and of course, a song accompanied by a ukelele. She rocked it.”
But don’t take their word for it! Take a look below for some video proof:
Here’s a clip from Ditch Your Day Job, my 2-day course broadcast live on CreativeLive with almost 10k students and a 100% recommendation rating.
I couldn’t say no to a 15-minute keynote at Reboot Workshop on Tapping Into Your Inner Child. My pink uke, Lucille, was thisclose to making it a singalong!
Here’s a 1-minute teaser of my first CreativeLive class, Create Your Dream Career. Another one with near-10k students and a 100% recommendation rating!
A 7-minute clip from Create Your Dream Career is right here.
While it only ran 2 minutes, I packed a pink ukulele punch in front of 1,000 attendees as part of the Attendee Stories Forum at the World Domination Summit in 2012.
Monica McCarthy
Experience Impresario at Holstee
“One of the most popular classes to date”Michelle’s Effective Escape workshop was hands down one of the most popular classes we’ve had to date! Michelle’s humor, compassion, and wit was exactly what our students needed. And her presentation and Q&A were packed with helpful and immediately applicable knowledge. If you have the chance to book Michelle to speak or teach, don’t even think about it… just DO it!”
Nicole Stevenson
Co-Founder & Producer of Craftcation Conference
“Able to connect with many different types of people”Meeting Michelle was awesome. Listening and watching her speak on how to have your dream job was even more awesome! Michelle is one of those rare individuals who is able to connect with so many different types of people. Her pure honesty about her own struggles to follow her dream as well as reevaluate her path are truly inspiring.”
Mike L
Director of Immersive and Personalized Education, Macaulay Honors College at CUNY
“The high point of the day”I’ve already received several emails singling out your opening presentation as the high point of the day. You provided precisely the note I hoped we could begin the event upon! I look forward to working with you in the future, and introducing you to more of our students.”
Vanessa Iaffa
Macaulay Honors College at CUNY
“Every student in attendance was enthralled and gained so much”Michelle, all of the amazing things I heard about you from our previous event was not just affirmed, but surpassed. Your sparkling energy set the tone for the day, and what a beautiful day it was! I could see that every student in attendance was enthralled and gained so much from your interactive workshop. We are so so grateful that you were able to join us again, and I look forward to collaborating with you again soon.”
I’d love to learn more about your conference, meeting or event! Click the button below and give me the details. I’ll get back to you ASAP!
Looking for my official bios, headshots and media kit? You’re in the right place!
Official third-person bio, long:
Michelle Ward, PCC, has been offering dream business guidance for creative women as The When I Grow Up Coach since 2008. Whether it’s discovering, launching or building her “grown-up”, passionate businesses, Michelle offers a unique understanding of the multi-passionate, super smart, highly creative women she works with.
With her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in musical theater, her CPCC accreditation from the International Coach Academy and her PCC from the International Coaches Federation, Michelle is not only a certified life coach but a speaker, teacher, and published author. She co-wrote The Declaration of You (North Light Books) and taught both Create Your Dream Career and Ditch Your Day Job on CreativeLive, which were streamed by tens of thousands of people online. You may have seen her in New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, Etsy, Newsweek, Freelancers Union, USA Today, the Forbes Top 100 Websites for your Career List or 150+ other media outlets.
When Michelle decided to become a career coach for creative people back in 2007, she put the wheels in motion to transition out of her job as an Account Manager with a verbally abusive boss who made her psychosomatic. Her breaking point came when she had to run off a rush hour train to dry heave into a trash can at one of the busiest NYC subway platforms…but felt absolutely fine when she turned herself around right away to go home. Talk about a wake-up call!
The first step to becoming The When I Grow Up Coach? Securing a job as an Executive Assistant in finance so she could have stability and income while pursuing her dream business! A believer that you do not need to leap from your job and hope the net appears, Michelle spent two years and seven months (not that she was counting!) there while she got her certification, got engaged and married, and built her business up enough to give her notice in March of 2010, mid-recession. She’s never had to look back.
A two-time boob cancer survivor, a Judge Judy fan contest winner, a loud comedic belter and a pink ukulele player, Michelle lives just outside of NYC with her husband Luke and little girl, Ramona. She believes that all creative women can make a grown-up living with a business they love.
Official third-person bio, short:
Michelle Ward, PCC, has been offering dream business guidance for creative women as The When I Grow Up Coach since 2008. You may have seen or heard her in New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, Etsy, Newsweek, Freelancers Union, USA Today, the Forbes Top 100 Websites for your Career List or 150+ other media outlets. She’s the co-author of The Declaration of You, which was published by North Light Books, and the teacher of Create Your Dream Career and Ditch Your Day Job, which were watched by tens of thousands of people live on CreativeLive. When she’s not coaching, teaching or speaking, she can be found building a fort for her little girl, sitcom-binging with her husband, or belting out show tunes. Discover, launch or build your dream business at whenigrowupcoach.com.
Official third-person bio, super short:
Michelle Ward, PCC, has been offering dream business guidance for creative women as The When I Grow Up Coach since 2008. You may have seen or heard her in New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, Etsy, Newsweek, Freelancers Union, USA Today, the Forbes Top 100 Websites for your Career List or 150+ other media outlets. Discover, launch or build your dream business at whenigrowupcoach.com.
