Welcome back to another episode of My First Stage! I’m your host, Sara Lohse, and this is the podcast where we dive deep with professional public speakers to find out how they got booked on their very first stages, what happened next, and all the ways public speaking can transform a business—and a life.

This week, I sat down with the incredible Kati Peterman, and her first stage story is as wild (and relatable) as it gets. If you’ve ever “blacked out” on stage, felt completely overwhelmed by the tech, or doubted whether you could handle the heat, you are going to love this conversation.

Kati is the founder of FRX and a true industry expert on live events, stages, and being in the spotlight—though, as you’ll hear, even the pros don’t always remember their first time! Kati isn’t just a master event producer; she’s also a seasoned facilitator, educator, and—most importantly—a speaker who’s brutally honest about what it feels like to get thrown into the deep end.

Here’s a quick look at what Kati and I explored in this episode:

• Kati’s Hilarious First Stage: How she went from behind-the-scenes to front-and-center when her boss fell ill… and the total on-stage “blackout” that followed.
• Getting Past the Nerves: Why confidence in your content matters, and how surprise interruptions (and ego-tripping audience members!) can still throw a pro off.
• Tech, Microphones, and Secret Survival Tips: The lessons Kati learned about event tech—like why she swears by the “Britney mic.”
• Learning to Love the ROI: How stepping on stage replaced paid ads, powered referrals, and revolutionized Kati’s approach to business development.
• Creating Your Own Stages: Why you shouldn’t wait to be invited—launch that webinar, masterclass, or podcast and build your own authority.
• Tactical Advice for Pitching: Straight talk on how to win over event organizers by being collaborative (not just self-promotional).
• Social Proof and Clean Profiles: Why it’s critical to make sure your digital presence lines up with the professional you want to be.

If you found Kati’s story inspiring or you’re ready to step onto your own stage, here’s what you can do next:

• Share Your Own Stage Story — Visit myfirststagepodcast.com and tell us about your unforgettable “first stage” moment!
• Connect with Kati — Reach out to Kati Peterman on LinkedIn or explore yourfrx.com for strategy sessions, events, and industry insights.
• Subscribe & Review — If you enjoyed today’s episode, subscribe to My First Stage wherever you get your podcasts, leave us a rating/review, and let us know what you want to hear next.
• Take the Leap — Don’t wait to be discovered. Host your own virtual event, mastermind, or podcast—even a small platform teaches you how to shine!

Thank you so much for tuning in! I can’t wait to bring you more raw, practical stories and advice from the best stages (and speakers) out there.

Timestamped Summaries

[00:00-00:39] — I introduce Kati and she shares how she landed on her very first stage completely unprepared (and thanks to a boss with a sudden illness!).

[00:39-02:52] — Kati relives her “blackout” moment during a live masterclass—panic, sweat, and all—plus the quick-thinking AV team that helped her recover.

[02:52-04:52] — We laugh about how it feels to realize you can’t remember anything you said on stage, and Kati shares the inside joke she now has with her boss: “Just don’t black out.”

[04:56-08:07] — Kati reveals exactly what changed the next time she spoke (hint: control + preparation), her favorite tech setup, and how interruptions can still shake your confidence.

[08:08-12:00] — We talk about audience Q&A “hijacks,” managing awkward story-sharers, and why handling the unexpected is key to feeling in control.

[12:00-14:54] — Kati and I dig into how ANYONE can create their own speaking opportunities with podcasts or virtual training—and why it’s crucial to deliver both education AND entertainment.

[14:55-19:45] — We break down the need for “eight to 11 hours” of audience education before a high-ticket sale, the power of recurring content, and tips for priming your audience before live calls.

[19:50-24:23] — Practical differences between virtual and in-person events, plus Kati’s strategies for keeping audiences engaged (and awake!) in both settings.

[24:25-29:18] — Kati shares game-changing advice for pitching yourself to event organizers—and why being “value-add” and audience-focused matters way more than hyping yourself up.

[29:39-31:25] — We wrap up with Kati’s biggest advice: Don’t wait for the perfect moment—start now, make your online presence clear, and treat every opportunity like it’s your dream stage.

Welcome back to My First Stage, the podcast that talks to professional public speakers about how they got booked on their first stages and what happened next. I am here with Kati Peterman. She is the founder of FRX and she is an industry expert for live events, running stages and being on stage. So she knows everything from how to get on stages to what, what to do once you're up there. And she might not actually remember her first stage story. So I want to get right into it and thank you so much for being on the show and hanging out with me. And let's hear it.

What was your first stage?

Yeah, thanks so much for having me on so very. First stage experience was unique. I was not necessarily prepared for it being in live events and virtual events. Typically I'm writing and I'm helping everyone else rehearse and get into it. And our founder actually had a little bit of a flare up and was really sick. And we were doing a live kind of two day master class. It was virtual and in studio, but we were doing a live two day master class. And it.

He was just like, hey, like, you have to do this. You have to cover. Like, I can't, I can't make it. Like, I can't even stand up right now. And I was like, oh, okay, great. Right? Time to put my money where my mouth is. So I got mic'd up. I'm in there, I'm feeling good about it.

I know the content, I wrote the content, right? So I'm fully confident in it. I think that's a huge part of it going up there. And then I see my face and I see all of the cameras on zoom and I just completely black out. Like, I couldn't tell you what happened. I don't know. I hear like in my ear, I hear our AV guy and he's like, katie, are you good? And I'm like looking at myself. Thankfully, he knew what was happening and saw my face. So he was able to like, very quickly, like, turn the monitor that I was seeing myself, turn that off, put a quick video up, right, of like some testimonials and a reel going.

And then he comes in and he's like, hey, are you okay? And I was like, what? Like just completely blacked out. And I had no idea that I would do that. I had absolutely no idea that I would do that. I gosh. And it just went by so fast and I was like, sweaty. I was like, why am I so sweaty? Where did this even come from? Like, I've gotten sweaty, you know? Getting, like, laser hair removal or something done where, like, the pain or, like, a tattoo removal, but I was, like, drenched, and I was like, oh, my God, what happened? Right? Like, why did this. Why did my body do this? Why did my brain take over? And then, like, I just. I left the chat.

I left my body there. And he was like, how are we gonna do this? And I was like, I'm. I'm not sure. And he's like, okay, I'm gonna put up these slides and then just. I'm gonna turn your camera off. Try and just read the slides, you know, that are up there. So, thankfully, I also. We figured out I had to turn off the guest cameras in that big virtual studio and then get comfortable and then get going.

So what they did is they just left, like, the zoom chat up, and I would read my slides, and then I would read their questions, and I would just talk. And I had no idea if I was looking at the camera. I had no idea if, like, the sound was okay, if I was following along. After we finished, they're like, okay, that was great. That was awesome. You know? And I'm like, I couldn't tell you what I said. I have no idea. They're like, do you think that went well? No idea.

Absolutely no idea. Covered in sweat, completely blacked out. I still do that occasionally where they'll be like, oh, my gosh, that was so great. And I'm like, yeah, I think it went well, but I have no idea what I said.

I. I feel like every time I get off stage, I'm just. Like, I said words. I'm pretty sure 99% positive words were spoken. Don't know which ones they were. Hopefully they were the right ones in the right order. There is no guarantee there, though.

No. No guarantee.

What was the reaction of the boss who was supposed to have done it when he saw it?

You know, I think that's harder for them because they, you know, they're speakers, they're critique critiquing, they're educating all the time. They were happy and grateful that I was able to do that, but we definitely laugh about it still to this day. It's one of those things where it's like, it. Instead of saying like, hey, good luck, you know, or if they know that I'm going out to an event, they'll be like, yeah, hope you have a good event. And it's never good luck anymore. It's. Don't black out. You know, that's our thing.

Just. Just don't black out.

Good advice. For everybody. So that's number one piece of advice for aspiring speakers is don't black out. When. What was the next time? Like, what changed the next time you got on stage?

I think with that, I. Because I. It was so interesting. I was like, man, why did that happen? Right? Like, why. Why did I get so nervous? Like, I know this. This content. I know. I think it's just that, like, feeling of being ready and.

And being prepared and. And knowing everything. And I think with the studio, for me, it was because of the tech setup. Like, I never had to consider that. I never had to take it into consideration. They were set. We have the AV team, right? So there was nothing that I needed to do. But then stepping into that, and I had no idea.

Naturally, I'm a control freak. So, you know, now I'm the person that's, like, asking the tech, like, hey, can we run through the slides? Can we do a sound check? Can we do this? Can I see what microphone? I know what type of microphone I need. I know what type of microphone I feel best with. Like, I'm a hand talker, and I'm a facilitator. So if I have to do a handheld, I'm gonna struggle a little bit more because I'm gonna be over here, then the sound's gonna be off, and then I'm gonna be, like, worried about that. So if I have the Britney Spears mic, I do best. I call it the Britney mic.

Love it.

I think it's called a lapel in

the real world, but the lapel is like the lavalier. The one that goes here.

Oh, well, yeah, I just.

Headset mic, but it'll forever now be Britney Spears mic, and it's a Britney mic.

I need a Britney mic. That's what I tell them. If you have a Britney mic. So I can walk around and be free. We don't have to worry about it. And. And my necklaces are not hitting, you know, the mic and my hair and clothes, whatever. I just like to be free and roaming around and doing my best.

So that really helps. And then just, you know, I'd say for one thing, because it still happens to me occasionally, is when people interrupt me or you have, like. I don't want to say the naysayers, because I don't really ever have naysayers. I do have supportive people. What I have is a lot of ego trippers, right? So they always want to add their two cents. They. They want to jump in. That can really throw you off.

And if that happens in the beginning it was really hard to not black out because I was just like, I don't know what's happening now. I've lost control. I think I black out when my brain deems that I've lost control, even though I haven't, you know, now I don't care as much because I've learned to realize that they're just ego tripping and they want to have some dominance or throw their name in a hat. And I. I don't really care. You know, it just. They. They more so end up looking like an idiot for interrupting the facilitation.

And I've gotten over that as much. But taking control back over the room, I'd say I still have to work on that, where I'm like, okay, thank you so much for your share microphone back, you know, or like, okay, great, we're going to move on. And just being prepared for the interruptions. Being prepared for. You know, sometimes there's just bad sound quality. Some things, there's another event going on, whether it's in a studio. Someone walks in the middle of your podcast because they didn't read the sign that says, you know, recording in progress. You have to be prepared for those things and just be able to, like, take it on a fly.

But when you're not prepared and it throws you off and then you get nervous and you black out, in my case. Or start sweating.

No, I get that. I feel like I always want to have, like, audience participation and I want to ask the audience questions and not just, like, raise your hand if questions, but actually have someone say an answer to me. And I always get so nervous that it's going to be the person. And it usually is. It's never just like a. Here's my very succinct answer. Because you are doing something right now. And this isn't about me, but it's always the one that spends, like five minutes walking through their entire idea.

And I'm just standing on stage like, this is my fault. I can't blame everyone else. I asked. I did ask. Okay, got to just mentally cutting slides from the end because this is taking way too much time. Yeah. Oh, that's. That's the worst.

And you have no idea where their story is going because they start at this is what happened when I was five. And they start going into it, and you're like, what are we. What are we talking about here? You know, can we skip to, like,

when you were 7 or 8? Did the story get better? Yeah.

How about now, Paul? Yeah, it's great.

No, it's. It is such a challenge. And. But now yours. You speak on stages all the time, and you have found that the reason that you do it, even though you were so afraid, was because of the roi. So talk about that. Talk about how the, like, getting on stages, whether it was virtual or in person, how that really has impacted your business.

Yeah, this is for everyone. And I wish I would have gotten over my fears, you know, so much sooner. If you are running ads and you're paying for advertisements, if you are even paying, you know, for LinkedIn, for articles to be published, you know, for press releases, you name it. If you are having marketing dollars, just to even go on as a panelist or, you know, yes, a keynote speaker would be amazing. Right. But whether you're a panelist, whether you're doing a group facilitation, whether it's live or virtual in person, you are going to have such a better roi. Conversations start naturally, right? So people will be like, oh, I didn't know that I'd like to talk with you, or, oh, you're in person, let me ask you a question about this. Or, oh, and just facilitating the process of speaking about your business or even asking for referrals or saying, we have this and you can be a part of it, is so much better.

The conversions and the difference. Like me going to an event and getting two or three clients versus trying to run 50, $60,000 in ad spend, huge difference. And I'm no longer, you know, having to do that. I'm not having to have all the marketing agencies and all of these people and all the staff behind the marketing just focusing on events. And that's really all we do right now. We don't run any ads, we don't do any Facebook advertisements. We don't do any outreach or press release. It's just events and speaking engagements.

And the ROI is so much higher. So if you're like, I don't know where to start, like, just get out there, find something that really resonates with you. Find something that you're comfortable speaking about, and then have, you know, some type of either free thing that they can download or join or be a part of. We have a community call that we typically offer people that, hey, you can join this to just come and learn and listen. Right? Other people will have worksheets, they'll have books, they'll have, you know, whatever it is that just keeps that relationship open and going. And you're not doing a hardcore sales pitch, but the ROI is fantastic. So if you're nervous about speaking and you're not sure, just get out there and start doing it. Start with like panel discussions where you join a panel and everyone has the same question, but you're just adding your unique perspective.

And I know we're going to talk a little bit about like how to like pitch to be on a stage, but before we move to that, one of the like pieces of advice I often give is if you can't get on a stage, just create your own. And so like podcasts, webinars, things that are in a more like a virtual setting that is a little more accessible can be like an easy way to kind of build some social proof. If you've never been on a stage before, can you talk a little bit about that and how you can find some ways to put yourself on a stage if other people aren't giving you theirs?

Yeah, absolutely. We've helped a ton of people build masterminds and events and virtuals and online masterclasses, you name it. We people want education, right? They don't just want to be entertained. Entertainment is definitely part of it, right? There's a difference between just education and entertainment. So you have to have a mix of both. If you can find something that allows you to do like a one to many or, or an on demand or an evergreen, right, that they can do it at their own time. It's also people want like that instant gratification where when they want it, they want it now. That's really important to have space, speed to whatever people are wanting.

And then, you know, they say, and this is a proven statistic, that before you have a client that's in high ticket. So anything over 3,000, right? Anything over 3,000. If you want someone that is in high ticket that converts, they have to have eight to 11 hours of education, not entertainment, but education before they will convert. So, so you need to have some type of audience masterclass, podcast, YouTube channel, whatever it may be, that's equivalent to that eight to 11 hours of content before they convert that's out there. So we help people, you know, whether they are developing bi weekly, weekly, monthly mastermind calls. Like we just did this with a doctor that specializes in mold and holistic practices. He was doing like all these one off kind of like free discovery calls with people. That was very time consuming.

He was absolutely booked, you know, like eight hours a week instead of just doing a facilitated monthly group call of common questions and answers. And then they had three videos that they could watch before they got on that monthly call, which was Great. So they had to watch those three calls before they signed up and registered for it. Not only did they get three hours of education, like pure education, but it answered all of their Common Q&As. It got them primed and ready. They weren't interrupting, they weren't debating, they weren't, you know, asking questions that he had to be extremely repetitive in. That wasn't like the highest and best use of his time. Right.

And they were getting them in a better mindset of, like, what's expected on the community call and what to do going forward. It also, it really builds your reputation and it gets people in a better spot, you know, a way for you to get on and host those community calls and to get more comfortable with Q and A and answering questions, kind of on the spot, navigating things. It's much better to do it in your audience kind of on your own time than someone else's audience and stage.

It just seems like that, like, milestone marker keeps getting farther away. We always used to hear that you need to have like three touch points before someone could buy, and then it was seven and then it was 15, and now it's probably like 97. And now those touch points need to last for eight hours. And it's just getting harder and harder. And I think that's one of the like reasons it is so important to be creating this type of content. Because your competitor is.

Yes.

And if, even if this is like the thing I want to talk about, if they go and learn about it from somebody else, what's going to make them come back and buy it from you instead of the person they just learned it from?

Yeah, yeah. It's about the access, it's about the speed. It's about how easy it is to log into your portal. And do they need to sign up and fill out, you know, eight different forms and click this? And even though it's supposed to be free, do they have to put a credit card on file? Do they have to enter, you know, their cell phone number? How many messages are you going to send them? And that's a big difference. That's why I said there is a difference between education and entertainment. You know, is I don't want three daily newsletters. Like, that's overkill. I'm just going to unsubscribe now.

You're just clogging up my inbox. Like, no, thank you. But I do want access to something that I want access to when I want it and I want to watch it at my own time. And I prefer that it's free because y.

Yes.

This one's available for 997 and this one's available for 197 and this one is 497. Right. And it's like, how do I know if it's all the same education? How do I know, like, which method works or which, which one's going to give me the best advice or, you know? So I think that free resource and that free, you know, that really has a lot of walls come down and then people doing their own work and then that difference of the education versus entertainment, right, is like, are they actually getting meat and potatoes or are you just telling third party stories for eight hours that I can't relate with? And you're trying to make yourself sound cool from all the people you've helped and I'm not, I'm not actually getting anything. Is. Is kind of what's going on in that mindset that.

That is probably the worst. I, I hate walking out when someone is speaking on stage, especially if it's in a small room, because I know I would take that as such a personal insult if I was the one watching someone walk out. But I had to once because we were 15 minutes in and all he was doing was telling all of these success stories of not him, but someone else to try to prove that. He's like, I just want to make sure that you guys know I have the authority to be here. And then he's just like, my brother did all of this. And like, I don't even know what your topic is.

Yeah, I, I don't even know who your brother is. So I don't, I don't care. And yeah, I always tell everyone when they do these intros and they're like, oh, I did this and this is my background. Like, people don't care. Just start teaching them and give them whatever they want. Like put the meat and potatoes first. Like, if someone is starving, right, you're not going to be like, here's some juice. It's like, give them the meat and potatoes and then just let them eat for a little bit, right? Let them get settled and then do all the rest of the stuff later.

And they'll be, you know, they'll be satisfied and they'll be more open and receptive. But you have to give education and you have to give whatever your three bullet points or your tagline, whatever. It was like, you need to satisfy that in the first, like 15 minutes.

Yes, absolutely.

And it's like if you have to work that hard on credibility before you start teaching, then that just sometimes makes me think that you're not confident in whatever you're teaching. And I'm hard, I'm a skeptic, I'm type A. I'm like analytical engineer mindset. I pick things apart. I'm like looking for it, I'm waiting for the drop, you know, but yeah, the deliverables, you know, and then you can get into like the emotion and you know, why you do it and why you believe that and how you started and where you got there and they'll be much more interested. But yeah, you have to deliver on the meat and potatoes.

And we've talked a little bit about in person and virtual. I think both are very valid when it comes to being on stages, whether you're physically on a stage or on a virtual stage. But are there like tactics that work better when you're on in different scenarios like that?

Yeah. So, you know, for virtual, I'd say one of the biggest things is you have to be really careful with the breaks and you have to be really careful with the downtime. You know, most people virtually, they'll take their phone with them, you know, or they'll get up, they'll use the bathroom, lunch, you know, all of that. You don't necessarily need these like 1 hour lunch breaks when you're doing virtual events. You don't need these 45 minute, you know, reviews where you're doing that because you give those breaks in person for your staff to go facilitate questions and exercises. You go, you know, do that so people can ask one on one questions, you know. Yes. In person.

You don't want four or five people leaving in the middle of your presentation and going to use the bathroom and then coming back and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So virtual, I would say breaks, you know, things in between should be much, much shorter because statistically and we've done, we've done a ton of virtual events but the, you know, they just, the drop off, it's hard to come back from that. You're really just shooting yourself in the foot. So you really virtually have to be careful with the duration of breaks, how long they are. I would say like five minutes at the most, you know, facility facilitated like breakout rooms and zoom. Breakout rooms and this, that, the other, that shouldn't be more than like 15 minutes max on those. You're going to have a, you're like people are going to drop off, your show rate's going to go down, your retention is going to go down. Definitely on that.

And then for live events, you know, there's a little bit of like this. I've got to. You have to like rush to the fatigue, right? So with live events, it's almost like, because people have that access to things and they're not doing as much, I'd say like stimulation in a live event, they get a little bit more tired, they get a little bit more fatigued. So when someone is just teaching all day, if you're doing like a 90 minute pre, so you have to have facilitated group work and you have to have facilitated exercise where they're doing like a group session, a Sharon solve, you know, turn to your partner and ask them what they got on blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, exercise. But you can't just be talking to them for 90 minutes and then a five minute break and then the next speaker, like they're going to be exhausted and fatigued and they're not going to remember half of the education that you gave them. If you're not doing facilitated group interactive exercises when you're doing like a whole day or anything more than, you know, four hours, you're going to lose people.

And this might just be a question that I wonder because I'm awkward. When you are having people do something independently, what do you do? Like, while you're just on stage and they're doing stuff, what do you do?

Yeah, I walk around. So I actually just did one of these this, this week. So, you know, I'll have like my notebook and I'm walking them through their questions on whatever it may be. And so for examp, I'll be very clear like, okay, we're gonna spend five minutes on this one before we move to the next one. And so I'll say, okay, timer started. Blah, blah, blah, it's up there. They're all chatting. I'm walking around.

Sometimes I'll check in with people, I'll ask them, are they stuck? I'll joke with them. I'll come back and I'll say, hey, so and so just had a really great share, right? Or any of you feeling this way, I'll kind of give people a hard time. If I see people like looking at the wall, I'll literally call on them and be like, hey, Adam, you know, you're looking at the wall. Are you lost or what's going on? Because I make sure that they're participating in that. But I walk around and I talk with people. The more that you're like, if you have the ability to do that, you know, Marcus Lemonis when we did like very large events and his presentation was so long, he was so good at going down into the crowd and the speakers that went down into the crowd and they got off their platform and their podium and they actually were like being a human and interacting with people, they actually had the highest reviews.

That makes sense. I feel like I would just be just like the Jeopardy. Theme song in my head, just awkwardly standing at the front waiting for me to be finished. So I'm going to do it your way instead. Way smarter. And you, because you're running events now and you are constantly getting pitched by other people who want to be on your stage, how are you choosing who gets to be on your stage? And, and I mean, this is perfect for this audience who just want to know how they can get on. What are those secrets to pitching an actual event person to get on their stages?

Yeah, I think it's great. Once you have your presentation and those things down and you're like, okay, I'm feeling good. I love this. And whether you're approaching someone as a paid sponsorship, which usually that's a lot easier when you do the pay to play space, but also if you're trying to build things and build your network and you're asking to be on someone else's stage, or you're offering to do something and you're kind of doing it, maybe a swap or discounted or even free. Right. But you're offering to, to teach. Maybe they have a very large sponsorship and you're trying to figure out a way to make that work. A lot of people, if you are understanding of what they are trying to accomplish, so many people just approach it and they're totally selfish.

Like, they're so selfish, they're like, well, we're doing this and we're building that out. And you would be so lucky to have me on your stage. Great. This isn't your stage and this isn't your event and you didn't pay all of the marketing dollars, the F and B, the hotel, the venue, the staff, Right. It's like sometimes it's just mind boggling and people don't mean to, but the way that they approach it is just like, you have to be kidding me. Like, like we would be so lucky to have this. Like we're trying to put on an event so you have to understand what event they're doing, what's the purpose of their event, what are they trying to accomplish? Right. And then what can you take off of their plate? So most of the time when you're speaking or teaching, usually there's some type of fulfillment or push or something that you can do.

So it's reciprocal that you're not just get up there and talking about yourself and your experience and your team and your offer. Right. You're talking about how what you do and your expertise lines up with you being at this event. And you're tying back in credibility. You're tying back in like, yes, this is why I believe in this industry, this is why I also believe in this service. This is why I am here, is because I believe that there's alignment. Even with my success and what I've accomplished, I still believe that what this is and what you guys have access to is very powerful. So you're adding credibility back to the source.

That's huge. If you can add credibility back to the source and give them acknowledgement as well, that's huge. And then fulfillment wise, what type of education are you providing that they need to provide to their audience? You know, so that could be anything from operations, inside secrets, best practices, things that you've learned along the way, anything that also ties back to their education. It's complimentary, right? You want to be complimentary to whoever stage you're on and you're kind of, you're kind of acting as a third party sales source, right? So everything that you are teaching about, even though it is for you and your company, it should be tying back to whoever stage you're on. And then we try and take exercises. Fulfillment, you know, whether it's talking about KPIs or metrics or communication or leadership, we try and teach that to their audience for fulfillment. So they're like, wow, I'm so glad we had that discussion.

I feel like it's very similar with like booking to be on a podcast. And one of the things that I notice so often is the pitches are just like, here is me. And you can probably relate to this, like as a podcast host or as a podcast producer. I don't care about you. I care about my audience. And what you need to be pitching me is, here is what I can bring for your audience, here is what I am offering that is valuable to them, and that is the piece that gets missed nine times out of ten. Yeah, it's just, here's my bio or here's my resume.

Yeah, here's how great I am. And I want you to talk about me for 30 to 40 minutes. You know, but you want to give your audience, like, nuggets, you know, you want to give them like, oh, I'm so glad I heard that. Like, oh, I didn't think of it that way. Or like, oh, that's a very unique perspective. I can relate with that. Or I've never heard of that. That sounds cool.

But, yeah, if people are. Are just promoting themselves, that's really hard. So, yeah, adding value and tying back to someone else's credibility is really important.

And any last, like, number one piece of advice for someone who wants to get on bigger stages, more stages, stages in general.

Yeah, I would say, you know, everybody says, like, oh, I'll wait until I get big, or I'll wait until I have this, or I'll wait until I write a book, or I'll wait until whatever. You don't need to wait. You don't need to wait at all. Get out there. But treat it the same as you were getting on Channel 5, you know, treat it the same as you were stepping on the biggest stage that you want to be on in five years. Clean up your social media. Clean up your LinkedIn. Right? How you present yourself matters.

And that's okay. My Instagram is totally personal. I hardly have anything about KPIs and meeting structures and, you know, being a professional executive. I don't. I travel, I have my family, have my dog on there, and it's me. Right? But it's still very professional. They get it. They get a good idea of who I am as a person, you know, outside of work.

But I hear people and I hear stuff, and I hear them when they're looking at other people's stuff and they're like, this is so confusing. I got up, I got on a podcast earlier today, and I was like, hey, I was checking out your LinkedIn, and my EA made some notes, and I checked out this, and I was like, so does this business tie in with this and that? And he was like, no. And I was like, oh, okay, so it's this. And he's like, no. And it's like, dude, I can't tell what you do whether I look at your Facebook or your LinkedIn or the pod Match profile. Like, I'm so confused. You know, that just hurts them. Because if I can't tell what you're doing, like, a customer can't trust me.

Like, so. So I'd say, don't wait to start. Like, don't wait. Just get out there. Just do it. But, you know, clean stuff up. Make yourself easy to find, and make it clear on. On why people would want to have you.

Thank you so much for all of your great insights. And if people wanted to get in touch with you, find out more about you, pitch you to be on your stages better than other people have been, thankfully. How can you do that?

Yeah, LinkedIn is always a great way to connect. I love doing that. I love actually, like connecting with someone and I don't have to sift through as many things. So LinkedIn Katie Peterman on there. And then if they're wanting like a strategy session or anything like that, my team does free discovery calls, so you can go to www.yourfrx.com and you can schedule a discovery session from there. And all of our stuff is very transparent on the page on what we do, our pricing, how it works, you know, all of that. But yeah, definitely. Thank you for having me on today.

Appreciate it. I love the fun background and I love the. I love the stage stories.

Well, thank you so much. This has been a lot of fun, everyone. Thank you for hanging out with us and come back next week for another my first stage story.