Being a motivational speaker is one of those jobs you can either dream of for the income potential or dread because it would involve… speaking in front of a crowd. It’s most decidedly not for everyone.

But the pay can be excellent. I have an uncle who does professional motivational speaking, and he earns quite a decent living off that.

Here’s one of those things many people don’t think about. If you have a skill that is in demand, one of the ways is to take advantage and become a professional speaker on that topic. There are sports speakers, speakers who talk about current trends, all kinds of business topics, and so forth.

The trick, of course, is landing the jobs. It’s not easy. Even my uncle who has some pretty good experience goes through times where there just isn’t any work for him. But I would think that making the investment to join a professional site would help. However, excellent ratings are required by sites such as International Speakers Bureau. It’s really not for beginners. On the other hand, this means that once you’re good enough, you are represented by a company that is focused on working with other great speakers. That’s a good place to be.