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"The Introvert-Extrovert Dynamic: Mastering Networking with Jaimie Abbott"

Ros: Hey everybody, welcome to the travel agent achievers Podcast. Today we've got our founder of Paid to Speak which is launching soon PR club and recently awarded Online Business of the Year in the Australian women's champions Small Business Awards. My guest today is a beautiful, amazing powerhouse, a mum of two young boys a career in politics with the Royal Australian Air Force. Jaimie is someone that who goes after what she wants in life and lives it with passion and fullness. She's about to jet off to work abroad for the United Nations. However, she still wants to help as many people as possible to get their voice heard, increase their credibility and visibility with education on how to get paid to speak in public. Now I've known Jaimie for a few years now, her mum a little bit longer and she has the best name ever which is still the same as mine. Jaimie and I have travelled the world. We've lived in exotic location for weeks at a time and I do consider her a beautiful friend. 

Thank you Jaimie for once again joining me on the Travel Agent Achievers Podcast. I'm so excited that you're here. Thank you.

Jaimie: Thanks for having me. I'm here in beautiful Port Macquarie, my beach hair and just relax. I'm wearing flip flops. It's great 

Ros: It's so good that we get to have this lifestyle where you can work anywhere in the world. But we also get the opportunity just to chill out at home. And yeah, we can record these podcasts whether they are video or whether they are audio and just how we're sitting right now.

Jaimie:  You look pretty good. You look pretty corporatey. And you know, professional. I just broke up, my jean shorts. I'm glad it was cut off of that he can't see I'm just wearing jean shorts.

Ros: Jean shorts, but we do have our coffee today. Thank you for joining me once again on the podcast. We're going to talk about networking. And this is a topic that has come up more and more frequently in the travel industry because we're now able to see people again. And I know that networking doesn't have to necessarily be done face to face or in person it can be done online. So I brought you in to talk about this topic because you're an expert at it and I'd like to say that putting it out there- Jaimie is the extrovert in our relationship and I would definitely feel as though I'm the introvert and I see this every time we travel Jaimie is always the one that's talking to people and chit chatting and recording reels and she's she's out there and I am the one that is often at the computer working or having some quiet time or thinking space. And when I'm ready, I will then step out.

Jaimie: I'm laughing because when I travelled with you, you're always like we've got to go I've got to go like just it's only just started uploading and the next minute final call on the light line and you're always there really you know on time punctual that's what you're going when you sit down and travel.

Ros: What? Organised or? 

Jaimie: I think you being being a travel agent is probably certainly other viewers and listeners are you seeing things go wrong. You see people miss their flights, you've seen the worst happen. So that's why you're always like, we're about to ball we need to go now.

Ros: I think I need to record a reel that he's going viral at the moment where it shows you with your boarding pass and you'll arrive at the airport you actually go to UK gate three hours before you know it's about to take off just to make sure that the gates there the plane might be there and all the rest. I'm very particular about that. And then I'll go to the lounge whereas you will just go straight to the lounge. start drinking, such as eating and then at final boarding time and we've had this I couldn't see it now. We've had this where we've been in the lounge and like Jaimie has time to get going and like ah, really like let's just have another drink. And I'm gonna go to the bathroom first and like I'm going I'll meet everybody at the gate. You're so right on that. 

Jaimie: I know.

Ros: Oh my gosh. But travelling with you I absolutely love and one thing that I love about it is how you network with people because it's not just you know who we might see in the lounge but you actually start right at check in. I've watched you do this as we go through security when were in the lounge talking to all sorts of different people like does that come naturally to you?

Jaimie: It's funny because I it's not something I have thought about. I haven't observed internally myself doing that. So it's funny that you point that out. I think yeah, I am a pure extrovert and I get fueled by that. So if I'm around people, it fuels my energy. It gives me that boost that gives me that kind of adrenaline and when I'm not around people which you know, in Hawaii with you. You guys left me at the Cheesecake Factory for two hours by myself. I sat at the bar and I was like miserable. So being on my own is not a great a great thing. So yeah, I think that because I don't like being on my own. I love the opposite effect of that. And it really really energises me.

Ros: Yeah, it gives you the energy to do something else that you might need to do. So networking, I mean, how would you describe that because it is different for everyone. But what does it mean to you? 

Jaimie: Yeah, so that's a really great question because I guess traditional networking is going into business events, getting your business card out meeting people and making that exchange. But these days networking is anything so jumping online, there's so many business groups out there paid and unpaid, where you get to meet with fellow entrepreneurs, for example. And that's networking. That's probably the majority of networking that I do now in the modern world. It's going to our business events, going to breakfast, going to cocktail events, going to charity balls and sitting on a table with people you don't know. It's all those opportunities to expand your network and that's why it's called networking.

Ros: Okay, that makes me really nervous. Going into an environment for myself that I don't know anyone. I get really nervous with okay, what, what am I supposed to say? How am I supposed to introduce myself? I feel quite awkward. And there are times where you know, the little person on your shoulder says like, who's gonna want to talk to you anyway, like, why why are you even here? And there are times that I've often wanted to talk myself out of leaving an event because I am so uncomfortable walking into an environment that I don't know anyone. So do you have any tips for somebody like that? Because I will often talk to myself in the elevator and go you can do this, go and talk to 10 people like finding something to give myself that energy, which is very foreign to me, but it's not to you.

Jaimie: To be fair, I go to an event where I don't know anybody. I do feel that same way. So hopefully that's reassuring. 

Ros: Thank you.

Jaimie: Introverts out there do that. Yes. Always trying to find someone I know or seek out someone that I know is a first point of contact. And then you know, it just goes back to the old BNI style where people are in a group if they're in a closed circle, if they say there are three people closed in I wouldn't approach that.

Ros: So when you say close to call, that's a body language thing where they're looking at each other

Jaimie: Yeah and there's no sort of opening for you to jump into the conversation. I can really kind of follow that. So there is a group of people and they kind of in this kind of shape on a triangle, a bit more or a bit more like straight line, which is an opening to me, you know, the three people they're all facing each other. You can't kind of just go hi.

Ros: Yeah, so if they're in like a line or in a U shape or so if there's space for you to step into it, what do you do? 

Jaimie: I just go up there and say hi there and make it sound easy, but it's not. I say Hi there. I'm Jaimie. How are you? And then I asked them questions about themselves. Yeah. And then it just opens it up instantly. But I guess it's important to remember that you know what you just described how you're feeling so many other people are feeling that way as well. But yet they force we force ourselves to go to these events. I don't force myself too hard because I love them that people who know they need to do it or they know they need to expand their network but they feel oh well if I get rejected what if nobody talks to me probably goes back to the school yard when we had you know those rejections on the playground? No, no, I'm picking us for the sporting team or anything like that. Uh, you might have got pics first, but I never did. 

Ros: And so it isn't dancer, Sarah. Yeah, I couldn't really catch a ball. You know, I think that and this is what I talked about, even with my own son is schooling still the same. And what I'd have seen that carried over into business as well, is really schoolyard behaviour, in certain situations. And that frustrates me and why I think with travel agent achievers and I know with you with the PR club and paid to speak in your programs, it's very inclusive. There is nothing that says no, you can't come and play here. This is the cool kids club or you can't come and hang out with us. There is something there for everyone. And it's always for me collaboration as a competition. So from a networking point, of view, I hear I think that there are fees that definitely come up, potentially for me and a lot of other people that are will will they want to talk to me? Yeah, that brings back schoolyard behaviour. 

Oh, man, I think I need to go and speak to Clare Cope, our corporate psychologist about this one is because it does bring up a lot of things. So if we're in an introvert and an extrovert going into an environment that they may not feel so comfortable with it is still go in and introduce yourself. The first thing that I had to say was asked questions about them. And I know you do this beautifully, because again, I have observed this with you. You are very keen to understand somebody else's nature or what they do or who they are and then be able to see opportunities within that for yourself. Would you say that you you can recognise those sorts of things or your background has taught you to do those sorts? 

Jaimie: Yeah, I think it's something I've learned and it's the introvert extrovert thing is fairly new to me. I'm talking and only in the last five years, I've been really aware of the differences. And I think back to my early 20s, even my teens were I had no idea about what an introvert or an extrovert was. And I think I was misunderstood as being all about me from I have a lot of introvert friends even now. And then and vice versa. I think I misunderstood introverts as being rude and standoffish. And now it's like cracking a code. Now I understand the differences. If I go into an event and someone is not opening up to me or being standoffish now I can think okay, maybe they're an introvert. How do I crack into that? And so by asking someone questions about themselves, it instantly opens them up, they relax, they warm to you. So I feel like I probably did it wrong for too many years. And now I'm aware of, you know, it's all about the other person what makes them tick. What are they fearful of? Why are they here? And then making it about them and that's the best way to make friends to expand your business and to for people to flock to you. And I think it's a mindset thing, but yeah, I just I shake my head about all those times I probably got it wrong, and lost friendships. I have lost friendships over it. I think you know with introverts and they will go away and they would retreat to their room for example. Why are they doing that? Why would I want to go out, you know, gonna go on cruises with girlfriends. They want to just go back to the cabin, right? Why?

Ros: Why we're on a cruise ship. Let’s go party

Jaimie: Yeah, I know. People need to have some time to themselves and they can't just be around people all the time like me. Yeah. I hadn't known that back again. I probably wouldn't have been a lot more successful earlier on.

Ros: Right. Yeah, understanding people in that sense. Okay. So when it comes to going to any of these business events, I know they're incredibly important to expand your own mind, meet other people connect. From a networking point of view going in, you're introducing yourself, you're finding out a little bit about that person. You're also understanding what they're there for, how you might relate to them and then understanding them as a person. What do you then see because you are so good at this and I love hearing about other people what they do, for me, I'm very interested. Do you even see that as an opportunity for collaboration or connecting them to other people?

Jaimie: Sometimes, absolutely. And when you're doing it all the time networking, it's a great way of strategically placing people into other people's lives. The old one, a great travel agent to help you with that. I do love connecting those dots. But it's also just another touch point because people buy from people Ros.

Ros:  Yeah.

Jaimie: And I think just meeting someone in person and they might start following you on Instagram or they'll connect with you on LinkedIn, or they'll see you at another event. It's just those different touch points because I think it takes about 11 touch points or something like that of people to see you before they buy from you or before they engage you as a travel agent, for example. So I just think it's another drop in the ocean of people getting to know you and and really put that face to name and the familiarity with that. So I think that's not so strategic about connecting people it's just face to name. 

Ros: Yep, face to name, building rapport building relationships, and then as you say, the touch points. So if you are in an environment that you are putting on an event or you're connecting with potential consumers and clients, it's another thing that they are just getting to know you building that rapport. This is also really important for marketing. So when we talk about marketing, your travel business or really any business it's about having those connections and touch points over and over again. Do you think that marketing and networking come hand in hand like it should be networking should be part of your marketing?

Jaimie: Definitely. Definitely. I mean, it's not the be all end all have you could have as wildly successful business without networking. I'm about to go over to Jamaica, so I won't be going into as many events for a couple of months, like I normally do, and I can still continue that online. But I guess in that situation now I'm thinking out loud it might be because I have gone to so many events, and I've already established a lot of connections and I can continue that online. But I think it can only help particularly for travel agents because I won't use a travel agent if I don't like them. Or if I've met them and warm to them. I'm more inclined to use them. So I think the more you get yourself out there to breakfast. Charity balls are great because you're forced to sit with people at a table all night have a few drinks and you know it's a great way to get to know a travel agent if they were sitting in my table. And you know, we have we've bonded over a few drinks we don't have to drink but we bond over a beautiful night were dressed up that's going to make me think I'm going to use her next time again. Next time I'm booking my flights or a trip away.

Ros:  Okay. So with with this then and looking at being part of your marketing, mix, the introvert the extrovert, and then going to these sorts of events, collaboration over competition, so we're more inclined to meet and then connect with and use people that we know like and trust. This is this is beautiful that you say this because I have a no dickheads policy. So I think that you were you alluding to that as well that you don't necessarily then work with people that you don't like, well, but when you're networking, you do come across people surely you've got some juicy stories. Where you've come across people and you've gone oh my god, I would never work with that person. 

Jaimie: Yeah, absolutely. So two main things come to mind there and it can be the middle thing. So if I, if I'm sitting on your table and you're on your phone the whole time, right, I'm guilty of that.

Ros: We’ve had these conversations about being on phone

Jaimie: Yeah, because I'm addicted because I love social media. But you know if I'm I want to meet you and you know talk to you and you're on your phone the whole time. It's really putting up a barrier. I'm not inclined to want to use you as my travel agent. Even if I think oh, you're on the phone dealing with clients, you're not building that rapport and made some missed opportunity. 

Ros: Yeah. 

Jaimie: So things like that. It's not necessarily that you're a dickhead, but you're just missing an opportunity to to connect with me. But then also there because I've got a background in politics, right? And so people have this assumption that I'm this aggressive ball breaking hard ass bitch and I'm not  

Ros: No you’re not. 

Jaimie: No. People don't know that just from seeing me in the media or seeing me online. Do you think that composure as well in the way that you present yourself? I think so. Yeah, definitely journalist after I had come off my first campaign I ran federally, the city of Newcastle to be campaign 18 months huge and this journalist interviewed me when I started my business after that, and she said yes, seem to get upset about anything. You seem like you're really hard and you know, like, do you ever have a human side or sensitive side and like, you could not be getting me more wrong? I'll never forget that. And I thought I get I cry I get I'm really sensitive and I was a bigger girl running in a big campaign. I got so many attacks about my weight and people didn't see me getting upset about that. They just assumed I was this hard ass person. And I think even now in business when more people see you online and they do in person, you know, I've got a social media following and I'm not going to meet all those people. And they just assume that I'm this. I don't know. Yeah, water off a duck's back person, not a human like almost two dimensional. Yeah. 

Ros: Yeah, definitely see that as well. And that is also a perception so when you are on social media or when you are presenting, so even the work that you do now, is there like a persona that you put forward to either protect yourself or that's the role that you play when you are actually presenting or networking. Do you feel that there's a thing there because for me one thing that I used to get back in my corporate career was I would speak on stage a lot. And my friends and family could always see this, like wall not a wall come up, but something surround me and they would say oh, she's got her marketing smile on now. For me, it was like a persona to step into that gave me the confidence or the extrovert or whatever it was that I was able to show to others. Do you do you think that that is something that we did? 

Jaimie: Definitely I think I probably got it wrong to them. I've only been doing online business for a couple of years now. I think when I first started I was still very news reader reach didn't show my personality or anything like that, indeed put on these frogs. But now even the last couple of weeks, if you go to my Instagram, I'm taking the piece out of myself. We did some fun reels on the Gold Coast. And it was a real girl. What I've been doing those really showing my funny side showing my human side, the corporate inquiries have actually skyrocketed? 

Ros: Because of that human element? 

Jaimie: I don’t know or is it coincidence but I've never had more corporate inquiries and clients and bookings than I had ever had now and i Is it a coincidence my reels are really taking a piece out of myself showing my true personality and they going viral. I mean some of them had on that one we did in on the Gold Coast. Have a check it out. You have a look at that.

Ros: I will link to that in the show notes. 

Jaimie: It has 12,000 views.

Ros: Was it the one I suggested for you?

Jaimie: It was, it was your idea Ros. It wasn’t personal, it was Ros’s idea but it had, had 12,000 views. I looked at it a couple of days ago. 

Ros: Yeah. 

Jaimie: So those types of ones I think people laugh and it draws people to you. So the message is don't put up a front. Yeah, be vulnerable. Be yourself, be yourself. 

Ros: We just did a social media challenge inside travel agent achievers for advisors to actually show their face because what I see quite a bit is you know people hide behind a logo or on their website or on their social media. They show beautiful images and videos of destinations and trips, but there is nothing that has that human connection. So I think that networking is very important here and I don't think it necessarily has to be in person at events like we're talking about or you also mentioned the online world. But would you say that networking is also part of social media? 

Jaimie: Oh, absolutely. And that part about showing your face I can see why people don't. I totally get it. 

Ros: Because of the backlash?

Jaimie: Yeah,  you are going to get it I think it's really important to to not sugarcoat it. Like when you start putting yourself out there for the first time showing your face. If you have previously held back held yourself back behind the logo. You are going to cut criticism for your loved ones as a minimum. I know I was a politician at the time I still on council in Port Stephens in New South Wales when I first started in online business, and my colleagues who have only ever seen conservative professional Jaimie.

Ros: Suit Jaimie.

Jaimie: Yeah.

Ros: Like dressed up in the suit, black suit. Very bold.

Jaimie: Yeah, there was always they were saying, “What the hell are you doing? Do you realise you look ridiculous”. Like comments like that. Wow. And I'm so glad I blocked it out because I never like I'm laughing now. Always the bank like our coach Tina Tower says by and that but that's why people hold back and they might dabble in and get a couple of criticisms and then I'll, why they won't do it. But you attract more your tribe, you attract more people and the positives outweigh the negatives. 

Ros: Do you think you will also be attracting your ideal clients and the people that you really want to work with because they are seeing the human element?

Jaimie: Yeah. It's funny, overseen by the corporate clients. I've had some really I don't know how you would describe it. They're just corporatey in a very very corporatey and not fun loving and they are coming my way as a result. I don't know if it's as a result, but I'm doing a whole heap of funny reels and showing my turning up that my hair down like I have today, you know, but I'm just showing up and just being myself 

Ros: Would you not have done that before?

Jaimie: Ah, I reckon even a couple of months. Yeah, I'd be here to see it would have my head blow dried I'd had my lash extensions, whereas today, it's a matter of just showing up being yourself. And as a result, you show up more because if you are waiting to kind of go off topic, a little bit about networking, but if you're waiting to look perfect every time you're going to be showing up less often and people don't care. They just want to hear your message. So that's the important thing.

Ros: Never it's never going to happen because you'll always think oh when I do this or when I've got this or when I look like this, then I will do this. But it's about showing up right now and in a networking sense. Just get out there. Is that what you would say

Jaimie: Absolutely. 

Ros: Just get out there. Feel the fear and do it anyway. 

Jaimie: Yeah, yeah. I mean, of course, even 10 years ago, I wouldn't go to a networking event unless I had a blow dry, really frizzy curly hair, as you can see today, out of the ocean, but I would always get a blow dry. I've always had my nails done. There's no time for that. Now, like if I did that all the time, I'd go to less events and I'd miss opportunities. Yeah. So always look presentable and good, but you can but don't let that hold you back from attending anything, putting yourself out there online or in person.

Ros: So when you are showing up and feeling a fear doing it anyway, is this something that you help coach mentor people to do?

Jaimie: Absolutely. So mostly in my PR class, even this month, we had a whole event on social media, a whole masterclass on that and I even talked about tips and tricks to make yourself look better with filters because I had probably had to look at the mix but it'd be maybe slightly more risky to send out women it's a lot of men yeah too. But you know for maybe 60, 70% of women. And the feedback I get a lot is I have made to get my makeup done or I look terrible on camera. So I even showed them how to use filters and I'm a big fan of that. It's controversial opinion, because people say Oh, but then they meet me in real life. I don't look like that. But what's happening is people aren't showing up in a story or a reel, or doing any sort of instructional video with their face because they're concerned they haven't got their makeup on that day. And so I'm like well use a filter, whatever it takes to get you to show up and share your message. Especially for Instagram stories. It's gone after 24 hours anyway yeah. But people aren't so focused on how you look. But if you're worried what makes you show up, put a filter on they want the message. 

Ros: They want the message they want to hear from you. And I do talk about this with the travel advisors a lot because when we are booking travel for our clients, more often than not we are seeing them face to face so we get to know them. We get to find out what their hopes and dreams are, but we see them so we might go and have a coffee with them. We might have a zoom session with them. They're actually going to see us for who we are already. And so I encourage advisors to show up on social media because that's what your clients will say. And if it is that you need to put a filter or you need to have something there then just get out. Just do it. 

Jaimie: Yeah.

Ros: Do it Anyway, put yourself out there. Okay, so we've you've got something very special coming up and I am so grateful that everything that you've got happening over the next few weeks moving as well overseas to work for the United Nations for a while in a contractual position. And very proud of you. Congratulations for that.

Jaimie: Thanks so much.

Ros: So excited as well because I know somebody, the United Nations as a brand, but with before you even go, you are continuously showing up and you are there to help other people which I'm so grateful for. One of those things is of course during the podcast episode now that you're also going to come and talk to our achievers members. So those that are part of our masterminds and our program, that is the monthly program where you're gonna be talking about this more in depth and we'll be talking about the how to so how to actually show up a little bit more how to network how to reach out to people to join events and those sorts of things. But you've got your own, you know, Paid to Speak program coming out as well, which I'm thrilled about in a couple of weeks and you've got a challenge. Can you tell us a little bit about that? 

Jaimie: Yeah, so the whole reason for a marketing perspective me putting on a free challenge is when I get people I was doing a $47 challenge before when I get people in front and they see any training, I can convert them into my course. So the course is my signature course called paid to speak. I can join the waitlist get paid to speak accommodate you, but in order for people to actually see me in action to see what they can get it to kind of give them a glimpse into the world of paid speaking. I wanted to get as many people as possible in a challenge. So rather than holding them back with a $47 cost, even though it's more cost, it's still a barrier. So if it's free, they can just show up, nothing to lose. So I'm putting on a three day challenge called speak and earn kicks off to our October 10 is when I'm launching it and just three days you'll learn how to put together your speaker kit, how to pitch yourself and how to find lucrative speaking gigs.

Ros: Wow, okay, so for travel advisors that do want to and there are a number out there now that have been working on their professional background and putting together you know who they are and who they work with. With a lot of marketing materials, what the next step is for them and what I'm encouraging them to do as well is run their own events and also speak at different events. So your program paid to speak actually teaches you how to speak on stage and get paid to do so. Is that right? 

Jaimie: That's right. Yeah, you've gone through the course. So it's all about I think you've gone through it's pretty meaty. There are there's over 60 videos in it. But yeah, teaches you how to come up with a really sellable winning keynote topic, how to really cropped it, to make sure audiences wanted to hear from you. Then I go through how to sell it, how to find the gigs, how to pitch yourself, how to really it's a PR course as well. You know how to promote yourself how to get on podcasts, as a guest all that sort of thing. You get all the contacts for every single state and federal government agency, the speaker bureaus, if you follow it all and you actively pitch yourself you'll you'll get the 10k speaking gigs but there is a bit of work that can lead you to people who aren't getting the gigs are those who are picked it up the best speakers they're not the most talented and not not the most experience, but they're literally teaching itself and falling into the right place at the right time.

Ros: Do you think that that's something that a lot of people have to overcome when they are speaking in front of other people is that they're not the best?

Jaimie: Yeah, but sometimes there's an EA who is just being tasked with the job of finding a speaker 

Ros: EA being an executive assistant. 

Jaimie: Yeah.

Ros: Or an event person. 

Jaimie: Yeah, sometimes it's just the it's just it's the EAs executive assistants, the assistants to CEOs or for a big organisation and they've just been given this job of finding a speaker for an upcoming corporate day or an upcoming Strategic Planning Day. And the brief is literally just someone who can use inspiring. They don't really care too much about them being the most high profile. They need to be an Olympian. They don't need to be an award winner, but it needs to be an experienced veteran in the travel industry. They just want someone who can entertain the crowd. Yep. For 40 minutes and talk about something that's going to captivate them. And if you're pitching yourself and you fall into the lap, literally even EA or executive assistant who's been tasked with finding a speaker jackpot. You get the geek. Yeah, because you pitch and someone else didn't. And that's really the difference.

Ros: When we were at an event together and heard Chris Helder speak, and he was talking about the best time to do something. So when is the best time and often in our heads, it's when I have this and hearing you just talk about that now about you just gotta get out there and do it and take action. This is what he was also saying is the best time is right now.  

Jaimie: Yeah.

Ros: You know, you might look at your photos from a couple of years ago even and say wow, look, I was so skinny than or I was this or I was that and oh no, when I get back to like our head automatically goes into the when I get back to.

Jaimie: Always. 

Ros: Always. Where, the right time to do something is right now, to take action on your business to take action in what you want to achieve and doing that right now because there is no better time. 

Jaimie: All the time. And people always say to me, Oh, when I get my website ready, it's common. Once my website is redesigned up and ready that I'll start pitching then you're wasting all this time in the meantime. Yeah. So the right time is NOW put the word speaker in your bio, put together your one sheet start pitching now, get your website ready in the meantime, but don't let that hold you back from putting yourself out there as a speaker.

Ros: Okay, so the other thing that you also have and that you work on consistently is your PR club. So what's the difference between Paid to Speak and PR club? 

Jaimie: Yeah, great question. So I never intended on having a membership but I've had now over 100 people go through the paid to speak course, hopefully more said and people wanted ongoing training particularly to promote themselves so ongoing accountability ongoing sessions on LinkedIn, pitching yourself to the media, partnerships, promotion of social media, how to promote yourself without social media, awards, all that sort of thing that comes with being a speaker or a successful business owner. And so I had so many requests for coaching and that for me, wasn't scalable to be doing all these individual coaching sessions. So I created a club called PR club and we've got 75 members now which is pretty cool and about half of them are comes from the pay to speak course. So Paid to Speak is purely on how to become a speaker how to put how to get yourself ready to put yourself out there as a speaker, but PR club is that ongoing promotional training, how to even it's really not just for speakers, it's for any time poor business owner who wants templates, give me the template now for a media release. Give me the template and give me the media contacts you get 1200 media contacts inside the club as well. It gives you everything you need. You just take it quickly and start getting yourself featured in the media, whether it be a podcast or traditional third party media. So it really is just that ongoing live training with me as long as you stay a member.

Ros: Yeah. And so part of that is well, would you say any part of that is is networking because people are seeing what other people are doing and you're actually learning from others as well as they're part of your PR club. 

Jaimie: Yeah, I actually ran into a lawyer the other day at a function I was at last week in Newcastle and she's in PR club and she's been in it since the start but I've never seen her show up in our resumes we do a monthly live

Ros: Oh wow. 

Jaimie: I mean everyone watches the recording. Yeah, watch the zoom. But she I said to her Oh, do you love the club and she said I haven't even had a chance to watch any of the content, but I'm just in it for the community because there's a Facebook group and she likes being able to network with other people in the community. Yeah. And that's really interesting because I hated I hate Facebook groups. And I never wanted why she's in it purely for that. Isn't that networking opportunity that the Facebook even though it's not a very active Facebook group, you can literally click on and see everyone who's a member. And so there is almost one of every category out there there's a GP there's a physio there's an osteo there's a pediatrist there's an obstetrician there's you know travel agents, you know, there's a couch This is one of almost every category that exists lawyers galore at buyer's agents, real estate agents, and so she can go and see who they all are just got an instant network.

Ros: Well, networking is everywhere. And it doesn't necessarily have to be in business. It's also in personal lives as well that online communities like PR club like Travel Agent Achievers, there is the network that I see is can build beautiful friendships and relationships as well. 

So from networking, in your experience, because I saw you do this beautifully when you went to London recently, and you came back and we're having a conversation where you had been networking with a whole bunch of different people and this is where a recent opportunity came up for you for the United Nations. So networking was part of that. Do you think? 

Jaimie: I think subconsciously, yes. I went to London. I went there for a week and I got some speaking gigs through the techniques who are teaching pay to speak I literally cold called and I spoke at a two large conferences over there. I put a workshop on as well. And while I was there, I met some pretty incredible people who are in sort of diplomatic roles, in Embassy roles, UN jobs, and I thought wow, I want to leave overseas, okay. Came back, on a whim applied for 8 job in the UN website. I think three were in Geneva, four in New York City and 1 in Jamaica. I got the Jamaica job.

Ros: You’re going to Jamaica I mean, there are so many of us in the travel industry going you're going to Jamaica. This is going to be an incredible experience for you. So Jaimie coming up, we've got ‘Speak and Earn’ is your three day live challenge. We also have Paid to Speak which is your online program, PR club. And of course you are going to be speaking for us inside the achievers which is our mastermind with travel agent achievers. You're doing all of the things you consistently put yourself out there success for you I can see is always inevitable and I just wanted to say congratulations on all that you've achieved so far, especially with winning the recent award as well 

Jaimie: Yeah, I won "Online business of the year." I couldn't believe it. 

Ros: It's amazing. So congratulations. Thank you so much for joining us always inside travel agent achievers thank you for working with travel advisors as well across the world with your own travel and and I look forward to continuing the journey and working with you and also seeing you around on the other side of the world. I'm sure.

Jaimie: Thanks so much Ros. Thanks for having me.

Ros: All right, everyone. Well, thank you so much for joining us today here at the travel agent achievers podcast. I am thrilled that we get the calibre of speakers and guests that join me here on the podcast and also inside travel agent achievers, our community and also the achievers mastermind. Have an awesome day today and I look forward to catching up with you very very soon.