Your First 90 Days as a #GenXSpeaker
Your First 90 Days as a #GenXSpeaker: The February Foundation
Published: February 1, 2025 | By BrandMaster, Martina Britt Yelverton
For decades, you’ve been the expert. You’ve mastered your craft, climbed the corporate ladder, and built a reputation based on excellence. But now, you’ve stepped into a new arena—the world of entrepreneurship—and the rules feel completely different. The expertise that made you a star employee doesn’t automatically translate into a thriving speaking or coaching business. If you’re a #GenX or #Boomer professional feeling a mix of excitement and sheer terror, you are in the right place.
This month is not about chasing shiny objects or complex marketing funnels. It’s about laying the non-negotiable foundation. We are going to build the concrete slab upon which your entire business will rest, focusing on four critical pillars: your Mindset, your foundational Assets, your actionable Plan, and your financial Tracking.
Part 1: The Mindset Shift That Must Happen First
Before you buy a domain, create a logo, or even think about a client, the work must begin internally. The loyal, permission-seeking, specialist mindset that served you well in a corporate structure will actively sabotage you as an entrepreneur. The first step is a conscious mental shift from employee to CEO.
This means evolving from a specialist in one area to a generalist who understands every facet of your new enterprise—from marketing to finance. It requires you to stop waiting for approval and start making decisive actions with 70% of the information, because in business, speed trumps perfection. Most critically, it demands a new relationship with money and failure. One reason? The guaranteed paycheck is replaced by performance-based income, a direct reflection of the value you create. And failure is no longer a catastrophic event to be avoided at all costs; it is simply data—valuable feedback that informs your next move.
Part 2: The Blueprint and Your First Foundational Asset
With your mindset recalibrated, you need a blueprint for the business itself. For this, we use the AAA Entrepreneur framework. A sustainable, profitable, and joyful business is:
Aligned: Your business gives you energy because it’s connected to your purpose, your ideal client, and your financial goals.
Accountable: You have a business, not an expensive hobby, because you know your numbers and track your performance.
Accessible: Your business can make money while you sleep because you have systems in place for inquiry, booking, and value delivery.
This framework provides the structure, but where does the first tangible step lie? It begins with the single most important piece of digital real estate you will ever own: YourName.com. If you don’t own it, you’re sending them to someone else. For less than $50 a year, you purchase more than a web address; you acquire an asset that provides instant credibility, complete control over your brand, and a vital defense against anyone else claiming your digital identity. An email from [email protected] signals you are a serious professional long before you ever send an invoice.
Your Action for Week 1:
Go to my affiliate link at Domains.MartinaBrittYelverton.com (this supports my #NoGatekeeping content!).
Search for Your Name: Jae Smith. (e.g., JaeSmith.com, JaeRSmith.com, IAmJaeSmith.com, etc.)
If it’s available, buy it. Don’t hesitate. This is the best $25 you will spend on your brand all year.
Again, if it’s not available, find a close variation (Do NOT Use "-"'s, e.g. Jae-SmithSpeaks.com, Do NOT use "_", WorkWith_JaeSmith.com, Do NOT use "."s JaeSmith.Coaching.com).
Congratulations! You just acquired your first and most important digital asset. You’re already ahead of 90% of entrepreneurs. However, just in case you're hardheaded, and kept reading without taking action, I discuss additional value on domains and Why You MUST Own Your Name in an older #TeachYouTuesday YouTube video I've populated below just for you.
Part 3: The 90-Day Roadmap to Beat Overwhelm
A goal without a plan is a wish. To avoid the paralysis that comes from a massive to-do list, we operate in 90-day sprints. Why? Because a year is too long to maintain urgency, and a month is too short for meaningful progress. For a new speaker, the first 90-day plan is not about booking ten paid gigs; it’s about building the capacity to do so. Here's how:
Month 1 (Days 1-30): Foundation & Clarity. The goal is to end the month with a clear message and a start of your core assets/value. This involves tracking in your Cashflow Queen Goals Planner EVERYTHING such as: your eating habits, your mood, activity goals, achievements, buying your domain, who you are tracking on social media, how you're defining your target audience, notes from key figures and their takeaways along your journey, new developments in your core message, narrowing down that "Big Me" list (video below for context) and setting up a new professional social media presence or enhancing one that you already have.
Tip: During this 30 days, you're 6 days on, 1 day off to recoup and tabulate. Persistence over perfection, but above all - CONSISTENCY!
Month 2 (Days 31-60): Content & Credibility. The goal is to establish proof of your expertise. This is where you review what stood out MOST in the last 30 days, that you can create a simple lead magnet (like a checklist) of that value gift that you have to give, write your first few articles based on outcomes from your value, or create videos walking through solutions derived from pain points you identified, and begin the crucial task of building an email list from those you now are clear need your value.
Tip: Don't overthink this, but do NOT under value yourself! You only need to be ONE step ahead of someone, to serve them!Month 3 (Days 61-90): Pitching & Outreach. The goal is to get ready to ask for opportunities. Here, you will be able to develop your speaker one-sheet, create an outline for your signature talk, and begin to identify a target list of 20-50 actionable areas you can pitch yourself. It is suggested that you begin on social media, review and log podcasts of interest, local on and offline groups, or past and current conferences to begin your research and start your outreach. Tip: It is NOT required that you wait - when Opportunity Knocks - OPEN THE DOOR! Sometimes you won't know what the market needs until it knocks, and THAT is the time you reach into your arsenal and deliver it what you've prepared; or you go and prepare it!
Shameless Plug: As I prepared this blog for you, I did not have a tutorial for a couple of the mentions listed, therefore I'll come back and plug those in. Why? Because I didn't want to delay the delivery of this content and as I delivered the content "Spirit said... they need to know "How To" ..." That is what I mean by the "Market will tell you what it needs"! Get it?!
Part 4: The Engine of Accountability: Tracking Your Money
If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t have a business. It’s that simple. As a new CEO, you must install the engine of accountability from day one. This doesn’t require complex accounting software. It starts with a simple spreadsheet (digitally), or your Cashflow Queen Goals Planner (look below) and a non-negotiable 5-minute daily ritual.
Track two things every day: Money In and Money Out; both a Personal and a Business column are available in your Cashflow Queen Goals Planner. At the end of the month, this daily log/accountability allows you to create your first “Business Report Card,” showing your total revenue, total expenses, and net profit. Your first financial goal is not to make six figures; it is simply to be profitable, even by one dollar. This proves your business model works. By adding performance metrics like Leads (meaningful conversations) and Conversions (new clients), you create a dashboard that tells you the complete story of your business’s health.
Your Foundation is Poured
By following this February plan, you have accomplished something extraordinary. You have moved from an expert with an idea to a business owner with a plan. You have poured the concrete foundation—strong, level, and ready for what comes next. You have the mindset, the blueprint, the roadmap, and the engine. You are no longer at the starting line; you are in the race.
Ready to build on this foundation? The next step is to create your “Value Give”—the free, valuable content that will attract your ideal clients and build your email list. To get the templates for the 90-Day Roadmap and the Financial Tracker, and to take the free Speaker Readiness Assessment, join us in the BrandYOU Founding Members Community. This is where the work continues.
Join the FREE BrandYOU Founding Members Community
#GetYoASSetsInOrder #NoGatekeeping #GenX #Entrepreneurship #SpeakerCoach #BusinessFundamentals
Take Action Today
If you're ready to get your assets in order:
Order the Cashflow Queen Goals Planner at: cfqg.martinabrittyelverton.com
Take the free Speaker Readiness Assessment at speakerready.martinabrittyelverton.com to see exactly where your gaps are
Join the BrandYOU Community for free content prompts, weekly support, and connection with other legacy-driven entrepreneurs
Start tracking your cashflow today - even if it's just in a notebook. Awareness is the first step to accountability. Documentation is the first step to implementation!
Don't wait to make promises. Use January to build foundations.
Your brand is only as strong as the assets behind it. #GetYoASSetsInOrder first. Then make it beautiful. Stop making resolutions. Start building assets. And make 2026 the year your business finally works for you.
#GetYoASSetsInOrder #NoGatekeeping #BrandYOU #GenXEntrepreneur #BoomerBoss
Ready to transform your expertise into a profitable speaking career? Join the BrandYOU Community, for exclusive implementation guides and connect with other GenX Professionals making the same transition. Or schedule a VIP Day to have your complete speaker business system built professionally while you focus on what you do best: sharing your expertise.
Your experience matters. Your voice is needed. Your time is now.
