In the course of deciding a career path for yourself, whether you are just out of school or deciding on a career change after years in one particular field, you may find that you enjoy getting people motivated to succeed. If this is the case, then you may want to consider becoming a motivational speaker. There are companies you can try to get into that will help you to find motivational speaking work, but it is also possible to start your motivational speaking career on your own.

Find someone who is already successful in the motivational speaking business and ask that person to be your mentor. Becoming a successful motivational speaker requires experience in the field of public speaking. Find someone who will take you under his or her wing and show you how to become a successful motivational speaker. You can also gain public speaking experience by joining your local Toastmasters International club (see Resources).

Write a book about your life experiences and how those experiences can help others. Motivational speakers need something to add credibility to what they are saying, and having a published book to reference can help you to gain that credibility. There are many companies that offer book publishing services and can help you publish and distribute your book for a fee (see Resources). This avoids shopping your book to publishers and hoping someone accepts it.

Begin networking within the business community. Offer to speak for free at gatherings such as chamber of commerce functions, or offer local businesses your services for free in return for a letter of recommendation. Offer free copies of your book as a reference for people, and keep track of everyone you give a book to. In order to jump-start your career as a motivational speaker, you will need to start off by giving your products and services away. Once you have built up a clientele list of perhaps five to 10 companies, then start developing a price schedule.

Get seen on television. More than likely there are local cable access programs that your cable company produces. Offer to come on to one of those shows to discuss your book and your motivational speaking business. Contact the local newspaper and ask if they would accept an opinion column from you to be published. Create accounts on every social networking website you can find on the Internet, and keep them updated constantly. The idea here is to get your name out as much as possible and to get people talking about you.

You may want to boost your educational credentials with courses in interpersonal communication and sociology. Education, along with published works, are important credentials for motivational speakers.

Developing a successful motivational speaking business takes a great deal of time, and it may not make you any money at first. Use your hard work and lean times in the beginning of your career as fodder for your future motivational speaking work.