So you’ve decided to dip your toes in the public speaking world. You’re going to step on the stage and give a presentation or offer a workshop to people who want to learn from you, and you’re excited about this.

Awesome – you should be! You know your stuff. You’ve planned your speech. You’ve prepared the handouts. You’ve strategized the timing. You’ve put together an offer. You’ve booked the room.

You’re ready to go.

There’s only one problem: You’re sweating bullets because you’re absolutely terrified of speaking to a whole crowd of strangers.

Jerry Seinfeld said it best: “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

You’re thinking he’s absolutely right. You’d rather die than have to stand up and speak at the front of the room, with all eyes on you. What if you forget what you’re going to say? What if you fumble around and sound dumb? Or trip and fall off the stage?

And you’re thinking, “What have I gotten myself into? And how the hell can I get out of it?”

Before you start panicking, keep this in mind:

Last week, I wrote about a sure-fire way to maximize your business potential: Just turn your ebook into a workshop, and get ready to impress the socks off new prospects.

But exactly how should you set up that workshop? How can you make sure it’s a win? I’ll tell you that too. Keep reading…

No matter what type of freelancer, consultant or business owner you might be, and no matter what sort of product or service you sell, hosting a workshop is a great idea that could bring huge benefits to your business.

Think about it: A workshop lets you show off your expertise, in person. You get to demonstrate how you solve a specific problem. You have the opportunity to engage with fresh prospects. You can talk with people one-on-one, answer their questions directly, give them some personal attention and show them just how nice a person you are.

Oh yeah, and you get to promote something you sell. Bonus.

Here’s another bonus: Hosting a workshop lets you pick up some public-speaking experience, and that’s a very valuable skill to have in your back pocket. Your event could lead to other speaking opportunities in larger venues in cooler locations. You could meet new networking contacts who tell other people what a great speech you put on.

A workshop could bring you fame. Fortune. And greater confidence.

So you wrote an ebook… now what?

Most people just slap their ebook up on their website and offer it to blog subscribers as a free download. A few others stick a price tag on their ebook and try to make a few bucks. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, passive action leaves potential on the table collecting dust.

Want an idea that turns your ebook into your best business asset ever?

Use your ebook to create a workshop.

Ebooks don’t have to stay online. There’s no reason they can’t be used outside the virtual world and work to engage new potential clients. In fact, using your ebook as a marketing tool in your workshop could light up your sales – and bring you plenty of credibility.

It’s easy to create a 3-hour workshop using your ebook content. You have workshop potential in the palm of your hand.

“Pitch me.”

Every now and then, I toss those words out to select people whom I think may be beneficial to my business. They seem engaged, smart and able to help me, so I offer them their chance to make me their client.

Now, you’d think hearing those words (especially when uttered by someone like me to someone looking for work) would send business owners into a tizzy. After all, how often do you get handed a wide-open invitation to convince someone to hire you?

But almost invariably, people hear “pitch me” and completely fall apart.

They don’t know what to say. They don’t know what to offer. They don’t know what to do.

They weren’t ready.

Here’s what happens next.

Today is Valentine’s Day, and people all around the world are celebrating with chocolate, chick flicks, flowers, fine wine, and touching cards that say it all.

I’d send each of you a card and some chocolate if I could, just to show my appreciation that you’re part of my readership. But if I did that, I’d be broke and living in a cardboard box. And I don’t actually trust Canada’s cross-border reliability when it comes to mailing gifts.

Instead, I found something I know is even more valuable to you than chocolate, and I know it’s a gift you’ll truly appreciate if you put it to good use. In fact, I found five valuable somethings, and you can choose the one that suits you most.

What are these somethings? They’re special worksheet packages I created, each designed to help you clarify and achieve some very specific goals. They include worksheets you can print out and put to good use, as well as links to fabulous interviews I’ve had with some savvy peers of mine.

(Those calls aren’t your average kind of interview, either – you’ll be impressed by these in-depth conversations, and you won’t believe the game-changing advice I pulled from these experts’ heads when they least expected it!)…

Laura Vanderkam, author of 168 Hours: You have more time than you think, tells you how to find the time you need to write.

“For that reason, I’m out.”

If you’ve ever watched Dragon’s Den (or its U.S. counterpart, Shark Tank), you’re intimately familiar with that final verdict. It’s uttered by some very successful entrepreneurs when they decide a particular investment opportunity isn’t a good fit.

So how often do you say it to your prospects?

Maybe you should be saying it a little more often.

You know how it goes: Some potential client emails you about working together. Maybe he wants a new website, or some copy, or marketing advice. Doesn’t matter. You and he discuss the work a little further and you realize…

Your potential client is about to make a huge, expensive mistake.

Even if you invested hours, even despite doing your very best work, you know in your heart of hearts that this person is about to waste his money on something that won’t work.

What do you do?…

Most freelancers suck at meeting deadlines. I’ve heard horror stories from disgruntled complaining about people they’ve worked with in the past, and I’ve dealt with my own fair share of flaky freelancers.

Blown deadlines, forgotten deadlines, missed deadlines, stretched deadlines and the mysterious so-called “flexible” deadlines… no, freelancers aren’t really known for being reliable people you depend on to deliver.

That’s too bad. Because there’s one easy way to create ecstatic clients who come back for more:…