Breaking Barriers in Public Speaking: Steph Wharton on Embracing Thought Leadership and Living Your Whole Damn Vibe Life
Latina speaker and coach Steph Wharton shares her journey to empowering underrepresented voices in public speaking. From redefining success to balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship, she reveals how embracing her "whole damn vibe life" transformed her career. Learn how she helps Latinx, BIPOC, and Queer entrepreneurs confidently step into thought leadership.
What's a typical day in your life look like?:
A typical day in my life really depends on what day of the week it is!
Each week, I spend Monday, Wednesday, and Friday hanging out with my toddler—making him food, playing games, and going out for a walk when the days are warm enough. Then Tuesdays and Thursdays, I typically have my mother-in-law come over to babysit which gives me an opportunity to host either a “fiesta” event inside my free community or a group coaching call for my mastermind in the morning, followed by lots of behind-the-scenes work in the afternoons.
As for weekends, they’re usually spent unplugged with my wife and kid as we all hang out, run some errands, or pop over to a local winery for a tasting and views of the lake and mountains.
What is the most rewarding part of your work?:
If I had to choose one thing as the “most rewarding” part of my work, I’d have to say it’s the fact that I get to work with underrepresented folks—Latinx, BIPOC, and Queer folks—as they become more confident as public speakers. It’s so freaking beautiful getting to witness people who perhaps didn’t have the courage (or even representation of what it could look like), now taking up space in entirely new and bolder ways as they share their own mission of impact with the world.
As someone who didn’t see herself represented in life or the media as a Latinx and Queer individual growing up, it feels like such an honour to be able to empower folks to share their story and expertise through public speaking so that others may feel seen and understood in turn.
What would you say is a common question or concern you get from your clients/followers?:
A common question I get often from business owners within my community is “how to book speaking engagements”.
Many entrepreneurs often have a background in marketing or end up learning the ropes through courses and mentors online. But when it comes to public speaking and public relations, it can feel like a whole other “beast”.
It’s almost like public speaking is only reserved to folks who have made it big, make multiple 6 (or even 7) figures, and are mini celebrities in their own right. When in reality, public speaking is simply one more way of being visible and marketing your brand. Everyone gets to book a speaking engagement, a podcast interview, or some other media feature in order to tell their story and amplify their impact.
What would you say has been your biggest obstacle in launching a successful career? How have you overcome it?:
One of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced in launching a successful career has been letting the outside world dictate what success looks like. I think I was so hung up on financial success for the longest time, that I would put a lot of pressure on myself to reach certain milestones, to do “all the things”, and do it all perfectly. When in reality, this race to make it big financially was only leading to burnout and feelings of unworthiness.
What eventually helped me overcome it, was a full year of doing the inner work to help me re-define success on my own terms and embrace that lifestyle from day one. I ended up focusing a lot of my energy on what I wanted my day-to-day life to look like, prioritizing little adventures, and ultimately focusing on more sustainable marketing and visibility strategies that would help me sustain that lifestyle through my business.
In the end, I found myself celebrating having made 58 new memories in just 6 months—from playing bingo at a local bar, cross-country skiing, wine tastings, beach days, hikes around the mountains, to even 2-hour long dates at McDonald’s where my wife and I got a chance to really talk about everything and anything. This is what I like to call, my whole damn vibe lifestyle.
What is the phrase, sentence, or conversation that stopped you in your tracks and changed your outlook in life?:
Back when I worked in corporate, I remember talking to another employee about wanting to take a longer amount of vacation time so I could travel through Europe. Somehow, the topic of retirement came up along with the possibility of travelling the world at that time.
Immediately, I said something about how we don’t know what’s in store for us at that age—whether we’ll have the funds, the health, or even the ability to retire. Not to be morbid, but to be completely honest about the fact that we simply do not know what the future holds.
Needless to say, their face was that of complete shock at my words.
This moment really stopped me in my tracks and reinforced my beliefs that we get to prioritize our whole damn vibe life from day one and structure our business (or career) around it. Because we truly don’t know what’s in store for us and we deserve to be happy, fulfilled, and full of the most wonderful memories starting today.
If you had the choice to go back to your past or fast forward to your future, which one would you choose? Why?:
If I had to choose, I would want to go back to my past—my early twenties to be exact. Although I wouldn’t want to change too much—because I genuinely love where I am now and don’t believe I’d have the same wife, career, baby, or home if it weren’t for the decisions that I made then—I would have loved to have travelled more or perhaps even lived abroad for a little while before settling down.
That’s not to say that I can’t still do it now. But it’ll look different.
Where might you be found on a Saturday afternoon with no plans?:
On a random Saturday afternoon with no plans, I would almost certainly be cuddled up in bed, reading a spicy fantasy novel. That, or watching a TV series with my wife—perhaps Game of Thrones?!
Hustle culture and burnout is so prominent in our community. How do you prioritize self care?:
One of the main things I do each year to prioritize self-care and avoid burnout is choose a theme for what I want my whole damn vibe life to look like. Three years ago, it was all about prioritizing adventures, date nights with the wifey, and overall making new memories as a couple before we started to grow our family. A year ago, the theme was embracing motherhood and being really present with my baby instead of succumbing to the pull I felt to check my notifications and constantly work. This year, it’s all about re-descovering myself through hobbies like reading books for fun and teaching Salsa and Bachata lessons every week!
How do you stay connected to your culture, heritage, and community?:
Staying connected to my culture is something I’ve been prioritizing a lot these past few years. Being born and raised in Argentina and then moving to Canada where I didn’t really have many Latinx friends, I slowly started to feel more disconnected from my heritage and eventually even lacked confidence in my abilities to speak Spanish without fumbling through my words.
Some of the ways that I try to stay connected to my Latinx and Hispanic heritage include speaking exclusively Spanish to my son, collaborating with other Latinx entrepreneurs, amplifying Latinx entrepreneurs through a directory I host every year, indulging in Argentine cousine whenever I can, and taking up Salsa and Bachata dancing (as well as teaching).
Whether it’s the language, the relationships, the food, or the music and dance—it all makes me feel closer to my identity and comunidad.
What would 18-year-old you say about where you are at in life now?:
18-year-old me would be absolutely mind-blown with what my life looks like now because it’s full of things that I would have never even thought were possible. Marrying a woman? Having quit my corporate job to never go back? Running a successful business for over 5 years? Moving across the country to a city I had never even heard of before? Teaching dance classes? She did not see any of this coming.
Drink 🫖
What is Steph’s go-to drink?
Lemon water. I like to keep things simple and fresh. What my body needs is hydration.
Listening To 🎧
What is Steph listening to at the moment?
My go-to playlist has been Indie Folk Music, Finneas, or Noah Kahan almost exclusively for the past 2 years. If I’m feeling a little depressed, then I tend to go for a Disney playlist—specifically starting with Auli’i Cravalho’s How Far I’ll Go which always puts me in a good mood.
Your Truth 🗣️
What is a Steph’s truth?
During the first 3 years of entrepreneurship, I felt like I was the only Latina I knew. I tried building a community for Latine folx, but unfortunately it didn’t go anywhere and I eventually gave up.
In my 4th to 6th year as a business owner, I had the idea to host my first ever pop-up directory for Latine + Hispanic Heritage Month where I featured around 100 amazing business owners. I eventually decided to go even bigger and focus on amplifying the voices of my fellow Latinas as Speakers so that we can create real impact.
The reality is that diversity on stages is lacking. I've made it my mission to be part of the change to bring more Latine folks and People of Colour onto stages around the world to share their stories, their knowledge, and their perspectives so that everyone can feel seen and represented. So that everyone can feel empowered knowing that they too can build the most successful business and life on their terms.
This is what birthed the Speaker Movement.
Your Plug 🔌
What is Steph plugging today?
After realizing the bulk of my clients all came to me through speaking engagements and collaborations, I wanted a repeatable way to inject speaking gigs into my business model (+ visibility strategy).
That’s when I created the Visibility Tour Challenge and decided to sell it as a micro offer!
This program is perfect for underrepresented folks who want to expand their mission on a larger scale through speaking engagements, take some time away from content creation without losing momentum, grow their community in time for an upcoming launch or event, and ultimately make public speaking a focus for their personal brand.
Visibility Tour will challenge you to create content that builds your brand as a speaker while you pitch and attract speaking engagements seemingly out of the blue.
Join us as you automate your visibility through speaking engagements in 30 days to amplify your impact.
More about Steph Wharton
Steph (she/her/ella) is a Latina Speaker, Coach, and Creator of the Speaker Movement—on a mission to help underrepresented folks confidently embrace their thought leadership and speaker identity to start a movement that creates real change in the world.
Beyond the business, you can find her embracing the small moments in life with a big glass of vino tinto, dancing bachata, and making new memories with her wife and baby boy.
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Visibility Tour
Our podcast episode with Steph