If you have a family, in particular, they are going to have to be your safety net if you start of your motivational speaker job. During the spring, you may be asked to many business functions and school events to speak. During the summer, you might attend camps and workshops or private events. However, the seasons are not predictable. What you make from one month to the next really depends on what jobs you can land, and it is never easy to tell. Getting four jobs a month at R5000 a gig is a decent salary for a start, and if your spouse is working, you may be well off. However, if you can't charge R20 000 a gig because no one will pay it, you might be working 4 or 5 jobs and not get anywhere as a motivational speaker. It's all about the market, the demand and your brand. You may need a second job. If you are not married or your spouse does not work or is underemployed, you may need to take on a second job in addition to being one of the upcoming motivational speakers. You are able to basically set your own hours, so getting a part-time job in retail or office facility may help subsidize your income. Retail jobs offer discounts on items you may need such as clothes or food. A job in an office environment guarantees set hours that you can work around so that you don't have to take time out of your first job. It all depends on the type of job you can get and how it fits into your schedule - in the beginning the whole motivational speaker scene can be a rocky road.