When I decided to get into the speaking business, I had no idea how it worked. I didn't Google "Speaking Business Best Practices." I didn't buy a book on it. Didn't look for a podcast on the topic.
These are all good things to do. Information is good to have. I could have done all of these things at first -- and have done them since -- but that's what most people do: Analyze, gather, poll, think, wait.
I just started.
I heard a guy who I knew was a speaker offering his direct email address on a podcast he was a guest on. I emailed him. He wrote back, briefly suggesting a couple actions, minus the how-to. I figured out the how and did them. I'll be giving my 3rd TED Talk in 5 months in a couple of weeks.
A bunch of stuff happened in between. I applied to speak at a local conference in 2014; I was turned down. I'm speaking twice in 72 hours at the same event on the west coast this summer (cant announce yet). I met my mentor, who only took an interest because, in their words, I had the credibility (I'd done things on my own) and collateral (something of value to share) to make it worth a time investment.
And I'm still learning a lot day-by-day, call-by-call, email-by-email.
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If you just get started and move, you have a head start on everyone else who is analyzing and trying to figure it out and waiting to be helped. This is because you call to action the most potent forces of power:
Initiative - doing something on your own accord without prompting or external force.
Momentum - easier to move when you're already moving. The Law of Inertia.
Confidence - belief comes from doing. If you don't do, you can never believe.
You don't need to be perfect or even good. You just need to be doing it.