STRENGTH ON STAGES is a masterclass on storytelling, public speaking, pitching, and selling from the stage.
If you’re afraid to tell your story, come to NYC and we will coach you through your fears.
If you don’t know which story you need to be telling, come to NYC and we will help you uncover it.
We teach you how to feel confident when speaking to an audience—whether it’s an audience of one person, ten people, or millions.
Once you uncover your Signature Story and share it with the world, you’ll unlock limitless opportunities.
STRENGTH ON STAGES focuses on Storytelling and Story Selling.
Join us in NYC and leave with everything you need to turn your Signature Story into a cash-generating machine.
There is no marketing strategy on the planet with better ROI than your Signature Story.
Robert Hartwell is an award-winning Broadway performer, choreographer, director, producer, and CEO of Strength On Stages in NYC. He is the host and executive producer of Taking Back the House, a television show presented by OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, HGTV, and Scott Brothers Entertainment premiering in 2024.
From stage to screen, Robert creates jaw-dropping moments that leave audiences awestruck and inspired. You’ve seen Hartwell in Tony Award-winning Broadway musicals and featured in Pharrell and Jay-Z’s hit music video, “Entrepreneur.”
You might know Robert from his viral social media post. After purchasing a 200-year-old colonial mansion (which was built back when slavery was still legal Federally in the US), Robert inspired millions with his message of reinvention, liberation, and hope. As a Black gay man, he vowed to fill this home with love, honor his ancestors, tell their stories, and say their names.
Robert founded The Broadway Collective which made the Inc 5000 List for its rapid growth: 440% revenue increase in 3 years. He’s an intuitive entrepreneur who understands how to bring out the greatness inside each client.
As a director and choreographer his work has been seen at Lincoln Center in NYC, the Kennedy Center in DC, and numerous theaters across the country.
Robert’s work has been featured in countless media outlets including Good Morning America, House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, People, and more.
Robert divides his time between New York City, Los Angeles, and his new home in Massachusetts.
• Author, executive director/founder of the non-profit Braving the Business, writer—normalizing queer storytelling with a focus on intergenerational trauma, healing from sexual abuse and radical self-love.
• Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in musical theatre, with an emphasis in Dance & Directing.
• As seen in Variety, USA Today, iHeart Radio and When The Lights Are Bright Again (the publication that first brought Robert and him together!)
• Certified BOLD Coach who helps girls build more confidence and self-esteem.
• More than 20 years of experience as a leader and nurturer.
• Also happens to be Robert Hartwell’s mom…and was instrumental in helping him create a successful Broadway career and his first multi-seven figure company.
• Event producer, story expert, classically-trained Shakespeare actor.
• Has produced a wide range of events—from celebrity weddings, to educational conferences with hundreds of students, to national tours.
• Helped Robert’s first company hit the Inc 5000 List as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America with 440% growth.
• Award-winning publicity expert, content creator, and screenwriter.
• Wrote several of Lifetime’s most-watched movies of all time.
• As seen in Variety, LA Times, Success Magazine, and Fast Company.
• Sales, operations and leadership expert.
• Spent 15 years working for top brands including Vera Wang and Design Within Reach.
• Consults with corporations to help them exceed their sales goals—and built her own seven figure company, too.
We have three things to say to you:
1 / As an entrepreneur, success means taking action before you feel completely ready because you will never feel 100% ready.
2 / You can create the time that you need. Two days in NYC? This is doable.
3 / You can’t afford NOT to make time for this. If you want more clients, more sales, more visibility, more press coverage, then you need strong storytelling and speaking skills to make it happen. Do this Masterclass now to set yourself up for greater success in the years ahead.
If you want to improve your speaking skills…you want more clients and customers…you want more visibility for your work…then you belong in this room.
This is an opportunity to step it up and GET FANCY.
Let us coach you and package you like the VIP you are, even if you can’t see it yet.
Because each Masterclass is very intimate 15 clients (10 Classic and 5 VIP), 2:1 client-to-staff ratio) we provide a great deal of individual attention to each person.
We meet you where you are on your journey—and help you get to the next level.
You started your own business (and want more clients)? You’re curious about doing paid speaking engagements (but haven’t booked any yet)? You’re ready to deliver that TEDx Talk (but nervous to do it)? You’re already a seasoned media veteran who’s been on national TV? Wherever you’re at, there is always more to learn and room to grow.
You can create the funding that you need. This is what entrepreneurs do. We create solutions out of thin air.
There are plenty of ways to get the money you need for this Masterclass including: ask colleagues, friends, and family to invest in your business, do a fundraiser, sell services to raise capital, make a big ASK and get a sponsor to cover the cost, ask your employer to reimburse you, and more.
Don’t decide it’s impossible before you even try.
The value of your work has absolutely nothing to do with what you weigh.
You deserve to be seen and heard, right now, at your current size—and in every season of your life.
We live in a Patriarchal society which means you’ve been lied to—and you’ve been taught that your worthiness is connected to your size. It is not. Reject the Patriarchal bullsh*t and get yourself to this Masterclass in NYC!
This Masterclass in NYC is a 2 day experience (face to face) plus 4 weeks of exciting prep work before you arrive and 4 weeks of post-production support.
Before and after NYC, the time commitment each week is minimal. Think: 2-3 hours per week in the prep work and 1-2 hours per week in the post-production support. Short time frame.
You will not get bored or lose momentum. You will not get lost in the shuffle, because we only admit 15 clients per session(10 Classic and 5 VIP) and each client gets 1:1 attention.
Every human being has a story to tell. (Not just one, but hundreds of stories.)
You need someone to prompt you with the right questions and pull these stories out of you.
Not every story is bold and flashy. Some are quiet stories. Stories about ordinary everyday moments. These stories are very powerful, too.
There are thousands of places where you can go tell your story: meetings, interviews, podcasts, stages, to your clients, to your team.
When you get professional training on public speaking and storytelling, this means you:
All of this translates into millions in revenue for your company. Speaking is a skill that leads to money.
Yes! Here’s the entire experience from start to finish.
PREP WORK
You get 4 weeks of prep work (online) before the Masterclass in NYC. Each week includes 1:1 attention and coaching from the Strength On Stages team.
Week 1 – Visibility – What kind of visibility do you want to create for yourself and/or your company? What’s holding you back from going after it?
Week 2 – Your Signature Story – What is THE story that you need to be telling at this moment in your career?
Week 3 – Writing Your Story – What is the best way to craft your story so that it has a clear message and call to action?
Week 4 – Rehearsing Your Story – Practice sharing your story aloud to build confidence.
MASTERCLASS IN NEW YORK CITY
Spend 2 transformational days in NYC with Robert Hartwell and his team. Learn how to tell stories like a pro and clear the emotional blocks that cause you to play small. More than just a class—this is a mindset makeover.
Day 1: Rehearsal – Share your story in a small, supportive setting. Get coaching to make it even stronger.
Day 2: Production – Practice being in front of a camera. We capture a few clips of you looking and feeling your best.
AFTER THE MASTERCLASS
4 weeks of post-production to package you like the VIP you are (even if you don’t realize it yet). Each week includes 1:1 attention and coaching from the Strength On Stages team.
Week 1 – Brand Intake – What do you want to be known for?
Week 2 – Writing Your Powerful Bio – What’s the best way to describe your skills and credentials?
Week 3 – Unlocking Your 3 Speaker Topics – What are 3 topics that you’d love to speak about on podcasts, radio, TV, and onstage?
Week 4 – Writing Your Media Kit – Let’s package you so that a journalist looks at your kit and thinks, “I need to interview you ASAP.”
REVEAL PARTY
The big moment! 4 weeks after we complete our post-production work your new PR materials are ready. We do a reveal party and present to you:
Classic Participants
2 minute edited Signature Story video
5 edited headshot and lifestyle photos
Brand Guide
Media kit
VIP Participants
2 minute edited “Signature Story” video
2 minute edited “Personality Piece” video
10 edited headshot and lifestyle photos
Speaker Landing Page
Brand Guide
Media kit
Now you are ready to go pitch yourself to the media, get booked for interviews and speaking engagements, lock in sponsorship deals, or talk to a client or investor and make a big ASK.
See the full breakdown to choose if you will be a Classic or VIP Participant.
The first step is to apply to become a client. In the app, tell us about yourself and your goals.
We’ll review your info. If you’re a good fit for Strength On Stages: the Masterclass in NYC, we will email you a registration link and you will have 48 hours to complete your registration. If you don’t secure your spot within those 48 hours we will go to the next participant on the list.
Classic Participation is $15,000
VIP Participation is $25,000
Thanks to our partnership with Wizebank, we offer a variety of flexible payment options including a 12-month payment plan with no added interest or fees.
Your personal ‘stage’ might be meeting with a client and asking them to hire you, coffee with a potential investor, a keynote presentation, giving a pep talk to your employees, or something else.
I want to help you step onto that stage feeling completely prepared—knowing what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it.
I want you to feel poised, powerful, and strong. Looking and feeling your absolute best. So that you can seize that moment and absolutely nail it—and get whatever result you want.
I want you to know, ‘I did everything possible to prepare for this moment and I gave my all’.
Join me in New York City for Strength On Stages.
This is a masterclass where you learn skills that you’ll use every single day of your life.
A portion of the proceeds from the Strength On Stages will go to these 5 foundations.
Marsha P. Johnson Institute protects and defends the human rights of Black transgender people by organizing, advocating, developing transformative leadership, and creating an intentional community to heal.
Hello 7 Foundation provides vouchers for life-changing and life-saving services—namely, doulas, night nurses, midwives, and childcare—to Black birthing people in need.
Loveland Foundation is committed to showing up for communities of color in unique and powerful ways, with a particular focus on Black women and girls.