Bill Barnett

Bill Barnett helps people accelerate opportunity through sharp career strategy, relationship-driven growth, and real-world entrepreneurial insight.

Request price and availability Request price and availability

USA

Top rated!

3 Client reviews

Non-binding request for Bill Barnett

Call us

+1 347 223 5128 +44 20 3744 5675

"Working with Bill during college completely changed how I approached my career. He taught me how to actually use my network — not just collect contacts — and that led directly to a post-college job that fits my strengths perfectly. Bill’s approachable style and realistic, affordable coaching made the process feel easy and empowering. The results have far exceeded my expectations!"

Juliette Whitesell, Talent Brand Partnerships

WME

Read all reviews

Book Bill

Non-binding request for Bill Barnett

Call us

+1 347 223 5128 +44 20 3744 5675

Why you should book Bill Barnett for your next event

Learn how to build meaningful relationships that open real opportunities across careers, industries, and stages of life.
Gain practical tools for navigating transitions, from early careers to veteran reintegration and executive growth.
Discover proven methods for designing sustainable success through mentors, collaborators, and domain experts.

Non-binding request for Bill Barnett

Entrepreneur, advisor, and creator of practical career and networking frameworks

Bill Barnett is an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor known for his direct and actionable approach to career growth. As founder of Smarter Minds Network and CEO of 926 Ventures, he helps students, veterans, and career-changers navigate opportunity with clarity and confidence. His background spans advertising, radio, television, film, and digital media, giving him a wide lens on how industries evolve. Bill’s talks blend sharp strategy with relationship-driven methods that help people move faster and make better decisions in their careers.

Bill Barnett

Bill B. Barnett brings a rare mix of creative industry experience, entrepreneurial drive, and hands-on advisory work that resonates with audiences looking for clarity in an unpredictable career landscape. As the founder of Smarter Minds Network and CEO of 926 Ventures, he centers his work on helping people accelerate their opportunities through practical strategy and meaningful relationships. His approach is grounded in real-world experience: shifting industries, building companies from day one, and showing people how to leverage mentors and collaborators in ways that create lasting momentum.

Bill’s path began in the communications and entertainment world, where he built a career across advertising, radio, television, film, and digital media. He played a key role in expanding Radio Aahs, the pioneering children’s radio network later associated with Radio Disney. This early chapter sharpened his instincts for audience engagement and innovation in fast-moving markets.

He later co-founded Goldbar Entertainment, a production and distribution company behind more than 20 films. Working across creative development, partnerships, and distribution gave him a deep understanding of how ideas scale and how the right relationships change the trajectory of a project. These lessons would become central to his later work with entrepreneurs, students, and career-changers.

Entrepreneurial Work

Bill continued to build companies that solved real challenges. He created LikeLive, a video platform used by over 150 colleges and more than 100,000 students for admissions and talent showcases. Long before virtual formats became standard, he was shaping how institutions could evaluate talent and connect with candidates at scale. His ability to see where opportunity is heading, and design tools that support that shift, defines much of his entrepreneurial perspective.

He later led Mission Hire Me, developing video-based tools that helped veterans move into civilian careers with confidence and clarity. This work strengthened his commitment to supporting transitions whether someone is leaving military service, switching industries, or stepping into their first career.

Book & Thought Leadership

Bill is the author of Smarter Minds: Recruit and Leverage Others for Sustainable Success (2024). The book offers a focused playbook for compounding results by strategically engaging mentors, collaborators, and domain experts. It lays out a system that helps individuals grow faster by tapping into the collective knowledge of the people around them, rather than relying solely on solo effort.

The book is available through major retailers and as an audiobook, and Bill often uses its core ideas as a foundation for his keynotes and workshops. His sessions explore how to identify the right people, build authentic relationships, and create a structure that supports long-term success.

Why Book Bill Barnett

Event organizers book Bill because he brings clarity to the often-confusing world of networking, career navigation, and entrepreneurship. His speaking style is sharp, grounded, and practical, shaped by decades of shifting industries and building companies. Audiences walk away with tools they can apply immediately whether they are students choosing a direction, veterans charting their next chapter, or professionals looking to expand their opportunities.

Bill delivers insights on how relationships shape outcomes, why career strategy must evolve with changing industries, and how to design a path that is both sustainable and adaptable. He has appeared in podcasts and live interviews around the world, discussing meaningful connections, financial stability, and the mindsets that help people build durable success.

Based in the Los Angeles area, Bill continues to advise founders, mentor emerging talent, and build initiatives that support long-term professional growth. Booking him brings a mix of entrepreneurial expertise, practical guidance, and a human approach to navigating opportunity in modern careers.

Customer Reviews

Juliette Whitesell, Talent Brand Partnerships WME

I enthusiastically recommend Bill Barnett as a speaker for any organization seeking a dynamic and impactful voice. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Bill on my weekly show, Spotlight on the Community — the nation’s longest-running community podcast, now in its 20th year — where he discussed his Smarter Minds Network “Playbook for Life” initiative. Bill is the consummate communicator. His delivery is engaging, conversational, and effortless — clear, relatable, and compelling from start to finish. His content is substantive and purposeful; he doesn’t waste a word, and his audience never wonders what he’s trying to say — they’re too busy absorbing it. Bill’s command of his subject matter is exceptional. He’s equally comfortable delivering short, impactful talks or extended keynotes, and always meets people where they are. He intuitively understands his audience and can connect with groups of all backgrounds and perspectives, bringing clarity, inspiration, and practical value to every conversation. Simply put, Bill is a natural teacher, a credible voice, and a powerful presence. Any organization would be fortunate to have him on their stage.

Drew Schlosberg, Host — “Spotlight on the Community” Show Cloudcast Media

Working with Bill Barnett through the Smarter Minds Network has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life. During some of my most challenging seasons, Bill’s guidance, patience, and belief in my potential helped me rediscover focus, purpose, and strength. He doesn’t just coach, he listens deeply, challenges assumptions, and helps you turn adversity into fuel for growth. His insight into mindset and leadership inspired me to take control of my path again, both personally and professionally. I’m grateful for his impact and would recommend him to anyone ready to step into meaningful change.

Christapher Bess, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), CEO Senior Enlisted Leader Frameworks

Keynotes

Keynote by Bill Barnett:

Playbook for Life: Real Skills for the Real World

Key Topics: Financial literacy, career readiness, mindset, real-world success

College teaches you how to work, not how to win. Playbook for Life is a no-fluff, high-energy keynote that bridges the gap between classroom theory and real-world success. Bill Barnett — entrepreneur, author, and creator of Smarter Minds — shares the hard truths and smarter shortcuts to building a life that pays dividends (literally and figuratively). Students learn how to make smarter money moves, build their personal brand, and turn their first job into a foundation for financial freedom.

Bill combines boardroom experience with humor and candor — teaching life lessons from someone who’s hired hundreds, lost millions, made it back, and still believes every day is an interview.

Learn the difference between a job and a profession — and how to make your career pay you back.
Understand basic money flow: earning, saving, investing, and spending intentionally.
Discover how to build a personal brand that attracts mentors and opportunities.
Identify the habits and mindset shifts that create lifelong success.
Leave with a practical framework to make smarter decisions — personally and financially.

Request a quote

Keynote by Bill Barnett:

Every Day Is an Interview: How to Be Likable, Employable, and Unforgettable

Key Topics: Personal branding, professional presence, communication, emotional intelligence

In a world where opportunities come from people — not job boards — how you show up matters. Every Day Is an Interview teaches students the soft skills that separate top performers from the crowd: likability, follow-through, curiosity, and confidence. Bill shares insider stories from decades of hiring, firing, and mentoring talent to show what real employers value most. This keynote is part life lesson, part crash course in human connection — delivered with humor, real talk, and actionable takeaways.

Unique Angle:
Bill approaches “career prep” as both a former CEO and a lifelong learner. His message flips the script: confidence isn’t knowing everything — it’s knowing who to learn from.

Learn how to make a powerful first impression — online and in person.
Understand what employers and investors actually look for in candidates.
Master simple habits that make people want to help you succeed.
Develop emotional intelligence and communication skills that build trust.
Create your own “personal board of directors” to guide your career growth.

Request a quote

Keynote by Bill Barnett:

Who Really Wants to Be a Millionaire? How to Think, Spend, and Invest Like One

Key Topics: Financial literacy, wealth mindset, investing, decision-making

Everyone says they want to be rich — but few learn how wealth is actually built. This eye-opening keynote flips financial literacy from boring to bold. Bill Barnett breaks down the three spending categories that determine your future — necessary, bad, and good spending — and how to stop renting money and start owning it. Students walk away with a new lens for every dollar they touch and a plan to start building freedom now, not “someday.”

Bill isn’t a financial theorist — he’s a self-made investor who built a life of financial independence through dividends, real estate, and smarter decision-making. His authenticity and humor turn intimidating topics into relatable, empowering lessons.

Learn how to manage money with intention — save smarter, not harder.
Understand the difference between owned money and rented money.
Identify and eliminate bad spending habits that erode wealth.
Build a framework for long-term investing and financial independence.
Leave with practical tools to make smarter financial choices today.

Request a quote

Keynote by Bill Barnett:

Playbook for Life: Everyday Is an Interview

A one-day, real-world career and financial literacy seminar for trade school and community college students.

Students in trade programs and community colleges aren’t looking for fluff. They want the skills that actually move the needle: how to get hired, how to get promoted, how to stay financially stable, and how to build wealth.

This one-day seminar delivers exactly that through five practical, high-impact modules:

1.Mindset Wins

A crash course in mental resilience and confidence. Students learn:

How to shift from “I hope” to “I execute.”
How to handle rejection, pressure, and comparison culture.
How to build the habits and discipline that employers notice instantly.

2. Everyday Is an Interview

Students discover how opportunity really works:

The importance of likability and reliability in hiring.
How small moments (hallway chats, labs, externships) shape reputation.
Professionalism for real life: communication, follow-through, presence.

This module gives students the skills to show up like pros from day one

3. Brand You

Not personal branding for influencers, but for employment:

How to position yourself so employers remember you.
How to talk about your skills even if you have limited experience.
How to build a reputation that creates opportunities long before graduation.

4. Leverage Smarter Minds

Students learn your signature framework:

How to build a Personal Board of Directors.
How to ask for guidance and mentorship the right way.
How relationships, not resumes, create long-term career mobility.

This module teaches them how to grow faster by not going alone.

5. Income = Outcome

A real-world financial literacy bootcamp schools desperately need:

How to avoid debt traps and bad spending habits.
How to create a simple budget that actually works.
The difference between rented money (your job) and owned money (investing).
How to start building wealth in your 20s, even on an entry-level income.

The Result

Students walk away with confidence, clarity, and a real plan for:

getting hired faster
staying employed longer
earning and managing money wisely for your future
building a network that keeps opening doors
designing a life they can grow into, not out of

This isn’t motivational speaking. It’s career and financial survival training from someone who’s hired hundreds, sold companies, and knows what employers actually look for.

Request a quote