| Some people
just have IT. And they need a professional speaker business plan
to take them where they want to go.
KEY CONSIDERATION
Count up your successes. The
Big Time doesn't hit overnight. But it will come. Plan on
financing your first few presentations yourself. Prove how you
can generate an audience, and sell product/services. With a
strong ROI, any number of bankers/investors/angels will be
interested.
STRONGEST ADVANTAGE
There is a huge demand for good
speakers. Motivational speakers, and expert speakers in
business, politics, economics, minority issues -- all have a
strong future when they possess the power to captivate an
audience. And they make very good money doing it. Very good
money.
STRONGEST DISADVANTAGE
Very few people can really pull
it off. Male or female, young or old, the only thing that really
matters is charisma. And very few people have it. Even if you
have the answer to the haunting economic problems of the year,
without that charisma, your message won't be communicated.
OVERCOMING THE DISADVANTAGES
WITH YOUR PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER BUSINESS PLAN
Prove that you can be
successful
A business plan says many great
things about you. It says you are indeed professional. It says
you have a goal, and know how to reach it. It says you
understand the pitfalls and have made accommodation for them.
It says you are successful, and
are going to be even more successful in the future.
Being In The "Expansion"
Mode Is What Makes It Work
Question: If you're so
successful, why do you need outside financing?
Answer: Because you are ready for major expansion.
Let the expansion be in book
publication, video production series, greatly expanded speakers
circuit, use of top notch promoters to promote you, web site
development, or any other way you can devise to make money. By
the time you look for outside financing, you are beyond "trying
out new ideas". Now you know what works, and what doesn't, and
you want to expand it exponentially.
HOW MUCH FUNDING WILL YOUR
PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER BUSINESS PLAN REQUEST?
How strong can you reasonably
grow your business? Will it remain a one person business? If
not, who will you hire, and why? And how quickly will you hire?
Do you need a publicist? a front team? writers? tech people?
There are no right or wrong
answers to these questions. There are only the answers that are
right for your business.
You will be grilled on the
numbers you come up with, so know them well.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FOR YOUR PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER BUSINESS PLAN AND YOUR
PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER MARKETING PLAN
There are two types of
statistical information that you will need for your marketing
plan as a professional speaker. One is for the "public speaker
professional" industry. The other is for the particular industry
that you specialize in.
For statistical information
go to
BizMiner.
At the home page, look for the
Search Box for "Industry Search". Keying in "speakers bureau"
will bring back information on your profession.
It is actually the speakers
bureaus that define the industry. The information you find in
these reports will define the direction of the industry, its
strengths and weaknesses, and give you very strong ammunition to
convince lenders that the demand is indeed there for your
services.
INDUSTRY SEARCH. Also,
if you specialize in a particular industry, like biotech or the
garment industry, be sure to check the stats for that industry.
Your lender will check them, so make sure you know what s/he
will know.
YOUR LIKELY LENDER/INVESTOR
I have a suspicion that
angels are your best bet. You will be pursuing a dream that
many of them have had at one time or another, and this could put
them in your corner.
If yours is an established
business looking to expand substantially, an
SBA
loan may be your best choice. And be sure to check out the
newest development in venture capital:
venture lending.
YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE
There is not a professional
speaker worth his salt who doesn't have a great web site, one
that will drive clients to you. I suggest you take a look
at my web host --
after all, that is how you found this site in the first place.
YOUR PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER
BUSINESS PLAN WILL BE UNIQUE
Most businesses have a plethora
of "sample business plans" floating around. Your field doesn't.
Really, this is good news. It means that the plan you will
create really will be unique. It won't be a rehash of a dozen
other plans your potential investor has read that week. And that
unique quality goes a long way toward successful funding.
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