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How to Write a Motivational Speaking Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting a motivational speaking company? If YES, here is a complete sample motivational speaking business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE . Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a motivational speaking business.

We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample motivational speaking business marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for motivational speaking businesses. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

Why Start a Motivational Speaking Business?

One of the easiest routes to becoming an entrepreneur would be to leverage your in-built skills and talents to launch a business. One of the businesses that you can successfully start from your in-built skills and talents is a motivational speaking company.

A motivational speaking company is a company that provides training and coaching to corporate organizations, educational institutions, youth organizations and individuals. A motivational speaking company is a resource company that can either be a one man show or an assemblage of motivational speakers and trainers in different fields.

The motivational speaking company is classified under the business coaching industry, and the industry is indeed a big and thriving industry in the united states of America and most countries of the world. Just like most businesses, the motivational speaking business is open for as many people that are interested in the industry as long as you have what it takes to provide the resources that your clients want.

Even if you don’t have the finance and other requirements for starting a standard motivational speaking company with loads of certified motivational speakers and training specialists under your payroll, you can come into the industry as a one-man motivational company especially if you are a born motivator.

If you have decided to start a motivational speaking company, then you must make sure that you carry out thorough feasibility studies and market survey. This will enable you to locate the business in a community or city that can readily accept your services and adequately reward you for it.

Below is a sample motivational speaking company business plan template that will guide you towards writing your own and ultimately launching your own business.

A Sample Motivational Speaking Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

Motivational speaking company is part of the business coaching industry and the industry includes companies that offer motivational speeches, pep – talk, public speaking, short duration courses and seminars for management and professional development and of course schools and individuals.

Training is provided through public courses or through employers’ training programs, and the courses can be customized or modified. Instruction may be provided at the company’s training facilities, client or educational institutions, the workplace or the home and via television or the internet et al.

If you are an observer of the Business Coaching industry, you will agree that the industry relies on demand from its largest market, the middle and senior management of US corporations, which left it vulnerable to declining corporate profit. During the period where businesses cut back on nonessential expenses, including employee business coaching programs, the industry diminished.

Small operators, which represent the majority of industry players, were particularly hurt by falling demand, with some being forced to leave the industry in response to poor operating conditions. But, improving corporate profit and employment rates are expected to increase the number of organizations in the industry.

The Business Coaching industry that motivational speaking is a part of is indeed a large industry and pretty much active in most countries of the world.

Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 51,094 registered and licensed business coaching companies (motivational speaking companies) scattered all across the United States responsible for employing about 91,971 and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $11 billion annually.

The industry is projected to grow at 2.6 percent annual growth within 2011 and 2016. It is important to state that there are no establishments in this industry that has a lion market share. A recent report published by IBISWorld shows that in 2016, the two largest companies account for less than 5.0 percent of industry revenue.

As a result, the Business Coaching industry is highly fragmented, with a large number of small enterprises operating throughout the United States. The vast majority of operators are non – employers that service only their local area. Non – employing businesses represent more than 85.0 percent of all companies operating in this industry.

The report further stated that there is also a large number of operators that have a relatively small number of employees. 72.8 percent of employing companies have fewer than five employees, while companies with fewer than 10 employees represent 85.2 percent of employing enterprises.

The business coaching industry and motivational speaking business will continue to blossom because more and more organizations, businesses and individuals are beginning to realize that somehow, they would need the services of employment motivational speakers to help them stay motivated, achieve their goals and live a fulfilled life.

From all available statistics, it is safer to say the business coaching industry is growing steadily despite the competitive nature of the industry. One thing is certain, if you are well positioned, you have the required business skills, networks and you have a robust assemblage of motivational speakers under your payroll or as partners, you are likely not going to struggle to compete favorable in the business coaching industry.

Another reason why people prefer to start a motivational speaking business is that a motivational speaker, public speaker or trainer has the monopoly to charge fees as it suits them especially if they are have been able to pay their dues in the industry.

Other factors that encourage entrepreneurs to start their own motivational speaking company is that the business is easy to set up and the startup capital is indeed affordable; you can actually start your own motivational speaking company from the comfort of your house. All you need to do is to create an office somewhere in your house. People usually pay you for the services you render.

2. Executive Summary

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP is a licensed motivational speaking company that is specialized in helping her clients achieve their life and business goals, improving their competence, capacity and overall productivity.

The our business offerings cover areas such as motivational speeches, pep – talk, public speaking, business coaching, management development training, professional development training, and quality assurance training. Our business will be located in a business district in Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena – California, United States of America.

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP is a client-focused and result driven motivational speaking company that provides broad – based motivational speeches and learning approaches at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pocket of our clients.

At Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP, our clients’ overall best interest would always come first, and everything we do will be guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professional and certified business coaches and trainers with various skill sets who are passionate about helping our clients achieve their life, personal, career and business goals.

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a motivational speaking organization, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible. We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our clients’ needs precisely and completely.

Our overall business goal is to position our motivational speaking company to become the leading motivational speaking brand in the business coaching industry in the whole of Pasadena – California, United States of America, and also to be amongst the top 10 motivational speaking companies in the United States of America within the first 5 years of operation.

might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely come to pass because we have done our research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that Pasadena is the right place to launch our motivational speaking business.

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP is founded by Bob Russel and he will run the business with other business partners. Bob has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Arkansas and an MBA in Finance from the University of Tulsa. Bob hails from Brooklyn, New York and he began his career at National Speakers Academy as an intern.

He was also an assistant manager and then a training manger. Bob Russel is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP™ Certification) | National Speakers Association (NSA), Certified Public Speaker, Business Coach Certification – World Coach Institute, he attended Life and Business Coach Training Certification Program approved by International Coach Federation and he is a member of the International Coach Federation –ICF.

3. Our Products and Services

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP is going to offer varieties of motivational speaking services within the scope of the business coaching industry in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our motivational speaking company is to help our clients achieve their overall life, family, career and business goals and improving their competence, capacity and productivity and of course to also make profits from the industry.

Aside from delivering motivational speeches/talks, public speaking and pep talks, we will also specialize in all of the under listed;

• Providing management development training
• Providing marketing and sales training
• Providing professional development training
• Providing quality assurance training
• Providing business coaching

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to build a highly competitive and effective motivational speaking business that will become the number one choice for individuals, start -ups and corporate organizations in Pasadena – California and the whole of the United States of America.
• Our mission is to provide affordable and highly effective motivational speaking services to a wide range of clients that cut across different divides. Our overall business goal is to position Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP to become one of the leading motivational speaking brands in the industry in the whole of Pasadena – California.

Our Business Structure

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP, intends starting small in Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena – California, but hopes to grow big in order to compete favorably with leading motivational speaking companies in the industry both in the United States and on a global stage.

We are aware of the importance of building a solid business structure that can support the kind of world class business we want to own. This is why we are committed to only hire the best hands within our area of operation.

At Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP, we will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, hardworking, creative, passionate, result driven, and customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff / partners and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more as agreed by the board of trustees of the company. In view of the above, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Principal Partner / Chief Executive Officer
• Motivational Speakers and Trainers
• Accountant/Bursar

Marketing Executive

Client Service Executive

• Front Desk Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Principle Partner / Chief Executive Officer:

• Grows management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
• Answerable for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Accountable for providing direction for the business
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization

Office Administrator

• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of the organizations’ Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily activities of Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP

Motivational Speakers/Trainers

• Accountable for delivering motivational speeches/talks, public speaking and pep talks
• In charge of providing management development training
• Responsible for providing marketing and sales training
• Responsible for providing professional development training
• Responsible for providing quality assurance training
• Answerable for providing business coaching services
• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new clients, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts
• Writing winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represents Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP in strategic meetings
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the organization.
• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• In authority of administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP
• Serves as internal auditor for Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP
• Welcomes clients and visitors by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the principal partners in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients when they make enquiries
• Receives parcels/documents for Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP

6. SWOT Analysis

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP engaged the services of a professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist our organization in building a well – structured motivational speaking business that can favorably compete in the coaching industry in the United States.

Part of what the consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP;

Our strength as an organization is tied to our team; our workforce. We have a team that are considered experts in the industry, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in motivational speaking. Aside from the synergy that exists in our carefully selected team and our strong online presence, Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP is well positioned in a community with the right demography and we know we will attract loads of clients from the first day we open our doors for business.

As a new motivational speaking company in Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena – California, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance especially from top profile clients in the already saturated business coaching industry; that is perhaps our major weakness.

• Opportunities:

No doubt, the opportunities in the business coaching industry is massive considering the number of individuals, startups and corporate organizations that would want to achieve their life and business goals and to perform excellently in their various industries. As a standard motivational speaking company, we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a motivational speaking company operating in the United States of America are unfavorable government policies that might affect businesses such as ours, the arrival of a competitor within our location of operation and global economic downturn which usually affects spending/purchasing power especially as relates to the kind of services we offer. There is hardly anything we can do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

One thing is certain, the trend in the business coaching industry is such that if you want to be ahead of your competitors, you should be able to acquire as much certifications as possible and you should be able to have loads of testimonies from your clients

The truth is that if your clients experience huge differences in their lives, career and business as a result of hiring the services of your organization, then they will be compelled to help promote your organization. External factors such as Corporate profit and Per capita disposable income in the Business Coaching industry will definitely impact the overall performance in this industry.

Another notable trend in this industry is the influence of technology; the advent of technology is responsible for the increase in income generated by motivational speakers all over the world. With technology, it is now easier for motivational speakers to motivate and train clients that are thousands of kilometers away from them. Tools like video calling/Skype, YouTube, DVDs and Webcast et al are being used by motivational speakers to motivate cum train clients in different parts of the world.

8. Our Target Market

The target market for a motivational speaking company is all encompassing. Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP is a licensed motivational speaking company that is specialized in helping her clients achieve their goals and improve their competence, capacity and productivity.

As a standard motivational speaking company, Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP offers a wide range of motivational speaking services, hence we are trained and equipped to service a wide range of clients. Below is a list of the clients that we have specifically designed our motivational speaking services for;

• Corporate Organizations
• Religious Organizations
• Political Parties/Politicians
• Hotels and Restaurants
• The Government (Public Sector)
• Schools (High Schools, Colleges and Universities)
• Sport Organizations
• Entrepreneurs and Startups

Our competitive advantage

The business coaching industry is indeed a very prolific and highly competitive industry. Clients will only hire your services if they know that you can help them achieve their career and business goals. It is the practice for motivational speakers to acquire as much certifications as it relates to their area of specialization; it is part of what will make them stay competitive in the industry

We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the business coaching industry means that you should be able to deliver consistent quality service, your clients should be able to experience remarkable difference and improvement and you should be able to meet the expectations of your clients at all times.

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP might be new in Pasadena – California, but our management team is licensed and highly qualified motivational speakers and trainers that can successfully build soft skills in people with zero proficiency. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us.

So also, we have a very strong online presence that will enable us motivate and train clients in different parts of the world from our online portals.

Lastly, our motivational speakers and trainers will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the business coaching industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract clients on a regular basis.

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP will generate income by offering the following training/coaching services;

• Delivering motivational speeches / talks, public speaking and pep talks

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain, there would always be individuals and organizations that would need our training in other for them to achieve their life, career and business goals. This is the major reason why the services of motivational speakers will always be needed.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Pasadena – California and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income/profits from the first six months of operation and grow our motivational speaking company.

We have been able to examine the motivational speaking market, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. Below is the sales projection for Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP, it is based on the location of our motivational speaking company and of course the wide range of training and motivation speaking services that we will be offering;

• First Fiscal Year: $200,000
• Second Fiscal Year: $350,000
• Third Fiscal Year: $750,000

N.B : This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP. We want to build a standard and first – class motivational speaking business that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied clients.

Our goal is to grow Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP to become one of the top 10 motivational speaking companies in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategies that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena – California but also in other cities in the United States of America.

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our motivational speaking company by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to corporate organizations, starups and key stake holders in and around Pasadena – California.
• Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in offices, libraries, public facilities and train stations et al.
• Use friends and family to spread word about our motivational speaking company
• Post information about our motivational speaking company on bulletin boards in places like schools, libraries, and local coffee shops.
• Placing a small or classified advertisement in the newspaper, or local publication about our motivational speaking company
• Advertise our motivational speaking company in relevant educational magazines, newspapers, TV and radio stations.
• Attend relevant educational expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Engage in direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients.

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market. We are set to become the number one choice for both corporate and private clients in the whole of Pasadena – California which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our business.

Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events/programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
• Install our billboards in strategic locations all around Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena – California.
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• List our motivational speaking company on local directories / yellow pages
• Advertise our motivational speaking company in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
• Ensure that all our personal trainers, motivational speakers and staff wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are branded with our organizations’ logo

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Generally, training and motivational speaking businesses bill both per hour and flat fees on a weekly or monthly basis. As a result of this, Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP will charge our clients flat fees except for few occasion where there will be need for us to charge special clients on hourly basis.

At Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP we will keep our fees below the average market rate by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance. In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to all our clients at regular intervals.

• Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment via Point of Sales Machines (POS Machines)
• Payment via check

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our clients make payment for services rendered without any stress on their part.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

On the average, starting a motivational speaking company can be cost effective because on the average, you are not expected to acquire expensive machines and equipment. What you should be concerned about is the amount needed to secure a standard office facility in a good and busy business district, the amount needed to equip the office, pay bills, promote the business and obtain the appropriate business license and certifications.

However, this is what it would cost us to start our own standard motivational speaking company in the United of America;

• Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
• Acquiring an office space that will accommodate the number of employees we intend employing for at least 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $35,000.
• Equipping the office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, pens and pencils, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $10,000
• Launching an official website will cost – $500
• Amount need to pay bills and staff members for at least 2 to 3 months – $70,000
• Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $5,000
• Miscellaneous – $5,000

While a motivational speaking company might not have to incur all these expenses but going by the above report, we will need an average of $200,000 to start a medium scale but standard motivational speaking business in the United States of America.

Generating Startup Capital for Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company is owned by Bob Russel and other business partners. They decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the business to just three major sources.

• Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings and sale of stocks
• Generate part of the startup capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B : We have been able to generate about $50,000 (Personal savings $35,000 and soft loan from family members $15,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $150,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.

One of our major goals of starting Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to offer our motivational speaking services a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

Bob Russel & Co® Motivational Speaking Company, LLP will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner of our business strategy.

We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List/Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check : Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing a standard office facility in a good location plus reconstruction: In progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating part of the startup capital from the founders: Completed
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
• Design of Logo for the school: Completed
• Printing of Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the needed furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the business: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the tutorial school in Pasadena – California: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with vendors and key players in various industries: In Progress

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How to Create a 12-month Paid Public Speaking Business Plan

Last updated on January 22nd, 2019 at 01:50 pm

Creating Clarity and Purpose for Your Public Speaking Business Plan in 12 Months

Clarity and Purpose are two important words for paid motivational speakers–get used to these two words if your dream is to be one. Public speaking is a hard enough business, but not knowing where you are going (or why) makes it all the more difficult.

Every 12 months I create a new plan that helps me focus on what needs to be done to improve my speaking business in the year ahead.

These are the 8 steps I take to run my speaking business instead of letting my speaking business run me:

1. what didn’t work over the last 12 months..

I look at the past 12 months to see what activities bring me closer to my goals, and what activities distract me from them. I have specific goals and projects, both personal and professional, and I evaluate the time and energy I spend doing them.  When I do this I determine the things that are sucking on my time instead of feeding my goals .

I create a plan to handle these types of distractions for the next 12 months or to eliminate them entirely.

2. What Did Work Over The Last 12 Months.

I look at what forces drive business to me over the last 12 months in all the areas where I generate income–to make sure I keep doing the good ones and maybe even improve on them.

Build upon success.

3. The Joy Piece.

I’ve always focused on what I need to do to drive my business. But in looking back at the past 12 months, I see that I need to focus more on what really, really brings me joy in my business. Writing a novel doesn’t make business sense when you look at my public speaking brand. But the very idea of it lights me up from the inside out.

I’ve chosen to write joy into this dream plan for the next 12 months–for no other reason than joy for joy’s sake. And, who knows, maybe it will turn out to be a smart business decision. Don’t know; don’t care.

4. New Ideas for Growth.

I look at any new ideas that may help me reach my goals and whether I have room to add them to the list. I’ve learned that if you try to do too much, you don’t really get anything done well.

Prioritize the new.

5. Overhead.

I look at the money I’ve made and the money I’ve spent to determine whether any changes need to be made in my business finances. It’s not really about how much you make, it’s about how much you keep.

Budgets help keep you focused and motivated.

6. Five Buckets.

I determine everything I need to do and continue to do and sort them into five major categories or buckets (e.g. Close More Sales, Leverage Current Customers, Sell More Product, etc.).   Then under each bucket, I create a strategy to accomplish them over the course of 12 months.

“All you need is the plan, the roadmap, and the courage to press on to your destination.” –Earl Nightingale.

7. Weekly Processes.

I determine how many hours I want to allocate to each bucket per week. This will become my weekly homework. All tasks MUST be on this list, or they get moved to another 12 months down the road. These buckets are locked in.  Everything else must wait until homework is done.

This is new for me. I’m used to having big business plans, and I’m used to working hard. But I kept being overwhelmed each day. There is too much to do and every project seems big, so I never get to the big ones and I focus on tiny projects that are never in my original 12-month business plan.

Over the next 12 months, I’ll be more focused on the tasks I have chosen, and I have a way to divert all other things until I’m ready to look at them.

8. Systems.

I tweak my inner office systems to fit this new laser-focus goal.  I don’t like to see emails stack up, so I know they’ll sit there taunting me all day, reminding me that people are asking for things. I create a system to get them out of the email and off to somewhere else. Details aren’t important.

The point is that I’ve allowed emails to rule my days, leaving me no time or energy for the stuff that matters most.

My 12-month plan is already working! By pinpointing where my distractions are coming from, and crafting a workable weekly checklist where I simply work my way through the list, I accomplish my priorities. Now, if I can just keep it up.  As with any plan, creating the plan is the easy part; following it is key!

Create a 12-month plan for your public speaking career and may it help you find clarity, purpose, and more income too.

Kelly Swanson is an award-winning storyteller, comedian, motivational speaker, Huffington Post Contributor, and cast member of The Fashion Hero television show airing on Amazon Prime. She is also the author of Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale, The Land of If Only, The Story Formula, and The Affirmation Journal for Positive Thinking. She was a featured entertainer for Holland America Cruise Lines, keynote speaker for the International Toastmasters Convention, and has keynoted major conferences and corporate events from coast to coast. She just launched her one-woman show Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale in theaters, and it is being booked all over the country. In July of 2022, she was inducted into the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame.

Note: Articles by Kelly may contain affiliate links and may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.

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Speaker Business Plan Sample

Published Oct.02, 2015

Updated Apr.24, 2024

By: Jakub Babkins

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Table of Content

Making a Good Impression: Speaker business plan

There is always a market for good speakers, but the targeted market depends on the type of speeches or presentations delivered. There are four types of public speaking, and the speaker business plan will first identify the speech types in the Executive Summary that the entrepreneur plans on delivering.

• Informative – sharing knowledge and expertise in a particular area • Entertaining – designed to amuse, divert, or please listeners • Persuasive – convince listeners to adopt a particular belief, act in a certain manner, or agree with a particular opinion • Inspirational – motivational speech that inspires the audience

Due to technology, speakers are not limited to live presentations. There are speaker businesses that record and sell presentations that are downloadable or sold on CDs. Another approach to the speaker business is to write and sell speeches that others deliver.

More Than One Way

The design of the business will determine how much funding is needed. A business comprised of one speaker – the business owner – who only delivers material in person at workshops, conventions, or other venues, needs a strong marketing plan that builds a network of referrals. Businesses that offer speaking engagements and sell recorded speeches will need high quality recording equipments and a solid marketing plan. Successful speaking businesses can also eventually branch out into franchising.

The speaking industry is highly competitive because it has low barriers to entry. Typically, entrepreneurs that apply for funding need financing to purchase high-quality recording equipment and money for marketing. The speaker business plan will:

• Describe the type of speech material • Describe the entrepreneur’s expertise that is marketable through speeches and presentations • Identify the target market, which includes businesses, public conventions and trade shows, government agencies, nonprofits including religious organizations, schools, libraries, and other venues • Include a marketing plan that packages, prices, promotes, and sells the speaker’s expertise through a website, networking, personal selling, advertising, and joining a speaker’s bureau • Identify the cities, regions, and/or countries the speaker will target for sales • If applicable, address plans for growth by adding new speakers • Identify competitors and what differentiates the speaker from others • Develop a five-year projected financial plan that includes projected fees, and travel expenses and other expenses

Every Business Needs a Speaker Business Plan

Whatever business structure is chosen, investors will assess the new enterprise based on its ability to achieve profitability within a reasonable period of times. If no investors are needed at startup, it is still important to develop a solid business plan. The speaker business plan is a guide for decision-making to keep the business on-mission.

OGS Capital professional business plan writers help entrepreneurs get their businesses up and running by sharing industry expertise and knowledge during business plan development. If it is time to pursue business goals, complete and submit the short online contact form.

Download Speaker Business Plan Sample in pdf

OGS capital professional writers specialized also in themes such as define a strategic plan , wedding planning business startup , business plan for music festival , business plan for a funeral home , business plan for an event planner , etc.

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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Sample Motivational Speaking Business Plan

• September 17, 2022

MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKING BUSINESS PLAN SAMPLE

If you’ve got excellent motivational speaking talents, you might want to start a life coaching business in that line.

However, while such a skill may have been learned or come naturally to you, starting it as a business may present several challenges.

This is because you’re trying to create a system of revenue flow that requires planning.

Handling things alone can be overwhelming without the right kind of support. One of the major areas you may encounter problems is writing your plan. With the correct type of help, this shouldn’t be a problem.

This motivational speaking Business Plan gives you what to work with.

Developing Your Plan

Writing a comprehensive motivational speaking business plan requires knowing what to do in proper structuring. Also, you’ll need to know what each of these sections should hold or discuss.

Sections to be covered include the executive summary, company description, and products & services.

Additional sections to cover include market analysis, strategy & implementation, organization & management team, and the financial plan & projections.

Each of these areas or sections highlights a vital part of your business plan and must be carefully discussed to develop a comprehensive plan.

i. Executive Summary

The executive summary is the summarized or condensed version of your motivational speaking business plan. It’s designed to hold the reader’s attention to want to find further details about the business idea.

The executive summary determines the viability or otherwise of your plan.

True to its name, a good executive summary should be about 2 to 5 pages long. It should be written last but must appear at the beginning of the plan.

For a good reason, this section is sometimes referred to as the most crucial section of the plan; it gives the reader a heads-up of what to expect.

By reading through the summary alone, a lender should be able to learn about the name and nature of your business, its legal structure, and the purpose of loan requests, among other things.

In a nutshell, it gives an all-encompassing view of the entire plan.

Some of the critical areas covered in summary include the business name and location, services and products, mission and vision statements, and the specific purpose of the plan.

Even a motivational speaking business needs a name. Your lender or audience should get to know or be informed of such. Additional detail is the business’ location. Does its location improve your sales or patronage?

This will be a good idea as it improves the likelihood of the business succeeding.

What services and products will be offered, and is there actual demand for such? You’ll need to provide this information without getting into specifics.

Those details should be left for the primary services and products section. How do these services benefit your target market?

The mission statement of your plan should be captured in a few sentences and must state the plan’s purpose in addition to underlying philosophies. You are describing your business’s goal chances and the potential for achievement.

The vision statement paints a future scenario of where the business is headed. It should be inspiring enough to make your workforce key to its message.

This helps align all efforts towards its eventual attainment.

ii. Company Description

Your motivational speaking business needs to be clearly defined for your audience.

This is achieved through a description that focuses on the business and how you operate. Areas focused on including your preferred legal structure and a summary of short- and long-term goals.

How do you plan on making a profit through motivational speaking? Also, a brief history and nature of a business help better understand the business concept.

What are the needs or demands you plan on fulfilling? Also, give a summary of company growth with financial and market highlights.

iii. Services & Products

What services does your motivational speaking business offer? Although the name tells a lot, you’ll need to get into specifics. Such will require providing all the details with a specific focus on customer benefits.

Identify and provide the market role of your services and products and the advantages these services have over competitors.

iv. Market Analysis

Market analysis is where the bulk of the work lies.

The contents of this section will reveal your industry knowledge. To do a thorough job, you’ll need to provide a sketch of target customer segments with details such as size and demographics included.

An assessment of the strength and weaknesses of your competitors is another vital area of coverage you should look at. Also, describe the motivational speaking industry’s future outlook and supporting statistics.

What more? Historical, current, and projected marketing data for services and products are needed.

v. Strategy & Implementation

Your sales and marketing strategies are essential to your overall success.

Areas to be covered here include pricing and costing details with information on possible promotions where necessary. How do you intend to enter the motivational speaking market?

Will your business require a labor force? What are your labor sources, and how many employees will you hire if it will?

vi. Organization & Management Team

The organization and management of your motivational speaking business are vital to its success. Information includes an organizational chart describing departments (if any) and key employees.

Information on the business owner(s) should include names, percentage ownership, and extent of involvement.

If you have a management team, you’ll need to include relevant details such as names, positions, primary responsibilities, and experience. Are there any advisors?

You should add details about such here as well.

vii. Financial Plan & Projections

The financial plan and projection section is one crucial part of the plan that will require expert or professional help.

It covers areas like historical financial data (for established motivational speaking businesses), realistic prospective financial information, and a brief analysis of financial data.

It would help if you had a sound motivational speaking business plan when these areas are adequately covered and discussed.

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• Entrepreneurship

How to Start a Motivational Speaking Business

Starting a motivational speaking business can be a fulfilling and rewarding career path. If you have a passion for inspiring people and helping them achieve their goals, then this could be the perfect business for you. Here are some steps to help you get started.

1. Define Your Niche

The first step in starting a motivational speaking business is to define your niche. What topics do you feel passionate about? What expertise do you have that you can share with others? Some popular niches include leadership, personal development, and entrepreneurship. Once you have identified your niche, you can start crafting your message and identifying your target audience.

One way to define your niche is to conduct market research. Look at what other motivational speakers are offering and identify areas where you can differentiate yourself. You can also survey potential clients to get a sense of what topics they are interested in.

2. Develop Your Brand

Your brand is an essential part of your business. It’s how you differentiate yourself from other speakers and how you communicate your message to your audience. Your brand includes everything from your logo and website to your speaking style and personality.

Start by developing a logo and website that reflect your message and personality. Your website should include information about your speaking services, testimonials from past clients, and a schedule of upcoming events. You can also use social media to promote your brand and connect with potential clients.

3. Build Your Network

Networking is an essential part of any business, and motivational speaking is no exception. Attend conferences and events where your target audience will be present. This is an excellent opportunity to meet potential clients, build relationships, and showcase your skills.

You can also join networking groups and organizations related to your niche. This will give you the opportunity to connect with other speakers, learn from their experiences, and build your reputation in the industry.

4. Create Your Content

Creating compelling content is critical to a successful motivational speaking business. Your content should be informative, engaging, and tailored to your audience’s needs. Consider creating a blog or podcast where you can share your insights and expertise.

You can also develop training materials, such as workbooks and videos, that you can sell to clients. This will not only generate additional revenue but also establish your credibility as a thought leader in your niche.

5. Market Your Business

Marketing is an essential part of any business, and motivational speaking is no exception. You need to get the word out about your services and build your reputation as a speaker. Consider creating a marketing plan that includes social media, email marketing, and advertising.

You can also offer free speaking engagements to build your reputation and attract new clients. This is an excellent way to showcase your skills and build relationships with potential clients.

6. Establish Your Pricing

Establishing your pricing is a critical part of your business. You need to find a balance between pricing your services competitively and generating enough revenue to cover your expenses. Consider researching what other motivational speakers are charging and adjust your pricing accordingly.

You can also offer different pricing packages, such as hourly rates or per-project pricing. This will give clients the flexibility to choose the services that best meet their needs.

7. Establish Your Legal and Financial Framework

Starting a business requires careful planning and attention to detail. You need to establish your legal and financial framework to ensure that your business is operating legally and efficiently.

Consider working with a lawyer and accountant to establish your legal structure, register your business, and manage your finances. This will give you peace of mind knowing that your business is running smoothly and compliantly.

8. Develop Your Speaking Skills

Your speaking skills are an essential part of your business. You need to be confident, engaging, and able to connect with your audience. Consider taking public speaking courses or working with a speaking coach to hone your skills.

You can also practice your skills by speaking at local events or recording yourself giving a speech. This will give you the opportunity to identify areas for improvement and refine your message.

9. Build Your Client Base

Building a client base is an essential part of any business. You need to establish relationships with potential clients and demonstrate your value as a speaker. Consider offering free consultations or speaking engagements to attract new clients.

You can also leverage your network and attend networking events to build relationships with potential clients. Focus on building long-term relationships rather than just making a sale.

10. Evaluate and Refine Your Business

Starting a business is a journey, and you need to be willing to adapt and evolve as your business grows. Regularly evaluate your business to identify areas for improvement and refine your strategy.

Consider conducting surveys or focus groups with past clients to get feedback on your services. This will give you valuable insights into what’s working and what’s not and help you make strategic decisions for your business.

In conclusion, starting a motivational speaking business requires careful planning, hard work, and dedication. Follow these steps to establish your business, build your brand, and attract new clients. Remember to stay true to your message and always put your clients’ needs first.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Here are some common questions people ask about starting a motivational speaking business.

1. What skills do I need to become a motivational speaker?

To become a motivational speaker, you need excellent public speaking skills, the ability to connect with your audience, and a deep understanding of the subject you will be speaking about. You should also have strong networking skills to build relationships with potential clients and event organizers. It’s essential to be a confident and engaging speaker who can inspire others and motivate them to take action.

Additionally, you should have knowledge of marketing and business strategies to promote your services and manage your finances. You can also take courses or attend workshops to enhance your skills and expand your knowledge.

2. How do I choose my niche as a motivational speaker?

Choosing a niche as a motivational speaker is essential to differentiate yourself from your competitors and appeal to a specific audience. You can choose a niche based on your expertise, experiences, or passions. For example, you can specialize in leadership development, personal growth, or mental health. You should also consider your target audience and the type of events where you want to speak.

Research your market and find out which topics are in demand and align with your niche. Be unique and authentic to stand out and establish a strong brand identity.

3. How do I market my motivational speaking business?

Marketing is crucial to attract clients and build your reputation as a motivational speaker. You can start by creating a website that showcases your services, testimonials, and past events. You can also create social media accounts, such as LinkedIn and Twitter, to connect with potential clients and share your expertise.

Networking is also essential to get noticed by event organizers and build relationships with other professionals in your industry. Attend conferences, seminars, and other events related to your niche to meet new people and gain exposure. You can also offer free talks or workshops to showcase your skills and attract new clients.

4. How do I set my speaking fees?

Setting your speaking fees can be tricky as it depends on various factors, such as your experience, niche, location, and the type of event. You can research the average fees of other speakers in your industry and adjust your rates accordingly. You can also consider offering discounts for non-profit organizations or early-bird bookings.

Be transparent about your fees and provide a clear breakdown of your services to avoid misunderstandings or conflicts. You should also have a contract that outlines your terms and conditions and protects your interests.

5. How do I maintain my motivation as a motivational speaker?

Maintaining your motivation and passion as a motivational speaker is crucial to deliver high-quality talks and attract new clients. You can stay motivated by setting achievable goals, such as booking a certain number of events per month or expanding your network. You can also take breaks to recharge and avoid burnout.

Additionally, seek feedback from your clients and audience to improve your skills and enhance your services. Attend workshops or courses to learn new techniques and stay updated with industry trends. And most importantly, believe in yourself and your message, and let your passion shine through your talks.

How To Become a Motivational Speaker

Remember, it’s important to focus on your niche and target audience, as well as building a strong personal brand and online presence. Networking and building relationships with event planners and other professionals in the industry can also help you establish credibility and gain more speaking opportunities.

Lastly, don’t forget to continuously improve your skills and knowledge through ongoing education and training. As you gain more experience and success in your speaking career, you can inspire and motivate others to achieve their own goals and dreams. So, take action today and start building your motivational speaking business!

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Motivational Speaker Business Plan Template

Explore Options to Get a Business Plan.

Are you interested in starting your own motivational speaker Business?

Why write a business plan?

• Business Plans can help to articulate and flesh out the business’s goals and objectives. This can be beneficial not only for the business owner, but also for potential investors or partners
• Business Plans can serve as a roadmap for the business, helping to keep it on track and on target. This is especially important for businesses that are growing and evolving, as it can be easy to get sidetracked without a clear plan in place.
• Business plans can be a valuable tool for communicating the business’s vision to employees, customers, and other key stakeholders.
• Business plans are one of the most affordable and straightforward ways of ensuring your business is successful.
• Business plans allow you to understand your competition better to critically analyze your unique business proposition and differentiate yourself from the market.
• Business Plans allow you to better understand your customer. Conducting a customer analysis is essential to create better products and services and market more effectively.
• Business Plans allow you to determine the financial needs of the business leading to a better understanding of how much capital is needed to start the business and how much fundraising is needed.
• Business Plans allow you to put your business model in words and analyze it further to improve revenues or fill the holes in your strategy.
• Business plans allow you to attract investors and partners into the business as they can read an explanation about the business.
• Business plans allow you to position your brand by understanding your company’s role in the marketplace.
• Business Plans allow you to uncover new opportunities by undergoing the process of brainstorming while drafting your business plan which allows you to see your business in a new light. This allows you to come up with new ideas for products/services, business and marketing strategies.
• Business Plans allow you to access the growth and success of your business by comparing actual operational results versus the forecasts and assumptions in your business plan. This allows you to update your business plan to a business growth plan and ensure the long-term success and survival of your business.

Business Plan Content

• Executive Summary
• Company Overview
• Industry Analysis
• Consumer Analysis
• Competitor Analysis & Advantages
• Marketing Strategies & Plan
• Plan of Action
• Management Team

The financial forecast template is an extensive Microsoft Excel sheet with Sheets on Required Start-up Capital, Salary & Wage Plans, 5-year Income Statement, 5-year Cash-Flow Statement, 5-Year Balance Sheet, 5-Year Financial Highlights and other accounting statements that would cost in excess of £1000 if obtained by an accountant.

The financial forecast has been excluded from the business plan template. If you’d like to receive the financial forecast template for your start-up, please contact us at [email protected] . Our consultants will be happy to discuss your business plan and provide you with the financial forecast template to accompany your business plan.

Instructions for the Business Plan Template

To complete your perfect motivational speaker business plan, fill out the form below and download our motivational speaker business plan template. The template is a word document that can be edited to include information about your motivational speaker business. The document contains instructions to complete the business plan and will go over all sections of the plan. Instructions are given in the document in red font and some tips are also included in blue font. The free template includes all sections excluding the financial forecast. If you need any additional help with drafting your business plan from our business plan template, please set up a complimentary 30-minute consultation with one of our consultants.

Ongoing Business Planning

Want a bespoke business plan for your motivational speaker business, our expertise.

Website Design & Development for Motivational Speaker Businesses

A Guide to Social Media for Motivational Speaker Businesses

Motivational Speaker Business Plan Template FAQs

What is a business plan for a/an motivational speaker business, how to customize the business plan template for a motivational speaker business, what financial information should be included in a motivational speaker business plan, are there industry-specific considerations in the motivational speaker business plan template, how to conduct market research for a motivational speaker business plan, what are the common challenges when creating a business plan for a motivational speaker business, how often should i update my motivational speaker business plan, can i use the business plan template for seeking funding for a motivational speaker business, what legal considerations are there in a motivational speaker business plan.

How to Start a Motivational Speaking Business

• Small Business
• Setting Up a New Business
• Starting a Business
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How to Create a Tutoring Business

Ways to communicate with performance skills, setting the tone of a speech.

• SWOT Analysis and Distance Education
• How to Become a Better Speaker in the Work Environment

Starting a motivational speaking business is easy in terms of overhead costs, but difficult as it relates to building authority and demand for your services. Motivational speaking requires practice and serious professional expertise to perform and deliver a high quality service.

Expertise and Authority

The biggest barrier to entry in the motivational speaking field is the actual expertise and experience. What makes you qualified to motivate others? You might function as a general speaker or a niche-based speaker, but you still must display a background that qualifies you as an authority.

For example, many fundraisers, corporate retreats and athletic events use the services of professionals and people who experienced success in the field. They can tap real-life experience to speak about overcoming hurdles and working toward specific goals.

Before you jump onto the speaking trail, assess your own experiences, and work through material that draws on your personal life. A generic speech is not really motivating. Bring real-life examples to the process to create a strong sense of empathy in the room. If you are not yet qualified, go out and gain the experience to make yourself better, and then circle back to the business model when you have genuine experiences to share.

Training and Credentials

Having the experience is not necessarily enough to be a great speaker. Some individuals are natural speakers – but most must practice. Build scripts that convey your message, and practice repeatedly out loud. Utilize test audiences, and focus on your speaking qualities and body language to really drive home your key messages.

Training courses and public speaking classes are also a great means of training. You can gain public speaking credentials by completing courses. This adds a layer of professionalism to your resume and ensures clients that you are qualified and tested.

Use resources like Toastmasters and Dale Carnegie to build and refine your process. Study great speakers and work to find your voice until the speech itself becomes second nature.

Building a Brand

The motivational speaking business is driven by the personal brand. You can approach potential clients blindly, but they are likely to research you heavily before paying for an engagement.

Build a website with background information and a portfolio, if possible. Testimonials from previous clients are also an excellent resource and they act like a reference for new business. Grow your social media channels and add speeches to YouTube, or place video directly on your website. Providing live samples is an excellent method of proving your skills while building a following.

Securing Speaking Engagements

Building a brand can help develop speaking engagements organically. Potential clients might find your videos and website online and reach out directly. This is the best type of business, because your online resources are working on your behalf around the clock.

Reaching out to potential clients directly is also effective. Make a list within your niche and share your calendar to encourage bookings. Create scarcity by communicating a limited number of openings for the year. This can drive bookings well in advance and help you manage the schedule.

Referrals are another source of business that every motivational speaker should tap. For example, if you speak to a business association in one city, ask if they know any other associations that might have interest in your services. Ask directly, and referrals are more likely to develop new customers. Some will come naturally as well.

Lastly, network in your niche. Attend trade shows, conventions and events, and build a community of connections. Share a business card, one-pager and followup via email to secure speaking engagements.

• Forbes: 10 Steps to Starting a Speaking Career from Scratch
• Inc: How to Become a Motivational Speaker
• The National Speakers Association
• Professional Speaking Association
• American Speakers Bureau
• Toastmasters International
• Expand sales by recording and selling presentations, and writing books and other supporting materials to sell at presentations.

Zach Lazzari is a freelance writer with extensive experience in startups and digital advertising. He has a diverse background with a strong presence in the digital marketing world. Zach has developed and sold multiple successful web properties and manages marketing for multiple clients in the outdoor industry. He has published business content in Angling Trade Magazine and writes white papers and case studies for multiple corporate partners.

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Motivational Speaker Business Plan

Welcome to our blog post on creating a successful business plan for your motivational speaking venture. As a motivational speaker, your ability to inspire and motivate others is your greatest asset. However, to turn your passion into a profitable and sustainable business, you need a well-thought-out plan that will guide your every step.

In this blog post, we will explore the key elements of a motivational speaker business plan and how it can help you achieve your goals. We will delve into the importance of having a business plan, as well as the essential components that should be included. From understanding your target audience to crafting your unique selling proposition, we will provide you with the strategies and insights you need to differentiate yourself in a competitive market.

In addition, we will discuss various marketing and promotion strategies to help you build a strong online presence, network effectively, and leverage social media and digital marketing platforms. We understand that managing your finances and ensuring sustainable growth are crucial aspects of any business. Therefore, we will provide guidance on setting your fees, budgeting, and financial management, as well as scaling your motivational speaking business to reach new heights.

Whether you are just starting or looking to take your existing motivational speaking business to the next level, this blog post will serve as a comprehensive guide to creating a business plan that sets you up for success. So, let’s dive in and discover how you can turn your passion for motivating others into a thriving and fulfilling career as a motivational speaker.

Understanding the Motivational Speaking Business

Motivational speaking is a dynamic and rewarding field that involves inspiring and empowering individuals and groups to achieve their goals and unlock their full potential. Before embarking on your journey as a motivational speaker, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of the business landscape. This section will provide you with valuable insights into the motivational speaking industry, including its unique characteristics, market trends, and potential challenges.

The Role of a Motivational Speaker

A motivational speaker serves as a catalyst for positive change, delivering powerful messages and insights that resonate with audiences. They possess exceptional communication skills, a compelling personal story or expertise, and the ability to connect with people on an emotional level. Understanding the role of a motivational speaker is crucial in shaping your business strategies and identifying your target audience.

Market Analysis and Trends

Conducting a thorough market analysis will help you gain insights into the demand for motivational speakers, identify your competitors, and identify potential opportunities for growth. Research industry trends, such as emerging topics or niche markets, to stay ahead of the curve and position yourself as a thought leader.

Target Audience Identification

Understanding your target audience is key to tailoring your message and marketing efforts effectively. Consider factors such as demographics, interests, and pain points to develop a deep understanding of who your ideal clients are. This will enable you to create content and deliver speeches that resonate with your audience and address their specific needs.

Industry Challenges and Opportunities

The motivational speaking industry is highly competitive, with numerous talented speakers vying for the attention of event organizers and clients. Identifying the challenges you may face, such as establishing credibility, securing speaking engagements, or differentiating yourself from competitors, will allow you to develop strategies to overcome these obstacles. Additionally, recognizing the opportunities within the industry, such as corporate training programs, educational institutions, or personal development events, will help you target the right avenues for growth.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

As a motivational speaker, it is essential to be aware of the legal and ethical considerations that govern your profession. Familiarize yourself with contracts, liability issues, intellectual property rights, and other legal aspects to protect yourself and your business. Adhering to ethical standards, such as maintaining honesty, integrity, and respecting confidentiality, will help you build a strong reputation and establish trust with your clients.

By thoroughly understanding the motivational speaking business, you will be better equipped to navigate the industry, identify opportunities, and develop effective strategies to establish yourself as a successful motivational speaker. Armed with this knowledge, you can now move forward to create a comprehensive business plan that takes into account all the unique aspects of the motivational speaking industry.

Creating a Business Plan for Your Motivational Speaking

Creating a business plan is a critical step in setting a solid foundation for your motivational speaking venture. It provides a roadmap for your business, outlining your goals, strategies, and financial projections. In this section, we will explore the importance of having a business plan for your motivational speaking business and discuss the key elements that should be included.

Importance of a Business Plan

A business plan serves as a blueprint for your motivational speaking business, helping you clarify your vision and define the path to success. It allows you to articulate your goals, identify your target audience, and outline the strategies you will use to reach them. A well-crafted business plan also demonstrates your professionalism and commitment to potential clients, partners, and investors.

Key Elements of a Motivational Speaker Business Plan

Executive Summary: This section provides an overview of your business, including your mission statement, vision, and key objectives. It captures the essence of your business plan and should be concise, yet compelling enough to grab the attention of readers.

Company Description: Here, you will provide detailed information about your motivational speaking business. Describe your services, the unique value proposition you offer, and any competitive advantages you possess. Include information about your target audience and the benefits they will derive from working with you.

Market Analysis: Conduct a thorough analysis of the motivational speaking industry, including market trends, target audience demographics, and competition. Identify your niche within the market and outline strategies to differentiate yourself from competitors.

Marketing and Sales Strategies: Detail your marketing and promotion strategies to attract clients and secure speaking engagements. This may include developing a strong online presence, networking, partnering with event organizers, and leveraging social media and digital marketing platforms.

Operations and Management: Outline the operational aspects of your business, including your organizational structure, team members’ roles and responsibilities, and any strategic partnerships or collaborations. Discuss your plans for managing logistics, such as booking engagements, travel arrangements, and equipment requirements.

Financial Projections: Provide a comprehensive financial analysis, including revenue forecasts, projected expenses, and profit margins. This section should also address pricing strategies, budgeting, and financial management techniques. It is essential to demonstrate the viability and profitability of your business.

Risk Assessment: Identify potential risks and challenges that may impact your motivational speaking business. Develop contingency plans and strategies to mitigate these risks and ensure the sustainability of your venture.

Writing the Business Plan

When writing your business plan, ensure clarity, conciseness, and professionalism. Use a logical structure, include supporting data and research, and present your ideas in a compelling manner. Consider seeking guidance from business mentors or consultants to ensure your business plan is comprehensive and aligned with your goals.

By creating a well-defined business plan, you will have a strategic roadmap to guide your motivational speaking business. It will serve as a reference point and help you make informed decisions as you navigate the industry and work towards achieving your goals. With the key elements in place, you are now ready to delve deeper into developing your unique selling proposition, which we will explore in the next section.

Developing Your Unique Selling Proposition

Developing a unique selling proposition (USP) is crucial for standing out in the competitive motivational speaking industry. Your USP is the distinctive factor that sets you apart from other speakers and attracts clients to your services. In this section, we will explore the key components of crafting an effective USP and strategies for identifying your target audience, crafting your message, and differentiating your brand.

Identifying Your Target Audience

To create a compelling USP, you must have a deep understanding of your target audience. Consider their demographics, needs, challenges, and aspirations. Are you targeting corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, students, or a specific niche market? By identifying your target audience, you can tailor your message and services to resonate with their specific needs.

Crafting Your Message

Crafting a powerful message is essential for capturing the attention and interest of your audience. Your message should reflect your unique perspective, experiences, and expertise. Think about the core themes and topics that align with your personal story and the value you offer. Develop a clear and concise message that communicates the transformation or impact you can bring to your audience’s lives.

Differentiating Your Brand

In a saturated market, it is crucial to differentiate your brand from others. Identify what makes you unique and emphasize those qualities in your branding and marketing efforts. This could be your speaking style, your expertise, or your approach to addressing specific challenges. Consider your personal story, accomplishments, or unique techniques that set you apart. Highlight these differentiating factors in your promotional materials, website, and social media platforms.

Showcasing Your Expertise

Building credibility is essential for becoming a successful motivational speaker. Establish yourself as an expert in your field by showcasing your knowledge and expertise. Write blog posts, create videos or podcasts, and share valuable content that demonstrates your understanding of the topics you speak on. This will not only attract your target audience but also position you as a trusted authority in the industry.

Leveraging Testimonials and Social Proof

Testimonials and social proof are powerful tools in establishing trust and credibility. Collect feedback and testimonials from previous clients or attendees of your speaking engagements. Display these testimonials on your website and include them in your promotional materials. Additionally, leverage social proof by sharing success stories or case studies that highlight the impact of your motivational speaking on individuals or organizations.

By developing a compelling USP and effectively communicating your unique value proposition, you will differentiate yourself in the motivational speaking industry. Understanding your target audience, crafting a powerful message, differentiating your brand, showcasing your expertise, and leveraging testimonials and social proof will help you attract clients and secure speaking engagements. In the next section, we will delve into various marketing and promotion strategies that will further enhance your visibility and reach.

Marketing and Promotion Strategies

Marketing and promotion are vital aspects of growing your motivational speaking business. In this section, we will explore various strategies to help you build a strong online presence, network effectively, and leverage social media and digital marketing platforms to reach a wider audience.

Building a Strong Online Presence

Professional Website: Create a professional website that showcases your expertise, services, and testimonials. Optimize it for search engines to improve your visibility online.

Engaging Content: Produce valuable content through blog posts, videos, podcasts, or articles that resonate with your target audience. Share insights, tips, and stories that showcase your expertise and provide value.

Email Marketing: Build an email list and send regular newsletters to stay connected with your audience. Share updates, upcoming speaking engagements, and exclusive content.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize your website and content with relevant keywords to improve your ranking in search engine results. This will increase your visibility and attract organic traffic.

Networking and Partnerships

Attend Events and Conferences: Participate in industry events, conferences, and seminars to network with event organizers, potential clients, and other speakers. Seek opportunities to speak at these events to showcase your expertise.

Join Professional Associations: Become a member of relevant professional associations and organizations in the field of motivational speaking. This will provide opportunities for networking, learning, and collaborations.

Collaborate with Other Speakers: Partner with other speakers to organize joint events or workshops. This can help you tap into their audience base and expand your reach.

Engage with Influencers: Connect with influencers in your niche who have a large following. Collaborate with them on content, interviews, or joint projects to increase your visibility and reach a wider audience.

Leveraging Social Media and Digital Marketing

Social Media Presence: Establish a strong presence on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Share valuable content, engage with your audience, and promote your speaking engagements.

Paid Advertising: Utilize targeted online advertising platforms, such as Google Ads or social media ads, to reach a specific audience and promote your services or upcoming events.

Video Marketing: Leverage the power of video by creating engaging and informative videos that showcase your speaking style, expertise, and testimonials. Share these videos on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo and embed them on your website.

Webinars and Online Workshops: Conduct webinars or online workshops to provide value to your audience and establish your expertise. Promote these events through your website, social media, and email marketing.

Remember, consistency is key when it comes to marketing and promotion. Develop a well-rounded strategy that combines online presence, networking, and digital marketing to effectively reach your target audience and grow your motivational speaking business. As you implement these strategies, it is crucial to track your results and make adjustments accordingly. In the next section, we will discuss managing your finances and ensuring sustainable growth for your business.

Managing Your Finances and Growth

Managing your finances and ensuring sustainable growth are crucial aspects of running a successful motivational speaking business. In this section, we will explore strategies for setting your fees, budgeting, and financial management, as well as discuss ways to scale your business for long-term success.

Setting Your Fees

Research Market Rates: Research industry standards and market rates for motivational speakers with similar experience and expertise. Consider factors such as your target audience, the length of your presentations, and the value you bring to determine your pricing.

Value-Based Pricing: Instead of solely basing your fees on your time or effort, consider the value you provide to your clients. Assess the impact of your services on their personal or professional growth and set your fees accordingly.

Packaging Your Services: Offer different packages or tiers of services to cater to various client needs and budgets. This can include options such as keynote speeches, workshops, or coaching programs.

Budgeting and Financial Management

Create a Budget: Develop a detailed budget that includes your expenses, such as travel, marketing, website maintenance, and professional development. Regularly review and adjust your budget to ensure financial stability.

Separate Personal and Business Finances: Open a separate bank account and credit card for your business to keep personal and business finances separate. This simplifies bookkeeping and allows for better financial tracking.

Track Income and Expenses: Maintain accurate records of your income and expenses. Use accounting software or hire a professional accountant to help you track your financial transactions and ensure compliance with tax regulations.

Scaling Your Motivational Speaking Business

Diversify Your Offerings: Expand your services by offering additional formats such as online courses, books, or digital products. This allows you to reach a wider audience and generate additional revenue streams.

Partner with Others: Collaborate with other speakers, event planners, or organizations to leverage their networks and expand your reach. Joint ventures and partnerships can lead to new speaking opportunities and increased exposure.

Automate and Delegate: Identify tasks that can be automated or delegated, such as administrative work, social media management, or bookkeeping. This allows you to focus on high-value activities, such as speaking engagements and client relationships.

Continual Professional Development: Invest in your own growth and development as a motivational speaker. Attend workshops, conferences, and training programs to enhance your skills and stay updated with industry trends.

By effectively managing your finances and implementing growth strategies, you can ensure the long-term success and sustainability of your motivational speaking business. Regularly assess your fees, budget, and financial performance to make informed decisions and optimize your business operations. The final section of this blog post will summarize the key points discussed and provide a conclusion to this comprehensive guide on creating a motivational speaker business plan.

The Journey to Inspiring Others: 5 Steps to Becoming a Motivational Speaker

• Carolyn Manion Kinnie
• March 9, 2024

Table of Contents

Here at The Speaker Lab, our mission is to help you build a solid foundation for a speaking business that gets you booked and paid to speak for years to come. That’s why our founder Grant Baldwin developed the SPEAK Framework™. This framework provides a five-step guide for how to become a motivational speaker who can grow your business and amplify your message. Today we’re walking you through those those five steps and how they can help you launch and sustain a successful career as a motivational speaker. 

1. Select a Problem to Solve

When you speak, you want to inspire. Does repeating vague generalities that people have heard a thousand times inspire? No.  If you only have a general idea of what kind of motivational speaking you want to do, it’s time to figure out which specific problem you solve for a particular audience . You should be able to describe your speaking business in terms of who you help, what you talk about, and what solution you help them achieve. Potential clients don’t want to hear about how inspirational you are. They want to what you can do for their clients–your future audience.

A successful motivational speaker taps into the needs of an audience by solving a specific, relevant problem. That problem might be self-doubt. It might be disordered priorities. It might be ignorance about a path to transformation that you can illuminate. The point is, your audience doesn’t want a pat on the back–they want solutions. 

Why you need a niche

So many speakers want to get started on their speaking business without getting clear on the problem that they solve. They want to get their footing in the speaking industry, get in front of a wide range of audiences, and then settle on a niche. This is actually the opposite of how the speaking industry works. Casting a wide net and trying to talk to appeal to everyone with your message will get you ignored. Trust us on this one–we have worked with thousands of speakers to build their businesses. The repeatable process that every successful speaker follows starts with choosing a niche. 

It might seem counter-intuitive, but think about it. If you want great Chinese food, do you go to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Chinatown or the grocery store deli?  People don’t want a speaker to give them a one-size-fits-all message. They want a message that addresses their problems and makes them feel special. This is just human nature! For your audience to feel inspired, you have to make every individual feel like you wrote your talk specifically for them. That’s why you need to know your audience and craft your message with their needs in mind.

How to select your niche

Now that you’ve come to terms with narrowing down your niche to solving a problem for a specific audience, what do you do? You start by selecting an industry . It’s perfectly fine if you haven’t really narrowed down your message to a one-line at this stage. Selecting an industry will help you do that!  Generally, motivational speakers focus on one of seven industries: 

• Corporations
• Associations
• Faith-based organizations
• Government & Military
• Colleges & Universities
• K-12 Education

We go over how to find conferences in each of these industries at this blog here . 

Once you choose an industry, it’s time to identify an interest. This is where you narrow down your topic of choice. Think about what you like to talk about–preferably a topic that already has some demand and that people will still care about in five years. This is a great time to do some market research to really know the people within your industry and what they want. You will get booked and paid to speak where there is an intersection between a) your interest and b) demand for speakers.

What’s the last step to choosing a niche and succeeding there as a motivational speaker? Speaking with integrity. By integrity we mean two things. Number one: speak from your own experience. Number two: don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Don’t fall for the “expert myth.” You don’t need to be a world-renowned expert to be a great speaker. Speak with honesty and authenticity about what you  do  know, and don’t worry about what you don’t. 

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2. Prepare and Deliver Your Talk

Now you know who you’re talking to and what you want to do for them. What’s next? It’s time to prepare your talk and get ready to deliver it! Yes, even if you haven’t been booked for a speaking gig! In fact, we recommend writing your signature talk before you even build your website or start marketing yourself! 

Is this the only talk you will ever give? No! Does it help to have a specific talk prepared already when you engage with clients? Yes! 

The best marketing you can ever do for your speaking business is to give a great talk. If you already have that talk prepared and practiced, landing your first speaking gig will only require a few tweaks to tailor it to a specific audience. As a motivational speaker, you will likely be delivering mostly keynotes, so that’s what we’ll focus on. (You can read about the difference between keynotes and workshops here .)

Creating your talk

A keynote speaker motivates, inspires, and entertains an audience. Keynotes usually last no more than an hour, but are expected to keep the audience inspired for days, weeks, or even years! Because all eyes–and often a lot of eyes–are on you, your speech has to be interesting and memorable. You have to mix the core of your message with humor, stories, and audience interaction to really make it stick with the audience. 

It can feel daunting to condense all your great ideas about your chosen topic into one talk. We like to think of it in terms of two questions your audience is asking: “So what?” and “Now what?” Your audience wants one main message to remember (so what?) and guidelines for the next steps  they should take to apply it to their lives (now what?). If you try to make too many points in your talk, your listeners will be confused. If you’re just overflowing with ideas, start by developing one into a full length keynote. Then as you grow your business and expand your “speaker menu,” you can integrate the other ideas into additional motivational speeches. 

When it comes to structuring your talk, there are many options available to you. We have many resources to help with this, but there is no “right way” to write your talk! The structure and style that suits your message and gets the point across will be unique to you and your speaking business. As you gain more experience on stage, you will have ample opportunity to find out what works and what doesn’t, so stay flexible!

Preparing for the stage

Before you get onstage, you probably have a few jitters you need to sort out. Even the best motivational speakers who have been doing this for a while experience this! From imposter syndrome, to concerns about the financial viability of speaking, to stage fright, you will doubtless deal with some of the common fears that plague professional speakers. Acknowledge your fears, tune into what they’re telling you, and continue preparing to deliver your talk. 

Once you have confronted your fears, it’s time to get ready for delivering the talk you’ve worked so hard on. As you may have guessed, the key to a confident, successful delivery is practice. We actually don’t recommend motivational speakers memorize their talk verbatim. Rather, focus on internalizing the points you make and the stories that go with them. As long as the same main points come across, you can change up “filler” words, jokes, and side remarks as needed. Practice in front of a few friends to make sure it “flows” and your argument makes logical sense . Most importantly, and we can’t stress this enough, time  yourself. If you’re booked for a 45 minute keynote, you don’t want to accidentally prepare a 25 or 60 minute talk! 

3. Establish Yourself as an Expert

Before you get to use the signature talk you’ve composed and practice, you have to book paid speaking gigs . And before paid speaking gigs comes the next step in our SPEAK Framework™: establishing your expertise. 

As we said above, you do not need to be the world’s foremost expert in your topic of choice. At the same time, building an authoritative personal brand is a key part of how to become a motivational speaker. You want to be the first person event planners think of when they have to hire a speaker in your niche. That requires developing a marketing plan. 

You are the brand

As you learn how to become a motivational speaker, the marketing best practices might take you by surprise. For starters, you are not developing a brand for a product or business, as marketers and entrepreneurs in other industries do. When you’re a motivational speaker, you are the brand. When people think about hiring you, they think of your name, not your business or your speech. 

On the one hand, that makes things easier. You know yourself better than anybody else! On the other hand, selling yourself instead of a product can require a big paradigm shift. Everything you do is marketing. Anything related to you that a client might encounter–your website, your social media, your marketing materials–reflects on your speaking business. This is why it is so important to create a personal brand that is in line with who you are in everyday life.

If you ran into a client or audience member at your local coffee shop, would they see the same person you represent on your speaker website or on stage? You don’t have to overshare your personal life on social media or always speak in a booming keynote speaker voice. It all comes down to integrity. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not because you think it will book you more speaking gigs. Inauthenticity always gets found out and undermines your credibility as a speaker. 

Developing your Digital Marketing assets

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to develop a great personal brand and digital footprint. Your website and demo video are your most important digital assets, so invest in them accordingly. Always opt for simplicity, clarity, and quality rather than complexity. A one-page website that displays your demo video and an easy way to contact you are really all you need. A speaker bio , testimonials, and professional headshots will add even more credibility to your brand. 

Building your motivational speaking brand on social media might seem like a daunting task. With so many platforms and constantly changing trends, you might not know where to start! We recommend doing some market research and finding out where other speakers in your niche are active on socials. Then, pick one or two platforms to really excel at. It’s easy to overextend yourself on social media. Staying active on one platform will help you really connect with your followers, network with other speakers in the same space, and establish yourself as a household name.

4. Acquire Paid Speaking Gigs

Even if you have an incredible website and demo video, the gigs won’t just show up at your door. To get booked and paid to speak, you have to tell the world you’re a motivational speaker. You can do that by utilizing existing networks and by undertaking lead generation strategies that, while arduous at the beginning, will pay off in the long run.

Utilize your network 

Speaking is an incredibly relational business, and it’s likely your first gigs will come from someone you already know. If your friends and family don’t know your dream of becoming a motivational speaker, it’s time to tell them. Don’t be embarrassed because you haven’t booked any gigs yet! Your aunt’s coworker’s husband might be hiring for speakers but you’ll never know unless you toot your own horn. 

Start your lead generation process by going through your existing network. Invite acquaintances who work in industries in your niche for coffee or lunch. Ask them if they know anybody hiring motivational speakers, or if they have hired one before. Building these relationships and forging a web of connections around your speaking business is an incredibly valuable foundation for your speaking network. 

In addition to your own network, don’t be shy about reaching out to other motivational speakers. We recommend seeking out professional speakers who are a few years further along a similar career path to yours. Referrals from other speakers are one of the biggest ways that speakers get new clients. It’s tempting to think of other speakers as your competition, but try to avoid that mentality! Every successful motivational speaker has to turn down gigs for one reason or another. You could be the speaker they recommend in their stead!

Finding new leads 

You can’t master how to become a motivational speaker without some grunt work. Don’t let that scare you! What we mean is this: building a sustainable speaking business starts with researching prospective clients with Google or other tools at your disposal and sending them cold emails until you get a response. Prospecting for speaking leads can feel a lot like prospecting for gold in the 1850s. You google events in your area and speaking niche, you find the contact information for the decision maker, you fire off a friendly email, and you wait. You don’t want to make a sales pitch right away–just get on their radar. If they don’t respond, you follow up at respectful intervals. 

Finally, you’ll get that coveted answer. When you get a reply, you want to get on the phone with that client as soon as possible. A prompt phone call to an interested client is always the best strategy for getting booked! Then maybe they’ll be interested in hiring you–and then you negotiate your fee and send your contract. And if not, on to the next email!

If it sounds tedious, it is! But if you exhaustively pursue this strategy with events that match your industry, interest, and expertise, you will start getting booked and paid to speak. Ten minutes or half an hour each day of this kind of prospecting will start to pay off as you get your name out there and improve your methods with trial and error. A reputation of being easy to work with is a huge asset in the motivational speaking industry, so always express gratitude and act graciously even when you don’t get hired. And remember–the clients who don’t write back to your initial outreach might be interested in hiring you next year…or even the year after that! 

Because this process involves so many contacts and repetition, we highly recommend systematizing your lead pipeline with a well-organized spreadsheet or CRM from the very beginning. We have several podcasts on systematizing your speaking business; here and here are two good ones! And if you join our program cohort , we offer AMAZING resources to help connect you with the best leads for your speaking business. 

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5. Know When to Scale

The initial relationships you build through networking and cold outreach will be the foundation of your speaking business for years to come. You will find it easier and easier to book speaking gigs and eventually you will hardly need to market yourself! But you’re still human–you still have the same 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year (or 366 this year). And preparing talks, traveling, negotiating contracts, spending time with your family, pursuing hobbies…all of those things take a lot of time. You might even be juggling this on top of your old 9-5 because you aren’t sure that speaking will ever make you a living wage. So how do you expand your business when you’re maxed out? 

With time and experience, you will reach milestones at which you can naturally raise your prices. But this isn’t the only way to scale! You can also diversify your income streams so your motivational speaking business is earning you money while you’re on vacation in the Bahamas. 

Adding streams of revenue

Whether you’re trying to make enough money to quit your day job and speak full time, feel bored with the state of your business, or just want a longer break between each speaking gig, your business is probably ripe for pivoting to an income stream you haven’t thought of yet. We’ll cover just a few of them here, but this is the time to get creative and think about what you really enjoy doing (and what your market really wants). 

Many motivational speakers start to offer coaching services as they gain more and more expertise in their niche. Audience members who feel inspired by your talk will jump at the chance to work with you individually. Coaching requires little travel, allows you to dig deeper into your message, and earns you income whether or not you’re booked and paid to speak each weekend. 

Alternatively, you can turn your message into a product like a course, book, resource, or even merch! This is an easy strategy if you have an established online fanbase who doesn’t necessarily get the chance to hear you speak often. You can even offer your clients a lower speaking fee if they allow you to set up a table to sell your products after your talk. 

Finally, let’s be real, it’s 2024. Become an influencer! Many motivational speakers are influencers and many influencers become motivational speakers within their niche. The same charisma and credibility that draw listeners to your stage also draw brand partnerships, advertising affiliates, and sponsors to your online activity. Going the influencer route is a great way to earn passive income and it’s also easily scalable as you gain followers. If you enjoy creating content, go ahead and monetize your instagram profile, podcast, YouTube channel, or blog! 

As you figure out how to become a motivational speaker, we hope our SPEAK Framework™ has helped point you toward a practical five-step process toward reaching your goals. Before we leave you, here’s a final reminder. All of the steps we covered today are flexible. If something isn’t working for you, you can pivot to doing something else. Every great motivational speaker does this as their interests and the needs of the market shift. Once you have a firm business foundation, you can pivot to a different industry, or switch to coaching more than speaking, or completely redo your speaker menu. However, you have to start somewhere to get to that point. You don’t become a great motivational speaker without getting really good at doing one thing for one audience. Once you’ve got that down, the world is your oyster!

• Last Updated: March 9, 2024

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• Future Speakers

How to Become a Motivational Speaker: The Essential Beginner’s Guide

Being a motivational speaker allows you to share your knowledge with others and experience  rewarding personal and professional fulfillment.

But before you can book your first speaking engagement, you need to learn how to become a motivational speaker and what to charge for your services.

How to become a paid motivational speaker in 7 steps

Becoming a motivational speaker requires more than simply talking in front of an audience. These seven steps can help you launch a career as a motivational speaker.

1. Self-assessment and introspection

The best motivational speakers have a deep understanding of themselves. They know their strengths and actively work on their weaknesses. If you want to be a motivational speaker, you need to understand all aspects of yourself.

This requires you to look inward and use self-assessment to identify your passions, areas of expertise, and how you’ll use your unique perspective to help others. Journaling, reading thought-provoking books and working with a therapist are among the ways you can start building and strengthening your perspectives.

2. Develop expertise in your practice area

Some people seem to be great public speakers naturally, but everyone needs practice speaking in front of a crowd. You should feel comfortable addressing a large audience before trying to get a speaking engagement. Practice making speeches in front of friends and family, join a local Toastmasters club, or sign up for as many work presentations and speaking opportunities as possible to get comfortable speaking publicly.

You’ll also need expertise and experience in your chosen practice area or industry. For example, if you plan to share your knowledge with small business owners, you will want to have firsthand experience as a small business owner, so you can speak with authority on the topic.

3. Craft a unique message

There are thousands of motivational speakers out there, so you must stand out from the rest. Take some time to develop your distinct voice and message.

Ask yourself these questions to help you find your niche and authentic voice:

• Who do you want to speak to? Who could gain the most from hearing about your experiences?
• What is your ideal audience size or venue?
• What topics or industries are you most passionate about?
• How does your story differ from other motivational speakers or influencers in your practice area or industry?
• What standout personality traits do you bring to your speeches?

4. Build a brand

Motivational speakers are business owners — just like a restaurant owner or clothing boutique owner. Unlike other businesses, however, motivational speakers are selling their stories and personality as their products. To be a successful motivational speaker, you’ll need to build your brand .

Building your brand as a motivational speaker includes identifying your target audience and poising yourself in front of them. Having an online presence via a website and social media channels is essential to becoming a motivational speaker. 

You may also want to  consider becoming a certified motivational speaker. A certification could help you land speaking engagements when you’re first starting out. There are both free and paid certifications available , and you can earn more than one to build your resume.

5. Networking and mentorship

If you’re trying to learn how to become a motivational speaker, you likely have experience in a certain field. This means you may already have connections and contacts with your ideal audiences. Leverage your network to help book engagements and grow your brand.

Additionally, you can improve your speaking skills by reaching out to more experienced speakers for mentorship. Partnering with a mentor can help expand your network and give you the chance to learn directly from leaders in the field.

6. Gain practical experience

Once your message is set and your brand is in place, you can start seeking speaking opportunities. As with any new skill, it’s a good idea to start small and work your way up to larger engagements. Each successful speech expands your exposure and can help open the door to bigger opportunities.

7. Hone and improve your skills

Good motivational speakers constantly improve their skills and refine their craft. You should request feedback after every engagement and use it to hone your skills, message and brand.

Getting your first paid gig

Unlike searching for a new job, you probably won’t find a list of paid speaking gigs on sites like Indeed or LinkedIn. Motivational speakers get most of their paid gigs from their network or by pitching their services directly to event hosts.

First, create a resume that shows how you’ve established yourself as an expert in your industry or on your topic of choice. 

Next, you’ll need to demonstrate your skills as a speaker. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is with a high quality video of you speaking to an audience. Volunteering as a speaker is often a good way to get coverage of your speaking skills in a real-world setting.

Once you’ve created a portfolio and/or a website, reach out to your network. Some of the best people to contact about potential speaking opportunities are people who know you in relation to your speaking topics.

If you’re discussing business topics, you might reach out to past clients or coworkers to see if their current businesses would benefit from a motivational speaker. On the other hand, if you’re focused on personal passions—such as a community cause—try contacting people in your personal network. For instance, if you previously worked as a management consultant and you want to speak about the power of embracing change throughout your career, reach out to past companies you’ve consulted for, and ask if they have any upcoming events or know of any local conferences that are looking for speakers.

How much should you charge for a speaking engagement?

As of January 2024, the median salary for a motivational speaker is just under $79,000 annually. But that rate fluctuates based on experience and education.

However, many speakers are self-employed or use speaking as a side gig to a full-time career. You can help determine your rates by choosing a salary goal and breaking it down into speaking engagements.

For example, if you want to earn at least $30,000 a year speaking as a side business, plan on speaking at one event per month. You’d need to charge at least $2,500 per event to meet your goal.

When setting your rate, consider your experience as well as the budget of the event. A multimillion-dollar business client will likely have a larger budget than your local nonprofit. Additionally, it’s generally recommended that you start with smaller engagements and then work your way up to higher-paying, larger speaking engagements as you build a portfolio and network. It may take months, or even years, to build enough experience that you can charge high enough rates to make your full salary as a motivational speaker.

5 benefits of becoming a motivational speaker

Becoming a motivational speaker isn’t just about making money. Many speakers do what they do because they enjoy inspiring others to better themselves. Let’s check out the benefits of becoming a motivational speaker, and why you might want to consider it as a career. 

1. Personal fulfillment

As a motivational speaker, your speech could make a positive impact and difference in the life of another person. This in turn may lead to personal fulfillment and enable you to experience happiness and satisfaction derived from helping others.

2. Professional opportunities

You don’t have to be a full-time motivational speaker to benefit from speaking events. Many motivational speakers use speaking engagements as a way to diversify their income stream.

In addition, your speaking assignments could lead to career growth. Businesses hire motivational speakers to help boost employee enthusiasm and offer fresh perspectives to workers. A business leader inspired by your speech and experience might want to hire you to help the business in more than a one-time role. They may reach out to you about a potential job opportunity with their company, giving you a leg up in the hiring process.

3. Networking and connections

Being a motivational speaker helps you build a robust network that can lead to new opportunities. A large network can help you book new speaking engagements as connections recommend you to their contacts.

You can also use your network to form collaborations with other speakers and business leaders. You could partner with speakers in your industry to host a business conference to bolster your network and initiate a revenue stream.

4. Personal development

Being a good public speaker is a great skill to hone. When you become a motivational speaker, you’re committing to refining your public speaking skills over and over again. With each event, you improve your confidence and communication skills, which can be important for personal development.

5. Influence and leadership

Being an influential speaker can lead to more speaking opportunities, which will ultimately grow your brand and increase your income. However, the influence and leadership that come with being a speaker go beyond monetary rewards as you affect real change in others. 

Influence as a motivational speaker goes beyond collecting a paycheck—the best speakers inspire transformation with their words. As a motivational speaker, your influence can help people start their own journeys toward making long-term, sustainable changes in their lives.

Photo by New Africa/Shutterstock.com

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Motivational Speaker Marketing Plan Template

• Great for beginners
• Ready-to-use, fully customizable Subcategory
• Get started in seconds

Motivational speakers, we hear you! Crafting a powerful marketing plan is essential to growing your audience, spreading your message, and landing those coveted speaking gigs. With ClickUp's Motivational Speaker Marketing Plan Template, you'll have everything you need to skyrocket your success!

This template empowers you to:

• Identify and target your ideal audience with precision
• Strategically plan and execute your marketing initiatives across multiple channels
• Create compelling content that resonates with your audience and establishes your expertise
• Track and analyze the performance of your marketing efforts to optimize results

Ready to take your motivational speaking career to new heights? Get started with ClickUp's Marketing Plan Template today!

Benefits of Motivational Speaker Marketing Plan Template

A Motivational Speaker Marketing Plan Template can provide numerous benefits to help speakers achieve their goals and grow their business, including:

• Streamlining the entire marketing process and ensuring a strategic approach
• Identifying target audience segments and creating tailored marketing messages for each
• Utilizing various marketing channels to reach a wider audience and increase visibility
• Developing a cohesive brand identity and establishing credibility as an industry expert
• Tracking and analyzing marketing efforts to optimize performance and make data-driven decisions
• Attracting more speaking engagements and maximizing the impact of each presentation
• Increasing audience engagement and building long-lasting relationships
• Saving time and effort by providing a pre-designed template that can be easily customized to fit individual needs.

Main Elements of Motivational Speaker Marketing Plan Template

Are you a motivational speaker looking to market your services effectively? Look no further than ClickUp’s Motivational Speaker Marketing Plan template, designed to help you stay organized and on track with your marketing efforts.

This template includes:

• Custom Statuses: Keep track of the progress of your marketing tasks with 6 different statuses, including Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, and To Do.
• Custom Fields: Utilize 6 custom fields such as Quarter, Task Type, Impact, Progress, Percent Completion, and Effort to track and analyze the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
• Different Views: Access 5 different views, including Key Results, Timeline, Getting Started Guide, Objectives, and Progress Board, to visualize your marketing plan from various angles and stay focused on your goals.

How to Use Marketing Plan for Motivational Speaker

If you're looking to promote your motivational speaking services, using a marketing plan can help you reach a wider audience and attract more clients. Here are five steps to effectively use the Motivational Speaker Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp:

1. Define your target audience

Before you start promoting your services, it's important to identify your target audience. Determine who can benefit the most from your motivational speaking and coaching. Are you targeting corporate clients, entrepreneurs, students, or a specific industry? Understanding your audience will help you tailor your marketing efforts and messaging to resonate with them.

Use custom fields in ClickUp to categorize and track your different target audience segments.

2. Set your goals and objectives

Clearly define your marketing goals and objectives. What do you want to achieve with your marketing efforts? Do you want to increase bookings, expand your online presence, or build brand awareness? Setting specific and measurable goals will help you stay focused and track the success of your marketing activities.

Use Goals in ClickUp to set and track your marketing objectives, such as the number of speaking engagements booked or the increase in website traffic.

3. Develop your marketing strategies

Based on your target audience and goals, develop effective marketing strategies to reach and engage your audience. Consider using a mix of online and offline marketing tactics such as social media marketing, content marketing, email campaigns, speaking engagements at industry events, and collaborations with other influencers.

Use tasks in ClickUp to create a checklist of your marketing strategies and assign team members responsible for each task.

4. Create compelling content

Content is key when it comes to marketing yourself as a motivational speaker. Create high-quality and valuable content that showcases your expertise and resonates with your target audience. This can include blog posts, videos, podcasts, social media posts, and free resources like e-books or webinars.

Use Docs in ClickUp to brainstorm content ideas, outline your blog posts or scripts, and collaborate with your team members on content creation.

5. Track and analyze your results

Regularly monitor and analyze the success of your marketing efforts. Use analytics tools to track website traffic, social media engagement, email open rates, and conversions. This data will help you identify what's working and what needs improvement, allowing you to make data-driven decisions and optimize your marketing strategies.

Use Dashboards in ClickUp to visualize and analyze your marketing metrics, such as website traffic, social media engagement, and lead generation.

By following these steps and utilizing the Motivational Speaker Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp, you can effectively promote your services, attract your target audience, and achieve your marketing goals as a motivational speaker.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Motivational Speaker Marketing Plan Template

Motivational speakers can use this Marketing Plan Template to create a strategic roadmap for promoting their services and expanding their reach.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to elevate your marketing efforts:

• Use the Key Results view to track and measure the success of your marketing campaigns
• The Timeline view will help you visualize and plan out your marketing activities over a period of time
• Refer to the Getting Started Guide view to get a comprehensive overview of the marketing plan and its components
• The Objectives view will serve as a central hub for setting and monitoring your marketing goals
• Use the Progress Board view to keep track of tasks and their progress in real-time
• Organize tasks into six different statuses: Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, To Do, to efficiently manage and prioritize your marketing activities
• Update statuses as you progress through tasks to keep stakeholders informed of progress
• Monitor and analyze tasks to ensure maximum productivity and impact in your marketing efforts.

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Choosing a Motivational Speaker: Goals, Schedule, Audience

For anyone who has experienced a great motivational speaker in a business setting before, you know how impactful this experience can be. A great keynote speaker can inspire the audience while also providing storytelling and education, plus knows how to make their speech memorable for everyone who attended.

At Gostick and Elton, we’re proud to house two of the top motivational speakers in the business world: Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, both of whom have decades of experience providing motivational speaking for businesses, at conferences and in numerous related settings. They can build custom presentations based on your needs, plus in ways that will help your audience learn and grow.

Whether you’re choosing between our specialists or looking for different motivational speaking needs, what are some important qualities you should be prioritizing in your speaker? This two-part blog series will go over several.

Clear Speaker Goals

As the company or individual hiring a motivational speaker, you want to have clear, straightforward goals you wish to accomplish. Do you want the speaker to inspire your audience members? Take people on a journey of discovery through their bodies and minds? Or is it simply an educational session tailored to your employees, with the goal of inspiring them in various ways? Different speakers will have different primary value in these areas.

Logistics and Schedule

Like any need you’re hiring out for, it’s vital to keep basic logistics and scheduling in mind. If you’re planning to record your speaker’s speech, it could be wise to hire someone who is willing to commit to being recorded. Plus, if you have certain time constraints during the day, this may also affect your decisions on who will be best for your business or conference setting.

Audience and Desired Outcomes

It also pays to understand the audience your speaker will be working with. What is their age range? Are they more formal, or relaxed? Do you want them to feel some sense of inspiration (or departure) by the end of the keynote speech? Will they need to be armed with new ideas and skills before heading back to work, or are they just looking for entertainment value in their motivational speaker choice?

These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself, which should also relate to specific business goals or benchmarks you’re trying to reach.

Define Success

What will qualify as success? What specific business outcomes do you hope to achieve with your motivational speaker choice? There are different ways this can be phrased, but the most important part is to define what you want to gain from a keynote speaker’s appearance. It could be general words of wisdom and inspiration, a fun experience for an audience or getting people fired up about a new product or service.

For more on choosing the ideal motivational speaker for your business or any other entity, or to learn about our speaking, coaching and additional services, contact us .

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Home > Blog > Speaking 101 > How To Become A Motivational Speaker From Ground Zero

How To Become A Motivational Speaker From Ground Zero

When it comes to fame, now more than ever, the ways to jump from “regular” to “recognizable” are endless. In fact, thanks to social media, if you have something inspiring to say, it may only take one video to garner your first taste of attention. However, as a Spiderman fan, I can’t help but think, considering these digital resources, it’s important to remember that with this power comes great responsibility. Even if you’re able to gain attention for doing something dumb, you can make a far greater and more positive impact by using your platform to inspire, encourage, and motivate your audience. That’s where our main topic of this blog comes in: learning how to become a motivational speaker. 

All in all, it isn’t hard to see the appeal of motivational speaking. No matter where you come from or your area of expertise, having control of the stage not only allows you to share your experiences and provide encouragement to others. It also allows you to provide insights, based on those experiences. That way, your audience can learn from your successes and failures and, hopefully, make it to happiness more quickly than you did. So, let’s talk about that, and get right into the basics of becoming a motivational speaker. 

Designing Your Personal Brand

Organizing your speaking collateral, planning your sales process, implementing multi-channel marketing, build your personal brand and speaking style..

First and foremost, you’ll need to define your personal brand. Essentially, your personal branding is a visual representation of your stage presence. It comprises the visual components of your motivational speaking persona as well as the odds and ends that event organizers use when you speak for them. All in all, when building your personal brand, there are plenty of things you can do to build it, both in-person and online. Here, we’re going to focus on the three broadest categories of how to become a motivational speaker, in terms of speaker branding. 

Writing Your Speaker Biography

First, write your speaker biography. Like your bio on a social media platform or website, your speaker bio tells event organizers and audience members who you are, where you come from, and what you specialize in. Although it is useful in your digital brading (website, social media profiles, eSpeakers profile, etc.), it can also be useful at events, as audience members may be looking for a speaker for their own event or company meeting. This is especially useful if you are working on motivational speaking for associations. 

That said, no matter who your ideal audience is, your speaker bio should include four things: your credentials, your experience (as a speaker and in your focus industry(ies)), some personal details, and a solid ending. In short, when learning how to become a motivational speaker, your first task is summing up you, as a person. Where did you start out? What led you to pursue a career as a motivational speaker? What motivates you to continue speaking now, and who needs to hear your message most? All of these are questions your bio should answer. 

For additional details about writing a bio and for examples, to get you started, check out the articles below: 

• “ Speaker Bios: Writing A Speaker Bio That Captivates Event Planners In 5 Easy Steps ”
• “ 10 Speaker Bio Examples That Will Inspire You To Update Yours ”

Crafting Your Promise Statement & Value Proposition

Next, after completing your bio, move on to crafting your promise statement and value proposition. The first of these, your promise statement, is a short and sweet summary of the results your clients achieve from hiring you for their event. Ideally, it also includes an allusion to how you achieve these results through your work. Conversely, your value proposition builds off of your promise statement to expand upon these results and services. Unlike your promise statement, however, your value proposition can be several sentences and should communicate more detail and process-oriented language.

As a general rule, a good speaking business uses both of these components in its sales process. Your promise statement, being short and eye-catching, is useful at the top of lead magnets or resources for event organizers as well as the hero area of your website. On the other hand, your value proposition is a staple for further down the homepage. In other words, your promise statement initially gets the reader’s attention. Then, your value proposition piques their curiosity, prompting them to contact you and determine if you’re a good fit for their event. 

To learn more about crafting your promise statement and value proposition, see our previous guide, “ 5 Key Components Of The Perfect Promise Statement ”. I also highly recommend checking out the websites for Kindra Hall and Jacob Green . Both their promise statements and value propositions are amazing. 👌

The last component of your personal brand is the design. In total, designing your personal brand combines a few key elements. These include the fonts, colors, and style of your brand collateral as well as the general rules you follow to keep your branding consistent, i.e. your style guidelines. Generally, there are two ways to tackle these areas and make sure they both (a) don’t clash with each other and (b) convey the tone you want to share with your audience. The first is to hire a graphic designer to build your brand for you. This is a great option if you have the budget for it and if you aren’t artistically-gifted yourself. The second option, if you are comfortable with art and design, is doing it yourself. With this route, I’ve found it’s easiest to choose colors, then fonts, then build your logo and icon from there. 

Design Resources

• As far as colors go, 99 Designs’s color guide gives a great overview of the emotions conveyed by each color. That way, you know the primary color you’re using works with your message. 
• From there, to build a color palette off of this primary color, I recommend Canva’s color palette generator or the collection at ColorPalettes.net . 
• For fonts, opt for clean and modern fonts and try to balance font weights, so that your headings stand out from any body text on your site or print materials. For the most part, using a font pairing guide, such as Canva’s guide to choosing a font , can be helpful. Just make sure to avoid overused fonts, the most common of which are Impact, Comic Sans, Bradley Hand, Copperplate, Bank Gothic, Brush Script, and Papyrus.
• Lastly, for logos and icons, the goal is to create an image that combines the colors of your brand with your message. Essentially, it’s a visual representation of who you are and should relate to your main topic in some way. For this, hiring an artist through a freelancing platform like 99 Designs , Fiverr , or Upwork can be the easiest way to go. 

Tackle the “business” part of a motivational speaking business.

At this point in learning how to become a motivational speaker, you know what your message is and what your brand will look like. All that’s left to do, in terms of preparation, is build the “business” part of your “speaking business”. This process includes all of the one-time processes, like registering your speaking business. However, it also includes what will become your day-to-day admin tasks that keep your business operational. Because of this interconnectivity, it’s important that you invest sufficient time and energy into setting up your business in the first place if you want it to run smoothly down the road. 

For the sake of space and time, in this guide, we’re going to focus below on three main aspects of setting up your speaking business. If you’d like a more in-depth and detailed handbook, our Ultimate Guide to Starting a Speaking Business is your best bet. 👍

Making Your Speaking Business Official

First up is registering your speaking business. Although it might seem unnecessary when you’re just starting out, being registered doesn’t just keep you legal, from a tax standpoint. It also gives your business a sense of legitimacy, making event organizers more likely to hire you. This is true even if speaking is just a part-time gig, as event organizers want to know that you’ve taken the necessary steps to protect your clients as well as yourself, if something about your contract doesn’t work out. 

To register your business, your first step will vary depending on your location. In the U.S., for example, you start with registering with your federal, state, and local agencies for small businesses, all of which can be found in this handy guide from the U.S. Small Business Administration. From there, you’ll be asked to verify you’re in accordance with federal and state requirements for business insurance and business taxes . That way, not only is your business legitimate. It’s also covered from a variety of small business liabilities. 

To learn more about the process for registering your speaking business, find your country in the list below. This guide might be short, but the government links below are full of details – I promise. 

• United States
• United Kingdom
• New Zealand

Constructing Your Speaking Website

After registering your speaking business, the next step is to make it visible by building a website. Your website is important for a few reasons, including the increased visibility you have when your business is accessible online. However it also acts as a sort of catch-all for information about you and your speaking business. If any event planner needs your contact information, it’s on the website. Your program details? They’re on the website. Basically, if there’s anything someone would need to know before contacting you about their event, your website should cover it and act as a salesperson for you. That way, your services can sell themselves. Plus, you won’t have to spend more time on the phone selling than you absolutely need to. 

Altogether, there are three basic components to building a website: your domain registrar, your domain host, and the website builder itself. First, your domain registrar is simply the platform from which you purchased your URL (“yournamehere.com” for example). The second piece, your domain host, is the platform that supports your URL and keeps it visible on the web. Lastly, your website builder is the editing platform that allows you to design your website, so that it looks and feels like you. Together, if managed well, these components allow for a robust and well-designed website. Again, this is the goal, as a website should act like a sales person for your speaking business. 

Whether or not you choose to build your website yourself is entirely up to you. Regardless of your choice, the important thing to remember is that a website only gives back what you put into it, so take care of your website diligently. Below are our recommendations, from the SpeakerFlow team’s experience, to get you started. 

Website Resources

Domain Registration Platforms: 

• Google Domains

Domain Hosts: 

• WordPress Engine

Website Building Platforms: 

Website Services (if you’d rather hire someone to build your website for you):

• Video Narrative
• Pibworth Professional Solutions
• Candid Goat

Finally, before we dive into how to become a motivational speaker, from a sales standpoint, there’s one final area to organize. I’m talking about your speaking collateral, or, in other words, all of the odds and ends that event organizers will ask for when considering you or hiring you for their event. Even if you’re not yet actively selling, preparing these materials doesn’t just save you time later. It also shows event organizers that you mean business and want to hold up your end of the deal. This makes hiring you a no-brainer, even if you’re still a relatively new speaker. After all, who doesn’t love working with people that have their sh*t together? Am I right? 

Although there are bound to be things that pop up later, there are a few pieces of collateral that you’re guaranteed to need. These include your speaker bio (Check!), your list of A/V requirements (i.e. the list of tech you need to make your presentation run smoothly, such as a laptop and lapel mic), and your speaker one sheet. The last of these, your acts as a sort of summary of your speaking business. Because of this, it has to showcase your experience and credentials as well as the results your clients gain from working with you. In short, your one sheet is a collage of almost everything we’ve covered so far. It tells the event organizer everything they need to know about you, and, consequently, can play a huge role in closing a sale. 

Yet again, this is another area I could talk endlessly about. For now, I’ll leave it at that, but, for specific tips and tricks, check out SpeakerFlow’s “ 6 Secrets for Creating a Killer One Sheet ”. 

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Master your sales process and strategy.

Admittedly, mastering how to become a motivational speaker takes a lot of prep work. That said, at this point, we’re half way through it, so give yourself a pat on the back! Generally, within the SpeakerFlow team, we break speaking businesses into three main areas: operations, sales, and marketing, the first of which we’ve already covered. Now, let’s talk about sales and how to become a motivational speaker that doesn’t just “get by” in their business but gets booked effortlessly. 👏

Building Your Ideal Client Profile

To start your sales process, first, look at your message and define your ideal client profile (ICP). If you haven’t heard the term before, an ICP is essentially a fictitious persona that represents your perfect client. It includes a variety of details, such as their company’s size and revenue, their geographic location, and their industry. Combined, these details help you to narrow your focus when selling your services. That way, you’re not spreading yourself too thin and your leads are more likely to close. 

Likewise, when considering inbound leads, an ICP also allows you to compare them to your ideal client. Are they in your focus industry? Are they large enough to afford your speaking fee? Do they have any events coming up? All of these questions, when compared to your ICP, give you a clear answer as to whether that lead deserves your time and energy or it’s not a good fit. 

Defining Your Speaking Fee

On top of your ICP, the next step in how to become a motivational speaker is one of the trickiest things to tackle: your speaking fee. Throughout the speaking industry, the average speaking fee varies greatly. Depending on who you ask, you can hear starting recommendations anywhere from zero to a few thousand dollars. Fortunately, even if you’re a brand new speaker, you don’t necessarily have to start speaking for free. In fact, with our own clients, we very rarely recommend that. After all, you’re worth more than that, simply because of your expertise! 

Above all, the goal of your speaking business is to provide value that is equal to your fee. For most motivational speakers, this means starting off with a fee of a few thousand dollars per keynote speech. This makes the trip worth your time while also not breaking the back for your event host. More importantly, remember that it’s also just a starting point. The more you speak and the more glowing testimonials you get, the more you’ll be able to charge. There’s also a ton of things you can do as your speaking business grows, so you can test the limits of your fee. Although it may be frustrating to start small, speaker after speaker has proven that if you work hard and just focus on building your experience, the money and the reputation will come in time. 

Finally, after defining who you are selling to and how much you charge, the final step in your sales prep is outlining your sales process, from start to finish. For most speakers, this process starts with a call to an event organizer. After that, if they answer, it turns into a conversation about their event and whether or not you would be a good fit for them. If they don’t answer, you would then send them an email, mentioning that they missed your call. 

From there, the most basic sales process (shown on the right) branches into two options: a sale or a loss. In the case of a sale, you’re a good fit for the event and a contract is signed. In the case of a loss, one of a few things can happen. You can either (a) find out you’re not a good fit, (b) not hear back from them after that initial email, or (c) be refused a conversation with an event organizer, even after getting someone on the phone. Ultimately, your path down each of these branches is determined most by your ability to follow up with the leads you’re pursuing until you get a “yes” or a “no”. That way, you don’t miss any upcoming speaking opportunities, even with a busy schedule.  

In total, your ICP, your fee, and your process are just the start of a robust and well-crafted sales process. For more information about the other components of sales, such as tracking sales metrics and hiring a sales representative, check out our Ultimate Guide to Booking Speaking Gigs . 

Promote your personal brand everywhere you can.

Now that the majority of the prepwork is done, it’s time to strut your stuff…virtually, that is. Building your online presence, like your website, is key to managing a speaking business, especially if you’re starting from scratch. Not only does an online presence give you an air of legitimacy (as everything online acts as evidence). It also allows event organizers to see social proof for your skills. From client testimonials to your academic insights in your focus industry, all of this proof makes you more hireable, without question. Considering this, there are – surprise, surprise – a few primary areas into which it’s wise to invest time and energy from Day 1.

Establishing Your Social Media Presence

First, when learning how to become a motivational speaker, remember that you’re there to motivate your audience on and off-stage. One of the most obvious and widest-reaching ways to do this is through social media. Over the last decade a half, especially, the use of social media has exploded worldwide. From celebrities to grade schoolers, it can seem like everyone has an account on one platform or another. Admittedly, while this can be overwhelming, this doesn’t just get your message in front of your followers. It also allows you to get your message in front of new audiences, as existing fans share your posts with their networks. Because of that, even if you’re not a huge fan of social media, it can pay off big-time to post on a regular basis. 

Among speakers, there are four main platforms used to share speaking business content, namely Facebook , LinkedIn , Twitter , and Instagram . For the first two of these, Facebook and Linkedin, best practice typically involves creating a profile for yourself and an adjoining “page” for your speaking business specifically. This allows you to distance yourself from the business a bit. That way, people can follow your business, even if they aren’t connected with you, personally. For the other two platforms, Twitter and Instagram, these uses are combined. In other words, for these platforms, you manage business and personal posts through a single profile rather than two separate pages, allowing for a more relaxed and personal online persona. 

Overall, there’s a great deal of minutia to know in managing these accounts. Although I’ll keep it short and sweet here, you can find more details about leveraging social media for your business in our marketing handbook, How To Market Yourself As A Speaker: The Ultimate Guide . 

Kickstarting Your Content Strategy

Next, if you want to master how to become a motivational speaker, you also have to master your message. Besides sharing your insights on social media, this also means creating content. I’m talking about blogs, podcasts, videos, anything that you can share online to provide information. Although they can be time-consuming, each of these channels provides you with a space to share your expertise and show that you are an expert first and speaker second. This makes you a more desirable hire, from an event organizer perspective, and a more valuable resource, from your audience’s perspective. Additionally, in creating content, you also create valuable information to share with your social followers, boosting your presence on those platforms as well. 

All in all, depending on the media you want to create, the features of a high-quality final product will vary. Although we cover them, in large part, in the aforementioned guide to speaker marketing , there are also plenty of experts for which content creation is their main skill. Below are some of SpeakerFlow’s team favorites.  

• Nate Woodbury’s Guide to YouTube Strategy
• HubSpot’s “ YouTube Marketing: A Complete Guide to Creating, Promoting, and Optimizing Your Video Content ”
• Backlinko’s “ How to Write Blog Post: The Definitive Guide ”
• SpeakerFlow’s “ Why You’re Losing Money By Ignoring Podcasts (And How To Change That) ”

From a marketing standpoint, the final piece of the puzzle is sharing, sharing, sharing. We’ve touched on it a few times, but the greatest way to maximize your exposure and the reach of your content is to share it across platforms. This includes your social profiles, blog, and podcast, among other areas. In simplest terms, this practice of sharing from platform to platform is called multi-channel marketing. 

In a previous blog, The Basics Of Multi-Channel Marketing For Speaking Business Owners , we cover this in detail. For our purposes here, the short version of a multi-channel marketing strategy involves repurposing your content so that it can be shared across platforms. For example, when you record audio for a podcast episode, you can also record video to share to your YouTube channel. From there, you can create a blog post, explaining the topic of your podcast in more detail and including links to both the podcast audio and the YouTube video. Lastly, all of these links can be shared on your social channels. That way, whether someone finds your on your blog, social media channels, YouTube channel, or podcast, they’re automatically connected to all four areas of your speaking business. 

All of this effort, while detailed, not only makes you more likely to appear in front of your ideal audience. It also puts you in front of event organizers, as they’re scrolling through social media or looking for resources in your mutually targeted industry. Because of this, a little effort can go a long way.

Focus on consistent improvements.

Finally, the last component of how to become a motivational speaker is, quite simply, consistency. When it comes to building a speaking business, it’s tempting to want to start everything off perfectly. However, no matter how much you prepare, that simply isn’t realistic. As your business grows and you sell to more and more event organizers, you’ll find areas of your business or your sales process, specifically, that need a little tender loving care. From there, you can make changes and adjustments, so that you’re more easily able to manage your business in the future. 

Ultimately, the most important thing you can do, as a motivational speaker, is remember the very thing many motivational speakers tell their audiences: no one is perfect! Even the most experienced, well-known, and wealthy speakers have somewhere they can improve. Whether it’s their speaking style, their brand design, or the management of their speaking business team, there’s no one-size-fits-all business plan for speakers. 

In light of that, hopefully, this guide gives you a toolbox for how to become a motivational speaker without too much stress or uncertainty. For constant updates about managing a speaking business and resources to make it easier, subscribe to our blog ! We’re all about sharing resources and insights from our own network in the speaking industry. That way, even if you don’t know where to start, we have you covered. 😊

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Top 10 Business Motivational Speakers

An energetic, motivated team can accomplish anything. The business motivational speakers in our lineup have the experience, insight and expertise to get a team engaged and energized together toward a common goal. With their history of building businesses, driving growth, boosting profits and overcoming obstacles, our business motivational speakers have the tools and the know-how to leave your team motivated and ready to tackle any project. Check out Executive Speakers Bureau’s Top 10 Business Motivation Speakers.

Motivational Speakers for Business

Our motivational speakers for business can inspire your team to make a difference. We represent a diverse array of motivational and keynote speakers who are all influential people from a variety of business backgrounds, so you can find the perfect business leader to motivate your team. Whether you're looking for a speaker with experience in your industry or someone who can set the tone for your team, Executive Speakers Bureau has the perfect speaker for your upcoming corporate event or company workshop.

We make it easy to find motivational business speakers who can travel to different parts of the country. With excellent speakers at different price points, we can connect you with someone who fits your budget. Can't decide which business keynote speaker you want to book? Request a speaker through our extensive database.

If you're looking for a motivational speaker who can make a lasting impact, Executive Speakers Bureau can help. Reach out today to learn more about our inspirational business speakers and how we can propel your team to success.

Top Business Motivational Keynote Speakers

Mike abrashoff, shawn achor, christine cashen, chad foster, dewitt jones, sam silverstein, desi williamson.

• Former Commander of USS Benfold
• Author of New York Times Best Seller It's Your Ship
• Thought Leader & Co-Owner, AEGIS Performance Group

In Person-Fee:

$30,000 - $50,000

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Travels From

• Bestselling Author of  Big Potential  and  The Happiness Advantage, and Before Happiness
• TED talk,  The Happy Secret to Better Work , has over 22 million views
• Conducted research with UBS, Nationwide Insurance & Google
• Head Teaching Fellow at Harvard in 2006 for “Positive Psychology” course that won numerous awards

$50,000 - $100,000

• World Renowned Leadership & Innovation Speaker
• #1 Ranked Book on What Corporate America Is Reading
• 3X Award-Winning Entrepreneur, New York Times Bestseller
• Business Insider 40 Under 40, Wired's 50 People Who Will Change the World

$20,000 - $30,000

• Great Ideas, High Energy and Laughter Transformed Into Productivity
• Teambuilding Speaker
• Women's Issues Speaker

$10,000 - $15,000

• Harvard-educated Executive Dealmaker, Billion-dollar Generator, Job Creator
• Pursue Your Success with Blind Ambition
• Change - Disruption - Mindset - Transformation
• Resilience Leader, Blind Black Diamond Skier, Motivational Speaker, Author
• First blind executive to complete the Harvard leadership program

$15,000 - $20,000

• One of America’s top Professional Photographers
• Teaches both Creativity and Vision
• Former photographer for National Geographic

• Peak Performance mindsets from NBA MVP’s Steph Curry and Joel Embiid that crossover from the court to business and life
• Leading with presence toolkit in an age of constant distractions
• Helping organizations beat burnout, elevate performance, and improve resilience in an era of overwhelming demands

• Founder of The Accountability Institute™ and Creator of The Culture Audit™
• Named one of the World’s Top 10 Organizational Culture Professionals by Global Gurus
• Bestselling author of 12 books including: The Accountability Advantage , Non-Negotiable , No More Excuses ,   and No Matter  What
• Lays out the evidence that creating an inspired workplace culture based on accountability makes it possible for your organization to deliver steady, sustainable growth in all the metrics that matter

• Internationally-recognized Graffiti Artist
• Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, and Creativity Expert

• Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker on Beating the Odds

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Top Motivational Speakers For Business

What motivates you in your business? Are you motivated by financial gain, opportunities for career and personal growth, or contributing to a goal larger than yourself? We all know that motivation is key to doing well. And studies have shown that businesses with highly motivated employees are more productive, have less absenteeism, and enjoy larger revenues.

If you and your employees are seeking to reach your next level, BigSpeak Speakers Bureau has the top motivational speakers for business. These motivational keynote speakers have overcome obstacles in their careers and come out on top, learning valuable lessons along the way that they will share with you. They are motivational experts in many business topics, including customer experience, personal development, teamwork, resilience, sales, and more.

Customer Experience

Molly Bloom is an inspirational speaker and the business mind behind the most exclusive, high-stakes poker game in the world. You may be familiar with the Oscar-nominated movie about her business story: Molly’s Game . Learn how she began her business career knowing nothing about poker to creating a one-of-a-kind customer experience that kept her players coming back for more.

Personal Development

James Clear is a personal development keynote speaker whose book Atomic Habits has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. In his story-filled keynotes, James motivates business audiences by showing how small habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement can lead to the life you want.

Jia Jiang is a top resilience expert with the most viewed TED Talk of 2017. Using tips from his bestselling book Rejection Proof , Jiang motivates business people to become more resilient by sharing tips of how he overcame rejection and became rejection proof.

Robyn Benincasa is a top motivational speaker, teamwork expert, and Adventure Racing World Champion. In her entertaining and funny keynotes, she motivates audiences to reach audacious goals by sharing the foundations of inspired leadership and how to win as a team.

Entrepreneurship 

Daymond John is a motivational speaker and founder of FUBU clothing. You may know him best as a judge on the reality TV investor show Shark Tank . Daymond inspires business audiences with his entrepreneurship by sharing how he built FUBU clothing from a garage startup to a multi-million dollar company. 

James Lawrence is a motivational speaker and world-record endurance holder for completing the greatest feats of human endurance in 2021: 100 full-distance triathlons in 100 days. Lawrence inspires business audiences to keep going towards their goals by teaching them a successful mindset.

Change Enthusiasm

Cassandra Worthy is a top motivational keynote speaker, innovator, and the world’s leading expert on Change Enthusiasm® Cassandra inspires and empowers her business audiences so they can shine and overcome any change in their life.

Chip Echelberger is a top sales motivational keynote speaker. In his interactive talk experience, Chip shows audiences how to ‘Get Switched On’ and be at your best consistently is essential so they compete and excel in today’s marketplace

Company Culture

Vernice Flygirl Armour is a top inspirational speaker, America’s first African-American female combat pilot, and the author of Zero to Breakthrough . Using stories from her experience in the military, Vernice shares how to establish rules of engagement for civil and productive conversations in your company to create an improved culture.

Making A Difference

Magic Johnson is a motivational speaker best known to sports fans for his 13-year professional basketball career with the L.A. Lakers, which included 12 NBA All-Star games and an Olympic gold medal win. In his talks, Magic delivers a passionate message about his life story, what motivated him, and how we can all make a difference in our community.

Overcoming Setback

Bethany Hamilton came to fame as a teenage surfing sensation who lost her arm to a 14-foot tiger shark—and then returned to competition. You may have read Bethany’s comeback story in the New York Times bestselling autobiography, Soul Surfer , or seen the 2011 film with the same title. Bethany motivates business audiences by sharing how she came back from tragedy to compete once again.

If you’re looking for a top motivational speaker for business, contact BigSpeak Speakers Bureau today.

For More on Motivational Speakers for Business :

How to Hire the Perfect Motivational Speaker That’s Right for Your Audience

Top Motivational Keynote Speakers by Expertise

Best Female Motivational Keynote Speakers

Best Black Female Motivational Keynote Speakers

All Top Keynote Speakers

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Motivational Speaker Business Plan

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This is a complete business plan for a Motivational Speaker. Each of our plans follows a 7 chapter format:   Chapter 1 - Executive Summary - This part of the business plan provides an introduction for the business, showcases how much money is sought for the company, and acts as a guideline for reading the rest of the business plan.   Chapter 2 - Financing Summary - The second section of the business plan showcases how you intend to use the financing for your business, how much of the business is owned by the Owners, who sits on the board of directors, and how the business could be sold in the future.   Chapter 3 - Products and Services - This section of the business plan showcases the products/services that you are selling coupled with other aspects of your business operations.   Chapter 4 - Market Analysis - This is one of the most important sections of your business plan. Each of our plans includes complete industry research specific to the business, an economic analysis regarding the general economy, a customer profile, and a competitive analysis.   Chapter 5 - Marketing Plan - Your marketing plan will showcase to potential investors or banks how you intend to properly attract customers to your business. We provide an in depth analysis of how you can use your marketing plan in order to drive sales.   Chapter 6 - Personnel Summary - Here, we showcase the organizational structure of your business coupled with the headcount and salaries of your employees.   Chapter 7 - Financial Plan - This is the most important part of your business plan. Here, we provide a three year profit and loss statement, cash flow analysis, balance sheet, sensitivity analysis, breakeven analysis, and business ratios.

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Motivational Speakers

Business Motivational Speakers

Are you planning an event?

Do you need to hire a trusted expert for a virtual meeting, conference, corporate event, seminar, trade-show, convention, or company workshop?

Here is a list of the leading experts and thought leaders on business growth to consider for your event that can can command a stage and get your audience excited.

These business speakers can cover such topics as positive thinking, fear of failure, hard work, courage, focus, goals, self-discipline, habits, leadership and management, overcoming adversity, success, teamwork, and much more.

If you would like to hire any of these speakers or need more suggestions, fill out this form and our agent will respond within two business hours.

Please note, we work with over 5000 experts and thought leaders who may not be listed on our site.

Jack Canfield

Known worldwide for his inspiring anthologies, Jack Canfield is America’s leading success coach.

His success is measured by the sale of 100 million books of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

When being hired as a motivational speaker for companies, he is passionate about sharing his success strategies that will inspire your audience to achieve their goals.

Some of his quotes include…

“Overcome your barriers, intend the best, and be patient. You will enjoy more balance, more growth, more income, and more fun!”

“For every reason it’s not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstances and succeeded.”

Tony Robbins

Successful business strategist, philanthropist and the New York Times bestselling author, Tony Robbins is a powerful entrepreneur.

He has found a place in the top 50 of the 100 most powerful people in global financing, top 200 business gurus and top 50 business intellectuals of the world.

As a motivational keynote business speaker, his speeches are all about motivating and coaching business leaders and entrepreneurs so that they can overcome adversity, learn to be more resourceful, and find the passion to push through hard times.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”

“A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.”

Daymond John

Known globally as an entrepreneurial expert and the “brand whisperer”, Daymond John is a celebrated bestselling author who has the experience to inspire any audience to achieve great success.

On his hit TV show Shark Tank, you can see how he helps to inspire entrepreneurs to think through their business strategy and to find ways to work smart.

As a motivational speaker for businesses, Daymond talks about using successful techniques for success in businesses today, goal setting, achieving long term successes and living a dream.

“As an entrepreneur, you never stop learning.”

“Don’t wait for the ‘perfect time’, you will wait forever. Always take advantage of the time that you’re given.”

Darren Hardy

Darren is a leader in the personal development space where he was the founder of Success Magazine.

With over 1000 television show and live events appearances, he is a is a highly sought-after expert on peak performance and personal achievement.

As a motivational speaker for business meetings , his presentations focus on personal development and aims to help individuals achieve success by identifying their inner potential.

“Everything you need to be great is already inside you. Stop waiting for someone or something to light your fire. You have the match.”

“To achieve what you have not, you must become what you are not. You have to grow into your goals.”

Gary Vaynerchuk

A prolific angel investor and five times New York Times bestselling author, Gary Vaynerchuk is a wildly successful serial entrepreneur.

He is the host of the GaryVee Audio Experience where he shares his wisdom and insights on the leading trends in business and entrepreneurship.

Gary is passionate about helping up and coming entrepreneurs to build a personal brand. He also talks about the principles of communication, marketing and media in his speeches.

“Brand storytelling is not about pushing advertising, it’s about bringing value.”

“Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, what do I want to do every day for the rest of my life…Do that.”

Magic Johnson

Known as one of the most powerful African-American businessman globally, Earvin Magic Johnson is a powerful entrepreneur, philanthropist, two-time hall of famer, and a popular business motivational speaker.

During his speeches he aims to redefine the power of business management, logical growth and financial empowerment to achieve success. He also talks about how to create an amazing future.

“In life, winning and losing will both happen. What is never acceptable is quitting.”

“I think you just have to keep knocking down doors, you have to keep being aggressive, and even if somebody says ‘No’, then you have to knock on the next door.”

Robyn Benincasa

Guinness world record holder and winner of two world adventure races, Robyn Benincasa is a renowned business inspirational speaker.

She is noted as one of the top rated global speakers who shares the stage with business icons and world leaders.

During her presentations, you will be able to instantly feel her ability to connect with and audience where she shares her thoughts on success strategies, innovation, teamwork, and leadership.

Some of her quotes include…

“Courage starts when the fun stops.”

“You don’t inspire your teammates by showing them how amazing you are. You inspire them by showing them how amazing they are.”

Known to be a highly sought after motivational speaker for business events, Les Brown is known to command a stage and inspire his audience with his powerful voice and charismatic charm.

His success story revolves around individual’s daily lives and how one can make a strong impact on the world.

During his speeches, he trains individuals and aspiring business entrepreneurs to become world leaders, fight the ups and downs of life, and also shares the secrets to achieving amazing results.

“You must be willing to do what others won’t do, to have what others won’t have.”

“Most people fail in life not because they aim too high and miss, but because they aim too low and hit.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Writer, philanthropist, investor, director, producer, model, professional body builder, actor and a successful businessman, Arnold Schwarzenegger has also had a noted political career.

He was instrumental in establishing the global warming solutions act and had a positive impact on the state of California as the Governor.

His speeches motivate people and revolve around enhancing leadership skills, the nitty-gritty of politics, reshaping business, and management skills.

“If you want to turn a vision into reality, you have to give 100% and never stop believing in your dream.”

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”

Shark Tank investor and serial entrepreneur, Mark Cuban is an accomplished individual who has also become a powerful speaker in the business community.

During his speeches, he talks about defining the power of creativity, innovation, redefining one’s personality, strategic and marketing. His presentations also chronicles his life experiences in sports and business.

“Don’t start a company unless it’s an obsession and something you love.”

“What I’ve learned is that if you really want to be successful at something, you’ll find that you put the time in.”

Chip Eichelberger

Globally renowned business leader, Chip Eichelerger is one of the most sought after professional speakers of today.

He is an elite member of the National Speakers Association and earned the honorary speaking designation.

During his speeches, Chip talks about breaking barriers, taking performance charges, recharging and re-evaluation.

He is known to hold highly interactive sessions with utmost energy, humor and persuasiveness.

Warren Buffet

Globally known philanthropist and investor, Warren Buffet is one of the constantly ranked billionaires on Forbes. His ideas of investing and illustrious business strategies are notable.

Buffet excels in giving investment related speeches and focuses on the importance of integrity.

He also loves talking about building fortune with lesser sums of money to budding entrepreneurs.

“In the world of business, the people who are most successful are those who are doing what they love.”

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

Reed Hastings

Reed Hastings played a vital role in disrupting the movie industry when he co-founded Netflix, the leading online streaming platform.

During this time, he learned firsthand what it takes to start a business from scratch and push through difficult times.

During his speeches, he talks about technology, innovation, and business growth where he shares his experiences and  strategies one can use to achieve their goals.

“Taking smart risks can be very gratifying.”

“Most entrepreneurial ideas will sound crazy, stupid and uneconomic, and then they’ll turn out to be right.”

Josh Linkner

Venture capitalist, Forbes thought leader, five time’s technical entrepreneur, Josh Linkner is a globally known inspirational business speaker and the author of New York Time bestselling books.

Linkner is known for his powerful presentations on innovation. During his speeches, he talks about unleashing one’s creative potential, product and marketing innovations to build a new business approach.

“Ask yourself this: If there was zero chance of failure, what would you do? Now, go do that.”

“When you ask “why”, “what if” and “why not” you force yourself to explore what’s possible and not just what is.”

Grant Cardone

Globally known social media and sales training expert, Grant Cardone is a self made millionaire.

He is sought after by leading fortune 500 companies for consultation and help in optimizing sales to the ultimate potential.

During his presentations, you will hear him share his knowledge and go in depth  about entrepreneurship, branding, sales strategies, and marketing.

“Your purpose on any given endeavor is determined by the clarity of your purpose.”

“Whatever you want go all in and dominate, learn it, eat it, sleep it, breath it and believe it.”

Globally renowned Chinese entrepreneur, Jack Ma heads the shopping ecommerce website Taobao.com and the famous B2B online marketplace Alibaba.com.

During his speeches, he focuses majorly on youth entrepreneurship and small businesses. He helps aspiring entrepreneurs to learn the tricks and techniques of expanding trade capabilities globally.

“If you don’t give up, you still have a chance. Giving up is the greatest failure.”

“No matter how tough the chase is, you should always have the dream you saw on the first day. It’ll keep you motivated and rescue you (from any weak thoughts).”

Guy Kawasaki

Wikimedia foundation trustee, chief Apple evangelist and the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen impeccably written books, Guy Kawasaki is the brand ambassador for Mercedes Benz.

His speeches focus on entrepreneurship, evangelism, social media, enchantment and innovation.

“If achieving success were easy, more people would do it.”

“Organizations are successful because of good implementation, not good business plans.”

Popularly known as the former CEO of Paypal and current CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk is a renowned entrepreneur, investor and an inventor.

He has pioneered several projects in multi-planetary explosion, space traveling, renewable energy resources and transportation.

Musk aims at helping humanity with his speeches and focuses on topics like technology and innovation, building green businesses, environment and entrepreneurship.

“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”

“The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability will occur.”

Simon Sinek

Author of several bestselling books and a well trained ethnographer, Simon Sinek aims at helping leaders and organizations to grow.

His techniques show how individuals act, communicate, think and operate while making a lasting impact on the world.

Sinek’s speeches cover topics like creating a perfect work-life balance, becoming a social media influencer, inspiring & motivating budding entrepreneurs, building leadership, creativity, innovation and business.

“A team is not a group of people that work together. A team is a group of people that trust each other.”

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.”

Need help booking a speaker?

If you are interested in booking any of the speakers on this page or want some more suggestions, use the form below to contact an agent.

We have access to over 5000 experts and thought leaders, many of whom are not listed on this site.

Let one of our agents help you find the perfect speaker that fits your budget, needs, and date.

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Step 1 – Fill out the form below.

Step 2 – Our agent will respond within one business day.

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