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Many professional speakers spend months or even years developing their speaking skills, sharing their knowledge and experience with others. They invest in training to hone their talk, create engaging presentations, and are constantly working on improving their style and content.
For many professionals, however, there is something that they feel they need to do but never quite have the time for. This something is marketing.
As you can probably tell, I’m not talking about giving talks here! Marketing includes things like building your LinkedIn profile, creating a social media account, conducting online searches, and finding ways to promote yourself and your business via websites and other digital platforms.
Many people start spending time promoting themselves after the hard work has been done by someone else. You could be the person who gets picked up by a speaker team, invited to an event, or hired as a consultant.
The more involved you become in the speaking industry, the better chance you have of earning some extra money. It’s definitely not free, though!
Turning into a freelancer comes with its own set of problems, such as having to deal with different commitments and timing. If you are really dedicated to this career path, then you will have to learn how to manage your time effectively.
That being said, there are some easy ways to make some additional income without too much effort. One of those strategies is turning your old job into a revenue source through products and services.
Starting your own jewelry-making business does not require a lot of money or time, but you do need a source of income to support yourself while you build up the collection and market knowledge that will help you grow. Many creative entrepreneurs begin by selling their handmade products via eBay or other online sales sites.
By offering low price points on quality merchandise with free shipping, they are able to quickly develop a strong brand and community around them. By investing in some basic equipment (we recommend buying from us here at Sparkling Gems!), they are able to get started fast without too much cost.
Product booths that are marketed as a business or charity can be cost-effective ways to launch your own small business or run an existing one. They typically start at around $1,000 – $2,500!
Most vendors will cover all of the costs for you with their supplies and equipment. It is not necessary to source most items yourself unless you want to.
The most common products sold by a turnkey business include:
Purposeful plastic bags or tins for samples or purchases
Protective sheets or covers for exposed goods (such as clothing)
Booth dividers to separate sections of the space
Door decorations such as flags or cloth banners
Window treatments such as shade or dark curtains
Table tents or tablecloths
These product samples and decorations can be printed and designed online or through local print shops. You would just have to make sure they do not contain wording or pictures that violate copyright laws.
As mentioned earlier, you do not need to have your own booth to give sales opportunities to others. You can turn into someone’s business owner by offering your services as a vendor or distributor for their product or service.
By providing these vendors with an area that they can use to promote themselves, advertise their products and gather feedback from potential clients, they can increase exposure and sales for themselves!
If you are passionate about what you sell and know how to effectively market it, then you should definitely consider this approach to generate more income.
It is totally possible to make money online without having your own booth, but if you want to grow your business, this is one of the best ways to do it.
There are many different types of vendors – software companies, health professionals, fitness instructors, diet programs, etc. There is truly something for everyone.
The hardest part will be deciding which ones you feel confident in and enough of to represent them. Your success will depend heavily on this factor.
General tips: Make sure to research the company well before investing time into representing them. Find out where there are complaints and see why.
Does anyone else use their product or service? Finding some kind of competition can help determine if this is a good idea or not.
Being able to connect with people is one of your career’s greatest strengths, but it takes work to develop into a professional meeting facilitator. Luckily, you don’t need to start from scratch! There are many ways to turn up the volume on your meeting-making skills and boost your income as a business consultant or sales associate.
The best way to gain experience as a speaker is by speaking! Chances are, you’ve got some talking time already — what about giving a little talk at an event or conference? Or maybe you have an idea that you're always thinking about – why not share it with the world?
Whatever type of speech you give, there are certain fundamentals every speaker should know. Fortunately, we've gathered all the info here for you! Read on to learn how to be a better public speaker like a pro.
Since we are talking about booths here, let’s talk about what kind of booth you want and how much money it will cost to get one!
First off, you don’t need to have a professional-looking booth to start offering your services. You can choose from two main types of stalls – mobile or fixed. A mobile stall is just like having a normal table shop where you can take space at a cafe or restaurant and use their resources to operate under.
A static stall is similar but instead of using a tabletop, you have an area that houses all of your equipment and supplies. This is typically less expensive than a table because there is no need for additional fixtures or furniture.
The price difference between both depends on if you would like to include accessories such as plates, silverware and plastic ware in the pricing.
As mentioned before, being able to manage your expenses is one of the key components in running any business. This includes paying your vendors and employees!
In fact, you may be spending too much money at this very moment.
By our estimates, around 70% of all revenue goes towards employee salaries and other overhead costs in the form of marketing, website design, hosting, etc. The rest is spent on products or services that help your business run (or more likely don’t).
So how can you save some cash? We recommend doing two things:
Limit the number of people in your payroll – Sure, it feels good to reward those who have been working for you with a nice salary and benefits, but adding new people into the mix usually means higher bills.
Same thing for additional benefits- There are lots of ways to reward and motivate your staff, but making extra allowances and offering additional perks comes with cost. Make sure you keep an eye on what’s budgeted and what’s not so you can stick to your guns when needed.
Running your own show is great, but there are things you need to know about how to market yourself before you start promoting your booth or company. You will not get very far if you do not know what messages work for your marketing strategies!
Running your own show is great, but there are things you need to know about how to market yourself before you start promoting your booth or company. You will not get very far if you do not know what messages work for your marketing strategies!
Businesses that promote themselves are seen as “glamour brands” which sets them apart from others of their kind. When people see advertisements and promotions for your product or service, they will compare it to yours and determine whether or not it is worth investing in the product or getting one of their own.
You don’t have to be an expert at marketing, but you should be familiar with some basics. These include telling your story, creating hype, finding your audience, and keeping up-to-date on technology.
Even if you have no idea what your business is, how to market it or where to start investing money, there’s nothing wrong with that! Because of this, most entrepreneurs begin their journey by launching with something simple like “I will do (insert action here) for x amount of time.”
The problem with this approach is twofold. First, it can often times put unnecessary pressure on yourself to keep up the momentum once the deadline has passed.
Second, it may not be as effective in showing people about your business if they see that you don’t seem quite ready to take your dreams seriously.
What happens sometimes is that after the initial push, people lose interest because they perceive that you aren’t really invested in your dream just yet. This could hurt your business in the long run if potential clients feel that you don’t believe in what you are selling.
