Do you need a speaking business plan in order to become a professional speaker? The answer is no, but in order to be successful you need a success plan. Are you asking, what’s the difference? It’s quite simple, a business plan can fail you, and a success plan brings you success. You choose. A success plan has several of the same components, but with an important added principle; success speaking. In 2002, I went to work on a business plan for a business idea I was holding onto. I opened a business called Lucy’s Playpen, an indoor playground for kids 7 years of age and under. I went bankrupt 2 years later. It wasn’t the business plan, it was the result of the business plan. You see I doubted myself, I put words in the business plan I didn’t really believe or understand. I used the wording I was told to use, I built it with a template instead of making it my own, and I was so stuck in the business plan, when things didn’t go well I panicked. A success plan is about capturing all your ideas, plan, research and supports that will take your business to success. The success plan needs to focus on the strengths you have and it will prepare you for the things you don’t know. A Success Plan should be flexible and be written in your words so that you understand it. A professional speaker is different than a business with cupcakes or an opening of a golf course. Your business plan should be as well.
Here are 5 steps to a Speaking Success Plan: DREAM; Dream, Read, Evaluate, Ask, Move
Dream: write out where you want to be in 1 year, 3 years and 5 years.
Read: read everything you can about other speakers, so you can learn from their mistakes
Evaluate: evaluate what you know, and make a list of what you don’t; remember you can’t know what you don’t know so leave some room to add to this list!
Ask: ask questions to all the experts in the field of speakers and business owners.
Move: take action and do something every day to put your success plan into action
In order to put your speaking DREAM to action; take time developing your Success Plan. Keep your Success Plan flexible, fun and functional to help you move to your speaking success.
Next blog will focus on “DREAM” and how to take the dream to delivery.