How to Become a Seminar Organizer ~ Starting a Seminar Business



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Seminar Organizer

Seminar Presenter
Seminar Speaker

Breaking Into and Succeeding as a Seminar Organizer
How to Start a Seminar Organizing Business
How to Become a Seminar Speaker or Presenter

Seminars and conferences are held in conjunction with many different industries: self-help/motivational talks, expos for blind assistive technologies, conventions for fans and writers of science fiction and fantasy, training and leadership summits, and the sharing of information on just about any subject you can think of.

Special Events Magazine, the trade publication of the International Special Events Society, is optimistic about 2007. Seventy six percent of respondents to their annual event rental survey predict that they will handle more events in 2007 than in the previous year, which the magazine cites as their most optimistic forecast since initiating this survey five years ago.

They link these strong growth predictions with a strong economy: corporate clients are showing record earnings and increased hiring. As long as the numbers look good for them, they’ll look good for the seminar and events planning industry. Incentive Moreover, Trends Survey reports that some 44% of executives responsible say they will have bigger incentive spending budgets this year, and only 20% say they will have less.

This optimism is shared by the 2007 edition of Future Watch, Meeting Professionals International’s annual guide to changes and growth expected in the meetings industry. Association planners expect to manage 18% more meetings, while corporate planners expect to manage 7% more meetings. Increased budgets for meetings are anticipated—an increase of 21% for associations and 18% for corporations—which, combined with the increased number of meetings, means a forecasted increased spending per meeting of 8% and 4%, respectively. More attendees at meetings in are also expected for 2007.

With this upsurge in meetings and events planning, budgeting, and attending, you can reasonably presume that there will be an associated increase in organizations outsourcing some aspects of meetings planning. Future Watch 2007 indicates that 69% of what meetings planners expect to outsource are the logistics of the project: the how, where, and when of the event. This is important to you because, as a seminar organizer and event coordinator, you’ll be the one they’ll be outsourcing these tasks to. Read on to see what kinds of meetings, seminars, and events you can most expect your services to be needed for.

If popular Internet searches are any indication, the hottest seminar subjects people are looking to attend include leadership, management, communication, and organization. The keywords include “hot searches” are “leadership skills,” “people skills,” “Managing a team,” “management and supervision,” “communication skills,” “time management,” and “Project management.”

So much for trends in attendee interest. What about trends in event hosting, seminars and otherwise? Well, for one thing, businesses are using events as marketing tools—basically throwing a party to introduce their products to their potential client base.

You don’t have to command an army-sized operation to succeed in as a seminar organizer. In fact, you can get started right away with just yourself for captain and crew. This career falls loosely under the category of consulting, a typically low-overhead job description. Consultants market their expertise, which they can deliver from anywhere with minimal supplies and staffing necessary. Also, depending on the type of consulting, they might travel a great deal, which is easier and cheaper to do one person at a time.

As you can see, none of this necessarily requires extra staff. You can easily run this business solo and not give it a second thought until the day you encounter the happy dilemma of having to turn down work due to being too busy. At that point, feel free to raise your prices and be more choosy about what jobs you take (perhaps by developing a specific thematic focus in your business), and consider turning your solo flight into a crewed aircraft.

Now if you're wondering whether you can start this business with only a few dollars, the answer is "yes." All you need is a laptop, a mobile phone, and the courage to publicize an upcoming seminar event or to find clients who need help in organizing in-house seminars.

Now, how much money can you make?

As a one-person seminar presenter/organizer, you don't need to pay for speakers. Assuming your seminar is priced at US$100 per attendee, with 15 attendees per session, you can earn US$1,500. With four sessions per week, you can earn US$ 6,000 per week or US$ 24,000 per month.
If you pay for speakers, you need to include their speaking fees, which may range from hundreds to tens of thousands dollars per session. Naturally, you'll need to calculate the expenses in a more detailed fashion. If you hire "celebrity" speakers, you can expect to sell the seminar at a much higher price per attendee. Thus, you can expect to earn anywhere from US$ 30,000 to US$50,000 per month.

Need we say more?
This eGuide provides insightful information, advices and tips for anyone who is contemplating to start a seminar organizing business with confidence. Numerous hard-to-find resources are included to help you locate pertinent information.

About the Authors

Jennie S. Bev is THE fashion, image and fun careers expert, whose reputation has been acknowledged by prestigious media internationally. She has been profiled and mentioned in Entrepreneur, Teen People, Canadian Business, Home Business, Dong (France), San Francisco Chronicle, The Independent, Daily Southtown, The Arizona Republic, Femina (Asia) and Dewi (Asia).

Editor-in-Chief Jennie S. Bev was named 2003 EPPIE Award finalist in Non-Fiction How To category for excellence in electronic publishing. She has published over 40 books and 900 articles in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany and Southeast Asia. She is also a college professor based in San Francisco Bay Area.

Co-author Nicole J. LeBoeuf-Little is an accomplished author, freelance writer, and web designer from the New Orleans area. She graduated from Metairie Park Country Day School and went from there to the University of Washington to pursue B.A. in English.

Her fiction and essays have been published in a diverse handful of literary and New Age magazines, including PanGaia. An aspiring novelist, she has been an annual participant in National Novel-Writing Month since 2002. She now resides in Colorado.

This 61-page instantly downloadable StyleCareer.com eGuide Breaking Into and Succeeding as a Seminar Organizer brings you valuable insider tips, advice and suggestions not available elsewhere to help you embark on this highly lucrative career path.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Myths, the Realities, and the Basics
I’m not a professional speaker. Can still I become a seminar organizer?
I don’t have a lot of money to pay for top-notch speakers.
I don’t have any experience in organizing anything.

Seminar Production Business in A Nutshell
Current State of This Industry
Understanding Current Trends
Why You Can be A One-person Seminar Production
Potential Earnings
Potential Speakers You Can Afford

Learn the Lingo
What’s a seminar?
What’s a workshop?
How do workshops differ from training seminars?
What about a conference?
How about an exposition?
And what’s a convention?
Motivational Seminar: That New Kid on the Block

Breaking In with Confidence
Know Thyself
Marketing and Promotion
Hiring Speakers
Renting Space
Bookkeeping

Improve Thyself
Be a “People Person”
Be a “Neat Freak”
Be a “Rules Lawyer"
Be a “Go-Getter”
Know Thy Market
Branding Your Business
Break-ins Made Easy
Pricing Your Seminar

Producing Your First Seminar
Workflow
Settle on A Theme
Settle on A Budget
Contract A Location
Contact and Contract Speakers
Set A Price
Prepare All Printed Materials, Including Registration Forms
Attract Sponsors
One Week Out, be A Nag
Perform A Final Walkthrough
It’s the Big day! Have Fun.
Recommended Reading
Hiring Speakers
Marketing on A Shoestring Budget
Location, Location, Location

Being Successful
Speaking at Your Own Seminars
Join Trade/Professional Associations
Workshops and Other Resources

Success Profiles

This eGuide literally saves you hundreds or even thousands of dollars spent on professional workshops and training and hundreds of hours of research. It will help you break into the career of your dream faster without having to repeat the same mistakes that most newcomers do.

We have also included resources on the following:

Professional associations
Strategies to break into the field with confidence

You can have this exclusive eGuide right away by instant download for only $58.95, which you will earn many times over with your first paid job. This special low discount price is reserved for today, Wednesday, 10-Mar-2010 05:34:15 PST only. (Regular price: $48.95)

Breaking Into and Succeeding
as a Seminar Organizer
Regular Price: $58.95
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