Giving presentations is an important skill for professional organizers, whether you’re sharing ideas with your local chapter, offering tips to a group or the general public as a way of marketing your organizing business, or getting paid to speak about your area of expertise.
During Improve Management Skills Month, I’ve committed to sharing some ideas and resources about some of the essential skills required to successfully manage a business, and today I will address public speaking. As a small business owner, there are many occasions when you may be called upon to speak in public.
There is a ton of information online, including this blog, to help you start or grow a professional organizing business, but spending time researching various topics and sifting through all the search results can be very time-consuming. Even if you have lots of time on your hands, if you don’t know that you need to learn about a particular subject, how can you even begin to explore it?
I am not the most fashion-conscious person around and, as a professional organizer, I found it especially challenging to figure out the appropriate outfit to wear for various business activities. When I learned that professional organizer Kathi Burns is also an image consultant, I asked if she would answer a few questions in order to help others with similar decisions to make.
I have written before about the power of public speaking, both as a marketing tool and as a way to support charitable organizations. Another great way to share your expertise with others is by speaking at national or regional conferences, and there are a couple of opportunities coming up you may want to think about.
June has been designated as Entrepreneurs “Do It Yourself” Marketing Month, a special event that honors small businesses and entrepreneurs who develop and implement their own marketing and public relations campaigns. There are loads of strategies you can put into action yourself without breaking the bank, which is especially good news for new professional organizers and those who are feeling a pinch in the current economy. Here are just seven:
Absolutely! Networking groups and other organizations are always looking for people to speak at their meetings, and this can be a great way to get your name out there. Marketing consultant C.J. Hayden, author of Get Clients Now!, says that public speaking is a powerful way to show prospective clients what you can do. When you stand up and speak to a group of people about organizing, they get to see not only your expertise, but your passion for what you do. Each person in the audience, and every person they know, is a potential future client. In addition, if the event is well promoted, your name will be seen by an even greater number of people who may contact you at a later date.
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