You are not a business owner by accident; having the drive and ambition to start a beauty business means that you have acquired a certain level of education and/or expertise in your chosen area of commerce. Perhaps you are an expert in candle or soap making; maybe you have been creating custom perfumes for twenty years; or possibly you are a professional aesthetician. No matter what your area of expertise, there are always groups, organizations and people in general who are interested in learning about your craft.
Offering to talk about your business, or a specific area of business specialty, free of charge at a local event is an excellent way to network and grow your business. Speaking engagements present an ideal opportunity to let everyone know how skilled and knowledgeable you are about your niche area of the beauty industry. As a result, you can be sure when attendees are looking for a business to patronize, they will think of you first. It is also very common to leave an event with the names of several new clients, or maybe even orders!
There are so many different groups you can approach to offer educational guest speaking services free of charge. Since you are in the beauty industry, start with women’s organizations and networking groups that meet on a regular basis. You can also contact “mom” meetings, that are focused on offering a night out for busy stay-at-home mothers. Colleges and universities are also constantly on the lookout for quality speakers. Perhaps you could focus your lecture on getting ready for the work world, from a beauty perspective. For executive and business organizations, with members who are already stressed for time, you may want to approach it from a different perspective in terms of quick beauty options that have maximum impact.
From a public speaking perspective, make sure you know how much time you have and then practice your speech or presentation many times so you know you are going to be able to fill the time. Always save a little time at the end for a Q&A period, so that you can not only answer any audience questions but also give you a further opportunity to promote yourself and your beauty business.
It is often a good idea to have “goodie bags” to give away to participants, that ideally should include product samples, perhaps a few sheets of educational literature that tie in with your presentation and of course, your brochure and business card. Don’t feel shy about tooting your own horn a little and conducting a little discreet business promotion. The group organizer is quite aware that you are offering your services free of charge for a very specific reason – to promote your beauty business. The key (and sometimes this takes a little practice) is striking the right balance – giving an educational or informative presentation while still gaining some critical and targeted business exposure from the event.
We’d like to hear from you. Let us know where you’ve had the opportunity to share your expertise while speaking for Free!
To Your Success,
Juliette & Robert
{ 0 comments… add one now }