Where Niche is King!

Here! Today! Now!

Seek niche ideas out, they are everywhere, anywhere and nowhere! Perhaps they are not as conspicuous as the real big dollar earners, they do exist none the less, are well worth the time spent researching and can reap great rewards. Form a habit of seeking "the niche"!

We run a two companies,  a Speaker Bureau, The Entertainers and a speaker management company Speakmark, two different beasts to be sure, hovering over the events industry and beyond.

The workload is often overwhelming, juggling the various aspects of running businesses, however always at the forefront of our thinking is "where are the niche ideas/speakers/events.?"

We are attracted to niche like a magnet, our conversation constantly revolves around it, we practice niche, we read niche, we spray it on like deodorant, we eat it for breakfast, niche is a habit worth forming!

Perhaps if I give you a first hand example of how this process worked for us recently.

While consuming the daily breakfast of fruit and coffee (my morning addictions), I mentioned to my wife and business partner Michelle Burgan that I had seen a LinkedIn post about a consultant by the name of Cynthia Dearin. I had admired Cynthia's presence and profile for a few years after coming into contact with the organisation that Cynthia was CEO of, the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

I said to Michelle, "I believe Cynthia works in a niche area of business and commerce, perhaps we should contact her and see if she has representation with regards to speaking engagements."

Founder of Dearin & Associates and certainly doing some niche work around building Australian businesses intentionally, I called to enquire.

I had done my research, I knew that Cynthia was working in a niche market, the question I asked was "Are you looking to do more speaking work?"

An emphatic "yes" followed from Cynthia, with an equally emphatic "we would love to work with you", which has formed into a tidy working relationship between Cynthia Dearin and Speakmark.

Now while it is true that I am shamelessly plugging the amazing work that Cynthia Dearin does, which is assisting businesses find opportunities on the international stage-

• Export strategy – helping our clients create or refine their export strategy so that they get the most out of the export         experience.
• Cross-cultural management -  training and problem-solving for companies working outside Australia or with clients       and counterparts from abroad.
• Strategic business connections – we facilitate links between projects and investors and put clients in touch with the       best networks and contacts in new markets.

- the real essence/lesson of this post is to always be on the look out for the  hidden gems which could be sitting right in front of our eyes.

Here is some good advice if you are struggling for ideas on how to create something from nothing.

Look up Nils Vesk, we have learnt much from both his teachings and his book Ideas with Legs, in fact buy the book it is just a fantastic guide to help you become upwardly mobile with your ideas. I guarantee that you will find ideas and methods in this book which will enable you monetize your ideas.

To sum up, with so much content coming at us from a a few dozen different sources, niche is definitely where it is at! If it is not niche then it is just harder, not impossible, to sell or market.

Look, look, look....try to see what no one else see's, this requires practice and you need to look harder to find the magic in the ordinary.

We live in a world where niche is KING!   Ohhh yes! Remember to look Cynthia Dearin up the next time you are looking for an excellent speaker!

The Incredible Mr Sebastian Terry

http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=588829d2dcaeb0bf23f2bf2da&id=413c896c3e&e=271de6d5e0

Sebastian Terry is nothing short of amazing.

If you want inspiration check out his latest blog post!!!

AMZING DUDE!!!!!!!!

Launch of eBook "How to Book a Speaker"

LAUNCH OF EBOOK 28TH APRIL 2014

The information contained within is based purely on my experiences as a writer, producer, director, talent agent, Speaker employee, theatre restaurant owner and my current post, Managing Director and owner of the Speaker Bureau, The Entertainers Australia, and a whole lot of other experiences in between.

The contents of this document are a collection of thoughts and views gleaned from providing Speakers to our clients. I trust the document will become a useful reference on How to Book a Speaker. The order of the subject matter is in some instances arbitrary, while in others, the order of actions is completely crucial to a better all-round result for your effort. I do not advocate that our way is the right way! This document is merely a reference guide for those who are interested in booking talent, those who book Speakers as part of their work, and those looking to pursue a career in our industry.

One of the major reasons I wrote this document is simple. I was interested in finding out what information was available online regarding this subject matter, so I searched “How to Book A Speaker” online and up popped a number of Speaker Bureau advertisements. My thoughts turned to people who had recently entered the wonderful world of event management and I started looking for references and information on industry sites. Apart from a few scattered documents, I did not come up with anything as substantial as the document you are reading.

Now the world is a pretty big place, so perhaps my search was not as thorough as it could have been. There are also a few great books out of the US which teach for example, how to become a Speaker and work with Speaker Bureaus (Lilly & Dottie Walters “Speak and Grow Rich”2).

Certainly I do not claim this document to be the “holy grail” of how to book a Speaker. Perhaps also I will miss some salient point herein; I may even trip up now and again with regards to being perhaps a little awkward grammatically. What I can promise is a condensed, honest and transparent account of my experience as a Speaker Bureau owner.

I trust you will enjoy How To Book A Speaker. Please take what you can for your own purposes and please feel free to send me your feedback, good or bad, to this email address: enquire@theentertainers.com.au

DOWNLOAD THE EBOOK NOW

How To Book A Speaker eBook now available for "FREE" dowmload

To download your free copy, simply go to www.theentertainers.com.au and see the right side of the home page, fill in the details and the book is yours.

Here are the acknowledgements which we always love reading.

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When I examined the process of writing this eBook, I was quite surprised by the speed by which pages came together.

I was once told about a gentleman by the name of Malcolm Gladwell.   In his book “Outliers”, he describes “The Ten Thousand Hour Rule”, which describes that providing you have the fundamental basics right, you can reach greatness in any given field, by practicing tasks relevant to that chosen field for a total of ten thousand hours.

That law kept me going when times were tough! Let me say that I have not spent ten thousand hours on writing, but it’s the time that I have spent around talent, conferences, events, Theatre, Arts, as a Bureau Owner, Bureau Employee, Manager, Producer, Writer, Director, Theatre Owner and Event Coordinator.

The gentleman who shared this most valuable lesson with me was Lawrie Montague, a Keynote Speaker whom I worked with for a number of years.

In fact, had I missed the rare opportunity of spending time with someone like Lawrie, I would not be writing this book or running a Speaker Bureau called The Entertainers!

I thank you Lawrie more than you will ever know! I value our friendship greatly.

My wonderful wife and business partner Michelle Burgan, whose work ethic is a site to behold, I love you and thank you for your patience, intelligence and practical approach to challenges, which seem to me sometimes impossible. You are a star Michelle, our greatest asset and a wonderfully rounded and generous soul.

Fiona Wrigley, thank you for making straight my crooked writing. I have learnt that without an editor who understands the subject matter, what the writer is trying to say and what the reader needs to hear, the opportunity is lost. I look forward to working with you again on the next book.

To the Speakers who gave me feedback throughout the writing, Keith Abraham (CSP), Justin Baird, Tansel Ali, Sam McCool, thanks guys your feedback was invaluable.

Lastly, I want to thank my Father Terry Burgan (Snr) for being such a brilliant father and sympathetic ear. Eternally grateful to you for giving me the skills and personality that I am fortunate to have.

CYBERSTALKING - INTERNET CANCER TARGETING YOU

Earl de Blonville

In a world of increasing threats, we need to continually safeguard ourselves.
We screen for cancer, insure our property and protect our passwords.

But now we face an extraordinary new threat: cyberstalking.
Soon, hundreds of professional careers will be damaged.
So is there any way we can protect ourselves?

Cyberstalking is not simply a possible threat: it’s here now and growing fast.
Last year 63 million people were stalked in the US. In the UK it was 600,000.
In Australia, people are already suffering.

Cyberstalking hits victims like a fast spreading cancer: one that can’t be stopped.
Cyberstalking destroys careers, reputations, relationships and victims’ sanity.
Soon, just like cyber bullying, it could be claiming lives.

Who is at risk? Basically anyone with a name.
How does it work? The victim has his or her life stripped bare.
What does this mean? Basically, if you’re hit, your life will stop.
Why is this? Your life is taken over by your cyberstalker.

Earl de Blonville is now an expert on cyberstalking.
He has survived a year of horror and loss.
Now he is helping others to be prepared.

Earl’s personal story of how America’s #1 cyberstalker operates will amaze you.
And how an international team of victims fought track will inspire you.

Earl tells just how easy it is for someone else to destroy your life.
And he explains how to rethink your entire online presence.
But when you’re hit, you will need his advice on how to survive.
And surviving means rebuilding your life from the wreckage.

Earl believes that every professional and executive is potentially at risk.
If you employ or rely on important people, can you afford to lose them?

Your best defence against this internet cancer is to book Earl today to speak with your people.
The future of your business could rest with your employees and principals.
Let them know what they can do today to avoid the supreme cost tomorrow.

Google+ Where Have All The Speakers Gone?

Why is Google+ a great tool for talent?

Speakers, Emcee's, Trainers, Entertainers, Bands for that matter anyone who who would like to get more work in the Corporate sector in Australia, would be advised to optimise their presence on Google+.

Google+ has 359 million registered users and contains the most business friendly features of all social networks. My tip is to take advantage of this before things change, as they have done on other social media sites where we are squeezed, little by little, into submission for that monthly subscription or pay per click adverts.

The Entertainers have managed to connect with a number of Speakers on Google+, those who always seem to be ahead or at least up to date with the current online marketing curve, however it would seem the take up is rather sluggish!

The Google+ platform has been shown to dramatically improve search engine rankings,  which increases your online presence and boosts your SEO efforts.

Our online marketing efforts make up a large percentage of the resources that we allocate to our overall marketing strategy, The Entertainers are consistently working towards becoming a noticeable and trusted source of information for our Clients and the talent we work with. This article ,we trust is an example of that intent.

While attempting to connect with Speakers in the past few months on Google+, it is "mind blowing" at the lack of attention Speakers are paying to Google+.

Here is an article which we found to be a great resource to give you a grounding and basic understanding of how to get going 21 Simple Ways to Get More Followers for Your Google Plus Business Page

For Speakers, Emcee's, Trainers, Entertainers, Bands to compete in a very competitive marketplace and stay on Speaker Bureau's radar, their marketing efforts towards such, need much more attention than sending a Speaker Bureau a Bio and Pic and hoping for the best. We encourage you to connect with The Entertainers on these platforms, be supportive of the roles we each play in this market, which will assist us all to "reach out" into the clients sphere of influence.

Perhaps the most difficult concept to understand, is the paradox between what we have been doing for the last few decades around marketing and what is now required of us. It is hard work! Not only is it required of us to post relevant, original and creative content on platforms such as Google+, it is also paramount that we understand these marketing devices as a matter of continuity for our respective business's.

While hiring a "gun for hire" may seem the most practical and convenient approach, beware!  The essence of who you are, what you do and how you want others to perceive the work you do can be lost by the incongruent nature of this type of arrangement. DYI is the most effective course for you to take.

So why is it that searching for Speaker profiles on Google+ produces such low results?

Apart from the obvious such as not having the knowledge or skills around the basics, such as tagging or making yourself easy to search by using commonly searched keywords, overwhelm is the most likely suspect. There are a whole new set of skills required which involve linking your accounts, designing your profile, writing a blog, creating content, Authorship and the list goes on. Fortunately the resources are all at your fingertips with a simple search. There are literally thousands of articles and videos on how to optimise Google+.

So get to it and make sure you connect with The Entertainers once you have your Google+ profile up and running. It is the business tool you have been looking for to make your business visible to the right prospects and I promise you it will lead to more work.

A Time Saving Resource When Booking Talent

HOW TO BOOK A SPEAKER

While I was researching information which is available online about booking talent, I was surprised to find a lack of comprehensive information around the subject. I searched Google (well beyond the first page), behold there was still little in the way of robust documentation around my search "How To Book A Speaker".

I decided to write a short, condensed guide on the subject which will be released in the coming weeks based on the experiences and day to day running of the The Entertainers Australia, a Speaker Bureau based in Sydney Australia.

Fortunately we have received positive feedback from both Speakers and Clients who have road tested the book for us. It would see that not only those who book talent are starved of accurate and transparent information around the workings of a Speaker Bureau, Speakers are also learning from the contents.

This is an excerpt from the book and it explains briefly what exactly is a Speaker Bureau.

The book will be available through Amazon, details will be forthcoming on this blog how you can pick it up.

What is  Speaker Bureau?

A Speaker Bureau is a company, which operates to facilitate Speakers for clients requiring after-dinner Speakers, motivational Speakers, awards hosts, cabaret acts, conference facilitators and keynote Speakers. It also provides entertainment options such as bands, comedians and other acts.

Speaker Bureaus maintain a database of personalities and their agents, as well as other hard to come by information. The Speakers hail from fields as diverse as politics, sport, business, television and comedy. A Speaker Bureau has the benefit of extensive industry contacts, as well as access to a wide range of useful databases.

If you have ever tried to track down a celebrity or media personality, you will understand that it can often take way too much time searching for a direct contact; some individuals are quite purposely invisible. It is a Speaker Bureau’s intellectual property that makes it such a valuable asset.

Speaker Bureaus service a range of clients ranging from SMEs to large corporate entities, charities and organisations, and they provide a fast track and trusted link between the Speaker, act or entertainment option and the client. The Speaker Bureau then mediates between both parties, from the primary stages of making contact, through to the booking and logistics process.

Traditionally, Speaker Bureaus are reluctant to give the client any contact details until the contracts are signed. This is to alleviate the possibility of the client contacting the talent directly after receiving the talent’s contact details. While this type of practice is not that common, it does happen. It may not surprise you to know that the Speaker will always be loyal to the source of the lead; they will likely pass the inquiry back to the Bureau should an agency or organisation try to take the direct route. The Entertainers believe that getting the Speaker involved in the early stages of the proposal for the benefit of all is much more beneficial. Disregard the cloak and dagger stuff and rely on integrity. It is a small industry and news travels faster than a speeding bullet, good or bad!

Speaker Bureaus assist the client and the Speaker to negotiate a speaking fee for an event or a conference. The Speaker, or the Speaker’s agent, usually sets this fee. Once the contract terms are agreed upon the account manager of the Speaker Bureau will hand the client to her/his event coordinator within the Bureau to generate the contracts and handle the logistics.

This involves fees, transport, accommodation and timings, as well as communication between Speaker and client with briefing calls and any one-on-one meeting that may be required.

A Baby Boomers Online Marketing Nightmare

Terry Burgan

Managing Director The Entertainers Australia

If you are like me (a boomer) and struggle to keep up with the changes that we are experiencing from day to day in and around building an online presence, you will understand how challenging it is to get your head around a myriad of Apps, social media platforms, how to tweak settings, optimising , it can do your head in!!!!

After spending an hour reading an eBook this morning on how to optimise my company page on Google+ "The Entertainers Australia", I was still no clearer around some of the important messages the book was giving to me.

While I enjoy learning and have made it a part of my "daily dozen" must do's, I often suffer from overwhelm when I go down the rabbit hole which is online marketing. It can lead to fatigue with the odd expletive popping out here or there in absolute frustration.

Relinquishing our duties in this area however, is not an option! Unless we are across these platforms ourselves, we will never understand the metrics of the "modern business paradigm". Painful but true, the result of putting your head in the sand is that your backside will be pointing up, that is no way run a business, especially in todays competitive world.

Contracting outside help is one option, however we have found it is much like one of those opt in's where you you get this and that for one dollar and the rest, after your appetite is whetted, costs you a small fortune.

Perhaps I am sceptical about hiring someone to look through Facebook and other Social Media platforms in the search for great content, seems like an utter waste of time, especially given Google+ new Authorship algorithm which identifies and rewards the original author of the content.

We know our business pretty well, the "content" we send out comes from the experiences we have good or bad  (we have had our share of both),  the talent we work, the clients we service.

My point is this and it is made to those business owners who want to just walk away from online marketing, put it in the too hard basket, it is worth it! Even if you can afford to pay a dozen people to sit there and create content, learn it yourself!

Here are my tips to get through the quagmire of portals that you will need to become friends with in order to survive as a small business:

1. Read, Read, Read, everything you can get your hands on. A Google search will usually answer any quetsions you have e.g. (How to optimise my Company Google+ page?)

2. Be creative, use the evenings to learn and turn off the TV. Put your energy into your online marketing at night time, leave it alone during the day, that is when you should be on the phone talking to people.

3. Get advice from friends or associates on the latest trends, follow some of the excellent blogs. Though I have not used these guys as a service, the information I have received from http://www.hubspot.com/ is outstanding. If I was going to consider anyone to automate our marketing platform, it would be these guys.

3. Give yourself a break! It takes time and patience to learn the "how to's" and on that note, it never stops as various aspects of this crazy and beautiful world changes by the hour.

4. Make sure you set up and integrate Company pages on  LinkedIn, Pintrest, Google+, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter (there are others but these are the main players).

5. Always point your posts on these platforms back to your site where ever possible.

6. Pay attention to each one of the platforms and make sure you post something daily.

7. Read Read Read

8. Read Read Read

and keep reading.......................

Good luck and when you think your head is about to explode with overwhelm, go and make a cup of tea and say to yourself "If I don't become disciplined around this I may not have a business in five years time". It harsh but very true, ignore at your peril Boomers!!!!!!

Fenella Kernebone

Fenella Kernebone

One of the speakers that we work closely with, Fenella Kernebone, talks about "I Touch My Self", as a part of the Chrissy Amphlett Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, very cool little interview at the bottom of Fenella's profile page, well worth a watch.

http://theentertainers.com.au/fenella-kernebone/

Fenella Kernebone is a television and radio presenter and producer, MC, interviewer and writer and has a long record working across arts, film, music, design and culture. She is currently the host of  Radio National’s By Design and is also the host of her electronic music show, The Sound Lab on Triple J radio.

Fenella is also in demand as an MC, compere, interviewer , facilitator and public speaker. Topics touch on all kinds of ideas … design, architecture, the built environment, arts, film, music, creativity, history, science, medicine, culture and all round nerdy goodness. To see what’s coming up, check out events. The big one coming up is on April 26th – where she is hosting the breakout sessions at The Studio in the Sydney Opera House for  TedxSydney, 2014.

Paul Slezak - Recruitment Speaker

Paul Slezak

http://theentertainers.com.au/paul-slezak/

Click here to see interview with Paul Slezak

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Based:  Sydney NSW

Tags: Recruitment | RecruitLoop | HR | MC | Keynote Speaker | Workshops | Management |         Leadership | Entrepreneur | Author | Innovation

Fee Range: $3500 to $5,000

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The Entertainers comments:

A very good Speaker, with a very affordable price tag!

Paul is a bundle of energy as you will see in the interview. He is entrepreneurial, very likeable and has a great understanding of the recruitment industry, he also has a range of other skills which he has picked up from being a very successful business owner.

His company RecruitLoop are "disturbers" in the Recruitment market place, they have expanded to over ten different countries and are still on a growth curve.

Paul Slezak is an extremely confident individual who adds tremendous value to the engagements he is booked for as he always goes beyond the call of duty. He loves to be around people, he loves to help people achieve their goals and he loves to speak from the stage!

Paul is an absolute "firecracker"! His personality is infectious whilst his drive and ability to communicate with clarity, make him a fantastic choice for HR/Recruitment related events. His other areas of expertise are MC, innovation and business.

Click here to see Real Time Speaker interview with Paul Slezak

Call The Entertainers now on 02 8958 6482 or email enquire@theentertainers.com.au to find out more about Paul Slezak.

Sam McCool

The Entertainers comments:

Sam McCool is not only a pleasure to spend time with he is intelligent, creative and very funny. Our recommendation is that Sam would be great to work with, especially if there were any tailoring requests from a client. The camera and the audience have an instant attraction to Sam, he is tall and his sharp and distinct features are definitely an attractive feature of this enigmatic Comedian.

Sam is also an accomplished MC who works to instructions well, with either a more conservative approach where he forgoes the jokes or incorporates humour and gags into the proceedings...it is up to you.  

http://theentertainers.com.au/sam-mccool/

Based:  Sydney NSW

Tags: Corporate comedian, MC, comic hoax, impersonator, humorist, keynote speaker, product launches, awards nights, seminars, accents

Fee Range: $3000 to $5,000

Sam McCool – Comedian and Professional MC, is indeed a very funny man that The Entertainers are always happy to work with.

Ever wondered what you’d get if you crossed Italians with Indians; Scots with Samoans; or Jamaicans with New York Jews? 

Sam McCool is a unique commodity in the Australian comedy scene.

A global comic, having traveled to 50 countries, speaking several languages, and performing characters from Invercargill to Inverness.

He brings the best of these experiences to life each time he’s takes the stage.

He’s a conceptual comic with a cross-cultural edge, with accents and voices that leave audiences both amused and amazed!

  No heckle too great, no audience too audacious, and no stone left unturned to squeeze the comic marrow from each morsel of material at his disposal.

Fresh, harmless and hilarious comedy is his forte, as you take a cross-cultural comic adventure without leaving your comfort zone.

Over 10 years of stand up comedy, improvisation, writing, and MC/event hosting show through any time you savour a sample of McCool Comedy.

Having cameoed recently on Channel 10′s Can of Worms, guest written for ABC’s Glasshouse, performed at the Edinburgh and Melbourne International Comedy Festivals, starred as an Italian youth in Australian feature filmDags, played ‘Crocodile Man’ on an Indonesian Soap Opera, an Indian IT guru for Bovis Lend Lease and a lisping Aussie marine biologist, Dr Skippy Scuba, for Disneyland Paris, it’s safe to say there are few more versatile comics around than Sam McCool… watch, learn and laugh along!

The Beans - Soul - Blues - Jazz

The Entertainers Real Time Interview Series

The Entertainers comments:

Before Christmas we went out and visited The Beans, a great band who are definitely worth a look at for your next event. Now these guys are a "musicians band", purely and simply just great players. They are flexible, likeable and get the audience up dancing. The Entertainers can recommend them to any kind of event, they are, as far as bands go,  just as good as they come!

Based:  Sydney NSW

Tags: Soul | Blues | Jazz

Fee Range: POA

The Beans are a Sydney based group of nutritious and delicious capabilities.

They draw inspiration from funk, soul and blues masters including Bill Withers, Bob Marley and Ray Charles.

The Beans have set-out to sing songs from the heart and share their warm vibe far and wide. Expect an uplifting and contagious atmosphere at live shows spurred on by cheeky songwriting, soulful grooves and mellifluous musicality. 

A corporate entertainment standout that specialise in the sounds of Soul, Blues and Jazz.

Email interest in The Beans as an entertainer for your next event