Business Plan Critique

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Hey guys!

It has now been a month since I've learned about internet marketing. In the last few weeks I have learned a lot on the topic and think it is time for me to start my first real business. To do so, I have written a plan but, as I am a beginner I figured it would be a good idea to let some experienced entrepreneurs review it briefly.

Goal: I want to start a business teaching people how to speak in public. This means that I have to help my them get over their fears of being on stage, teach them necessary skills to give killer presentations and learn them what kind of content is interesting for their audience.

Marketing: I want to start out with a simple, personal blog. Providing content based on my experience in the public speaking field. This means that I will be writing articles and posting them once every two or three days. On the blog there will be an opt-in form. I am either going to give away a free report in return for their subscription or I'm going to write a high-quality article, split it up in two pieces and sent them the second part by email after the reader subscribes to the list.

Aside from that I am going to find blogs to guest post on. I have read a lot of information on article marketing and feel it will be a very useful way of promoting my site in this niche.

Monetization: In the first few months of the blog I am not going to try to make money off of it. I want to build up a nice base of loyal subscribers and give them free, extremely valuable information. During those first months I want to create my own product. Once it is finished I will promote it to my list and possibly on websites I guest blog on. After the initial launch I will make my product available to promote for affiliates.

A possible pitfall is that I am not a professional public speaker. I know I am good, but don't have a proven track record. I was thinking about joining some public speaking contests but am not sure whether it will be worth my while.

Every bit of critique is welcome. I like to think that I am open minded and will read everything carefully.

Thanks in advance,
BK
#main internet marketing discussion forum #business #critique #plan
  • BK,

    What are you waiting for? Go after it and get started right now.

    Business plans should be flexible and open to modification and change as you go. So I would say, you've got an idea of what you want to do - just do it.

    The only caution I would give is this: be careful about developing your first product early on. Until you get some experience in the niche you won't really know what problems and challenges the would-be public speakers are having.

    After you've developed your audience and subscriber list, ask them what challenges they are having - what problems they face. Then you'll have a good idea what your product should address.

    The very best to you as you begin your IM career.

    Steve
    • [1] reply
    • I totally agree with what Steve said. You have a great plan and I can see that if you work hard to achieve it. You surely will reach your goal. Those who succeed to plan, plan for success.
      • [1] reply
  • BK,

    The best scenario is to have experience and it sounds like you do. It's not 100% necessary to be a professional public speaker. And you wondered if it's worth your time to join public speaking contests. I don't think contests are so important, here.

    If you're serious about this as a profitable, long term business, then I suggest you understand how important it is to brand your self and gain the trust of your audience. They will expect, or at least highly desire, you to have some meaningful or reasonable amount of expertise. Book and knowledge expertise is often different, and perceived differently, from expertise gained from real-world experience.

    Here's something you can do, if possible, join a local Toastmasters club. Have you heard of it? You can give speeches to other members, and I imagine there are resources for improving public speaking skills.

    Then, you can write about it on your blog. You will need to frame and position your self as an experienced public speaker. It's not enough to just say you are, you have to provide a credible means to show it.

    You can also create videos of you giving a speech. Then you can talk about different aspects of the speech, much like a tutorial. If you join Toastmasters, maybe they'll let you video your speeches.

    How about making video tutorials and creating a Youtube channel? Kurt Melvin's Video Thunder (private) forum can teach you all you need to know about video creation and using YT. (He's a great guy but don't tell him I said that.)

    Link to Toastmasters: Toastmasters International - Home

    Good luck,

    Ken
    • [ 1 ] Thanks

  • Is there such a thing as a 'Public Speaking' niche?
    Have you checked?

    What do people typically search for in this arena?
    How many searches a month are there?
    Have you checked?

    Who are the big boys in this niche?
    Have you checked?

    Do people spend money in this 'niche' or is there an abundance of free material already available?
    Have you checked?

    I hope that helps.

    .
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Best advice I will give you is this, my mother said it best... "He who hesitates is lost"

    Don't over think it, just do it! And get organized as you go.
  • I like your plan it looks very well though out. The only thing left to do is take massive action and make a commitment to follow through with your plan no matter what.
  • Thank you all so much for replying!

    Ken - I do know about Toastmasters and have already looked into joining a local club. However, they do not seem to be very active.

    Helisell - There are a lot of written books on Public Speaking that sell incredibly well, so I figured this is a 'buying' niche. Also, I have done keyword research and have looked at multiple websites in the niche
    • [2] replies
    • Hi King,

      It sounds like you are on the right track here, and the comments you've gotten above are good, too.

      As an experienced public speaker myself, I'd add one thing I see missing from your plan:

      As soon as you can, get some photos and video footage of yourself speaking on stage in front of a big group.

      Images and video of you on a big stage will sell you as an expert public speaker even faster than well-written articles.

      "A picture's worth 1000 words, etc..."

      Best,
      Scott
    • That's an opportunity for you.

      Get in there and slowly take the reins. Toasmasters is a great organization and if the group in your area is not active it can be fixed.

      Most times in these types of clubs (I've been around many) there are just a few individuals that keep it alive. The rest help as needed and participate. Those come and go and aren't always around which is ok, it takes all kinds right?

      So being a leader in Toastmasters would be an indredible addition to your resume (credibility) as a public speaker.

      Good Luck
  • Banned
    public speaking sounds like a great niche if you can produce high quality content...there are a lot of people looking for tips on speechwriting...I have bought ebooks on this topic.
  • Thanks again for the replies guys!

    I have found a Toastmasters club in my area. Two to be exact. I'm going to my first meeting this thursday. Really excited to start this project!
  • King,

    If you can correctly tap into the insecurities most people have when thinking about speaking in front of groups of people, and then show them just how easy and non-scary it is to overcome that fear while also becoming a fantastic speaker, I would venture to say that you will have yourself a home run of a product.

    Get to work my friend.

    Most people don't even get this far.
  • Act... take action... or you can call it whatever you like... just go and grab it... you'll anyway change your plan 1000 times on your way
  • I don't mean to be a downer, and you may have already thought about this issue... BUT...

    Have you realized the best way to get over public speaking is to speak in public? This is one of those things where you can only help so much online, the rest must be accomplished away from the computer. Is there enough people willing to pay money for this...?

    I believe there is but its definitely something you should look into before going all in.
  • Monetize right away....... e-books, affiliate offers, original content.

    Don't focus on a set target number of visitors or subscribers, thats abritrary.


    Frank Kern preaches: You don't need a list of 1,000,000 subscribers, you just need a small list of "loyal" subscribers.

    Good Luck!
  • With what I wrote I will say, its admiral of you to write that, but sit for a while and think about what you have. It is so incomplete and needs attention to detail. If this will be your bread and butter and the only thing you do then you need to put your heart into it. I on the other hand do so many different things this would be perfect for me. I like to think I am the pro at sitter websites, websites I throw up to make a dozen sales a year with very little work, but if I had a bread and butter site you bet I would spend alot more time on my business plan.

    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Banned
    I seem to completely miss the business plan part of it.

    What you did is just what you want to achieve but you haven't layed out in any way how you're going to achieve it.

    The missing essential puzzle = PROMOTION.

    As long as you don't have a plan for that then there is no plan at all. Just some ramblings.

    The only thing you mentioned is article marketing but what is article marketing?

    Submitting your article to some crappy article directories that hardly drive any traffic?
  • Wow, thank you guys so much! I'm going to get to work on my "plan" right now. (I don't even dare call it a plan anymore).
    • [1] reply
    • Use this as a template:

      Perfect your business plan - RBC Royal Bank

      Note the examples listed at the bottom too.

      A business plan is all about showing a likely investor how good you are at planning, finances, and understanding the market you intend to conduct business in.

      A business plan is in fact a sales ad that attempts to sell who you are and what you are doing to your customer, the investor.
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    Business Plan Critique

    Hey guys! It has now been a month since I've learned about internet marketing. In the last few weeks I have learned a lot on the topic and think it is time for me to start my first real business. To do so, I have written a plan but, as I am a beginner I figured it would be a good idea to let some experienced entrepreneurs review it briefly.