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Money is tight and times are tough. Meeting registration is down, and the budget isn't available for that big-name professional speaker you want to bring to your meeting. If you find a speaker you'd love to invite but can't quite swing the fee, you may want to try negotiation.

After the September 11 attacks and ensuing travel difficulties, speakers had a renewed interest in speaking closer to home. With many organizations holding meetings within driving distance, tapping the local market can be an important component of your overall marketing strategy.

One of the benefits of my involvement over the years with the Meetings Industry Council (MIC), both locally and nationally, is that I frequently speak with meeting planners and association executives about partnering with speakers. They are very blunt and honest about what they like and don't like about working with us. NSA/Colorado has a segment in our monthly membership meetings called "MIC Moments," in which we invite a member from one of our 10 counterparts in the MIC of Colorado to speak about speakers.

You've prepared, and you've delivered. Don't walk away from successful programs without taking advantage of your best source of advertising-delighted clients! Most of my bookings come from referrals and repeat business, which reduces the time I spend marketing. So take the risk and the time to ask, "Who do you know?"

Organizing! Who has time to organize? I'm making calls, creating product, redesigning my website, and interviewing clients. Wait, where did I put that article on marketing my book?

You've got the talent! You've got the ambition! You're sick of that corporate job! You're ready to break out on your own as a professional speaker.or are you? Here are some things to consider before you leave that 9 to 5 job and segue into a professional speaking career.

Procedure, templates, and forms are included.

A listing of helpful organizations and publications.

Meetings Industry Council (MIC) is a consortium of meetings industry organizations organized at a local level, either informally or formally structured, to advance meetings industry partnerships. The first MIC was created in 1988 in Denver, CO, as a coalition of professional meetings industry-related organizations, whose underlying purpose was to strengthen the relationships among participating organizations through increased communication and cooperation. Duplication of members, redundancy of events, multiple tradeshows, and conflicting meetings prompted board members of several meetings industry organizations to collaborate.

You may not teach time management from platform as I do, but you must manage your time well when presenting, irrespective of your other habits.

Speaker Magazine