When do you start charging for speaking engagements? That's a tough call. The short answer is when you're good enough and people will be willing to pay to hear you.
The long answer is you need to objectively evaluate why you're doing engagements now. If it's for exposure and potential relationship building, you're already getting paid as such. I recently spoke at the COSE Small Business Conference. While it was a 'pro bono' engagement, I got lots of 'free' exposure from the platform, in the program booklet and through the excellent event marketing that COSE did. So, I did get paid for that presentation.
I recently did a workshop Sales and Marketing Executives. They sent out several e-mail blasts to their member and guest data base promoting the event. They also had a three-inch add in the PD business section. What would all that marketing have cost me directly? So, here again, I did get paid, but not with a dollar fee.
Most local professional associations don't have a budget for speakers. They typically can get enough competent people who are willing to trade services for exposure and relationship building so they don't need to pay them. If they do pay, it's usually for a local well known name or someone with lots of expertise in their particular field.
At the risk of sounding discouraging, there are many very worthy professional speakers in NE Ohio who earn a good fee for their services. These same people are also willing to do selected 'pro bono' engagements for the reasons I've mentioned. So, it becomes difficult for a rookie to start charging a fee initially.
Good luck and let me know how it all works out for you.
Phil Stella, MindSpring Networking Editor and president, Effective Training & Communication, Inc.
