Episode 771 • January 27, 2025 • 24 min
How to Craft a Successful Career Transition in the Speaking Industry Featuring Blair Nichols
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Blair began his career in New York at the HarperCollins Speakers Bureau, a business he never knew existed. From there, he had the privilege of leading the Hachette and Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureaus for GTN (now UTA Speakers), before moving west to work with Keith Ferrazzi (author of "Never Eat Alone"). He served as his chief of staff for over three years and learned how keynote speaking can be strategically positioned for corporate coaching and consulting while also studying at UCLA Anderson.
After a few temporary roles during his last year of business school, he returned to the Speakers Bureau world post-graduation. However, after signing and establishing talent, growing and scaling valuable assets and businesses for bosses with nothing to show for it after leaving, he had had enough.
In today's episode of Smashing the Plateau, you will learn about the intricacies of the speakers bureau industry and how to leverage speaking engagements for business growth and personal success.
Blair and I discuss:
- His journey from working at traditional speakers bureaus to founding his own firm [00:21]
- What initially drew him to the speakers bureau industry [01:49]
- The business model behind speakers bureaus and how they operate [03:00]
- His decision to pursue an MBA and how it influenced his career [04:11]
- The challenges of working under restrictive leadership and the push towards entrepreneurship [07:50]
- The strategic positioning of keynote speaking in business development [00:43]
- How his business model differs from traditional speakers bureaus and the focus on holistic client management [11:18]
- Advice for corporate refugees on leveraging speaking engagements [13:39]
Learn more about Blair at https://calendly.com/bbn-cm/new-client-call.
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