Slides from my talk

1. “Don’t aim for greatness,
aim to be great at
something”
Matt Kendall

2. BAD BUSINESS STUDIES
My business studies teacher had no faith in
me
In front of my parents he said “I don’t want
you to take business studies A Level, as I
think it will lower my grade average”
“I don’t think you have any business
acumen, or organisational skills”

3. HOW TO TURN YOUR IDEA INTO A CAREER
400 Events
354 Group Reviews (highest in the UK)
Over 300 Different Speakers
24,000 Members
Largest Self Development Meetup Group in the World
I achieved this without backstabbing, without screwing
anyone over and also helping people make a lot of
money out of me.
Remained Fabulous at all Times

4. NEW MANCHESTER BANDS

5. NEW MANCHESTER BANDS
WHO DID I HAVE TO KEEP HAPPY?
THE VENUE
THE BANDS
THE DJ
THE SECURITY STAFF
THE BAR STAFF
THE ATTENDEES
THE SOUND GUYS

6. WHAT THEY WANTED
THE VENUE – OVER 100 PEOPLE, NO PROBLEMS
THE BANDS – WELL ATTENDED, MAKE MONEY,
RECORDED
THE DJ – DRINKS, PEOPLE TO STAY AFTERWARDS
THE SECURITY STAFF – NO DRUGS INSIDE, NO
MUPPETS
THE BAR STAFF – PEOPLE TO BUY DRINK OFFERS
THE ATTENDEES – WELL ORGANISED, FREE STUFF
THE SOUND GUYS – TECH SHEETS, BANDS ON
TIME

7. MOST MUSIC NIGHT LOSE
MONEY
THE VAST MAJORITY OF UNSIGNED BAND NIGHTS
ARE QUIET AND LOSE MONEY
I CREATED A FORMULA AND STUCK TO IT
ALL THE EVENTS WERE PACKED AND MADE
MONEY
EVERYONE WAS HAPPY
I DID ABOUT 100 OR SO MUSIC EVENTS

8. LEAVING BT
I STARTED A PRINT AND DESIGN COMPANY
HAD 2 FULL TIME DESIGNERS
I RAN IT ALL FROM BT
I WAS FIRED FOR GROSS MISCONDUCT
I VOWED TO NEVER WORK FOR ANYONE EVER
AGAIN

9. SCALING UP THE PRINTING
COMPANY
I FOCUSED ON GETTING SMALL ORDERS, MAKING
ON AVERAGE £12
THESE CUSTOMERS WOULD BUY FROM ME ABOUT
ONCE A YEAR
I THEN FOCUSED ON DESIGNERS
I STARTED MAKING ABOUT £22 PER ORDER,
SOME PEOPLE ORDERED 5-10 TIMES PER WEEK

10. MOVING TO LONDON
I MOVED TO LONDON APRIL 1ST 2009
I ATTENDED A NUMBER OF MEETUPS
SOME WERE TERRIBLE
I DECIDED I COULD PROBABLY DO BETTER

11. INTERESTING TALKS
LONDON
AFTER I DID MY RESEARCH, I SET UP MY FIRST
EVENT
IT WAS A CHARITY EVENT ON CONVERSATION
SKILLS
BOTH SPEAKERS FAILED TO SHOW
DISASTER

12. INTERESTING TALKS
LONDON

13. INTERESTING TALKS
LONDON
I THOUGHT IT WENT REALLY BADLY
HOWEVER LOTS OF PEOPLE LOVED IT
SO I THOUGHT I WOULD DO IT AGAIN
WENT BETTER
SO I DID IT AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN

14. WHO TO KEEP HAPPY
THE VENUE MANAGER
THE SPEAKERS
THE ATTENDEES

15. WHO TO KEEP HAPPY
THE VENUE MANAGER – BE RELIABLE, ASK PEOPLE
TO BUY DRINKS
THE SPEAKERS – TO MAKE SURE A FULL ROOM OF
PEOPLE, WELL ORGANISED.
THE ATTENDEES – PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY
EVENTS THAT ARE WELL RUN

16. DID I HAVE GOALS OR
PASSION?
NO
NOEL GALLAGHER ONCE SAID “IF I KNEW HOW
MANY PEOPLE WOULD HAVE LISTENED TO
WONDERWALL, I WOULD NEVER HAVE FINISHED
OF WRITING IT”
YOU CAN NOT BE PASSIONATE ABOUT
SOMETHING YOU ARE NOT DOING
JUST GET ON WITH IT!!!

17. THE KEY STEPS
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU LIKE
RESEARCH WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING
DO A SMALL SCALE TEST AND GET FEEDBACK
CREATE A STRUCTURE
DO IT AGAIN AND IMPROVE
KEEP THINGS SIMPLE
MAKE SURE YOU DO THE LITTLE THINGS
PROPERLY

18. SOME COMMON MISTAKES
OVER COMPLICATING THINGS
NOT COMMITTING TO DOING ONE THING WELL
THINKING YOU SHOULD BE PASSIONATE ALL THE
TIME
NOT DOING RESEARCH
INVESTING LOTS AT THE START
NOT HAVING A SCALABLE PRODUCT/SERVICE
NOT KEEPING AN EYE ON THE FINANCES

19. BUSINESS STUFF
BUSINESS TYPE - SOLE TRADER, PARTNERSHIP,
LTD
ACCOUNTS – QUICKBOOKS AND OTHER
PACKAGES
TAKING PAYMENTS – HOW DO YOU DO IT?
PRODUCT STRUCTURE – FREE TO PREMIUM
CONTENT – HAVING A STRATEGIC PLAN
SALES FUNNELS – HOW TO SELL TO PEOPLE

20. RESOURCES YOU NEED
CLICK FUNNELS OR WORDPRESS
SSL CERTIFICATES
REGISTER WITH HMRC
INSURANCE
EMAIL AUTO RESPONDER
CHIP AND PIN MACHINE
PAYPAL OR STRIPE ACCOUNT

21. BUILD IT AND THEY WILL
COME
CREATE A FANBASE BEFORE YOU MAKE A
PRODUCT OR SERVICE
CONNECT WITH PEOPLE AND CREATE A
FOLLOWING
DO THIS WITH FACEBOOK FAN PAGE/GROUP,
INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE, SNAPCHAT OR LINKEDIN
ASK PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT, AND THEN

22. PRODUCT LADDER
WHAT DO YOU SELL?
WHAT IS THE STRUCTURE?
WHAT CAN YOU UPSELL?
CAN YOU PUT PEOPLE ONTO REOCCURRING
BILLING?
NUTRITIONIST – FREE EBOOK, £7 BOOK, ONLINE
COURSE, WORKSHOP, 1-2-1, RETREATS,

23. MY BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY
BRING AS MUCH VALUE AS YOU CAN TO OTHERS
HELP AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO MAKE
MONEY
BE COMPETENT AT WHAT YOU DO
YOU DO NOT HAVE AN OFF DAY
WHAT IS YOURS???

24. A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
STRUCTURE
Your Skills
Systemisation
Accounts,
marketing etc
Consumer
Demand

25. DOMINATE A PLATFORM

26. I DOMINATED MEETUP
• How to get members to join
• Getting people to rate the
events
• Getting people to review the
group
• How many pictures to add
• When to send out emails

27. MEMBER JOINS OVER THE YEARS

28. OVERALL PLAN
•Create an audience
•Ask them what they want
•Supply it (products and services)
•Systemise it
•Sell it on or hire staff

29. MY EVENT STRUCTURE – PRE EVENT
Book speaker (speaker pack and google forms)
Speak with speaker and go over how to give the best talk
Create Meetup event (same structure)
Put event onto Eventbrite and Facebook
Email the venue to confirm numbers
Email attendees with information
Speak with the speaker on the day and confirm tech stuff

30. MY EVENT STRUCTURE – EVENT
• Arrive at 6pm and ensure venue is set up correctly
• Set up projector and mic
• Go through things with the speaker
• Open doors at 6:30pm and welcome people in
• Introduce speaker at 7pm
• Break at 7:50 and restart at 8:10
• Finish at 9pm

31. MY EVENT STRUCTURE – POST EVENT
• Email those who attended to thank them for attending
• Upload pictures
• Email speaker to thank them
• Read the reviews and comments

32. OVER TO YOU
•What is it you like doing?
•What skills do you have?
•Who are your idea customers?
•What platform can you dominate?

33. MARKET RESEARCH
•Who else is doing this?
•How can you make it better or
different?
•What other research can you do?
•Who is your ideal customer?

34. SMALL SCALE TEST
•How can you test this on a small scale?
•How could you scale it up?
•Who would be big customers?

35. WHAT PRODUCTS/SERVICES DO YOU NEED?
•Domains
•Emails
•Website
•Payment processors
•Supplies and inventory

36. HOW WILL YOU ACTUALLY DELIVER THE
SERVICE/PRODUCT?
•What needs to happen before?
•When needs to happen during?
•What need to happen after?

37. THE POWER OF NETWORKING
•Write down your name
•Write down your business idea
•Write down one specific thing you need
help with
•What is one skill or resource you have
to offer
•We are going to go round the room!!!

38. FINAL TIPS
•Do your research
•Don’t get too attached
•Make sure you study the figures
•Improve things all the time
•Be nice to people

39. THANK YOU
•For allowing me to do this job
•For coming week after week
•For giving up your time and making
the effort to be here
•For supporting me in my ventures
•And finally……..

40. Rate and
Review