Speaking/workshop fees? Yikes. New to this.

amother

Fri, Jan 02 2015, 2:05 am

I have been wanting to venture outward into giving speeches/workshops relevant to my profession. I emailed a local library to ask if they had any interest, thinking they would probably want it on a volunteer basis but would be good exposure for my primary (related) business and experience to show others in the future. They responded with interest but a lot more formally than I was expecting - I can come up with formal-sounding titles and descriptions for my "programs" but they also asked what my fee is. I have no idea what to say! My past experience was either part of my schooling (graduate work that included giving classes/workshops) or on a volunteer basis. I don't want to undersell myself but also don't want them to just totally lose interest if my quote is too high. Help! What do I say?

I'd ask what the going rate is but I'd assume the city library has a lower budget than private institutions. Maybe I'm wrong. What's cool is that if it goes well maybe it could lead to opportunities to give the same presentation in different branches. But I'd obviously want to charge enough to make it worth my time...
We're talking about I suppose about an hour's worth (each) of slightly-interactive lessons on education-related topics such as how to get special ed services for your children in school, tips for doing homework with kids who have learning difficulties, building social skills, etc.

*edited title to be more descriptive

ohsleepy1

Fri, Jan 02 2015, 2:26 am

It sounds like you were assuming you'd be doing this for free. If so, and assuming you're correct about a librarys budget, I'd say between $50 & $75 per hour session for the first x sessions (however many sessions you think will complete the entire course.) If they want you to give repeating classes on a long-term basis, if there will be a large attendance, if you have to do a significant amount of work to prepare each class, or if each participant will be charged a fee, I think you can charge more. I'd definitely say there is a market for this. The available services for special education, how to navigate the system, & what to do to help your child is very confusing. Where are you located? I'd like to hear you speak!

amother

Fri, Jan 02 2015, 2:35 am

I am thinking it would be stand-alone sessions, not classes with multiple parts. I am pretty sure the libraries do not charge anything to attendees. Some classes would be more prep work than others, since I have a couple of workshops I've given before and a couple of topics I know cold enough that I could *almost* prepare in my sleep, while others that would be of more interest I would need to put together from scratch - but then I'd have them to offer around so I'm OK with that.

I'm not an expert on how to navigate the system, but I know the basics and I know many parents don't, so I could still speak about it on some level. More hands-on what to do with the actual kids is more my field of expertise, that's the end I work on most, the bureaucracy is sort of in the background to me.

I'm afraid to charge too much because I don't have a name yet, it's not like they've heard of me from somewhere, I'm actually pretty surprised that they're showing such interest in my unsolicited proposal. Which just goes to show that you should always give something a try because you never know. Though I don't actually have the job yet, they've only asked for details not accepted my offerings yet. Still - hope!

I'm in NYC but if I were you I wouldn't be so excited to hear me speak until I've actually done it a couple of times and people can tell you if I'm any good! embarrassed

It feels so strange to start billing myself as a speaker, but I guess everyone has to start somewhere!

amother

Fri, Jan 02 2015, 9:21 am

Wow, ohsleepy what a sweet vote of confidence! If I talk about the special ed process it will probably be geared toward public school parents. Other than that you're more than welcome. Really counting chickens here, aren't I?

Any professional speakers or people who hire them on here and can tell me what a normal rate would be?

amother

Fri, Jan 02 2015, 12:41 pm

amother wrote:

I don't know if this is relevant at all, but I once received $500 for a speech of about half hour for an organization's fundraiser.

Definitely ask around before underselling yourself. Can you post the question to a general audience like on yahoo's ask?

amother

Fri, Jan 02 2015, 12:47 pm

amother wrote:

I wouldn't trust the respondents on Yahoo Ask. I've seen Q&A's from there before and they seem pretty random to me. Isn't that the one where any old shmoe can post answers, and you have no way of knowing their qualifications at all?

I did ask on a different forum where I know at least a couple of professional speakers participate. I hope someone will have a tip.

I also asked someone who does this professionally and asked if she has advice for someone starting out - unfortunately(ish) she not only has advice but has already put it into a webinar for quite a respectable fee. LOL. I'm sure it's great but I don't know if I'm in a position to make that investment now. However she did also say that for this situation I should try avoiding giving a number first if possible, see if I can get them to reveal their budget first. I guess I'll try that and if they make me give a number first I'll still be where I am now.

$500 for a half hour speech. Wow. Are you some kind of celebrity or something?

amother

Fri, Jan 02 2015, 12:49 pm

amother wrote:

I'm in a related field and I charge frum schools $100/hour when I do an inservice for the teachers.

Thanks for sharing that. This is good to know. Do you know if that is typical? How did you come up with that fee? Do you do it as individual classes or are you charging by the hour for an hours-long event where you're doing the whole thing? How long have you been doing this? Are you like me where your main qualification is your practice, or are you also an established speaking personality?

Sorry to be so nosy but I'm really interested in going in this direction and would like to know what it's like.

amother

Fri, Jan 02 2015, 1:47 pm

amother wrote:

I spoke to a couple of people in my field and they seemed to think it was fair given my level of experience, but I'm not really sure if there's a "going rate." I prefer to cover all the material in a three hour seminar vs breaking it up over several sessions, but that probably isn't realistic for the speaking engagement that you're planning. I definitely do not speak regularly, in fact I hate it lol. My practice is a combination of one on one sessions, mentoring, and consulting.

Optione

Fri, Jan 02 2015, 2:24 pm

Considering you weren't expecting to get paid, and preparation doesn't sound like it will be stressful for you, I'd say $75 an hour. Yes, this is probably underselling yourself here but if your goal is EXPOSURE then you're getting a lot more getting a lot more than getting more than $75- assuming it goes well and will get you more speaking engagements where you can get more than $75/hour. Good luck!!

amother

Fri, Jan 02 2015, 3:14 pm

Lecturing is a capitalistic venture. Hillary Clinton gets in the 6 figures to spew for an hour, while there are some very wonderful scholars I know who can't get a bro bono gig. It's all about supply and demand, reputation, and what people are willing to pay. Some speakers also have sliding scales.50-75 for your guinea pig audience that is not making a profit sounds fair. Good luck!!