May 2020 Newsletter

Nancy Bartlett, 2019-2020 NSA North Texas President

A Note from Your President

Many of you are letting me know that your imaginations are running overtime! You have likely heard a lot of opinions about “what you should be doing” during this stay-at-home time. As always, keep in mind that we each have our own unique businesses and approaches to our work. I encourage you to not stress about what others say you should be doing right now. You’ve heard at many of our gatherings, that a lot of well-meaning people will say buy this product, sell this way, write that book right now, purchase my coaching, and more. Explore and investigate what sounds interesting to you and proceed with what makes sense to you. Or, spend some quality time with family while you have the opportunity.

My daughter has told me what a blessing it is to have slowed down with her family. She has three children involved in a myriad of sports and activities after school every day. They are constantly going from one to the next. Not now. And they all love it (although she said she will see what that looks like a month from now)! Do what makes sense to you during this unique time in our history.

Our April Chapter meeting was a great success with our own Vince Poscente and his video intensive session. In fact, he presented longer than planned because our members wanted more! Vince graciously and enthusiastically kept going. Some of the feedback noted that it felt like participants had a front row seat at a meeting – up close and personal. We know that our May speaker, Lenora Billings-Harris will provide a similar experience. That will also be a Virtual Meeting so be sure to register for it on our website to receive the link. If you watch with anyone else, please register all who are viewing so that we have an accurate count of our audience.

In this May Newsletter, I asked NSA NT Member Candidate Bill King to provide information to all of you about small business loans. He and I had an interesting conversation about this at our March Chapter meeting and it seemed to me that this would be great information to share with our membership. This is Bill’s area of expertise, so please take a look and see how it may apply to you, now and in the future.

Stay safe and healthy!

Imagine your potential,

Nancy Bartlett, CSP
NSA North Texas Chapter President 2019-2020

5 Questions Your Banker Will Ask Post Corona Virus
By Bill King, ASBC, CLFP

One thing to understand about the people that make the credit decisions in Banks, is they generally are not like us entrepreneurs. For them, not only is the glass half-empty, it is probably cracked and leaking. Preparing a loan package for financing is a lot like writing a speech. You MUST write for the intended audience. There are FIVE questions you need to answer when preparing to talk with a Bank post Corona Virus. I suggest these based on 20 years in lending and approving business loans.

I suspect the credit culture is going to tighten up in small business lending. I am already seeing signs of this in loans I am currently working on. A recent Forbes article showed that loan approval rates had dropped from a post-recession high over just over 28% down to 15% in March. Immediately after the questions, I have included for your benefit, an example cover letter to provide to a banker.

How were you doing before the Corona Virus?
Show what your financials looked like in 2019. Include what your planned booking was for 2020 and maybe 2021 (if you schedule that far out). The good thing about speakers is you might have actual booking information to support your growth before all hell broke loose. Not all businesses are going to have that luxury.
How did the virus change your business?
This is where you explain the painful process of the bookings that were cancelled and delayed. You also may want to discuss how you are changing your business by adding multiple income streams. This shows you being less dependent on physical meetings going forward and will make the banker feel that your risk is lowered.
How will your business look after things go back to normal?
This part is important, because you will set off their BS Meter if you are too Optimistic. I believe that events will have lower attendance initially and you will probably still be doing more work virtually for the next year or so. Make the tone optimistic but realistic.
How will the Loan to be used to help you hit these goals?
Most people commonly leave this out of a loan request, but it is of vital importance. A lender needs to clearly understand how the money is going to be used and how it relates to your business succeeding.
What happens if you cannot pay the loan back?

This is always a question on the banker’s mind. Generally, we as speakers, do not have very much tangible collateral in our businesses, so this can be a challenge. One option to consider is an SBA guaranteed loan. We are included in SIC Code 8742 (Management Consulting Services) and should be eligible for SBA Guaranteed financing. Generally, SBA 7A loans under $150,000 have an 85% guarantee to the bank if you default. If you can prepare to answer these questions, the process will be smoother and have a better chance of getting approved.

Part 2

Bill King’s Sample Cover Sheet for a Loan Request

My name is Sir Talks Alot and I have been a speaker for 200 years and I have a lot of letters after my name. I am a best-selling author, having published 100 books and I am currently an active member of The National Speakers Association of North Texas. The Corona Virus shutdown has had a dramatic impact on our industry and my business.

2019 was one of the best years in my speaking career. I conducted over 100 Speeches, had 50 consulting engagements, and produced over $250,000 in revenue. My Calendar for 2020 and into 2021 was booked solid with engagements and I have provided a list of these examples in the supporting documents.

When the shutdown hit, I received several calls from event planners and clients cancelling and postponing the speaking engagements in March – June and some even later. I immediately took the initiative of focusing on other aspects of my business that I could control. We offered virtual training and speaking programs, copies of books and various other items that still provided some revenue to the business, but not nearly what we were making with our regular speaking. I upgraded my technology, improved my website, and began marketing my business as a virtual option in addition to in person speaking.

The purpose of my business loan request will be to provide permanent working capital for my business. I will be making additional investments in my technology, training and website as well as paying down debt that I incurred during this unexpected crisis. I would like to use an SBA 7A loan, which I understand provides a guarantee to the lender of up to 85% for loan amounts under $150,000. I am flexible on the exact terms but would like to minimize the impact on my cashflow for the next few years as I shift my business.

Included with this request are cashflow projections supported by our new committed dates from clients and event planners for the next 12 months. Prior to the corona virus, my business was 90% speaking and 10% other income sources like consulting and book sales. Our revised shift going forward will be 30-40% Virtual delivery and 60-70% In person speaking engagements. Like many business owners, I have been forced to change the way that I do business and become more efficient. The fact that I have over 200 years speaking experience, I am a published author and have a growing virtual presence will help me weather this storm and make my business stronger. My plan is to build a relationship with a bank that I can work with for the years to come. Please review my enclosed financial statements, financial projections and supporting information and call me with any questions that you have.

Thank you,

Sir Talks A Lot

NSA-NT May VIRTUAL Chapter Meeting with

Lenora Billings-Harris, CSP, CPAE

Saturday, May 9, 2020 / 9:00am-noon

Embrace the Change… Capture the Opportunity

15 Sticky Strategies that Engage Today’s Diverse Audience

If you want your message to relate to the broad diversity of people in your sessions, then learn from Lenora’s fun yet straight forward tips and techniques to help you connect. Her illustrations and suggestions can be applied to any learning environment live or virtual no matter what the topic. It is surprisingly easy!

During this interactive, content-rich and fun session you will discover creative ways to apply the principles and techniques of inclusion that grab and keep your audience’s attention. Join past NSA president, past Global Speakers Federation president and 2016 Cavett Award recipient Lenora Billings-Harris, CSP, CPAE to enhance your ability to deliver powerful messages that stick long after the session has ended.

By attending this session, you will:

Discover several easy to use tips to engage your audience
Participate in brain-mining the speaker wisdom in the room for ideas to enhance your topic’s stickiness.
Learn the neuro-science related to inclusion and learning
Have fun while you learn!

REGISTER TODAY!

If you are a guest, let us know!

Join us before the meeting from 8:15a-8:30a for a quick NSA-NT welcome.

May VIRTUAL Labs

Wednesday, May 6 Lissa Duty and Heather Nichols will lead two workshops – Social Media 101 & 102, and To Pay or Not to Pay? Advertising on Social Media without Wasting Time or Money.

Wednesday, May 13 Melanie Murphy and Michelle Adams, Ph.D. will go deep with their lab Neuroscience of Communication: Impact of Non-Verbal & Verbal Communication on our Brains.

Wednesday, May 20 Jerome Gafford, Ph.D, aka The Sales Doctor, will be sharing secrets to Sales & Prospecting Reluctance: Breaking the Fear of Self-Promotion in Your Speaking Business.

Mark Your Calendar for Our Last Chapter Meeting of 2019-2020

June 13, 2020 Lois Creamer will give tips to Book More Business: MAKE MONEY SPEAKING. Marketing for the Experienced Speaker

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