Look Who's Talking at FKB Media's Find A Speaker Bureau
It was an idea that I had 25 years ago, when I was on maternity leave with my first child. There was a program the government was offering for people on E.I., which mat leave fell under, to receive a $3000 grant, business training and mentorship for a business idea with merit. Even though I had a job as a producer at Citytv at the time, I also had that entrepreneurial spirit inside of me. I decided to go for it and put together a business plan for a diverse speaker bureau. Keep in mind this was 25 years ago, before the push for diversity, EDI and social media, podcasts and livestreams that gives anyone who wants it a platform for their voice and opinion. I presented my idea to the project manager for the program. He thought it was well put together and a sound idea, but he doubted my ability to get the recognizable names that I listed as potential clients. You see, because I worked in media, I interacted and had access to some pretty high profile people. But sadly, I think this middle-aged white gentleman looked at this young Black girl who just had a baby and just didn’t believe it. He declined my application in the same breathe that he applauded it, acknowledging it was needed in the speaker landscape.
Fast forward to the fall of 2023, and I was in my reset phase for my business going into 2024. Former politician Mitzie Hunter approached me about speaking requests that she was receiving and how to handle them. I rattled off some advice to her and went back to business as usual. She came back to me again with questions and then we started talking about me taking on the role of representing her for these requests. I told her that the idea of running a speakers bureau was a long buried one, almost forgotten. We agreed that she would be my guinea pig to see if I wanted to expand my business into this arena. My team started creating speaker forms, bios packages, requirements, agreements, etc. But it was the social media posts that gave us the push and told us that there was an appetite for a speakers bureau.
People were asking to join the speakers bureau either through referrals, seeing the marketing or word of mouth. I started on boarding and booking - Find A Speaker was born! It has been a whirlwind of activity and excitement since I started to expand into this world. First, I realized there are a lot of folks looking for proper representation. Secondly, this is not a local or national expansion - it’s global! I’m very excited about becoming a serious player in this world and the early believers are a strong group that I’m proud to represent.
We partnered with the RBC Black Diamond Ball in February that saw three of our speakers (Trudy Stone, Roxanne Francis and Mitzie Hunter) as presenters, Lee-Anne Lyon-Bartley gave the keynote address and Maggie John hosted the event. We recently partnered with Cineplex to plan a showcase for our women speakers and will be inviting bookers, event planners, marketers, educators and HR reps to present two speaker spotlights in September. Make sure to scan the QR code below and get added to our email list for your invite - space is limited and the event is free to attend.
This experience is showing me that it’s never too late to implement an idea - even 25 years later. Nothing happens before it’s time. Yes, a lot happened in the last quarter of a century in my life, but it all led me to this place, so I wouldn’t change a thing. Make sure to check out our Find A Speaker page - we keep adding new speakers - spread the word and let us bring that FKB Media quality and expertise to your next event.
