If you want to have a comfortable and successful career as a global keynote speaker, where should you live?

The answer, if you ask me, is: Singapore.

And thus Singapore is the city I choose to settle down in when I made a conscious decision to become a global keynote speaker. Now I speak in 20-30 countries on 4-5 continents per year.

When I decided to pick a local base for my global speaking business I was very detailed. I knew I wanted to live in Asia (see #5  future ready) and I then lived for at least 2 weeks in 10 different Asian cities to really evaluate them from the perspective of which city would be the best place to live when building a global speaking career.

Here are the reasons I have come up with for why Singapore won as the best base for a global speaker:

Reason #1: The number of direct flights all over the world.

I am writing this from San Francisco International airport where I am waiting to board a plane.

I flew straight to San Francisco from Singapore.

Later this week I am speaking in Switzerland and I will then fly straight back to Singapore.

I can reach Australia, Asia, Europe and both the East and West coast of North America with direct flights from Singapore.

Yes Turkey (Istanbul), Doha and Dubai could be great places too due to the great global connections from those airports. But the speaking opportunities in (!) Istanbul, Doha and Dubai is not as great as they are in Singapore.

Reason #2: Best Airport in the world.

Singapore Changi Airport has been voted “Best Airport in the World” so many times that other airports should be ashamed. It just is such a great airport.

– I am often HOME less than 30 minutes after my plane landed.

– It’s one of the most automated airports in the world.

– It’s build to be stressless (just the fact that security is next to the gate (!) and not next to immigration is such a “de-stresser”.

– Most importantly: It virtually never closes and very, very seldom there are delays.

The airports works and it woks in a wonderful way.

(If you ask me the way an airport works is more important from a flying experience than the airlines)

 

Reason #3: Best Airline in the world.

Singapore Airlines is the gold standard in flying. The service is the best if you ask me and the business class seats are a dream. Best way to fly.

Reason #4: Quality of life

The amount of government service you get for your tax dollar in Singapore is the best in the world if you ask me. Of course there is always things that can be better, but over all Singapore is an amazing country to live in. (I have worked in 67 countries so I have had a chance to compare many countries…)

Reason #5: Future ready.

Asia is not the biggest market for speakers today. But Asia will be. 60% of the world population lives in Asia and Asia is where the world center of gravity is moving to. To be based in Asia is to be closer to the future.

Reason #6: The most global place on Earth.

Singapore is such a global place. 50% of the people in Singapore who work are from outside Singapore. It’s a mix of cultures (Chinese, Indian, Malay, Western etc) and cultural differences are celebrated.

If you want to have a global mindset it really helps to live in a global city and if you ask me Singapore is the most global city in the world.

So there you have it: If you are a professional speaker, a motivational speaker, an inspirational speaker or any other kind of speaker and you want to speak globally then Singapore is the place to be based. It’s your base on Earth.

At least it is for me.

And it works.

Want some proof? When I moved to Singapore I had spoken in 10 or so countries. Now, 10 years later, I have been invited to speak in 67 countries. And I can honestly say that moving to Singapore played a big part in making that happen.

 

Important information if you are a professional speaker (motivational speaker, inspirational speaker, trainer, MC, Professor – any kind of speaker in Singapore or in Asia) interested in growing your speaking career: Today is the LAST DAY to sign up for the 2019 Asia Professional Speakers Convention.

(Full disclosure: I am sharing this on my blog with no financial incentive for myself. The Asia Professional Speakers Convention is run by Asia Professional Speakers Singapore (APSS) of which I am a member and the current President. APSS (www.AsiaSpeakers.org) is a non-profit association dedicated to help develop speakers in Asia.
Sign up here: https://www.asiaspeakers.org/events/asia-professional-speakers-convention-2019-speak-future

Some information:

The Asia Professional Speakers Convention (#APSC19) is the largest speaker convention in Asia and the most global speaker convention in the world!

Last year more than 250 speakers from 25 countries on 5 continents learnt, networked and got inspired.

In 2019 we aim to get more than 300 speakers to come. Join us!

Asia is the most interesting speaker market in the world, and it is set to become the largest speaker market in the near future.

The theme of the convention in 2019 is “Speak the Future”.

The Asia Professional Speakers Convention is the best place to learn how to best take advantage of the huge opportunities that the future brings for professional speakers speaking in Asia.

There just is no other event like this.

It’s most likely will be the best investment you will make in developing your speaking business in 2019. Sign up today.

Annual Convention: 10-11th May 2019

Super Early Bird Prices:

Convention Only for APSS Member – $499 SGD
Convention Only for Non APSS Member – $588 SGD SGD
Convention with Associate Membership (1 year) – $750 SGD
Convention with Professional Membership (1 year) – $870 SGD
Gala Dinner Only – $150 SGD
One Day Convention with Gala Dinner – $399 SGD
One Day Convention without Gala Dinner – $300 SGD
(Super Early Bird price will end 31st December 2018)
Join more than 300 professional speakers from around the world in Singapore on 10-11 May 2019.

Sign up here: https://www.asiaspeakers.org/events/asia-professional-speakers-convention-2019-speak-future

Fredrik Haren, today writing to you as the President APSS.

(Picture from last year’s convention.)

In the last few days I have been featured on Linkedin by two speaker bureaus that I have the pleasure to be represented by, so that triggered me to write this post to help other speakers get more work with bureaus too.

Many fellow professional speakers ask me how to work with bureaus, and if you have read this blog over the years you have seen me give advise on different ways to work with bureaus.

Today I want to talk about how to handle leads in connection to bureaus.

1) If you get a booking through a bureau and a person comes up to you after your speech and says “That was a great speech, I would like to book you for our upcoming convention” what do you do?

Right answer: Take the persons business card and follow up with the client and CC the bureau that got you that gig.

2) A person emails you 6 months after you did the speech and says: ““That was a great speech, I would like to book you for our upcoming convention” what do you do?

Right answer: Reply to the potential client and CC the bureau that got you that gig.

3) You have just done a public speech in a country where you have not spoken for a long time (or never) and you get an email inviting to back to the same country from another organisers. What do you do?

Right answer: Reply to the potential client and CC the bureau that got you the first public booking (as most likely the second person reached out to you after seeing the public advertising for you for the first conference.). (Something I just did today actually for a speech request in Ukraine that I got on email today.)

4) A person contacts you about a speech (say in Sri Lanka) and then a few days later you get a request from a speaker bureau for the same speech, what do you do?

Right answer: Offer the bureau to take over the discussion with the client even if the client first went to you.

Speaker bureaus exist to help their clients find the right speakers. They do not exist to help the speakers find more work. That means speakers need to be VERY thankful for all the work they get from the bureaus, and it also means that the speakers should be very generous with giving leads to the bureaus they work with.

This might sound obvious, but I hear so many bureaus complain about how common it is for speakers to take leads that they got from work that was given to them from a bureau and try to get follow up work by bypassing the bureau.

Bad idea.

So tag all your leads in your CRM system as “Bureau Clients/Bureau Lead” so that you KNOW if that lead came from a bureau gig even if that person emails you years later.

A bureau who feels that you will give follow up leads to them will also give follow up work to you. A bureau who feels that you do not will stop working with you…