Brian Smith, Founder of Ugg Boots, Kicks Off Speaker Sponsorship 101 Seminar

    SAN DIEGO, CA, October 15, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Ugg Boots founder Brian Smith will be kicking off the Speaker Sponsorship 101 seminar in San Diego, Oct. 26th at Marina Village.

They say a great salesman is someone who can "sell ice to eskimos". If that's true, Brian Smith is one of the best. He literally started his Ugg Boots brand by selling sheepskin boots to Southern California surfers. A surfer himself, Smith knew once the surfers tried them, they would fall in love with them. And he was right. Now the iconic brand is sold all over the world, and Smith credits part of that to the fact that he sponsored surfing contests when his brand was just getting started. "To compete against the big guys, you have to be different", says Smith. "Sponsorship is one way small businesses can compete."

As a brand owner he knew the value of sponsorship in reaching his target market. Now as a speaker, he sees that same value, and will share his knowledge of sponsorship with speakers at the seminar.

Speaker Sponsorship 101 is the brainchild of Speaker Sponsor CEO, Julie Austin. Also a speaker, Austin got tired of the sheer number of meetings and conferences that weren't able to pay speakers, either through budget cuts or other reasons. So, she created an online directory for speakers looking for sponsorship from the small business community, and now teaches speakers how to apply the innovative techniques she's used as a speaker to get paid from small businesses for representing their brands.

"As the sponsorship director on a TV pilot, I literally went door to door looking for sponsors for the show", says Austin. "As a speaker, I realized the small business community was an untapped goldmine. Big corporations have been doing it for years, but most in the small business community have never even heard of it. So now I'm on a mission to educate both about how valuable sponsorship is."

The seminar will end with a panel discussion of industry experts on how to find speaking jobs. On the panel will be Jan Jones of the Jan Jones Speaker's Bureau. Jan is an international speaker's agent, handling such speaking giants as Richard Branson and Donald Trump, Jr. Before that she spent years as an assistant to Tony Robbins. Also on the panel will be Holli Catchpole of Speaker's Office, a management service for speakers. For over 25 years Holli has managed the careers of some of today's top speakers.

Brian Smith is available for interviews and can be reached at [email protected].

Julie Austin is available for interviews and can be reached at 310-444-7788 or [email protected].

"Speaker Sponsorship 101 - How to Make Six Figures a Year as a Speaker...Using Other People's Money" - San Diego, CA - October 26th, 2013 - 12:00 - 4:00pm, registration opens at 11:30 am
Marina Village
1936 Quivira Way
San Diego, CA 92109

Related resources: http://www.sponsorshipevents.com//
http://www.speakersponsor.com//
www.creativeinnovationgroup.com// http://www.briansmith.com

Speaker Sponsorship 101 Seminar is a co-venture between Speaker Sponsor, the only online directory for speakers looking for small business sponsorship, and the San Diego Speaker's Guild.

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