o    Rhonda Abrams knows more about entrepreneurship, business planning, and business growth than just about anyone. She writes about it, researches it and lives it.

o    Rhonda writes a weekly nationally-syndicated column, “Successful Business Strategies,” that is the nation’s most widely-read column about entrepreneurship.  The column appears weekly in USA Today.com, Inc.com, and more than 100 newspapers, reaching over 10 million readers.  

o    Rhonda’s depth of knowledge, enthusiasm, and dynamic style have made her a frequent guest on TV and radio and a keynote speaker for conferences and meetings. Rhonda’s public speaking clients have included: American Express, AT&T, Sony Music, Chevron, Hewlett Packard, Firestone, Intuit. She has given major addresses at national conferences of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Association of Small Business Development Centers, and many leading universities.

o    Rhonda’s first book, The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies, has sold more than 500,000 copies. It was acclaimed by Forbes magazine as one of the two best books for small business and by Inc. as one of the six best. This bestselling business plan guide has been adopted by more than 100 business schools.

o    In 2004, Rhonda had two books published -- Six-Week Start-Up and What Business Should I Start? – and  both made BookScan’s Top 50 Business bestseller list. Six-Week Start-Up helps entrepreneurs launch a business quickly and successfully by taking them through the details of starting a business. What Business Should I Start? enables would-be entrepreneurs to go through a thoughtful process to identify the right business for them.  

o    An experienced entrepreneur, Rhonda has started three successful companies. She is currently President of The Planning Shop, a publishing company focusing exclusively on books and software to help entrepreneurs grow their companies.

o    Rhonda’s real-life experience as well as her broad view of entrepreneurship gives her a unique understanding of the challenges and rewards of being an entrepreneur. Rhonda was educated at Harvard University and UCLA. She lives in Palo Alto, California.

What kind of Audience is right for Rhonda?

o    Reaching the Small Business Market: How does a big corporation reach and market to the small business market? How do salespeople most effectively speak to small business customers? What is happening with the small business market and what makes it so tough for big corporations to gain market share?

o    Growing to the Next Level: Whether for the corporation itself or its marketing partners (channel partners, resellers, etc.), how can they increase sales and take their business to the next level?

Speech Topics:

1) The Leap: Taking Your Business to the Next Level
   Many entrepreneurs find after a number of successful years in business that they are ready to take their companies to a new level—open new locations, enter new markets, release new products—but are overwhelmed with questions about choosing the right growth path and figuring out how best to finance growth. This popular two- or one-day program takes existing businesses step-by-step through the process of creating a well-crafted, actionable growth plan. During the course of the workshop, participants have the opportunity to work on their plans with Rhonda and her associates—by the end of the program, they have a realistic framework for growth which they can take back to their companies. Rhonda has presented this program to rave reviews in the U.S., England, Australia, and Europe.

2) Wear Clean Underwear: Building Great Businesses from Great Values
   In her book, Wear Clean Underwear: Business Wisdom from Mom, Rhonda illuminates how incorporating strong values into running a business benefits the bottom line. In this talk, she shares business practices of outstanding companies Rhonda visited and whose CEOs she interviewed, including Southwest Airlines, Kinko's, Ben and Jerry's, 3M. Wear Clean Underwear was a selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. It has been translated into Japanese, Dutch, and Korean.

3) Nine Sure-Fire Ways to Ruin Your Business Plan
   Rhonda’s book, The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies, is the bestselling business plan guide in the US. It is used in over 100 business schools as well as in enterprise-development projects in developing countries throughout the world. Rhonda is widely-acknowledged as the authority on the topic of developing a business plan. This topic can be a speech, workshop, or training seminar.

4) I Don’t Care Who Made This Mess, Just Clean it Up!
   Isn’t it frustrating when an employee responds to a problem with a “It’s not my job” attitude. How can managers get employees to take more initiative? In this talk, Rhonda shows how companies can build an atmosphere that gets all employees to jump in – whether to solve problems or to suggest improvements. A talk that will produce results!

5) Bricks and Clicks – New Strategies to Succeed in Today’s Business World
   Technology has revolutionized many of the ways we do business today. But business fundamentals haven’t changed. How can businesses incorporate the Internet and other technology with real-life business issues and concerns. What works. What doesn’t. When to be high-tech. When to be low-tech or no-tech. A technology talk everyone can actually understand!

6) I Pay Them – What More Do They Want?

   Good employees can be hard to find – and even harder to retain. In this speech, Rhonda offers tips on keeping employees motivated, focused, productive and happy.  Filled with lots of useful advice and a healthy dose of humor, this presentation can be a keynote, workshop or training seminar.

7) Go for the Gold, Not for the Glamour – Finding Success in Niche Businesses

   The business press is enamored of entrepreneurs in glamour industries or with cutting-edge new concepts. But opportunities abound to build successful companies in overlooked, less-glamorous industries. Rhonda helps entrepreneurs develop strategies for uncovering the riches in niches.