by Vernetta R. Freeney
Budget according to the dictionary means an estimate of income and expenditures during a set period of time. In business, it’s a vital organ we must nurture.
It’s also a word people don’t like to utter publicly. You may not be able to create projections or financial reports (that’s why we have CPAs and Accountants) but you as a small business owner or entrepreneur should be able to create your own budget. Especially when planning a tour, this is a step you cannot skip.
When you plan to travel the country on your own platform, a budget is the first thing you need to write down. Even if you are not sure how to create a budget for a national tour especially if this will be your first one, start with what you think you will pay for and what you think you will use as revenue streams.
3 Reasons A Tour Budget Does Matter:
- It determines the level of luxury your tour will have. The experience and atmosphere you want to provide is a major consideration for your budget. If you want your attendees to feel their investment was well worth it, then you need to budget for nicer venues. On the other hand, you can also provide a feeling of luxury without the expense of an expensive venue rental. There are many other ways to make your attendees feel their investment was worth it.
- It prioritizes what matters most. When you know what the focus of your tour is, you’ll be able to prioritize where you will spend your money. Ultimately you will spend money to enhance the focus of your tour.
- It determines if you’ll make a profit or not. Once you know the level of luxury and what you’ll focus on, you have to know what streams of revenue you’ll create from the tour. Unless you have a sponsor who will fund the entire tour, you need to know how you’ll make a profit. As an entrepreneur you want to make a profit or why bother hosting a tour, right? Knowing where you are spending money and how much you expect to bring in helps to solidify the budget you are creating.
Creating a budget is not only essential but beneficial to the success of your national tour. You don’t want to be halfway through your tour and run out of money. No one wants or probably can afford a lost like that. Having a budget in place prevents situations like that from happening.
Vernetta R. Freeney is the Founder/Chairwoman of the Award-Winning Women Are Gamechangers blog and creator of the Award-Winning Fusion Tour, a national intimate business conversation tour for women who work from home, bloggers and introverts.
She is an educator, blogger, speaker, and advocate for women and youth. You will find Vernetta online sharing and discussing topics ranging from blogging, grants, women Gamechangers, social justice, Fusion and the latest news to what’s she has coming up.
When she is not online causing people to think, you can find her teaching at a local Houston college, volunteering with a youth organization, speaking somewhere across the country, blogging on her blogs or others, curled up on her couch reading a really good book or cheering on her beloved Dallas Mavericks.
Vernetta may have begun her career working in nonprofits then transitioned into education. But her true calling has always been being a champion for women taking control of their purpose in life. Her goal is to help unleash the Gamechanger within many women through Fusion Tour.
