Could This Business Idea Work in Eastern Kentucky? A Regional Speakers Bureau

MOREHEAD, Ky. — When people talk about starting a small business, the same suggestions seem to surface over and over again: lawn care, pressure washing, T-shirts, crafts, food trucks, online stores and other businesses that may already face considerable competition.

But every now and then, an idea comes along that makes you ask a different question:

Why isn't somebody already doing this here?

That's the idea behind a new occasional feature from The Morehead Minute, where we'll take a look at unusual or potentially underserved business concepts and ask whether they could work in Eastern Kentucky.

Our first idea: a regional speakers bureau.

A speakers bureau acts as a middleman between organizations looking for speakers and individuals available to speak at events.

Suppose a business is planning its annual employee banquet and wants a motivational speaker. A nonprofit needs someone to address addiction recovery. A church is planning a men's conference. A historical society wants an Appalachian storyteller. A school needs someone to speak about leadership.

Instead of each organization searching for someone on its own, it contacts a speakers bureau.

The bureau maintains a roster of speakers, their topics, programs, fees and availability and helps match the right person with the right event.

National speakers bureaus already do this, sometimes representing nationally known personalities who command thousands—or even tens of thousands—of dollars for an appearance.

But what about a bureau built specifically around Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia?

A search by The Morehead Minute found several speaker programs operating in Kentucky, although many are specialized or institutional rather than a commercial bureau devoted specifically to Eastern Kentucky.

The Kentucky Humanities Speakers Bureau, for example, has connected communities with writers, historians, storytellers and other humanities presenters across the Commonwealth. However, Kentucky Humanities has announced that its Speakers Bureau program will close at the end of October 2026 following federal funding cuts.

The Kentucky Academy of Science also maintains a Speakers Bureau focused on science and engineering, while Big Sandy Community and Technical College offers speakers for groups, clubs and classrooms.

Commercial speaker representation exists elsewhere in Kentucky and nationally.

What wasn't immediately apparent in our search was a major commercial speakers bureau whose primary identity is representing a broad selection of Eastern Kentucky and Appalachian speakers to regional organizations.

And that got us thinking.

Eastern Kentucky certainly isn't lacking people with stories to tell or knowledge to share.

A regional bureau could potentially represent:

Appropriate professional credentials would obviously be important when someone is being marketed as an expert in areas such as mental health, addiction treatment, finance or healthcare.

But a bureau wouldn't necessarily need hundreds of speakers.

A carefully selected roster of 10 or 20 quality presenters covering several popular subjects could be enough to begin testing the concept.

That's where Eastern Kentucky becomes interesting.

Potential customers are everywhere.

Hospitals, banks, schools, colleges, chambers of commerce, churches, libraries, funeral homes, hospices, civic organizations, nonprofits, addiction recovery organizations, historical societies, tourism groups, nursing facilities, county governments and professional associations all hold events where speakers may be needed.

There are also conferences, employee training programs, annual banquets, youth events, men's and women's conferences, retreats and community programs throughout the region.

The bureau's job wouldn't simply be putting names on a website and hoping somebody finds them.

It would actively market those speakers to organizations throughout the region.

An organization might contact the bureau and say:

“We're holding a conference in Pikeville. We have a $750 budget and need an inspirational speaker for approximately 45 minutes.”

The bureau could then recommend several speakers who fit the event, budget and location.

That's a service.

Here's where the business model gets interesting.

One national speakers bureau that caught our attention charges speakers a monthly fee to participate. The advertised price we encountered was $99 per month.

That's nearly $1,200 a year before the speaker necessarily receives a single booking.

A regional entrepreneur could potentially turn that model upside down:

Don't make money by signing speakers. Make money by booking them.

Instead of charging a large monthly membership fee, the bureau could receive an agreed-upon commission whenever it secures a paid engagement.

For illustration, if a speaker charged $750 and agreed to a 20% bureau commission, the bureau would receive $150 and the speaker would receive $600.

No booking?

No commission.

That arrangement would also give the bureau an incentive to actually promote its roster rather than simply collect membership fees.

Actual commissions, contracts, taxes, insurance requirements and the classification of speakers would need to be carefully researched before launching such a business.

Here's another twist that could make the concept easier to market.

Instead of listing:

Jane Doe — Motivational Speaker

the bureau could market a specific presentation:

Starting Over: Five Lessons in Resilience

45–60 minute presentation
Ideal for businesses, nonprofits and community organizations
Speaking fee: $500 plus applicable travel expenses

Now the customer isn't simply looking at a person's biography.

They're looking at a program they can book.

An Appalachian historian might offer “Feuds, Coal Camps and Communities: The Story of Eastern Kentucky.”

A business owner might offer “Building a Business in Small-Town Kentucky.”

A veteran might offer a leadership presentation.

A minister might offer a program for Christian men's conferences.

The possibilities are extensive.

If successful, the concept could eventually expand.

A regional agency might also represent storytellers, workshop instructors, emcees, musicians and other performers available for conferences, festivals, banquets and community events.

At that point, the business begins evolving from a traditional speakers bureau into something larger—an Appalachian speakers and talent agency.

And that could potentially serve not only Eastern Kentucky, but southern Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee and other parts of Appalachia.

That's the million-dollar question—and The Morehead Minute certainly isn't going to tell someone to quit their job tomorrow and start a speakers bureau.

Every business carries risk.

The biggest challenge probably wouldn't be finding people willing to become speakers. It would be finding enough organizations willing to pay those speakers and convincing those organizations to book through the bureau.

The business would require considerable networking, direct sales and relationship building. Simply creating a website and Facebook page and waiting for customers would probably accomplish very little.

But compared with many businesses, the concept could potentially be tested with relatively little overhead. There's no inventory to purchase, no restaurant to equip and no storefront necessarily required.

Someone could start small, recruit a handful of qualified speakers and begin talking directly with organizations that regularly hold events.

If nobody is interested, you've learned something without investing a fortune.

If organizations start asking, “Who else do you have?”

You may have found something.

We don't know.

And that's precisely the point of this new feature.

There are plenty of articles online promising “10 Businesses You Can Start Today” or “25 Side Hustles That Will Make You Rich.”

We're not interested in making those promises.

Instead, The Morehead Minute wants to occasionally look around Eastern Kentucky, identify something that appears to be missing or underserved and ask:

Could somebody build a business around this?

A regional speakers bureau certainly isn't your everyday small-business idea.

Maybe there's a reason nobody has built a major one around Eastern Kentucky.

Or maybe somebody simply hasn't tried it yet.

What do you think? Would an Eastern Kentucky speakers bureau work? Would your business, church, school or organization use a regional service to find speakers? And if you're an entrepreneur, is this an idea you'd investigate?

The Morehead Minute's “Could This Work Here?” series examines unusual business concepts and potentially underserved services in Eastern Kentucky. Inclusion in this series should not be considered a guarantee of profitability or professional financial or business advice.