The Business of Meetings

We are delighted to be speaking with Johann Zietsmann today! Johann is the President and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. He joins us to share his unique and fantastic journey and talk about servant leadership, the philosophy of Ubuntu, and the arts. We even sing a little bit!   We hope you enjoy listening to today’s captivating conversation with Johann Zietsmann! Bio: Johann Zietsman:  Born in the 1950s in South Africa, Johann Zietsman grew up under the Apartheid regime and first got involved in the arts as a brass player in his high school band. That led to his lifelong passion for the transformative value and role of the arts in a community. After serving in the military, he graduated as an architect, and Johann and his wife, Tharrie, moved to Ithaca, New York, where he completed a Master’s degree in music. After returning to South Africa in 1982, Johann started a 20-year career in various executive arts management positions, including a music school, two orchestras, an opera, and music theatre company, a community arts center, a large multi-theatre performing arts company, and a commercial communications company. During this time, he was actively involved in the political transformation of his homeland through pioneering work in the arts, resulting in recognition from Mr. Nelson Mandela’s government. As a volunteer, he launched and directed two community youth initiatives, which currently serve about 4000 at-risk children (annually) in townships. Johann and his family moved to the United States when he was recruited in 2002 by the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA), based in New York City. Since June 2007 he served as Executive Director of the Mesa Arts Center, and Director of Arts and Culture for the city of Mesa, Arizona. In December 2009, Johann accepted the position of President and CEO of Arts Commons in Calgary, Canada. He took up the role of President & CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami in December 2018. Johann’s journey Johann was born in South Africa during the apartheid. As with many other white South Africans, he grew up with the idea things were normal. In time, however, he realized how terrible and wrong apartheid was and tried to do something about it.  The military At eighteen, he got conscripted into the military to keep the “terrorists” (black people organizing resistance against apartheid) out of South Africa. He spent many years with other white South African soldiers in guerrilla warfare on the northern border between Namibia and Angola. He was also studying architecture and playing the French horn in a local symphony orchestra for pocket money at the same time. A difficult journey It was a difficult journey for people like Johann, who questioned apartheid and worked against it.  A music degree After graduating as an architect, Johann married and went to Ithaca, New York, where he did a Master’s degree in music.  Returning to South Africa Johan and his wife returned to South Africa to be part of the struggle for democracy, and Johann spent the next twenty years working in arts management. Emigrating In 2002, Johann got recruited to a job in New York, so he and his family emigrated. He has lived and worked in various places in the US since then and has been in Miami for the last three-and-a-half years. Arts are universal Arts are universal because all humans have similar dreams, desires, and aspirations. We all laugh when we’re happy, cry when we’re unhappy, and dance when we hear music. The universality of the arts ultimately brought Johann to the profession he decided to pursue. A lesson learned from the arts One night, while at a shabeen (a bar/nightclub in a South African “township”) with some friends, Johann was fortunate enough to see the famous South African actor, John Kani, and another actor performing a play called The Island. It was written by South African playwright Athol Fugard and is about two Robben Island prisoners discussing what they want to do after their release. Johann did not know who John Kani was back then, but he loved the experience! A decision for life Watching The Island was the first time Johann fully understood that black and white people were the same emotionally. The understanding conveyed to him via the arts prompted him to become involved with the arts for the rest of his life. Nelson Mandela Johann met Nelson Mandela three times. He was a true leader, and Johann found him even more wonderful than everyone said he was! Teaching black kids Johann taught black kids over weekends while running the music school in Cape Town, even though he was not supposed to do so. He also visited Robben Island several times to do music demonstrations for the prison guards' children when Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there.  The Adrienne Arsht Center The Adrienne Arsht Center was started 20 to 25 years ago by members of the Mami community. The famous Argentinian architect, Cesar Pelli, designed the building and shaped it to look like two big mountains. The concert hall and the ballet house are both world-class venues. There are also smaller performance venues and other venues for education. The center is now in its 16th operating season. It typically does about 430 shows each year and attracts about 400,000 people. Miami Miami keeps on changing. To Johann, it appears to be a city that always wants tomorrow to be better than today. He finds the energy intoxicating! Covid Covid hit the Adrienne Arsht Center very hard. It was one of the first types of business to close down and one of the last to re-open. When it happened, Johann said the center lost its voice.  The Community Throughout Covid, Johann and his team wanted to improve the lives of everyone in their community in any way they could. They launched many different online programs. They also launched Arsht On the Road, a pop-up show that appeared in hotels, hospitals, and shopping centers.  Local artists Johann and his team did whatever they could to engage local artists and help them make some money because the gig scene had dried up. Online monetization Johann believes that there are more opportunities for online monetization in brand new work that has never been seen before and work that people are unlikely to see live. Ubuntu Ubuntu is an ancient African philosophy very close to Johann’s heart. The philosophy embodies our inter-dependency as humans and is lived authentically in the African community. It means that if you are unhappy, I cannot be happy. Or if I have food, you will not go hungry. (Directly translated, it means that a person is a person through other people.) Great South African leaders like Nelson Mandela and the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu were advocates for Ubuntu.   Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website   Connect with Johann Zietsman The Adrienne Arsht Center Johann Zietsmann on LinkedIn  

  We are delighted to be speaking with another rock star in our industry today! Junior Tauvaa is the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Visit Anaheim.  Junior has had an amazing career! He shares some stories, ideas, and insights about how the CVB (Convention and Visitor Bureau) evolved to become the DMO (Destination Management Organization) and what today’s younger generation is looking for in terms of marketing. He also gets into sales, marketing, and influencers.  We hope you enjoy listening to our fascinating conversation with Junior Tauvaa today! Bio: Junior Tauvaa: Chief Sales Officer, Visit Anaheim  Junior Tauvaa has served as Chief Sales Officer at Visit Anaheim since October 2013.  Tauvaa leads sales and marketing teams for Visit Anaheim to increase Anaheim’s market share and customer satisfaction in the meetings and leisure market. He also leads Orange County Sports Commission in positioning Anaheim/Orange County as a premier sports destination. Tauvaa is very involved with meetings and events industry on initiatives to ensure the Anaheim/Orange County brand continues to be a thought leader in the industry. Tauvaa was previously Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships with Meeting Professional International (MPI) and the MPI Foundation, the largest global meeting and event industry association for seven years. He was previously with Los Angeles Tourism Board for more than ten years and held several key leadership roles.  Tauvaa held different volunteer leadership positions with Destination International (DI), Events Industry Council (EIC), American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), and Meeting Professionals International Foundation (MPIF) as well as several technology companies throughout his career. He is currently serving in volunteer leadership positions at DI and EIC.  Tauvaa earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from California Polytechnic University. Junior’s story Junior started his career in the world of business consulting. One of his clients was Hilton Hotels, and he got introduced to the meeting and events industry when he got hired by Bob Moore, who had been with Hilton Hotels before taking a job with the LA Convention and Visitors Bureau (now known as the LA Tourism Bureau). LA Convention Bureau When Junior started working at the LA Convention Bureau, he grew to understand what CVBs were about, who their clients were, and how they made money. He spent almost eleven years working there and then moved over to MPI.  MPI He spent about seven years at MPI, growing and expanding their chapter and membership site into the European, Asia-Pacific, and Latin American markets. Through MPI, he got to understand the business from a global perspective. Visit Anaheim Junior returned to California to head up the sales side of Visit Anaheim and eventually took on the marketing and sports commission sides too. He considered going to Visit Anaheim as coming home.  Many professions There are many professions within our industry, from the management side to sales, marketing, finance, communication, social, and technology. Figuring things out When Junior was in Los Angeles, he wanted to figure out what the industry and business were all about. He also wanted to find out where he fit in and what got him going. Finding solutions Junior’s approach to sales is all about finding solutions. He loves to connect with people, figure out their challenges, and connect them with others to help them find solutions. Diversity When trying to find solutions, it helps to have a variety of personalities and voices because they will offer diverse opinions and perspectives and make the conversation much richer. Evolution   When Junior joined the industry, they were known as CVB (Convention and Visitor Bureau). Back then, most DMOs focused on marketing their destination and bringing visitors, meetings, and events there.  Today, DMOs also look at destination development to make sure that their cities get developed in a way that works for both visitors and residents of the destination. Today’s DMOs also work with local communities to help them understand the economic impact of visitors, meetings, and events and rally their support. The role of the DMO The role of the DMO is to communicate the uniqueness of every hotel and venue in its destination and inform visitors about what locals do for leisure and business. The role of DMOs  DMOs ensure that every organization coming to their destination has a successful event. Their biggest role is to support the organizers and business leaders that bring people to their destination. (That also includes supporting their staff and local communities.) The pandemic Since the pandemic, re-staffing has become a big issue for DMOs, hotels, and many other areas across the industry. The benefits employees are looking for today differ from what they wanted before the pandemic, and employers today require different skill sets. Visit Anaheim  Visit Anaheim is working with universities and using platforms like LinkedIn to promote the positions they are looking to fill. They understand that they need to work harder, from a management standpoint, to bring their teams together, communicate, and ensure that their culture and core values do not get lost when their team members work remotely. Marketing A lot has changed when it comes to marketing. In the past, Visit Anaheim did a lot of advertising. Today, they do less advertising, they have shifted to using video as a marketing component, and their content is all digital. Social media and working with influencers to bring their message to different generations have also become parts of their current marketing strategy. They also strive to get their message out via traditional media and be a thought-leader in the industry by sponsoring various industry-associated organizations. Selecting influencers They select authentic people, people connected to their destination, or those who understand their destination or event design as their influencers.  Measuring the success of their influencers They measure the success of their influencers by looking at everything from impressions to followers to referrals and bookings. The right metric to measure the success of their influencers is evolving as technology improves. The metaverse A vendor will soon be talking to them about the metaverse. After that, they will know more about where the industry is going. Then they will decide where to put their resources to get their message out to the marketplace.    Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website   Connect with Junior Tauvaa On LinkedIn Visit Anaheim

Today we are happy to speak with Mariska Kesteloo, the President and Founder of Word of MICE.  Mariska connects brands and influencers. In this episode, she talks about influencers and shares her unique and inspiring story of grit, grief, persistence, courage, and inspiring others.   We hope you enjoy listening to today’s heartfelt conversation with Mariska Kesteloo! Bio: Mariska Kesteloo is an entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and board member. With more than 18 years of working experience in tourism and the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events) sector, she’s an authority in the industry. Passionate about storytelling, Mariska founded her company Word of MICE in 2017. Her company connects the MICE industry with the right storyteller and expert to spread the story of the suppliers in an authentic way to the right target audience.  In January 2020, her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and her personal life turned upside down. She decided to share her experiences in a book. Unfortunately, her husband passed away in July 2021. Despite the challenging circumstances, she began creating an association to inform, motivate and encourage patients and their loved ones who go through a similar situation. Next, she started a new company to support entrepreneurship and retain talent in the MICE industry. And she bought a camper and became a digital nomad in 2022. Her first destination is Poland.  She is a visionary, forward-thinking, and positive entrepreneur who loves new challenges. Mariska’s story Mariska started her career in the tourism industry. She moved to Belgium after falling in love with a Belgian man and slowly shifted from tourism to the meetings and events industry. She did a Master’s degree in Business Event Management, became a freelancer, and got involved with MPI ten years ago. In 2016, she was working as an event manager for an accelerator program, doing events for startups and scale-ups. Then, inspired by the intriguing stories travel influencers told her, she opted to start a “real” company to gain more recognition and awareness for the under-rated and under-valued meetings and events industry. Now, she links industry experts with the suppliers of the meetings and events industry. An influencer Mariska is now an influencer even though she has a love-hate relationship with the word influencer. She believes that we are all influencers because we are all influenced by people and influence others. She prefers to call herself an industry expert. Our industry needs to change Our industry tends to be old-fashioned, so it needs to change. We need to find new ways to share our stories because a younger generation is entering our market and doing business differently. Transparency Mariska feels we need more transparency in our industry.  Industry experts Industry experts need to be recognized as experts rather than as paid content creators. A strategic process It takes a long-term and strategic internal process to find the right influencers and ensure that a campaign will be successful. Checking influencers’ content The videos and blog posts of influencers get double-checked by the client before they are uploaded. They work across borders, so cultural differences have to get considered. The client always has the final say on the influencers’ blog posts and videos. Life is a bumpy road In January 2020, Mariska’s husband was diagnosed with a severe brain tumor. At the end of 2020 and after nine months of treatment, the tumor disappeared. In March of 2021, her father-in-law passed away, and Mariska noticed her husband was not well. But she thought it was due to his father’s death. In April, she saw something was very wrong with her husband, and shortly after that, it got confirmed that the tumor was back. At the end of May, her mother passed away unexpectedly. Then a dear industry friend passed away in France at the beginning of July in a car accident. A week later, her husband passed away at 49 due to his brain tumor.  Mutual support Mariska felt broken on all levels. So she decided to move back to live with her father so that they could support one another. The impact of grief No one prepared Mariska for how much her grief would affect her. She could not sleep. She lost her taste for food and her joy in life, and she found it hard to concentrate. She also experienced a financial loss and had to deal with tons of administration.  Therapy She went to see a grief therapist. That, combined with staying with her father, having regular meals, and talking to close friends, pulled her through the grief process and helped her start a new life. Support and respect  Going to an industry fair in Barcelona, hugging people, and getting support and respect from industry members also helped her get through the difficult time. Becoming a digital nomad Mariska realized that she needed some freedom and space. So she spontaneously spent all her savings on a camper and decided to work and travel as a digital nomad.  Poland She decided to make Poland her first destination and spent three months traveling across the country. There were many ups and downs, but it was a life-changing experience for her!  Get out of your comfort zone Mariska recommends getting out of your comfort zone, traveling, and meeting new people to overcome challenges in your life. In love with her new life Mariska fell in love with her life as a digital nomad and intends to go back on the road very soon! A book Mariska wrote a book about her journey to tell people that having a brain tumor is not the same as having cancer. When someone has a brain tumor, they change quickly and become a very different person. She also wrote about her emotions in the book.  A professional association Now, along with some others, Mariska is creating a professional association under an official umbrella in the Netherlands to share non-medical information about alternative treatments for brain tumors, answer questions, and explain how to tell the devastating news to children, partners, and parents. Being a digital nomad Being a digital nomad is a dream life, but there are also many consequences. Mariska points out that you need an adventurous mindset, and everything costs more than you think! You have to prepare, plan things carefully, and think strategically.   Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website   Connect with Mariska Kesteloo On her website On all social media channels: @MariskaKesteloo

We are delighted to be speaking with a legend in our industry today! Steven Foster is the Managing Partner of Foster+Fathom, a Leadership Training and Goodness Alliance in Dallas, Texas. Steven is the author of Full-Throttle Leadership: Passion, Power & Purpose on the Edge of America. He joins us today to tell the incredible story behind his solo motorcycle ride around the perimeter of the US and share some stories about leadership. He also gets into what he has written in his book about passion, power, and purpose and talks about workshops, advisory, and veterans. We hope you enjoy listening to our super-inspiring conversation with Steven Foster today! Bio: Steven G. Foster, CMP, is Managing Partner of Foster+Fathom, a Leadership Training and Goodness Alliance in Dallas, TX. that provides opportunities for organizations and individuals to connect and create meaningful engagement, influence, and impact in the communities where they live, work, and meet.  An award-winning speaker, author, business consultant, and team-builder, Steven is a 32-year member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), where he has served in a variety of leadership roles at both the chapter and global level. In 2004 he was inducted into the MPI Community of Honorees, and in 2022 was named one of MPI’s Top 50 Most Influential Members.  Steven also is a Harley-Davidson LIFE Member who took a 13,000-mile solo motorcycle ride around the perimeter of the United States in 2013 to support the Boot Campaign, a national veteran’s organization where he serves as an Ambassador and Advisory Board Member. That journey is chronicled in his new book, “Full-Throttle Leadership: Passion, Power & Purpose on the Edge of America.” He also has a “Full-Throttle” resume receiving more than 15 top industry awards. In 2000, Steven and Wendy Foster became the first husband/wife business team to earn the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation. Both of them have been profiled by CNN/Fortune as a Small Business Success. How Steven got into the meetings and events industry Steven stumbled into the meetings and events industry almost before it became an industry. He was living in Hawaii and working as a journalist when Hawaii State certified tour guides for the first time and offered a series of certifications and classes to train tour guides. Steven’s editor selected five reporters to go through the training. One of them got sick, so Steven was sent in his place. To acquire the certification at the end of the training, they had to take a written test and then get onto a bus to give an eight-hour “Circle Island Tour” to 16 proctors who graded them afterward. Steven found it fascinating and started working part-time as a tour guide. He loved it and decided to make a career change several months later.  Acquiring a business Steven met his wife, Wendy, while working at the destination management company where she worked. Wendy eventually left that company to work for a family-owned meeting and event ranch in north Texas. She and Steven then acquired that business. They got a great team together, rebuilt the business to host corporate and association meetings, and ran it for eighteen years. A husband and wife team  Steven and Wendy each had their own strengths and talents and did their best to play to them. When people saw them working together, they saw genuine affection and respect. They focused on growing the business and building a great team and did tons of amazing events!   Learning and growing They learned a lot as business owners. It pushed them to live in their lane and keep growing.  Things he would change Steven tended to move too fast at times. So he did not always share his intended route with the team or thank them enough for all they did. Drawing from his experiences Steven has worked for the best and the worst business leaders, and he learned from all of them! As a business owner, he constantly draws from his experiences as an employee. He also draws from his more than fifty-five years of riding motorcycles. Leadership Steven believes that leaders are not born. They become. That means that leaders should constantly be learning and serving their teams. Lessons from motorcycling Many lessons about leadership are to be learned from motorcycling. One is that leaders cannot constantly stay in the front because there is too much resistance and blowback there, and intense focus is required. So motorcyclists ride in a coordinated and staggered formation, use hand signals to communicate, rotate back into the pod, and allow their wingmen to assume the number one position. Steven’s definition of winning Steven’s definition of winning in life is moving together, working together, and serving everyone who rides with you every day to do the job you do- whatever it is.  The Boot Campaign In 2010, Steven was introduced to a non-profit veteran’s service organization called the Boot Campaign, founded by five Texas women who read a book called Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell and wanted to do something to help returning veterans. Steven had also read the book and felt motivated to help returning veterans.  The tagline of the Boot Campaign is: “When they come back, we give back.” A US perimeter ride The grand-daddy of all the rides a real biker would do is the perimeter ride of the US, which takes a minimum of thirty days to complete. In 2011, Steven came up with the idea of doing a US perimeter ride as a fundraiser to raise awareness and support for the Boot Campaign. It took him and a group of bikers about a year to map out the route, and they decided to do the ride in 2013. Over time, however, everyone slowly dropped out, so Steven decided to do the ride alone. Riding alone made the trip much more memorable, and he met some amazing people along the way. Service and sacrifice  Doing the US perimeter ride was the greatest accomplishment of Steven’s life! He feels that it changed him fundamentally as a person because it allowed him to see people who were overcoming insurmountable challenges, setbacks, and losses getting up every day saying they wanted to make their piece of the world a better place. Weathering storms A core part of leadership is realizing that you need to constantly be learning and building up your skills so you can weather the storms when things go wrong. Passion, power, and purpose  In his book, Steven talks about passion, power, and purpose as the three lessons of leadership. Passion is about finding the right ride. Power is about fueling the ride with skills and capability. Purpose is the focus of the ride. Be like the Boot Campaign girls Steven encourages everyone to do what the Boot Campaign girls did. They were not in the non-profit space, nor were they professional fundraisers. They just read a book that touched their hearts and decided to do something simple and profound to connect people. They truly understood that to understand somebody, you have to walk a while in their shoes. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Steven Foster On his website   Foster + Fathom on Facebook  Foster + Fathom on LinkedIn  The Boot Campaign:  www.bootcampaign.com or www.bootcampaign.org   Books mentioned: Full-Throttle Leadership: Passion, Power & Purpose on the Edge of America by Steven Foster Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson

Episode 123: What are the Main Industry Trends with Will Curran Today we are happy to speak with Will Curran, the Chief Event Einstein of Endless Events! Will has been in our industry for many years and has an interesting perspective to share! In this episode, he talks about his journey, shares his insights, and discusses the trends we need to concentrate on.   We hope you enjoy listening to our fascinating conversation with Will Curran today!  Bio: As the founder of Endless Events, Will Curran has been named one of the most influential people in the meeting & events industry, one of the 40 under 40 event industry leaders, 35 entrepreneurs under the age of 35, and the highest customer satisfaction of any event company in the industry. Will has been producing in-person, virtual, and hybrid events since high school when he started his first company, and he has now worked in the management of large event clients such as Emerald City Comicon, Anheuser-Busch, Warner Brothers, Morton Salt & Uber. His team’s mission is to simplify the event planning process by creating the equation for an event’s perfect solution. From event management to business development to the latest technologies, Will Curran has a diverse background in growing events and companies to the next level. Will’s backstory Will loved electronic music in high school, so he started a radio station and a DJ company. The DJ company exploded when he went to college. Will wanted to do larger-scale productions like high school dances and college events, so he learned about production and started hiring production companies. He transformed his DJ company into a production company and began to do big corporate events and productions. He also started using event technology, publishing tons of content about events and event technology and did a few podcasts along the way. The pandemic pushed them to help with all the aspects of events because technology became central to everything, so they transitioned and became a full-scale event management company. Learning from people’s business stories Will loves hearing about how business owners came up with innovative ideas for their businesses, and he is constantly getting new ideas from different places. Innovation Will thinks he may be more conservative than some other innovative individuals, but he believes that he is more innovative than most people in many ways.  The pandemic Will was having his busiest year ever in March of 2020. Fortunately, his company had begun working remotely seven years before that, so none of his clients canceled when the pandemic hit. Some of them were even looking at adding more services, so Will felt that the pandemic was good for him. Music festival  Will had plans to go to a music festival in Belgium in Mid-March, but it got canceled a day before it was due to take place, even though millions of dollars had been spent on producing it.  An opportunity Will realized that the pandemic was going to devastate the United States. Everyone was looking for event tech, so he decided to use the situation as an opportunity and started contacting people to assist him with helping people produce their events virtually. As a result, his business blew up so fast in 2020 that it was almost uncontrolled in some ways! Although Will found it somewhat overwhelming, the entrepreneur in him resolved to go with it and help as many people as possible.  Thought leadership and flexibility Fortunately, their willingness to be flexible, and the thought leadership they gained from the content marketing they had been doing, really paid off in 2020!   Things to consider With the recession, economic downturn, and all the changes we are facing right now, Will is thinking of ways to do things differently from other businesses, reduce the fixed costs of his business, and become more variable. He is also considering the conversations he will need to have with his clients in the future, rising costs, and how to get his business to move faster.  Equipment Will did not like maintaining equipment, so he sold all his equipment and started renting whatever he needs. A unique business model Renting the equipment made Will feel liberated, and he learned that you can have a different model and still work very well! Even though there are still some challenges, he has managed to create a unique business model. Now they focus more on the people, the experience, and the design of events. The future   Will was excited when the pandemic started because people were going to work remotely. He knew his business would excel because they had been doing things remotely for years, so they had an advantage. They used to be one of the larger remote companies in the events industry, so many people wanted to work for them. Now it has become much harder to find the right people. Over the next two years, Will hopes that most people will revert to working in offices, and then he will employ those who prefer working remotely.   The next cultural trends People are moving toward feeling more natural with international hires and having their businesses become more global than before. We will see more people moving from places like San Francisco to bigger and cheaper metropolitan areas- even rural areas like Kansas and Montana. Will believes America needs more infrastructure, like faster and better internet, and we are moving towards having more digital nomads when flights become more affordable. Another trend he foresees is people demanding better workspaces and refusing to work for toxic bosses. It is also likely that by 2027, most people working in America will be freelancers, and new laws may come out to protect freelancers and contractors.  How the culture of our industry has changed The meetings and events industry used to be run by older people. When the pandemic broke out, many of those people were averse to the idea of virtual events. So they left the industry and were replaced by a generation of people who feel comfortable with technology and appreciate its value. Many of those people have subsequently risen within the ranks of their organizations.  Understanding company culture It is vital for people working for Endless Events to feel comfortable with technology and using different software. They also need to understand the company culture and try to stand out within it.    Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Will Curran Endless Events Event Profs Community Reddit Books mentioned: Epic Content Marketing: How to Tell a Different Story, Break Through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less by Joe Pulizzi  

People, Planet, and Profit with Benoît Sauvage We are delighted to be speaking with Benoît Sauvage today! Benoît is an international entrepreneur who has worked for French presidents! He owns a DMC and consults on sustainability. Benoît has some interesting insights for us today! We talk about the DMC and sustainability, and Benoît shares some intriguing information and what he has learned from his unique experiences.  We hope you enjoy listening to our fascinating conversation with Benoît Sauvage today! Bio: Benoît Sauvage, DMCP, CMP, CITP is the founder and CEO of Connect DMC, a leading Destination Management Company in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, as well as the founder and CEO of Hospitality Sustainability Revolution (HSR), a leading consulting firm for hospitality stakeholders worldwide.  Ben was born in Paris, France, and has lived and worked on 3 continents over the years. He brings 25 years of experience in delivering high-end and complex services as a destination expert to worldwide clients and has a passion for creativity, attention to detail, and sustainable practices. Organizing travel and meetings for presidents Benoît’s dad worked for the French Presidential and Prime Ministerial press for twenty-five years, arranging all their overseas trips. He was involved with some of the world’s highest decision-makers. As a young man, Benoît got given the chance to join him, to organize all the French Presidential and Prime Ministerial official State Travels. Benoît learned most of what he knows from his father. He loved having the opportunity to collaborate with him. A revelation It was a revelation for Benoît to discover that decisions that can impact the world sometimes get made over a cup of coffee or a drink. It is all about humans doing business with humans. In the end, it all boils down to humans sitting down together to find the best solutions for their country and the world.  The human approach Benoît tries to apply the same human approach in his company and in all his collaborations. Mexico Benoît could have followed the same path as his dad, but he wanted to do something on his own. He had some great memories of backpacking in Mexico during a summer break, so he decided to move there. He left a month later with one bag and a thousand dollars in his bank account. After arriving in Mexico, he contacted someone he knew who owned a trans-global vacation company, and they gave him a job.  His destination When Benoît arrived back in France, the owner of the trans-global company contacted him to offer him a destination of his own. He accepted before even knowing it was in the Dominican Republic! Establishing himself in the Dominican Republic After that, Benoît worked in Africa, Sri Lanka, Spain, and various other countries before he finally established himself in the Dominican Republic twenty-three years ago and opened Connect DMC.  Covid Most people want to know if and when Covid will stop.  Overcoming challenges Benoît advises everyone to be resilient when facing challenges in life and trust that this too shall pass.  Classify your challenges Classify your challenges each day and determine which one is most important. Go through that challenge, resolve it, and move on. Then tackle the next challenge.  Know your company Get to know yourself and everything about your company. Make sure everyone you collaborate with shares the same values and culture you want to implement in your company and consider the value you bring to others within your organization. Company culture You spend more time at your company than you do at home. So your business has to be a happy place where you can express yourself, grow as an individual, and grow your career.  Connect DMC’s recruitment process The Director of Human Resources at Connect DMC contacts all the candidates that could be a good fit for the company to find out if they are available, what they need, where they are in their career, how they want to grow, and where they want to be. Then, the supervisor that the candidate would report to will interview the candidate and narrow it down to three of the best candidates. Then Benoît makes the final call. When they hire someone, they train them well, which usually ensures that they stay with the company for a long time.  A family-owned company Connect DMC is a family-owned company, and they are very flexible. All their employees have to have similar views and share the same culture.  Demonstrating your value To demonstrate your value, know yourself and your culture and find simple ways to express that to your clients. Unique experiences  Connect DMC is known for having destinations that are not easy to operate. Reliable transportation is easy to find, but Connect DMC is everything before, after, and in between. They are about creativity, uniqueness, and using the right talents for their client's needs, goals, and objectives. They create experiences that people could never find anywhere else.  Things that set you apart from the rest Anyone can make a promise, but what truly matters, and sets you apart from the rest, is how you deliver, how well you run your operation, and whether you can foresee something that might happen before it happens. It is vital to ensure that your clients are always satisfied. If they are not, you must correct the problem immediately.  Sustainability Sustainability is not only about caring for the environment. It is also caring about communities, collaborators, and attendees. Connect DMC's involvement with local communities sets them apart from all other DMCs. Sustainability in the meetings and events industry The industry has a three-pillar approach to sustainability:  People Planet Profit To avoid failure, you need to concentrate on sustainability from environmental, societal, and economic aspects. Benoît’s journey into sustainability Benoît got involved with sustainability seven years ago after thinking about the kind of world he would leave for his sons. After spending seven years learning about sustainability, he wanted to share his knowledge with those around him, so he began speaking about it in the hospitality industry. Since then, he has constantly been showing up wherever there is a need for speeches on sustainability. Space travel Lately, Benoît has developed a passion for space travel and the conquest of Mars.  Hospitality Sustainability Revolution About two years ago, Benoît opened Hospitality Sustainability Revolution, a consulting company on sustainability. One of their clients is a famous travel to space company. That opened his eyes to how easily the solutions found for the conquest of Mars and the International Space Station could also resolve many of the issues we currently face around food, water, and waste management. Some simple steps business owners can implement for sustainability Do not greenwash! Greenwashing is the enemy of sustainability. Reduce the impact of carbon emissions by sharing transportation. Switch off lights and computers at night. Reduce the amount of waste you produce. Finding solutions as an industry We must step away from fear and learn to sit down together as an industry and embrace the industry and sustainability together to find solutions when challenges arise. For face-to-face experiences, we need to make sure that we can gather the data, reduce the emissions, and compensate for whatever we cannot reduce. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Benoît Sauvage Connect DMC On LinkedIn

We are excited to speak with Dahlia El Gazzar, the Founder of Dahlia+ Agency, today! Dahlia is a tech, marketing, and digital agency specialist!  In this episode, Dahlia shares many valuable tips and insights for entrepreneurs and talks about tech, digital agencies, and digital marketing.  We hope you enjoy listening to our interesting and informative conversation with Dahlia El Gazzar today! Bio: Dahlia has an OMG attitude about all things event tech and experience design. She is her own brand, with more than a decade of experience in the meetings and events sector, working on both the professional planning side and as an association collaborator, Dahlia is known as the coffee-fuelled ‘go-to’ source for trendsetting solutions, event tech news, and professional branding expertise. Recently featured in:  Best Event Tech Evangelist: Event Tech Live 2022 Most Influential Women in Event Tech: BizBash 2021 Eventex 100 Top Influencers in Events Industry 2020 Smart Meetings Magazine 2019 Smartest Women in the Industry - Hall of Fame Top 500 People in Events by BizBash 2019 Smart Meetings Magazine 2017 + 2018 Top 100 Smartest Women in the meetings industry who inspire us Top 25 women in the meetings industry list by Meetings & Conventions Magazine Top 20 of the #eventprofs US & Canada Power 100 List Top Five Women in Event Tech List  MeetingsNet's 2015 Changemakers  2014 Meetings Today Magazine's Trendsetter & Industry mover & shaker.  Dahlia is an Evernote aficionado. She speaks globally on meetings and events technology and new-and-upcoming technology solutions and platforms. Her mission is to empower event professionals with practical intel on everything tech-related and educate them on the emerging digital innovation opportunities to elevate their events and audience engagement.  How Dahlia got into the meetings and events industry Someone approached Dahlia at a resort on the Red Sea in Egypt, looking for somebody to plan a camel race with the Bedouins in the middle of the desert. Her only brief was to make money. She had to negotiate with some of the world's hardest business dealers and owners. She created an amazing event with a camel race, a henna corner, a tea corner, and more than five hundred people. After that, Dahlia got addicted to bringing people together, making money, and the thrill of seeing something come together!  The “Coronacoaster” The “Coronacoaster” was a test of time for talent to ascertain whether they were in the industry or not. Starting her agency When Dahlia was with On Peak in Chicago, one of her great mentors, the head of On Peak, took her aside and spoke to her because he saw she was not giving her fullest. So she took a leap of faith and decided to start a business. The timing was off because her husband was going through brain surgery, and she had two young kids, so she was the only breadwinner. She went ahead anyway and founded Dahlia+, and On Peak became her first client. Dahlia’s motivation for starting Dahlia+ Dahlia started Dahlia+ because she saw stakeholders in the industry having trouble telling their stories, changing their narratives, and talking to each other about how technology could help them. They also struggled to talk about how they could use digital solutions for change or how they could change their internal teams. The plus The plus in Dahlia+ came from the idea of Dahlia working with other agencies, partners, and experts who are smarter than her. Some key lessons Align yourself with the lane you want to be in. Lean hard on those who can complement the lanes you are in. If you take on projects to satisfy your curiosity, it is not about the money. It is about what you will learn from it.  The first thing you should do as an entrepreneur is to create your circles of trust, support, and expertise.  Think of those who will compliment you in terms of your energy rather than your talent. Never work with toxic people who drain your energy. Do not be a Jill of all trades and spread yourself too thin If you take on too much and spread yourself too thin, you risk losing credibility in the areas you are not great.  A circle of support If you have a circle of support, you will not get lonely when you have to work alone, make decisions or recommendations, or organize things yourself. Support When looking for support and you need to vent, say so. If you need support when making a decision, say so. Then, when you tap into your circle of support, people will know what kind of engagement you need. Be there for them in the same way whenever necessary. The Tech Zone Dahlia created the Tech Zone to ensure that professionals are always ahead of the curve with technology and apps (like Evernote). It is a value-add, and they work across different industry sectors to help people feel comfortable asking the right questions and looking at new technologies to see how they will either work for them or not. Their ultimate dream is always to have a playground for people to play with tech, ask questions, and see if technology can work for them.  Podcast Dahlia started a podcast called Cut the Sh*t Cue the Genius with Liz Caruso and Michelle Bruno. Their webisodes air every Thursday at 9.30 EST. They curate topics their audience wants to hear more about and talk about what is going on in people's minds. The audience comes up with solutions.  Tech and apps for starting a new business If you are starting a business, get a project management platform to help you map things. Create a spot for storing new ideas, and start your business with a CRM solution. (MailTracker is a free extension on Google email to track who opens your emails.) CRM Choosing the right CRM is a matter of budget. It also depends on what you want to use it for. Dahlia suggests HubSpot, or you can even use Mailchimp as your CRM.  Scope creep As an entrepreneur, you will always have scope creep if you fail to assess a project in the right way initially.  Protecting your bubble Clients are always working and thinking and will approach you with half-thoughts or unbaked ideas that will require mental effort from you and your team. Be careful with that. Buzzwords Pivoting was overused as a term. Then it changed to pirouette because people were going round in circles. Dahlia created the term shivoting by combining the words shift and pivot.   Know what you want to achieve It is vital to know what you want to achieve with an event. Know which audience you are targeting, how you will measure the event's success, and if you yourself would like to be part of the event you are designing. Or, look at what is in it for your audience if you are giving them the same speakers and content they have heard many times before. Respect your intellectual property and expertise New entrepreneurs should respect their intellectual property and expertise by refusing to speak for free at events, even if it gives them exposure. Nobody can guarantee business for you unless they guarantee leads for you as a new speaker.   Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Dahlia El Gazzar Website: https://dahliaplus.com/ On email: hello@dahlia@dahliaplus.com  Call or text Dahlia: 617 470 2655 

We are delighted to be speaking with Leanne Calderwood today! Leanne trains people in the meetings and event industry. She is an expert in personal branding and has tons of experience with venue selection and meeting planning.  In this episode, Leanne shares her experience. She talks about personal branding and positioning and explains how to leverage LinkedIn. She also shares some actionable tips for tweaking your LinkedIn profile.  We hope you enjoy listening to today’s informative conversation with Leanne Calderwood! Bio: Are you ready to step into the spotlight and stand out from your competition? Let me help guide the way! I’m here to simplify the world of personal branding and LinkedIn so you can create a compelling brand and start attracting leads and opportunities.  Why should we be building our brands and LinkedIn presence in hospitality?  ⭐To increase trust with our customers  ⭐To shorten the path-to-purchase for potential clients  ⭐To differentiate yourself from your competition  ⭐To attract leads to your product/service  ⭐To attract opportunities to you personally!  Here is whom I love to help:  📚Hotel and Destination Sales Managers  📚Meeting, Event, and Conference Planners  📚Hospitality Professionals and Executives Leanne’s story Leanne fell into the industry 22 years ago. After graduating from university with a degree in physical education, she started working at a local YMCA, teaching leadership conferences. That changed the course of her career, and she got into meeting planning after that. Then, about fifteen years ago, she fell in love with hotel contracts and the relationship between the planner, the venues, and the partners with whom they were working. Since then, she has been doing what she loves the most- cultivating relationships with planners and site selection.  2020 When the pandemic hit in 2020, Leanne decided to take all the knowledge she had built while growing her business, using LinkedIn, and creating her brand to create something to help others. She still does some site selection on the side, but she focuses on helping other people build their businesses using personal brand tactics and the LinkedIn platform. Making a change Leanne had a moment of panic when the world changed, and the industry evaporated in March 2020. Her panic dissolved instantly, however, when she realized she had the opportunity to explore her passion for LinkedIn and the brand that had served her so well. She knew she had a lot to learn. But she had a lot to offer. Creating content and connecting Leanne began creating content every day for her community on LinkedIn. She also started talking to people on podcasts and LinkedIn live shows. Leanne’s file Leanne had a file where she saved everything she was successful with on the LinkedIn platform. It was her informal way of testing new theories in branding or on LinkedIn. A digital course  Leanne used her file to create a digital course that taught people how to use LinkedIn, optimize their LinkedIn profile, grow their networks, and start creating content on a potentially intimidating platform. She launched her first digital course about six months after Covid hit. Another course Leanne now has another course, and several one-on-one and group training modules, to help people with their LinkedIn journeys. A success file There is power in keeping a success file because you can use it to uplift others. Or you can lean on it when things are not going your way. Your profile represents your brand On LinkedIn, you have the opportunity to create a robust personal profile. Leanne points out that your profile on LinkedIn is a representation of your brand. Your subject matter expertise and thought leadership shine on the LinkedIn platform! Facebook profiles Facebook is more about your personal journey and experiences. So a Facebook profile is more about content than about representing your brand.  How to leverage LinkedIn: Optimize your brand’s representation. Grow your networks so that people can look at the personal brand representation you have created. Create content around the area in which you see yourself as a thought leader. An opportunity LinkedIn provides an opportunity to share your areas of expertise and the things you know professionally with others. Leanne feels it is a disservice when we keep our gifts to ourselves. Colliding worlds People’s personal and professional worlds sometimes clash on LinkedIn. The reality is, however, that people’s personal and professional worlds also tend to collide in real life. That became more evident during Covid when many people started working from home! Personal content Personal content that works well on LinkedIn is storytelling that has encouraging professional learning content. Positive influences Avoid having divisive content on social media. Grow your networks and followings to find more positive influences. That will fill your home feed with positive messages of inspiration and encouragement.   Growing a network and building relationships on LinkedIn Even though it is professional, LinkedIn is essentially a relationship platform. Building a network requires one-on-one transactions, so personalize your message when you want to connect with someone. That will show them that you have taken the time to learn about them, found something in common with them professionally, and are interested in watching their professional LinkedIn journey. A personalized invitation In LinkedIn invitation with a personalized message has a 75% chance of being accepted.  Establishing a relationship Never try to sell something to someone straight after connecting with them on LinkedIn. (That is known as pitch-slapping) Rather comment about something in their LinkedIn content. When you comment on a piece of their content they will receive a notification. That will put you on their radar and they will want to get to know you a bit better. Only tell them what you do or suggest talking about something you can collaborate on after you have spent time getting to know them and discussing the things you have in common. Maintaining a network and nurturing relationships Keep commenting on the content of those with whom you have connected. You can also nurture a relationship by sending someone a direct message with an article you read if you think they may find it interesting.  Value Always provide more value than you take on your LinkedIn journey. Feed into people through your content, your comments, and your direct messages. Personal branding Be consistent across all the elements of your LinkedIn profile, and have a cohesive and consistent story. That will help cement your personal brand and give people a sense of who you are, what you do, and how you help people.  Differentiate yourself Highlight the unique aspects of what you do and the things you do best, and capitalize on them. That will differentiate you from others in your field, and people will remember you for it, even if it is something small. Clubhouse Leanne facilitates a community of 15,000 people on Clubhouse. She and an Australian branding expert spend an hour each week discussing branding, inbound marketing, and social selling. Social audio Leanne firmly believes there is a place for social audio, especially as people grow their brands. LinkedIn has added LinkedIn Audio, and when Leanne can access it, she will start having conversations for the meetings and events industry through her LinkedIn audio channel to hash out some of the problems people in the industry are experiencing. Video Video is a good way to build connections with people when you are not sitting face-to-face with them. Video helps you build trust with your audience and grow your brand faster. Start with one platform Start with one platform for your personal brand. Only add another one when you have become consistent with your posting schedule.   Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Leanne Calderwood On her website On LinkedIn     Leanne Calderwood, Personal Branding for Hospitality on LinkedIn Books mentioned: The Technology of Success by Susan Ford Collins Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout

Today we have the pleasure of speaking with an amazing leader and a legend in our industry, Gary Shapiro! Gary is President and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association- the association that owns the famous Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. He is a New York Times bestselling author and was recently awarded a Legend of Honor.  Gary is full of drive and passion! In this episode, he talks about his experiences and shares his fascinating views on the meetings and events industry. We hope you enjoy listening to today’s inspiring conversation with Gary Shapiro! Bio: Gary Shapiro is an acclaimed author, lobbyist, president, and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, which represents over 1,500 consumer technology companies and owns and produces the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) ® — The Global Stage for Innovation.  A Georgetown Law graduate, Shapiro began his career as an associate at the Squire Sanders law firm. After an extended tenure in law, he began working on Capitol Hill as an assistant to a prominent member of the U.S. Congress. Later in his life, Gary would use this combined law and legal experience to be named one of The Hill’s top lobbyists numerous times throughout his career (2015-2021). As his experience in law and politics progressed, he became more aligned with the world of technology, which eventually brought him into the fold of the Consumer Technology Association in 1982.  Taking the role of President and CEO, Shapiro evolved the idea of the workplace over his 40-year-long tenure leading the organization. Directing a staff of 150 employees alongside thousands of industry volunteers, he built a forward-thinking and successful business focused on the further development and integration of technology in all industries of the world. Under his leadership, CTA has won numerous awards for its healthy workplace, family-friendly employment practices, and environmentally friendly exhibition practices. In 2019, CTA earned its sixth consecutive selection as a Washington Post Top Workplace.  Shapiro is a New York Times bestselling author whose books include “Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation” (HarperCollins, 2019), “Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses” (HarperCollins, 2013), and “The Comeback: How Innovation will Restore the American Dream” (Beaufort, 2011). Through these books, numerous television appearances, and as a columnist whose more than 1,200 opinion pieces have appeared in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, Shapiro has helped direct policymakers and business leaders on the importance of innovation and technology in the U.S. economy.  Shapiro consistently stays active in policy, thought leadership, government, and community development alongside his position at CTA. He currently sits on the Northern Virginia Technology Council, CEO Update Roundtable, Council of Manufacturing Associations Board, and more. A subject of regular praise, Shapiro was once called a “mastermind” for his initiative in helping to create the Industry Cooperative for Ozone Layer Protection. His mind for an evolving workplace and consumers while staying environmentally conscious has paved a roadmap for bipartisan law and policymakers to follow in making a more innovative world.  Gary Shapiro is happily married and lives in Michigan. Gary’s story Gary enrolled at Georgetown Law School as the youngest student. He started school with no money and immediately landed a job at Capitol Hill. In his second year, Gary started working for a law firm. He spent his third year working there almost full-time. He loved what the law firm was doing because they focused on the future. He became a summer associate and then an associate.  CES While still a student, Gary worked for a client at the law firm, which he loved and saw as the future of technology. The client was essentially the Consumer Technology Association and the CES. Gary fell in love with what an event could be after experiencing the excitement and action on the floor! Competition Gary feels that events are good for competition because competitors get brought together in one room. The best things tend to happen when you see what your competition is doing and how you need to improve, and that produces innovation for society.  A battle for the future of technology and innovation Gary found himself in the middle of a case about the legality of video cassette recorders. He debated the issue and formed an association of video retailers. They eventually went to the Supreme Court, and Gary testified many times. It was a huge battle, and Gary even debated live on the Today Show! They eventually proved that technology and innovation are vital for the future and for improving lives. Gary’s motivating mission Innovation is vital for our destiny as human beings and the future of our nation. So we need to guard and protect it. That has been Gary’s motivating mission for over thirty years.  A diverse nation The United States is an inventive nation partly because it is diverse and partly because it attracts some of the best and brightest immigrants from around the world.  The secret sauce  The best and brightest immigrants want to live in the U.S. and create a better life for themselves and their families. That is our secret sauce and strength!  Suffering One of the reasons we are suffering as a country right now is because we have lost our zest for immigration. So we are no longer welcoming immigrants who want to work hard and fill jobs.  An issue  Costs are increasing so much that it will soon be a real challenge to have meetings. Face-to-face meetings The pandemic has caused most thinking individuals to do some self-examination and consider what is truly important to them. Many CEOs have concluded that face-to-face meetings are important. CFOs, on the other hand, are more excited about people working at home. A different era Meetings and events are about relationships, transformation, change, and innovation. We are now in a new and different era where people skills are vital. Why have events? Events are all about business. They bring serendipity and discovery. They also help people find out what they do not know. From a business perspective, we need events to learn new things and build relationships.  Skills  Some skills were not valued much in the past but are valued now. (Like cross-cultural understanding and being able to think outside of your vertical sphere.) Skills like knowing how to deal with people, motivate people, set goals, and get results are vital. Valuable business skills include teaching teamwork skills, cross-culture skills, empathy, understanding, and motivation. Purpose In business today, purpose needs to be put above profit, and adopting a human approach is vital.  Novel questions Currently, CEOs face many new challenges. New questions keep coming up, like whether people have to go to the office every day, whether people can live any work from anywhere in the world, and how to maintain a culture and relationships. Employees Employees need to be taken care of, and they are all motivated by different things, like the purpose of the business, money, title, or recognition. CEOs need to understand that and have empathy. Virtual meetings and the metaverse Everyone should think that the metaverse is the coolest thing, yet no one seems to be able to understand it or define it, and no one can see it, conceptualize it, or even say what it is. It is also hard to put on digital events, and most people do not prefer to attend them. However, the metaverse promises more interactivity and a more immersive experience, and virtual events tend to cost less and be more profitable.  Succeeding in the world of discovery and innovation In the world of discovery and innovation today, you cannot stay only in your vertical sphere if you’d like to do well. You have to cross-license, partner, go outside of your vertical industry, and do many different things to succeed. Ecosystems  At some events, ecosystems combine with other ecosystems in new ways, creating better services and benefits for people. Virtual events versus the real world Gary feels that having a five-sense experience allows people to form relationships. It also allows for serendipity and discovery. That is also possible at virtual events, but it will take longer and be less effective and efficient. Even though virtual events may save travel costs and work during a pandemic, Gary would still choose to be in the real world. Impersonation fraud Security is an issue, and it’s a big deal when your identity gets taken! Impersonation fraud has affected Gary as an event producer when people have used his company’s logo to try to sell things, including exhibit space. He does whatever he can to shut those people down. He hopes the Trade Commissioner will sharpen its tools to help.  A revolution Even though we may not feel it, we are currently living through a revolution in the use of technology. Throughout history, every new technology has been a tool that could benefit humans or harm them. If people don’t like how technology gets used, they want to make it illegal. However, in time, that technology might help us solve big problems.  Focus Ultrasound Gary is on the foundation board for Focus Ultrasound. It uses sound waves to quickly and easily treat various conditions, including tumors and tremors. It has been FDA approved for treating many different issues.   Using science in better ways   Many people are dying unnecessarily. On one side, we have wars where people go against one another intentionally. On the other side, we have the opportunity to use science in better ways to improve our lives. It is inspiring to know that we now have the technology to produce clean water out of the air and use solar energy. Government The government should set guardrails for new technology. However, it should not inhibit innovation. (Part of Gary’s job is to ensure that the government values innovation.) Solve problems like a Ninja For Gary, being a Ninja is about doing anything you can to solve a problem. He used the concept of the Ninja with his children. Now, he uses it with his employees to help them get ahead in life by relying on skills and teamwork and finding new ways to solve problems.  Ready for the pandemic When the pandemic hit, Gary’s organization was ready for it. So they were able to adapt quickly.  Risks Gary insists on his staff taking risks and making mistakes. But they must confess when they make mistakes because people learn from their failures, not their successes. The Legend of Honor Gary was awarded the Legend of Honor, by the President of France, in a personal ceremony. He got it for his passion for innovation, improving the world, and his willingness to share his work with France. Gary accepted the award on behalf of the meetings and exhibition industry and all those who put on CES. Politicians Most world-class events take place in Europe, and Europeans support the events. American politicians tend not to support events. Gary feels that every American event organizer should figure out ways to invite politicians, to help them understand and value the various aspects of events.   Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Gary Shapiro On LinkedIn Consumer Technology Association Consumer Electronics Show Books mentioned: Jack Welch and the GE Way by Robert Slater Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation by Gary Shapiro

  Today, we have the great pleasure of speaking with Jon Kazarian, the Founder, and CEO of Accelevents! In this episode, we talk about data, entrepreneurship, marketing, the role of events in marketing, and opportunities for the future of our industry.  We hope you enjoy listening to our conversation with Jon Kazarian today! Bio: Jonathan Kazarian is the Founder & CEO of Accelevents, a leading virtual and hybrid event management platform recently recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the top 200 fastest-growing private companies in America.  As CEO, Jon focuses on leading the company’s vision of helping event organizers and marketing professionals transform their events through innovative technology solutions.  As an industry thought leader, Jon actively publishes insights on the events landscape and frequently speaks at industry events such as EventMB’s Event Tech Innovation Summit, BizBash Live, and INBOUND.  Jon also chairs the board for the Fall Formal fundraiser benefiting the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Outside of work, Jon has a passion for anything on-water — sailing, boating, scuba diving, and kiteboarding. Jonathan’s journey Jonathan started hosting events while in college. After finding out that his seventeen-year-old cousin had been diagnosed with cancer, he decided to host an event at the Boston Aquarium to raise some money to help her. He needed to sell 185 tickets to break even, and he sold 840! Going into that event, Jonathan knew that to raise the most money he could from running an auction and a raffle, he needed to do it digitally. However, he struggled to find an affordable and easy-to-use technical solution. After realizing that there was nothing available to make life easier, he and his team decided to build their own. It worked well! They got great feedback and raised about $65,000. Launching a business  They realized that they could offer their technology to other similar organizations, so they decided to launch a business around it. Initially, they focused on fundraising.  Everything under one roof Later, they learned that the organizers wanted to have everything, including ticketing and payment processing, in one place. So they began to focus more on for-profit events like festivals, conferences, and trade shows. They kept on growing and doubling, year after year, but they were still small, and Jonathan was still working full-time at another job.  2020 Approaching 2020, Jonathan intended to go into the business full-time, but, unfortunately, the world shut down. They were a bootstrapped business, so when all the events got canceled, they ran out of money. Virtual events  Jonathan’s father invested $75,000 in the business. That allowed them to pivot and focus on virtual events. Things started to accelerate, and they closed out 2020 at 3.3-million dollars in revenue. That was ten times more than they had done in 2019! Conferences At that point, they began to focus solely on conferences. Their events ranged from hundreds of people to tens of thousands.  Value They ensured that everyone, including the organizers, exhibitors, and sponsors, was getting value. As a result of them focusing on the other stakeholders as part of the experience, those stakeholders naturally approached Jonathan’s company when it was time to host their events. User experience The mission of Accelevents is to make life easier for event organizers. Over the past year or so, they doubled down on their main product and focused mainly on the user experience. The various elements They provide all the technology needed for an organizer to host an online, hybrid, or in-person experience. They provide everything from badge printing to check-in to lead capture for exhibitors in the in-person world to the entire venue for the virtual experience. Fundraising They also have fundraising technology focused on auctions, raffles, fund-to-need, and text-to-give. A feedback loop They built a powerful feedback loop to help them understand the needs of their customers and ensure that they focus on the right developments.  Marketing strategy It is vital to understand the customer when it comes to marketing.  First-party data The reduction in third-party cookie tracking has led to first-party data becoming much more important. All first-party information does, however, is to tell you about singular actions taken by someone. With an event experience, a lot of information gets gathered about each attendee that can be used in your ads, in your targeting and building your audience, and in the way in which you communicate and personalize your messaging with your audience. Competition To build a brand and establish your presence, you need more than ads. You need to be there, build experiences, and bring opportunities for people to connect within the industry. Events- either digital or in person, are the best way to do that.  Virtual events Events are expensive, so virtual events are a good way for people to ease their way into hosting in-person events. Hosting virtual events can help people to build their connections with speakers and sponsors. Then, when they are ready to host an in-person event, those people will already be part of their ecosystem. Data Even though there are many opportunities for how event data can get used after an event, there is still a gap in how the data gets used during the event to improve the experience. The people who got that right have been creating some very successful experiences!  An opportunity to re-market to your attendees If your platform has real-time tracking in place, you can quickly adjust the experience, either in-person or virtually. For example, if you have a speaker who gets a lot of engagement, ask them to host a workshop later that day to re-engage your audience. Getting increased engagement at virtual events It is easy to get distracted in the world of virtual. If, as an organizer, you can come up with different ways to re-activate and re-engage your audience and bring them back to the platform, or you create campaigns to bring people back into the virtual experience, you will get increased engagement. That will also keep your sponsors and exhibitors happy and ensure that they get value out of the experience. Exhibitors Notice the exhibitors who have the most success generating leads throughout the experience. Identify what they are doing differently, and then go to the bottom-performing exhibitors and coach them. Trade Shows Big trade shows are hard to navigate as a virtual experience. If, for example, you have a software company with many different partners (integration partners, cold-marketing partners, re-sellers, etc.) who can do some type of digital activation in your event experience and drive people to engage and interact, you could be more successful. You also need to be there in video and on chat, and you need to have a platform that will tell you about the person to whom you are talking, and what they care about. Cross-referencing Take all the information you have gathered and make sure that it passes into your CRM or marketing automation system so that you can cross-reference it and figure out how to segment it and market it to the different audiences in the best way. Marketing operations Marketing operations people are becoming more involved in the procurement process, especially in the mid and enterprise segments. If you are an event planner in that area, set up a conversation with the marketing ops person to understand how that data will flow into their existing systems and how they intend to use it. Then you will be able to offer guidance in terms of other ways to use that information. You can also show them how you can make their lives easier and get better results.  The metaverse Jonathan feels that the metaverse will create opportunities for events. It is unlikely to happen very soon, however.  Ease of use Virtual events create a level of accessibility that tends to be unreached with in-person experiences. So, event organizers should avoid anything that could get in the way of that accessibility.    Jonathan’s quotes: “For somebody hosting their first large-scale event, there are so many stressors on you already. Technology doesn’t need to be another one.” “By focusing on that other stakeholder that is part of the experience, they naturally turned to us when it was time to host their own events.” “As you approach the days leading up to an event, you are basically giving up another hour of sleep every day until you get to event day. So anything we can do to regain a couple of extra minutes for organizers goes a long way!” “What we are providing is pretty much the entirety of the technology needed for an organizer to host an event experience, be it online, hybrid, or in person.”  “When buying a tech business, the second you take your foot off the gas, you fall behind.”  “There has to be very a high degree of rigor and QA for the assurance associated with any sort of development.” Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Jonathan Kazarian On Accelevents website On LinkedIn On Twitter