The Business of Meetings

We are honored to be speaking to Olamide “Ola” Awofeso today! Ola started her career in Public Relations, and she later created her own consulting company. Ola also does marketing and works with non-profits through multicultural events. Before that, she used to be with an agency where she worked on accounts like Walmart, J&J, Loreal, and Procter and Gamble. Ola is also a rockstar on Clubhouse! She is building a community there and sharing valuable information.   Ola is joining us to discuss her experience as an entrepreneur, talk about the power of collaboration and purpose, and share how she used Clubhouse to create a community.  We’re sure you will enjoy listening to our conversation with Ola today! Ola Awofeso’s bio  Ola Awofeso is a marketer, an event strategist, and the founder of E.K.O Consulting, a marketing and events consulting business dedicated to helping business owners, brands, and nonprofits connect with multicultural audiences through marketing, events, and partnerships. Her love for events began early in her career as she worked as a public relations specialist in New York City. It was there that she got exposed to attending and working on many events. Those events include shows, fairs, and exhibitions such as the New York Design Show, Kipps Bay Decorator Show House, and Frieze Art Fair for clients in décor, design, and entrepreneurship. Later in her career, she was able to work with the Bloomberg team on their New Energy Finance summit and knew that events led by professional and social impact were her niche. Over the years, she partnered with brands such as WeWork and General Assembly on events in her beloved New York City. Olamide is passionate about marketing, events, and community. Some background Ola started her career in PR. She worked mostly with clients in art and décor, and she went to many very detailed trade shows. She got into the events industry because those shows opened her eyes to what was happening in that industry and she grew to love that space. Project management Although some people say that meetings and corporate planning are boring, that is the space that has the most to offer Ola in terms of project management. It also entails a lot of sponsorships that you need to garner for events. With her PR and marketing background, Ola felt she could hone in on that space, and her skills could get utilized most effectively there. Non-profit Ola currently works with a non-profit that works towards getting more black people into technology. Daily, Ola looks at different tech companies. She does that to see if they are trying to get more black talent into the tech space and find out how they are doing it. She is in constant communication with the Growth Marketing Managers because their responsibility is to help the company grow. She is also in touch with recruiters and community managers.  How to create a community Find a space that is not being served and listen to your audience. Ola Awofeso Clubhouse overview Clubhouse is about community-building and allowing people to come in with their ideas and speak freely. When Ola first got onto Clubhouse, she did not see any of the planning clubs, so she created one. By doing that, she had conversations about different topics and she brought people up to the stage on Clubhouse to talk. Then, she started to post rooms more frequently. She also found someone to become her co-moderator at Clubhouse. Leveraging the power of collaboration Collaboration is vital if you want to create an impactful community. Listen to your audience, and give those people the space to speak. Also, be authentic. Ola shares what she knows, and she empowers people when it comes to the industry.  Ola Awofeso’s thoughts on understanding your purpose Finding her purpose was all about trial and error for Ola Awofeso. She had to learn to be comfortable in stepping outside of the box and allowing herself to shine. She also had to decide whether her purpose was just about her or about other people as well. She started doing events because she wanted to educate people about their careers and personal development. Once you align your call and your purpose, you can go very far. You need to step back and discover what it is that you are good at doing and know who you are serving. Her first event Ola did her first event because she wanted to educate people who were struggling in their careers.  Creating her own company Ola started her company five years ago. Creating her own company was about finding out which factors and what kind of value she wanted to add to the world, aside from corporate. She also wanted to decide what her legacy would be.  Rebranding Ola learned that it is okay to shift things and change direction. She rebranded her company last year because she wanted to shift who her client would be.  Ola Awofeso, on being mentored Ola Awofeso started her business on her own. But throughout the years, she has had mentors and people from whom she could seek advice. Her brother is a full-time entrepreneur, and he gives her advice. Breaking the solitude of the entrepreneur Tell your circle and your network about what you are doing in your business and don’t allow anyone to make you feel a certain way if you decide to become a part-time entrepreneur, because many people build their skills at their day-job while being a part-time entrepreneur. Social media can be a great tool, but not all businesses are on social media because their customers are not there.  Audience Understand where your audience is. It could be email-list heavy, or Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter-heavy. You also need to understand what your focus will be. Once you know that, you can check out different videos, e-books, and podcasts about that niche and share that with your audience. Achieving the best Having a calendar to list her daily priorities is something Ola loves. She used to feel like she was doing too many things at once, so she learned to block the time for her various tasks. Having a project management tool has also been very useful for her. Ola likes to use Asana because it is simple and easy to use. Effective sponsorship Effective sponsorship aligns with whoever your client is. Because when you are looking for sponsorship, you want longevity. Long-lasting and effective sponsorship will build trust for your brand and with others when they come to you. Relationship-building is essential for effective sponsorship. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Olamide Awofeso On Website On LinkedIn Ola’s Clubhouse community is called Event Planners and Producers United

We are delighted to be speaking to Ron Lovett today! Ron is a fascinating entrepreneur! He built a unique security company in Canada and then sold it. He has also written some books, and he has been on various boards and involved in different projects. We are sure you are going to enjoy hearing our intriguing conversation and Ron’s inspiring stories today! Ron Lovett’s bio: Ron Lovett is an Atlantic Canadian entrepreneur who successfully scaled his Halifax-based guard security company to over 3,000 staff across Canada. Ron’s leadership hallmarks of relentless learning, disrupting stale industries, fast action, and transforming staff into passionate stakeholders inspired his first book, Outrageous Empowerment, in 2018.   He sold his security company to the largest provider in the USA at a 24X multiple. He now focuses on his rapidly expanding, multi-family residential portfolio through Vida Living, whose purpose is to revolutionize workforce housing across North America and plans to reach 10,000 units by 2027.   Ron is a globally sought-after professional speaker and thought-leader in organizational culture. He hosts an award-winning podcast and will be releasing his next book and a Master Class called Scaling Culture in Spring 2021.  He also helps clients solve people and culture challenges directly through his other company, Connolly Owens.  Over the years, Ron has been recognized with many awards for the success of Source Security & Investigations and his leadership within the region. Those include:  BDC Young Entrepreneur Award, (x5) Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEO Award, Junior Chamber International Outstanding Young Person Award, and the Remy Martin Bold Five under 35. People are usually stunned to find out Ron is only 41.  Entrepreneurship Ron feels that entrepreneurship has always been in his blood. As a child, he was always very curious and wanting to make his own way. From a very early age, he was starting micro-small businesses, making decisions, and taking jobs that were more variable compensation.  How Ron Lovett started his company, Source Security & Investigations Inc Ron Lovett has a background in martial arts. When he was nineteen, he got hired to work the door at a few nightclubs in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There, he built a name for himself. Later, while traveling in North Columbia, he read a book about a gangster who made money from renting his gangster friends to nightclub security companies in London. Ron understood the business model, so based on that, he returned to Halifax to start a nightclub security company. He registered the company as Source Security. Starting He started the company with two high school friends on the security team. He had many other friends, and he hired lots of them as the company grew, and the company grew very quickly.  Ron Lovett separates friends and business Ron Lovett made it clear to his friends that when they were at work, they were at work. He was happy to hang out with them over weekends and have beers with them after work, but he made it very clear that their working relationship was not the same as their personal relationship.  The Rolling Stones Ron got asked to do the security at a Rolling Stones concert with an audience of 85,000 people. He agreed to do it, even though he had no idea how he would manage. He needed 380 security people, but he had only about 45 employees at the time. It was a challenge, but he managed to recruit enough people. On the day before the concert, only sixty people turned up in the busses that Ron had hired to get everyone he had hired to the venue. Ron thought it was all over for him. The next day, however, most of the other people he had hired drove themselves to the venue. So they pulled it off! Nobody died that day, and the concert went off well. Becoming the authority After pulling off the Rolling Stones concert, Source Security became the authority. They became known to understand everything about running the security at large concerts, and they had a unique ability to solve any problem in the present moment, which is very hard to do. Give people back their brains  Ron became obsessive about two things when he was at rock bottom and lost a million dollars in 2011. They were to give people their brains back and build systems and processes to allow people to have autonomy, make decisions, and build culture in an industry that lacked culture. Community Ron felt that it was vital to create community for his employees. Ron Lovett’s move towards autonomy Ron Lovett was looking for a way to systemize autonomy without using any command and control. Also, to give people their brains back and get them to use them. Rather than having policies in place, he created a framework of three questions. He always asks the people in his company those questions to empower them when they make critical decisions. Those questions are: Is it the right thing for the customer? Is it the right thing for our business based on our purpose of changing the industry? And our values? Are you willing to be accountable? Coaching in real-time and scaling That decision-making process allowed Ron to coach his employees in real-time, in the present moment. It also helped to remove the bureaucracy and allowed him to simplify things as he scaled the business.  Holding people back People get held back from their potential if they do not get coached and celebrated in real-time.  Challenge everything You build a great business by challenging everything. Purpose Find a purpose that will give you goose-bumps. That purpose should, at least, make someone curious.  Ron Lovett’s thoughts on leaders Ron Lovett believes that the best leaders today don’t solve problems. They ask the right questions and let the organizations answer them. Entrepreneurs As entrepreneurs, you need to ask questions that drive you to be objective about what you have created. How To Ron is writing his second book. It’s called Scaling Culture. It is about how to build and sustain a resilient, high-performing organization. He also has a Master Class that can get taken online that will launch with the book. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Ron On LinkedIn On Website Ron’s book: Outrageous Empowerment: The Incredible Story of Giving Employees Their Brains Back Books mentioned: Drive by Daniel Pink

You are in for a treat today! We are delighted to be speaking to Ashanti Bentil-Dhue. Ashanti is the CEO of EventMind, which provides training and consultancy for businesses looking to engage virtually with their audience. She comes from the corporate world where she was Regulatory Compliance AVP for Santander Bank, Barclaycard, and the Financial Ombudsman Service. Ashanti co-created the UK’s first nation-wide anti-racism and allyship project for women in Human Resources (HR), an industry that is 83% female and white. She is also a co-founder of 100 White Allies, Diversity Ally, and Black In Events, which are consultancies that provide support for organizations to be proactively anti-racist and inclusive. In this episode, we cover three main topics. They are diversity and inclusion, starting and running your own business, and online events. You will learn a lot from our fascinating conversation with Ashanti today. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Ashanti Bentil-Dhue’s bio: Ashanti Bentil-Dhue is Founder and CEO at EventMind, a market leader in the virtual meetings and events sector. EventMind provides training, consultancy, and delivery for businesses looking to engage virtually with their audience and community. Ashanti is currently a judge on several awards panels, including the Eventex Awards, Independent Publisher Awards, and the Virtual Event Institute Awards. She is also a co-founder of 100 White Allies, Diversity Ally, and Black In Events, consultancies that provide support to organizations who want to be proactively anti-racist and inclusive, both internally and for their service users. You can connect with her on Linkedin.  Ashanti can bring the experience she gained from five years spent as a Regulatory Compliance AVP for the likes of Santander Bank, Barclaycard, and the Financial Ombudsman Service. This experience has given Ashanti an understanding of corporate governance and challenges associated with change management and workplace culture shifts. Diversity initiatives It was during her time in the world of compliance that Ashanti began to work on diversity initiatives, and she also started to use events as a vehicle to communicate the importance of being as diverse and inclusive as possible.  Arranging events When she was working for a bank, Ashanti did not see herself as an event planner. She saw herself as the compliance consultant who also arranged events. Building communities When she decided to start her own business, Ashanti naturally gravitated towards using events to build communities, her business brand, and her personal brand.  Racism Ashanti first encountered racism when she was four years old, and she was the only black child in her class. It was the first time she realized she was different because she got treated differently. She experienced bias, micro-aggression, and being stereotyped. An event to raise awareness During an awareness month, while she was in the financial industry, Ashanti decided to put on a diversity and inclusion event for the employees. She invited local school children to participate and help raise awareness and highlight the diversity in the area within which the bank operated. It all happened very naturally for her.  HR and diversity HR is a discipline in the UK where most of the stakeholders are female and white. Those individuals often influence the processes and systems that impact how much people are getting paid and who gets hired, fired, promoted, or trained, even though they may not have lived the experience of difference or being a minority. Ashanti’s mission was to help those stakeholders understand how to contribute to becoming more diverse. Diversity Diversity can be attained by hiring different people, paying everyone on equal scales, and investing in people through resources and training. Ashanti Bentil-Dhue’s visibility epiphany Ashanti Bentil-Dhue realized that her consistent visibility was a way to create more diversity. That realization prompted her to create 100 White Allies, Diversity Ally, and Black In Events.  100 White Allies, Diversity Ally, and Black In Events She created those consultancies with a mission to simplify things. She wanted to make it accessible for organizations and companies to become more diverse. And highlight to people of color that there is a place for them in the events industry. Encouraging more diversity  Ashanti understood that to encourage more diversity she needed to show up consistently, be good at what she does, and add value for other people. Starting her own business Ashanti always wanted to start a business. Having learned enough from the corporate experience to add value to tech startups, she thought she would have more freedom, independence, and control of her income by starting a business of her own. Instead, she discovered that being an entrepreneur is like being an employee squared. Ashanti Bentil-Dhue’s entrepreneurial challenges As Ashanti Bentil-Dhue discovered, being an entrepreneur is not easy. The challenge in owning a business is that you have to be astute, you have to make decisions under pressure, and you have to love what you do. You also need to be driven from within and able to cope with uncertainty and rejection. Monetizing your experience and skills It is vital to know how to monetize your experience and skills. Without knowing how to do that, you will struggle with starting a business. Mindset Ashanti maintains a healthy mindset with the help of several coaches and the support of a community of other entrepreneurs. She has also done a lot of work on her personal mindset.  Scaling Scaling your income is very different from scaling your business. They require different skills, resources, time, and energy. They will result in different outcomes for you as the business owner. Making more money You don’t have to create or scale a company to make more money. You need to understand how to make that happen and how to manage all the elements.  Ashanti Bentil-Dhue and online events Ashanti Bentil-Dhue got into creating online events before COVID. She started with live streaming to teach people how to do various things and sell her service. Then, other companies started asking her how to live stream and sell. That was how she got into helping companies create online experiences and events to build communities.  Since COVID  Since COVID, there is much more technology available, and the rest of the world now understands the sustainability benefits and the low cost of the online launch.  Post-pandemic Online events will become a part of a digital and social strategy. They will become more informed and sophisticated than pre-COVID. What’s new You can now have global insights on attendee behavior at online events. Online events can now get integrated into a marketing strategy, a recruitment strategy, or a brand-activation strategy in a way that they were not getting done readily, pre-COVID.  A global directory Ashanti has decided to launch an accessible global directory. She feels that her company is in a position to do that because they are unbiased. They will be listing every event technology company out there in one place.  Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Ashanti On LinkedIn

Today, we have the honor of speaking to Sir Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister, as impersonated by Randy Otto. Randy has been playing Winston Churchill for the last forty-seven years, and he is phenomenal! In this episode, you will learn about history. You will hear the great quotes of Sir Winston Churchill, and you will also get some great leadership advice.  We know you are going to love this show! Randy Otto’s background Randy Otto’s British history professor did a spot-on impression of Winston Churchill, and Randy thought he could impersonate him impersonating Winston Churchill. The professor walked up behind him and surprised him by telling him that he might have something, and Randy’s life changed instantly! That professor became a great mentor in his life, and Randy gave him credit every day for allowing him to see the world through the prism of Winston Churchill.  You don’t know as much as you think  Randy urges you, as business people, to always remember that you don’t know as much as you think you do. Go and find the people in your life who know more than you do, or who can complement your knowledge, and ask as many questions as you can.  Mentors Throughout his life, Randy has had several great mentors. One of them was the great actor Hal Holbrook, who impersonated Mark Twain on stage for 64 years and died recently at the age of 94.  The best advice Hal Holbrook gave Randy the best advice he has ever had, which was that he did not need a script. He told Randy that he knew enough about Winston Churchill to become Winston Churchill at any time he wanted to do so. All he had to do was to tell the stories and string them together with segues.  Some advice for business people Randy’s advice to business people is not to lose track. He advises you not to get so involved in the details that you lose track of the opportunities that come your way. Winston Churchill said, "The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, but the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Eight principles Randy has eight principles that he does on stage for groups, organizations, corporations, and associations in a piece he calls Winston Churchill CEO. One of the things he stresses in it is that you touch the troops.  Great leadership Winston Churchill set the standard of great leadership for Randy because he could stand up and sway the course of history. He did that by simply telling the truth and reminding the British people of who they were. Press Churchill had the cooperation of the press during World War Two. Although he knew they could take it, he asked the press not to give the British people all the bad news at once.   Taking ownership People appreciate leaders who take ownership of it when there is a problem or when something goes wrong and asking for help is powerful.   A painter’s eye Winston Churchill had a painter’s eye, and he used it as a leadership technique. He would choose a focal point for where he wanted to go in a meeting. He would then focus on that point. Sometimes, it was something that the audience thought of as inconsequential, but Churchill would stick to it like a bulldog for hours until they found a solution. As a result, he was very successful in the cabinet meetings when things got tough. Mein Kampf Churchill got quoted as saying that he was the only person who read the English translation of Mein Kampf as early as he did. He realized that it was a roadmap to disaster. Unfortunately, he had no proof at the time. Writing Churchill made a living by writing. When he started criticizing the Germans and the Italians, he lost the ability to be published by many magazines and newspapers. He kept on despite that, however. Painting in Marseilles Churchill painted at a chateau in Marseilles. You can see a beautiful painting that he did here.  Chamberlain When Churchill became Prime Minister, he was clever enough to invite Neville Chamberlain into his cabinet. Chamberlain was his fiercest enemy before doing so, and despite that, Churchill gave the eulogy at Chamberlain’s funeral. He was himself Churchill was true to himself as a leader. He was unafraid and honest, and he told the truth. He always said what he meant and meant what he said. Winston Churchill gives some management and leadership advice for small business owners “One must look at the past before one looks at the future.” “History is our best teacher. Study history. Study history. Study history.” “In history lie all the secrets of statecraft.” “The further back that you can look the further forward that you can see.” What is important as a leader when you are managing a team “You must find your enemies and keep them close to you.”  President Lincoln assembled a team of rivals. He found the people who opposed his policies most assiduously and asked them to be part of his cabinet. As a leader, you must do the same thing in business. You must find those who are not afraid to take you on or disagree with you, and you must welcome it. You must find the best men and women, and not the ‘yes’ men and women today, to help you, and to ask the difficult questions of you. Then you might learn to better run your company. Managing a budget and finances You should hire someone you can trust, who is good with facts and figures, to do that for you. “And don’t be afraid to spend money to make money.” (Churchill was not the greatest financier that ever lived.) Company culture You must have a vision for the future, and you must be able to communicate it. If you don’t, you had better figure out a way to find out what your vision is and communicate it. That vision must drive every single strategy that you have in your business.  Randy Otto’s bio as Keynote Speaker, Playwright, Academic, Actor Randy Otto does NOT enter onstage. He explodes into your midst. The suspension of disbelief immediately immerses the audience. It IS Winston. Without doubt, Churchill. Through Randy Otto’s astonishingly authentic portrayal of Churchill, based on decades of academic research and performance passion, the true genius of the man, the statesman and most admired leader can be fully seen, heard and even questioned! Randy Otto, with unapologetic admiration, depicts a witty, humane, accessible living portrait of the most admired leader ever.  Randy’s KEYNOTES & THEATRICAL SHOWS (Winston Churchill: CEO, Winston Churchill: Man of the Century, and Winston Churchill: The Blitz) skillfully leads the audience on an immensely entertaining Churchillian journey, imparting WHY Churchill was a VISIONARY organizational genius who harnessed a unique MAGNANIMOUS, ACTION ORIENTED STYLE infused with boundless enthusiasm; and how today’s 21st Century leaders easily incorporate Churchill’s Timeless Principles of Leadership into their personal and professional lives. Randy answers the questions: WHO was Winston Churchill, HOW did Churchill leave a timeless legacy of leadership and WHY Churchill is relevant and needs to be heard now more than ever in the 21st Century. Randy Otto’s Awards/Honors/Education/Experience: Has portrayed Winston Churchill professionally for over four decades Honorary Archivist – Churchill Archive Center – Churchill College/Cambridge University/Cambridge, UK Advisory Board – International Churchill Society - Milwaukee, WI Hosted 70th Anniversary of Churchill becoming an American Citizen - Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, MI Commissioned by National Churchill Museum to create “Painting as a Pastime” February 2014 – honoring the largest exhibition of Churchill paintings since 1976 in St. Louis, MO Rotary 20+ Years - President of 2 Clubs, Assistant Governor Randy Otto is the ONLY Winston Churchill endorsed by members of the Churchill family Native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, alumnus of the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and numerous theatrical roles– BA graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire Missionary two years Hokkaido and Kyoto Japan 20+ Years Vice-President of Investments - Fully licensed private investment management with Stifel Nicolaus Investment Brokerage - Offices in Brookfield, WI & St. Louis, MO     Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Randy On Churchill Speaker On the telephone – (920) 988-4459  See Randy as Winston in action!

Today, we are happy to be speaking to a well-known world traveler, Sabrina Meyers, from the Hot Hospitality Exchange. Sabrina has worked in different parts of the world, from Singapore to Sydney to London. Now, she is based in Germany. Currently, Sabrina is focusing on social media. In this episode, you will learn about influencer marketing, how to use social media, create content, and create online visibility.    Be sure to join us today to hear Sabrina’s fascinating story and learn how to best leverage social media for your online visibility. Sabrina Meyers’s background Sabrina Meyers was born in Singapore. She grew up having more exposure to the hospitality industry than the events industry. From a young age, she often traveled with her father, who was a university professor. He used to travel across Southeast Asia, giving conferences on engineering.  Hotel management Sabrina loved hotels, so after leaving school, she decided to study hotel management at a private college. After graduation, she moved to Australia to continue her studies and get a degree in hotel management.  Her first job After moving to Australia, she got her first job. She became a sales coordinator in hospitality sales, and she loved everything about it! London  A while later, she moved to London. She loved it there. She continued with her career in London for the next year, after which she joined The Leading Hotels of the World, a marketing organization. When that came to an end, an opportunity came about for Sabrina to switch sides. Running events Sabrina was super interested in events. She always helped out with the running of events for the leading hotels, and she was very interested in the logistics side. Her boss, at the time, started a New York-based agency, and he hired Sabrina to open the London office. That was where her event management and logistics experience began. Germany Sabrina married a German man, and they decided to move to Germany. After taking a year or two off, she continued with her journey, in Germany, starting with venue sourcing. She was very successful and very lucky with that side of things. Freelance and social media Sabrina decided to go freelance and offer event management services. She also continued building up her logistics experience while becoming an early and passionate adopter of social media. Head-hunted Sabrina got head-hunted by George P. Johnson, an experiential marketing agency, to manage IBM’s European conferences remotely. She later went on to freelance for George P. Johnson and IBM. Vlogs In 2017, Sabrina went onto YouTube, looking for someone to follow. She did not manage to find anyone who did what she did, however. So she decided to become that person, and she started making vlogs of all her experiences as an event planner. Sabrina Meyers creates a specific community What Sabrina Meyers does with her vlogs is qualified and targeted. There is a specific community of people who will get what she is doing, and it will add value to them when they watch her vlogs. Social media  While working, Sabrina was very active on social media. She did lots of vlogging and was active on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Sabrina Meyers’s strategy Sabrina Meyers’s strategy is to never post the same thing on every channel if she can help it because people take in information differently, on different platforms. She recommends trying to cater and customize your content to the platform that you are using. No travel, no content Last year, no traveling meant no content for Sabrina. So, she decided to put all her energy and focus into making her side-hustle, social media strategy, and consulting, specifically for the events, travel, and hospitality industries, her main hustle.  To stand out Sabrina explains that to stand out on social media, you need to be shouting louder than everyone else because everyone is on social media right now. Building an online presence To build an online presence and visibility, you should block times to check into your platforms every day. The time for you to engage needs to be separate from the time you post because they are two separate things. How often you should be posting You should post three times a week on LinkedIn and Instagram. Increase it to four or five times a week, if necessary. You need to be very active and post very often and very regularly on Twitter. You should post two to three times a week on Facebook. Power platforms  Sabrina’s power platforms are LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. She uses Clubhouse moderately. Structuring As business owners, you need to adopt the mindset of viewing social media as a marketing channel rather than a chore. To see lots of results, commit some time to create the right content, scheduling that content, and engaging with other people’s content, as well as distributing your own. Time Creating content, structuring, planning, and scheduling will take time. That is only a one-time investment per month, however.  Purpose Define your purpose before coming up with the relevant content. Identify what your content pillars are and create the content for those with your purpose in mind. You will need to dedicate ten to fifteen minutes per caption for your content to ensure that it has the right messages, calls to action, and image or video. Diversity Having diversity in your content-type is vital for business owners. Virtual assistants Sabrina feels that it is well worth investing in trusted virtual assistants to help you. Templates You can buy templates from CreativeMarket.com. Then, add your brand colors, type something up, and add a photo as a graphic.  Influencer marketing An influencer is a trusted voice in a community and industry on specific topics. Find people who influence your local, global, or online community. Bring them in to talk about your niche from the perspective of the kinds of customers you want to have. Sabrina Meyers’s bio Sabrina Meyers is the Event Industry’s GO-TO on all things social media and how to effectively use social media to optimize online visibility for your personal and professional brand.  She is a social media strategist and consultant working with individuals, brands, businesses, and organizations within the global events and hospitality industry. From social media event strategy for events to influencer marketing campaigns to optimizing social media presence for companies, she works on a case by case with clients who want to use their social media channels to raise awareness, build community, increase engagement, drive leads and generate revenue. With over 16 years of experience in the Events and Hospitality industry, she has worked for big-name brands such as Marriott, Hilton, and The Leading Hotels of the World in sales and marketing roles promoting the most luxurious to the most meeting specific hotels in the world. She has also worked for reputable event agencies such as George P. Johnson as well as independently as a freelance event planner delivering corporate events globally for clients such as Dow Jones International and IBM.  She is an event industry vlogger and founder of Hot Hospitality Exchange, her brand where she actively creates online content for, from, and with the event community across a plethora of social media platforms (as expected) from her own YouTube Channel to the newest social kid on the block, Clubhouse. An experienced industry speaker having spoken at industry trade shows such as IBTM World, Sabrina is also an online event moderator having moderated for global organizations such as EventMB and Swapcard. Be sure to follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Clubhouse on handle @hothospitalitye and connect with her on LinkedIn. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Sabrina On Website On LinkedIn

We have the great pleasure of speaking to yet another icon in our industry today, Elliott Ferguson. He is the President and CEO of Destination DC and the current national chair of the board of directors of the U.S. Travel Association. In this episode, we will be talking about three main topics. We will discuss how DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations) can help business owners navigate the current situation and what will come after the pandemic. We will also talk about diversity, equality, and inclusion and the leading role Elliott has taken in that area. Finally, we will look at Elliot’s role as the chair of U.S. Travel and what will be coming next for our industry. We hope you will enjoy our fascinating conversation with Elliott as much as we did! Elliott Ferguson’s bio  Elliott Ferguson serves as President and CEO of Destination DC, the official destination marketing organization for Washington, DC. A 30-year veteran of the travel and hospitality industry, Ferguson leads Destination DC’s efforts to generate economic opportunity for the District through meetings and tourism, overseeing the organization’s convention and tourism sales, marketing, finance, and business development operations. Ferguson began his tenure with Destination DC in December 2001 as the Vice President of Convention Sales, became Senior Vice President of Convention Sales and Services in 2005, and has served as President and CEO since 2009. Before working at Destination DC, he served as Director of Sales and Vice President of Sales at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. He has also served as Director of Sales at the Savannah CVB. Ferguson currently serves as National Chair of the board of directors for the U.S. Travel Association, where he guides the board and association’s efforts to advance policies that facilitate more international and domestic travel. He also serves on the board of directors for the following organizations: Advisory Board of the Smithsonian National Zoo; DC Jazz Festival; Ryan Kerrigan “Blitz for the Better” Foundation and the United Way of the National Capital Area. He represents Destination DC as part of the Hospitality Alliance of Washington, D.C. Ferguson received a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Business Administration from Savannah State University. His many industry memberships include Professional Conference Management Association, International Association of Exhibition Executives, Destinations International, National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners, Meeting Professionals International, and American Society of Association Executives. Ferguson and his wife, Telesa Via, a hospitality industry veteran, are longtime residents of Capitol Hill. He is active with Capital Partners for Education, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and Delta Sigma Pi. Joining the industry In the early 1990s, Elliott got an opportunity to work with the Savannah Economic Development Authority organization. The focus was on economic development and bringing business to Savannah and Georgia by way of industry relocating or expanding. The person running the Business Bureau was on the board of that organization, and he approached Elliott one day to offer him the opportunity to join the Business Bureau. Back then, there was not much diversity in the industry, and the board member of the Business Bureau liked what Elliott was doing and felt that he and Elliott would work well together. Being young and naïve at the time, Elliott avoided him for six months.  Joining the organization After spending six months thinking about it, doing some research, and learning about what the organization did, Elliott joined the organization. Now, more than thirty years later, he is still doing that. Moving to Washington DC Elliott moved to Washington DC in December of 2001, just after 9/11.  The last twelve months Having lived through 9/11, Elliott felt accustomed to things affecting business travel and tourism to Washington DC. Although the last twelve months have been the hardest to deal with, there is strength in numbers. After coming out of a state of denial and dealing with the shock of the reality of the situation, all Elliott’s peers around the country started talking about recovery, being more proactive, and looking towards the future. What Americans need to work on As Americans, we need to work on our tendency to believe that some things that affect the global community will never happen to us here, in America.  The Da Vinci Code You can visit Washington DC, based on the book, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. There is a program that shows the different places from the book in Washington. There was also a tour that showed Washington through the eyes of those who followed the Dan Brown movies. Diversity, equality, and inclusion  Elliot feels that things are improving slightly in terms of diversity, equality, and inclusion because when he entered the industry in 1992, there was only one black male who was the CEO of a DMO.  The National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners  Elliott was actively involved in the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners. He realized that there were opportunities and diversity at the lower level of the pyramid in our industry, but as you got further up the pyramid, there were fewer and fewer opportunities. Diversity and inclusion within DMOs In 2021, America is a nation with 600-700 DMOs, and less than ten of them are run by people of color and females. There are still many opportunities and enough time to look at that and dissect it through a different lens. A wake-up call Last year was a wake-up call for Elliott. He realized that COVID could happen in America, and he needed to do a lot more in terms of diversity and inclusion within the industry.  Elliott Ferguson’s idea of doing better Doing better for Elliott Ferguson is not only about white people recognizing and understanding the plight of the black community. It is about understanding that there is something wrong with being one of only two black people walking into a room filled with white people in 2021. Also, when representing an industry that he loves and not seeing the diversity, seeing the opportunities to have conversations about that. Discrimination Most discrimination comes from ignorance. Seeing diversity in the future Because of the things they have seen and experienced, kids entering the workforce in the next few years will expect to see some diversity in the companies for which they work. If not, they won’t want to work for those companies. Those who want to believe that it is just a black problem, a Jewish problem, or a problem that does not affect them will be left behind. Diversity within companies Sometimes, people don’t even realize that the things they are saying are racist. So, people need to challenge themselves to be more purposeful with the conversations they have within their companies. They need to understand that those diverse companies are the most profitable and they are usually the places where the most people want to work. Elliott’s role is coming to an end In the next few weeks, Elliott’s role as the chair of U.S. Travel will end. He spent two years in that role, and it was an interesting time for him. Dealing with a pandemic As we continue to focus on stressors like Black Lives Matter, the change of administration, and homeschooling, we realize that we are dealing with a pandemic, and people will be losing their lives. Elliott appreciates the direction the Biden administration is taking in terms of prioritizing the focus on the pandemic.  The focus of the U.S. Travel Association In the short-term, the U.S. Travel Association is focusing on domestic markets and on building relationships. Now, when there is no travel at all, people are paying attention to what is missing and how important the travel industry is. The new chair of the U.S. Travel Association  The new chair of the U.S. Travel Association will be focusing on ensuring that the U.S. Travel Association is dealing with the priorities tied to recovery and getting back on track so that people can start traveling again. Something to be proud of The U.S. Travel Association has done two webinars with NDEI, focused on diversity from the standpoint of being black in America. There were more than two thousand people on each Zoom.  Racism that Elliott Ferguson experienced at IMEX The U.S. Travel Association won two awards at IMEX. A few seconds after Elliott Ferguson got off the stage to accept the awards, someone came up to him and asked him to fill their glass of wine. Everyone was shocked! Although Elliott’s first inclination was to reassure everyone and make them feel okay, he felt deflated. Creating awareness After that incident, he decided that he would no longer focus on making other people feel comfortable in those situations. Going forward, he would rather prioritize helping people understand what is being referred to, in terms of marginalizing people because of the color of their skin.  Leading the way Elliott feels that the hospitality industry should be leading the way in terms of understanding people’s cultural differences. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Elliot On LinkedIn On Website

Today we are thrilled to be speaking with the poster-child of entrepreneurship, Jill Garcia. Jill is the President and Owner of The Hutton Group. She bought the company just before the pandemic and is optimistically looking to the future.  Jill has been in the industry for the last thirty years, and she has a fabulously inspiring story to share with us today. We know that you will enjoy listening to Jill's story of resilience! Jill Garcia’s bio: Jill Garcia is the President and Owner of The Hutton Group - Inspired Meetings & Events, a twenty-five-year-old, woman-owned-and-operated full-service meeting planning company headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. From large-scale events to focused incentive programs, she has planned meetings for groups ranging from 10 to 10,000 attendees. Her meeting planning expertise encompasses all major markets globally to include association, corporate, and SMERF clientele. She can provide solutions as diverse as the clients and industries she serves. With over thirty years of experience in the hospitality industry, Jill has worked for hotels, theme parks, destination management companies, and as a long-time independent meeting planner. Most recently, as a Senior Director of Global Accounts for HelmsBriscoe. In that role, Jill was a top producer. She was earning the President’s Club Award for eleven years running.  Jill holds a degree in Communications from Central Connecticut State University. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA, with her husband John, a teacher, and her children, both human and furry. Jill Garcia shares her journey Jill Carcia moved to Orlando, Florida, with high hopes of meeting some famous people by joining the hospitality industry. She started her career working as an assistant at a hotel and then worked her way up in the convention department. After leaving there, she moved to Universal Studios in Florida, where she was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to run into Steven Spielberg.  After taking some time off to have her children, Jill decided to get into meeting planning and started working with some independent planners around the country. She had some cool experiences doing some independent planning and got an opportunity to join HelmsBriscoe, the largest global site selection company, and work with them for almost fourteen years. Getting approached to purchase a company In December of 2019, Jill got approached by a woman she knew who wanted her to purchase her planning company. Jill loved the idea of being able to go out to lunch, entertain clients, and be at client events, so, in February of 2020, Jill committed to buying her company. Then, in March, the pandemic happened. An event with Steven Spielberg While working a VIP event in the VP lounge at Universal Studios, Jill got a call saying that a VIP needed to come up to wait for his car. It was Steven Spielberg - the one person in the world that Jill wanted to meet! Fate  Jill believes in fate and not in coincidences. She believes she was fated to meet Shirley Hutton, who sold her the Hutton Group. Jill Garcia’s love of Pittsburgh Jill Garcia loves Pittsburgh. She believes it is a fabulous city to hold meetings. She wants to hold meetings there and promote the city. The right time and the right opportunity Owning her own company was an evolution in Jill’s life. She had never before imagined that she would have her own company, and when the opportunity came her way, she felt like it was the right time and the right opportunity. She feels a little fearful and also very excited about where things are going for her. A year from now Jill believes that a year from now, we will be back to somewhat of a normal state. Believe If you believe in something and you believe in yourself and your abilities, you can achieve it, no matter what it is. President’s Club Jill has been a member of the President’s Club for twelve years. That is an honor you receive for selling a million dollars or more in your business. Sales Jill believes that sales are about building partnerships. She has been building firm connections throughout her career.  Jill Garcia’s persistence and resilience Jill Garcia finds it prevalent right now that people are working together to build each other up. It is vital for business owners and people in sales to be persistent and resilient.  Running smoothly Things are running smoothly for Jill, and being back in a hotel felt fabulous! They held their first hybrid meeting three weeks ago, and it went smashingly! Trying to get the word out Times are tough for people right now. Jill and her staff are having a hard time knowing what is appropriate in terms of their next meeting. They are trying to introduce themselves and get the word out, but they don’t want to be insensitive. Tough times make tough people Jill knows that tough times make tough people. She understands that from her personal experiences. Tough times push you and show you how strong you are. A DMC Jill is putting a DMC (destination management company) out in the city within the next couple of months. She does not doubt that it will be a huge success. Motivation Jill’s motivation has been coming from so many people losing their jobs, and associations will be needing help. Jill thinks that the floodgates are going to open and they are going to be there at the right time. That will help them bring in some skilled people interested in doing something to keep busy.  Inspired The people working for Jill have inspired her. She changed the name of the company to The Hutton Group Inspired Meetings and Events because she feels inspired by what they do. She also wants her employees and her clients to feel inspired by what they do.  Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Jill On Website On LinkedIn

Today, we have the great pleasure of talking to Jeff Fugate. Jeff is an icon in our industry and a rock star in sales and marketing. He never gets tired of learning, questioning the future, and making changes.  In this episode, Jeff talks about the amazing pivot he did in 2020.   Join us today to hear Jeff’s fascinating and inspiring story of resilience. We know you’re going to enjoy our conversation!    Jeff Fugate’s bio: Jeff is the Owner and Chief Queso Officer of Empty Bowl Queso. After 30 years in Sales and Leadership, he ventured out on his own to give everyone in the world the opportunity to experience good queso. He lives in Leesburg, VA, with his wife, two kids, and a menagerie of pets. Jeff’s background Jeff has been passionate about sales and marketing for a very long time. He started his career in the sales and marketing space in Kinko’s Organization. He spent much of his time focusing on sales methodology and learning and perfecting different methods of sales. It worked for him, and he continued learning and helping others.  Sales training program Jeff and his sales manager developed a sales training program for the entire Kinko’s Organization in the mid-1990s. They trained over 600 people with that method.  Moving on The sales manager then moved on to start the B2B side of the Office Max Document Services business and recruited Jeff shortly after. They kept on striving to improve their sales methodology, and they went out and deployed it. Getting into the events business A chance meeting in the airport with Bruce Harris, the founder and president of Conferon, resulted in Jeff getting brought over into the events business.  Jeff Fugate’s thoughts on leadership  Jeff believes in servant leadership. He has always viewed his role as a leader to help people develop their skills, their knowledge, and their wisdom. Part of that is allowing people to learn from their mistakes. For Jeff, real leadership is about leaders looking for ways to help their people, rather than looking for ways to catch his team members doing something wrong.  Mistakes Jeff understands that mistakes are an important part of learning. Jeff’s role Jeff has always viewed his role as helping people get better and getting the obstacles out of their way, so they can become most efficient and effective in what they do. Dealing with change Change is hard, and it involves risk. When dealing in complex, high-end sales with a lot on the line, it can be scary. So, as a leader, you need to help your people through that. Making a change In 2007, Mark Miller approached Jeff to help him write books, and Jeff jumped in with him. After 2008, Jeff realized that things were not working out in the way he thought they would. Clear A former colleague from Office Max had gone to work for an organization called Clear, which provided wireless, high-speed internet at the time. Clear was looking for someone to start up the DC area, so Jeff jumped into that boat and became employee number one in DC for the Clear Organization. It was there that he learned more about what leadership meant to him. Experient In 2010, Jeff returned to Experient, and he remained there through many changes. He became reunited with David Peckinpaugh in 2012, and they have been through several changes since then. Covid Jeff realized that Covid would be bigger than most people thought it would be, at first. Maritz Global Events struggled for several months until finally, Jeff and many other employees got furloughed.  Getting into something new Losing his position at Maritz Global Events allowed Jeff to do something that he had been working on as a side-project for quite some time.  A fundraiser In 2017, Jeff made a big pot of queso to sell as a fundraiser at the Super Bowl to help his daughter and her marching band get to Disneyland for the Veteran’s Day parade. He put a post on Facebook and got blown away by the number of people who responded and wanted to help. The fundraiser carried on for the next several years. After three years, Jeff reflected, did the math, and realized that he needed to legitimize what he was doing. So, he started with the process of getting certified by the state of Virginia, and he found a commercial kitchen to use instead of using his own kitchen. Queso In the mid-1990s, Jeff started making queso with his favorite green chile peppers that he bought in Hatch, New Mexico. In the 2000’s, making queso became Jeff’s hobby, and he started trying out some new things to make it even better.  In 2012, the Hatch chile peppers became available locally. That changed things for Jeff because he could make even more queso and share them with even more people. Coming up with a name Jeff came up with the name, Empty Bowl Queso, and his wife came up with a great logo.  Jeff Fugate’s next move After getting the news about his position being eliminated, Jeff Fugate decided that the time had come for him to start putting all his energy into his queso business. He had no anxiety and felt naturally positive about it working out.  A learning experience The queso business has been quite a ride and a tremendous learning experience for Jeff, and the business has been growing. What Jeff learned Jeff learned that starting small, you sometimes cannot get the things you need because you are just not big enough. As a result, you can’t do what you need to do. It is a classic the-chicken-or-the-egg situation. From a scale perspective, he has to keep thinking of ways to work around that and act like a big company when he is still a small company. Development Jeff is currently focusing on expanding his local retail base in the DC area, and he has been crushing it! His strategy for 2021 is to focus on the DC market, grow the retail base, and use farmer’s markets to help get the word out. He could also potentially expand to Dallas, Las Vegas, and Chicago. By this time next year, he would like to start going after mass retail. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Jeff On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website  

We are happy to be speaking to Ori Lahav today. Ori is the Vice-President of Clients and Operations for the Kenes Group and is also the current President of IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organisers). He has a wealth of career experience, even having worked on the startup of an electric car.  In this episode, Ori will be talking about pandemic leadership, virtual events, and event marketing.   We know that you are going to enjoy our conversation with Ori, so stay tuned! Ori Lahav’s bio: Ori Lahav joined the Kenes Group in 2013 as AVP Marketing, bringing more than 15 years of marketing experience to the management team. Ori’s expertise includes implementing marketing strategies, above the line marketing/below the line marketing, and leading digital campaigns in online/social media channels. He began his career in the communications industry, where he held marketing positions at internet, voice, and mobile telecom providers. This was followed by a senior role in the automotive sector with a start-up that raised US$ 900M to manufacture electric cars. After 4 years at Kenes Group, Ori moved to manage the Client Accounts & Operations unit. At the beginning of 2017, Ori also became an IAPCO Council Member (IAPCO – the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers), and in 2020, he got announced as the president of the association. Lahav got recognized by event professionals in the Eventex Top 100 Most Influential People in the industry for two consecutive years. Ori holds a BA in Statistics from the University of Haifa and an MBA from the University of Derby, UK. Ori’s background Ori got into the meetings and events industry by chance. His background is in marketing, and he has worked in many different marketing positions and industries over the years.  VP marketing Shortly before Better Place, the startup he was involved with for three years, closed, and Ori interviewed for a VP marketing position at Kenes Marketing, a sub-company within the Kenes Group. He landed the job. At the time, he had no clue about the meetings and events industry and how big it is, but he learned quickly. Marketing Ori ran a team of about thirty internationally-experienced marketing people. It felt natural for him because the basics of marketing are similar, regardless of which industry you are doing the marketing for. Restructuring After Ori had been working in that position for four years, the company did some restructuring. He got asked to lead the restructuring and execute the congresses and events for the Clients and Operations Business Unit. He then became the VP of Clients and Operations.  Electric cars  Ori had his first 100% electric car more than ten years ago. The startup of Better Place was all about a mission to “drive the world electric.” They had a great team, and they managed to raise $900,000,000 from international investors. Unfortunately, it was a complicated project, the cost was huge, and it happened before the market was ready. So, their private investor lost patience and decided to stop investing in the project. Educating the market This year, Ori has been educating the market. When he talks about educating the market, he is referring to three main audiences. Those are the speakers for the virtual events, the participants, and the sponsors and exhibitors because those are the three key stakeholders of the event. Their first fully virtual meeting Their first fully virtual meeting was in the first week of April. Because of the pandemic, they had only three weeks to pivot to virtual. They had to record 250 presentations, explain everything to the speakers, connect with Zoom, and record all the sessions.  Investing in the speakers They invested a lot in educating the speakers on how to speak in a virtual space with no visible audience and no interaction. They put a lot of effort into explaining to the delegates how to get the most out of the virtual events by creating tons of different explanatory videos. Educating sponsors and exhibitors Educating the sponsors and exhibitors is still an effort and quite challenging for Ori because it is more complicated to see a return on investment in the virtual space. What Ori Lahav learned at Better Place What Ori Lahav learned at Better Place, about how to educate the market, has helped him with virtual events. Ori’s approach to shifting to virtual When it comes to leadership, business owners, and strategy, it is important for leaders, especially in crisis management, not to panic and to create a task force or a war room quickly.  Status meeting In March and April, Ori and his team had daily status meetings with all the different stakeholders within the company, including the CEO, the management, and the stakeholders from mid-level management, to help them gain control of the situation and strategize. Being proactive To ensure your financial stability, you need to be proactive with your clients and direct them towards where you want to take the meeting.  Good leadership To be a good leader, you need to be an example and get everyone to follow you. In-house solutions Initially, they worked with many third-parties and suppliers to provide virtual services. They quickly realized that they preferred to create in-house solutions. In November of 2020, they launched their in-house platform.  The future of event marketing is in real-time marketing The pandemic has accelerated many of the processes of event marketing. The current trend is real-time marketing or response in real-time. To be successful with real-time marketing, you have to have all your responses ready before you need them so that you know how to respond immediately, regardless of what happens. Hybrid and virtual marketing Virtual is here to stay, and in the future, the standard will most likely become hybrid. The in-person experience Ori thinks that the in-person experience will become a little different in the future because organizations have learned from the pandemic that education can get done online. The in-person experience in the future will be more about people getting together to socialize, network, have hands-on workshops, and meet the experts.  Added value People will need to focus on the added value of virtual versus the in-person experience. Return on investment It is hard to show a return on investment with marketing because you don’t know the specific activities that bring the participants to the event.  A rule of thumb is that you need to see something three times to be convinced. So, you might need to see an ad on LinkedIn, get some email marketing, and hear something from a colleague about it.  Lower marketing costs  Ori sees things trending in the direction of lower marketing costs. The cost of marketing has decreased a lot recently, so now you can be a lot more cost-efficient while spending the same amount of money. With $100, you can currently do targeted advertising on YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  Who owns the budget? Ori sees that the client owns the budget. For a profitable outcome, you need to invest the right amount in marketing, and there has to be a good connection between the business owner and the marketing team.  Ori Lahav and his relationship with IAPCO Ori Lahav got involved with IAPCO because he loves to educate people, and he likes to speak at industry events to share his knowledge. He decided to run for a council position on the board of IAPCO. After two or three years, he first became the Vice-President and then the President of IAPCO. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Ori On Website On LinkedIn

We are happy to be speaking to Roger Rickard today. Roger is an icon of advocacy in our industry.  In this episode, Roger talks about what we can do as business owners, in terms of advocacy, particularly in these challenging times and also over the long term.  Roger Rickard’s bio Roger Rickard is the Founder and President of Voices in Advocacy® and author of 7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates. He has more than 30 years of experience as an advocacy professional, speaker, trainer, consultant, and author. As a recognized expert in advocacy engagement and grassroots activation, Roger works with a wide cross-section of organizations from diverse industries. His vibrant personality and a good sense of humor make for engaging and interactive programming that is packaged and delivered in an easy to understand, easy to apply format combining his education, experience, and enthusiasm to drive advocacy success. Roger is a proud Penn State Nittany Lion and confessed political junky having received his education in Political Science. He has been an advocate for citizen involvement since the age of 13. Elected three times to public office as a young man, served as a state legislative staff member, and has worked on many political campaigns from his very own clear up to presidential campaigns.  His work spans a cross-section of local, regional, national, and international organizations. He has served in numerous industry associations’ leadership roles, is a recipient of several international industry awards, and is a member of Meeting Professional International’s prestigious “Community of Honorees”. He is often interviewed by radio, print, and television media, highlighted by the MSNBC show Your Business. Smart Meetings Magazine did a cover story on Roger, entitled Passion & Purpose, Roger Rickard’s Call to Action. Successful Meetings Magazine named Roger one of the Six People Worth Watching in the Meetings Industry. Meetings Focus Magazine named him to their inaugural list of Meetings Trendsetters, and in 2020, Connect Magazine named Roger to their inaugural Class of 15 over 50 influencers. Roger is a BIG man at 6’8”, a BIG thinker, and he has BIG ideas for helping you succeed with advocacy. He is casually known as the BIG GUY with a BOW TIE. Roger’s history Roger started his career in security. He started working in hotels for a private security firm contracted to those hotels. His job was to learn how to deal with things discreetly and diffuse them. That later rolled into a job where he got professionally trained to be a bodyguard as well.  Getting to know the meetings industry Working in different positions in hotels, Roger came to know and understand the meetings industry. Eventually, he owned a DMC (Distillation Management Company) in the industry. After selling that, he went on to work for a national organization that did high-end corporate incentive programs.  Advocacy as a result of the meetings industry The advocacy pillar of Roger’s experience came into place as a result of the meetings industry. A boycott in Arizona in the 1990s, around whether or not the government was willing to celebrate the Martin Luther King Day holiday, cost the state of Arizona a tremendous amount of meetings business. That was the first time that meetings ever got used as a tool to get back at the government for their actions.  Getting involved with Meeting Professionals International After that, Roger got involved with Meeting Professionals International. He sat for some time on their Government Affairs Committee and eventually led the committee.  Creating programs to teach people how to be better advocates That led him to create programs to teach people how to be better advocates to help them speak out when they felt that issues of government or other groups were affecting their ability to be leaders in their business. That led Roger to where he is at today. Roger Rickard’s advocacy Roger Rickard is involved with advocacy towards everything related to government and public affairs. He is also involved with the advocacy of demonstrating that people are leaders in their field, regardless of the industry in which they are.  Roger Rickard’s advocacy myth-busting In one of Roger Rickard’s programs, he does a segment of myth-busting about advocacy because advocacy is about your ability to speak in favor of a cause or an issue. There are seven branches of myth-busting. They are: Public affairs Media Public service Brands and Industry Cause Wounded warriors Business leaders and people who advocate for things Advocacy leadership If your prospects are uncomfortable, they are not going to keep on being your customers. If your employees are unhappy with the way they get treated, and you don’t stand up as a business leader and defend and protect them, that cog of the business will not run as well as it should. You also need to stand up for your vendors and suppliers and defend them, plead for them, work with them, and share the responsibility, or they will not be there for you when you need them. The definition of an advocate An advocate is a person who pleads the cause of another person. The advocacy role of business owners in our industry  Small businesses, which make up a high majority of the people in the meetings and events industry, have the incredible power to tell their personal stories. Roger wrote a pocket guidebook called 7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates to explain how business owners and entrepreneurs can be the most important advocates in the mix. One of the best advocacy actions they can perform is to tell their story.  Having a huge impact Anybody can reach out to get other stakeholders. You don’t need to change your lifestyle to have an impact. All you need to do is use your personal story as the vehicle to tell a bigger story. Meetings Mean Business and Global Meetings Day  If you feel you cannot reach out to other stakeholders, join Meetings Mean Business, or be a part of the Global Meetings Day on April the 8th 2021, to find out how business gets done and how people advance their businesses through education and training. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Roger On Website Or email him at roger@voicesinadvocacy.com