2020 Update – The Future of Events

From the desk of: Christine Altieri 

As I sat down to write this blog, I contemplated what the future might be like and how I was going to navigate the “ship” to find my way there…a few things came to mind.

First, what has the past month been like and how have we, as a company, changed our way of thinking?

What do you do as a business owner when faced with the challenge of pivoting your business plan as well as keeping your staff engaged and your bottom line in the black? 

Deliberating on these serious questions are what I have been thinking about in order to imagine and eventually grasp our future.

First step – Identify a plan for funding:

What are the options for securing dollars to help maintain the business and staff during these unchartered times?

1. Research the Economic Relief package – I spent hours learning the ins and outs of the stimulus plan, what it had to offer, and how to ensure that we were able to secure the funds available for a small business.  This entailed many webinars – the best one I listened to included Senator Elizabeth Warren on the Mayors Small Business call in.  She discussed how to apply, and the best strategies to ensure readiness for when the money was eventually released.  I also had discussions with other small business owners about their plans including key objectives to securing funding. 

2. Complete SO many forms – this effort took many hours but truly paid off.  AE Events was able to secure money from the Paycheck Protection Plan through our lender and ensure staff would be paid in full for the next 8 weeks.  

So now that we have 8 weeks of payroll covered, this enabled me to focus my attention on next steps and managing staff. Some key questions I asked myself: What does the future of the business and the staff look like, and how do we change our business model together so the future of the staff and the future of the business align.

1.    BE HONEST – I have been open and honest with the staff from the beginning.  These are extraordinary times for all of us. I have been in the event business for decades, have faced challenges before, and believe strongly that keeping a level head, communicating clearly and providing transparency lead to success.  Engaging the staff to become actives partners in decisions regarding the next steps for AE Events allowed all of us to have a vested interest in the continuing success of AE Events.

2.    ENGAGE – We spent the first month of this crisis LISTENING – LEARNING – and LEADING our clients toward the best possible solutions and what is specifically, the most advantageous transition for their event. Being there for our clients has always been the highest priority, but now more than ever they need our assurance, expertise and guidance.

3.    CONNECT – Staying connected – reaching out, not only to our clients, but to our peers and vendors.  How can we, as leaders in this business, put our heads together to provide new innovative services to our clients? 

4.    PIVOT – We have updated our website with our latest service called Virtual Events – To be sure, many of you have heard about this, but we are spending countless hours learning how we can utilize the latest technology to maximize and produce spectacular events!

Staff Engagement: 

1. LISTENING – I say that a lot knowing it is such an important tool.  I understood that this truly unique experience could be frightening to my staff, none of whom could have foreseen this pandemic in their future.  Acknowledging and understanding the gravity of this situation made clear that we needed to establish and work toward clear goals, and that we were tackling this as a team.

2. LEARNING – Each of the staff have taken on special assignments – For example:  Jess is allotting time to learn about the virtual technologies available to us and our clients as well as speaking with industry partners on best utilizations and practices.  Phoebe is developing and creating social media plans to increase our visibility while having fun in the process!  

3. LEADING – I am creating challenges – fun incentives – as well as clear directions on the state of the business and what we need to do going forward.  

   1. Challenges – Each week the staff is given a challenge with a prize presented to the winner each Friday.  Prizes include gift certificates to small businesses and restaurants – a win win – I can support the staff and small businesses at the same time!

   2. Daily Check-ins – we reconvene/zoom every day at 4 – sometimes we talk about work, other times we discuss what each staff member is doing, and sometimes our meetings involve a joke or a cocktail! The main point of these calls is to stay connected.

I know that we have a long journey ahead, and with each day a new challenge seems to arise.  I think it’s important to not make this journey alone.  Stepping outside of your comfort zone is never easy. So how do you take the first steps – well I had the great pleasure of doing a deep dive session called Lifting the Lid, with two former leaders from Rue La La.  One is a biz developer and merchandise strategy leader, the other a creative marketing leader.  In just a few hours, they provided me with a whole new perspective along with concrete, actionable ideas regarding where I can take my business and make an impact. I can wholeheartedly recommend @SallyMarrer and @RachelSolomon.  They are an excellent resource for help and guidance for your business, especially during these confusing and challenging times.

I look forward to SEEING you all soon, but in the meantime – stay strong – stay focused and together we will all get to the other side.