Jen Casey (JC): I am so freakin’ pumped, because today I am joined by one of my good friends, Stacy Tuschl, and today we are talking about how to run killer live events. So, for those of you guys who don’t know Stacy, she is a
Stacy Tuschl (ST): Hi Jen! I’m so excited to be here. Thanks for having me.
JC: So we have to start with how you got started in the online space, and how you transitioned this
ST: Sure. So, in high school, I started dancing very very late for a dancer. I started at the age of 15! Super, super late to start dancing. But I didn’t know about it and I fell in love with it. So, when I graduated from high school, I just didn’t want it to stop. I just loved it so much.
So I decided, “What if I just taught middle schoolers in my parents’ backyard in the summer and we’ll just see what happens?” The kids loved it, but in Wisconsin, you can’t really be outside in the winter. So for the winter months, we found a church that gave us their basement for free. The first year, we had 17 kids, and so I kept doing it. Year Three we had 100 kids, STILL going to my parents’ backyard in the summer and then the church in the winter. It was right around the time I was about to graduate from college.
I thought, “Maybe this could be my business.”
I loved it so much. I was still doing it for free. I wasn’t charging. It was just me loving teaching and being with these kids and sharing the passion. So yeah, at age 21 is when I incorporated the business and decided to really do it. Rent a space for us to call home, really just do everything right. The backyard story was already 16 years ago, and now we have two locations in the Milwaukee area. I own both of the commercial buildings that we are in, and we GROSS over a million dollars a year!
We have about 40 employees and almost a thousand dance and music students that come to us every single week. And I still have them! People always think I sold them or got rid of them. No, I don’t dance anymore, but it’s still something so fun for me. And now my daughters are dancing there, which is kind of cool.
JC: Oh that’s amazing! So when did you decide to then start an online business?
ST: Yeah! So, right away, one of the biggest things for me that helped me with my business was when I went to my first live event at the age of 21. My first year in business, I realized that I didn’t know what I was doing. Things got a lot harder when I started to bring in money; it was easier when it was free. When I started charging, I thought, “I don’t know what to do with this. This is really really difficult.” So I got this postcard in the mail about a live seminar in New York. I called my mom and asked her if she would go with me; I’ve never traveled by myself
It was the moment I realized I love learning.
It wasn’t because I had to be there because of school or college; this was just me learning about what I already loved to do.
It basically just took off. So my business kept growing and growing and growing. I was taught to delegate. I was taught to build a team and then all of a sudden, about two or three years ago, I started to feel a little bit bored in my business or just not challenged. In 15 years, I had built systems and an amazing team of people. There were smaller amounts of things for me to actually do.
I realized that I like to be challenged. I like to be IN it.
I thought, “Maybe there’s something else I could be doing in addition to it; to help me stay challenged, but not leave that business or sell that business.”
I started teaching other female
JC: Yes. Did you have one person that came into your life that inspired you to do this, or did it gain momentum over time?
ST: I mean, I remember being hit at the event. At 21 I was thinking, “I want to be onstage doing that.” Now, at that time, I was barely even having a successful business. I didn’t know how I was going to be some expert on stage talking to who knows who is in the audience, but I just could see myself going.
I’ve always been a teacher. Whether I was teaching
JC: I think that’s such an important thing to highlight:
you never know who you’re impacting.
You never know who’s looking at what you’re doing and making a life-altering decision.
That, “I’m going to do what they’re doing!”
ST: Yeah.
JC: So, you have a physical business and you have been an educator for all those years. Then you brought it to the online space, and now you’re stepping into doing live events. What has that transition been like, taking the online business and bringing it back to being in person?
ST: Yes. So first, I love the online space. You know, it’s crazy that I really teach more online business owners than I do brick and mortar. I’ve got 15 years of brick and mortar experience, but I just love the idea of what online can do for you and the opportunity it gives you. To start a brick and mortar business, it’s very costly. I didn’t pay myself for a long, long time, because of the overhead and expenses and the very little profit margin. So, I’m very passionate about online. But, at the same time, I know what that physical, in-person connection can do for people.
You and I met at a live event, and we continued to get closer after meeting in person. Right? I mean yes, online is great, but it’s different when you’re just hanging out after the conference is over and you’re chatting about things you probably wouldn’t chat about in the conference. So, I just think… because I’ve grown up going to events at least once or twice a year for the past 15 years. Now, I’m a crazy person and I go like once a month. I really just love them so much. And I thought it was so important to put them inside of my business because it impacted me.
I wanted to make sure that I could give that impact to somebody else who maybe needed to just be in that environment.
JC: How soon do you think somebody should start thinking about doing an event? Maybe not a full blown live event, but just little meet-ups?
ST: Right now I’m kind of experimenting with it, because I don’t really know what it’s going to look like. But, I’m loving meeting with ladies for lunch or for a glass of wine to just connect. I don’t know about you, but when I’m in a room with entrepreneurs, I light up. That is my time just to engage and talk and learn and share. So I would say it’s so much better to start something smaller, whether it’s a workshop or a meet up.
Number One: It’s going to be a lot less expensive, because events can be very expensive to put on. Number Two: it takes the pressure off, because what if only 10 people will show up?
One of my clients decided to do a meet up. I think she said three people came. But it was okay, because it was a small get-together and she said two of them walked away becoming clients!
And that is exciting! Events can be so powerful. I mean, imagine if you had three people on a webinar, do you think two out of three are going to buy? Probably not. I mean, it would be crazy statistics. But in person, it can happen, because it just fast tracks that relationship.
JC: They’re so powerful, it’s so true. Even recently, I went to a live event in New York with Lisa Nichols. She had us get into a little circle and share a story. And when I got home, I had a message from one of the girls in my group that she was buying a program. I was like, “Wow! That was the easiest thing ever!” But it was really because we had that in-person connection. And so I’ve been super interested in kind of adding in that element in my business as well. I think what you’re doing is just so amazing.
ST: Yeah, I think take the pressure off of having this huge you know 200 event, even 50 might feel huge. Take that pressure off. You could have five people there and it will be amazing. I mean, my client with three was ecstatic because she gained two clients walking up the door just two hours later. Then you don’t have to worry about a stage, microphones, lighting, photographers, and videographers. Trust me when I say: it gets expensive. Now, they’re still worth it when they get expensive, but you can take a little time to get there.
JC: Gradually. Yeah and I want to talk more about that, but first, I’m curious if you have any tips on building up a local following before you go into a live event?
ST: Yeah! Let’s talk about local. Again, I love online. I love that people come to us from all over the world and they can jump on this live broadcast right now from who knows where.
But, I do think there is a really big importance of building up a local following.
Now, when I say I have a local following, I don’t even mean people that already knew me before. I’m saying these are mostly people that I met online that happened to live in Wisconsin, near Milwaukee, near Chicago. I would say, if you have your own Facebook group, say “Hey, who lives within driving distance of here?”
If you don’t have a Facebook group, one thing you can do in other people’s Facebook groups is just say, “Hey I’m curious – where is everybody from?” Because that’s not a threatening comment or question to ask somebody, but now you’ve opened up those doors. I mean, if you’re from New York, go see who’s from New York and message them! Say, “Hey, I just saw that you’re from New York. Where are you from?” And then, you can create your own Facebook group for the New York area for people to then jump in there. Right?
And what I’ll tell you is: it’s the easiest way to connect, because everybody has this sense of home.
You feel like you’re in this big online space, but there’s common ground with others who are in the big space, too. It’s a really easy way to make that connection.
JC: Yeah. It’s that instant rapport. “We go to the same high school! We have like 15 mutual friends!”
ST: Yeah, and let me give you a great example. So yesterday, Lewis Howes posted on Instagram and he said, “I’m going to be in New York City doing an event. If you’re in New York and you want to come by for free tickets like swipe up or sign below!” And somebody wrote, “Oh I’m in Wisconsin. I wish you would come here.” So what did I do? I replied to her on his thread (and you can go see it). I said, “Hey, I’m from Wisconsin too!” This morning, I got a message from the girl from Wisconsin saying, “Let’s connect; this is so cool. I had no idea people were local!” So easy!
JC: So, so smart. OK. That’s a really good action step for people is to create a local Facebook group, to go out into other Facebook groups, share on their social media platforms, and find out where people live and then create a Facebook group. I love that. So simple, and over time that’s totally going to grow.
ST: Definitely. Oh yeah. And don’t have this weird feeling of, “Well, it should be thousands of people or 10,000 people.” These will be smaller because it’s just within driving distance of where you’re at. So who cares if there’s five people or 10 people. People just want that connection! So they’re really great. Another thing too with these events: when you start hosting them, it can be a lot easier for you to get YESes from people who don’t have to fly or book hotels. So, a lot of times with my event, we had people fly in from all over. Last year, we had somebody fly in from South Korea!. So people are flying from everywhere, but there were a lot of local people in that room that drove there, too.
JC: Yeah. Well, I find that most of the big events are in California. I’m constantly getting on those beautiful layover flights to go to these events. I’m excited that we FINALLY have one coming up in New York!
ST: So excited.
JC: But yeah, I think for anybody listening to this, if you live in a place where live events are not happening, that’s a beautiful opportunity for you to create your own! Really start becoming the “go to” person in your community.
ST: People will say to me sometimes, “But Stacey, there aren’t people in my area. I’m the ONLY one doing this in the online space.” I am telling you: you are not. There is somebody within driving distance. It may be an hour away, and you may have to both drive 30 minutes to connect.
I don’t care how small of an area you live in. There are people in your state, in driving distance, from you. I promise you.
JC: So what are some of your strategies that you use to market your live events? Because like you said before, live events can become really costly and there’s definitely some different tweaks as opposed to launching an online course versus getting people actually to show up in person.
ST: Yes. So, you have to keep the excitement going. You have to be able to talk and share about whatever it is specifically. So you can’t just say, “Come to the live event, it’s going to be great!” They need more than that. They need to know who is going to be there. I don’t want to pay to be the only one showing up, right? So, I do think it is important when you start to create these events that you just take photos of it, whether it’s a quick little meet up or whether it’s one table for lunch. I don’t care; just get kind of proof because that becomes your marketing and advertising. That’s where you start posting on Instagram.
People will see it and say, “Oh, well that was really cool. I wish I would have known about that.”
You’ll see this if you follow me on Instagram. We’re using all of our photos from last year’s event to promote this year’s event. It’s easier to see what it looks like and see the people in the room. We’ll post a video of people connecting and leaving testimonials, so somebody will say, “OK, I’m resonating with them. This sounds like something I really need.” versus me just continuing to say “It’s going to be great!” I need them to know we’ve got some amazing speakers coming in, and here are the topics they’re going be talking about.
JC: So in terms of speakers, what did you do in order to figure out who you were going to bring in front of your audience? Did you ask your audience, did you specifically choose…?
ST: I do think it’s a good idea in the beginning to poll your audience. Now, this is my third event, so I know what people are liking and what they’re expecting. We do surveys at the end of every year, so that we get a really great idea.
Now, I really start to know my audience pretty well. I just think, what do they watch? What do they need?
And then I consider, what am I great at teaching? And I marked those things down of what I want to teach on stage. But then I think of what they need that really is not my specialty. Like, it’s not something I’m going to love to get up onstage and talk about. So then I find those missing pieces. We start to kind of fill in those gaps so it’s complementary.
It’s not competitive. We want it to feel like we’re all such great friends and we all just have different things to share and give. People will love that.
JC: That’s good advice. Now, one thing that I saw that you did was so brilliant. I don’t know if it was IG stories or Snapchat, but you were sharing some of the behind-the-scenes of like, “Hey, this is the venue. This is the coffee shop. This is hair place down the block that you can go to.” What has been the response of people getting a little bit of more of the behind-the-scenes?
ST: Yeah. So I do actually give a shout out to Jasmine Star. She gave me that idea. And that’s just one of those things where I’m like, do people really care? But I think it’s just being more personable; showing that this is my home. Here is where I go do this and here’s where I get to get this done. And here’s my favorite coffee shop. All that little stuff. Again, I think people are visual and they want to see things. “Well, where is that rooftop party that you keep talking about? Where is the event going to be held at? You keep saying it’s beautiful, gorgeous. Oh… THIS is what you mean! This is what it looks like.” So I do think people like to see the behind-the-scenes.
I think it’s great to have those professional videos and photos, but I also think it’s really great to have you being authentic.
We ended up taking those little Instagram stories and mixing them with our professional videos, and we turned it into a little Facebook ad. We wanted to make sure all of our people are seeing it, because they love the behind-the-scenes tour.
JC: I think what’s so cool about that is that you’re solving one of the biggest objections that you might get for a live event. People don’t know what it’s going to look like or are scared to go there alone; they think they aren’t going to be able to find their way around. You’re basically giving them that inside sneak peek to put them at ease and make them visualize themselves actually there in those situations.
ST: Yeah, and I saw some other people recently do this too. I’ve even seen a story of registration: the morning of registration when you walk in the door and you show people where to go and who to look for. If somebody did an Instagram story and it was them opening the door and going, “OK, so you’re going to walk down the steps and right over here, Claire is going to be there to help you.” You’ve got it covered. It really makes people feel better. There’s no surprise.
Everything that you don’t know is a little scary. So I think you can put their mind at ease when you give them the details.
This is what it’s going to be. Here’s what you can expect. And even the little simple questions like, “What should I wear?” You know, little things like that. People want to know, because they don’t want to show up and not look out of place.
JC: Yes! OK, so when somebody is doing a full blown event, what are some things that you would recommend them having in place? You were saying a videographer and almost like planning ahead for the next event..
ST: Yeah. So one of the big things that’s not going to be fun – but you’re going to want to know – is event insurance. People don’t think about that. But, that could be a big problem if you have an event. First of all, most places are going to require that you show proof of that insurance but maybe they don’t and you don’t have it.
If something happens, you may have insurance, but you might not have enough funds to cover something if it happens at the event. So be careful. That’s something people never think about.
I do think photos and videos are key. They’re so important, and I’ve started to do that moreso with my little retreats. When I say little, it’s because my big event might be a hundred people and a retreat might be 10. But, I was in Phoenix and I remember thinking,
“I don’t know videographers or photographers, so would it be worth it if I really get somebody to do this?” And we hired somebody on Thumbtack.com, really easy and inexpensive. We got amazing photos, amazing testimonials, a little video footage for Instagram. It was SO worth the money. People are watching those going, “So what is this? How do we get more information?” Having that content makes it a lot easier to get a yes.
JC: I love that. Are there any other specific things that were a big surprise to you? Obviously you have a brick and mortar business, so you’re probably a little bit more familiar with the in-person format.
ST: Well, one thing I’ll tell you and I don’t think there was a huge surprise for me but it was because I have gone to so many events. When I go to events, I might go for content, I might go for connections, I might go just to observe how are they putting on this live event.
So if you’re thinking about hosting an event, you better go to some.
I remember the year leading up to my first live event ever. Every time I would go someplace, I would go, “OK, they’ve got coffee, tea, cream and sugar.” I mean little things that you wouldn’t remember to do. You’re not going to think about that. One conference included lunch, another one didn’t. So, I would say be very observant. Take really good notes of what you liked and what you didn’t. I would also say to spend money where it is going to be noticed. Events can be pricy, and I would say I sometimes see people spend money on things that I didn’t even notice.
Put the money where your audience actually wants it.
Maybe not even just your audience, but when you don’t spend money on good lighting and stage, your photos are going to be just horrible. They’re not going even be usable. So, you’ve got to make sure that you’re making that marketing decision. Do I have great lights? Do I have a great mic that’s hooked up to the audio and video, or am I never going to be able to hear what I’m saying?
JC: Yeah, that’s such a good point. The lighting and sound… if you don’t have that, then there’s really no point in getting a videographer or a photographer because it’s not going to work.
ST: Here is my first “A-HA!, now that we’re bringing up the videographer. The first time I did it, I hired somebody to come up all day both days. Second year, same thing. It was one of the things I thought was a huge perk. I would say, “If you buy this course and you can’t make it to the event, you’re still going to get a copy of the event.” Well I use Kajabi, and you can see who watches and who doesn’t. And NOBODY watches the replay of the live event. There’s a couple, but the majority doesn’t. So this year, I said, “Listen. We are doing a big recording of the whole thing. If you want to see it, you better show up.” Which I think is going to increase our actual show up rate. But, the videographer and photographer, we saved a ton of money on that because they don’t need to be there eight hours two days in a row.
How many photos can we have of you on stage? And by the way, they probably don’t look good because you’re in the middle of talking! Like, you’re not going to share that picture. I think you can cut that cost down majorly by having them show up during specific times; to make sure that they’re there to capture what it is you’re trying to actually capture.
JC: We could do some staged speaking photos at the beginning of the day.
ST: Or on break! Everybody goes to lunch and then you’re like, pretending and smiling. But that’s the whole point of it.
JC: I’m curious, in terms of sponsors. Is that something that you recommend? Is there a formula for getting the right sponsors?
ST: So, this is my third year of events, and my first year that I’m doing sponsors now. I think, first of all, you just have to remember that sponsors have to have bait. What’s in it for them? If there’s not something in it for them, they’re probably not going to want to do your event. So I finally felt like we were at a place where we’re building an audience and our audience is investing in themselves and they are purchasing other things and they’re looking to do more. So, Tailwind is actually our sponsor this year.
They’re sponsoring one of our cocktail parties that we’re kicking off with, which is amazing. They’re providing drinks and appetizers and the rental of this amazing rooftop bar downtown Milwaukee. I didn’t have to pay for it, but we still get to use that as something that we’re providing. Now why would Tailwind do that? Well, because we’re going to talk about Tailwind and mention the amazing things they are doing on Pinterest and Instagram. All of a sudden, for them, it’s worth it because their ideal client is in that room. I would say, don’t spend a ton of time in the beginning trying to get a lot of sponsors, unless you have a following already.
JC: Yeah, that’s such a good point. Is there anything specific though? You said with figuring out to use Tailwind, that is relevant for your audience. I know a lot of the ladies who I work with are in the health and wellness field. Should they get Quest Bars? Should they get food people? So, is there something specific in pitching that you would recommend?
ST: The reason we actually picked Tailwind was because we’re going to be talking about Pinterest on stage for one of our sessions. Well Tailwind is something used for Pinterest. So, it was going to be really easy to talk about that. And if you’re going to listen to what we’re going to talk about, you’re going to check them out.
So it’s going to be really good positioning for them and they could see that; instead of us just saying, “There will be a sign in the back of the room and we’re going to put your flyer in their swag bag.” So, I think you’ve got to really say what’s in it for them. We also did some pre-event stuff for them, where they’re going to be in a blog post and we’re talking about them on our podcast and little things like sharing a lot on Instagram. So, they’re also going to get the advantage of our audience, whether they come to the event or not. Right.
You’ve got to be strategic. It needs to make sense.
I also think it should be something that you love or you know your audience would benefit from. Don’t just say yes because somebody is offering you money. Really make sure it’s in alignment with what you’re doing.
JC: One other thing that I really love that you’ve done is you’re bringing all of your speakers on your podcast and promoting them to your audience. You’re really making it cohesive, where everybody is in the inside scoop of what’s going on behind the scenes.
ST: We want to get people excited. We want them to meet you and hear from you before making their decision. Maybe your one interview with me causes someone to say, “I really resonate with Jen. I would love to listen and meet her in person.” And that’s the deciding factor on her booking that ticket.
JC: Yes. So true. So, how far out in advance do you typically recommend people start prepping for a live event?
ST: I think this is comes down to how big are we talking. Are we talking one of those little meet ups? Because you could plan one two weeks from now and you’d be fine. Are we talking a workshop? What does that look like for you? What are you promising? Are you prepping a lot of content? How much time do you need for that? With this big event, the next event planning starts the second this one’s over. We already book it for next year and do all of that, which is pretty crazy. But really, we start advertising it about six months before it even starts.
JC: I’ve worked with some people who have done live events and like I was saying, it’s a little bit different than launching a course or program. The ticket sales are probably going to fluctuate and maybe even jump at the beginning and then jump right before the event actually begins. Is there something that people should keep in mind as they are selling tickets for their live events?
ST: You’re so right. This isn’t like a seven day open cart. I mean, sometimes we’re advertising for months and months and months and there might be a month that we didn’t sell any tickets. Because you’re right: they do it right away; maybe there’s an early bird special or something like that. I do love having earlybird specials because it kind of sets the tone of how many people are really thinking about it. If they are going, they’re going to want to save that money. I like earlybird specials and I like actually having a real cut off if you can. Not everybody has that cut off or wants that cut off, but I think sometimes people just need to know when you need to know a final answer.
JC: Yeah, otherwise, they’ll just waffle back and forth.
ST: Yeah. I would also say too, with price points and all of that: one of the things that we do is we sell an online course and the tickets are a bonus to that training. So, that has worked out really well for us, because a lot of times the people that show up are so invested in the content that they’re just so ready to go. So, it’s an easier yes for them too. Now we do have people that have not gone through that course that will show up. Maybe there are guests of other people, or they’re winners of a contest; sometimes my speakers will do giveaways. So you just don’t know. There’s very different people in the room, which is great.
JC: Do you find that people who haven’t gone through the course are still able to get the same level?
ST: Yeah. It’s not a replication of the course. You wouldn’t be in that room thinking, “I already learned this in module three.” Not at all.
JC: That’s good, because I’ve been to some live events where that’s been the case. Maybe most of the room has only gotten to module 2 and now they’re like teaching module six.
ST: You’re never going to hear us say, “I hope you watched module 7, because we’re going to dive in.” No, this is fresh content. It doesn’t matter if you have not ever met me before, listened to my stuff before, or bought anything of mine.
This is really just for anybody that’s going, “OK, I’m an entrepreneur. I’m looking for that next level. This is a place to be.”
JC: What are the biggest launch mistakes that either you’ve made or that you’ve seen other people make? Or maybe just things that you don’t like?
ST: Do you mean launching a live event or…?
JC: Yes. Launching a live event or even being in the room for another.
ST: Oh that’s such a good question. I can think of a million things right now…
First of all, I think when you launch, just know that there needs to be that content that we specifically talked about. So do your homework and go get those videos and those pictures. There’s got to be something tangible for us to see. I also think, when you’re doing these launches, don’t expect people to buy right that second. Your event might be six months away or 12 months away. How many of you know you’re going to an event coming up at some point but you haven’t got your tickets yet? I mean, I’m going to raise my hand. I know I’m going to go someplace in July, but I haven’t purchased that ticket. It happens! So just know that there are people out there that are going to buy. They just haven’t done it yet. Maybe they don’t have the money, or maybe they’re just waiting for something else to come out.
Here’s the thing: I am a big believer in bringing out that positive energy.
People can feel your energy when you’re talking about it.
Don’t start sounding desperate to fill this event.
You have to truly believe that you have something amazing to share.
I wish I would have started a little bit smaller than I did. But, I had that big vision of what this big event was going to be like. I think I just jumped a little too soon. Which is fine, because it got me here and everything’s going well. But, if I could tell my old self three years ago I would have said: start with a little workshop, build it up, and then do a bigger one. Get bigger from there and keep working your way up.
Now another thing that I want people to know too is it’s a lot better to find places that are not hotels. The reason for that is a lot of times hotels require a food and beverage minimum, which will skyrocket. If you decide you’re going to have meals, you have to have it through that hotel; you can’t order out. So, be really careful when you go to book something.
Another thing too: we were using one of those coworking spaces for our meet-ups and a lot of times, people were giving them to us for free. We wanted to advertise that; “if you’re an entrepreneur and you need a place to work, we’ve got all these really great rooms!” so they would let us use that space for the first time for free. Check it out and then ask your people since they’re local.
Use your connections!
We had one girl that said, “I’m a designer. I designed this one restaurant and they’re closed during the day; they’re only a dinner place. I can get us in for free if we just ordered lunch.” Some of these restaurants have private rooms that can hold between like 20 and 30 people, and then you just have them pay for their own lunch and it’s not any expense on your own.
JC: Yep! I used to cohost a law of attraction meet up and we used to meet in the back room of a Panera. We could rent it for free as long as we would eat Panera. It was so perfect. And then we end up transitioning randomly to the upstairs party room during a weeknight at the movie theater.
You never know! Exactly what you said, you’ve got to ask around because you might be surprised. There are open spaces and a lot of places don’t care.
ST: Exactly – or they may be thrilled that you’re going to bring in 10 people for lunch. I would say start small. Go to someplace like that, and then let yourself continually up level when the time is right.
JC: That’s a big thing too – that sometimes people over reach and then end up losing a lot of money online, because they’re not clear about the insurance and all of these other things that are actually going into the cost of the event. And so I think that’s such good advice: start small and build it up so that you can actually profit on your live event.
ST: Yeah. Well and you don’t want a room that fits 800 if there’s 40 of you at the table. You don’t want that in your photos and on your videos. You want to always feel like you’re busting at the seams. So be careful with what you’re doing, but obviously set yourself up for room for growth. You never know how many people you’re going to get that first time either!
JC: There’s so many great tips, and I want to respect your time. So I would love for you to just quickly share: where can people go and learn more about the event? I’m going to be linking up and sharing my link for the live event, since I am going to be speaking there. But any quick things about the event that you would like to share?
ST: Yes! So it’s basically two and a half days of April 24th to 26. We’re doing this a little differently. We actually kick it off on Tuesday night and the event is Wednesday and Thursday. A lot of our audience loves going during the week when they’re already working versus taking up one of their weekends where they have maybe personal things going on. So, our community has loved. Tuesday evening is on this amazing rooftop bar – you’ll have to go look at the pictures on Instagram because they’re so gorgeous. In Downtown Milwaukee, it’s just this little meet and greet and The Tailwind is sponsoring it. So come Wednesday, when you show up at registration to come for that day, you already have made a friend. We’re already going to go hang out with somebody at that table and you’re going to just have your mind at ease knowing you’ve got people here that are going to be supportive. We have all day Wednesday and Thursday in this gorgeous place called The Black Swan. It’s this building from the 1800s.
I’m a big believer in realizing how your environment can really inspire you to do incredible things.
And I want everybody just to be in this beautiful space that really kind of gets your mind going.
It really just allows you to be creative. And for us, it’s a lot of speaking and strategy and content; but it’s also motivation and inspiring you. Sometimes, this is what you need to get your butt in gear, to get back and get going. It’s a good mix between motivation and practical steps on what you need to do to make this happen. We do have time for Q and A with all of our speakers. We have time for workshopping and lots of things in the evenings for us to continue to meet and network. So every single night, there’s a place for you to go hang out with people. Because that’s the whole point of connecting!
JC: That’s awesome. I’ve been to so many events where you figure it out on your own and especially if you go alone. It’s like, fingers crossed that you meet somebody that you connect with. So I think that’s such an important piece of really making sure that that’s built into the events.
ST: Yeah. And you just don’t know if you’re going to meet somebody that you connect and can collaborate with. Are you going to go meet somebody who turns into your client for your business? Because, who knows what you’re going to find there!
I just think you have to go with an intention.
Ask yourself, “What am I trying to do here?”
Am I trying to go for content?
Am I trying to meet people?
Am I trying to put on my own event, so I want to go and observe what she’s doing?
JC: And I love what you said before about really going and getting that in-person connection, getting that momentum. Because I used to maybe go once or twice a year to a live event. And now I’ve committed to going almost monthly, because having that personal connection – whether you have a podcast or you’re just trying to make business connections and meet new people. It’s so important, you guys!
So, if you’re not getting to live events regularly, either create a meet up of your own or get your butt in a room.
It’s so important to be present and to be meeting new people and expanding your network. That’s going to allow you to grow exponentially. I can’t even begin to explain how much my business has grown by just getting in front of more people and making those networking connections. It’s just incredible.
ST: Yeah! And like, would we be here together if we didn’t meet at a live event?! Probably not! I mean maybe it might have taken a little longer, but we may or may not be connecting right now.
JC: Absolutely! Sitting in person, next to somebody, for two days and actually getting to be like “Hey, what does your business look like? What do you do? What’s your specialty?” It’s huge guys.
So, do you have any last words or where can people actually come and hang out with you?
ST: Yes. I have a podcast, ‘She’s Building Her Empire,’ definitely check that out. We do between one and two episodes every single week. I’m on Instagram, which is probably my favorite place to hang out. So, definitely make sure to reach out to me on there as well. If you have any questions about the live event, feel free to check out the link that Jen is going to give you. But if you have any questions, just let us know! I’m just excited and I hope to see you guys there.
JC: I know! I’m sure there’s so many people that are listening to this right now and I know that you guys live in like the Chicago/Wisconsin area and you’re waiting for an event that’s not in California or New York. So, this is your opportunity to come and hang out and connect. And I’m a huge introvert, so if you’re afraid to go to a live event alone, just know that we’re going to be best friends. We’re going to hang out. It’s going to be awesome. Amazing. Well, Stacy, thank you so much for coming on today. It was so amazing having you here. Thank you for just sharing so abundantly.
ST: Thanks for having me. I’m so excited to be connected and I’m excited to see you in person in like five weeks!
