https://www.listennotes.com/e/ddf8c440e55c4af198a5cf6e3313680e

Remember the day of how you feel today versus where you were a year ago. And it's so important to point that out.

This is your Badass Journey podcast. I am Terriene Walsh, serial entrepreneur, growth strategist, executive leadership coach, and bestselling author. Each week, I will bring you a guest or a thought that will help you align what you love with what you do in order to build that badass life and business you dream of. Welcome, everybody, to today's episode on your Badass Journey podcast. I have a special guest today that truly I adore, and you'll hear it in our conversation. Michelle Johnson is the CEO and founder of the Anchor Group, and she is someone that has helped me We met because I needed events managed and it was like my business growth mastery event. And I am someone who wanted someone to stand in creativity with me, but also get the vibe I wanted. And she was so gracious because she normally doesn't do such small sized events, but worked with me to make sure that we had a glorious time in Manhattan and then the many more to come as we move out of this pandemic timeframe and plan the next physical events that I hope to do in the years to come. The reason why I'm having her on the show today and dialoguing with her is that if you can imagine hospitality, event management was one of the industries that got hit the hardest in this past year. And as someone in my inner circle that another badass female where we are always going back and forth on how to support each other in business, I wanted to have the dialogue with her on the show to see how she can help you learn what it means to pivot in your industry, stay above board in your business, but also keep a smile on your face and make shit happen because that's what Michelle is all about. So welcome to the show, Michelle.

Thank you for having me. Happy to be here.

Of course. I love our time together. I mean, we had a brief pre or I would say mid pandemic encounter. We got to see each other and have a dinner together up in New Hampshire. And it was beautiful. Or Maine. I was in Maine. You came up from New Hampshire. But still, it was like you're someone that whenever I get to interact with you, I am all smiles because it's all heart all the time with you. And I'm just so honored to share you with our listeners today.

I'm excited to meet them. And the feeling is totally mutual. You know, I would move mountains to see you, be with you, work with you. And I know all your listeners are probably thinking the same thing as they haven't jumped on the journey with you. I don't know what they're waiting for.

You're too sweet. So let's tell them your journey of how you decided to let's go back a little bit of launching anchor group like you. I know were a full time executive of a firm prior to launching this business. so let's give them a little background of how anchor group came to be.

Sure. Back in, I want to say, 2000 to 2008, I actually was the director of global events for the Timberland company. So that was a journey I took finding my way from a human resources and Staffing jobs somehow through marketing operations and ended up in events. I don't quite know how they all got there, but I did. And as the department was dwindling and our events were bigger, but finances weren't there to support that, I started to bring on an agency and I ended up leaving Timberland and starting at that first agency with two partners. We had that agency for six years. That agency is still in existence today. But I decided that being the face of the company wasn't all I wanted to do. I missed being involved in the events and the touching and the feeling and the exposure to bringing it to life, which I didn't get to do, was not where I wanted to land. So I sold that business and I actually was going to take the summer off and that didn't happen. A lot of my clients that I was with there called me and said, you know, we want to do events with you. And I was like, well, I don't have a non-compete, but I do have a non-solicitation. But since you called me, let's have a chat. So that worked out well. And it's interesting that that will be seven years this May first.

Magic seven. I love it.

Magic seven, right?

What a seven years it's been.

Do we get the itch every seven years? Like, what is that like? Is it, you know, the seven year itch? I think the itch is reimagining. So we're doing that. Thank you to COVID. But so anchor had just celebrated or going into celebrating our sixth year when the world shut down in what we do and what we do is face-to-face events. So to see a lot of that, it was a complete unraveling of hundreds of millions of dollars for me in the door, out the door for my clients, their contracts. At this point, it was fight or flight, as you can imagine, getting our clients out of contracts for events that were happening in April, May, June, October, November, December, saying, oh, yeah, and if I don't know about you, Karine, I recall being the first couple months of the pandemic saying, we'll be back at face to face in November. Let's just push everything to October, November. We'll be fine.

Yeah.

Okay, here we are, February 22nd later, like still not getting there, but so to me, anchor, like I said, we started going into our sixth year with a pandemic and hopefully now coming into our seventh year coming out of it in a way where we can rebuild it and reimagine, which would be great.

So I remember our initial calls because I was, you know, especially in the beginning, as someone who sits in, in service like me, to help with Innovation and how to scale and how to grow, but also just so much care for my colleagues and clients and, you know, how is it going, right? Like, I kept having those calls and I remember you and I had one where you were like, holy crap, all these contracts, like, yes, I had to push them forward, but it's like, I'm not necessarily sure they're going to go through. And just to give our listeners some perspective, you do large size events. Like, you're doing massive corporate events, but also bringing organizations together, like, what's the size, largest size event that you've ever had to coordinate and facilitate for a client? Just so people understand the size of how many people attend these things.

Well, if you want to talk most recently, we did events for the Super Bowl. So I was in Tampa and we did activation events for the NFL, basically. But we did the three days the weekend before the Super Bowl and then five days up to the Super Bowl. And we managed 18 acts out there that we brought in. The NFL said, no more concerts. We can't have people on the ground standing there looking at talent. So we had less than four to five minute acts where people were rotating throughout. So I wasn't in charge of the entire planning of that event, which was massive and powerful to be a part of because it was face to face. Like it was face to face. Like I was standing near people with a mask on, but it was fine. But obviously the COVID protocols and everything from a health app to a health screen to credentials in and out for contact tracing. A lot of it was immense, but well done. So that to me, that was, you know, there's a couple thousand people a day inside the park for the eight days we were there. Other than that, some of my larger scales are 4 to 5000 people. But I you said something in the beginning of our conversation. I will never take for granted a six person event ever again.

Yeah, yeah.

I don't care if we're 5 to 6 people to 5000, 100 people, 1000 people. I don't care. The value of being face to face is what's so important right now. For the health of our industry, not only, but also for people's mental health. Like face-to-face communication is critical in everything we do for meetings and events, corporations, associations, non-profit, for-profit, schools, teachers, children that are learning and missing first grade, kindergarten, such critical years of all these things. So for anything we do face-to-face is just touching so many, so many points in our life.

And, you know, so many people are craving that now. I think it's, we're seeing a lot of virtual fatigue happening in that, you know, most people in the beginning, it was like a novelty to be like, oh, what is all this online, you know, way of communicating? And I, I've been running a virtual business for years, so this is just, I'm used to operating and I also know how to, like, shut it down so that I can have my life like outside of work, like I'm not in front of it all the time. I also know how to say, I don't need to be on video right now. Let's just have a phone call, you know, because it can create a new type of fatigue. But for so many, this is the only way that we've been able to connect is over that type of platform. And for somebody who thrives being in front of and connecting with other people like you do, and also being the facilitator, the facilitator of the connection. The beauty of the event management space and the company that you have is you're highly relational. So if anyone chooses to work with Michelle, you will feel the love instantly and you will know that you're being taken care of. And to have that care in a physical space, especially now, is needed more than ever because there's so much of that fear bubble that we are trying to bust through to be connected physically. And I know you and your team had to learn a lot to make that happen. So tell us a little bit about, as you were assessing the beginning of the year, thinking things were going to be in October, now we fast forward a little bit to April, May, we realizing this is continuing, it's getting worse, it might not open by the fall to have physical events, What was happening in business that you needed to make some quick decisions on in order to sustain in business, but also kind of take care of yourself and your team in order to make that happen? So let us know, like what happened during that time. Did you pivot? Did you add a different method of how you launched events? Were you thinking about shutting down? what was going on?

Well, let's just say shutting down was never an option. I would have gone out of my mind. I mean, I would flip a good burger at Burger King if I needed to, because we all would do it. We need to get it done. But having said that would not have.

Been my first choice. Yeah.

So it was around honor about March 16th, as I mentioned earlier, that we all realized that this was happening. And I had some events coming up May 1st for about a thousand people. That was my biggest one. And I kind of said, okay, are we Gonna do this. And just mind you, as of March 16th, I had just come back from an event in Nairobi, Africa. So I was coming on the heels of a flight home, praying I was ahead of it to some extent. And, you know, came home and said to myself, I think I just literally got home by the hair of my chinny chin chin. Yeah. And so I'm sitting there with my team and realizing that the world is coming to, you know, a pivot time, the world itself. And I said, all right, well, I had a pity party, not gonna lie. I had the cosmic bitch slap and was like, all right, so what are you going to do? In the time of that, just to put a little perspective in personal, we decided to, I guess the wrong word, but the right word is capitalize on the pandemic. And we packed up our home and sold our home and that we'd lived in for 16 years, which was a bonus. And then we're like, okay, now where are we going to live and what are we going to do? But that was all happening. And my team dispersed. as best they could, but they couldn't find other things to do. I had a couple free moms that were out there that needed to now be the teacher, be the mom, be the wife, be the person. I also watched a lot of personality challenges where my rock were crumbling. And by rocks, I mean those that were some of the strongest people on my team. One of them, I would call her my head of security. She would call herself my head of security. Yeah. And that's a, that's a joke at the same time, but true. But. that woman could take down a union in a union hotel if anything went wrong or she would block and tackle for whatever I was dealing with. And I couldn't keep, I couldn't get her in the game. And the, you know, I'm in New York, I'm in, you know, this is happening, you don't have the same type of things happening where you are. Well, yes we do, we're just on a different scale with less population, but, you know, you're not gonna argue on that with someone. So trying to manage them, getting through the emotional part of it with my team, and I said, you know, just everybody take a break, do what you got to do, dance on your own, we'll recircle back as soon as we can. In the meantime, I had a couple of friends that were saying they're going to take a course online. And I was like, okay, like a certification. It was a certification in virtual event meeting management. Nice. So I was like, okay, well, to your point earlier, you and I have lived in a virtual world, either on Zoom or something like that, always. You know, it's been out there forever. I don't think people realize that though. I find that funny. I always remind them of that British guy who was interviewed on the podcast. He was on CNN, I think it was for BBC, and he's out there at his kids, like in the background. I was like, guys, that was like eight years ago. So the video conferences were still happening then. Like, this isn't new. You all remember that commercial or that moment, and they laugh going, yeah, and I go, that wasn't during the pandemic. That was years ago. So understanding a little bit more about it, Taking the course, I realized it enforced already what I know about being a meeting planner. 80% of it was, you know, when you have a virtual event, you have attendees, you have registration, you have everything but the food and beverage and the transportation, right? So what does that look like? I learned a few things like keywords on bits and bytes and ups and down speeds and encoding and decoding and stuff like that. So lots of education around doing it. So then I pivoted and started to identify different platforms. And a platform to us is translation to a ballroom. So a platform would be the vehicle that we use online to support our hosting of the meeting, correct? So Zoom is an integration of that. On24 is an integration of that. GoToMeeting is an integration of that, but we needed to find the right platform. 30 or 40 platforms later trying to figure out what that is, I was trying to find the right avenue. Should a customer come to me? And then I started to have another client reach out that was transforming to her new business and she said, do you do virtual events? As a matter of fact, we do.

Nice.

So, fake it till you make it, not gonna lie. Pull that out of my memory.

That's very resourceful. you know, like, you know, like, because it's not really like you're, you're, you're, you were using a skill set you have and you're trying to now figure out how does it fit into this new world that everyone could get on board with, right? Now it's so much easier to think to think about, oh, let's just do a virtual event because there have been so many now that people have attended or even facilitated themselves that they're more open to it. But the fact that upfront you started to get resourceful and say, this is the skill set I have. Like, this is just something so our listeners can think about how can it apply potentially to like their business or their circumstance. It's like when you list out, like, these are the things I love doing. Now, are there different ways that I can love doing what I do that my clients will buy from me? And the execution might be a little different. It might not be ideal, like a face to face, but the execution is something that I might need to learn or enhance a skill set in so I can sell this as part of my business, but still stay in my lane and my zone of genius. Because I think that is what I love about watching you through this past year. And because I know your heart of service, like you will always find a way. So to me, it's resourcefulness. It might feel like imposter syndrome or faking it till you make it, but truly it's like, you made it, you're now leveraging it. And then here's the platform to leverage it. And I love that you did Discovery into technology and like figuring out, well, how do you fit into technology? Because that could be so overwhelming. And you found a platform that you became really well versed in so that you could serve your clients. Like, again, continuously serving others through your business. So how did it go? Like, tell us about like the first posted virtual events, like, what was the experience? Yeah, overwhelmed. Did you walk away with it being like, I never want to do that again? Were you hopeful? Tell us the reality of what that's like. Because when you're in learning mode, it can be so uncomfortable, like a baby giraffe trying to walk for the first time. So how did it go for you?

Well, I think once we, this one particular client said, you know, may I back up? I facilitate also for some chapters in an association world. So I literally dug my heels in on that to start with, that they were all usually typically in face events. And I said, no, no, no, you can't cancel this. This is your strategic time to kick off your year. This is the most important thing you'll ever do now. And hug your membership, reach out to them. Some had just gone into the five stages or six stages of grief to figure that out. So I was like, no, we're going to have the event. I am still going to personally keep a revenue stream and we are going to learn it on Zoom. And, you know, I don't know how, but somehow it worked that we did. I did not reduce my rates. I did not skip a beat there, but I learned to master Zoom. I watched more YouTube videos on how to do Zoom than you could ever imagine. What it means, raising your hand, you know, the virtual background, making fun things. Learning how to use Spotify so I could have people type in their favorite song during the conversation. And by the end of the retreat on virtual, six hours later, I created a playlist for everyone.

Oh my God, I need that. You gotta tell, show me how to do that. I want to create a Spotify.

Yes. Okay, awesome. And then I took a picture of them and I took the picture and put it as the album cover in Spotify. So they all had their own personal-- Of course you did. Some of the songs, if you recall, wake me up when September ends, 'cause everybody thought September would be the end of the pandemic. Um, but it was a blast. So I definitely talk through that tip anytime. So my comfort with zoom was very strong. And I said, well, what else is out there? So I started with Bizibo and HOPIN and Whova and I ended up with this platform called Swoogo, S-W-O-O-G-O. And what I love about it was I can build it. I can learn how to build it. I can teach my client how to build it. It's got, it has been around for 10 years and it, It's just a simple solution of a web-based application. But now I dove in, took the courses a little bit, and then also just hit the ground running because we got the contract to set it up. My client ended up buying that version. So whatever we paid, she bought that particular version of it as a company and some other integrations that they wanted to go with it. And I learned it. I built the website, built the registration. We, in the first go big or go home. Started with a thousand people as the goal at 1,003 register. And it was an event at the end of October that also came with a complexity back to our event planning side, where everybody that attended the event received a swag gift. Right. All over the world.

Wow.

That we sent out at the time, 750 kits. And we had to create, we created masks with their custom logo on them. Everybody got a little, camera cover for their computer, for their webcam if they wanted to shut that down. They got a little, you know, the metal key that's out there that you can use to help you touch things. Those got branded. So everybody got a kit to say thanks for joining us for our virtual event if they registered. So that's happening on one side of my team and building this portion of it. The building of the website at first was a little intimidating, but once that ball started rolling, it became very, it was super natural. It was just kind of like creating your own shopping cart, right? The complexity that got fun for me to learn was how to improve what I had seen of processes going on. So I watched people out there having their virtual events and they're talking about scheduling their speakers or their speakers would show up and the connection didn't work or the speaker would be online and they didn't have any lighting. They never checked their, their box. Do they have, you know, a that they framed in well in this and that. So I said, well, there's no reason I need to be the one to manage that. I need to manage it, but I don't need to be the one to produce it. So I found an agency and I did an RFP for two agencies to help me with the best possible solution to bring it to life and realize that when you partner with a production agency, that takes the guesswork out of it, not the fun.

So it elevates the quality.

It 100% depends on the team.

It's like if you were in a space where you're hiring the team to set up the design of the room and making sure that the event is displaying on all screens and that there's engagement, et cetera, it's that same type of production. The virtual team to get that to happen, it's critical, yeah, to find the right partnership. We don't have to learn it all. We have to know how to facilitate it all to have the best event. So I love that.

And you keep talking about your listeners, and I know that some of them are probably feeling if they're rebuilding whatever they're doing, the ability to rebuild on your own is fine. And it's great. It's going to take you twice as long. And you're going to have a lot of hurdles along the way. Like if you're ready, find the subject matter experts that are gonna partner with you. You're not only gonna grow your business, but they're gonna grow their business with you as a partner. So, Finding the production company was key for me, 'cause now we've done seven of them. Amazing. And they have been my producers. Whether we do a full live, which I hate, but it's 'cause there's so much room for error. And our attendees are in California and I'm in Nashville with the studio. Like it's just a crazy moment. Or we do Simulive, which we record for 20 minutes and then they come on live for 10 minutes in their 30 minute session, either a keynote or breakout. So all of this can be managed. So some of it's pushed. out to the audience and then some of it goes into more of an engagement, meaning they come out of this beautiful box of a video they're watching like a YouTube in my platform or they come out to a Zoom now so they can have a face-to-face and then they come back into the platform. So it's got a hybrid approach to it, which I loved. But this Fugo thing, I started to see, and again, that's only one of many. So right now I feel like I could do any of them if they came my way. I've just got to learn their process. but I decided after that first event to buy my own. So I invested in my company and I bought a site of my own platform. So now what I paid for it out of the six others that I've done, I've doubled my money. So basically took what I did. Now I'm like, I have the platform. I have a flat rate that we do to build it for you. I have the licensing rights and everything, and it's good for a year. So where do you, where do you want to take it now at this point? So. Anyone out there that may be looking for a virtual event and trying to figure that scale, we can certainly help you from beginning to end of what that's going to look like. Cause we've already invested in the time and the money and the turn is fast for you. Why pay someone to do that when we're here to, why take your time to do it and we're here to help you? So, I wanted it to be that turnkey for me. And now I'm teaching two people on my staff.

Exactly. I was just going to say that's a trainable model. Like that's a scalable model cause the platform. It's something you can educate other people on to leverage. So as the pipeline of client requests come in for it, it's not you doing it all. But now you can like- I wanted.

To do it first though.

No, no, no, that's what I'm saying. I am the same way. Like, I like to know the ins and outs of the working so that I can actually lead on the best use case of the platform that we have in play. But it's great that you're scaling. by training other people on it, which is great.

We have two face to face coming up in October, one for a thousand and one for 250. And then there is a virtual on the books for October for 2000. I can't be all three places at once. So I'm hoping someday I pick up the phone and we, you and I are having another chat about me and how I'm going to build that small empire by October. So we'll, we'll need that, you know.

Yeah. I'm happy to help you figure out that. scale because you have the framework in place. It's just really about deciding the skill set that you need for the right person to run it on your behalf and also the lead time of the training required for you to feel that they're ready to run it on their own. So yeah, we could definitely talk about building those type of hiring frameworks, but also the lead time is important. A lot of people think that when you like for you're such an amazing planner. So you know that like an October event, if you need it, even if you needed an on-site facilitating person to come in, you're going to, and then so your larger event, thousand people, you're going to figure out how you're going to test that person's skill set prior at least two times in smaller events to understand like how are they operating? What is their like energy when they're in crisis? What's their energy when they're chill? Like what, you know, and how do they need me to be involved as their leader to execute decisions with them? Or do they just melt down and they're like, no good under pressure, like all those things, right? You want to be able to have lead time of testing and validating their performance prior to putting them in the larger scenarios. So things like that, you know, there are ways we can build frameworks for hiring the right people, but also making sure you have the right measurement in place as you move forward. Yeah.

That's critical.

Yeah. But here's what I love. And I guess I want to recap a few things because we shared some awesome, valuable ways that someone who, and let me tell you, a pandemic year woke up a lot of people to really face the business that they were in and the role that they played in it. And when it comes to hospitality and the restaurant industry, the hotel industry, like everyone is still pretty much in that 25 to 35% range, maybe on a consistent basis of serving a client base that normally would be overflowing 100%. Like when you do event planning and you're planning a year in advance for what it is that you want to do. When you have virtual events, what's awesome about what you've done is that, A, your clients I know work with you because of the relationship they have with you and your team and the quality work you've done with them for the past. That's why they always re-up with you. Let's do it again next year. Let's do it again next year, right? That's the most beautiful way to build long-standing business is that sustainability with your clients. So what had happened last year for you is that, Things had to shift, contracts had to move. You had to go back to these hotels and the vendors and renegotiate everything because everyone was sitting in crisis. Everyone was trying to figure out, how do I sustain what I was counting on and knowing that that's not going to come through? And so that first six months of from March through September, and it's still lagging now, we are still, in the thick of it in a lot of major cities where you are hosting a lot of these events. Like you said, it's not like events aren't happening. They're just happening in different ways. But what was awesome about that so-called downtime, which honestly, if you know Michelle, there really isn't a downtime. I don't know if you heard her whisper about-- so we decided to sell our house and move. What you didn't hear is also she decided to buy a new custom-made home that she's about to move into. So that's also its own full-time job is happening in parallel. Life moves are happening while she's still maintaining her business. So what's I think builders, by the.

Way, need an event planner. So if there's any builders you come across, Kareen, trust me, if they could see what an event planner could do for their build, they're like two people in the house at one time.

Yeah.

You can have two contractors. They'll be okay.

They won't.

One guy's doing the floors, one's doing the ceilings.

You're fine.

Yeah. Yeah. Let's get it done.

Yeah. So like that organizational skill. A little bit going on. Yeah, you're a total zone of genius, but it's always firing on all cylinders because you live life, Michelle, and that's what I love. And you find a way and you found a way to be resourceful. Not only did you step into new technology to make sure that your business stayed on course and you continue to serve your clients in a way that was of the time, is now another revenue stream in your business. Whether or not you choose to dial up that side when we're back to being face to face because that's what you love, it is something now that you've created another way to create sustainable revenue in your business if you choose, if you choose to continue with it based on the type of business you want to own and run. So I just want to point out that being resourceful and learning is the best way to actually answer times of crisis because you really don't know until you put yourself out there to truly know and then decide how you want to apply it. Right?

So true. I was hoping that I would land in a better place and I think I've landed not only in a better place but I learned so much so that I can continue to grow. So I'm safe. You know, my family is safe. We are in a good place mentally, physically are two most important things. But I also have a skill set now that to your point, I don't see virtual going away. I see a lot of hybrid. So be able to play both sides of this and making sure if you've ever done a virtual event or watched a live event virtually, you are the most left out individual when you're in the box, right? So I'm working on a new model to make sure that that individual is captured, you know, with a woman on the street conversation, managing what's going on virtually and making sure that, if your virtual guests are watching you have a live event, the haves and have nots is crazy, crazy. And I, you know, the FOMO, all of it, they're just like, how do I get that? So there's definitely some more hybrid excitement to come from Anchor and from Michelle. So I'm excited to do that. You mentioned something a moment ago though about all of the contractors and the vendors and the hotels that I had to unwind. And if I could offer any piece of advice to your listeners out there is remember the day of how you feel today versus where you were a year ago. And it's so important to point that out. There were some vendors that were not willing to negotiate with me. So much so the contract signed on March 12th, the world shut down March 16th, and no work had been done, but holding my client to hundreds of thousands of dollars of cancellation fees without an opportunity to postpone They don't work in my circle today. And it's just, you know, I find it very difficult to embrace such an opportunity and be like, oh, it's okay for you to, you know, that you didn't pivot, but I had to pivot. But let me show you the benefit I got out of it. The more customers, the more clients, the more business I get out of it. Your stubbornness of the ability to say, it's all about you, this is not about you. So we are in this together in everything that we do. But I just, I encourage you to take your, your picture of yourself now and say, is this going to be the best decision for me? 6, 8, 12, a year, two years from now? It's not. Make the right decision for your long term. And it's going to hurt a little bit. It's going to bite some tases, you know, you're going to have to take a step back, read to yourself things that you didn't realize and undo some of the things you always believed in for the, for the right reasons or for the better of the good. So know that I have some vendors that are no longer in my immediate go-to conversations as a result of the way they handled it. And they're trying to get in the door now.

Of course, yeah.

I'm sorry that my space has been filled up with those that were like, what do you need? What price do you need that? Where do you need me to go? What do you want it to look like without nine pages of terms and conditions that go along with it? If you change this, whatever. And so we did that last year, getting them out of almost $700,000 of cancellation fees, etc. So we said we moved it to this May because we were going to be open, right? We were going to be back to business. And I had to call the hotel three weeks ago and I said, I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you again on behalf of my client. And they said, okay. And it's a Marriott brand. I don't know if I can say that, but I'll be honest with you. Marriott's gotten a pretty bad rap these days. And I have to give this particular hotel, and I'll say it somewhere in the Orlando district, that's really, really big. Yeah. And they pivoted with no change. They moved us to October. We're getting better meeting space. We're getting all the same concessions, all the same amenities that they've given us in our initial contract a year and a half ago. And they did it without a hesitation. They said, Just sign on the dotted line, we'll take care of it. And I couldn't have asked for more in a time than now for them to do that. So you have to, but because of the partnership, The relationship. I will remember Maria and Starwood. I will remember this hotel. I remember Brianne, who is the sweet girl that is going above and beyond to make this happen. So it's all about the relationship. And she knows that I'm trying my best. And she knows that the client is being cautiously optimistic that this is going to go forward. And they're just willing to accept the opportunity. So, but without that partnership, she could have shut me down.

Well, I think there's also been a lot of learning, you know, in, in the, when someone has a strong stance up front, like, we're gonna be back in a couple weeks. And so why would I, why would I back down on my policies? Realizing that right now, flexibility and willingness are like the two energies to lean into. If you want to have any sort of business and revenue stream going so true, right? Flexibility, willingness. And so even if you have it, I'll tell you this, too, everybody, if you have it in a contract, it's still negotiable. There's still possibility. You just have to be willing and flexible to consider the other options. And it is also why, you know, Michelle and I both have thriving businesses still. because we have those as guiding energies and all that we do. And we work with clients and vendors, other services that we bring into our clients to align with those values and that way of working as well. Because at the end of the day, we just want to have great experiences, right? Like connection and being able to serve and allow a ripple effect, because really that's what events do when you bring people together, whether it's virtually or in a space, you're creating a ripple effect of connection and possibility because they've come together and for a common reason, decided to connect and decide how they want to continue to that connection after that event. Like it's a, it's just such a beautiful energy. Just like you guys listening to us today, there's a connected energy we have. You hear us. Michelle and I talking that ripple effect, you've learned something from today's conversation. You're now going to connect with others and it's going to have this ripple effect. Like it's, it is beautiful when you come into it with a light energy versus the what's not happening energy, you know, and thinking about the void.

That's very hard for some people.

It totally is.

Is your glass half full or half empty? And if you come into it with always half empty, You'll never have a half empty life. You'll never fill it.

And a half empty business. It guides what you receive, right? But you always have a choice in it. And my listeners know this all the time. When you become an adult, you have a choice on how you want to lead your life and how, especially the choices you make in business. And I've had to let go of clients. I've had to let go of vendors. I've had to fire. team members, you know, because if it's not walking in alignment with where we're going, then it is going to stop the potential of what it can be. And it's an amazing lens when you're like asking questions like, well, what's the potential? What potentially could happen? What are our possibilities? And consider it all. And maybe that stagnant stance of like, nope, we can't budge, is the only answer, fine, but at least you were willing to explore the possibilities before leaning hard into that. Yeah, because you never know, even if from last year, I'm sure a lot of companies are looking at decisions where they might have held firm for the first six months into the pandemic thinking things were going to bounce back that they're reflecting now and saying, holy shit, look at the hole we dug ourselves into that we will never recover from. It's going to take five years to recover from and either have to shut cut down their business completely or decide, you know what? I'm gonna be flexible now and get, right? Like it's just a little bit sometimes too late because you burn those bridges with some of your clients or vendors and team members.

So it's unfortunate, but there are so many out there that were willing to pivot. And just, you know, I usually charge people $10 every time they say pivot.

Because it's not a drinking game yet for you.

Yeah, it's totally. It's on a bingo card somewhere, right? But I feel bad for those that were struggling with it. And I know I personally tried to help some that weren't willing to shift and just try to be like, let's talk through this and figure out what we can do to get you to the other side. And no, no, no, really firm on their decisions and their stance. And okay, well, yeah, those that did change and pivot with us, we couldn't be happier with the decision. I would not have been able to pull the Super Bowl off, I'll tell you that.

Oh, how cool.

We get all that talent together, and I couldn't have been more grateful for what we did. And, you know, every day. And the partners that came that showed up that were just like, I don't care what you need. What do you need?

I need everyone's so pumped to be together.

They're like, I don't care what a hotel room costs. I don't care where we're going. I don't care that Tom Brady won the Super Bowl. Yeah. It was just. It was pretty powerful to see.

And.

And watching everybody come together with a smile on their face. not as, you know, 4 A.M. calls to get down to do the things we needed to do. Or, you know, it was a crazy month before, but just feeling it and feeling the energy. Karine, it was. The energy was just so powerful. You come home and you're. You're jazz.

You're like, what's next? You know? Yeah. Yeah. Ah, I love that. I love that. And then. And also how you sustain that. Right? Like, the. That energy of seeing what is possible and what can be created, and even though it's different. It's like, it's there. And so again, and you wanna do it again and again and again. Like now you have a whole new framework of like, what can you offer your client base? What can you create? What is possible? What other vendors or, you know, partners do you need to bring together when your clients come to you with something that might be a little bit more complex, but now you've seen complex models get executed. I mean, like, that's amazing.

So- I had never known some of the things that you needed to do to pull that stuff off. I also know, I've learned that I don't like festivals. Isn't that bad? You have to pick and choose, but it's like a, what's that, the easy bake oven thing, set and forget. It's like a festival you set and forget. They set it up and then it's like it just runs autopilot for, you know, however long you want it to. And as much as it was engaging for the first few days and I loved it, there, nothing went wrong and I need things to go wrong, like in my life. You like the challenge. I like a challenge of, you know.

Someone in the AV room going, we.

Can'T find the speaker or, come on it. They're in the bathroom or, You know, did you taste that buffet? That food wasn't great. Okay, let's go get different coffee.

Oh my God, I love it.

I did miss that part of it, but I learned a lot.

Yeah, but still, it's all again, it's stacking up the possibilities of what you, what can be created. And I love that you didn't let the fear of the pandemic stop you from showing up in the places you felt and knew that you could control the safety of. to create the space of togetherness because I know that's what people are craving the most. And my hope with the, you know, the vaccines coming out and the numbers going down and our ability to care for each other when we are in space together, however people choose to stay masked or just not jump on each other and more care about each other, you know, so that you can be together. Like those protocols, I think the, the The reentry of being together in physical spaces and in a consistent way is going to be really interesting to watch in the months to come as well.

I think more than ever you'll see that shift in it starts with personal and less business.

Yeah. And it's always been personal for me. I just, it's so funny though that you say that because I know what you're talking about. It's like, it's not just about the transaction. We used to show up in things. because there was a transaction to be had, but that always exhausted me. So I always just made it personal. I always would be like, well, how can I add value to the room today? Or what can I learn from someone in this room that I'm going to, you know, walk away with? Like, am I going to meet my new bestie today? Like, what are, you know, like, I had to start to enter things with that personal value-based system in order for me to show up in, in the rooms and do the talks and do the things like that, you know? And I'm glad that you're seeing that type of shift happening more so.

Oh, absolutely. I walk into a room now and someone's like, so. And they start to present the problem and they start or someone will call you and be like, here's what I need. I'm like, I stop and say, good, you.

Yeah. Yeah.

Like, they're like, oh, how's the family? I'm like, that's better.

Let's humanize it.

How are you? But it's less and less of that. I'm also noticing kids these days, and I mean kids, my kids are 21 and 22, almost 23. They pick up the phone before they text these days. And that's a big shift.

Oh, so great to see. That's huge.

This new girl working for me, Madison, she's a fireball, graduated with her hospitality degree in May to a pandemic. And she just came on board with me in September. But watching her and some of even the, you know, Millennials I had working for me, like she sits here right next to me and she picks up the phone and she calls people. Yeah, I can get it done faster if I call them. I'm like, I understand you get that. Yeah. But that has not been the norm. No, it's been I don't want to talk to anybody.

I will text.

I will call your sister to call you before I have to talk to you. So that's a nice shift I've seen of just picking up the phone. Or my son even said to me, Mom, just call me. It's like, well, you used to hate me to call you.

How beautiful is that?

They know that it's so and they're taking their words better, like speaking differently, speaking more powerful, making decisions, not just being like, you know.

Yes.

What do you want me to say? I want you to say happy birthday. Calling your grandmother and having a conversation, you know.

I love that. No, that what a great impact then of this time to kind of go what I feel go back to those human needs, those basics of how we connect with each other. I feel like it was a bit of the Renaissance into the '80s, you know, because the age that I'm at, my childhood was a lot in the '80s, and there was that quietness. Like, I didn't allow much-- I was not allowed to have much screen time. I'd have my phone time with my friends, out of my play dates. But then there was, like, the quiet time, too, or the time to, like, be creative, you know? And I felt like we needed that reset. So much push, push, push prior to this time. So I'm really appreciating the kind of reflection people are having around time in general and how they're choosing to show up in it all. And I'm seeing more authentic ways of showing up than the posturing and the, like, just even before we started this podcast, you messaged me, Do I have to be camera ready? Kind of me, I'm like, no, we're having a conversation. you think I'm camera ready? No, like, this is, this is the time just to connect and share it with my listeners, you know? But, but it's still that because you and I do do a lot of Zoom speaking and, like, virtual, like, Readiness. So I get it. And we want to feel our best. And I still, I'm not in my pajamas all the time, but it's still like, we just show up authentically, you know, which, which I'm really enjoying.

No, you need to do that. And I, I find that the ability to do it now easier. I don't mind being in person or on face to face. We have to be that way, but it's so important. It's. And it's become such a way of life, for sure.

Yeah. Well, this has been such a great conversation. I know we have lots of tips and tools and things that happened in the conversation people are walking away with. If someone wants to connect with you or they're looking to host an event, like, what's the best way for them to connect with you, Michelle?

Well, you can always just call me at 603-479-4809 and I'm sure I'll share that information with you as you need it written anywhere. Also the website anchor group co anchor group co.com talks a little bit about the event side of what we do, the facilitation side of what I do, the MC side of what I do, be it virtual or in person. So all of it comes with a big package, but I'd love to just hear from anybody, whether it's business or not, what I love about connecting with people is Someone may call me and say, I need a pink elephant. Do you know where I can get a pink elephant for Saturday at 2 o'clock? And I'll be like, I don't, but I know someone that does. So I love being that resource. So if something in this conversation, in this podcast triggered you to want to learn more, it doesn't cost anything to pick up the phone and say hi. So love that.

I think you're my first guest that actually gave out her number. Y'all got her digits.

I can block, but I don't think I will.

No, no, it's awesome because it's so, it's so true. But that's the genuine connection that you are. Like, even when I was introduced to you, we immediately got on the phone because it was like, you were like, what the, who are you and what are you trying to do? Like, this was because we got introduced through a colleague that worked with you and your team before. So that's perfect. I love that. Just as a thank you before we close out the episode, is there anything going on in life, business, Etc. You're feeling challenged by or want support on from me today? Any questions that I can help answer or give you guidance on.

What a gift. So thank you for that. You helped me about 20 minutes ago, I think. I can't remember how long we've been chatting, but to talk a little bit, the building, the framework of the regrowth and the rebirth. And as I said, you know, some of my team members, all be them amazing individuals, being in the virtual or hybrid world, they're not comfortable. They're skilled. It's a new skill set. And I know I have a lot of wonderful people that can do it out there. Some are running their own business. I also know a lot of them who pivoted and did different things. Do you know how many event planners have become real estate agents? Like that's been a really big thing I've seen out there. But I know they're out there. And so I need to just scale that up a little bit. So I look forward to talking with you how to kind of build that back up from where I am right now so minimally and not do everything as much as I have been for the last six months, but start to get back to where I was managing a team. I missed that.

Yeah. Yeah, so what I would start with, if you're going down that path of how do I scale the business I've created, this new stream of revenue, how do I scale and sustain it, but not necessarily be in all the details as much as I am right now, is to first design the role you want to play in it. So it's almost like take 10,000 feet up from it, look at this business model you've created, the service level that it is, what it's required to get the job done, and then decide for yourself first, what's the ideal role you want to play in it all? Once you define the role you want to play in it, so is it like closing the contract, designing the actual construct of what the virtual event would be, and then having oversight, Right? Like, let's just say those are the top three things, then you're listing out everything else that has to happen and you're creating job descriptions from all the doing. I think a lot of people try to fit existing team members into potential new job functions that they were never qualified for, but just because they're on the team, it's like, well, I got to give you something, but it's really, really smart to just take that 10,000 foot above and say, this is actually the job description that I need to have fulfilled. And if there are internal people or people you worked with to apply for it and are not qualified, because now you have a section of qualifications, like what does it actually take to do that job? Then it has become so much easier to qualify them or not, right? Like then you're like, look, this is the skill set I need, and obviously you don't have that. So I'm going to take this outside and we're going to hire from the outside in. Even if it's just a job description, whether or not you're hiring for it or hiring a service to do it for you, like contracting out portions of it, just that exercise alone will give you so much clarity and you're an action taker. Like, so as soon as you get that clarity, you'll be like, I know exactly what I need. And that's going to give you the model of first taking care of you first. Like what I've seen in the past is, thinking that you're going to hire all of you in somebody where sometimes it's a, if I had to just own this or like oversight on it, what does a normal person do to get this job done versus the overachiever that I am to get the job done, right? Like we, we kind of can skew a little bit of what we're looking for. So you really have to be kind of very practical on how you look at what it actually takes to get that job done and the learning curve then for someone to step into that, if they have some of the experience and not all the experience, then you'll understand too your onboarding time before they're actually functional in that job for you. So does that help from a framework standpoint to start with?

It's a great start. I can't wait for part two. I'm just going to say, I always want more time with you.

Yeah, yeah, anytime.

No, I get it. It actually gave me a vision to say, how much I am managing now versus the way a year ago I was managing them. I wasn't managing as much or doing as much as I am. So I know what I want to do, but I also know that if I took the opportunity to get back to that level, Karine, that comes with a bigger business, that comes with more profit, that comes with more revenue.

Totally does.

And those are the pieces I'm losing sight of because I have been in this mode of due so long and it's so long. Six months for me, that's a long time because I changed. you know, every day I'm like a chameleon. So just need a few rejiggers on how to give that back up. But this was a great start. So it gave me. Yeah.

And anytime you want to do a strategy session to, like, break it all down, like, fully give you, like, exact, you know, what, what you, who you need to become in order to lead this new level of business that you're offering, we definitely can do anytime, you know, I'm always here for you. I think that it's a really good question, though, you asked, because there are other people that have potentially have created a new revenue stream and they're in, like, I'm even going through it myself where there's a part of my business that has, like, almost like exploded. I mean, I think I closed already, what is February 22nd? I think I have, like, already closed 1.2 million in business this year on one revenue stream that I have because of how I did my business last year to lead up into that. Yeah. And it's a business that doesn't fulfill me as much, that part of my business as what I want to do next. So I'm exactly where you're at, where it's like, who can I bring in that I need to run all the things, the things I'm still in the weeds on where I shouldn't be so that I can have oversight, I can be strategic, I can close more deals, but know that the operational part is taken care of and that the execution is exactly like needs to be exactly what I did. So I just went through the exercise I just gave you and I have this head of, I think we're calling it head of talent and account management role that I need to bring onto my team. So it's a process we all go through, but I'm so glad you asked the question because I don't think we pause enough to assess and say, all right, I did the learning, it's working. Do I still want to do it? and yes, I want a part of my business. Well, what part of it do I.

Want to be doing?

You know, so I think it's a really great.

I know I don't want to be doing all of this anymore. I want to do a lot of it, but I want, I want subject matter experts working with me that they actually know more than I do. I hope. Yeah.

And I think you'll find them now more than ever, especially in that virtual space, because even if they haven't worked on smug go, for example, but they've been on other virtual platforms, and they're looking and they love the event space. Like you're gonna find, you're gonna find them out there. You just have to be clear what you're asking for because that's how you get it in return. Right. You know what I mean? But now that you say you're ready, like you're, you don't want to do this anymore. I'm ready for the help and the assistance. It will show up for you. You're clear and conscious that, oh, my God, that person who facilitated the event just in Orlando that was sitting there and doing this, this, this. and then like, I should just go call them and see if they want to come work with me.

You know what I mean?

Like they're in your network because you've been out there doing it. So it's just a matter of others knowing that you want to hire for it or bring that support in so you don't have to do it as much anymore.

Absolutely. I had a woman who runs an event agency literally two towns over from me here.

Yeah.

And she reached out to me and she's like, How have we never met?

Love it.

And she does events on the same scale I do, except she comes with the production. I come with the other side of it. So we're finding some synergies to work together, which is fantastic. So I can't wait to, you know, brainstorm with her a little bit more, but she's literally two towns over.

Well, there it is. So it's like also the. Yeah, right. The picture of it also could look different where it doesn't have to be you hiring the team. It could be a partnership.

Exactly.

And I love that. I love that level of thinking because when you have two partners that scale in different areas of the business, you guys go even further together because you're doing your zone of geniuses, but there's an alignment because you need each other to get the rest done.

Absolutely. I think we know, we talked a little bit about our lanes and what we want to stay in and what we don't like to do and what she doesn't like to do. I do like to do.

Beautiful. She's just showed up already.

It is showing up. But it's nice to know that we are two event agencies out of New Hampshire that are pretty big. and we've never crossed paths, which I get, just goes to show you guys, there's so much opportunity to be had. Like you're never competing, compliment, always compliment and find a way to, you know, get the best out of it. Don't ever be afraid to share your secret sauce because doing so gives you so much broader experience and opportunity to grow sideways, not always up, which is fine.

And that's fine too. It's like, 'cause sometimes that the lateral move means more stability. People think that if you're always scaling up that peak, like the little bit of tip back, you're falling down that mountain. You want the lateral move sometimes. That lateral foundation is so critical for sustainable growth. So I cherish you, Michelle. Thank you so much for being on the show today and sharing your genius with our listeners. And guys, I will make sure her information is in the show notes so you can connect directly with her. and as always, I love being part of your badass Journeys, and we love to hear from you. So let us know what your takeaways are. Make sure you hit that subscribe button so you catch the next episode, and I will see you then. Wasn't that such a great episode? I know you got amazing takeaways from that. What I would love for you to do for me. If you can help me extend my reach, just go ahead and subscribe to the show so you get the latest notification and listen before anyone else. Also, if you could go ahead and post your review, your five star review will help me get other people interested in this conversation and extend my reach of impact. Most of all, I would love for you to share this with your community. It means so much to me to have you as a listener, and I would love to connect with you. So if you have any questions you would like me to answer on this show, go ahead and email hello@carinewalsh.com and my team will make sure that I get your questions so we can get them answered on the show for you. Thank you so much for listening today, and I'll see you on the next episode.