Candid Conversations by Catersource

Build a Rockstar Sales & Marketing Plan with Carley Gauthier and Barbara Bouman, LiveNation.com. Barbara and Carley talk about creating a “smarketing” plan that aligns your sales and marketing initiatives throughout your target customer journey. Successfully align your sales and marketing team planning.  Explore the customer journey and touchpoints for an innovative “smarketing” plan. Creative ideas to drive awareness, lead generation, and boost acquisitions.

Change The Way You Think of ROI with Yinka Freeman. TriplePocketEvents.com. Return on Intention. The best way to discover intention is by listening, asking a lot of questions, and engaging the 5 senses. After finding the intention, you then can reverse engineer any event to create a curated experience for each attendee.

How to Influence, Engage & Lead With Emotional Intelligence in the Modern World with Pawntra Shadab,eliteproductionsintl.com and Shannon Jones, destinationsouth.com. Emotional Intelligence is something that is often talked about, but how much do we pay attention to the impact our emotions have on others? How can you use brain-based strategies to manage emotions and leverage your relationships with stakeholders, vendors, suppliers, and staff? Pawntra and Shannon will share real-life examples of how managing your emotional intelligence can have both positive and negative effects on those around you.

Memorable Experiences Through Re-Imagined Catering with Stella Rankin. PinchFoodDesign.com. Learn how to expand the way you think about food presentation and sustainability, and take home some ideas that will surprise and delight your clients!

Honest Mistakes in Business with Nora Sheils. RockPaperCoin.com. To err is human — mistakes happen. For many entrepreneurs, the smallest slip-up can feel like a colossal failure. Yet, the reality is that everybody learns hard lessons from time to time — even those that seemingly have it all together. Nora shares her own business mistakes, how she learned from them, and why she believes failure isn't a bad thing.

How to Master Online Writing & Get More Sales with Liese Gardner. LieseGardner.com. First impressions today are created online -- in our social media, emails, websites and pitches. If you aren't paying attention to your words, you may not be connecting to your ideal clients. Learn how to wield the power of the pen to get the results you want in business.

So You Want to Write a Book with Pauline Parry. GoodGraciousEvents.com. Pauline shares how she wrote two books. How each book is its own journey. What she included in each book. And, she explains her writing and publishing process.

The Benefits of Being Number Two with Christina Matteucci. DavidBeahm.com. Christina shares how she became the Executive Director for David Beahm Design. How she learned to improve communication within the company and how they have survived and grown through the ups and downs of a successful event company.

So, You Want To Write A Book? with Jennie Cook. JennieCooks.com. Books are a natural segue for caterers who are already used to having to write out menus and proposal. How to structure the book around a theme, type of cooking style, a time in your career or place. How long does the process take? And of course, how to market the book once it's printed.

The Legalities of Feeding Everyone with Tracy Stuckrath. ThriveMeetings.com. Every good catering professional knows to plan around food allergies and other dietary restrictions. It's good business, but it is also the law. To whom do I owe a legal duty of care? Am I meeting it? What is the risk of failing to do so? Tracy talks about the benefits and opportunities that come with not only following the law but knowing how to feed guests with food allergies and other dietary needs.

How to Run an Engaging Weekly Sales Meeting with Margaret Brower. RainmakerSalesMarketing.com. Margaret shares an engaging sales meeting format & must-include criteria.In this hiring climate, research shows most employees are searching for companies who will encourage and foster their professional development.

Turning Your Data Into Action with Christie Osborne. MountainsideMedia.com. For many event pros, working with their numbers causes their eyes to glaze over. Christie simplifies the notion of data evaluation with uncomplicated, practicable tips for getting the most out of your numbers. She'll go beyond "vanity metrics" to reveal the key metrics that drive business growth, and how to apply them in a real, effective manner.

Rethink your staffing strategy with Cathy Hardin. InstaWork.com. Cathy shares practical ways to better manage new worker expectations, quickly and efficiently train new staff, and leverage technology to better match their business needs with skilled and reliable staff in order to combat ongoing staffing shortages.

reinventing yourself and Floral Trends and Solutions with Bron Hansboro. TheFlowerGuyBron.com. Bron discusses his own experiences with career pivots and business redirections, finding inspiration, balancing multiple brands, marketing a new business line. The current state of the floral industry and how he sees it evolving. He'll reveal the must-know floral trends influencing today's couples and how to meet those expectations while navigating the challenges presented by an unpredictable market.

Alicia Schiro, a world-renowned event producer featured in Forbes as a Solopreneur; The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business. Alicia answers questions about reinvention, event evolution, content marketing strategies, new business, and the way forward in the event industry.

Tech security 101 with Elizabeth Sheils. RockPaperCoin.com. Elizabeth explains the often-overlooked yet extremely vital steps to build a tech environment in your business that keeps out hackers, viruses, and other unwanted intrusions. She shares her favorite apps and tools along with key strategies to safeguard sensitive information in your business.

Time for a Tune-up: Staying competitive with strategic business updates with Jen Taylor. JenTaylorConsulting.com. It's essential for entrepreneurs to stay up-to-date on their business operations to ensure they are updating and adjusting their systems and processes to keep up with the times. Learn where to shine a light in their business, which updates are worth the investment, and how to determine whether a "tune-up" provides an ROI.

Control Your Costs! with Dean Mistretta. https://pizzicooysterbar.com/decadent-catering/. Food costs, beverage costs, vendor costs, payroll, inventory, and equipment management (just to name a few) can get out of control without you even knowing. It's all about the numbers. Numbers don't lie. Emotions do. 

Get published more and maximize event press with Meghan Ely. OFDconsulting.com. Strategically-placed media features position you front-and-center of your target audience and provide you with social proof to win over your leads. Meghan brings her award-winning PR chops to the conversation to shed light on the media pivot seen over the last five years and how to become an editor's favorite source.

Reinventing Yourself with Dana Kadwell. HustleandGather.com. Dana shares her own experiences with career pivots and business redirections, sharing valuable insights, balancing multiple brands, and making more money in the new wedding industry landscape.

"Guiding Your Couples Through the Wedding Roller Coaster' with Leah Weinberg. ColorPopEvents.com. Learn the tools to respond to any situation during the process of working a wedding, as well as how to help couples navigate the inevitable ups and downs of planning.

Social Media Abundance and the Entrepreneur Hero's Journey with Aleya Harris. FlourishMarketing.co. Social Media: How to Use the 7 Abundance Keys to Turn Followers into Dollars. The Entrepreneur Hero's Journey: What's stopping you from reaching your business' happily ever after?

The Myth of "Partial" Wedding Planning with Renee Dalo. ReneeDalo.com. Why "partial" should not exist in your marketing. How to reduce the amount of "no" in your client conversations. Why establishing a clear and firm business philosophy is critical. 

How to Update Your Pricing with Sebastien David and Sylvain Gregoire! Senik.ca. Coming out of the pandemic, does your business need a pricing overhaul? What method of pricing best fits your company? What options should you consider?

Infusing Your Business with CBD with Nettie Frank! Using a quality CBD is highly important. CBD is the healing part of the plant and not the “high”. We all have to make sure our body is physically, mentally and emotionally ready for the day. CBD does that. 

Designing Inclusive Events with Pawntra Shadab. eliteproductionsintl.com. As event professionals, we have the opportunity to design live and digital experiences for people to connect, learn, and be entertained. With that, we have the responsibility to consider the perspectives of all participants, designing events that are welcoming and inclusive to encourage full engagement for all.

How I Went From Budget Brides to Luxury Weddings with CeCe Todd. CeCeDesignsLLC.com. Everyone starts somewhere in this industry, but no one wants to service budget weddings forever. Discover how CeCe's Designs Owner and Principal Designer, CeCe Todd raised her prices, designed a luxury client experience from day one, and took her business from budget to luxury in just three years – and find out how you can do it too!

Mindful Leadership Communications to Support a Sustainable, Diverse & Inclusive Environment with Shakira Brown. ShakiraBrown.com. Shakira discusses how differences in ethnicity and culture – including gender and generation – are manifested in your everyday communication with colleagues and other stakeholders.

Testing the Success of a New Revenue Stream with Michelle Loretta. BeSageConsulting.com. Adding revenue streams can be a powerful move for event professionals. Expanding services and diversifying risk are ways to ensure longevity in an increasingly competitive market. Michelle tackles the complex questions that arise in this transition, as well as how the different methods of scaling your new revenue stream can impact your business financially and operationally.

Labor of Love: What No One Tells You About Starting and Maintaining a Venue with Dixie Bagley. TheFarmRomeGA.com. Opening the doors to a new venue is a rewarding experience, but one that takes a fair amount of careful planning and research. Dixie shares the stories of how she found and developed a 300-acre successful event venue.

You Can Safely Serve Everyone Without Breaking the Bank! with Lisa Cox, GemCityFineFoods.com. The number of people known to have celiac disease or food allergies is increasing, for a number of reasons, and this affects the caterer who previously received few requests for special diet accommodations and now is faced with more frequent requests in increasing numbers- but accommodation can be pricey. Learn what goes on behind the scenes in a dedicated gluten- and nut-free commercial bakery making and packaging certified gluten-free- and Top 8-free vegan- desserts to ensure food safety.

The Balance of Market Growth and Brand Consistency with Nora Sheils, RockPaperCoin.com. There comes a time when a business needs to grow to avoid stagnation in the market. However, the expansion comes with risking your brand's consistency — the larger your operation, the less control you have over every little detail. How ambitious event pros can scale their business without compromising the integrity of their brand.

CATER-AURANT: COVID Made Me Do It! with Chef Winston Williams, CateringCC.com. As caterers, we require social gatherings to be successful; however, the pandemic crushed our industry, leaving us to reinvent ourselves. Using the resources all caterers have access to, such as a tasting room, commercial kitchen, china, flatware, glassware, and refrigeration, a catered event can still occur on a smaller intimate scale. This niche allowed relationships with vendors to be maintained and kept staff employed.

Off-boarding Events with Renee Dalo. MoxieBrightEvents.com. We know what onboarding is but Renee shares the value of having a system of communication with clients and event professionals after the event!

Defining Luxury on Your Own Terms with Bron Hansboro. TheFlowerGuyBron.com. The term 'luxury' itself has grown to be commonly overused in the event industry – to the point where it's essentially lost its meaning. For those of us that define our business and brand as being high-touch, this hurts the identity that once made us stand out in the sea of industry professionals. In this in-depth look, Bron will provide ways that you can reclaim luxury and make it unique again as it pertains to your business.

"If You Confuse, You Lose" Make Service Experiential! with Bill Hansen, BillHansenCatering.com. Clarify what is important to clients and guests --- Food, Service, or Both? Find Out! Differentiate your service brand. Every event tells a story. Grab innovative training tips to go from lackluster events to unforgettable, awesome WOWs. Take away new ideas in service branding and culture.

Building Trust and consistency Through Social Media with Aleya Harris. FlourishMarketing.co. Social media has become a key platform for businesses to connect with customers and engage with their markets. It's essential for businesses to build trust with their followers if they want to bring those relationships offline and convert them into sales. Aleya highlights key messages that will earn attention, trust, and, ultimately, revenue.

Helpers v. Hustlers with Karen Gordon, Pro.GoodShuffle.com. Long gone are the days of sleazy salespeople using gimmicks and trickery to make a deal. In these troubling times, in particular, the best sales come from being a helpful partner and consultant whose main mission is to provide a client with real value.

No Blog, No Worries: How to earn qualified web traffic without a blog with Christie Osborne, MountainSideMedia.com. Many event professionals are already busy without adding weekly 500-word blog posts to the mix. Christie explores alternative methods for driving web traffic and how to capitalize on the space you do have online. Plus, how you can make advertising a part of your marketing efforts without taking too much of your schedule.

Selling Events Post COVID with Meryl Snow, MerylSnow.com. The pandemic has amplified challenges, exposing weaknesses in our existing sales models. Selling will no longer be about touting accolades and awards. What does this mean for the future of selling?

Risk Management How-To with Holly Verbeck, MakeYourBusinessCook.com. When things go wrong companies lack a solid understanding of basic risk management principles and suffer greatly inflated costs as a result of their ill-planned responses to workers' injuries, customer complaints, and claims, property damage, etc. In this interview, Holly outlines the essential elements of risk management.

How to Create a Sense of Inclusion! Dima Ghawi, DimaGhawi.com, shares information she has gleaned from hundreds of interviews and workplace surveys to teach leaders and business professionals how to create a welcoming and inclusive workforce. Dima highlights the insight of a bottom-up approach, the influence of courageous office culture, and the power of affinity groups.

Hire and Keep Resilient Employees to Navigate Change with Dr. Deborah Gilboa. AskDrG.com. Communication struggles in every department are the biggest obstacles to serving customers and each other, as they cause lost time, lost knowledge, and mounting frustration in the very people we need most to engage. Dr. G focuses on prevention, response, and reconciliation tools to build resilience in each member of your team. Dr. G outlines the strategies you can use to develop each of your employees.

Margaux Fraise. HarmonyCreativeStudio.com. Inspirational shoots can be a handy marketing strategy, but they can also take a lot of effort to conceptualize, plan, coordinate, and execute from start to finish. With all the work that goes into a styled shoot, it's essential that it lives on beyond your website, social media presence, and potential feature. Margaux takes listeners through her streamlined styled shoot process.

Barbara Khozam. BarbaraKhozam.com. "How to Deal With Difficult People In Difficult Situations". Don't let unmanaged conflict affect your relationships, waste your time, and/or create stress. While conflicts, disagreements and emotions are normal, problems can occur when they go unmanaged. This interview will help you take complex solutions and boil them down to simple, measurable actions.

Meghan Ely, OFDConsulting.com. 2021 Global Wedding Trends. Each year, a collective of the top wedding professionals globally share their insight into what's going to be big in the coming year—from food, beverage, and decor to destinations, florals, and colors. In this interview, Meghan Ely will discuss the preparation for the 2021 Global Wedding Trend Report.

Clint Elkins, VP of Sales, WeGrowValue.com. Now more than ever, the ability to run lean to increase profits has never been more vital. The question is- how can you do so without sacrificing the quality of product and service? In this conversation, Clint Elkins will share his expertise on digging deep to find the same-quality alternatives that will yield additional savings, making your catering company more profitable in the long run.

Holly Powers-Verbeck. COVID-19 Best Practices for Independent Chefs & Their Clients. makeyourbusinesscook.com/blog. How professionals working in residential kitchens can elevate their professionalism and their clients’ trust.

Silver linings to the pandemic cloud. Jennifer Perna and Francisco Christian. FultonMarketConsulting.com. TayloredHospitalitySolutions.com. How to re-imagine your company. How to prepare for the new future. What resources do you have right now that could be re-purposed?

What is the best use of your time during the pandemic? Alan Berg. AlanBerg.com. “Shut Up and Sell More Weddings & Events – Caterers & Venues edition”. How Alan has raised more than $1200 for charities via playing piano requests on Facebook!

Lowell Michelson. SimchaKosher.com. What are the questions the event industry should be asking? Is it better to not ask for a deposit during the pandemic? Why are there not catering representatives at the POTUS business round table?