Recovering from the Pandemic: Advice from #Eventprofs

Over the last 16 months, resiliency has become an emerging theme for the event community. And that’s due in large part to the amazing event and meeting planners, companies, agency owners, suppliers, and the rest of the industry coming together to share advice and offer stories of inspiration.

During this time, we’ve had the pleasure of hosting countless special guest webinars, with dozens of event industry expert speakers who have covered everything from business strategies and marketing to staying connected with clients and event tech trends and forecasts, and more.

Now, as the event industry prepares to return and recover from the pandemic, we’ve rounded up top tidbits our fantastic community of event professionals has shared with us – which apply both now and moving forward.

Take a Level-Headed Approach

Trip Wheeler, President of SB Value, said that while there’s no question about this time being rough, “worrying does not help more or our partners one bit.” So instead, he shifted his approach over the last year to focus on what was under his control. “I spent a lot of time talking to people about keeping a level head and finding something they can do that will bring them joy or satisfaction.”

Read the entire interview with Trip.

 

Appreciate the Ability to Get Together

Eddie Zaratsian of Eddie Zaratsian Lifestyle & Design explained that as the pandemic continued to evolve, there was a noticeable desire to gather around a table with the ones we love. “As industry professionals, we figured out a way to help our clients have their celebrations without compromising the health and safety of both them and their guests… [which is why] our industry is a beautiful place to be. We come together, help one another, and lift each other’s spirits during hard times.”

Learn more about Eddie’s appreciation for the event industry.

 

Remember the Benefits of Downtime

For many event industry pros and professionals, the year leading up to the pandemic had been record-breaking, including for Erica Trombetti of Infinite Events. “We are always on and helping others that we forget about us,” she said. “One of the positives coming out of the pandemic has been quality time with family, friends, and myself.”

She added, “deciding not to take on any more weddings for 2020 and focusing instead on 2021 clients and new bookings was a great decision for my business and myself personally.  By doing that, we were able to refresh our planning skills, check off our never-ending back of house checklist, learn our limits and recoup.”

Discover other lessons learned from Erica.

 

Re-Imagine and Re-Invent

In alignment with the resilient theme, Meghan Ely of OFD Consulting said over the last year, “I’ve had a front-row seat to truly inventive ideas, shifts in services, and complete overhauls of mindset, which inspired me every day.”

And while Meghan said it was bittersweet not to be on the road, it gave her time to “finally pursue those projects on the back burner, creating much-needed Wedding PR products.” 

Read other insights from Meghan.

 

Embrace Change

“I have been accused of having too positive of an outlook on life and our industry, but I have seen the best of us working together through all of this,” said Kate Patay. “Change is scary, but we don’t have a choice.”  

She added, “It’s great to see people opening their minds to new possibilities and solutions. We can’t grow if we live in an echo chamber, so seeing people embrace new ideas and approaches gives me hope for the future of the industry and humanity overall.”

Find more of Kate’s suggestions for how to embrace change.

 

Recalibrate Work/Life Balance

“Many in this industry know the extreme demands it requires in terms of time commitment,” said Adam Leffel of Adam Leffel Productions. “The drive to succeed and grow, achieve, and surpass has oftentimes come at the extreme expense of quality time with loved ones.”

Adam explained one valuable lesson learned during the pandemic has been about taking more control. “I have taken my life back and will use this experience to recalibrate my work/life balance for the benefit of all, a challenge for any business owner when you live to work, and you work to live.”

See more of Adam’s takeaways from the interview.

 

From interviews and webinars to case studies and tutorials, Allseated offers a robust resource library to help event professionals stay up-to-date with the latest insights for personal and professional success.