The Signature CEO Conference 2020…Virtual Experience Day 3 – Impact!

Leave a comment October 9, 2020 Signature Concepts LLC

DAY THREE: IMPACT: A powerful, positive and purpose-driven influence that makes a contribution towards a better future

Rested, and ready from Monday and Tuesday, our creative community tuned into day 3 anticipating more action items to enhance their personal and professional lives.

They were encouraged by emcee, Marilyn Patterson, to “Stop and Woosah”. In other words, take it all in, review notes and consider: “What steps am I going to immediately put into place?”

She emphasized identifying small changes that will make a greater impact over time.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM DAY THREE SPEAKERS::

Speaker, Michelle Gainey, Founder of Lemiga Events

Topic: “Having a Red Carpet Brand… Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous”

⇨Key Takeaway: “When Oprah calls you don’t want to have to get ready. Be ready.”

Michelle’s overarching theme was to always be intentional about the projects you accept. Whatever your journey is, it doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s. What’s important is that you stay true to the life you want to build. Your business should be a reflection of that. It should fit your lifestyle.

Identifying the best practices within your industry
Do the Work. There are no shortcuts in building your reputation
Have the right strategic partners
Have a unique vision. Think beyond your industry
Build your tribe
Establish trust

The agenda switched gears midday from single speaker to a Peer Panel Discussion format to further engage.

This year’s peer panel was comprised of heavy-hitters: Shaune’ Hayes of Red Carpet Ready Makeup by Shaune’ Hayes + Jennifer Domenick of Love Life Images + Benjamin Davis Yamean Studios.

Panelists covered key areas of business, such as: systems, marketing, vendor partnerships, customer relationships, personal well-being and entrepreneurship.

⇨ Key Takeaways: There were many golden nuggets of wisdom shared, but here are a few standouts:

Our identity is established by our habits
Love what you do.
Adapt to change.
Be a strong business leader/owner, understand what clients want, manage your money, and build a great team
Be brilliant. Be Brief and Be Gone
A business cannot survive if the CEO can’t thrive

During the midday break, Perfekt Blend Band had us floating on a natural high. The end of the day was drawing near, and their performance of “Before I Let Go” by Maze was a bittersweet sign that we would have to soon part ways again until 2021.

Speaker, Ticora Davis, ESQ of The Creator’s Law Firm

Topic: “Protecting Your Smarts…Business Legality Misconceptions”

⇨Key Takeaway: “The law is a sword and a shield, and if it is used correctly it can protect your business, clients and team.”

Ticora empowered our creative community by setting them on a path toward understanding how to secure their rights; especially protecting our brand: names, logos, designs or phrases. Ticora delved into:

The power and purpose of specific business entities
The essentials to include in a contract
Trustworthy places to receive trademark legal guidance

Speaker, Monica Barnett, Founder of Blueprint for Style

Topic: “Paid Marketing vs. Brand Evangelism”

⇨Key Takeaway: “Marketing is all about doing great business and building lasting connections and relationships.”

Monica clarified the differences between two of the oldest and most widely used forms of marketing: Paid Marketing and Word of Mouth; both with the end goal to increase brand awareness, visibility and awareness.

It’s not and either/or strategy. You need both. The key is to use them in the right proportions:

70% Brand Evangelism (Free walking advertisement; an ambassador that eagerly spreads the word about you without payment or being prompted)
30% Paid Marketing

Think through the pieces that define what your brand is about. What is going to differentiate your product or service?

Speaker, Natarsha Wright of Natarsha Wright Photography

Topic: “Brand Clarity for Creative Professionals”

⇨Key Takeaway: “Your mission and vision will drive everything you do in your business. Develop an authentic brand voice to master personal branding like a boss”

Natarsha warned us, “Don’t do another thing to your visual brand until you’ve built the foundational elements of your business.” First clarify:

Brand Purpose
Mission
Vision
Values
Voice

Natarsha was very transparent in showing the growth and development of her own brand identity over the years, and how she overcame old ways of thinking that her brand was “all about her” – as opposed to her new mindset, “Your brand is not about you. It is about who you serve and how.”

Speaker, Teshorn Jackson of Teshorn Jackson Photography- “Crush the Competition…Get Found Online (SEO)”

⇨Key Takeaway: “SEO is like playing sports, you can’t score a basket if you’re not in the game.”

We’re all looking for ways to level up by elevating our online presence. Teshorn shared many technical insights on how we can use SEO to better position our brands online. These are a few things to take into consideration if you’re rebranding or building a website:

Identify Your SEO Objectives
Claim your business listing
Identify Keywords you want to rank for
Use long tail keywords
Write Blogs

With his techniques, we will be able to go from not showing up on google to hopefully showing up on the first two pages.

At the conclusion of Day Three, attendees were brought on screen to share overall impressions of the mind-expanding, virtual event. An attendee remarked that having the lineup of topics top of mind, was value added – and appreciated being shown by peers how they activated various tools, techniques and strategies within their brand strategies.

Accolades were plentiful! No matter if an attendee was a seasoned business owner with 7+ years of experience or an emerging entrepreneur, more new to the game, we were all enriched by the robust wisdom imparted. We “walked away” inspired to use our lives as conduits to make an even greater IMPACT!

We bid one another a fond farewell – resonating with innovative ideas to refine our businesses for the remainder of 2020, and beyond.

DJ Derron of Washington Talent Agency sent final farewells, through a fantastic musical playlist.

Special Recognition and Acknowledgements for our Virtual Experience:

Emcees: Marilyn Patterson of Joyous Events, DJ Derron of Washington Talent Agency
Longevity Award Recipients: Michael Haymaker, Marilyn Patterson
Financial Sponsor Award Recipients: Leora Willis, Shelby Tuck-Horton
Sponsor Longevity & In Kind Sponsor Award: Edge Floral Event Designers
Photographer Honoree: Dajuan Jones of In His Image Photography
Spirit Award Honoree: Lorri Lewis
Believer Award: Addie Akhionbare @BCGEvents
Meal Sponsors: Caribbean Caterers provided lunch to the team during the 3 day event, Tasteful Affairs provided dinner
Pre-Conference Promotional Videos: Chip Dizard
Post Conference Video Recaps: Capital Films DC
Draping/Podium: Fabrication Events
Balloon Backdrop: Aniela Rose
Mission Possible “Special Force Team”: Jazmine Peaters, Michelle Williams, Takisha Edwards, Christina Galloway, Mimi Miller

I would be remiss if I did not thank all of #TSCEO2020 sponsors. attendees and speakers. I am especially grateful that all of you rode this wave with me as we bravely traversed the unprecedented Coronavirus.

Every single year, I hand select each speaker, and intuitively, I know they will knock it out of the park. After witnessing this year’s presentations and absorbing the knowledge that was shared – the speakers did not disappoint! I thank each speaker from the bottom of my heart.

As a creative community, we are at the end of the 2020 virtual conference experience, but also at a new beginning to re-energize our entrepreneurial business journeys.

It is my hope that you felt that I saw each and every one of you. This platform was specifically created and curated especially for you – for every level that requires a different you. Take time to rest and digest. Then, continue to set audacious goals. Change mindsets. Build relationships.

Dare yourself to be bold each and every day.

It was a remarkable 3-days. We will continue to rise, and reconvene, fully renewed, in 2021!

Guest Blogger • Markel Insurance • How to Cultivate Vendor Relationships

Leave a comment August 29, 2017 Signature Concepts LLC

In the event planning business, you will be working with a variety of vendors. It is important to have good working relationships so you can be successful. Here are some tips to help you establish these essential relationships.

5 tips to better vendor relationships

Expect to pay fair market value

Yes you want to give your clients a deal, but not at the expense of another vendor losing out. It is important to understand pricing in the event industry, so that you can negotiate fair pricing for both your client and the vendor you are partnering with. Do not expect special deals beyond what is reasonable. The vendor will be much easier to work with if you see their side of the business too.

Refer other business to them

You already have your finger on the pulse of the event industry and most likely know other local event planners. If you like working with a particular vendor, reach out to your other industry contacts and recommend your preferred vendor to them. The vendor will appreciate the business and may give you better discounts in the future. They may also return the favor.

Write glowing reviews

In addition to personally referring business to great vendors, take the time to write a favorable review for them on popular sites like Google and Yelp. This will make you appear more favorable in their eyes and they may in turn write a review for you too.

Respect their opinion

You know a lot about event planning and have many opinions on vendors and their services. It’s important to let other vendors in the industry have a voice too. They are in their respective businesses because they have an expertise. When you are open to their views and vision for their part of the event, you will cultivate a great working relationship. This doesn’t mean giving in to ideas that won’t work for your client, but there might be some value in their thoughts that you hadn’t considered.

Give thanks and praise

You both have jobs to do, but it’s always nice to be thanked for services even if the service is expected. A “thank you” can go a long way, especially when it comes to establishing mutual respect and trust. In addition, it’s a nice gesture to praise a vendor for an excellent job in front of your client or potential clients. This could lead to more business for them.

We hope these tips help you foster great relationships with vendors. When you cultivate relationships, you also start sharing best practices. Consider informing them about event insurance. They will thank you.

Markel offers event liability insurance to hosts and honorees, protecting from incidents such as property damage to the venue or injury to a guest. Up to $2 million in event liability insurance can be purchased by your client from Markel any time at least 1 day before the event. Policies start as low as $75.

By offering Markel Event Insurance, it will not only protect your clients, but it can also protect you by potentially decreasing your own business liability risk for accidents due to negligence of the event host or honoree. Markel Event Insurance is an easy and affordable solution for your clients – a free quote takes only a few minutes online or on the phone – turning you into a one-stop-shop for your clients.

Have a website? You can receive a $25 gift card simply by placing a Markel Event Insurance link on your website. Email maicmarketing@markelcorp.com to learn more!

If you don’t have a website, Markel can also provide you with brochures to help raise your clients’ awareness of the benefits of event liability insurance.

To learn more, please visit http://www.markeleventinsurance.com/wedding-and-event-professionals or call 1-855-480-9757.

Writer, Lauren Hernandez, Markel Insurance

Guest Blogger, Markel Insurance…”Free Wedding Directories to List Your Venue”

Leave a comment March 30, 2017 Signature Concepts LLC

(One of our 2017 Sponsors, Markel Insurance, is on the blog this week! )

Listing your venue on free online wedding directories will help you reach more brides and grooms.. To help get you started, we’ve listed some website directories where brides can easily find you.

Directories to list your wedding venue

ReceptionHalls.com
This online directory is a perfect place to list your venue. It’s free with no trials or upgrade packages. Customers can find you by searching on location, capacity, amenities and budget.

WeddingVibe.com
Get your business in front of more brides by listing your venue for free on Wedding Vibe. There are additional packages you can purchase to gain more exposure.

WeddingVenueLove.com
Another great website to list your business for free with a basic profile. You can also upgrade to a paid profile that supports more portfolio images and more promotion opportunities.

theWeddingDirectory.us
This directory lists more than 700,000 wedding vendors. Create a free listing with the option of upgrading.

BridalTweet.com
Join in discussions with real brides. Set up a profile and you can start interacting by updating your status, creating a headline and sharing a blog.

Eventective.com
This website is a comprehensive resource for event planning. It lists more than 300,000 venues and services for weddings. This is also a free directory with the option to pay additional fees to participate in certain Programs the website offers.

TheVeil.co
This website offers free listings for high-end wedding vendors who cater to upscale brides-to-be.

Additional websites that offer free listings:

We hope these free online directories help you attract more brides and grooms to your venue. After you gain your clients, make sure your clients are protected with wedding insurance.

Markel offers wedding liability insurance, protecting the host and honoree from incidents such as property damage to the venue or injury to a guest. Up to $2 million in wedding liability insurance can be purchased from Markel any time at least 1 day before the event and covers the ceremony and reception, rehearsal and setup/takedown. Policies start as low as $75.

By offering Markel Event Insurance, it will not only protect your clients, but it can also protect you by potentially decreasing your own business liability risk for accidents due to negligence of the event host or honoree. Markel Event Insurance is an easy and affordable solution for your clients – a free quote takes only a few minutes online or on the phone – turning you into a one-stop-shop for your clients.

Markel can provide you with free client materials to help raise your clients’ awareness of the benefits of event liability insurance.

To learn more, please visit http://www.markeleventinsurance.com/wedding-and-event-professionals or call 1-855-422-5944.

2016 Highlights | Day Two | The Signature C.E.O. Conference 2016

Leave a comment November 18, 2016 Signature Concepts LLC

DAY TWO:

After a very energized and fruitful day of knowledge from day one of The Signature CEO Conference, the attendees were ignited to continue on with day two to engage with their colleagues to learn more of the behind the scenes business acumen to make them stronger leaders and business owners.

THE SPEAKERS:

To get the crowd motivated early in the morning, industry mogul, Maya Warburton Holihan of House of Maya boutiques, led the crowd with a dance move to the song of Justin Timberlake’s, “Can’t Stop the Feeling.” After a few moments of everyone grooving to the beat, Maya, settled everyone down and led them on the journey of the challenges of an entrepreneur with her lecture on, “Leading Through Crisis, Change, and Growth.” We journeyed through every type of scenario from personnel to environmental to political to social. After an analysis of each of these types of crisis, Maya coached the attendees on how to manage crisis identifying successful leadership characterstics, and how to lead with integrity.

Our Featured Keynote Speakers, Ginger Johnson & Liz Pickett of Ginger+Liz Colour Collection, addressed the group on How to Build a Product or Service that your Target Audience will Love! This dynamic duo is not only fierce in the beauty industry but leaders across the board for entrepreneurs. Ginger and Liz focused on profitability, benefits your brand offers, need vs demand, and so much more. Their lecture embodied the cycle of product or service development to inspire your customers to work with you.

Legal eagle, Stephen Marshall of Franklin & Prokopik, PC, had everyone mesmerized with the language of contract law discerning Contractor vs. Employee!!! Talk about engagement, the attendees were hanging on to his every word and taking note. Attendees were informed about the proactive steps to protect their business from contractors and employees, the unique difference between contractor and employee, and the risks for their business based on the actions of independent contractors and employees.

“How To Become a Person of Influence with your Industry” was coached by Marilyn Crouther, Senior Vice President and General Manager, of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services U.S. Public Sector. An Executive with endless accolades and years of experience in leadership, was the right person to lead a lecture on this subject (if you saw her resume, you’d understand why). Marilyn outlined and perfectly narrated the power and vision of action, merging passion and authenticity, and understanding the importance of one’s influence. Attendees left inspired and fully committed to become not only better business owners but business leaders.

After lunch, attendees were had the opportunity to learn about SEO, the evolution of the website and what it means to establish a digital brand, and new insight of having a web presence. This was all under the direction of Myrna P. Daramy, CEO of Mezzohead and NewlyBride. Attendees walked away with an empowerment of knowing that they were equipped with the tools to make better decisions for the growth of their business online.

Being prepared to master your dreams through finding your purpose was the platform of Dr. Antwain Goode’s lecture on day two. Dr. Goode, founder of Tate Consulting, led the group down the path of personal development by redefining your purpose, positioning, attracting mentors, knowing your true north, reflection and how to take the next step of action. Another inspiring lecture to take your business to the next level.

To complete our two days of valuable knowledge and growth, Chef Dana Eugene Herbert, of Desserts by Dana, took the stage to lead with our final lesson of business intelligence, “6 Things Every Business Owner Must Have in Place”. Dana circled the spectrum from personal appearance, to friends in business, to developing a strong team, to developing definitive company goals, to having a checks and balance system, and more.

summary:

The Signature C.E.O Conference is an educational platform to empower wedding and event professionals to be the best of the best in their professions. The foundation is built upon solid business intelligence to stimulate and strengthen the mindset of leadership and entrepreneurship, and to build the character of one’s intelligence to dominate in their field and build and bridge their network of professionals to thrive in this diverse industry. The core competencies focus on:

Branding & Marketing
Business Financial Planning
Business Technology
Legal & Contracts
Business Best Practices
Productivity & Business Management
Business Innovations
Small Business Entrepreneurship

We enjoyed connecting with new and old friends, and most importantly valued the time and education that was conveyed by each of our speakers. Thank you to our dynamic Speakers and our supportive cast of Sponsors that helped to make The Signature CEO Conference 2016 a SUCCESS!!!!

OUR SPONSORS:

Special thanks to all of our collaborative Sponsors that helped to make the the conference a success:

Photography Credit: Memories of Bliss Photography

Conference Founder & Producer: Tara Melvin of Perfect Planning Events

THE ATTENDEES IN ACTION:

Speaker, Maya Warburton Holihan, Owner of House of Maya bridal boutiques

The attendees dancing to a little Justin Timberlake!

The attendees in a dance off!

Speaker, Ginger Johnson of Ginger+Liz Colour Collection

Speaker, Liz Picket of Ginger+Liz Colour Colleciton

Break Sponsor, Sugar Shack Donuts

Break Sponsor, Sugar Shack Donuts

Sponsor, Gillian DeSouza of Caribbean Caterers

Speaker, Stephen Marshall of Franklin & Prokopik, P.C.

We love our Speakers!

We’re dancing again…Speaker, Tiffany Chalk, has moves!

Sponsor, Flufness, opened up the kid in everyone serving their delicious cotton candy!

Sponsor, Flufness, opened up the kid in everyone serving their delicious cotton candy!

Speaker gifts courtesy of our Sponsor, Papered Wonders.

Speaker gifts courtesy of our Sponsor, Papered Wonders.

Speaker, Dr. Antwain Goode of Tate Consulting.

Loving our Speakers!

Sponsor, DC Sweet Potato Cake had us all licking our fingers!

Giving love to our speaker, Chef Dana Eugene Herbert.

Speakers, Ginger Johnson (left) and Liz Pickett (right) of Ginger+Liz Colour Collection.

Speaker, Marilyn Crouther, Senior Vice President of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services US Public Sector.

Julie Moran accepting on behalf of Speaker, Maya Warburton Holihan.

Speaker, Myrna P. Daramy of Mezzohead and NewlyBride.

Speaker, Dr. Antwain Goode of Tate Consulting.

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2016 Highlights | The Signature C.E.O. Conference | Day One

5 Comments November 14, 2016 Signature Concepts LLC

DAY ONE:

The Signature C.E.O. Conference this year was held on the beautiful grounds of The University of Maryland campus at The Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center on October 31st and November 1st of this year. The stage was set to bring together event professionals near and far of diverse professions with one goal in mind – to enhance their business acumen and to excel at business leadership.

THE SPEAKERS:

On Day One, the energy level was high! Event Pros arrived totally engaged to learn new business techniques and to network with new and old friends. Speaker, Jocelyn Delk Adams, award winning author and food blogger of Grandbaby Cakes, led the morning with an impactful lecture on key objectives such as following your curiosity to find purpose, developing growth and engagement, diversifying your reach and much more. Her vibrant personality and wealth of knowledge definitely set the tone for the start of the conference.

Our second speaker, Myleik Teele, not only is a social media expert but she is a successful business owner, strategist, and innovator. She is the founder of curlBOX, an exclusive monthly subscription box full of amazing products for the stylish entrepreneur. Her lecture engaged the audience on “Taking your business to the next level with Social Media”. She gave an indepth conversation on the explanation of the different social media platforms, how to drive lead generation, increase traffic to your website, incorporating brand personality and voice, embracing the visual, and much more. Attendees were ready to take on social media at the end of her talk.

Speaker, Funlayo Alabi, (Co-Founder & CEO of Shea Radiance) addressed the audience on “How to Dare to be Different.” One of her most stimulating points during her lecture stated, “The only asset that you have that is truly unique and cannot be duplicated or reverse engineered is you”. Taking that one phrase and having it as a your mantra for anything you will help you to succeed and not worry about the competition. You are your greatest asset.

Right before lunch, Dominique Broadway, guided the attendees on a step by step plan to set and reach revenue goals. Dominique, is an award-winning Financial Planner, Personal Finance Coach, Speaker, Finance Expert, Entrepreneur and the Founder of Finances De•mys•ti•fied & The Social Money Tour. Dominique stressed the fact that life is unpredictable and it is important to prepare, especially as an entrepreneur. From budgeting with inconsistent income to creating a retirement plan to the best ways to separate business and personal finances; she covered an array of financial key initiatives for smart business owners to stay on track and to prepare for financial success.

The day continued with more of our dynamic speakers. Tiffany Chalk of Tiffany Chalk Events touched on that very important question that we all have circling in our minds every day – are we pricing correctly and are we pricing based on our value. Tiffany dove straight in…optimizing the pricing strategy, charging your worth – pricing to win, pricing to perform. After her engaging talk, everyone was able to define strategies to identify their ideal client, how to value their time, and how to sell their service and not their price.

AllSeated Co-Founder, Sandy Hammer, addressed having an effective technology tool kit. She identified business apps that will help business leaders to be more efficient managing their business and also save money. She stressed that technology is our friend and that without it a business will not survive. Don’t be behind the technology curve, be in front of it.

Meryl Snow of Meryl Snow Consultants definitely had the crowds attention with her infectious personality and a topic that everyone wants to perfect in their business – prospecting and closing deals! Meryl stressed 5 easy rules to follow when closing the sale – treat closing as a process, set appropriate closing objectives, let close emerge from conversation, wait for the right moment, and celebrate your success. When you are in front of your clients, always close for the sale.

To round out the end of day one, Brian Wendroff, led a discussion on the benefits of having an accounting system to manage and grow your business. Brian is the founder of the accounting firm, Wendroff & Associates and is a certified professional QuickBooks instructor. From keeping track of revenue expenses to monitoring cash flow and budgeting, to tax preparation and planning. A wealth of financial information to keep wedding pros on track and having the ability to manage their finances with an effective accounting platform.

THE WELCOME PARTY

To round out the evening, we had a wonderful celebration hosting all of the attendees, speakers, and sponsors. The evening cuisine was catered by Caribbean Caterers, dessert provided by Couture Cakes by Sabrina, floral decor by Edge Floral Event Designers, chair and tableware by Select Event Group, linens by CV Linens, and live entertainment by Tony Craddock Jr. and Cold Front Music.