Fran Parkinson’s Post

CELEBRATION TIME, COME ON! The end of the year provides a natural milestone to reflect on the recent past, recognise and celebrate, which are very important activities in business.   It’s a great time to recognise and thank those who have helped you during the year to achieve your goals, These include staff, colleagues, suppliers and business associations. I try to do this in writing, usually by email, as it indicates effort, and thoughtfulness and there is a permanent record of your acknowledgement. A succinct, focused and authentic thank-you message can strengthen relationships, and make you feel good too.   It’s also a good time to look back over the year, reflect on your achievements and ask yourself some key questions, such as:   What important outcomes did I achieve during the year and congratulate yourself!   What wasn’t achieved and what were the most likely reasons? There may have been factors out of your control, so don’t beat yourself up over this.   How am I feeling at this time, mentally, physically, and emotionally?  Am I ok, or do I need to make some changes?   And finally, it's time to celebrate! If your business has staff or contractors, put on a celebration and use the opportunity to thank them all for their efforts. Attend all the business events for which you are invited.  It’s a great opportunity to network in a more relaxed environment.  However, I suggest keeping the business chat to a minimum, as it’s a celebration time after all.   The pic of me is practising what I preach and having a larger at the Henderson Alliance end-of-year function held at the Rhein-Donau Club. It was a great night of recognition and celebration. I congratulate the Alliance Board for their great leadership within the local defence industry. And to keep things going, I will be attending the MCCC Melville Cockburn Chamber of Commerce celebration event tonight!   John Tedesco mobile 0402 843 314 or [email protected]

8months of planning and there were so many questions from Day1 planning to Day1 of the actual event. - Will people really like this location? - How will we make 100 C-suites travel to a remote location for a conference from all parts of India, because extensive travel was required. - After reaching how do we create experience? - How do we ensure every single person joining the event right from sponsors to delegates achieve what they are expecting relevant content, insights, networking, business opportunities, making friends? - The location is very beautiful how do we make them witness the culture of the state also make sure we cover all the important topics of discussion in the conference? - No alchol, No non vegetarian food served for 3 days in Rann of Kutch? Will people really appreciate that? - Overall how can we put a best show together? With all these hurdles, do you want to know how it turned out? I have all the feedback’s captured here on this carousel post by all the delegates and our sponsors! Do take a moment to read :) The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Jigar Soni Reema Soni Yohan Nunes Veena Rathi Raisa Vaz Dimple G. Simran Shiwalkar Yasmeen Shaikh Manali Panchal Batul Merchant trupti prabhulkar Himanshu Shikhare @rupesh

Real-world challenges require real-world solutions. Global queueing is a proven tool against black marketing.

I am halfway up my ladder and will continue to reflect on the insights and learnings I took with me from the recent The Business Leaders' Family Event hosted by Graham Pugh. 🪜 The French House - niche 🥐 🔸 Are you being true to yourself?  🔸 Have you identified your niche?  🔸 Do people know what your brand stands for? At first, I thought this was a straightforward question with a straightforward answer. I’ve previously said that my niche is nice people, and I stand by that. I want to work with lovely people who love their brands. But am I being completely true to myself? Am I operating in a way that I feel 100% confident in, or have I been shaped by environment and insecurities? Yes. I have. So this is something I need to keep working on. Bar Italia - enduring brand 🌺 🔸 How much is your brand about you personally - your background and culture?  🔸 Can you sum up your personal values and how these are reflected in your business? My biggest takeaway from this location is that I really need to go at some point! 4am was the best time wasn’t it Jon? But I also think that I do carry a lot of my history and my Swedishness into my brand. Even though I haven’t lived in Sweden for over 10 years, I still feel very connected to the culture and the little traits we carry. Maybe I need to lean into it more? Not sure how that’ll work though as I often claim I was kicked out for not being Swedish enough. Govinda’s - Zigging not zagging ⚡️ 🔸 Does your brand stand for something?  🔸 What are your principles?  🔸 Is there anything you won’t do? This is a very interesting question and I have mixed feelings about it all. Not too long ago, I met with Kiran Gill on LunchClub and somehow we started discussing Donald Trump. He had said something outrageous of course, and I felt sorry for his PR people. Kiran asked me what price I’d have to be offered to work for him, that b*llend  who is once again running for presidency. I said that such a price doesn’t exist. If the football world with all its questionable actions and unethical ways came knocking however… I don’t think I’d feel as strong. There’s definitely things I wouldn’t do, but I wouldn’t be honest if I said there’s things I enjoy being a part of that aren’t that great. The Marquis of Granby - Personal Branding 🧡 🔸 Will you be remembered? One of my favourite stops! This pub, and many, many others in London and Britain, was named after John Manners, Marquess of Granby, 1721 - 1770. He was a British Army officer who gave his soldiers fundings to set up their own pubs as they left his regiment - as long as they named the establishment after him. It is said that he has more pubs named after him than any other person, and has created a brand that will last forever. I don’t think that my name will be remembered forever, but I am hoping that anyone who has worked with me remembers having a good time and the feeling of excitement. And, if it helps, I can pour a mean pint. 🍺🧡

This deserves to be said in caps: YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO! Here’s the shift that took me from choosing one to always choosing all. "You can’t have your cake and eat it too!" He shouted at me. But why not…I wondered? Asking that question to myself was one of the best things I have done for myself.  Now, every time I have a choice, I always try to figure out a way to DO BOTH! How can I have both? Is there a way to choose all of the above? Now, when you’re IN IT, this can be hard to do, or even see that you have a choice. At the Empresaria Brunch Experience- we draw out these business problems and we analyze it using our collective brain power and powers of feminine empathy to solve the problem from a very unique lens. We help you figure out how you can have your cake and eat it too! We have TWO opportunities for you to join our movement of wanting our cake and eating it too:  MAY 7TH - Our FREE Networking Done Right calls that happen each month and it’s simply a fresher, newer, more efficient way to do business networking.  JULY 6TH - Our next Empresaria Brunch Experience taking place in Nashville, TN. I’m so obsessed with our venue 1 Hotel in Nashville  - which embodies so many of the brand’s values including #sustainability Reserve your seat and apply for a seat at the table now using the link in our bio Think Like A Woman. #thinklikeawoman #empresariamindset #networkingdoneright #haveyourcakeandeatittoo

I am thrilled to share that I will be speaking at The National Society of Black Wedding & Event Professionals (NSBWEP)’s Annual Signature Event, INDUSTRY ROUNDUP: THE INSIDE SCOOP ON THE EVENTS & WEDDING INDUSTRY on November 20th. Enjoy a three course seated dinner, networking and a panel discussion with a one of my favorites partners in design, Brittany McAlpin Sharp of The Sharp Standard, along with Irene Tyndale of Irene Tyndale Wedding & Events and Cherise Richards of Cherise Richards Photography. Expect an evening filled with transparent and blunt discussions covering everything from weddings to social and corporate events. No topic is off-limits as we dive into: Current Industry Trends: Discover the latest consumer buying habits and innovative event ideas. Entrepreneurial Insights: Learn about the nuances and challenges of running your own business. Event Day Bloopers: Hear hilarious and enlightening stories of what can go wrong and how to handle it. What’s Working and What’s Not: Get the inside scoop on strategies that are making waves and those that are falling flat. Registration link is the comments.

A trade show? Love or hate? Ever since November 2006, when I spent some fun (& exhausting) days alongside Anne Duklaet, Anne Golden MI FIH, Richard Bantock (dream team 😀) and other hotel legends at World Travel Market (WTM) London, I have loved a trade show. They’re exhausting but I find them weirdly energising despite the hideous strip lighting. Last week I went to my first trade show in a while - the CIPD trade show at Excel. And I loved it! But I realise that for many they are draining. Of course, I cannot spend all my time at shows and now I spend a lot more time working alone I need to find other ways to re-energise. I am a big supporter of keeping moving (especially with others) to do this, but I also now think about what gives me energy at work. A friend* recently shared a tool she uses with coaching clients, the GC Index, which is useful in working out where you get your energy to make an impact from, i.e. focusing on the types of work that give you that big energy boost rather than make you feel sluggish (it’s far more complex/scientific than this, but that’s the general idea). I love this as rather than it saying you're good at this and bad at this, it's simply a way of working out what fills your cup. I need to do all sorts of jobs in my role (creating our new 40s Woman and Beyond website became a little never-ending...), but when I feel a bit drained I now go back into where I know I get my energy and how it all started for me: creating ideas for the future, getting thoughts on what could help current and future clients and making connections by popping out to do some work in a place that is not my kitchen table. And as I recommended last week - get a dog! So what gives you energy? *I highly recommend "the friend" if you're interested in moving your business/team forward. Caroline Gordon - Website here - www.mixpartners.uk

How do you steer an iconic, 42 year old event like "Carols" so that it remains current and relevant, yet maintains that wonderful sense of nostalgia? Long standing executive producer Michael McKay gives his thoughts: Focus on why you do it (put the customer at the front of the conversation). Deliver the event that meets their expectations (what it says on the tin) then add a good layer of extra sparkle (we even added snow thanks to Destination Canada). We invest in understanding our audience. You can't take a one-size fits all approach to your event goer (that's why we have a range of different experiences). The same goes for our partnerships, they are always bespoke. Don't make changes for the sake of it (especially for an annual) you'll confuse your regulars and your team. Create a simple theme that all involved can easily grasp. Last year our mission was simple - give Australians a joyous Christmas.

Today's Sussex Business Show left me buzzing. It's partly because Sonny Cutting knows how to organise these kinds of events to perfection. And they are such hard work so deep gratitude to him and everyone who made happen. It's partly because there is a very special Brighton way to do business, which is about fun, friendship and mutual support. It makes collaborating so very easy. And it's also because after two years in business here, I can talk about what I do with a degree of pleasure and pride, and because I can find friendly faces to talk to. You can measure the 'inner growth' of a business (i.e how much as a founder you can confidently inhabit your own brand) by how you feel when you show up to networking events. Scroll back two years and the same event was just as exciting and well-produced, but I wasn't (yet) part of this community, and it took Lyndsey Clay (who everyone said I should meet) to make me feel welcome and not silly for having a fledgling business idea. But I was still finding my feet, and feeling acutely conscious of being a new kid in town. My message, which is not new, but was doubly reinforced today, is that networking - like any other skill - gets easier, more fun, more enriching and more rewarding the more you practice. You can see how previous conversations that had ended with a spark of mutual interest start to evolve into shared ideas, then grow into tangible ways of working together. If entering a new group feels slightly intimidating, my tip is to draw energy from a group you already know, who know what you're capable of. (Shortly after that first Sussex show, seeing all my chums perform at the Edinburgh Fringe made me realise I was being an idiot for being so hesitant and shy). But it can't all be about individual confidence. If, in the words of Brian Eno, you're already 'a genius as part of a scenius', for goodness sake, be a Sonny and/or be a Lyndsey. Open the doors. Create the conditions where people feel welcome. Treat them with genuine interest and respect. In-groups are the death knell for personal creativity and flourishing. Loved all the conversations I had today and the ideas that are cooking up nicely! Thank you Ben Walton, Lyndsey Clay, Sonny Cutting, Kyriakos Baxevanis, Vicki Etherington, Kate Rooks 🏆Jonny Monroe Michael Cheetham, Stella Baxevani, the lovely ladies of Longwood Business Support with whom I shared lunch, and Murembo Jewellery for some super earrings!

Wanna know one thing that I have never understood about the events industry? The idea that exclusivity is more important than expertise. Let me explain… Recently, I pitched a speaker with an impressive track record - stellar feedback, countless invites, has spoken at the TOP events - but the response? “We don’t want anyone who’s spoken for our competitors.” (All other industry events are competitors, btw) Wait, what? We’re not talking about trade secrets here. We’re talking about value. There’s this growing trend in the events industry of prioritising "new faces" over seasoned experts. Don’t get me wrong - fresh perspectives are essential to new insights, but here’s the thing: Why would you dismiss someone who’s consistently delivering proven value? You can have both on your lineup… surely?? If a speaker is in demand at multiple events, that’s not a red flag; it’s a badge of credibility. Their voice resonates, and they offer something audiences want. They’re invited back again and again for a reason. Sometimes, I think this mindset comes down to ego. Why miss out on expertise that can elevate your event because they've been on another stage? It's not about exclusivity; it’s about delivering for your audience. Here’s my take: the best voices in any field should be heard repeatedly. I’m in no way saying we should sit and listen to the same speech at every event because that’s obviously not the case. These top speakers deliver something new every time within their topic - it’s their value that’s consistent. Why are you voiding your event and your audience of something with proven worth? Make it make sense.