Candid Conversations by Catersource & The Special Event

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.