Candid Conversations by Catersource & The Special Event

Julie Novack. PartySlate.com. Julie talks about the evolving digital marketing landscape and how event professionals can stay on top of all the latest tactics in social media and digital marketing. Best approaches on each of the social networks and new marketing technologies.

Joe Mineo. JoeMineoCreative.com. "The Stars Aligned! Creating Cohesiveness Between Culinary and Event Design" How the creative collaboration between event management, event design and the culinary team took the food experience to the next level. Learn how Joe has had such success increasing event budgets and ultimately his client's satisfaction by focusing on making the food a feature.

Dan Gingiss & Heath Schecter. DanGingiss.com, ChefHeath.com. "Why Great Food Is Nothing Without A Remarkable Experience." When you create a remarkable experience for your customers, they become your best marketers. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to tilt brand sentiment in a positive direction? You can, no matter what industry or role you're in.

Michael Levin. MichaelJLevin.com. "Change Management: Embracing and Leading Positive Change." Michael will share not only how to motivate your team to embrace change, but to lead and drive positive change. Understand how to motivate and retain millennials to maximize their results and keep them inspired. How employees, from the front line to managers, have taken on and successfully implemented seven-figure critical initiatives and what motivated them to do so.

Sandy Korem. FestiveKitchen.com. TheCateringCoach.com. "Pretty Is Not Always Profitable." Even though caterers have a natural knack for creating beautiful events, it does not always mean it will put money in the bank! Sandy Korem, professional caterer and founder of The Catering Coach, has learned the hard way—aka the zero profit way—that EVERY event for a successful catering company must revolve around knowing your profits to the penny.

Tisha Holman and Tiffany Chalk. MindYourBusinessLLC.com. TiffanyChalkEvents.com. Creating a Well-Oiled Systems Machine! Get under the hood of your business and understand what systems are, and why they are crucial to the success and growth of your business. Implement systems that will keep your business running on all cylinders.

David Scott Peters. DavidScottPeters.com. Run a catering business where your employees do what you want, the way you want it done, and in the timeframe you want it done, including important tasks such as ordering and scheduling so you don't have to do everything. Learn the who, what, when, why and how of building an effective management team and how to keep them motivated.

KristinBanta.com. At a time when social media is driving the client's vision, how can you deliver a unique interpretation of the inspiration you're being presented? How can you push a client (whether that be a wedding, social or corporate) beyond what's currently trending in the market in order to tell a story, generating greater depth and dimension to the event design? How to design beyond Pinterest's greatest hits and sell that vision to their client.

Clint Elkins. WeGrowValue.com. Catering professionals have to consider labor costs, market value, and the food itself that goes into crafting dishes. We know that there's a formula that includes food quality, client expectations, and demand, and all of these are instrumental in maximizing your overall profits in the long run. Ways that you can use market trends, smart spending, and food value to help your profits soar.

Sasha Souza. SashaSouzaEvents.com. ConsultancyForCreatives.com. Client onboarding is the process for welcoming new clients into your business and ensuring they understand the services available to them. It doesn't matter if you're an event designer, floral designer, DJ, caterer, or cake baker, giving a client an idea of what to expect is a key to success. You will learn what goes into a well written guide, what to include and how it becomes a great addition to your business.