Kim England and Lisha Crytzer have been business partners for a long time, and after an event changed their business, they decided they wanted to offer the same experience for others.

They launched the Fast Inc. Network, and decided to do their first event big, by featuring Shark Tanker, Daymond John.

We had an open and honest conversation about their first event, and the things they are going to keep the same in the 2nd year, along with the things they're going to do differently.

Just some of what we talked about:

- The pros and cons of producing an event over 1,000 miles from their home base.

- If hiring a 'celebrity name' is worth it for their event

- The biggest lessons learned from taking on such a large event

- What changes in the next year, and how their marketing approach will change.

- Plus much more!

Vanessa McGovern is the CEO and Co-Owner of Gifted Travel Network, and the EVP of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at the Global Institute for Travel Entrepreneurs. In a nutshell, her companies are the ones to know if you're in the travel industry!

Vanessa has used the Book More Travel Workshop over the years to first, build rapport with her current members by offering a place to connect with other members and learn more in-depth techniques in a live person event.

She also uses it to attract new members, and in this podcast, she even mentioned that it may sometimes take years for people on her list to finally become part of the network.

In this episode we discuss:

- Why the long game is so important for your event

- Tips and tricks for marketing your event

- How to build and cultivate community at your events

- How you can create another revenue stream if you're doing event (this one I had never even thought of before and was brilliant)

- Plus much more!

To connect with Vanessa and learn more about her workshop visit: http://www.travelbusinessu.com/book-more-travel-workshop/

Philip Taylor is well known in the financial industry, and he is the founder of the largest conference for financial industry influencers, FinCon. 

Philip started a blog about his journey with money in 2007, and quickly grew his following. After seeing a need for a conference catering to his industry, he decided to take the reins and put it together.

He set his first destination to Chicago, which was a central hub to some of the other big influencers.

After having a little over 200 at his first event, he has grown it to over 1700 annual attendees!

I had the honor of attending this year's FinCon, and it was a well-oiled machine.

In this episode we talked: 

• How Philip built a brand from an event
• How he has involved his community to help grow to such an amazing number
• What it takes to continually involve your sponsors and have them coming back year after year
• Plus so much more!

To learn more about FinCon visit --> https://finconexpo.com/

Podcast Movement is an event, that you guessed it, is strictly for podcasters.

After being in the podcast community, Dan joined with three other people to fulfill the need of a large event. Without knowing if their concept was going to work, they turned to the community to see if the concept was one they should roll with.

After not just proving the concept, but surpassing their initial goal in just a few hours, they knew they were on to something.

Podcast Movement has now become THE podcasting event to attend for anyone who might be looking to start a podcast, to some of today's most seasoned veterans and biggest podcasting names.

And they've done this all in just five short years.

In this episode we talk about:

- The power of community and how Dan and his team have cultivated truly an event for the community they serve

- How he discovered a big issue in sales and one by one to invited previous attendees to come back and attend

- Some ah-mazing tips on how to connect and build solid sponsorship relationships.

- The keys to building a large event, and what was important for them to change, along with what they were determined to keep the same.

Want to learn more about Podcast Movement - visit https://podcastmovement.com/

Erin Joy has a long history of entrepreneurship and is the owner of Black Dress Partners. After doing smaller events, she knew she wanted to uplevel her brand and gain more awareness.

However, she never dreamed the impact an event would have on her business.

Now entering her 4th year, Erin shares the experience of putting on an event, why it's worth the extra effort, and why she plans on playing the long game.

In this episode we discuss:

- How doing an event didn't just take her business to another level, but in the words of one of her team members, another stratosphere

- Why her community is everything, and how she uses her events to cultivate it

- How she uses smaller events to fill her annual large event

- Why focusing on excellence and your reputation are crucial

- How to borrow the other's credibility of other influential brands while you're building your event.

- Her secret to attracting attendees from other areas (and if you want to join it, you can here --> https://www.facebook.com/groups/MWBOGroup/)

- Plus much more

Check out the MidwestWBOConference.com for information on the next event on May 17th, 2018.

I'll be honest, I stressed over so many details that didn't matter when I should have been stressing more about this one detail.

In this solo show, I cover the absolute most important thing that you must know and must be clear-cut about when putting together your first event.

This one thing will determine EVERYTHING (and I really mean everything) when it comes to your event.

What is it? Well, you'll have to listen to find out!

Chris Krimitsos is the founder and co-owner of Podfest Multimedia Expo and has years of experience running events. He has experience everything from local meetups to large international conferences, and we had an incredible discussion on what it takes to succeed with live events.

In this episode you'll learn:

- Where the idea for Podfest came from, and how it started and something local and grew to an event that attracts people from all over the world.

- Chris' three revenue stream system that every event must have.

- What are some of his must do's when it comes to creating and running the event.

- His secrets to making sponsors happy and how to keep them coming back year after year.

- How to attract sponsors in your first few years when you may not have the experience and social proof to get top dollar.

- Plus much more!

If you would love to learn more about Podfest (and bonus, that I will be there speaking, make sure you visit: http://podfest.us/2018/

Samantha Kelly has an incredible story. She started as a struggling single mother and business owner, but kept networking and building her community.

After seeing events that she wished she could attend in Ireland and seeing a need, she decided to put together her first event in Ireland, which lead to Social Media Dublin (which she now has sold).

Samantha now runs the Women's Inspire Network, which hosts several events throughout the year, including several larger-scale conferences.

I loved this candid conversation as we covered:

- Samantha's secret to building the concept first and building a community before the event (I absolutely love this one)

- How she landed her first sponsors and kept growing year after year

- How she overcame her fears and landed several big-name speakers at her first event

- How events have transformed her business

- Plus much more

You can learn more about Samantha at: https://www.tweetinggoddess.com/

and The Women's Inspire Network at: https://www.womensinspirenetwork.com/

Ready to take on your own event? Download our free budget worksheet to get you rolling: http://bit.ly/epic_budget

Natalie Eckdahl has hosted the BixChix podcast since 2014, and has built an incredible community of women CEO's through, almost 300 episodes.

After running her own masterminds and 1:1 coaching, she was moved while speaking at an event attended only by women. It was after feeling that magic in the room when she decided to put together her own live event.

We had a candid conversation about the ups and downs of running an event, and Natalie talked about how it all was worth it in the end.

Here's just some of what we covered:

- The moment she decided that the event was something she wanted to do, and the emotional roller coaster that came with it.

- How even with missed expectations, the event was still beyond what she thought it could be.

- How it changed her business along with the status of her brand.

- Why she booked out, not just one year in advance, but several years in advance!

- What she did to not just put together the right room, but to cultivate relationships in that room.

- Lessons learned and what changes from year one to the following years.

You can learn more about BixChix Live by visiting http://bizchix.com/live

Katie Krtimitsos is the owner and founder of Biz Women Rock. Her business is all about helping women business owners succeed and grow via a podcast, an academy, coaching, and as of last year, a Mastermind Retreat.

 In this episode, Katie gets real about her mastermind retreat, now going into its second year.

 - Why she waited a few years t

- The strategy she uses for coming up with several days worth of content

- How and why this event is a complete game changer for her business

- How to prep your body and stamina to make it the full days

- How to set up your current event to keep the growth happening year after year

- How she gained the confidence to take this level of an event

To learn more about Biz Women Rock, visit BizWomenRock.com.

And for more details on her Retreat, visit http://bizwomenrock.com/retreat.