From Zero to SOLD OUT: Ashley Adana's Secrets to Event Success

Get the inside scoop on managing the stars! Ashley Adana, the go-to Event Producer for A-list celebrities, shares her surprising secrets and expert guide to handling high-profile personalities. This is your exclusive backstage pass to the world of VIP events.

Unlock the blueprint for building something amazing. Listen now!

Episode Transcript

Aja Bradley-Kemp (00:00):
We've all seen them, those experiences that
stop us in our tracks, themoments that flood our feeds,
shift culture, and bring peopletogether.
I'm Asia Bradley-Kemp, and I'vehelped generate millions in
revenue and billions ofimpressions by creating
scroll-stopping moments for someof your favorite brands and
celebrities.
This is Making the Moment, thepodcast that brings you the

(00:22):
untold stories, unfilteredinsights, and big ideas from the
architects behind the momentsthat matter.
In each episode, I'll show youhow to design that not only
captivate audiences, but alsodrive tangible value for your
organization.
Whether you're looking to buildbuzz, boost loyalty, or drive
revenue, I want to help youdesign customer experiences that

(00:43):
truly make an impact.
This is for the moment makersand the culture creators.
Welcome to making the moment.
Welcome back to Making theMoment, where we unpack the
stories behind the events thatshape culture and meet the
visionaries who craft thoseunforgettable experiences.
I'm Asia Bradley-Kemp, andtoday we are joined by the
amazing Ashley Adana, CEO of BECProductions.

(01:04):
For over 14 years, she's gonefrom planning intimate weddings
in Atlanta to producing megaconferences for the likes of
Rick Ross, Damon Dash, Nehemiah,and more.
Welcome, Ashley.
We're so excited for you to behere.
Hi, thank you for having me.
I've been watching your workfor a while and we've had the
chance to work together in thepast.

(01:25):
So I'm really excited aboutthis conversation because I
think your experience and yourinsights are really going to
help a lot of people and give ussome great background into some
of the amazing work that youdo.

Ashley Adana (01:39):
Awesome.
I'm excited that you guysinvited me on.
So yeah, let's get into it.

Aja Bradley-Kemp (01:45):
Let's get into it.
So I guess the first questionthat I had for you is, you know,
where this all began becauseyou grew up here in Atlanta and
you have gone from starting inweddings and, you know, creating
beautiful experiences forpeople to now creating these
mega events.
So what was that spark for youto get into this industry?

Ashley Adana (02:06):
Well, I actually started with my high school
reunion, right?
So my high school classreunion, it was time to start
planning everything.
And some of my classmatesreached out and they were like
hey ash would you love to be onyou know the planning committee
with us and i was like surelet's do it and so we planned
over several months and when iwas able to have all of my

(02:31):
classmates inside of thosespaces that we had curated over
the course of a three-dayweekend it was it was my spark
right that's when it all startedfor me and so to be able to
know that i would be a part ofthat memory that they had and
all All of the work that myselfand the other committee members
put together over those months,it was like, oh my gosh, I

(02:54):
really like this.
They are really enjoyingthemselves.
They're enjoying the work of mylabor, all of those type
things.
And it was just like, okay, Ithink I have found this thing
that I want to explore a littlebit more.
And now here I am almost 15years later, still in the
industry that I explored and wasexposed to.
So yeah, it's been great.

(03:14):
Oh, that's amazing.

Aja Bradley-Kemp (03:18):
go from weddings to then into these big
conferences?

Ashley Adana (03:23):
Yeah.
So as you stated, I started offwith weddings and I did
weddings for a good number ofyears.
And honestly, it started to geta little repetitive, right?
So even though it was a newcouple, you know, and we were
having great experiences, itjust kind of started to be the
same flow of things, right?

(03:45):
And not really like theexcitement that I was desiring
or need it.
And, you know, it's like wewill go to the cake tasting and
we're pretty much going to thesame cake people, right?
Because we've developed thesegreat relationships with our
vendor partners.
So I can only taste this cakeso many times, you know, even
though, you know, it's a newexperience for them, right?
I can only go to the caterersand taste, you know, do the

(04:07):
tastings this many times, talkto the DJs, you know, this many
times.
So to me, it started to justget very like mundane and I was
missing like that excitement.
And so with conferencesseminars and tours is usually
something that sometimes they'rehappening in different cities
they're happening you know evenin different countries that
we've done you know so thatparticular excitement that I was

(04:30):
missing from my weddings beingkind of the same thing I just
wanted to look into that alittle bit more and I have been
in you know conferences eversince so yeah it kind of just
was a natural flow of tryingsomething new in the industry
for me

Aja Bradley-Kemp (04:45):
and what was your first conference

Ashley Adana (04:47):
one of my first conferences was with Nehemiah,
Nehemiah Davis.
And it was a great experience.
His were more mastermind kindof styles and then grew into
conferences.
So that was a great experienceto even just grow with him.

Aja Bradley-Kemp (05:02):
And I was reading that one of those early
events that you did for him wereinternational.
So how was that for you?
Because were you doinginternational weddings prior to
that?

Ashley Adana (05:14):
Yeah, I had did a few destination weddings before.
So I I knew what it took tokind of, you know, what I say
is, you know, plan from afar,right?
So just the different logisticsthat you have to go through,
you know, traveling for sitevisits, being able to, you know,
communicate the needs and alsobe open to what those different,
you know, ways of planning andlogistics happen in different,

(05:36):
you know, countries that you maygo to.
So we were already familiarwith handling those type things,
even with, you know, shippingitems out or sourcing in those
different countries.
It was something that wealready kind of knew How to do.
So it was an easy transitionfrom, you know, doing it for
weddings to doing it for, youknow, conferences and seminars.

Aja Bradley-Kemp (05:54):
Were there any like in those in those days and
especially when you're whetherit was weddings or for the
conferences and you're workingin an international market
because, you know, this podcast,we'd like to edgy chain.
to the audience and, you know,really give them some nuggets of
things that they should thinkabout if they find themselves in

(06:14):
a similar situation.
So was there any particularchallenges that you had found
and, you know, found interestingways to overcome them when
working in an internationalmarket and maybe not being able
to do multiple site visits?
How did you set things up sothat you can be successful in

(06:35):
that sort of environment?

Ashley Adana (06:37):
Yes.
So, I mean, your workflows in asense are the same, you know,
when you're planninginternationally.
I think the only thing thatreally changes is more of your
timeframe, right?
You want to give yourself moretime to be able to, you know, if
you're shipping items to getthose over there, you know,
making sure that you'recommunicating, actually overly

(06:58):
communicating with your vendorpartners that are there.
But the one thing that I wouldsay is get extremely close to
whatever vendor partner you'regoing to be utilizing the most
or that is the most well-roundedin that area as well, right?
So if it is your salespersonfor the venue that you're going
to be working atinternationally, then make sure

(07:18):
that you develop a greatrelationship with them because
that's going to be your sourcefor a lot of the things that you
need, right?
So one of the things that weused to always incorporate in
our conferences when we dointernational is some type of
cultural element from whereverwe are, right?
So if it is some type ofentertainment portion of it.
Like, we don't know who thebest, you know, Moroccan, you

(07:42):
know, mariachi band, you know,when we're traveling.
But of course, the venue knowsthat, right?
They work with theentertainment companies and
things like that.
So really, you know, leaninginto your vendor partners from
afar is the best way that youcan do it.
You know, even if you can't goover, you know, if the budget
doesn't allow for you to go anddo these site visits

(08:03):
internationally, which we alwaysdo, right?
It's very important that wehave our eyes on it and, you
know, because nobody can do itlike you, right?
And your client is particularlyhiring you to be able to
execute in excellence as much aspossible for any type of event
that they hire you for.
So I think that, you know,being able to go over and a site

(08:24):
visit is extremely importantbut if not you know depending on
who your vendor partner isvideos are always an amazing
thing then for them to like geton you know a zoom call with you
while they're actually walkingthe space from outside in the
parking lot to inside walkingthrough that space it'll kind of

(08:44):
help you be able to guide youinto creating what you want that
environment to be you know whenyour attendees come on site so
um you your vendor partners inthose international markets are
really, really important.

Aja Bradley-Kemp (08:59):
And speaking of large conferences, you know,
you're known as the machinebehind InvestFest, at least, you
know, from my vantage point as,you know, someone in the
industry.
You know, how did you go from,you know, these mastermind
events for, you know, a fewhundred people to then planning
this major cultural tentpole,which I think in the first year

(09:23):
was 4,000, and now it's up to,what, like 30,000 people?

Ashley Adana (09:26):
Yeah, they're up in the high numbers now.
So probably around about20-ish, you know, thousand
attendees.
But of course, there are otherelements that go along with the
event.
So there's the marketplace,where there are typically
anywhere from 300 to 400 smalland large businesses that are
inside of the marketplaceparticipating.
And then, of course, a plethoraof speakers that we're

(09:49):
managing, workshops and thingsof that nature.
The shift of the largerconferences, and like you said,
as you stated, we kind of builtit from the beginning, you know,
of the Conception until now.
So we just kind of grow andadjust for what the needs are.
A lot of my referrals actuallycome from speakers who are able
to experience, you know, ourcompany executing these events.

(10:11):
So all of our, well, most ofour, you know, book of business
is referrals or again, peoplewho have experienced us as a
speaker or as a guest and, youknow, they kind of want to work
with us.
And that's exactly how thatrelationship happened as well.
They came and they were aconference that I planned and,
you know, we're ready to kind ofcreate their own.

(10:33):
And they were like, Hey, likeAsh, let's, let's talk.
We really want to createsomething like this for our
community as well.
And I was like, let's have theconversation.
And there it is.

Aja Bradley-Kemp (10:42):
What was, what was the vision from day one?
And how did you, you know, howdid you take that vision and run
with it?
I know that's a little bit of abroad question, but you know,
was for year one, everythingthat you imagined it would be
based on those initialconversations?

Ashley Adana (11:01):
Yeah.
So in a sense, yes.
And I think that's really bigfor me because I try to get so
much clarity and tell me whatyour vision is or what do you
see for event day?
That's kind of how I get theclient to just spill it all.
Give me your biggest dreamsthat you have.
And then of course, asproducers, then we go and say,
okay, how can we bring in theright people to be able to bring

(11:25):
this particular visiontogether?
And so what was desire isexactly what was executed.
You know, we want to have aconference to where we're able
to have an experience, you know,for our community to be able to
gather, to come and converseand, you know, build more
outside of just us, you know,with our online show, you know,

(11:45):
on YouTube, we wanted them tohave an actual in-person
experience over the course of aweekend, you know, and we want
to be able to support, you know,small business owners with
being a part of the marketplace.
And that's what we created.
And that's, you know, prettymuch the foundation of what the
event is.

Aja Bradley-Kemp (12:03):
What do you think were some of like the key
learnings that you had from, youknow, the first one to then
year three, and I guess thisyear will be year four that, you
know, you guys have been ableto build upon and you feel like
has, you know, made the eventbigger and better every year.

Ashley Adana (12:21):
Yeah.
So this will actually be yearfive that is going into it.
And it is, I think, you know,each year has, you know, it's
lessons that come, you know,that comes with it, you know.
Okay, well, maybe we need alittle more, you know, security
here, or maybe we need to, youknow, allow a little bit more
time between the different, youknow, because we actually have

(12:44):
three stages typically going atthe same time.
So it's a lot of movement and alot of per se, right?
But to make sure that we have agood balance of, you know, the
marketplace getting all of thelove that they need and having
their time along with, you know,being able to produce this
amazing programming as well, youknow, that serves, you know, in

(13:04):
a sense, majority of theattendees, right?
Because you always want to makesure that everybody can walk
away having a great experience.
So how can that be curated?
I think that it's reallyimportant for clients to also do
surveys and get that feedback,you know, after their events.
And the reason that that'simportant is because the
community will tell you whatthey want and they'll tell you

(13:25):
what they need.
And I think the best way tocontinue to grow your events is
for you to actually take thatfeedback, not with a grain of
salt, but with a lot ofsubstance to it to say, okay,
well, this is what majority ofthe people are saying, you know,
or we had this great percentagethat everybody keeps saying
that they want this type ofeducation.

(13:46):
Let's make sure that we, youknow, incorporate that in the
following year.
So I think, you know, gettingthat feedback is really, really
important.
And that helps each year withthe growth.

Speaker 01 (13:55):
And how big is the scale of your role and
responsibility for the event isit just the production of it or
does it also lean into themarketing as well and the
hospitality elements

Speaker 00 (14:11):
yeah so we take on pretty much everything for the
event outside outside ofpromotion and pr okay so outside
of that we do it all so justlike you're stating so the
hospitality of it being on sitethe hotel blocks we also do of
course course, as you stated,you know, the production of the
actual event and the shows, allof the vendor management, all of

(14:35):
the talent management as well,taking care of that.
So it's the everything, youknow, so we are full service for
that particular, you know,venture.

Speaker 01 (14:44):
And how many people do you need to pull off
something like that?
How big is the production?

Speaker 00 (14:50):
Yeah, so it is an army, you know, a full on army.
And I say, you know, when youare the producing company,
you're responsible foreverything and everyone and
you're also responsible foreveryone's needs and that can be
a very you know heavy load tohave but it's also a blessing
because again the same feelingthat I got when I planned the

(15:14):
you know very first event whichwas our high school reunion is
the same way that I get you knowwhen we're doing international
tours when we're doingconferences you know when we're
doing brand activations all ofthose things it's just the spark
of knowing that when you seethose people inside of the space
that you've curated is justsuch a fulfilling, you know,

(15:35):
feeling.
And the bigger that the eventis, the more responsibility that
it is, but it's also the biggerthe impact.
Being responsible for, youknow, maybe a hundred vendors
along with their teams ofmultiples, right?
So like an AV company in itselfcan have anywhere from 30 to 50

(15:55):
people on a large productionlike this.
All of those people are myresponsibility.
When we're talking aboutspeakers and their plus threes
and entourages, you'reresponsible for those people,
their experience.
So that can be up to 300 pluspeople just on the speaker side
of things.
And then when you're talkingabout these 300 to 400 small

(16:16):
businesses plus their teams,that's over maybe a thousand
people that you're caring forsolely just the business owners
inside of the marketplace on topof your 20,000 attendees,
right?
So it's a very heavy load tohave.
And I always believe that, youknow, your vendor partners are,
you know, the most importantpartnerships that you'll have,

(16:38):
you know, and that they arefully informed and they're also
equipped with all of the thingsthat they need to execute as
much in excellence as well asyou yourself and your team.
So, you know, everybody is justexpected to show up and show
out and the numbers are large.

Speaker 01 (16:54):
What are your tips for producers on developing
those relationships?
and negotiating all of thethings that you need because it
requires such a stronginfrastructure.

Speaker 00 (17:05):
Yeah, it does.
I think one of the importantthings, again, I'll go back to
it, your vendor relationshipsand your vendor partners.
I always like to work withpeople that I know care just as
much as I do, not only about theevent that we're doing, but
also what their reputation andidentity is for their company.
I always say when you work movein integrity.

(17:29):
And when you move with a senseof pride of your own business,
then it's a bonus for yourclients because you're going to
show up for yourself first.
Then you're going to show upfor your clients with whatever
that is that you've beencontracted to do.
So finding the right vendorpartners is super important and
people that you trust.
And I think that it's importantto nurture those things, not

(17:51):
just for the event that you'reworking on, but also important
throughout the year.
So I love to love on myvendors.
I check on them, you know,sending Christmas cards,
Christmas gifts, things likethat.
Because again, we work togetherfor so long planning out some
of these larger events to wherethey need to know that they're
just, they're not just a number.

(18:12):
I think that the most importantthing is to nurture your,
again, your venues are the mostimportant thing because in a
sense that is going to be yourhome and your house for however
long those events are.
So if you're in a space whereyou're there for, let's just say
a three-day weekend, you'reliterally in their space for

(18:32):
anywhere from five to sevendays, in and out, days in,
because you're talking aboutyour load-in days and then your
event days plus your load-outdays, you know, which can also
be numbers.
So you may be in a sense, as wesay, living there for a whole
week, you know, but you've gonethere several times for
walkthroughs, you know, and kindof poked your head in or you're

(18:53):
attending even events that theyhave just to network a little
bit further, you know, to knowthe persons that are inside of
the space that you'll be in.
You know, the convention bureauis another good thing when
you're going into thesedifferent cities to kind of
develop those particularrelationships.
Hotels, as you stated, arereally important.
So knowing like you'reregional, you know, managers for

(19:14):
some of the Hiltons andMarriotts and things of that
nature are really important aswell for you to develop those
relationships because you mayneed to move on to another city.
Or as I stated, tours arereally important to have those
relationships because they cando some sourcing of these places
for you.
And that cuts down a lot oftime on yourself, you know, and

(19:34):
your team.

Speaker 01 (19:35):
And are there any things that you've learned along
the way that you didn't knowmaybe year one or year two?
that you use now in year fivewhen it comes to like
negotiating that would helpother planners?
Or maybe I know we're going totalk about later your course.
Are there any little gems orsomething that people would or

(19:55):
planners rather would normallynot think about or wouldn't
think to ask for that, you know,you think is something to a
little nugget to keep in mind orthat they can use?
Yeah, venues.

Speaker 00 (20:10):
Yeah.
So with venues, I'll say venuesand hotels.
So with venues, it's importantto also compare.
And I think that some peoplekind of don't do that.
They're like, oh, you'reinterested in this place.
Okay.
Yeah.
Like we're just going to go andtalk to them, but it's also
okay to talk to other, you know,if you're going into a
convention center, they may bethe largest convention center in

(20:30):
your city, but, you know, kindof reach out to another
convention center in the area,you know, to see what their
offerings are, what are some ofthose things that they want to
do to, you know, in a sense, getyour business.
And so that way it helps you tonegotiate at other places as
well.
Also, I think the mostimportant thing is having a
clear vision of what it is thatyour client needs.

(20:51):
And you have to think of all ofthose things when you're going
to these venues so you're notdoing a lot of back and forth.
And what I mean by that is,again, we're going into a space
and we have a three-day weekend.
You may be there for sevendays.
You need to be contracted forseven days.
Not, oh, well, we're going tobe here for three days.
These are things that you needto learn and know of how long am

(21:15):
I going to be occupying thesespaces.
One of the other things is alsothink about the time that
you're occupying the spacesduring that time.
So for instance, you may have,you know, workshop rooms that
you'll be working and you mayhave, you know, five workshops
going at the same time.
So you need five meeting spacesfor that as well.

(21:38):
But you don't need a meetingspace for seven days.
You You may need just thatmeeting space one day before the
event starts to get everythingset up because it's a small
space.
And then you may only need thatone day or even that depending
on when the workshops are goingto be ending, you know, the
event day to be able to end it.
Those are things that you needto be thinking about as a

(21:59):
producer.
So that again, your client isnot overpaying for a spaces for
seven days where you really onlyneed the space for four days.
You get what I'm saying?
Yeah.
So really going into it with aplan of knowing what those needs
are, are really important whenit goes to the venue.
For the hotels, oh my gosh,there's so much stuff with

(22:20):
hotels, hotel blocks and things.
You can definitely work withyour convention bureaus to be
able to kind of help you, yourlocal, you know, convention,
ACDB, to be able to source thehotels for you or just kind of
give you those contacts ifyou're comfortable with doing
the blocks and things yourselfas a company, as we are, because
we hold our, you know, travelagency, our AATA number.

(22:42):
So we're able to go in andnegotiate.
A lot of the times with thesehotels, they're going to offer
you in a sense, the same thingin a sense.
So knowing like what rebatesand commissions are available,
knowing what type of, mostpeople are going to give you
suites or this many nightsbooked and you'll get these
nights off of your master andall of those things.

(23:03):
But to be able to do the samething, get a couple of different
quotes from hotels and thenlook at what those offers are.
One thing we do is we build outwhat our ask sheet is.
We don't just go after whatthey're offering us.
So it may be that we, one ofthe things that we always ask
for is that we want a meetingroom, one site for our team at

(23:25):
whatever the host hotel wouldbe.
So the main hotel.
And that means that in case wehave speakers, they're like, I
just need to take meetings.
I need to be somewhere quietaway from, depending on how
close the hotel is, we can offerthat room to them.
Or if the client is saying,Hey, I need to have, you know, a
space where we don't want to beinside of the actual venue,
but, you know, just a nice quietspace to talk about some things

(23:46):
for next year or to be able to,you know, meet with a couple
of, you know, potential sponsorsfor next year.
That room is available, youknow, or if we need to have a
super late night powwow from thevenue, we have that room.
So, you know, that's somethingthat we always negotiate in our
contracts, which they're notgoing to offer to you, you know?
So it's just kind of creatingthat list of things that you

(24:08):
need so that when you're goinginto those negotiations, you're
able to say, great, thanks forthis proposal.
These are the additional thingsthat we need and we ask for.
We need this many valet passesthat are not going to have to be
paid for.
We need this many, you know,suites and, you know, doubles
and all of those type of things.
So it's a lot to do, but themore that you start to negotiate

(24:29):
and kind of see what they offerand really what your needs are,
the better you get at it.
So it's definitely practice.

Speaker 01 (24:35):
There's so many, you know, hidden costs that you
don't think about up front,especially with hotels.
So all of that, you shared as ait's great reminders how long
does it take you to plansomething like an invest us with
for 20,000 people

Speaker 00 (24:50):
again what I like to have is a full year yeah yeah
what you what you like and whatyou get is a you know it's a
totally different thing um andyou know the guys always talk
about it as well the first yearthat we did it we made it happen
I want to say it was like sixweeks you know six or eight
weeks that we put that eventtogether and And it was a lot,

(25:13):
but we have been at the same,you know, location for every
year, which is a great thing.
Not that it's a rinse andrepeat because that is
absolutely impossible, but atleast you're in a space where
you're familiar with it.
And then, you know, you know,make those changes that you need
to, to be able to serve andelevate after each year.
It's just kind of along the wayit all comes together.

(25:34):
A year would be amazing, butyou don't always get that.
And you just have to work withthe time that you have in
knowing that it is a realisticto make it happen.
Yeah.

Speaker 01 (25:44):
So my last question for you about InvestFest is that
I thought about is because theyhave already such an inbuilt
community with the EYLUniversity, you know, how or do
you think about when you'replanning this conference, the
ways that you can help, youknow, connect that community
even more?
So, you know, maybe for thepeople that don't know someone

(26:06):
that are a part of the EYLcommunity, but this is like
their first time to anInvestFest.
Sure.
are you guys thinking aboutfrom a programming standpoint or
activities?
How do you enroll people orbring new people into the
ecosystem?

Speaker 00 (26:21):
Yeah, so I think that the best start is to be a
part of the community inadvance.
So EYL University, there areseparate meetups and plan and
programming that they haveduring the actual Invest Fest
weekend for those persons thatthey actually call them earners,
right?
So the people that are a partof the community, they have
their own meetups.

(26:41):
And you They have, you know,the text groups.
And I think some of them evenhave like Facebook groups and,
you know, just their own thingsthat are going because of course
the community is so large, butthey definitely do have that.
And so it is a part of theprogramming to where there are
meetups kind of leading upbefore the actual event days,
which is that Friday, Saturday,and Sunday, they'll typically

(27:01):
have a meetup on a Thursday orsomething of that nature.
And then they just kind ofgrows and they kind of all get
together.
And then they of course havethe app where there's like kind
of like all of the things thatare going on and associated with
the actual conference itself.
So yeah, that's reallyimportant that they have, you
know, those type things becauseit does, you know, it grows the
community.

(27:22):
And then another thing thatthey do with the programming is
typically there is a boothinside of the marketplace for
the actual community to be ableto go, you know, and for people
to sign up for it and thingslike that.
So that's always like a staplein the marketplace as well.

Speaker 01 (27:38):
Moving on from InvestFest, you have worked with
some hip hop legends,specifically Dame Dash and Rick
Ross.
And I would love to hear, youknow, what it was like working
with Dame because he is such apolarizing figure.
People either love him or hatehim.
I personally love him becausehe gives it to you straight.
So, you know, what was it likeworking with him?

(27:58):
What did you guys work ontogether?

Speaker 00 (27:59):
Yeah.
So Dame, again, he is just,he's a sweetheart, you know, and
he's very mellow and verychill.
And some people would thinkhe's quote unquote, I would say
like on, right?
But his personality rings trueto each time that we work
together.
So again, kind of as I'veshared with you before, a lot of
the times that we get referralsis because they've actually

(28:23):
experienced us at events wherethey've been speakers or
something of that nature.
So he was actually one of myspeakers at one of my events and
the relationship came togetherwhere he was wanting to do an
event.
Well, he and 19 Keys actuallywere wanting to put together an
event and Keys is from Oaklandso he wanted to do the event in

(28:44):
Oakland and Damon was working onthe new network is one of his
network and he was American Newsso the new network he was
coming out with like a new filmand things of that nature so he
was like okay like let's putsomething together and just like
sit down and have a really deepconversation high level
conversation right is what 19Keys always says and so that's

(29:06):
what we did we curated thatevent for the two guys they came
together and it was a greatexperience in Oakland.
And it was hundreds of almost,I want to say almost a thousand
attendees for that particularevent.
And it was just a great, greatnight.
And I want to say that that wasprobably the third time that we

(29:26):
had been kind of in the samespace and work together.
So it was great to kind of likecurate that and bring it
together, but super easy, supereasy.

Speaker 01 (29:35):
I read that you and Ross had a really interesting
connection, you know, when youguys started working together.
What was that experience likefor you?
Oh,

Speaker 00 (29:45):
gosh.
I mean, I love Rick so much.
He is...
I think one of the big, I liketo talk about like the lessons
that I got from him, right?
So, you know, you'll look athis Instagram and things like
that.
You'll kind of get like littlesnippets of him talking about
this and that, or it'll befunny, but it's just so much
truth.
And, you know, even his comedicdelivery.
And one of the lessons was tostay as close to your businesses

(30:07):
as possible, no matter how manybusinesses that you have, you
need to know what is going on inyour businesses.
And so the event that wecreated for him, and it was
about three years that we didthat one was called the Boss Up
Conference.
And with that, it was a veryintimate, unique conference for
very high earning businessowners who were really ready to

(30:29):
scale and elevate even furtherthan they currently were.
Because again, these were verysuccessful business owners
inside of the room already.
And what Rick wanted to kindof, in a sense, curate was I
want them to have a space wherethey can get in front of even
heavier hitters than they are,but also medium able to just
pour into them and give them thegame on how to really safeguard

(30:54):
your business as well.
So it's not like some of theother conferences that we had,
but he had like business lawyersin here talking to them and
giving them game in like howtheir businesses should be set
up after they're growing tocertain levels and really
successful other people in thereas well.
Like he didn't post all of it,so I won't go into all of those
details, but it was a veryintentional experience and it

(31:18):
was just truly a a blessing tobe able to be a part of that.

Speaker 01 (31:21):
Wow.
It sounds like a memorablemoment in your career.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
How does it differ from workingon conferences, regardless of
the size, or masterminds with atalent, I guess, that is of one
caliber in terms of audience andreach, and then working with

(31:44):
clients that are a little bitmore high profile, like a Rick
Ross or a Damon Dash?
Is the onboarding process withworking with these types of
clients a little bit different?
Do you have to approach itdifferently?
No,

Speaker 00 (31:56):
not really.
really like onboarding ishonestly the same.
So like your processes are yourprocesses of how you get to
the, I always say to like, youknow, to event day into the
actual experience that peopleare going to have there, you
know, maybe a couple of other,you know, requests that you may
have that are, you know, kind oflike out of the norm, you know,
because they have just, youknow, in a sense, like a certain

(32:19):
level of, you know, expectationfor certain things.
But at the end of the day, it'sstill all about the experience
that they want to have in theroom.
So it may The lunch is a littledifferent, right, to where
everybody is served and is, youknow, lamb chops and lobster
tails, you know, versus, youknow, our regular chicken and
mashed potatoes and green beans.

(32:40):
You get what I'm saying?
You know, so it's like adifferent service level.
So yeah, you know, the budgetsare a bit different and the
experiences may be different.
Or again, just having accessto, you know, different
clientele than you would, youknow, at other conferences.
But at the end of the day, theservice level is different.
should always be the same.
You're walking into any eventthat you are responsible for.

(33:03):
And that's what I always try totell people to be responsible
or to get, you know, a bookingor a project is to take on
responsibility of what thatexperience is going to be for
people.
So you have to always want tomake sure that you do the best
job as possible for whoever itis.
And just me authentically who Iam, I don't care if I am

(33:25):
serving, you know, the the girlwho just started her business
and got a great following onInstagram.
So now she's one of my speakersand I have no idea who she is,
but she has accomplishments andshe has served in enough to be
able to be on the same stage asthe Tyler Perry that I'm
serving.
So for me, there's nodifference in how I'm going to

(33:46):
serve them as long as they letme know what their needs are.
Honestly, Tyler Perry wasprobably one of my easiest
speakers ever.
And you would think thisbillionaire is like, oh my gosh,
but he was so sweet and laidback and you know the only only
acts was you know like feed youwater fruit like simple you know

(34:07):
and and you you know you kindof think that it'll be this long
hospitality rider with all ofthese things but he was just you
know there to serve the purposeand to speak to the people you
can give that motivation andinspiration and share his story
and it was that simple so youknow sometimes people would
think that you know these largenames come with super large
Yeah.

Speaker 01 (34:45):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I would say I was in a meetingwith Dame Dash when I was in my
twenties.
It was a business meeting and Ifound him to be like the most
professional and respectful andeasiest person to talk to, which
is, it's very different thanwhat is portrayed at times, but
you know, that's Hollywood, Iguess.

Unknown (35:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 00 (35:08):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I think Barack said it
best.
When you get to these tables,you have these expectations of
who these people are supposed tobe.
And it's not that.
They're just like you.
They put their pants on thesame way.
They just may have a couple ofdifferent locations to be able
to go and lay their head whereyou might have one.
But at the end of the day, theyhave challenges.
They have successes and winsthe same way that, you know,

(35:31):
everybody else does.
So you treat them with respectand you'll get that same respect
coming back to you.

Speaker 01 (35:35):
Definitely.
What's the favorite part of thework that you do?
What do you enjoy most aboutit?

Speaker 00 (35:42):
The favorite part is the smiles on the faces, the
excitement of when you open updoors, right?
And I think at the very, veryend where we're all able to take
a breath, see what it was thatwe created.
And I say if an ambulance and apolice car didn't pull up to
the event, then we good to go.
We did great.

(36:02):
So I think that for me, that islike the most fulfilling thing
to just know that they arewalking away with memories and
they're walking in with the openheart and it's like that
beginning and the end is nothinglike it and everything in
between all of the fires thatyou have to put out all of the

(36:23):
adjustments that you have tomake all of the planning that
went into it it's like worththose two moments you know so
yeah

Speaker 01 (36:31):
yeah it's the joy that's why a lot of us do this
work it's the joy that we bringto other people i have two
questions questions for you.
because you mentioned, youknow, the fires of things.
Is there something that'shappened at an event and you
could be as specific or vague asyou want, but is there, did you
have like a moment where youreally had to do some crisis

(36:54):
management and then, you know,was able to turn it around and
the audience was none the wiserand maybe even the client was
none the wiser about whathappened?

Speaker 00 (37:04):
Well, honey, that's, that's every event.
I always say the client doesnot need to know what they don't
need to know because in asense, They are there to have
and feel the same experience asthe attendees.
The same thing with theattendees.
The attendees are not going toknow the fires that you're
putting out before you open upthose doors.
It doesn't matter if, you know,the truss fell down and now you

(37:27):
have to get that back up within45 minutes and have all hands
on deck, you know, to be able toget those doors open on time.
They don't know that, you know,you just had to be able to put
out these fires, you know.
It's just a million and onethings.
Nothing goes as planned, butit's always important for you to
have a plan.
That's the thing that I alwayssay with events.

(37:50):
All plans are meant to bebroken, but you have to have a
plan in place to be able toexecute, period, and be
flexible.
I think flexibility is one ofthe most important things when
you're doing these events isbecause you just don't know when
you have to adjust and movesomething and how that small
adjustment can make a hugeimpact in somebody's success.

(38:14):
So I think that that'simportant to have that
flexibility.

Speaker 01 (38:17):
What has been your most favorite project that
you've worked on in your career?
Oh,

Speaker 00 (38:22):
that's like having, you know, kids and saying which
one is my favorite child, right?
I always say that.
Or

Speaker 01 (38:26):
favorite memory.

Speaker 00 (38:27):
Yeah.
Um...
Favorite memory.
I mean, you can just pull fromeverywhere.
I think my class reunion, thevery first are always like the
best, right?
Because we did it, you know?
I mean, we did it.
We got the, you know, we didit.
The class reunion was complete.
You know, oh my gosh, we didit.
We got them down the aisle andthey have pictures to be able to

(38:50):
look at because they're notgoing to remember anything from
the day because it was so busy.
So yes, check mark on that.
Oh my gosh, we're doing aninternational event.
This is crazy, but we did it.
So I think probably the firstare always like the ones that
always come to mind that are thebest like milestones.
Your first of everything, yourfirst brand activation, you

(39:12):
know, working on that with acompany, you know, our very
first one was Puma and this wasyears ago, you know, when they
released one of the shoes and itwas like, oh my gosh, like
brands are doing things likethis.
Oh my God, the whole staff isgetting shoes and shirts.
Like what the world, you know?
So it's like all of thesethings, you know, that you just
kind of don't know until youexperience them.
So I I think that all of thefirst are super special moments.

(39:34):
No best babies, but all of thebabies.

Speaker 01 (39:38):
Yeah.
Fair enough.
Now, I know you as very boldand unapologetic, very direct.
So is that something, becauseyou've worked with so many
interesting personalities thatit sounds like you've had great
experiences with all of them,but is that something that...
that personality where have youalways been that way or is that

(40:02):
you know a muscle that you'vegrown since working in this
business in production

Speaker 00 (40:09):
yes so the muscle has always been there and it's
always shown and it's alwayscome out and that's why I say I
think that it is very importantto authentically be who you are
in all environments so thatpeople know what they're getting
and I think that when you dothat then the right projects and
the right people along the waycome to you.

(40:30):
So again, as I've stated, Ishow up the same in all
environments and on allprojects.
And the reason that I do thatis because I never want to be in
a situation where I have to beanything else, or even I feel in
my heart that I should besomething else because I will
never be anything else butAshley.
That's just how I show up inthe world.
But as far as who I am, thebusiness that I have and the

(40:54):
clients that come to me and thatare working with me is off of
my reputation.
It's off of my business and howwe serve our clients.
So that has always beensomething that I lean very much
into it, which is who I am.
Do I soften in certainsituations when I need to?
Absolutely.
But, you know, when we reallytalk about, again, the

(41:15):
responsibility and the role issomething that I don't take
lightly.
It's something that I, it feelsas though it is a large
responsibility and it is, and Idon't take it lightly.
So, you know, it doesn't matteras you either stated, how small
the event is, theresponsibility is still major.
So I just move in a sense thatworks best for me and my team

(41:38):
and my vendor partners to beable to execute as well as we
can so that, you know, we cansee the smiling faces.
You know, if I didn't put ahigh emphasis on my vendor
partners must show up and showout.
If you don't, then you won'thave an opportunity to work with
me, you know?
And so I lead, you know, theteam and I again, the army, as I

(42:00):
state, that is behind me to beable to create these
experiences.
That doesn't take, it cannot bea meek and mild person.
It cannot be somebody who isnot as detail oriented and
asking a million and onequestions, you know, and having,
you know, their core team to beable to be as detailed.
It doesn't work like that.
That's when you fumble so much.

(42:21):
That's when, you know, a lot ofthings don't get done.
And also when people takeadvantage of, you know, You
being so lax, as they say, like,no, I'm on.
I'm on.
When I'm at events, I'm on.
You know, when I'm at, even atthe family cookouts, I'm on.
I'm making sure that the thingsare set up right before we go
to the barbecue, go down theline for the barbecue, making

(42:44):
sure that the drinks are overhere, you know, and making those
adjustments so that when thefamily comes in, their
experience is easy as possible.
They don't have to do a lot ofguesswork.
And that's just always been mypersonality, which is why I have
accepted and done so well inbusiness.
So yeah, it's true.
She's very direct.
No nonsense.

(43:05):
Like let's get this done.
Let's make sure that everybodyhas a great experience.
And I say, I love as hard on mypeople as I am hard on them.
They're going to be, you know,appreciated.
They're going to be seen.
And that's my team and myvendor partners and my clients.
Like they're going to know thatI love them, but you're going
to also know that Ashley willget on your ass.

Speaker 01 (43:24):
Right.
Yeah.
When it's time to get it done,we got to get it done.
Yeah.
So you're, you talk about beingon, how do you switch off?
Because the work that you doand we do, it's very intense and
it can go for an extendedperiod of time.
How do you switch off andrecharge?

Speaker 00 (43:40):
Yeah.
So typically I switch off whenI leave the space and I go into
my, you know, very, my, I saw,you know, I say my, my soft zone
in a sense.
Right.
So after every event and Iencourage people to do this as
well, you know, as producers andjust even as working in the
industry, like just us As eventprofessionals, we're always

(44:01):
giving our all to these projectsthat we're a part of, to the
DJ, to the janitor, to whoeverit is, you know, the catering
manager, the venue manager, thesalesperson, you know, the AV
company.
We just give so much to makesure that that vision happens.
And one of the things that I dois I gift myself after my
event.
So I'm always going to go andget a massage.

(44:22):
I will be in some massage orsome spa that does not matter
where I am in the world.
I'm going to be at a spa.
no more than 48 hours after,that's where I am.
I also don't do many meetingsthe week after my event, if
possible.
You know, we're not in likeback-to-back season.
I don't take meetings andthings that week after.
It always has to be at leasttwo weeks out.

(44:43):
And I just kind of pace myself.
And the beauty in this is thatwe are our own business owners.
We don't recharge ourselves.
If we don't give ourselves thatbreak that we need, then you're
going to get burned out, youknow, and you're going to get
burned out and not just from theindustry overall, but it's a
joy that you have for theindustry.

(45:04):
And it's a joy that you havefor your work.
And once you lose that, thenyou show up in a different way.
Yeah, that's

Speaker 01 (45:11):
true.
Are you seeing any or feelingany headwinds with the economy
and talking to clients?
Are you concerned?
Are they concerned?
What's the temperature?

Speaker 00 (45:21):
Yeah.
So I think that the adjustmentsare definitely having to be
made with the economy changingthere's a lot of scares in you
know the country as well theterrorist is a whole nother
thing that we're now alsoworrying about because that is
an increase even on our industryyou know um on you know your

(45:42):
swag bag items cost a little bitmore your t-shirts even that
you're having for yourconferences are going up um the
material and the late you knowand the labor is also costing
more it's like everything isgoing up and i think that
whatever adjustments have to bemade we have to go with the flow
because one thing that willcontinue to happen of course

(46:03):
unless we run into somethinglike COVID again is people are
going to gather people are goingto want to be a part of some
type of community and we yearnfor that as humans I mean so I
think that the events industryis not going anywhere unless we
have unless we can't gatherright like again when COVID
first started and things likethat but other than that people

(46:26):
have a need for it so it may besome adjustments, you know, that
have to be made to where youhave to pull back, but to still
be able to create thatexperience is not going to
happen.
I mean, it's still going toalways happen.
It's not going to go away.
Yeah.
Yeah.

Speaker 01 (46:40):
So what's next for you?
We're in, you know, the secondquarter of 25.
What's the rest of the yearlook like for you?

Speaker 00 (46:49):
Yeah.
So I have a pretty large tourthat is going to be starting in
just a couple of months with aclient.
So super excited about that.
And that one is actually goingto take us all the way
throughout the end of the year.
So it's going to be some breaksand things throughout the way.
Thank God.
But so we have that tour comingup.

(47:09):
And then the other thing that Iam super excited about, and you
kind of mentioned it alreadyis, you know, the course that I
have out to where it's honestlyjust equipping the next
generation that want to be eventproducers and things of that
nature, just kind of pour intothem very freely.
And so that's like my nextthing that we that we have

(47:30):
coming down the pipeline andit's all exciting yeah

Speaker 01 (47:33):
so the event creators academy who is the
ideal customer for this courseis it you said it's the next
generation so is it people thatare looking to break into the
industry is it existingproducers is it wedding planners
that want to move intoconferences who who's the who's
the audience

Speaker 00 (47:54):
i think it's everything that you named i
think that it just reallydepends on where you are in your
business.
So it's kind of like, you know,a little tap on the shoulder
that I always get like, Ash,like, you know, do you do
one-on-ones?
Or like, I would love to shadowyou.
Do you do mentorships?
And I think the larger theevents get, the more you have
people who are more interestedin like, how do you do this?

(48:14):
Or like, how can I get intothis world?
So with that is exactly why Icreated the course.
So it is for those people.
So it's for the people that arewanting to dibble and dabble
into conferences to to see ifthat's really what they want to
do, but they've been doingsocial events, be it weddings,
birthday parties, showers,things of that nature.
And they're really just kind ofready to try and move over to

(48:37):
conferences.
Or it's for the people who dosmall conferences, but are
really ready to like look atsomebody else in the business
that is doing larger scaleevents.
And they're just ready to growand scale as well.
And it's also for the aspiringplanners and producers as well,
who just really need to haveaccess to talked about having

(48:59):
access and being a part ofcommunities, that is what it is.
And that's what we're building,which is a community where they
can come, they can learn fromeach other.
They can also hopefully work ondifferent projects with us and
things of that nature, just bybeing a part and taking the
course.
So the way that the course isset up is it is a self-paced

(49:19):
course.
So they can go online nowcurrently to ashleyadana.com.
They can purchase the courseand then they can go through the
self-guided process The bonusthat they're getting right now
is starting in June.
able to kind of go in depth andjust, you know, kind of have

(50:01):
that community engagement andthat in-person experience with
each other.
So I'm excited about that andwe have that coming.
So yeah, it's going to be good.
I

Speaker 01 (50:09):
was looking at some of the topics and you had a
module in there called honoringyourself and your flow.
Tell us a little bit aboutthat.

Speaker 00 (50:18):
Yeah.
So honoring yourself and yourflow.
So again, it goes back to whatI just, you know, talked about
when you were like, so what wehear is Ashley is a little
firecracker.
She She is bold.
She is direct and all of thosethings.
So that is what that's talkingabout.
And I think that once we trulyhonor who we are, then the right
tribe can come along.
The right clients can comealong.

(50:39):
The right projects can comealong because who you are
putting out to the world is notsomebody who you want to be, but
exactly who you are.
And so just honoring what worksfor you, saying no to projects
that you know are not alignedwith what makes you feel good.
The reason that we start ourbusiness is for us to be able to
do in a sense what they want todo live our life how we want to

(51:04):
live it live on our own termsand for you to have your
business and then not do thatand be somebody who is very
unauthentic to who you are andnot honoring what works for you
you don't win you don't win

Speaker 01 (51:17):
it's also it's also about identifying like what your
boundaries are

Speaker 00 (51:20):
girl big on it i'm huge on it you know and like you
say if you don't haveboundaries put in place like you
know one of mine is, and I talkabout it all the time, you
know, whenever I speak, youknow, I don't take meetings
before 11 a.m.
And the reason that I say thatis because I love slow mornings.
You know, of course, not that Iwake up late, but it's, I like

(51:41):
to be able to get up and be ableto do my morning meditation, to
be able to do my journaling, tobe able to do my Bible study,
to have my cup of coffee, tohave my breakfast, and then be
able to start my day.
And so again, you are able toput into place those things that
work best for you and what yourflow is.

(52:01):
And not to say that sometimesyou don't adjust those things
depending on your client, theproject, and what it is that you
need, but your norm should giveyou that consistent flow that
you need in life to be able toenjoy it.
Enjoy your business, enjoy yourfamily, all of those things.
So if it's getting the kids up,taking them to school, coming

(52:22):
back and working out, whateverthat flow is for you, figure out
what that is that makes you youhappy.
And then everything else thatyou're creating outside of that
will all come together.
Yeah.

Speaker 01 (52:33):
And it's so, it's so important and necessary,
whether you're a man or a woman.
I know a lot of theseconversations ends up going
along the gender lines, but youknow, the work that we do, it is
so personal and emotionalbecause we're dealing with
people.
At the end of the day, we'renot dealing with counting

(52:55):
products or widgets, so to Yeah.
build and energized and in aspace so you can deliver a good
result for the people thatyou're working with.

Speaker 00 (53:16):
I absolutely agree.
You know, my motto, one of themis I give to myself before I
give myself to the world issuper important.
I literally, I give to myselfthat morning time and not taking
meetings before 11, notstarting before 11.
It's like just my time to justgive to myself and do all of
those things.
So then I am full, right?

(53:37):
Right.
When I go out and I give myselfto the world, be it, you know,
doing a podcast or doing, youknow, zoom meetings or going out
for site visits or, you know,traveling, whatever those things
are that I'm doing, it has tocome after I give to myself,
because if not, then I'm nogood.
A hundred percent.

Speaker 01 (53:56):
Now, another thing that I saw with your course is
you have a topic that says, Ithink it says, why is it event
production for everyone?
Yeah.
Why did you include that?
And what are the red flags thatyou teach to identify why this
might not be for everybody?
I

Speaker 00 (54:15):
mean, listen.
Event production is no joke,okay?
And I tell people like, ifyou've been in this industry
more than five years, yes, youare a little wonky.
Yes, you are a little crazy.
Yes, you like to be stressedout and welcome to the club
because I've been here foralmost 15 years, okay?
So I say, and it is, but it'sso much joy that comes from

(54:39):
that.
But in that particular module,one of the things that we talk
about is being able to literallyknow if you're going to be a
good producer or not.
And some of those skill setsthat I feel like are so
important for you to succeed andexcel, because you really have

(55:00):
to sit back and think like, isthis where I need to be?
Is this where I want to be?
You know, because as aproducer, not to say that you
can't have a creative spirit anda free flowing mind, but to be
a producer, that can be one ofyour top skill sets, you know?
And it's okay for you topossibly not be the producer,

(55:21):
but to be the creative director.
So what those visuals look likeand working with the graphic
designers and what those smellswhen they come inside of the
room or what those swag bags aregoing to be and curating that,
that may be where you need to beas the creative director.
If those are the things thatspeak to your heart more, but to
be the actual producer of itall, you have to be detailed

(55:44):
oriented.
You have to be organized.
You have to be able to thinkfor the masses with everybody
involved.
You have to be able to lead ateam and be a leader and be
vocal.
It's all of these differentthings that we kind of talk
about and the characteristics ofbeing a great producer that you
really need to have in placebecause if not, this business

(56:07):
will swallow you up.
And again, that joy that youhave in your heart will leave
because it's just filled withstress and nothing but stress
because you aren't working andmoving in your truth

Speaker 01 (56:20):
it's not for the faint of heart it looks
glamorous and fabulous and itlooks like a lot of fun you get
to go to a lot of events and bearound all these famous people
and have all these coolexperiences but it's hard work
and it's interesting you know Italk to people all the time
they're like yeah I want to doevents and you're like okay come

(56:42):
on let's go and then a couplemonths later like you know what
this is not for me because it's

Speaker 00 (56:47):
not for everybody it's not it is not yeah yeah we
we dig into that really good tosay that just make sure and and
I tell people you know try itout go and shadow just like how
you were talking go shadow anddo an internship somewhere to
really see if this is the workthat you want to do and I can
honestly tell you after oneseason you gonna know

Speaker 02 (57:10):
Right.
Yeah, for

Speaker 00 (57:10):
sure.
You will know.
It doesn't take a lot.
It's just, you know, a coupleof experiences and then you'll
know if this is really what youwant to pursue.
Yeah.

Speaker 01 (57:20):
So are there any red flags that come to mind for you
that you've seen over time andbuilding your teams where you
can spot off the back that, youknow, this person, this industry
is not for them?

Speaker 00 (57:33):
I have to say that I have truly been blessed, right,
with my team, even over theyears.
As you know, we have hadbeautiful people come in and
leave and go on to differentchapters in their life.
I have to say that a huge redflag is on event days.
If you have a million and onequestions for me, you will not

(57:54):
be working with us for long.
And the reason that I say thatis because I do so much, not
only I, but the team, right?
We do so much preparation andmeetings and phone calls and
walkthroughs and vendor meetingsand all of these things to
where definitely my core teammembers are usually a part of

(58:14):
all of these things.
You should not be asking mequestions on event day that you
already have the answers to.
It really makes me upset when,because we're there to execute
at this time.
We're not here to plan.
And I'm absolutely okay withclarifying.
If I ask you to do somethingor, you know, even if something
in your realm and you just needa little more confirmation that

(58:35):
this is the right thing, or isthis what we need to do to be
able to get it done?
Then absolutely.
Right.
You know, ask those questionsbecause I want you to be fully
confident in what you're doing.
But if you're asking me forthings that we have already
discussed, we already have aplan in place.
And especially if it is inblack and white in front of you.
And so with, you know, andthen, you know, the

(58:55):
aggressiveness will, will, willdefinitely, you know, come
forward for sure.
Because Because like you say,typically on event days, what
we're doing is putting out firesbecause the plan has been made
and the plan has been discussedover and over again.
And we have it in front of usto study on our own time to be
able to execute on event days.
So I think that just not beingattentive to everything, all of

(59:18):
the resources that have beengiven to you, if you have a lot
of questions, this is not foryou.
And especially if you don'tknow how to handle prices,
management yeah, like yourcrisis management, you know,
skills are not as good, thenthis is probably not for you
because we talked about it alittle earlier.
Clients don't know a lot of thefires that we put out.

(59:40):
Attendees don't know a lot ofthe fires that we put out.
Honestly, I probably don't knowall of the fires that my team
puts out, right?
And it should be that way for areason because those things
don't need to live in some ofour minds or, you know, our
clients' minds because we don'tneed that to be a situation that
they even have to think aboutIf it's not something that could

(01:00:00):
come back to hurt the business,the brand, or something of that
nature, we are here to put outthose fires.
So if you can't be a part ofthe team that does that, then
this really might not be foryou.

Speaker 01 (01:00:12):
Before you go, we have to ask you, who is having a
moment?
Where is having a moment?
Or what is having a moment?

Speaker 00 (01:00:20):
I would have to say that Tyler Perry is having a
moment right now.
And he just released, and Idon't know if you've heard of it
yet, but he just released ainitiative that he has, which is
called Dream Collective.
And I think that it is sobeautiful of what this man has
built, just the studio, theimpact of the culture, all of

(01:00:42):
these things.
And this new initiative that hehas, I just learned about it.
It's called the DreamCollective.

Speaker 02 (01:00:49):
And

Speaker 00 (01:00:50):
with the Dream Collective, what he is, is it's
a process where for 10 weeks, ifI'm not, you know, mistaking
that there will be a selectionof, you know, after they go
through all of the applicationsand everything, there will be 10
people who will be able toexperience a 10 week experience

(01:01:11):
at the Tyler Perry Studios foraspiring filmmakers.

Speaker 01 (01:01:16):
Nice.

Speaker 00 (01:01:17):
And it's like he is literally catapulting the next
generation, you know, the sameas I aspire to do with Event
Creators Academy.
But like the next generation isgoing to be a little bit better
because of that experience thatthey get to have with somebody
who has lived in their carbefore, you know, all of just

(01:01:37):
his whole story.
And to now be able to own thatstudio and give back and be able
to create this experience forthese upcoming filmmakers is
like, Tyler Perry, he is it.
That is a real deal.
Who is a moment?
It's just amazing.
I'm excited to see it.
I need to look

Speaker 01 (01:01:56):
into that.
I hope it's still around whenmy son gets a little bit older
because he wants to be afilmmaker.
Oh, wow.
I'm going to look into that.
Thank you for sharing thatbecause I did not know about
that.
There you go.
Tyler Perry is having a moment.
Y'all look into it.
Ashley, where can we find you?
How can we keep up with you?
Where can we find the course?

Speaker 00 (01:02:18):
Yeah.
So the course, again, you cango to AshleyAdena.com.
You can also go to myInstagram, which is also Ashley
underscore Adena.
And yeah, like the links andeverything are there.
I hope that, you know, again, Ican reach the next generation
of, you know, amazing eventproducers that are just ready to

(01:02:39):
excel to the next level andjust kind of need that
mentorship and that community tobe able to do it, which I think
everyone should lead into andhave.
because I know I had that whenI first got started.
And even as I scaled, I justhad that community around me.
So I pray that, you know,everybody else has that as well.
But yeah, that's where you canfind me on Instagram or on the

(01:02:59):
website.

Speaker 01 (01:02:59):
Well, we will keep up with you.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Thank you for having me.
Ashley, thanks again for beinghere today and sharing your
passion and insights with us.
All right, Moment Makers.
I hope today's story sparked anew idea, challenged your
thinking or reminded you of theimpact that only you can make

(01:03:21):
don't forget to like and sharethis episode and if you haven't
done so already make sure youhit that subscribe button so you
don't miss the next one I'llsee you next week