156: Risk and Crisis Management in the Face of the Coronavirus

If there's one thing that the coronavirus has taught us, it's that as business owners we can never be too prepared. Just like a tornado or an earthquake, COVID-19 is a disaster, and now that the event world has a little bit of down time because of it, what should we be doing to be better prepared for the next unexpected situation? In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with a seasoned event planner who has seen her fair share of event complications over the years. She's sharing some of the risk management tools she uses in her business that we can all incorporate.

About our guest:

Kawania Wooten, CMP, is an innovative event management executive, who excels at competitive strategic planning, convention and trade show management, and volunteer management. Her expertise lies in developing operational and programmatic initiatives that provide added value, reduce operational costs, streamline internal processes, and standardize association policies and procedures. As the owner of Howerton+Wooten Events, Kawania uses her strength in contract negotiations, logistics management, budget management, and strategic marketing to make considerable enhancements to the overall attendee experience of a convention of 5,000+ attendees filled with high caliber events.

Additionally, Kawania is also an adjunct instructor in the hospitality, tourism and culinary arts department at Prince Georges Community College in Landover, Maryland. Over the years, she has taught various classes, such as “The Fundamentals of Convention and Event Management,” “Introduction to the Hospitality Industry,” and “Hospitality Entrepreneurship.”

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Kawania's background and how she got started in the wedding and event industry
• What Kawania learned on her first big corporate event when the keynote speaker died the night before
• The information Kawania and her team collect from the entire wedding party
• How our mental health may be impacted during all of this
• How communication is key when it comes to handling crises 
• Business insurance and the benefits to having an insurance agent to talk to directly

Extras:

Listeners get 50% off anything in the Howerton+Wooten shop using the discount code PODCASTLOVE

• Risk Management Template 
• Wedding Planning Guidebook for Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Management 

Want to connect with Kawania?

• Online: https://www.hwevents.com/
• Instagram: @hweventsdc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HowertonWooten

This episode of This Week In Weddings is sponsored by Honeybook.