Branding Secrets & Vendor Success at Invest Fest

In this special clip of Market Mondays, hosts Rashad Bilal, Troy Millings and Ian Dunlap sit down with the dynamic Ms. Business to dig into the power of branding, vendor success, and maximizing your experience at Invest Fest. If you’re an entrepreneur, small business owner, or looking to make a memorable impression at any marketplace or expo, this is the motivation and guidance you need!

Ms. Business shares her real-life branding journey—from starting with a small 10x10 booth at Invest Fest to creating an eye-catching 20x20 experience that had everyone talking. She explains that branding isn’t just about standing out visually, but also about meaningfully connecting with people so you stay top of mind long after the event ends.

Discover how Ms. Business developed strategies to attract and engage event attendees through interactive experiences and games, and why her approach shifted this year to focus on helping other vendors succeed. She talks about “taking up real estate in people’s heads,” building genuine relationships, collecting contacts for future growth, and the value of being present—not just for sales, but for laying foundations for lasting business success.

You’ll also hear how she and her team are giving back through webinars, on-the-ground support for vendors, and a fun attendee-voted competition that brings even more energy to the event. Plus, Ms. Business reveals her practical advice for new and seasoned vendors: how to prepare for a major expo, strategies for creating meaningful impressions, and why focusing on how you make people feel is the secret to real business impact.

For those prepping for Invest Fest or any major networking event, Ms. Business reminds us: “People will forget what you said to them. They will never forget how you made them feel.” Take these insights to heart, whether you’re hosting a booth or just attending.

We also get a preview of exclusive educational opportunities, like Ms. Business’s upcoming Entrepreneurs Boardroom seminar on profit generation, tax savings, and long-term wealth building—empowering attendees to do more than just make money, but use their business to build real generational wealth.

*If you want to step up your branding game, connect deeply at business events, or learn to make Invest Fest truly count, don’t miss this clip!*

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*Timestamps available upon request.*

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#MarketMondays #InvestFest #Branding #Entrepreneurship #VendorSuccess #BusinessGrowth #Networking #MsBusiness #BusinessAdvice #BuildYourBrand

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
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Speaker 2 (00:02):
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Speaker 3 (01:51):
I just wanted to ask you a question, like, as
far for people that's out there from a branding standpoint,
can you talk about branding because okay, you've obviously branded
yourself from a variety of different angles, but let's just
talk about investmentst you you you went out on a
whim and put together extremely elaborate booth and that paid

(02:11):
dividends for you. And you did that and now you
want even bigger and took over the whole entire end
the marketplace. So what is your thought process when you
are looking at like I need to brand my business,
my company, my name.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Brandon is so important.

Speaker 4 (02:30):
So when I'm thinking so every single year, my goal
in the vendor marketplace is how can I stand out? Right,
So that's what everyone should be thinking about. How can
I stand out? How am I going to get people
to come over to my booth? So when I was
creating my booth, I never thought, oh, I need to
have the best booth. My thought process was how can

(02:51):
I attract people? How can I engage them? And also
how can I get them to remember me? So therefore,
in the fewture, whether I get that contact at investments
or they remember me in the future, in some way,
I still take up real estate in their head because
you can't deny that you've seen this big twenty by

(03:11):
twenty booth and we're playing games and we're interacting. And
so when it comes to brand and I think that
is so important. But I think that there's two sides
of branding, right. So there's the branding where you you
let people know, hey, this is my brand, this is
what I stand for, this is my ethics, this is
how I operate, right, And then obviously you're engaging with them,

(03:33):
and then you get.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Them as a client.

Speaker 4 (03:35):
Then there's another aspect of branding where you actually have
to touch people. And so for me, I this year
the reason why I decided not to do a booth
because I do feel like I'm the queen.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
Of the marketplace and every year I have.

Speaker 4 (03:50):
The best booth, And so I said, you know what,
how about I take a step back and not be
competition but be help. How can I serve the vendors?
So every single year, people are like, what's your return
on investment? How are you doing it? How are you
doing these big boots? Does it make sense for you?

Speaker 1 (04:09):
You know, what are you doing? How do you think of.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
These concepts like why do you go so big? Or
how did you start out? Because I started out with
a ten x ten right first ten. So for me,
this year is about giving back and letting vendors like
just we're going to be literally boots on the ground, right,
it is going to be a team of us, an

(04:32):
army of us really, just they're dedicated to helping the vendors.
So we've hosted webinars. I think I have an upcoming
webinar coming.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Up in the Yeah, it was fire, it was.

Speaker 4 (04:44):
And my entire presentation is talking to them about not
only first how do you prepare for the vendor marketplace.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
Ben, how do you actually how do you.

Speaker 4 (04:56):
When you're there? How do you grasp the attention? How
do you actually create that transaction? And most times people
are thinking about how can I make the money just today?
And it's not about just today, it's about how are
you collecting those contacts? So we went over that. We
so basically I'm teaching them how to prepare, how to

(05:17):
be present when you're there, and then after what do
you need to do to make sure that you were
able to not only leave an impression but also turn
that into dollars. So that has been great. My entire team.
We are going to be there, so whether the vendors
need helps getting content, they need something to eat, they
need a break, they need people to come over to

(05:38):
their booth, it's gonna be amazing. And we're doing like
a competition, right, you know, always got to make you
always gotta So we are making We are asking the
attendees to vote, so we will have different categories. The
team will be there, so just figuring out ways to
one bring that energy to the marketplace, but then also
showing business owners like how to make investments the most like.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
Twenty people there, where's this webinary?

Speaker 4 (06:06):
So actually on the seventh is on the seventh at
eight pm.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
Once she's referring to the inside of EYL You she's
been gracious enough to give her time and her knowledge
to our community to help them prepare.

Speaker 3 (06:22):
And but that's not uyo you though, that's for every.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
Vey right right, that's right, that's fact.

Speaker 2 (06:28):
I want to stay it.

Speaker 1 (06:29):
I'm proud of you.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
Let's just start there, like I'm proud of Like we
talk all the time about until everybody, let everybody know
that we're proud of you.

Speaker 1 (06:34):
I'm proud of you.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
We're busy during the investmentst week and for obvious reasons,
but I think like next to us, like you're right
on that next level of super big. Last year you
were on both stages. You were in up in the marketplace,
you were networking. How are you preparing this year yourself? Right,
Like obviously you have a business and your network, how
are you preparing? What guidance?

Speaker 3 (06:56):
What you know?

Speaker 2 (06:57):
Two ledge would you give to people who are going
there for the first time who we're like, wait, I'm
doing all these things.

Speaker 1 (07:02):
I didn't manage.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
What's the management plan for that?

Speaker 1 (07:06):
Listen, it's a lot. It is a lot.

Speaker 4 (07:08):
Yes, maybe after you guys, I may be I may
be the next busiest.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
Person after you all. So this year I'm giving back
to the attendees. Right, I'm doing the Entrepreneur's boardroom.

Speaker 4 (07:19):
I have a two hour seminar on Friday, owners how
to generate profits in their business, how to save on taxes,
how to actually use their business to retire rich and
build wealth, because most of us were not really thinking
about like okay, we're thinking about okay, I need this
business to help me make money, but not really thinking
about how to use it for retirement and to build wealth,

(07:41):
the same thing that you know wealthy people do.

Speaker 1 (07:44):
When they start businesses.

Speaker 4 (07:45):
So I do have that workshop on Thursday, but I
mean sorry, on Friday at one thirty five, I believe.
But for me, when I'm thinking about investments, I look
at you have an opportunity to touch twenty thousand people
sleep on.

Speaker 1 (08:03):
Monday, right, And it's so for me, I'm.

Speaker 4 (08:09):
Consistently and for those of you who have booths. My
thing always and I tell everybody people will forget what
you said to them.

Speaker 1 (08:18):
They will never forget how you made them feel.

Speaker 4 (08:21):
Absolutely, they will never forget how you made them feel.
So for me, whether somebody want to take a photo
with me, they need to ask me a question, I
will literally stop anything that I'm doing to make sure
that I'm touching the people. Because seeing someone on you know,
on Instagram or YouTube, it's very different. Right when you
actually get to see someone, someone may have wanted to

(08:42):
ask you a question or wanted to speak with you.
So I do take the time to just touch them.
I take time to spend at my booth. I may
not be there the entire time right, my team may
be there, but I do take time to spend.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
At my booth.

Speaker 4 (08:56):
This year, I'll be all around the marketplace, but I
still do designate that time when I'm not on the
stage to walk around and speak to people.

Speaker 1 (09:05):
And sometimes people won't speak to you.

Speaker 4 (09:07):
Sometimes people are staring at you, and I'll just be
like hi, right because people are like staring, And so
I just make it my business throughout investments to touch
as many people, and so to any vendor or any
attendee or any person like you have an opportunity and
you're in a space with amazing people that have decided
to invest in themselves as well.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
Everybody there is a winner.

Speaker 4 (09:29):
Everybody has taken that step to invest in themselves. So
take that opportunity to network, to show up and to
just make people feel good.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
You can't go on with that.

Speaker 5 (09:41):
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some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President
Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christy nom the United States

(10:04):
Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border
crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over
one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you
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(10:28):
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Do what's right.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
Leave now.

Speaker 5 (10:34):
Under President Trump America's laws, border and families will be
protected sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security,