0:27

Winning is your guide to making

0:30

it in business . Join our award-winning

0:32

host and entrepreneur , Mackenzie Kilshaw

0:35

, and special guests in casual conversations

0:37

that will educate and inspire you

0:39

on your business journey . Winning

0:42

will help you learn the hard lessons the easy

0:44

way , with guidance from celebrated entrepreneurs

0:47

and business leaders . It's fun

0:49

, it's informative , it's inning

0:51

Hello .

0:54

Welcome to Winning . I am your host , Mackenzie

0:57

Kilshaw , and today's guest is Crystal

0:59

MacLeod . Hi Crystal , hi

1:01

Mackenzie , happy to be here . I

1:03

know I'm so excited to have you on . We always

1:06

talk before and Crystal and I are like we should have press

1:08

record twice probably . So

1:10

here we actually go . Crystal

1:13

is a five-time national award-winning

1:16

event planner whose work has been

1:18

featured in a magazine . She's also

1:20

given her expert advice on

1:22

CBC radio , c news , Global

1:24

News and in the Star Phoenix , which is Saskatoon's

1:27

newspaper . When I read

1:29

this she has executed over

1:31

600 weddings and corporate

1:33

events I actually almost fell

1:35

over , because 600 is a

1:37

lot . Yeah , that is a lot

1:39

. And her

1:42

creativity and the wow factor

1:44

that she brings into every event is

1:46

really what sets her apart , and

1:49

I've been to so many events that Crystal has planned

1:51

and I can tell you there you think

1:53

of every little detail . I guess that's

1:55

experience .

1:59

Yeah , absolutely , when you've done . It's

2:01

actually now closer to 800

2:04

events . Actually , I should have

2:06

updated .

2:07

Well , I will update that .

2:10

Yeah , it is getting closer to 800

2:12

. And yeah , when you've done that many events

2:15

for sure , details that

2:18

you're repeating over and over again

2:20

, they just come to your mind , that's

2:22

so cool .

2:24

Crystal , I gave you a little bio , but really why don't

2:26

you tell the audience a little bit

2:29

more about yourself and

2:31

how did you get to doing 800

2:33

events ? Because

2:36

that is amazing .

2:38

Yeah , my entrepreneurial story is

2:41

well . Actually it's

2:43

a little bit dramatic . So I

2:45

was a dance teacher and I

2:47

taught dance for

2:50

10 years I guess . But I

2:52

always wanted to be an event planner . That

2:54

was always in the back of my mind as

2:56

like my dream job . I just didn't think

2:59

it was an actual job . I didn't

3:01

think it was something I knew it was a job , but I didn't

3:03

think it was something that you could do as a career

3:05

in Saskatchewan . I didn't think you

3:07

could actually get paid to do that . So

3:10

another interest of mine was broadcast

3:12

journalism . I was ready to leave the dance

3:15

world and wanted to be

3:17

an event planner . Didn't think that was a thing . Other

3:19

thing I considered was broadcast journalism . So

3:22

I applied to broadcast journalism school in Calgary

3:24

. I was accepted . I was

3:26

ready to move to Calgary . I

3:28

was engaged at the time and

3:31

my husband was

3:33

diagnosed with sorry , my husband to be my fiance

3:35

was diagnosed with cancer . So

3:38

we had to rethink what

3:40

we were doing . So he's going through

3:42

treatment . We postponed our wedding

3:45

. Well , he was supposed

3:47

to be going through treatment and getting better and

3:50

then he became terminally ill . So

3:53

we got married really quickly

3:55

. He passed away a month after we

3:57

got married and I

3:59

was supposed to be moving to Calgary at

4:01

that same time . I was in no

4:03

position to move to Calgary at that time . I

4:06

was trying to figure out my

4:08

life and a new life without him . So

4:11

they held my position at the

4:13

school in Calgary for the year . I was going to

4:15

kind of take the year and then I

4:17

was going to move to Calgary , go to school

4:20

the whole time in the back of my mind I'm thinking I

4:22

actually want to be in a band

4:24

. What am I doing ? Still not thinking

4:26

, yeah , still not thinking that this

4:28

is an option . So

4:31

the year comes and goes and

4:33

it's time for me again to move to Calgary

4:35

and I just couldn't do it . There was just

4:37

something that was stopping me . So

4:39

I cold called Tammy Forrester

4:41

, who was the owner of our RSVP event

4:43

design at the time . We

4:45

met and hit it off instantly

4:48

. You know when you just connect with somebody

4:50

. We just connected immediately

4:52

. She hired me on the spot , started

4:55

working for her . A

4:57

year later she

5:00

invited me to be her partner . So

5:02

we became business partners . Eventually

5:06

Tammy left the company . She's

5:09

now the CEO of Ronald

5:11

McDonald House Saskatchewan . undefined . o . . of .

5:12

I never knew this . Okay , first of all , I've known you

5:14

for many years . I never knew this story

5:16

, so I'm just like , I'm

5:19

like listener , just really . I never

5:21

knew this . That's so cool , Tammy's awesome .

5:23

And Tammy's an incredible

5:26

, incredible person . She

5:28

has taught me everything

5:30

that I know about being

5:32

a business owner and being an event planner

5:35

. I learned so much from Tammy . She is

5:37

my mentor and we are still very close

5:39

. I still reach out to

5:41

her , sometimes in tears Tammy , what do

5:43

I do ? And she hasn't officially been a part

5:46

of the company for many

5:49

years like 12 years

5:51

or something but I still keep her picture on

5:53

our website as our founder , because she

5:56

just deserves that recognition

5:58

, because she is the one that created RSVP

6:00

. So

6:03

yeah , my entrepreneurial story . It's

6:06

dramatic . I guess it

6:09

was me . It

6:11

was taking something very

6:14

difficult . It was taking something very

6:16

sad . It was taking something life-changing

6:19

to make me

6:22

step out and fulfill

6:24

my dream . Again , it sounds very dramatic , it

6:27

is kind of dramatic , but that is how

6:29

I came to

6:31

be an event planner .

6:33

Yeah , it's just so kind

6:35

of crazy , I think to

6:37

, when a huge life-changing

6:40

moment like that happens . You

6:42

can kind of take two paths right

6:44

. You can take the I'm

6:47

just staying where I am and never doing

6:49

anything because grief can

6:52

kind of take over your life . Or

6:54

you can go the path that you took and

6:56

you knew that the broadcasting wasn't

6:59

really for you , even though

7:01

you were interested in it . You knew right and

7:04

look what you've done . I mean , you

7:07

have , like you're nationally

7:09

acclaimed , like clearly this is the path you

7:11

were supposed to be on .

7:14

This is the path that I was supposed to be on and

7:16

it all unfolds

7:20

the way that it is supposed to unfold . So

7:22

, everything you know , there are

7:24

certainly a lot of skills in

7:26

the dance world that were transferable

7:28

to event planning . Putting on

7:30

a recital or a show is

7:33

putting on an event , yeah . So a

7:35

lot of the skills were

7:37

things that I utilize all the time

7:39

in events , and also

7:42

the you know creating

7:44

, because we create experiences

7:46

right . Yes , and we create moments for people

7:49

and I love

7:51

creating beautiful things . Like

7:53

I loved creating beautiful dances

7:56

and beautiful shows , I love creating beautiful

7:58

events . So it all leads

8:01

you to . You know the place

8:03

that you're supposed to be . So

8:05

I am remarried and

8:08

I'm happily married to my

8:10

husband , Mark , and we have two

8:12

children , Ellie and Anderson

8:15

. And after my first

8:17

husband passed away , I

8:19

said three things . I said I wanted

8:22

to be married happily

8:24

again and I wanted two children

8:26

. I even said I wanted a boy and a girl , and

8:29

that's what I have . And I said I wanted to own

8:31

an event planning company . And I'm

8:34

here .

8:34

Yeah , exactly , you know , usually what

8:36

you put out into the universe , you get

8:38

back . We were talking about that before

8:41

. But it is true , right , when you envision

8:43

something and you

8:45

could have said , no , I

8:47

can't do the event stuff , I have to go to become

8:50

a broadcast journalist and

8:52

went that path and probably

8:54

you wouldn't have met Mark

8:57

and had you know like your life would have

8:59

been so much different . But you're

9:01

where you want to be , which is really

9:03

what entrepreneurship is

9:05

about . Right ? It's the lifestyle that you

9:07

want and you're doing something you love every

9:10

day .

9:12

Like I truly am , I

9:14

truly love what I do

9:16

. Like my husband and I will joke

9:18

around about , like if he won the lottery

9:21

and like what would you do ? And things like

9:23

that , and I'm like I kind of feel like I would

9:25

still want to do a lot , but

9:27

like maybe , maybe not as many

9:29

, or something , but like I

9:32

cannot , I cannot imagine

9:34

a life where I'm not doing

9:36

this and you

9:38

know we were talking before the , before we started

9:41

recording . But it's the relationships

9:43

, like events have brought so

9:46

many incredible people into

9:48

my life and

9:50

I get to celebrate moments

9:53

with people . And how kinds of moments

9:55

, right , like we do weddings and we do corporate

9:57

events and we do galas

9:59

. And you know , doing

10:01

the nonprofit gala for

10:04

the nonprofit organization

10:06

, that everything it means , it

10:09

means everything to that organization

10:11

, right , raising funds for

10:13

their organization that

10:15

they believe in , that they care about

10:17

so much , is just as

10:19

important as helping a

10:22

bride get down the aisle to get married

10:24

on one of the most important days of her life

10:26

, right ? So all of these moments

10:29

I get to celebrate and help

10:31

people celebrate beautiful moments in their

10:33

life , you know , we've got to do

10:35

even some like memorials

10:37

not necessarily funerals but memorials

10:40

and what a privilege

10:42

that is to get to create

10:44

a beautiful experience for

10:46

people as they are

10:48

honoring somebody . So

10:50

I just , yeah , I love my job . I

10:52

still love my job . If I

10:55

get to the point where I don't love my job anymore

10:57

, then I will absolutely have

10:59

to stop , because it's too

11:01

stressful of a job . You have to keep doing

11:03

it if you don't love it .

11:05

Well , I was going to say , because I've

11:07

planned events nothing to the scale that you

11:09

have done although I did say it could

11:11

be a wedding planner because I did have to replan

11:13

my wedding because I got married during COVID

11:15

, so I had to be planned my wedding about 10

11:18

times . But if you've

11:20

never planned an event , honestly

11:23

, you have no idea everything

11:26

that goes into it . It's not just , you

11:28

know , some pretty floral arrangements and

11:30

tablecloths . That is a minuscule

11:34

, little , tiny portion of it , right

11:36

?

11:37

Yeah , we say that people think

11:40

our job is about the pretty and

11:42

it's 10% pretty , 90%

11:44

logistics and spreadsheets . Yeah , I

11:46

spend just as much time on delivery

11:49

schedules as I do picking

11:51

out flowers for a wedding , Like it's

11:53

just as complicated as the flowers

11:55

. Yeah , more so probably right . And

11:58

when I think of the glamorous side of it .

11:59

That's right . People wouldn't think about it , because all

12:02

they're thinking is oh , you get to go and

12:04

you get to pick out the flowers with the bride

12:06

, and then the flowers just arrive

12:08

and you put them

12:11

on the tables or whatever it is , but

12:13

really they don't just arrive . You have

12:16

to plan that too .

12:19

Yeah , that's jokingly . hat I say to

12:22

brides is like you're not going to know how they get there

12:24

, or what time they got there , or how we got

12:26

them through the door or how we moved them

12:28

from one place to the other . You're just going

12:30

to show up and they're just magically going to be there

12:32

. But it takes a lot of planning

12:35

to magically get them there .

12:37

Yeah , 100% , and I think

12:39

that's the thing . People see you at

12:41

events and they see you , you

12:44

know , making sure that everything's as it should

12:46

be , but they don't realize everything

12:49

, not just that day , like

12:52

months ahead . Right

12:54

that you're working on it .

12:57

Yeah , absolutely . It

12:59

is the planning of

13:02

everything . So it's not just what

13:04

does a wedding ? You know , when I meet

13:06

with a couple for the first time , I say

13:08

to them like what's your vision for the day

13:10

? But not just aesthetically , like not

13:13

just what you want it to look like

13:15

, what do you want it to feel like , what

13:18

do you want your guests to experience

13:20

? What are those moments that have meaning

13:22

to you ? And that's more

13:25

than flowers and a pretty

13:27

tablecloth . Right , there's other elements

13:29

that are a lot of other elements that are involved

13:31

there .

13:32

Yeah , exactly , and whether it's a wedding or

13:34

a corporate event , it's all

13:36

the same , right ? Because at your corporate

13:38

event , whether that's a gala or that's

13:41

, you know , a big event that a company's

13:43

doing or something that's

13:45

as important to them , right ?

13:48

Absolutely . And I say like I get

13:50

asked all the time like what do you prefer ? Weddings

13:52

or corporate events ? I love

13:55

like galas , I love the

13:57

glitz and the glam and making things beautiful

13:59

and just making a beautiful experience for

14:01

people . I don't do a lot

14:04

of conferences , that's

14:06

just not my area

14:08

of interest for events , but

14:11

a gala is very similar to

14:13

a wedding , like all of the elements

14:16

are there , you have people , you have food

14:19

, you have music , you have

14:21

flowers , you have like they're

14:23

very , very similar and the

14:26

emotional part of it is just

14:28

as significant , sometimes right , or again

14:31

the nonprofit , the

14:33

. They are invested 100%

14:35

, just as you know the family is

14:37

and the bride and the groom or the grooms

14:40

or the brides or whatever . Yeah , exactly .

14:42

Yeah , once again , before we

14:44

started recording , we talked about COVID

14:46

. I owned clothing stores . No one was

14:48

shopping . You have an event planning company

14:51

. I shouldn't say no one was getting married

14:53

, because there was events

14:55

and there was things . But

14:58

that would have been so

15:00

difficult because you kind of had to press the pause

15:02

button , didn't you ?

15:06

We did . Yeah , Covid , it

15:08

kind of feels like this , like this

15:10

fog of like , oh

15:12

right , what happened , like

15:15

? And you came through on the other side and it was like

15:17

you were in battle and we survived . But

15:19

it was , it

15:21

was , it was scary , it was just the uncertainty

15:24

that that was the part of it right

15:26

of . I remember I was i

15:28

in Vegas actually for an event planning conference

15:31

when the like

15:33

, the shutdown first happened

15:35

. And I'm in

15:37

the airport and I'm getting a . I had

15:39

an event , a gala , the

15:41

next weekend and I'm getting phone calls

15:43

that it's going to be canceled and

15:45

I'm like , what , what , what

15:47

are you talking about ? Like , what do you mean ? And

15:50

then more phone calls are coming in and

15:52

more emails and I'm like , oh , wow , like

15:54

this is actually real

15:58

, this is happening . And I remember

16:00

saying like , okay , well , if you know

16:02

we're just shut down for you know , kind

16:04

of my , my projections

16:07

for the year . And it's like , okay , well , if just these

16:09

months shut down , then we're fine . And

16:11

then it's like , oh , and this month

16:13

and this month and

16:15

this month , and you keep adding on . I

16:19

will say that I thought there were a

16:21

lot of initiatives in place for

16:23

small businesses that the government

16:26

helped out and that really

16:28

, that really helped me tremendously

16:30

. For

16:32

a very long time , though , I didn't

16:34

have to lay anybody off and I kept them

16:36

at their full salary

16:38

. It wasn't until , like

16:41

the second lockdown down down

16:43

kind of happened . I think again , this

16:45

is kind of a blur , so trying to

16:47

remember how it all went down so

16:49

we were able to do like a few events and

16:52

weddings , you know , came back

16:55

first , I think , the

16:57

corporate events . Those were a little bit slower

16:59

, and then 2022 happened

17:02

, and it was insane

17:04

because we had all of these contracts

17:06

to fulfill of people

17:08

that had been , like yourself , postponing their wedding

17:11

three , four or five times , you know . Yeah , so

17:13

2022 was just

17:15

off the charts . It was crazy . It

17:17

was so great to be back , be back celebrating

17:21

with people again , and we

17:23

did like a Friday

17:25

wedding , Saturday wedding , Sunday wedding . We were just like

17:28

busy , busy , busy , and then

17:30

corporate events in 2023

17:32

, I feel like really came back strong . So

17:34

now it's just we're just kind of back to

17:37

normal , whatever normal .

17:39

I know it's like the other day was talking

17:41

to someone and I'm like it's

17:43

like it was . If you've ever had surgery

17:45

and you wake up from surgery

17:48

and you're like where , I know I'm here , but

17:50

what up , where am I , whatever ? That's kind

17:52

of what COVID felt . Like you know

17:54

, it's like you remember it . Yeah

17:57

, like you remember it , like I remember

17:59

it , but I'm like I

18:01

can't tell you what happened there . Like I'm

18:03

the same as you . I was

18:06

so fortunate to get the rent subsidies

18:08

and the employee

18:10

wage subsidy a

18:13

subsidy for myself , because I still

18:15

that's my income , right being myself and

18:18

, to be truthful with you

18:20

, if those things wouldn't have been there

18:22

, I really don't think my business

18:25

would have survived , and I think

18:27

that's the same for many , many

18:29

people .

18:30

Yeah , absolutely . For me it was

18:32

day to day life

18:34

because we have two children

18:37

. So my husband is a teacher , so

18:39

he was teaching from

18:41

home , trying to do the online teaching

18:43

, and we had our

18:45

son was in grade two so

18:47

we were trying to teach him

18:50

be his teacher and then our

18:52

daughter's daycare shut down , so

18:54

we had no childcare and

18:56

I was postponing and

18:58

canceling 50 something

19:00

events so it's , and we had

19:03

no , no help with

19:05

our kids . Yeah , so it's like both

19:08

Mark and I having these full time jobs

19:10

. Our daughter was three

19:14

, so it's not like you can just

19:16

, you know , say go do something

19:18

, no three , right . And

19:20

then our son we're supposed to be teaching

19:23

him , we're supposed to be doing the online school

19:25

thing . So it felt like we had like five full

19:27

time jobs . Yeah , so , the

19:29

day to day life , that that

19:32

was really difficult , maybe

19:34

even more so than the uncertainty of

19:37

of everything that was

19:39

happening with my business . But yeah

19:41

, yeah definitely .

19:43

I think many , many people worked

19:46

harder in that COVID year . I'll

19:48

say year , but you know it really was

19:50

a year until things came and

19:53

I don't even know what normal is really anymore

19:55

. But that COVID

19:57

year , I think , was harder for

19:59

many people than when they first started out . Right

20:02

, because when you first start

20:04

out , you don't know what's going to happen , so

20:06

you just take everything as it is . Okay , this happened

20:09

, what are we going to do ? Right , good or bad . But

20:12

then once you're like you're a really well

20:14

oiled machine , right , Like you

20:16

, you knew what you were doing . You had done it for

20:18

many years and all of a sudden it was just

20:20

like a hard stop , right

20:23

. And then , you have all these other

20:25

things that you have to do , but for

20:27

you to like , you still had to maintain those relationships

20:30

with people . You still had to answer

20:32

questions . You still you know people are like , okay , well , maybe

20:34

we're not going to do what we initially

20:36

said . We're going to change now because we just want to

20:38

be married and that's that , or whatever it is right

20:41

.

20:41

So you had a lot , a

20:43

lot happening , yeah

20:46

, and the emotional part

20:48

of it as well , for

20:50

for all my couples , like just trying to trying

20:53

to be there for them and I don't have

20:55

the answers they knew just as

20:57

much as I did . It's not like

20:59

the government was like giving us

21:01

the you know heads up of anything

21:03

that was coming , Like it was . I was planning

21:06

one wedding when the second

21:08

lockdown happened and we

21:10

found out the week before that

21:12

we couldn't serve food in the area

21:15

that we needed to . So

21:18

it was like okay

21:20

, or it was like five days out from the wedding or something

21:22

like that . So it's like okay

21:24

, the rules changed again . Let's figure

21:27

this out .

21:28

So yeah , a lot of problem solving , for sure , I

21:31

feel like you probably do a lot of problem solving and I

21:33

don't know that people even realize

21:35

it . But when you are dealing with weddings

21:38

and big events , there are things like that

21:40

that come up right and you have to figure

21:42

it out , because you can't go to the bribe and say

21:44

, oh , we can't serve food there . So

21:46

I guess , sorry , you know

21:49

you have to . You have to figure it out .

21:52

Yeah , it's really problem solving . I

21:57

think over the years but I also think

21:59

it is a part of my personality

22:01

I don't get panicked

22:04

very easily

22:06

. I know there's always a solution

22:08

for everything . There

22:10

really is . There's a solution for everything . So

22:13

, as long as you can and experience

22:16

too , I mean . Sometimes I

22:18

say , just when I think I've seen and done it all

22:20

, then all of a sudden something new happens and

22:22

it's like , oh boy , well , like a pandemic

22:24

, like didn't see that one coming . Yeah , exactly

22:26

, it's just

22:28

being able to pivot and

22:30

at the end of the day , that's what

22:32

it is . It's solving problems .

22:34

Yeah , exactly , and in all reality , all

22:37

entrepreneurs and small business . That's

22:39

what , that's your job . It's

22:42

just solving a problem or

22:44

taking something and making it an opportunity

22:46

, right .

22:48

Yeah , absolutely .

22:50

I want to chat a little bit about downsizing

22:52

, because I know that you've

22:55

talked about this before , that

22:57

you actually did downsize

22:59

, so let's talk about that . And

23:02

first of all , why did you choose

23:04

that path ? And

23:08

yeah , let's start there . What

23:10

, like what did you do to downsize

23:12

and why did you choose that ?

23:17

So years ago . I mean , we

23:19

are in our well now , going into our 26th

23:22

year of business as RSVP . So

23:25

a lot happens , right , in 26

23:27

years . You evolve , when you change and your focus

23:29

changes . You

23:32

know , when I came on board , we

23:34

were a big company

23:37

. There was , you know , six full-time planners

23:39

. We had a storefront , we

23:42

did rentals and

23:44

there was , you know , we

23:47

did corporate events and we did weddings and we did conferences

23:49

and we did like all kinds of events . So

23:52

when Tammy , when

23:54

my business , one of my business partners

23:57

, chose to leave the company , it

24:00

was like , okay , let's

24:02

figure out

24:04

what I

24:06

want the company to look like and

24:09

what do I want my life to look like . Yes

24:12

, so I don't enjoy

24:14

managing people . It's not

24:16

one of the parts

24:18

of owning a business that

24:21

I really enjoy doing

24:23

. So now I have a manager

24:25

to do that aspect

24:27

of the business . So it's like we

24:29

were having all these full-time planners

24:31

and we were planning all of these events and we had

24:33

this huge storefront , this huge space

24:36

, we were doing all of this rent and

24:38

I'm like I don't want to have

24:40

all of these employees because that's not

24:42

the part of my business that I like . I

24:45

don't want to plan things like conferences

24:48

and outdoor festivals , and we

24:50

were doing that . Tammy

24:52

was great at it . It was not what I enjoyed

24:54

doing . I was doing events

24:57

to pay staff . I don't necessarily

24:59

want to have to be

25:02

in a space where I have

25:04

to have , you know , nine to five hours

25:06

, so I have to have somebody there and

25:08

so I don't have the flexibility either . It's

25:10

like this is not

25:12

, this is not working

25:14

, and I have a young family

25:17

, right , yeah . So it's like how

25:19

do I work smarter and

25:21

not harder ? So

25:24

, really focusing in on

25:26

the events that I loved

25:28

doing I love doing weddings

25:31

, I love doing gallows

25:33

, I love the glitz and the glam

25:35

and making things look beautiful . I

25:37

don't love doing conferences . So let's stop

25:39

doing those kind

25:41

of events . Let's

25:44

downsize our staff , because if we're , you know

25:46

, booking these events to pay the staff I don't necessarily

25:48

want to have , well , now

25:51

that I don't have those events , I don't need

25:53

this staff . So we can downsize that

25:55

. And then having the

25:57

storefront with the rentals

25:59

. So the rentals are

26:02

still a part of our business , but

26:04

now we only rent to the clients that we're planning

26:06

events for , whereas before we rented

26:08

to the general public . They could come and rent a

26:10

cake stand from us or whatever . So

26:13

now I didn't have to have this storefront

26:16

and these hours and

26:18

I got an offsite storage unit

26:20

and bought an office

26:23

downtown in the Second Avenue

26:25

lofts . So now I had an

26:27

investment instead of , you know , paying

26:29

the rent and we were paying a lot of rent

26:31

at the time . So , anyhow

26:33

, all of these things happened and

26:36

I was working less and I'm

26:38

like I have less overhead

26:40

now and I'm working less and

26:42

I'm making more money . Yeah , this is

26:45

amazing , like this

26:47

is amazing .

26:48

Before you did it , were you scared , were

26:50

you , were you like I want to do this . I

26:52

think we have to , but I'm terrified , yeah .

26:56

Terrified , absolutely terrified , because it

26:58

was like we're going to start saying

27:00

no to events , we're going

27:02

to start saying no to business . Like

27:05

that goes against everything as an

27:07

entrepreneur in your core

27:09

. You don't . You don't say no

27:12

to potential business right Now

27:15

. I say no all the time , like even

27:17

more so than that , like now

27:19

it's even from when we

27:21

downsize to where we are at now . Now

27:24

it's like if , sincerely

27:27

, if I feel like I am not

27:29

a good fit for an event , I

27:31

am the first person to say I

27:33

don't think I'm the right person for this event

27:35

, but I know some other people that are more

27:38

than happy , and I do it all the time . So

27:42

I'm not the right person for this , I'm not your girl . I'm

27:45

not your girl for this .

27:46

Isn't it crazy how , like , yeah , you learn that right

27:48

. Like when you first turn out , you're yeah , I'll

27:50

do this , yeah , I'll do that , yeah , for sure . Because

27:53

you , just you , become kind of a

27:55

yes man , because I can't

27:58

say no , because then they'll never ask

28:00

me again or I'll lose that

28:02

group of people or whatever it is . You

28:04

realize , like you said

28:06

yourself , you were more profitable and you

28:08

worked less . That's the

28:10

dream of every entrepreneur , right

28:14

it ?

28:14

i . It was like you know

28:16

where we're at now

28:18

and where we've

28:20

been at different points . It's like , oh

28:23

my gosh , this is what

28:25

I wanted my life to

28:27

look like , you know . So

28:30

, taking it even then the next step

28:32

further , I sold my

28:35

office downtown in the Second

28:38

A Lofts and then my

28:40

husband and I built the home

28:42

that we're in now , with

28:44

a separate entrance for our

28:46

clients . So I moved the office

28:48

and I said I would never have a

28:50

home-based business . I would never do that

28:52

. Never say never .

28:54

Yeah because I was .

28:56

I am . I had this Exactly . So

28:58

I had this office , which was downtown

29:00

. So I'm , you know , w we e r . Doesn't take

29:02

that long to drive , but I'm driving , you

29:05

know , back and forth downtown and

29:07

only 50% of my clientele is really

29:09

coming to the office , so it was just my

29:11

wedding clients , because I'm always going

29:14

to the corporate client . Yeah , of course I

29:16

have this , as you know , expensive space and I'm driving

29:19

back and forth , yet I'm

29:21

only meeting with wedding clients there . Like

29:25

, let's think about this . How could we downsize

29:27

, you know , even further ? Yeah

29:29

, so we did . So we built this house . It

29:31

has a separate entrance , it's

29:34

a really nice big , big office

29:36

and it has

29:38

worked brilliantly . So

29:41

downsizing again . Covid

29:43

hit a year

29:45

and a half after we moved into this space

29:48

and into our home and I was

29:50

like , oh , I didn't know that

29:52

that was even a better

29:54

move . I didn't know there was a pandemic coming

29:57

.

29:57

So really glad I did that when I

29:59

did Interesting a enough . I

30:01

remember when he moved h because Crystal and I actually

30:03

lived not even a block

30:05

from each other . And I remember

30:07

when you said we're building this home and moving and

30:09

I thought that was so exciting and

30:12

yeah , like I mean , had you

30:14

never would have known COVID was going to happen . But

30:17

imagine if you still had that space and

30:20

I mean you're still paying your mortgage for

30:22

that space and you

30:24

couldn't even have any events .

30:27

Like , yeah , that would have been , yeah , we

30:30

could have been in a very different situation . Your

30:33

podcast , my old , your podcast well , we

30:35

could have been in a in a really different

30:37

situation than what we

30:40

ended up in . So it

30:42

again it is . It all

30:44

works out the way that it is supposed to work

30:46

out in the end .

30:47

Exactly , and I love how I

30:50

mean so many people too are . I

30:53

know other business people I've

30:55

talked to are like well , I'm going to buy a building and

30:58

then I'm going to have my office in that building . And

31:00

I'm like , okay , and one

31:02

, for example , was a realtor on

31:06

her own and I said do you

31:08

need a building ? Like it's just you

31:10

, you know you're

31:12

probably . If you want to buy the building as an investment

31:14

, you're probably better off to buy it and rent it out to somebody else

31:16

, because it's just you in the office

31:18

and you

31:20

know , and sometimes it just doesn't make

31:22

sense and it might be a good investment

31:25

or a good idea , but for your business

31:27

model it

31:29

just doesn't work . Same as when

31:31

Tammy left , your left

31:33

RSVP and you took over , your

31:36

business model actually changed . Whether

31:40

you said it did or not , it did

31:42

because you didn't want to do those corporate events

31:44

, you didn't want the rental space

31:46

. You actually

31:49

changed your entire business model . Look

31:51

how well it turned out for you . Absolutely .

31:54

Yeah , business models , they

31:56

have to evolve . You have to change

31:59

. Things are going to change . We've been in

32:01

business for 26 years . It's not

32:03

remotely realistic to think that what

32:05

we started out with is going to be

32:07

where we're at right now , exactly . And

32:11

now , the quality of my life and

32:13

being able to say no to

32:16

events and sometimes

32:18

we were talking about this again before we started recording

32:20

it's like sometimes you're in the

32:22

season of your business where you're like , okay

32:25

, I'm energized right now , I'm given 110%

32:28

and I want to really

32:32

focus on this aspect or whatever , and

32:34

then sometimes you feel like you know what ? I'm

32:36

a little bit , I don't have that energy right

32:38

now . So downsizing

32:41

gave me that freedom

32:43

. Where it's like , okay , I'm not

32:45

, I don't have all of this overhead

32:48

. So if I choose

32:50

to not do these events

32:52

, I'm still going to be okay because

32:54

I'm not paying all the things

32:56

that we were paying before

32:59

. Yeah , so we're really

33:01

lucky . Yeah , so

33:03

we're really lucky also in that we do a lot

33:05

of repeat corporate events . So the very

33:07

first clients we had 26 years

33:09

ago we still do that same

33:12

event . So

33:14

that is . It's

33:17

amazing . I'm

33:19

really proud of that . Like

33:21

this was obviously Tammy's

33:24

first client is an event

33:26

that I still do 26

33:28

years later , and the only

33:30

years we missed , obviously , were the two COVID

33:32

years . So having

33:35

those repeat corporate events are

33:37

really important to me , because

33:39

I kind of know what's

33:42

coming , for you know , obviously

33:44

, weddings are all new every year

33:46

, but with the repeat corporate events

33:49

it's great , and once

33:51

my kids get a little bit older , if I want

33:53

to grow my business , I could . Right

33:55

now I could , because I don't

33:59

do any advertising actually , I

34:02

do like zero . You don't have

34:04

to , though , because I

34:06

don't wish to take on more events

34:08

at this point . Growth is

34:10

not my focus right now . It

34:12

is just not my focus , and I don't want to bring

34:15

on more staff , and I myself

34:17

don't want to be doing more

34:19

events than what I'm doing . When my

34:21

kids are a little bit older , maybe it

34:23

will never say never , but

34:25

for the moment I am really

34:28

happy with where

34:30

I'm at in terms of as

34:33

busy as I want this business to be

34:35

.

34:36

And I think the thing too is growth

34:38

. Like we all just kind of have in our mind

34:40

. Growth means more

34:42

clients , more events for you . Right

34:45

, that's not necessarily what

34:47

it is , because you can grow

34:49

your business without

34:51

increasing your client base

34:53

. Right , absolutely

34:56

. Maybe those corporate events

34:58

or the galas or

35:00

whatever it is , maybe

35:03

they add an additional event in a year right

35:06

, it's still , you're still working with the same

35:08

people . It's just another

35:10

thing , but it's not necessarily growing your

35:13

client base .

35:15

Yeah , absolutely . It's the idea

35:17

that bigger is always

35:19

better it is

35:22

. In my experience it has been completely

35:25

opposite . Yeah , like completely

35:27

opposite , that bigger has

35:29

not been better , not just

35:31

for the bottom line , but also for

35:34

me and my personal life and just

35:36

really the life that I want to live .

35:38

Well , I think , too , when you're looking at events

35:40

, a lot of those events , especially

35:43

weddings , happen on weekends . You

35:45

have a family . When do your

35:47

kids events happen ? Weekends , right

35:50

. So for you , you

35:52

still want to maintain that family

35:55

life and the

35:57

ability to do things with your family and kids

35:59

, but you also have to maintain the

36:02

events Right and that you know that that's

36:05

when a lot of those happen . What

36:07

other yeah , yeah , no

36:10

, I was just going to ask , like

36:14

with the downsizing , that

36:16

did give you freedom and other benefits

36:18

. If you want to talk about that a little bit , yeah

36:23

, absolutely .

36:23

I mean people talking about like the

36:26

weekends and evenings . Yeah , like a wedding

36:28

doesn't normally happen on a Monday afternoon

36:30

, a corporate gala doesn't usually happen

36:32

at 10 am on a Tuesday , right , yeah

36:35

, and a lot of people like

36:37

say to me oh , you must like , you

36:40

must work like every single weekend or

36:42

whatever . But so my husband's a teacher so

36:44

I jokingly say that was

36:46

one of the best career moves I ever made , because

36:49

he has the summer off . So

36:51

we treat a Wednesday like

36:54

a Saturday . If I'm doing a wedding

36:56

on a Saturday , we can , you know , do kind

36:58

of whatever would turn the Wednesday into

37:00

the weekend . It doesn't really matter . Yeah , I've

37:03

also built a really solid

37:06

team . Like we

37:08

have an incredible team . My

37:12

like most senior planner

37:14

has been with me for seven

37:17

years now . She's

37:19

exceptional . Lauren

37:21

, she's incredible . She does , you

37:24

know , just as good or , you

37:26

know I often say better than

37:28

me . That happens sometimes

37:30

. It feels

37:33

like it because she's

37:35

like incredibly focused and she

37:38

brings things to the table and I bring things to the table

37:40

. So when we work together , you

37:43

know we compliment each other . But we

37:45

also have like an incredible contracted

37:47

team . So we have about 15

37:49

to 20 staff that we regularly

37:51

contract to help us just with the

37:53

execution of events , and some of those

37:55

people have been with us for seven , eight

37:57

years , so we have , like , really

38:00

good processes in place . So

38:03

like , yes , events are

38:05

hard and we work really hard

38:07

and they're long hours , but it's

38:10

not the same as when I started

38:12

doing events , because I have learned

38:14

so many things over the years on

38:16

how to be more efficient and

38:18

how to you know

38:20

. So we're executing , you

38:23

know , sometimes three events in a weekend

38:26

, but it's not killing

38:29

me the way that it used to , because

38:32

we've figured out how to do it smarter

38:34

and just putting you

38:36

know processes in place and putting

38:38

in you know company

38:41

policies as to how things yeah , just

38:43

all of it you know . So

38:45

that really that also helped

38:47

a lot with in the downsizing

38:50

as well .

38:52

Yeah , I think two people don't realize

38:54

behind the scenes how much policies

38:57

, procedures and processes those

38:59

are like . When I'm talking to people , I'm

39:01

like , well , what's your procedure for this ? Like , well , we don't

39:04

really have one . I'm like , well , you need to get . Like

39:06

you need one , because then everybody does it

39:08

the same way , Everybody knows what to do , that's

39:10

just what it is right , and you don't even think about

39:12

it . It becomes second nature because

39:14

it's just what everybody does . When you don't

39:17

have that , everybody does their own thing , and

39:19

that's when you have problems right , so

39:22

I love hearing that .

39:23

Well , especially , yeah , especially with

39:25

events . I mean what right

39:27

Like it ? It I mean

39:30

the events are all incredibly important to us , but

39:32

an event is an event like weddings

39:34

have the same elements , right ? Yes , as

39:36

we talked about , weddings have the same element

39:38

elements , pardon me , as a corporate

39:41

event .

39:42

So follow the process , yeah

39:44

exactly , and that's experience

39:47

and have everything you

39:49

know structured like that and

39:52

that gives you freedom to

39:54

have a life and to do

39:56

things and to say no . Right , Like

39:59

you said , you can say no to things now because you

40:01

don't need to have them , which

40:04

is very free . That's right .

40:08

And you can't be everything

40:10

. I can't be an event

40:12

planner to all people

40:14

, right , I can't be the

40:18

cheapest and the most efficient

40:20

and the most experienced and the most

40:22

you know all of those things , like you

40:25

. There are clients that I

40:29

work really well with and there are

40:31

events that are just totally up

40:33

my alley where it's like , oh , I've got this . And

40:36

then there have been events where I'm like struggling

40:38

because it's like this doesn't , this

40:40

event doesn't speak to me , this event

40:43

doesn't you know , it's just

40:45

, it's just not my skill set , and so

40:47

figuring out what that was and then not having

40:49

to do those events anymore was like oh

40:52

, so liberating .

40:54

Yeah , it's like a weight off your shoulders . Yeah

40:58

, yeah , I want to

41:00

just quickly , because I

41:03

know that you do a lot of with business

41:05

etiquette and I think

41:07

that people don't think

41:10

about it especially now we're a lot more casual

41:13

but how important

41:15

it is . So do you want

41:18

to just kind of touch on and

41:20

if people are like , what is business etiquette ? Exactly

41:22

just what it is and why it's important

41:24

, because this it it's

41:27

kind of separate from events in a sense , but

41:29

we all are living these jobs

41:31

, whether you're on a zoom color , you're in an office or you're

41:33

going to a dinner for

41:36

a work dinner , right that there's

41:38

things that are really important . So just touch

41:40

on that a little bit because I find it so interesting

41:42

that you're you have actual

41:46

like training in this , which I think is so awesome .

41:49

I do , yeah , so . So

41:51

I would disagree with you in saying that etiquette is

41:54

not with events , because that is exactly

41:56

what led me to do it to

41:58

etiquette training was because

42:00

I was often the person on the outside of events

42:02

looking in at awkward things that were happening

42:04

and it was like , oh , this feels like a great

42:06

added service I could offer to my clients

42:09

because I see a lot of awkward things happening . I'm

42:11

on the outside looking in , right , yeah , that's true

42:13

. So , yeah , I did my

42:15

training at the Protocol School of Washington

42:17

in Washington DC and

42:20

then furthered my training at the Charleston

42:22

School of Protocol in Charleston . So

42:25

, etiquette etiquette is like a

42:27

scary word for people . It sounds

42:30

pretentious and it sounds

42:32

like perfection and it sounds stuffy

42:35

. But like , etiquette

42:37

is really about kindness

42:40

and respect and social awareness

42:43

, and that is

42:45

in business as well . Yes , right

42:47

, etiquette , social etiquette

42:49

, business etiquette it's all the same . Business

42:51

can be very social at times . So

42:54

having etiquette skills

42:56

are going to it's just really

42:58

going to help you elevate your personal

43:01

brand and how you interact with

43:03

people . It helps to build teamwork

43:05

right by defining inappropriate

43:08

and inappropriate behavior amongst clients

43:10

and colleagues and friends . So

43:12

, like , business etiquette is

43:14

social etiquette .

43:15

They're the same thing , yeah it's

43:18

so true and I can only imagine some

43:20

of the things that you've seen at some of these events

43:22

. But it's true , I

43:24

remember in university we did a . I

43:27

think actually you did it , I think we figured

43:29

out one time you did it . It was at the Saskatoo

43:32

at at the top of the inn and

43:34

yeah , and it was . I was in College

43:36

of Commerce , now Edward School of Business

43:39

, but it was everything from

43:41

how to talk to people and greet them and

43:44

eating , like eating at

43:46

a dinner meeting , and the proper

43:48

way to actually . Well , we don't really

43:50

learn that . I

43:52

mean , you teach your children to eat but not

43:55

what pork to use and you don't realize

43:57

how , if you don't know that stuff

43:59

and someone can tell you don't know it

44:01

, that could affect your career , right

44:04

yeah .

44:05

And I like I always say to people when I'm doing the

44:07

etiquette training , like okay

44:10

, so there's , there are rules

44:12

like etiquette rules that are

44:14

suggestions . They're just suggestions

44:16

so you can . You know there's a . There's two

44:19

different styles of dining that I teach

44:21

. There's suggestions

44:24

. It is not that this is a rule that

44:26

you have to follow , but , again

44:28

, following you know , the

44:30

using proper etiquette just knows you've

44:32

covered the basis , so you're always treating everybody

44:35

with kindness and respect and being

44:37

socially aware , which is very

44:39

important .

44:41

Yep , I couldn't agree more . Crystal

44:44

, do you have a most important lesson

44:46

that you've learned along the way that you want to share

44:48

?

44:51

Oh boy , how , how many lessons have I learned .

44:55

I feel like you learn a new one and you're like dang , that

44:57

was important . I should have learned that a long time ago .

45:00

Yeah , exactly , I

45:02

think in the way that my business

45:05

life and my personal life , you

45:08

know , as an entrepreneur they're

45:10

so intertwined , right A business

45:12

you don't just , you know , close

45:14

your laptop at the end of the day and go

45:17

home and I recognize a lot of jobs are like

45:19

that , for sure , but when

45:21

you're an entrepreneur , it's all on

45:23

you right , at the end of

45:25

the day , it's all on you . So

45:28

for me , the biggest

45:30

, the biggest lesson and

45:33

wish that I had known this

45:35

years ago was the

45:37

learning to say no , like

45:39

to things , learning that

45:42

like I don't , I'm not interested

45:44

in that event , why am I doing that event

45:46

? So it kind of comes all

45:48

back to the downsizing and

45:51

figuring out in a business

45:53

, in my business in particular , what

45:55

are things that I can eliminate so

45:57

that I can live the life that I want

46:00

to live with my husband and with my

46:02

family and my personal life

46:04

. I work really hard , but I

46:06

don't . People probably think I work a lot

46:08

more than I actually do

46:10

.

46:11

Yeah , I think it's . I think

46:13

it's entrepreneurship is so

46:15

funny , because people are either

46:18

like that person works

46:20

20 hours a day or

46:22

it's what does that person do every

46:24

day ? There's seen it right

46:26

. There's seen . There's no in between

46:28

. There's no in between . Is that true

46:30

?

46:30

Yeah , you are bang on with that

46:32

, where it's like what do they actually

46:34

do , right ? Yeah , I

46:37

mean , when I work , for me it's the , it's

46:39

the . When I work , I

46:42

work hard . When I'm at an event , we'll

46:45

put in a 16 hour day , like we will

46:47

absolutely do that , but

46:49

then I'm , I'm not putting in a

46:52

, you know , even an eight hour day

46:54

the next day . It's . You

46:56

know , you , you choose those

46:58

moments . So I give a hundred percent

47:00

and then take

47:02

a few days to not give a hundred percent

47:05

, exactly .

47:05

That's awesome , and is there anything you

47:07

wish you had known or wish you had known

47:10

sooner ? Maybe not to downsizing

47:12

, but yeah the

47:15

same .

47:15

No that I can like that . I can say no

47:17

to to events and

47:19

opportunities , but not every opportunity

47:22

is meant for me .

47:24

Yeah and really the saying

47:26

no . And , as I say , breaking up

47:28

with someone , business breaking up

47:30

. I literally only learned

47:33

that probably in my last two

47:35

years of having a business because

47:38

, really it's like I'm

47:40

the same as you . You can't be the the

47:43

cheapest store , have the nicest

47:45

stuff , be open the latest hours , have

47:47

unlimited return policy . Like you just can't

47:50

do all those things and

47:53

I really just realized it's

47:55

okay to say no or it's okay to say we're not really

47:57

the store for you , but you would love this place in this

47:59

place . Check them out , right .

48:01

Yeah .

48:03

It's a hard lesson , but it's important .

48:06

It's a really hard lesson and I

48:08

think is maybe this is the

48:11

generalization , but I think that , as women

48:13

as well , we always want people to like

48:15

us right .

48:16

Yes .

48:16

We don't want to be that person . We want people

48:18

to like us . We want to for people

48:20

to think that we're nice all the time . And

48:23

I'll say to people well , one of my favorite quotes

48:26

is you can be the ripest , juiciest

48:28

peach in the bunch , and some people still

48:30

aren't going to like peaches , and that's

48:32

okay .

48:33

Isn't that true ?

48:35

Right , I'm not the event planner

48:37

for everybody , and that's

48:39

all right .

48:40

Yeah , I agree . Thank you

48:42

so much for being on . This was

48:44

so good to connect with you again

48:46

and just learn from you , and

48:48

I think when people hear downsizing

48:51

they get kind of freaked out , but

48:53

it's not necessarily a

48:56

negative thing , as you've told us . It's

48:58

actually been really great for you . So thank

49:00

you for sharing with us . Where

49:02

can people find you ? I know that , especially

49:04

business etiquette . I think they need to look

49:07

that up for sure . But maybe we've got some people

49:09

getting married or something . Where's the best

49:11

place for them to ?

49:12

find you .

49:15

So our website . There is

49:17

a little bit of information about

49:19

the etiquette training that we offer , as well

49:22

, obviously , as the event

49:24

planning . So just RSVP event design . And

49:27

our social media , same thing

49:29

, just @RSVP event design . Instagram

49:32

were a little more active with

49:34

weddings , I would say so

49:36

. People like to look at the pretty pictures . Sometimes

49:38

. Corporate events don't always have

49:40

all the pretty pictures , although the Galas

49:42

do they do yes

49:44

. Yeah , and

49:47

on Facebook as well , but we

49:50

do probably upload more pictures

49:52

of weddings onto Instagram and Facebook

49:55

.

49:55

Yeah , and you do beautiful events

49:58

. I don't ever

50:00

plan to get married again , so

50:02

I had four weddings . This is never going to happen

50:04

again , but I knew that , a Gala

50:06

, you're my girl , Crystal .

50:09

Thank you , thank you , I really appreciate

50:11

that .

50:12

Well , thank you for being on and for everybody listening

50:14

. We will see you on the next episode . Thanks

50:17

for listening to Winning . Be sure to subscribe

50:19

to get all of our new episodes . If

50:21

you enjoyed this episode and you'd like

50:23

to help support the podcast , please share

50:25

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50:28

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50:30

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50:32

To catch all of the latest from

50:34

us . You can ou Winning podcast

50:36

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50:38

a inning ,

50:41

at Winning Facebook and on Podcast

50:43

at Winning pod . a Winning was

50:45

created and is produced by me , mackenzie

50:48

Kilshaw Music , Mackenzie created by Summer

50:50

Furby , editing by Firby Seth Armstrong

50:52

. Thanks to Shauna Foster

50:55

for voicing our opening and , of

50:57

course , a huge thank you to

50:59

this episode's guest . Thanks again

51:01

for listening and I'll see you on the next

51:03

episode .