Events Owner Connection Overview

Is your business growing as fast as you would like? Do you have a solid plan in place to meet your business goals for this year and beyond? Do you have a team of advisors who can help you with the biggest challenges you face with your business? Do you have the knowledge needed to address issues around sales, marketing, operations, and human resources that are critical to the success of your business?

If you answered no to any of the questions above, the Events Owner Connection  is right for you.  It's lonely at the top for most business owners and many feel isolated without a team of people who truly care about their success as well as the success of their business. In fact, CEOs and business owners who are in peer groups such as the Events Owner Connection run businesses that grow faster than those who don't.

About the Events Owner Connection

The Events Owner Connect is a peer advisory group  that enables fellow business owners to address key strategic issues they face as well as connect, learn, and grow in a safe and supportive environment among likeminded business owners.  The group was launched given the common set of challenges facing owners in the events industry. As such, it is only open to owners of companies in the events' sector; event and wedding planners, caterers, musicians & DJs, event rental companies, audio/visual experts, venue owners, and others involved in organizing and executing events.

The group meets monthly for 4 hours and monthly one-one-one executive coaching is also available to owners who want to deep dive on business issues as well as seek to grow their leadership skills.

The group is open to up to 12 business owners in the events industry and is led by Darren Reinke, Group Sixty Founder and Managing Director.  Darren is a seasoned consultant and executive coach with over 20 years of experience in advising companies and executives across a range of industries.  Darren has a BS in Biological Sciences from UC Davis and a MBA from UC Berkeley. In addition, Darren is a certified executive coach through the International Coach Federation. Darren currently leads a CEO group comprised of CEO's of small and mid-sized companies who graduated from UCLA's Anderson School of Business.

Group Membership: What's Included

As a member of the group, you will participate in monthly 4-hour group meetings as well as have access to optional one-on-one coaching with group moderator and coach Darren Reinke.

MONTHLY MEETINGS

4-hour monthly in-person meetings consist of the following:

  • Company Presentations: Each month, one member will present an overview or update on their business to ensure the group can better understand their company and ensure recommendations are most useful.
  • Business Problem Solving Sessions: The core part of each meeting is to help individual members tackle some of the thorniest business problems they are facing. As such, members will tee up a specific challenge and then receive suggestions from the group about how to address it. Commitments to action are then made by the problem owner and the group serves as an ongoing accountability mechanism to ensure action is taken.
  • Expert Speakers: In addition to expert facilitation of each session by Group Sixty, speakers will come in every 3 months to speak on a specific topic relevant to the group such as how to optimize marketing campaigns and driving sales through social media.
  • Leadership Development: In addition to dealing with strategic business topics, meetings will also include time to learn and discuss key topics in leadership; how to be a better listener, how to develop team members, how to be a better delegator, etc.

ONE-ON-ONE COACHING

One-on-one coaching between sessions provides additional, personalized coaching on topics that have come up during the group meetings as well as other issues relevant to specific individuals. One-on-one sessions also provide an opportunity to deep-dive on the development and enhancement of leadership skills necessary for ongoing success as a business owner.

Benefits of Joining

By joining the group, members will: 

  • Gain group members' perspective as to how they solved similar problems to the one you are facing
  • Join a confidential safe space where you can express concerns related to your business and learn from others
  • Address related personal topics such as work-life balance, managing stress, and juggling multiple responsibilities
  • Network with fellow events' professionals with deep connections in San Diego and Southern California
  • Learn from speakers who will cover topics relevant to your business such as digital marketing, changing employment law, effective selling, improving communications and executive presence

TOPICS of interest

The members drive the business problems discussed each month, but the following is a sample of the topics as well as specific questions that have been addressed with previous groups.

  • Running a Business
    • What is a good business strategy and how do I build one for my business?
    • How can I translate my business goals into a short-term action plan that delivers results?
    • What metrics should I be tracking for my business and how do I track them?
    • What are the habits of the most successful business owners?
  • Increasing Sales
    • How can I convert more leads into sales?
    • How can I shorten the time to close new clients?
    • How do I differentiate my business in a competitive market?
    • How do I explain "What I do" in a way that is clear and unique from others in my industry?
  • Conducting Effective Marketing
    • How should I be measuring my marketing efforts?
    • What low cost marketing tactics can I employ?
    • How should I be using social media to increase my sales?
    • Should I hire a marketing agency to take over my marketing? If so, what efforts can I outsource to them?
  • Expanding My Network
    • How do I build reliable referral network?
    • How do I best create a "circle of influence"?
    • How do I make better use of networking events?
    • What are some ways I can add more value to members of my network?
  • Managing My Time
    • How should I structure my days and weeks to have the biggest impact on my business?
    • How to get out of the vicious cycle of spending all of my time responding to emails and phone calls?
    • How do I connect my long-term strategy to how I spend my time during each day?
    • How do I add more value during the sales process (e.g. better communication, sharing advice, etc.) than my competitors?
  • Working with My Team
    • How can I be a better leader of my team?
    • How do I instill a sense of ownership among my staff?
    • How can I get my team to act more cohesively? 
    • Is now the right time to hire a new person?

If you are interested in joining, please send an email to darren@groupsixty.com.