Tina Tower [00:00:00]:
Hello, I am Tina Tower and you are listening to her Empire Builder show. Welcome, welcome. Today we are talking all about the truth about running live events. Maybe you want to run a live event. Maybe you're thinking about it. Maybe you run live events all the time. I have been running live events every year for the past 13 years. I have ran many, many like over 40 live events ranging from conferences to retreat to one day conferences, workshops, all of the things in between.

Main Episode

Tina Tower [00:00:37]:
There is the good, the bad and the ugly. So today I want to share with you the truth about running live events so that you can see behind the scenes and you know what you're getting yourself into. Because I do think that live events are fantastic. Obviously I wouldn't keep doing them, but they're not for the faint of heart. And so I want you to be really prepared and really ready for that as well. I will caveat like I will also add with going I am getting ready to run my next lot of live events. I have a few going. You can go to herempirebuilder.com events to see everything that's on.

Tina Tower [00:01:14]:
If you are getting this episode before it hits October 2025, I'm actually doing a tour. So I'm doing her Empire Builder Live. We're going around, I'm sharing with you some custom GPTs how to run your business using AI. So I'm doing that in October and then at the end of the year we are doing planning days, business planning, life planning, beautiful planning days in there. So if you want to come along to one of my events, go to herempirebuilder.com events and you will be able to find it there. But let me tell you about how we actually prepare the behind the scenes for those events. So on social media, live events can look really glamorous, right? They all look perfect. But there's always so much that goes on behind the scenes.

Tina Tower [00:02:00]:
It's not just the beautiful backdrops and the hugs and the slides on stage. I want to give you the full picture. I want to give you the real, the raw truth about what it actually takes to run a live event. So let's get into it. Okay. So first thing I want you to know is it is so much work if you are looking for the easiest way to to build your profile. Live events is not it. But I do think it is one of the most beneficial.

Tina Tower [00:02:31]:
So with things that are like sometimes I'll have people say to me, I couldn't do what you do. But the reason why I am as successful as I am is because I'm willing to do the things that most people aren't. And so I do things at live events. Definitely comes into that. They're risky. You know, when you go to book somewhere you've got to pay for it straight away. So you're backing yourself a lot. And of course everyone has that fear.

Tina Tower [00:02:59]:
What if no one comes? I have that fear every time. What if I'm a Nigel, no friends, what if no one comes? But it is, it's so much work. They're not just a like pop up and speak kind of situation. They take really good events, take months in the planning to make a really good quality one. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes. I am still baffled. We have a Monday board with how to plan our live events, which if you are in her empire Builder, you have access to that and you can see how many things there are to be able to run a seamless live event. However, I look at that list and whenever I am in the initial stages of planning an event I'm like, I mean it seems easy enough.

Tina Tower [00:03:40]:
We look at everything and we go, yeah, we can do all of that. But you never can anticipate the problems that are going to pop up because of venues and because of people. Two very hard to anticipate things. So you know, venues AV is a massive one. The amount of AV things that can happen in different venues is astounding and the amount it costs is ridiculous. The food so you can get like every venue is so different on the food. In a lot of venues there is so much food you don't know what to do with it. In some venues they don't give you enough food.

Tina Tower [00:04:19]:
So it's different for each one. You've got to create the sign up sheets, you've got to create the signage, you've got to do the run sheets, the tech. It is a full time job on top of your actual business. So you have to be really prepared for it. Most of the time the work is completely invisible until you're in the thick of it. Even then, when an event goes off seamlessly, unless you have ran events before, you'd be in the audience, you'd have no idea everything that goes to all of the little details that happen. What I find is often at my events, like the speakers that come in that have ran their own events, they're the ones that are most stoked, they're the ones that are there going, oh my gosh, this is incredible. Like all the little details and all they're the ones that have, like, max appreciation because they're going, I know what this takes.

Tina Tower [00:05:09]:
The hardest people to knock their socks off, actually, people that have never been to events before because they've got no kind of benchmark. They've got no, like, this is the norm for them. And so there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. So if you think that running an online launch is exhausting, try to do it with 100 people staring at you in real time. And that gets even more challenging. So the second is energy is everything. So live events are very much an energy exchange. You have to manage your own energy, you have to manage your team's energy, and you have to hold the space for the energy of the audience.

Tina Tower [00:05:50]:
So it is something that can be quite challenging for me, I'm an introvert at heart, which a lot of people are surprised by. But I spend most of my time alone and I love it. It's why I love online business. Most of the time I'm just behind my computer screen creating stuff. Now, don't get me wrong though, I love the connection that happens at live events. I love being able to see the people that I work with. I love being able to people in real life. I love the energy that comes back because so often we're presenting to a screen that the magic of the energy in that room is always incredibly powerful.

Tina Tower [00:06:26]:
But managing your own energy for that can be challenging, especially if you're introverted, because it's a lot of pouring out. I know a lot of people that listen to this podcast are women, so I feel very comfortable in saying this, but for me, my energy is very dependent upon my cycle. And so last year at our end of year planning day was the first day of my period, which for me is incredibly painful. I'm normally doubled over for about three or four hours when I'm at home with hot water bottles. I don't have an easy time at the start of that. I have massive headaches. It's gotten worse as I've gotten older and it's cruel. I'm like, this is just mean.

Tina Tower [00:07:10]:
I finished having babies like 15 years ago. Come on, body. So I welcome menopause. Welcoming it, waiting for it. Anyway, beside the point. It came first day on the one day that I was doing business planning. So our big day, our biggest day for end of year planning conference. And so energetically what that meant was like I did what I had to do.

Tina Tower [00:07:33]:
I surfed the pants off people. I felt great while I was doing it, but the. The second it was over I got into my car and I just collapsed. I was so exhausted. Every ounce of energy that I had, I put it out there to everybody else and left myself completely depleted, which I'm happy for. I'm like, you know what, you've got such a small shot at live events and it's such a short time that you've got to give it all you've got. But I can like compare that with we just did our mid year conference for her empire builder and it's like day eight of of my cycle, which is like my time to shine. I have so much energy, I'm bouncing around everywhere.

Tina Tower [00:08:14]:
If only I could time it so every live event was perfectly with that. It just makes it so much easier. But it really illustrates to me when that happens how much your natural energy plays a difference and so a lot of it. I will always give myself the best chance when I'm running a conference to set myself up. No matter what stage of the cycle I'm in, in going like, can I get like optimize my sleep for the few days beforehand really making sure that I'm winding down well at night I'm meditating, I'm taking my saunas, I'm eating really well. All of that sort of thing is there. I make sure on event day I've always got like my hydrolyte, I'm having extra electrolytes, I'm not drinking coffee, I'm not drinking alcohol or if I am, it's just like one drink in the evening and that's it. So I'm making sure that I'm doing whatever I can to optimize that energy because it is so energy dependent.

Tina Tower [00:09:06]:
So you're not just delivering content, you're really holding space for people in that like you're leading the vibe and you're keeping that momentum going. So if you're off, everybody's going to feel it. Now you need to factor in time. I've learned this the hard way to recharge after. It's really a big output and I find that this is true for introverted and extroverted people. When you give your all at a live event, it will leave you depleted. So I used to take one day off and then I'll be back again. With our recent conference, we finished on a Saturday and I started launch on a Monday.

Tina Tower [00:09:41]:
That was not the smartest move, but lucky. I had really high energy so I was really good to go. But by the end of the launch, man was I tired. Like so much energy output. So you want to make sure that you're managing your energy the best way you possibly can. Third thing to be aware of is you will have tech issues every time. Just accept it. No matter how good it is, there will be something that will come up.

Tina Tower [00:10:06]:
So mics might cut out. We had one of our mics just for no reason. We have great mics, really high quality, in good condition, recharged batteries. For some reason, one mic worked better than the other mic. One was sounding echoey, one was not. For no apparent reason. We were like, why? And we had the proper AV person there. They're like, no idea why.

Tina Tower [00:10:29]:
So sometimes weird, random things like that happen. You'll have a problem with your clicker, there'll be a problem with the projector, there'll be a problem with the lights. There'll be something that happens that is unforeseen. Music won't queue properly on time. The sound won't play on video through slides. There'll be something that will be there. What you need to do is expect it, build margin in there. Have caveats.

Tina Tower [00:10:54]:
If this doesn't work out, this is how we can bounce forward. This is where we can go. Have backups for everything. But most importantly, always keep your cool. There's different things. There's different things, weirdly, that will set me off in an event situation. So most of the time I can anticipate that things are going to go wrong and I'm fine with it. I can roll with it.

Tina Tower [00:11:17]:
But there's some things, like the last thing that set me off was a couple of events ago, and the bar area was in the side of the conference room. And the person that was behind the bar while I was speaking was moving glasses and moving plates, just rustling. And I think this is very much like an ADHD trait was because of that distraction. It kept, like, pulling me over and distracted and I couldn't focus and couldn't concentrate because of, like, the background noise and through the microphone go, could you please stop moving over there so I can have quiet? It's just those things, like, I can't handle the little things. Big problems. Roll with it. Little things are just like, shut up. I can't.

Tina Tower [00:11:59]:
So know that problems will happen and know how. Know how you're going to respond to that so that you can keep your cool. Because if you freak out, your audience is going to mirror you. So when things go wrong, just know they're going to go wrong. Most people will forgive you Again, I think if something goes wrong and you're cool about it and you Find a good solution for it. Everyone's going to be totally fine, especially if they've run events before. The people that don't ever accept mistakes must never have tried to do something big themselves. So you will be fine.

Tina Tower [00:12:32]:
Number four is people will remember how they felt. Not exactly what you said. This matters. So yes, great content definitely matters. But what people will walk away with more than that is the feeling. So really focus on the experience. Like when I'm focused on the information and the run sheet and how we're putting all of that together. But after we create that, really what I want to do is I want to sit back, I want to close my eyes, I want to imagine how someone's going to feel when they walk in those doors, what they're going to hear, what they're going to see, what they're going to be presented with.

Tina Tower [00:13:09]:
And it comes down to like, I think the attention to detail. Knowing that how their place is set at the table matters, knowing that everything needs to be faced the right way, that it looks on brand, that everything is as comfortable as you can make it, Anticipating when people are going to be thirsty, when they're going to be hungry, like all of those different things to make that experience as nurturing as you possibly can. That is something that I think even more effort goes into that experience. And the music choice. So that you're going to play certain songs at different times of the day to reflect the mood and how you want people to feel, all of that is going to matter. So really think about like the environment too hot, too cold, the music people are listening to. Do people need to move? When are they going to get up? How are they going to move around? Connection with other people. So remembering that the most important part of live events is connection.

Tina Tower [00:14:04]:
It's for people to be able to connect with you and to each other. So making sure that you are able to put enough of those things in place to connect with people. I mean, I've been to events with people that go like they'll put on this one or this two day event and as soon as they're off stage they go out the back and they take a break of which I think would be lovely to take a break. But you're there for such a short time. And so I make sure I take no breaks. I will sprint to the bathroom and sprint back again because I've got such a small amount of time to actually physically connect with people. So I want to go to as many people as I possibly can and I want to connect with them properly. I want to look into their eyes, I want to see them, I want to hear about them, their lives, their businesses.

Tina Tower [00:14:52]:
Because that opportunity is so finite. So whereas, yes, you need to be aware of your energy and be able to recharge. You want to take advantage of being in the room as much as you possibly can. You want to do surprise moments. So one of the things I always try and do at all of our events is surprise and delight. I will say the more you surprise and delight, the more people when they come back, that bar just keeps going up. People are like. But I was more surprised and more delighted last year.

Tina Tower [00:15:22]:
And so you've got to try and keep outdoing yourself, which can be challenging, but always you want to try with that surprise element that how can you make people feel loved, seen, appreciated? Number five is the finances. You can lose a lot of money or you can make a lot of money in events. And I think that being aware of this and being aware of what the goal is. So some events I will aim to make money on, some events are marketing. So like the tour that we have coming up in October, the tickets are priced really low. They're at cost price. I will make no money out of those events. And some people may think that that's a little bit silly.

Tina Tower [00:16:04]:
But I want to get as many people there as possible because I want to meet new people, I want to expand the audience, I want to give people the opportunity that have never worked with me to just come and suss it out. And so for that, I don't want cost to be a barrier to that entry. And so it will be lower ticket price than when I do my full experiential retreats. Like next year we're doing this full retreat in Fiji. That will be phenomenal for her empire builder. That's obviously going to be priced in a different way to like one day workshops. So when you're doing it, I want you to be really strategic. They can be expensive, they will be expensive.

Tina Tower [00:16:48]:
I'm always astounded at the end Bill. I'm like, oh my gosh. But. But they're worth it. But super risky if you're not planned well. So really set out that budget. Talk to people that have ran events before so that you can put in those hidden costs that you may not be aware of that are going to blow out and be really strict with that budget because it's always easy to go. Like one thing this year that we had to make the decision for is I love, like for the last couple Years we've had big, tall, light up letters that say Empire on the back of our stage.

Tina Tower [00:17:22]:
But we had gone over budget. And so the rental for those letters is just over $2,000. And so I'm looking at it going, well, I really want them. But is it worth going over budget for, for $2,000? Would people even care? Like, is it going to affect the experience? Can we create that experience doing another thing? Like, is there another way that we can do that? And so if I didn't have my budget and I wasn't so strict with my budget, I would have put those letters on, I would have lost money. And so you've got to have your bud that you can work within those constraints. When it is done intentionally. When you create an event out of a really good place, it will lead to huge brand loyalty, huge retention, because people will be able to connect with you as a human, not as just the person in 2D, like your face on a box on the screen, as well as other people who are like them, as well as people who are in the arena who are doing the thing. So it creates, creates very deep community.

Tina Tower [00:18:19]:
Which is my favorite thing about what I do, is building that deep community. So you've got to know your purpose for the finances, know whether your purpose for the event is profit or know whether it's positioning or know whether it's connection. So for most of mine, my international retreats, I always price at profit, but everything else is always for connection, for marketing, for positioning, because it creates that retention. Number six is you need a team you trust. So you can't do it all. You can't be in multiple places at once. You can't be on the check in table, greeting people, being on stage, fixing tech issues, talking with the kitchen. You can't be everywhere at one time.

Tina Tower [00:19:03]:
And so you need to have people there that have got your back. You want to be able to delegate clearly. You want to empower your team to problem solve because you don't want people coming to you all the time with those problems. When you are trying to focus on just serving people, you want to be there, available, just to connect and have someone else dealing with all of those little things that happen. So have your person who's like the calm in the storm. And if you're just getting someone for the event, like there's tons of event management people that you can get just for a day. They're the people that I guarantee you will need. Number seven, there is nothing like events.

Tina Tower [00:19:38]:
It is stressful, it is exhausting. But it's absolutely freaking magic. I love it. Seeing your audience in person. Like all the hugs, the breakthroughs that happen. I mean, even just our conference finished a couple weeks ago at the time that I'm recording this and talking to my members on the screen last week and hearing people going, I've put this off for months and months and months. But I'm so inspired by talking to this person at the retreat who had just done this thing and now I'm inspired to go and do it and I've got this result. Like all of the breakthroughs that happen because of that in person magic, that only happens when you're there live in the room.

Tina Tower [00:20:18]:
Like all of the laughs. It is worth every second of effort that goes into the planning of that event. And like I said, it builds community like nothing else. So for me it's where, where a lot of people stop being followers and become friends. That is what events do. That is what happens when you run those live events and you get to actually meet your clients in person. Number eight is run events in a way that feels like you. So don't copy the way everybody else is doing it.

Tina Tower [00:20:51]:
Your event should reflect you, it should reflect your brand, it should reflect your energy, your values. You won't ever be able to keep everybody happy all the time. So make sure it's what you enjoy doing. You know, the event that I just ran, we had jungle drumming in there because I wanted to feel like the connection with everyone drumming and beat with everybody. And I'm sure there were people in there going, what am I doing? Playing the bongos. But you know, it was fun. It was my idea of fun. Another thing is I do all of our dinners from 6 till 9.

Tina Tower [00:21:29]:
Like it is early. I have Nana hours. And that is because I get there at seven o' clock in the morning and I am there all day. I take no breaks except to sprint to the bathroom. Which means that if I went later than 9 o' clock on a three day conference, there's no way I can back up with the same amount of energy the next day. And so because I'm a nana and I like to go to bed early, it's my party and so I make it planned that way. And so you get to determine those parameters. And I think the event should be in line with that.

Tina Tower [00:22:00]:
So whether you're going to make it glittery, whether you're going to make it earthy, whether you're going to make it playful, or whether you're going to make it polished, like whatever that is make it reflective of you. And that is what will make it super memorable for people. Nine is knowing that you're going to learn all the time. There will be. It doesn't matter how many events I run. There's always things that go right. There's always things that go wrong. And you can never pick things that are going to go wrong.

Tina Tower [00:22:31]:
So every event does make you better. The systems always get better. You get better at dealing with the problems. And you can only learn this from doing it. It's really only by doing will you get better at it. Only by doing will you get more confident and more comfortable with it. So what I encourage you to do is if, if running a live event has been on your dream list, get after it. Plan it as best you can.

Tina Tower [00:22:58]:
Get as much help as you can from people that have ran live events. If you're part of her Empire builder, use all of the resources that we have there so that you know what to expect, how to do your RSVPs, how to create your run sheets, how to do your slides, how to do your budget, all of those different things so that you can go in as knowledgeable as you possibly can. And then once you're there, just trust the process and focus on the experience. Focus on just connecting with people, because that is why you're doing it. That is the whole point. So if you've been thinking about running your live event, I hope this episode gives you some real talk and also some encouragement to go and do it. Because yes, it is hard, but like most hard things, it is so incredibly worth it. I hope to see you at one of our events.

Tina Tower [00:23:46]:
If you want to check them out Again, go to herempirebuilder.com events and I look forward to seeing you in real life.