188 | Being Agile and Having Mental Strength as an Entrepreneur with Tsion and Brianna of Gather Events and Co.
The Gather & Co team at the Vancity Business Babes Power of Purpose Conference
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:
We welcome, again, our dear friends Tsion and Brianna of Gather Events and Co, a Full Service Event Planning & Design Company. Listen along to Tsion and Brianna as they reveal what it takes to launch an event planning business with audacity, embrace unexpected opportunities, thrive during challenging times, and use business as a force for positive change by creating opportunities for marginalized communities.
These two amazing women have a heart to create unforgettable moments that become lasting memories and we have been working with Tsion and Bri now for over a year, we connected for our first event that we hosted back from the Pandemic and have been collaborating ever since!
We dive into being agile, mental strength, how they become really good at pivoting as they launched their Events based business in the middle of the pandemic. We also talk about creating your foundation, having rootedness and stability. We know you’ll feel incredibly encouraged by this conversation!
Connect with Tsion and Bri:
Key Takeaways:
Embrace Audacity:
Starting an event planning business with no prior experience takes audacity.
Learn from Tsion and Brianna's journey as they courageously ventured into uncharted territory.
Seize Unexpected Opportunities:
Discover the story of how their business partnership began organically, sparked by a chance encounter at church.
Realize the power of seizing unexpected opportunities in the entrepreneurial world.
Thrive Amidst Challenges:
Understand the importance of resilience when faced with adversity.
Align Vision with Values:
Tsion and Brianna use their business as a platform to create opportunities for others, such as refugees and immigrants.
Gain insights into aligning your business goals with your core values.
Balance Agility and Stability:
Recognize the critical balance between agility and stability in entrepreneurship.
Tsion and Brianna adapted while maintaining a strong foundation for their business.
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transcript
[00:00:00] Danielle Wiebe: Welcome Tsion and Bri to the podcast. So excited to have you here. We have had you on the podcast once, I believe once or maybe even twice before, but we've done some recaps from our events. And so I'm super excited to bring you on and for you to just share a little bit more about you a little bit more about your journey.
[00:00:20] Danielle Wiebe: For people who have not met you yet, can you give a little intro to who you are and a little more about your business? Hi,
[00:00:27] Brianna Thompson: Danielle. Thank you so much for having us. We always love talking with you and building relationships with you. So my name is Brianna. I'm with Gather Events Co. Sian and I started this business about two years ago now, almost three, going on three now.
[00:00:45] Brianna Thompson: So still fresh in the game, but it's been up and running. A little bit about myself. I've been married almost 10 years. I have three children now, under the age of eight, and running a business, being a [00:01:00] mom, and so on and so forth. It's definitely a very dynamic life, but I love it, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
[00:01:10] Danielle Wiebe: Love it. I just love, to see you as a mom of three, running your business. It's just really inspiring for me to see. So thank you for pursuing your dreams with three kids in tow. I love it.
[00:01:24] Danielle Wiebe: See ya.
[00:01:25] Tsion Mulatu: Hello, Danielle.
[00:01:27] Tsion Mulatu: Always good to be on here. We love you and this community so deeply. My name is Tsion. I'm one the owner alongside with Brianna of gather events in co. I am not a mom. I'm very single. In fact, I'm the auntie of those three kids, , and we love Gather as Brianna mentioned, we started it in may of 2021 and I'm sure we'll talk a little bit more about that.
[00:01:53] Tsion Mulatu: Yes, we started it in the middle of Covid. How ironic. But We wouldn't have had it any other way and the [00:02:00] timing was exactly when we needed to launch it. And so we're super, super blessed to be where we are today and excited for this conversation.
[00:02:08] Danielle Wiebe: So good. I love it. For those listening that maybe haven't been to any of our events or you're new to our community Brie and Sian have been, we've been collaborating since 2022, since we started bringing back events for our brand.
[00:02:24] Danielle Wiebe: And it was just such a incredible connection. When we first reached out to them, we saw what they were doing online. We absolutely loved what they were doing and we could just see the personality shine through as you do through social media. So we reached out and luckily they said yes to our very first event.
[00:02:43] Danielle Wiebe: So we started working with each other then, and we have worked with each other since then. And it has been just such a beautiful relationship and partnership. So I would love before we dive into all of those things and events and building out your business, I [00:03:00] would love to hear what was your guys's background?
[00:03:03] Danielle Wiebe: What inspired you to launch a business and also launch it together? As a partnership?
[00:03:10] Brianna Thompson: Yeah, that's really great question, Danielle. I think, the interesting thing and even how this developed. Was pretty just organic and how life directed us down this path. In regards to Sion and I connecting, we actually connected.
[00:03:27] Brianna Thompson: At our church we met. So we were both new into the community, got connected there, started just getting to know each other, doing life together, and then it was actually through serving in our church community, doing events, Sion especially was like heavily involved in even running production and the big scale events and concerts and all sorts of stuff.
[00:03:51] Brianna Thompson: And it was. At this pivotal time, I had run a business. I'm, I was doing hair for 10 years and then having my, I was [00:04:00] pregnant with my third child and I've always been very entrepreneurial, but I wanted to do something different that was still creative. And it was actually me and some other friends that told Sian, we were like, you need to start this business.
[00:04:15] Brianna Thompson: And we were like, What do you need to do? No excuse. We'll even get your schooling for you. Like you just have to like, make it a business. Like you're so good at it. And she was like, I'm not doing it alone. I won't do it alone. And then we let it sit for a while and. A lot of the other friends of ours weren't really wanting to pioneer a business because it's obviously a lot.
[00:04:39] Brianna Thompson: And at the end of the day, it was me and Sian left standing and we were like, okay, we're going to do this. And the pandemic, we had a lot of time to think and process. Yeah, it was where things led into that path. Sian, you want to add to that? I think that's pretty accurate.
[00:04:58] Tsion Mulatu: It was [00:05:00] definitely a natural instinct for us to be gatherers of people.
[00:05:04] Tsion Mulatu: Brianna and I both love hosting. We, I'm, we're both super creative. I love design. But I think it was the people component that we really were drawn to. And to be completely honest, we knew nothing about the event industry going into it. So we didn't even know decor companies, we didn't know venues like that, like we didn't have any connection to the event world, but what we did know that we had a passion for was really to gather people.
[00:05:33] Tsion Mulatu: And that's a lot of where our name came from. And then it just organically happened. And I think that's the beautiful part is nothing ever felt forced, even our friends at the time, Had the best, heart for us in it, but they were, as Brianna said, weren't necessarily into the, like the pioneering of it.
[00:05:50] Tsion Mulatu: And so Brianna and I have mentors. We have pastors with people who pray and walk life with us very closely. And so it wasn't just yeah, let's do business. It's okay, we're [00:06:00] best friends. Let's talk about the pros and cons. Can we do business together? And the biggest advice that our pastors and our mentors gave to us were, if you can do life together healthily and you can communicate well healthily, then you can do business together well.
[00:06:15] Tsion Mulatu: And so we have always kept that in our forefront and we're here now. And truly there's nobody that I can imagine doing this with. And I definitely was not going to do this by myself. Can confirm very loudly.
[00:06:29] Danielle Wiebe: Oh, that's so beautiful. I love that so much. One thing that I really loved about what you just said was that you didn't have any previous connections or knowledge or anything of the events industry, as far as like knowing decor companies or venues or different things, because I think a lot of people, when they have.
[00:06:48] Danielle Wiebe: Something that they want to pursue, whether it be a service or a product or whatever that might be. And they think, okay but who am I to do this? Who am I to [00:07:00] start this business? I don't have any previous education in this area, they come up with all of these reasons or excuses of why they can't and shouldn't do it.
[00:07:10] Danielle Wiebe: But I love that you said that because I think that. That really gives the people listening permission to pursue something that they have a passion for, even if there's no real reason why they should they might just have a natural pull towards that thing. And so I love that you said that because I think it just gives a lot of perspective.
[00:07:33] Danielle Wiebe: And it actually surprised me because now you guys are so knowledgeable and connected in this space. And just the way that you do things and the way that you plan events is just. Incredible. And I'm always so inspired by both of you. And so it actually surprised me to know that you didn't actually have any previous experience.
[00:07:54] Danielle Wiebe: So thank you for sharing that.
[00:07:56] Danielle Wiebe: I would love to hear what have been some of the challenges because [00:08:00] obviously you launched in the pandemic. So while everyone is, scrambling to pivot their business away from events you guys are like, okay, let's go ahead and dive into this.
[00:08:09] Danielle Wiebe: I would love to just know what was that like launching this business?
[00:08:13] Danielle Wiebe: It was pretty well, the height of the pandemic still in 2021, especially, in Canada, right? So tell us a little bit more about what that was like. What were some of the challenges you guys faced?
[00:08:25] Brianna Thompson: Yeah, for sure. I mean The challenges you can roll out the list of challenges. I think for us to is just this heart of learning and overcoming and never letting discouragement creep in when it. Things would shift or I think to you just become a professional pivoter at that point and you have a game plan but there's always that let me stay on my toes because it could shift at any moment.
[00:08:52] Brianna Thompson: So it was really good training ground actually because we learned that it could change in a [00:09:00] day. We would literally be listening there to, the new updates being like, okay, is this going to completely shift? Can these people even get married? What is that going to look like?
[00:09:10] Brianna Thompson: And, but then there was these honest conversations where people just knew and it was, you do what you can, but then there was a lot of wins.
[00:09:18] Brianna Thompson: And I think we were actually really surprised. At the training ground of the pandemic, because even for us being new into the industry, you had to start small and it was only allowed. So it really gave us this learning breathe room to do more intimate events, start, connecting and finding our way.
[00:09:39] Brianna Thompson: And then we went right into wedding boom season. So it ended up being actually like the perfect time to launch and who would have known. But then there was other challenges, during the pandemic too, where, we had a bride that got COVID like had to completely pivot and [00:10:00] navigate all the dynamics with that.
[00:10:01] Brianna Thompson: And so Sian, do you want to add to that?
[00:10:04] Tsion Mulatu: Yeah, I think the challenge was the uncertainty of everything. But it was really beautiful because it allowed us to be proactive in the behind the scenes and honestly, like a lot of it is perspective right like for us and we usually always tell people this because it's funny to us it's like even when we were applying for a business license, they're like an event planning.
[00:10:29] Tsion Mulatu: Like business in the middle of COVID no, you're not going to get that's not going to get approved. And we're like, I don't even know if you can legally say that, but uh, like we don't get this business license. And it was just so weird, like people, our friends and family were like, okay, yeah, I can see that you guys are, okay.
[00:10:44] Tsion Mulatu: But then when it came to the legalities of it, people were like, that is a very strange thing for you to do. And I think. If I'm being completely honest, when you have vision for something, it's it doesn't really matter what obstacles comes your way. Now, in saying that, that's not us being [00:11:00] ignorant and arrogant to the realities of COVID at the time.
[00:11:04] Tsion Mulatu: We were very mindful. We were very cautious. We had protocols in place. We knew we would read, like Brianna said the, all the protocols what we can, what we can't do, so we weren't just doing our own thing. We were very mindful but at the same time, we were super proactive.
[00:11:21] Tsion Mulatu: So, Okay, we can't maybe necessarily do events This one month because they've shut it down. Okay. How do we build our systems? How do we fine tune our contracts? How do we work on better invoicing? How do we like we look back on that season of our life and we could have just been fiddling our thumbs being angry at the government for it's like Yeah, you can, but where else can you put that energy, right?
[00:11:45] Tsion Mulatu: So we developed a lot behind closed doors, right? And then when things were able to happen, we were prepared for it, right? And like Brianna said, we started small, smaller, like picnics was crazy for us in the [00:12:00] summertime, because you could be outside with your bubble and group of people and stuff like that.
[00:12:04] Tsion Mulatu: And then over time it increased, but it's like how you perceive it as well, right? And then a big thing for like us. Personally I got COVID. Was nearly dying in the hospital for two weeks. That shook our business. That shook us personally. Brianna, her whole family was sick at the same period of time.
[00:12:23] Tsion Mulatu: That was a real season. That was very close to us and it was very scary for us. And so it could have been easily where we, came out of that and thank God I made it but, and same with Brianna's family, but we could have been like, no I just, this is not the right time.
[00:12:39] Tsion Mulatu: It's just too much. I'm just don't want to do any of this, but I'm telling you, we just had a vision and we were like, nah, we got to keep going. And it's not even. Because of hear me when I say this, it's not always about money, money, money, right? Like, For us, a big part of it is people.
[00:12:56] Tsion Mulatu: We want to connect people, especially in a time like COVID where people felt [00:13:00] so disconnected. We had a real passion to connect people and still feel like there's space. And that's where a lot of our saying, there's room for you at our table stems from our business. And but yeah, like Brianna said, there's a lot of challenges.
[00:13:13] Tsion Mulatu: But we're thankful for perspective that allowed us and vision that allowed us to keep going even when it was hard.
[00:13:20] Danielle Wiebe: That's so good. I love that so much. And obviously that's a big reason why we have connected and stayed connected is the heart behind what you do is so in line with the heart behind what we do as well.
[00:13:33] Danielle Wiebe: You mentioned a few times your vision of what you wanted to create with your business and connecting people and I think that is such a key thing that I think isn't At the forefront as much as it should be in building a business, because what you just said, it's a lot about how do you increase your profits and all those things.
[00:13:52] Danielle Wiebe: And those are important. Like we talk about that all the time too, because we know that, if you don't have revenue, you don't [00:14:00] have a business. And so that is important. However. If you're only focused on that and that's your only driving force, then a lot of those challenges that come up can totally take you out of the game because, if you're only doing it for the money, that is an empty, motivation and you can go and get a job.
[00:14:16] Danielle Wiebe: And earn money. You can go apply for a job. You can go. There's a lot of different ways to make money other than running a business because there's a lot that comes along with it. And I've talked about this before on the podcast, but not everyone is. Built to run a business because not everyone maybe wants to run a business and that's okay too.
[00:14:35] Danielle Wiebe: But if you do have that, passion and that drive or that, inspiration to do it, then that's like the challenges and the obstacles that come up are not going to stop you. So I would love for you guys to share what is your perspective on that? Where does your passion lie?
[00:14:55] Danielle Wiebe: Obviously, community is a big part of that but like what, what keeps you [00:15:00] going?
[00:15:00] Danielle Wiebe: If there's people listening right now who maybe are going through a really challenging season, whether that be, things have slowed down in their business or they're just feeling discouraged maybe, or they're letting comparison set in. Yeah. What are some, what is some advice that you have for them?
[00:15:17] Brianna Thompson: Yeah, for sure. There's so many layers to that. I think, I would 100% agree. Entrepreneurship is not For the faint heart. It's not just for anyone. There is seasons of it, especially in the building phase. It can be discouraging at times. And I think having partnership has been amazing because when there's times when I'm like, Ugh, I don't know if this idea will work.
[00:15:43] Brianna Thompson: I have C on there where we can literally bounce ideas off, encourage one another. And just be like, nah, we got this. You know what, let's pivot this. Just feeling like you're not alone. And for those who don't have partnership necessarily in business, I would say really get [00:16:00] people in your pocket that are encouraging, that have your back, that are supportive, that will, cheer you on it's super important. My husband's also an entrepreneur. So I think even in your marriage, you have to be on one accord and unified because if your spouse isn't in one accord, that can be very difficult if you don't feel supported in your home life. So for me, that's been, I think just as important as the people behind the scenes supporting me.
[00:16:27] Brianna Thompson: But yeah, we definitely go through seasons and I think too, we've had to look at what is. Prosperity. Because is money it? Maybe that's a portion of prosperity, but like for us, it's like seasons where, okay, you know what? We might not have any clients, but our business is growing in other areas. And we're having other cool opportunities and partnerships and things developing on, the floor front where.
[00:16:56] Brianna Thompson: Maybe we're taking that season of quiet to [00:17:00] build a new avenue of our business and that's flourishing, but we're not necessarily seeing the numbers financially yet. So I think we've had to also just weigh out what that even looks like and are we okay with it and Sian and I too, like for me, I have a husband that's bringing in income to be the breadwinner, which helps me build a business.
[00:17:21] Brianna Thompson: Sian doesn't have that, but she's got family that supports her, if things are a little bit slower. And it also just might look like seasons of life, maybe you need a part time job. To build your business. That's okay. And it can be humbling, but it's that's okay.
[00:17:36] Danielle Wiebe: Yeah. Yeah. I love that you mentioned that too, because I remember when I launched our events, and I was doing, I think, for the first year or two years, I was doing so many different things. Like, I was doing random contract work for different people. I had a few different piecemeal kind of like jobs and different things to basically help me fund my [00:18:00] vision of what I wanted to create with this business.
[00:18:03] Danielle Wiebe: And I think, like you said, it, that does not mean that your business is not successful, because you might be building out, like you said, building out things or creating things that maybe you're not seeing the fruit of yet, but those things will come. And so this is like an encouragement for people cause I think it's so easy to look online and be like, Oh my gosh, everyone's thriving.
[00:18:22] Danielle Wiebe: Everyone is doing so well with their business. And I'm the only one. That can't make this work, or I'm the only one that's struggling, or I'm the only one that's having a slow season, and that is just not true. First of all, you have no idea what's going on behind closed doors of people's businesses. And second of all, they might also be in a different season.
[00:18:44] Danielle Wiebe: They might be in... The harvest, right? Like you're in planting season. You're like, you're in the season of making connections and building systems and all that stuff. And then there's someone else who maybe they've done that for five years, [00:19:00] 10 years. And now they're seeing all these things come to fruition.
[00:19:04] Danielle Wiebe: So thanks for. Sharing that Brianna, because it's so important for us to hear that also, I think it too, what I really think is important is building a business with the vision of longevity, rather than how can I make quick money, because there's all these let's get you to like six figures in six months like, okay.
[00:19:26] Danielle Wiebe: But like, how do you actually sustain a business that is profitable long term and that. Sustains you long term and yeah, that takes time. That takes connections, building relationships, all of those things. So that's all I want to say about that, because I think it's so key that we remember that.
[00:19:45] Danielle Wiebe: That's why I love having these conversations. You can pull back behind the curtain and be like, yeah, things are not perfect all the time. And it is challenging and difficult, but but also, another question that I have for you is what are some things that you feel like you've been able to do, I would love to [00:20:00] hear maybe some of the things that have come to fruition for you, or some of the benefits and things that have happened since you've launched the business that wouldn't be possible otherwise.
[00:20:10] Brianna Thompson: Yes, this is a good one. I
[00:20:11] Brianna Thompson: think. You really got to look at what are you trying to get out of a business? So for me, the heart behind why I've always been super entrepreneurial, I think had a lot to do with this sense of freedom. Not necessarily a lack of responsibility because that can be also tricky when you say freedom.
[00:20:32] Brianna Thompson: That doesn't mean you just have endless time to do whatever. No it's actually this sense of when you become your own boss. I can, I don't have a cap on my creative ideas. So I think for me, I had always wrestled working in certain companies where I would have endless creative ideas, but then it was capped off and nobody really cared to grow it or expand [00:21:00] it or push the limits.
[00:21:01] Brianna Thompson: And then when I became a mom, not only of one, but then two and then now three, it was like, okay, I was taking clients out of home doing hair and things. And I was like, I don't want people in my house anymore.
[00:21:13] Brianna Thompson: I don't want to do that. Like I want to outscale, I want to book in advance. So for family life, Events have been amazing because I can book ahead of time and really manage my schedule. So I have a busy schedule. However, I can plan in advance, whether it's childcare or whatever that looks like. And when we do have a big event, I can make a bigger chunk in one day.
[00:21:39] Brianna Thompson: Then I would maybe doing a full week of work elsewhere. Do you know what I mean?
[00:21:44] Danielle Wiebe: Yeah, totally. And I love that you said that too, because we've had a lot of people on the podcast as well, who have had the previous businesses or previous things that they've done, where they've been shifted and pivoted for certain reasons life changes or what have you.
[00:21:58] Danielle Wiebe: And so [00:22:00] I think that's also an encouragement of, you can always. Change what you're doing and do something different if what you're doing currently is not aligning. So I love that you mentioned that. So good. Sienna, what about you?
[00:22:12] Tsion Mulatu: Yeah, I think the, a lot of what Brianna said, like the creativity but also I think it's really amazing as the founders and owners to be able to build a culture.
[00:22:25] Tsion Mulatu: That we want to establish as a business like there's just something about the way both Brianna and I are wired where we just have large capacities, for task creativity, but also for people. And so you can kind of notice everything comes back to people at the end of the day,
[00:22:43] Tsion Mulatu: we have a heart for my family are refugees and immigrants from Ethiopia. we have hearts in the, in the future of creating space for refugee girls and women to be a part of, the business in some capacity, immigrants to have space to be able to do things [00:23:00] that.
[00:23:00] Tsion Mulatu: Maybe society won't allow them to do just due to their background and their upbringing or whatever it is, right? Like for us, it's like we get to create what we want to create, right? And I think we've both been really good employees and people have loved and valued us as employees. But we wanted to create something that we can also create opportunity for people.
[00:23:24] Tsion Mulatu: And so it's been fun. It's not easy. Definitely not easy. It takes time, like everything takes time, right? And I think when you're building something like The foundation. You really have to build that right. And so I think now that we have a pretty strong foundation, we know who we are. We know what we're after.
[00:23:45] Tsion Mulatu: We know the kind of culture we want to create. We know the kind of employees we want to have as our team, grows and stuff. It is super fruitful, right? And like you're saying what are some highlights? What are some wins? It's yeah, our foundation is pretty good. That's a highlight.[00:24:00]
[00:24:00] Tsion Mulatu: Like we can go through trouble and we can go through hard times. We can go through quiet seasons, but our foundation is good. And so we don't need to worry about that crumbling. So there's been a lot of really beautiful moments and times and growth opportunities for us as business owners. But definitely being able to have the liberty to build something from scratch has been amazing.
[00:24:25] Tsion Mulatu: So
[00:24:25] Danielle Wiebe: cool. I love that. And the ability to pivot and change and launch new things. If you decide to is really exciting as well. And so I think that's something that I love about entrepreneurship is that kind of what you were saying to Brianna about how you have these ideas and you can, obviously there's the challenge of like, okay, what ideas do you actually pursue?
[00:24:46] Danielle Wiebe: But the cool thing is that you get to decide Oh, we have this idea. Yeah, let's do this. Let's move forward with this. Let's actually make this happen. And that's a really exciting, awesome part of entrepreneurship is that you get to, to choose that.[00:25:00] Can
[00:25:00] Tsion Mulatu: I say something to that? That was, I think probably one of the biggest things that COVID taught us was the principle and the agility
[00:25:11] Tsion Mulatu: The ability to pivot, right? The last uh, conference that we did, we didn't have enough food. Okay. You can either panic and you can tell people sorry, we don't have enough food and you get some angry reviews later on and you take the hit and you keep it pushing or behind the scenes, you just get the team together.
[00:25:30] Tsion Mulatu: You send Vanessa, we sent Vanessa, Brianna to go to the grocery store. All right, we go make our own charcuterie boards, like there's gotta be the flexibility, right? To be able to pivot, but we didn't necessarily, I don't know if we necessarily knew how to do that if it wasn't for COVID, right?
[00:25:46] Tsion Mulatu: Like you can do a wedding of 50 people. Dr. Bonnie goes, sorry, no, you can't weddings canceled completely. What do you do? How do you rebook it? How deep can you rebook it? How do you restrategize [00:26:00] all those things? that is so key as a business owner. You can't get so easily wiped out because if you don't have the mental strength it's not going to always go butterflies and rainbows, right?
[00:26:10] Tsion Mulatu: And there's going to be times where you're walking through the fire a bit, but knowing that you're going to get through the fire, if you have your perspective and your mind. Focus on what you need to focus on. And so pivoting is so key and it doesn't mean that and okay back up. I'm rambling a little bit, but there is also a part of it.
[00:26:31] Tsion Mulatu: Where you don't want to get so stuck in I need to pivot all the time that you don't have stability, right? There's a, if you would say balance of knowing how to have the agility and the flexibility and ability to pivot is so good and it's a skill. But you also have got to have a lot of rootedness and like stability and foundation in what you're doing.
[00:26:52] Tsion Mulatu: Does that make sense?
[00:26:53] Danielle Wiebe: Yeah. And I think that it almost allows you to pivot. Better more successfully because you have [00:27:00] that and I love that you gave that example because with events because events are so variable where there's a lot of moving parts. There's a lot of different people involved. It's always, there's always going to be something. And we've been doing events now for almost eight years. Of course, during the pandemic, we had a little break there.
[00:27:18] Danielle Wiebe: But there's always something and the beautiful thing is we always figure it out like every single time we figure it out we and then also it allows you to get better too, right? So like it allows you to be more prepared next time. So the things that maybe fell through the cracks. The first time that we hosted our full day conference.
[00:27:37] Danielle Wiebe: There's a lot of things that, I had never experienced before hosting a full day conference. And so it's Now we get to come into this new, this next conference, knowing those things and being able to adjust and being like, Hey, this is what happened last time. What do we want to change or improve for next time?
[00:27:53] Danielle Wiebe: And we're always getting better. And I think that's a really cool part of it too. Well, I could literally talk to you guys for [00:28:00] forever and ever. We'll have you back, but can you share with us out of everything that you guys have been through it since launching your business, what are you the most proud of ?
[00:28:10] Danielle Wiebe: I think for
[00:28:11] Brianna Thompson: me is just knowing that there are no limits and even the limits we put on ourselves or that others put and project on us. I think there's this level of, you almost are proving to yourself, like it is possible no matter what. And I had every excuse to not do a business and to not step out.
[00:28:35] Brianna Thompson: I think people really watching me are like, okay, first of all. You're just about to give birth to your third child, like good luck running a business literally. Second of all, I'm also a homeschool mom. And so I'm very like, pulled in a lot of directions, if that makes sense. And then on top of that, it's you're running an event [00:29:00] business in a pandemic.
[00:29:01] Brianna Thompson: There was all these reasons. For people to be like, you're a mad woman, you're crazy. And there is this level of crazy, I think, when you're an entrepreneur, where you defeat the odds, you see things different. Like, I think even our, our perspective of the world and what it can be, you're almost coming at it, like I'm shifting culture.
[00:29:21] Brianna Thompson: I want to see change, but I'm bringing it in a business format, tapping into the community in a different way. And so I'm really proud of. I think to just building something and then even with a friend, that was another thing people are like, you're starting a business with your friend good luck, your friendship will be over, you know what I mean? and like, there are just so many negative voices that you can listen to, but it's just you almost have to put your blinders on and just go full in, take the risk. Be honest and vulnerable and always a heart to learn. But I think for Sian and I, I'm just really proud of [00:30:00] us for seeing it through and not giving up.
[00:30:03] Brianna Thompson: And I'm telling you, like the biggest learning curve has been, and I think realization is that there's seasons of life and that plays into your business. And so even just being honest with like, even for us, we were like. We launched in a pandemic. That was our normal. So then going into the second year, we're like, Oh this was such a hit when we were starting.
[00:30:25] Brianna Thompson: So we're like, let's do it again. It was like crickets, you know, we're just like, okay, this is not it for this year. What is it for this year? And so I'm really proud of us for just even being open to trying new things and yeah, really seeing it through.
[00:30:44] Danielle Wiebe: Yeah. And I think that's such a good point. I just want to Share based on what you just said, you always have to be.
[00:30:51] Danielle Wiebe: In touch with what does our community want from us and never think, Oh, we know, like getting so like prideful of like, [00:31:00] Oh, we know exactly what our community wants and needs from us. I think like sometimes we go through those humbling stages of our business where we're like, okay, ready to launch that thing again that was so successful last time and then doesn't go according to plan.
[00:31:14] Danielle Wiebe: You're like, okay, back to the drawing board. And that's the epitome of entrepreneurship is like, okay, what does our community actually want and need? Where, what does the market need from us? What, where can we solve, people's problems? That's basically what we do as entrepreneurs is. It's help people solve people's problems, support them in whatever way we can.
[00:31:37] Danielle Wiebe: So I love that you mentioned that. So good
[00:31:39] Tsion Mulatu: I would say for, for myself, but also for both of us we've stayed true to ourselves. Somebody asked me this was like an interview, like a while, a long time ago for a job. And they're like, how moldable are you?
[00:31:54] Tsion Mulatu: I was like, that's a really good question. And I remember my response to them was, [00:32:00] I'm very confident in who I am. However, I can adapt to any atmosphere. So I'm agile, like we're agile in any kind of environment. And I think that's so accurate. To Brianna and I is we're very confident in who we are, we're very confident in our identity, we're confident in our calling, we're confident in our abilities, but we'll go into an atmosphere and so when you're talking about like humility, it's like we're coming into spaces like Truly, Danielle, like you were somebody that saw us very early on in our business where we were figuring things out.
[00:32:38] Tsion Mulatu: I had just come out of COVID, like regrouping our, our business and life in general, but you saw us in that space and we could have came in and been like, yeah, girl, this is what you need to do and blah, blah, blah. But we were like, What do you see in us? We want to know what you saw in us, and we're thankful for the opportunity to grow, right?
[00:32:58] Tsion Mulatu: You can be confident [00:33:00] and also have the ability and the humility to grow, right? That's a very, that's a strong force right there, right? And I think the beautiful thing is we've been moldable and adaptable in different atmospheres and spaces and networks and all those things, but we've also been very true and authentic to who we are.
[00:33:20] Tsion Mulatu: And so we haven't changed, our heart hasn't changed, how we talk to you doesn't change, our attitude, I'm still a little sassy. Maybe funny sometimes. So is Brianna. Like, We are who like, what you see is what you get with us. And we've been very confident in knowing who we are and haven't allowed the bigness of the industry to to make us tough or like standoffish or, there's just sometimes that we go into spaces and we're like. This is not our vibe. We are just not, we're just not super stickler and we're just not like that. We're super personable. We love who we are. We love being [00:34:00] able to build relationships with people. And so as I reflect, even as I'm talking, I'm like, yeah, we've stayed pretty authentic to who we are.
[00:34:07] Tsion Mulatu: And I'm thankful. , Yeah, I'm thankful for the authentic Of, of who we are and what we've created throughout the couple of years. So
[00:34:18] Danielle Wiebe: good. And I just wanted to. Because as you were talking, I'm like, yeah, cause you were saying like, what did you see in us? And I think a big thing, and this is just really a good takeaway, I think for anyone listening is when it comes to working with other people and when it comes to like building connections, building relationships with people within your industry, within the business world, it's like.
[00:34:42] Danielle Wiebe: What I think what one thing that really stood out to me about you, both of you is how much I felt like you cared. And it seems like such a simple thing, like it seems like, Oh of course we care, but you cared not only about [00:35:00] the event. When we brought you in as okay, we're going to partner on this event.
[00:35:04] Danielle Wiebe: You guys are going to take on decor and help with some of the behind the scenes things. It really, you guys came to me and to, to our team as okay, how can we support this? How can we help? Not just what can we get out of it? Which of course, in any collaboration is of course, Big goal is like, how can this be mutually beneficial?
[00:35:25] Danielle Wiebe: But it really felt like you cared about the event. The people that were going to be at the event and me and us as a brand. And that really stood out to me. I was like, wow, I feel like I immediately felt like, okay, I can trust these people. They have the best, our best interest at heart. And so I just wanted to share that because I think it's just a really good takeaway point for anyone that is.
[00:35:48] Danielle Wiebe: Maybe you're in a season where you're like, Oh man, I'm trying to like, build these connections and build these relationships. And sometimes there's okay, this is like a strategic way to reach out or to, connect, collaborate, but [00:36:00] really it is like. What is your purpose of working with that person?
[00:36:04] Danielle Wiebe: Do you actually care? And are you actually going to support them? Because that's when you're going to earn their trust. And that's, what's going to build connection, collaboration and opportunities long term. So I just wanted to share that because I'm like, that's to me, that's what. I feel that makes you guys stand out and different.
[00:36:25] Danielle Wiebe: And that was like, I asked you guys, if you guys would go out for lunch after I'm like, how can we continue to work together? Because you guys are amazing. I need to work with you again. Yeah, wanted to share that. Cause it's really a key
[00:36:37] Brianna Thompson: thing.
[00:36:37] Brianna Thompson: Thank you so much, Danielle. I really appreciate that. I think you just don't know sometimes when you. I think one thing is people don't understand what their normal is until people point it out, we just do what you do, and you think it's just normal, but then people are like, no this is very much just who you guys are, and it's really great to know, too, because our heart really is [00:37:00] big, and sometimes too big, but we we do care very deeply, so that's really good to know.
[00:37:05] Danielle Wiebe: I love that. So good. Okay. You guys are going to be supporting us not only on the back end of our event coming up, which is our Power Purpose Conference, which we're super excited about on August 25th. But you guys are also going to be speakers for our event.
[00:37:24] Danielle Wiebe: First of all, I would love, I'm just throwing this on you guys, but why do you think people should come to this event? Like why do you think that this is a valuable event for people to be at? And what do you feel like they're going to get out of?
[00:37:40] Tsion Mulatu: Come be connected. Honestly, hear me out. We do a lot of networking, networking, networking. We always talk about networking. I love networking. Networking is great. But being connected is so different. What this conference does is it allows there to be a depth in your relationships and your connection with [00:38:00] people.
[00:38:00] Tsion Mulatu: There's some like practical things that you're going to learn, you're going to hear about business owners, women led businesses that Have gone through different struggles, have had amazing victories, have wisdom for you in your business. But it's also an opportunity for you to feel connected.
[00:38:16] Tsion Mulatu: And even if you're coming by yourself, like there is going to be people. And us included who are going to be ready to welcome you with such big open arms. And so it's an opportunity to grow. But I think a lot of it is really to get out of your comfort zone. And maybe a lot of it, honestly, even from COVID you've been Doing things by yourself and you feel a little nervous to be in social environments and that kind of scares you.
[00:38:44] Tsion Mulatu: But this conference, like we are putting our heart and soul into not only creating an amazing conference, but to creating an experience where you feel seen, or you feel known, you feel heard, and you feel like you have a seat at the table. And so come. [00:39:00] You will see all of us there. And I promise you it'll be fruitful if you allow it.
[00:39:04] Tsion Mulatu: For it to be,
[00:39:04] Brianna Thompson: yeah, I would add to that. Just come ready. You know, It's really special. These events everyone that leaves, I think there's one thing, what you see on Instagram and the marketing, there's a totally different experience when you're in the room and you can't describe it until you're there.
[00:39:22] Brianna Thompson: And everyone, even from the last event, I had endless women coming up to me, just the wow factor and just how they felt. so connected, they came alive, they were just inspired, they left feeling refreshed. And so if you're one of those entrepreneurs, especially as a female entrepreneur, there's this tendency where you feel like you're alone, and it can be isolating.
[00:39:48] Brianna Thompson: But being in that space, it's not only like you're connecting with really great women, business women who have big hearts, it's just a good group [00:40:00] to be a part of. It's not this cattiness, it's not this, oh, I'm just here to market my business and what can I take. It's really this interchangeable exchange of, hey.
[00:40:12] Brianna Thompson: How can we work together to grow together? And Danielle does such a great job of just loving on the women, but also challenging you, inspiring you, and really helping you practically. On the back end of how to literally execute your business well with excellence.
[00:40:31] Brianna Thompson: So I'd say come. We hope to see you there.
[00:40:33] Danielle Wiebe: Yeah, we're so excited. And I think it's just we try to create this environment where people feel welcomed and supported and come comfortable because I think sometimes you can feel so like, Oh, I feel out of place or I don't feel like I belong here.
[00:40:48] Danielle Wiebe: And so that's like truly the heart behind what we do. I feel like at the last event that I was so grateful that was what people got out of it. And that's what people saw from it. So we're so excited to be in the room together [00:41:00] again. I can't wait. Okay. Tell people where can they connect with you?
[00:41:04] Danielle Wiebe: Where can they find you? If they're thinking about hosting their own event and they want to connect with you to see if they can work with you, tell us all the places.
[00:41:13] Tsion Mulatu: Instagram is definitely our most interactive platform and so feel free to send us a DM. We are always down for a conversation and just, that's probably the easiest place.
[00:41:24] Tsion Mulatu: Of course we have our website www. gathereventsandco. com. You can always send an inquiry, book a consult with us but Instagram is definitely where we're most engaged and yeah come and say hi. We'd definitely love to meet you.
[00:41:37] Danielle Wiebe: I love it. And we'll have all the links to your Instagram, your website and all the places so that people can find you there as well.
[00:41:45] Danielle Wiebe: Thank you ladies for joining me for this conversation. I always love, love, love having you guys on, yeah, just a part of our community. So grateful. So grateful. So thanks. Thank
[00:41:56] Brianna Thompson: you so much, Danielle. It's always a pleasure.
[00:41:58] Tsion Mulatu: We love you. [00:42:00] We love you.