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044: Launching Customer Experiences and Dreaming Big with Billy Boughey of Elevate Live Events

September 14, 2017 by Launch Youniversity Leave a Comment

Launching Customer Experiences and Dreaming Big with Billy Boughey of Elevate Live Events

SUMMARY:

To elevate means “to lift.” And that’s what Billy Boughey is an expert at. Sometimes it’s lifting the brand of a client. Other times, it’s lifting up his team by fostering a healthy culture. And often, it’s looking at what’s trending in the world right now (spoiler alert: it’s robots) and finding innovative ways to incorporate it into an experience.

Billy is the founder of Elevate Live Events, a creative event agency based in greater Atlanta. The vision of Elevate is to help people and organizations live and lead at a higher level. They do this by creating exceptional customer experiences.

Beyond his work at Elevate, Billy is a dreamer and a doer. We believe that his encouragement and practical advice for entrepreneurs and launchers might be just the thing you need to hear today.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did. Welcome to Episode 44.

LINKS + RESOURCES:

Elevate Live Events

Take a tour of the elevate office (No, really! You’re invited!) by sending an email to: hello@elevateliveevents.com

Billy’s Twitter, LinkedIn and Email

Elevate Live Event’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

THREE KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Good business is built on relationships. 

Billy shared about a recent events his team put on for Auburn and Chick-fil-A. For the aspiring launcher thinking: “how do you even pitch organizations of that size?” Billy answers it for you. Build relationships and add value to them. Somebody you know knows somebody who could be your first client. When you genuinely invest in people and look for ways to bring them value, you’ll be surprised at what doors open up.

2. Don’t think about what it costs, think about what it’s valued at. 

One of the most common question launchers ask is: How do I price my product or service? Billy challenged that way of thinking. Instead of figuring out the math of how much it’ll cost,  figure out how much value it’ll bring. When you’re pricing based on value, not cost, you’ll know when to selectively say no to opportunities and when to give discounts for the sake of relationships.

3. Believe in talent, believe in people and go for it. 

One thing that’s pretty obvious when you talk to Billy is his belief in his team. There’s an intentionality with their work-place culture that weaves into everything they do. Billy also shared about his perspective on keeping the interests of your team above the interests of the client. When you believe in your team and equip and empower them to do their jobs well, they’ll care for the client and the business as much as you do. Hire people you believe in and then get out of their way as they go and do what they’re best at.

Tagged With: atlanta, customer experiences, entrepreneur, live events, passion, scale up, start up, talent, value

040: Starting and Scaling a Creative Business with William Warren

July 28, 2017 by Launch Youniversity Leave a Comment

Starting and Scaling a Creative Business with William Warren
Starting and Scaling a Creative Business with William Warren
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
040: Starting and Scaling a Creative Business with William Warren
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Summary:

What can happen when you combine your passion with your talent? That’s where William Warren of The Sketch Effect found himself when he decided to open his own creative business. The only problem with creative businesses is, as the creator, it can be tough to scale. Today William is here to tell us about his journey to launching his own business and the lessons he’s learned so far from starting and scaling a creative business.

Welcome to episode 40 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

TheSketchEffect.com

The Sketch Effect on Instagram

Jeff Shinabarger of Plywood People on Episode 13 + Episode 14

Three Takeaways:

1. Control what you can control, standardize what you can standardize, teach what you can teach.
When you own a business based on creativity and artistry, it can feel like an impossible task to scale. William’s solution is wise: control, standardize, and teach where and when you can. This means that no matter who the artist is, they are using the same materials as every other sketch effect artist from canvas to markers. There’s a methodology in place to choose the colors. There’s system in place for how each artist draws different objects or writes out typography. All of these processes help grow the business with new artists, while maintaining a consistent look for all products from The Sketch Effect.

2. Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
Culture is everything when you’re growing your business. On a business side, when you have your mission, vision and values documented it tells you how to hire, fire and coach people on your team. On a personal side, don’t you want to build a business that you’d want to work at?

3. Don’t go at it alone.
William says that one of the best things he ever did was start an advisory board for The Sketch Effect. He needed more people looking out for the business, speaking into dreams, goals and plans. In addition to an advisory board, he’s involved in a peer group for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship can be isolating, but you don’t need to go at it alone 

Tagged With: atlanta, creative business, scaling, start up, talent, the sketch effect

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