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Living Your Legacy
Founder of Bee Events Academy: The Secret to Profitable, High-Impact Events
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A
Events are one of the most profitable and impactful parts of business. I can tell you that from my own experience. A lot of people don't do them, but a lot of people go to them. Right? Only a few people host them.
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The power of live events is just creating an irresistible offer for those but really being genuine on like wanting to help them and have an impact in them. Victor Guadarrama is a visionary, driven and purpose led entrepreneur behind Bee Events Academy, a platform empowering experts, coaches and entrepreneurs to turn their knowledge into profitable live events. Starting now would be the big kind of aha moment for anyone, for all the entrepreneurs. Because if you don't start now, then you'll never know how big your events could be.
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How can they start hosting their own events?
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B
Yeah, it's super simple. It doesn't have to be. You know, we see all these big entrepreneurs throwing these huge massive parties and corporate events. It's really just.
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It spans the globe like a super high cold Internet Elvis. Read the today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.
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It's not over until I win. The Living youg Legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary. The impossible has happened. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan, Open Chicago with the lead. You said Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.
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A
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Legacy Makers. We're here today with Victor who is an event master. His job is to help you bring your events to life. Events are one of the most profitable and impactful parts of business. I can tell you that from my own experience. So we're going to dive into the world of creating epic events today. Welcome to the show.
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B
Thank you so much. Ready for having me.
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A
So, so let's talk about it. Events. A lot of people don't do them, but a lot of people go to them.
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B
Right?
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A
Right. Only a few people host them. Right. Myself, of my, many of my entrepreneur friends, we host big events. How if people are listening out the gate, how can they start hosting their own events?
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B
Yeah, it's super simple. It doesn't have to be. You know, we see all these big entrepreneurs throwing these huge massive parties and events. It's really just start with a meetup. Right. So just it could be at your house, it could be at Collaborate. I'm helping a client right now just collaborating with breweries or different restaurants where they have kind of a private area and you know, typically Tuesdays or Wednesdays are slow and so we're kind of collaborating and giving them an opportunity. For, for us to bring people in in those days. So even just collaborating with their local restaurants or breweries or whatever, that looks like they're more willing to kind of offer the space and you could just have your, your meetups and kind of get that people together.
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A
Yeah. And one thing that, the reason I dive straight into this is most people listening have a limited belief that you have to be like this big famous person to host events. Whereas actually a lot of my clients, when I push them to start doing it, they might only get 20 people there. But it's an awesome experience. It's more, more, you know, hands on and personal. And they still can make 100 grand from an event. Right. And I've had people that only have 30, 40 people that have made half a millimeter meal. So like crazy numbers. Right. And that's because they've took the risk and hosted the event. And a lot of people now could be doing that, but they have limiting beliefs. They don't think they're big enough or famous enough or can fill the room. And it is a scary thing. Like I remember my first event. Like, am I going to sell tickets? Right? At my first event, I think I only had, you know, my first paid event I hosted in my office and we had like, maybe publicly, like it was like 40, 50 people, but it was still a great event. We did over 100 grand and it didn't cost much.
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B
And there you go.
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A
And we've been hosting events for five, six years. So what would you say to someone that's kind of stuck and limited by their mind around it?
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B
Yeah, it's, it's not the amount of people that are in the room, it's just the quality of people in the room. Right. So getting those people in, in your community and part of the event. But I actually just did my first event a couple weeks ago and it's a little different. I'm trying to break the niche in terms of an event coordinator teaching entrepreneurs how to throw on their. I only had 12 people, but those were the 12 best people that could have been in that room. And now there's some of them that took, took that step to kind of be coached by me.
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A
Yeah.
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B
And so it's, it's just really just jumping in. Right. Like for me it took me two years just to be like, oh, there's no event coordinators out there doing their live events. And so just, just doing it, just starting. And that could be in your office or a space, but it's just really starting now would be the Big kind of aha moment for anyone, for all the entrepreneurs. Because if you don't start now, then you'll never know how big your events could be. Right?
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A
Yeah. Well, and let's talk about mini events because it's more understandable and actionable for everyone. Listen, if they just, you know, say they get out their head, they've got to have hundreds of people and they go, okay, well I could maybe do 10, 20 people. How do they still make money and make it worth it? Because I don't think they understand that it doesn't seem worth it. So what, how do they make it work? And how much could they make roughly from 10, 20 people?
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B
Yeah, so it's kind of the big one is creating an offer. So if they're already selling a product or a service or just creating even a more of an irresistible offer for their specific event. So first thing is determining like where you want to have it. Right. Second thing is what speakers or content, what value are you going to give to those coming to your event? And then how can then you help them kind of move forward and kind of what are the next steps to kind of help them be accountable for whatever it is. So for me, I did it in Las Vegas. I recommend doing it on your backyard because that's where you have the most support, the more most kind of community. Community. Right. That you could grab from. And so starting from your backyard will be step one. And then I, for me, I want to do it at a hotel. So I did it at a hotel. I wanted kind of food and beverage. I wanted a networking opportunity for those that came. And that's kind of where the, the real magic is. It is the value of the content and stuff like that, but just the networking and having that community. But the kind of the cherry on top of the Sunday is the offer. So after you gave the value for a day or two, like what opportunity are you going to give those that attended to work with you moving forward? So that's where the real money is, is where you're offering whatever that is, a product or service. So for me it was a six month coaching program teaching entrepreneurs how to do their first live event. And for those that you know, said yes to the offer then, now I'm taking them through that journey. But I made, you know, that amount. It takes two months for me to do it at my W2 current salary. So just just the power of live events is just creating an irresistible offer for, for those but really being genuine on like wanting to help them and be have an impact in them. So the offer would be the big one on how to make money. But it's always just to start, just start at any event.
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A
And then how often, you know, say you can get 10, 20, 30 people in a room, you think you can do those Every quarter? Every year, half a year. How often do you recommend?
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B
Yeah, so I have different clients and some do it every month. So more of a meetup. But it really depends on your strategic, on how you want live events to help be part of your business. So I have some clients that do monthly meetups and that's just more for lead generation and getting them in the email list, you know, all that good stuff and market in the back end for something else. I have kind of vip. I typically, I recommend quarterly at least the bare minimum. People want to know what you're doing. Right. People want to know what your, what search service or product you have. And so being consistent would be the main key in terms of not just having it one every three years. Right. The consistency, just like anything in marketing, et cetera is really the key. If you're doing kind of more of a corporate event, which I specialize in 2, 300, 500 people event seminars, then it's at least once a year. But people have done it two, three times. I mean my clients are doing it five times now for 200. So it's really depending on how the growth of your business and how live events could fit in your model.
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Yeah. And what businesses can host live events. Because we got all different people listening.
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All the businesses, believe it or not, in any vertical. I actually have a really good friend in San Diego, he's a dj and I asked him like, you could do your events. He's like, what are you talking about? I'm just a dj. I'm like, well now he works for the professional San Diego Padres as their main DJ. And I'm like, well, there's a lot of DJs in San Diego that would wish to know, like how do I get there faster? Right. He's been a DJ for 10 plus years. Like you don't necessarily have to do an event on teaching them how to dj because they're already doing that. But like what is the business side? Right. So that was just one example where like I'm, I'm kind of nudging him to do the do an event. But it works for all, all industries.
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A
Yeah. Let's give a couple more examples. What a few, just different industries.
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There is like those that have like more of a brick and Mortar. I know that's been kind of in a decline. So for those that I came from a restaurant background so if I've was still in that I will then do an event on like how to become a better in the hospitality world like a restaurant. So like more of a consulting type. That would be kind of the offer, but it's just really giving out. I've worked with people doing taxes. I mean taxes are boring, right? But people do live events on how to save money right on the back.
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I have a big couple of big tax friends that teach it and they do, they crush it with entrepreneurs, accountants.
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And then they financially, they do their services or they offer that so they, you know, who doesn't want to save money on it?
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And I think one good explanation, let's use the tax one is what's so good about events is for two days you get to teach and show off how great you are. So say let's take the tax, right? The tax expert teaching all these advanced tax strategies. But then at the end of the weekend everyone's got hundreds of pages of notes, their minds blow and they learn all these things and then they go oh, that's a lot. Can you just do my taxes? I mean do all these. And you go yes, absolutely. And that's the offer part that you're talking about. And the chance of them buying are 100x versus a Facebook ad where it says let us do your taxes. When they spend 16 hours right to 8 hour days learning all the tax stuff, right? So it's why you get the best customers, you know, so and you can.
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B
Nurture them during live events. So that's face to face in real life you're able to connect with them and you can figure it out if you like to work with this person or not, right? That's the most important thing about business and able to pick who you want to work with. So having an event and inviting them in your community and showing showcasing the value you have and what you know, it's an easier sell on site rather than a Facebook ad or something like that.
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A
But love it. Let's talk quickly. Logistics of an event, two minutes. What are, how do you do it without it being like a three month nightmare?
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Get someone, get an A team player on your team. Someone that is very organized. I feel like that's the most important. But also someone that's connected, right? Someone that I, I live in Vegas so I know a lot of the sales managers and all the hotels just because I was in that world. So just someone that knows their stuff is really, really important. But for those newbies trying to, like, break into live events, it's just really. I love contracts. I know that's a little weird, but contracts is amazing to know. Like, you're, a, you're doing this for me, and B, and, you know, I'm providing this to the transaction. And so if you are looking at venues or working with vendors, contracts is really, really helpful in terms of just eliminating all that liability. And so for those starting, even if you're doing something at a restaurant or something, just have something on an email or contracts, I feel like that will just eliminate a lot of things.
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A
But the other tip I would give is, like, we've had event coordinators over the years. We do all our events in. We have a big team. But like you said, like, the best event setup is just someone organized, right? So we've had a lot of success with just VAS and my assistants helping. And my recommendation is just spreadsheets and mass outreach, right? So, like, what we do is say we want a restaurant, right? We list the terms. So we say, hey, we need 60 people at this time. We're willing to pay this amount for this much food. One drink, one dessert, right? And then we just blast, you know, 60 restaurants. Because it's like, we cut to the chase, right? And 50 will say, no, that's too cheap. But 10 will say, yeah, we could do that. And then we pick our best. So. So I do recommend, like, when you get started, initially, you make the mistake of just saying, hi, I would like to host an event here, right? And then it's like two weeks of going backwards and forwards versus when you've done a lot. It's like, I want to host an event here. These days, I need five round tables. I need a state, you know, so be specific in the ask whether it's a restaurant, a stage, a dj, whatever you're hiring. And even, like, we name our price. I don't want to deal with all the BS quotes I said. I tell them what it is and then I'm done.
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B
That's my budget, you know?
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A
Yeah.
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B
Another thing is just. Yeah. The request for a proposal would be that. That's what. That's kind of the name of. Just like, this is what I'm paying for and this is the terms. But. And people will go.
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And especially off season, like, if you're doing events off season, there's hundreds of Miami beach, there's hundreds of hu. Hotels are all event spaces are empty, right? So we get like, we get Some of the times we get the venue for free because they just want the room reservations from the, from the venue.
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B
So that's, that's kind of going back to someone knowing their stuff, right? Yeah. Able to negotiate those terms. No liability, food and beverage minimums, you know, kind of minimize the risk for, for throwing an event. So that's why you hire someone like me to kind of get that rolling and lower those.
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A
And last thing that I didn't learn for a couple of years, that's a game changer, is also sponsoring when you start throwing bigger events. Like, you can have event sponsors where they're covering all the hotel costs, the venue costs. You know, I even have friends that host big events where it's like they take 300 people to dinner and they're like this dinner sponsored by blah, blah. And they picked up a 50 grand dinner check. I'm like, that's genius. You just said the dinner was sponsored by them.
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You know, it's something that, like, I'm growing with my clients too. We're trying to change it more like partnerships, sponsorships. Right. And having them be. Really have a seat at the table. Yeah, right.
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Let them talk about their product, have a booth, their name on the affiliate links.
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Yeah, yeah. So we're trying to be creative with sponsorships for them to be more involved. Right. People want to be part of a community, and if we're feeding them leads, then they're more than welcome to pay to help you host your big event. So those are definitely powerful.
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A
So last few minutes, I want to talk about you now. Right. Like you have your whole episode coming out where it's more of your story, journey and all of that, and obviously your business too. But Tea is a bit about you, how you got here, how you got into this.
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Yeah. It all goes back when it's. I come from a hospitality industry family, so we had a restaurant, Mexican restaurant. And that's kind of where my passion really grew in the hospitality world. Just seeing my grandmother serving the community with delicious Mexican food and not knowing English, like, she would just pour her heart out. And so that's kind of. I, I started there when I started working there when I was in high school. So that's kind of where the passion is. I didn't know that events will be my, the passion in events until I would say in my. When I went to university. Right. I would be put in these situations where I would have to coordinate things and logistics and get things running. And I've gotten, I just got a lot of feedback, like oh, you actually like, you're really good at putting stuff together and creating an experience. And so my senior year in college, I got an internship at a real estate education company. So I did that for four years. I flew all over across the country doing events for real estate investors. And that's kind of where it grew. I wanted to learn the sell side. So then I moved to Vegas and learned how to contract negotiate and all that good stuff and worked with some incredible people out there and amazing hotels. And now I am excited to kind of launch this journey for, for my business and teach entrepreneurs how to do their own live events because I think it's really important. And it's also like you become your, you become the, the, the leader right in the niche or you become the, the thought leader in your community. So by you positioning yourself at, in your own event, you're like attracting the people that you want to work with. And people are like, oh, he does events, he does this. So that's why I challenge myself as an event coordinator. You don't see a lot of event coordinators throwing their own live events. We're usually the people in the back making sure all things are good. So I'm trying to break that mold as well, where I'm as an event corner teaching entrepreneurs how to make, you know, 50, 100k in two days just because I've done it for 10 plus years. Now I'm coordinating other people's events. I'm excited to do my own now and breaking that kind of that space for event coordinators. But ultimately, yeah, I'm just, that's kind of where my journey went. Through hospitality, through feedback, just telling me, people are just telling me like, you're really great, what you do. So I kind of just lean into that. At first I didn't because I was just like, no event coordinators. Like, I was just like, whatever. I didn't want it to be seen like, oh, like you do weddings, which I don't. But I wanted to be, you know, more in the corporate side and kind of work with entrepreneurs. That's kind of where my niche is. Yeah, I love this. But yeah, but now I'm super excited to one teach entrepreneurs but also like continue creating those experiences for them.
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A
Good. And last question or last couple of questions. What does the whole legacy impact long term mean to you?
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B
Legacy, that word has always been part of like my vocabulary as a first generation college student too. Like just even going to college was just, I found myself, oh, that's my legacy. You know, just like first One in. In my whole family to have a degree. But now from. For me, it's really in just impacting other entrepreneurs and how they can impact others. So kind of like that compound effect, right? So I'm able to help. Help other entrepreneurs do their live events where they can impact others. So the legacy is just helping and impacting others and just really being that thought leader of like, oh, we should all go to Victor to do events, right? And. But yeah, that's kind of what I want to leave behind is just impacting others for they could showcase their passion, their skill set, their all of those things. So good.
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A
Last question. Someone wants to hire you for an event. They want to learn events from you or come to an event. Where do they go?
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B
Yeah, you could visit my social media, my website be eventsacademy.com the website has kind of all those three different tiers in terms of like, where you at. So I really want to meet where the entrepreneurs are in their journey. So I do have a course. If you're a do it yourself type of person, then I have a course if I have coaching. So if you just want to take a course and then need a little bit more help on the coaching aspect, I'm there to kind of help you through the event process. And if you have. You're like, no, Victor, take it away. I do it all for me, then I do the A Z and my team is there to execute all the things. So we do corporate events, we do nonprofit fundraisers, we do holiday parties. I try to stay in the corporate events, but I'm just there to be a strategic partner, right, For. For. For the entrepreneur and see how live events could be included in their business model for. For business growth. So love it. Yeah.
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A
Good stuff. All right, well, that's a wrap, guys. If you want to start your own event or even you're thinking about it, hit this guy up, check out the full episode. Obviously, learn about his story and his legacy, and as always, keep working hard to build an impact and change lives. I'll see you guys soon.