Over the years, Meet Virtually has cultivated a set of suppliers that we have the privilege of working with on a daily basis. It’s great to work with the best suppliers in the world, but let’s face it, when we can call those people friends it brings everything to another level. In honor of International Women’s Day, we want to highlight some of the amazing women we work with and get to call friends. We reached out to some of them and asked them some questions about their businesses. We wanted to know the challenges they’ve faced, how they overcome them, and what they’re looking forward to. While there are many talented, creative, and savvy businesswomen in our network, for this piece we had the pleasure to interview three of our favorites.

Julie Novak is a powerhouse entrepreneur. She is the CEO and co-founder of Party Slate.

Sarah Tracey is quite possibly the most approachable sommelier you’ll ever meet. She is the founder of her blog, The Lush Life, hosts corporate groups for private wine tastings (both live and virtual) and is a Martha Stewart Resident wine expert.

Avital Ungar is a self-described “quirky, classy entrepneuress” and we think that description fits aptly. Her company Avital Tours hosts experiential F&B programs for corporate groups both in-person and virtually.

What lessons have you learned from the pandemic that can be applied to potential future uncertainties? 

AVITAL: Listen to your clients! You are helping to fill a need for your clients (otherwise they wouldn't buy from you!) so understand what their goals are and come up with creative solutions to meet those goals. During uncertainties, look for patterns in what your clients are asking for, so that you can continue to evolve with them. In order to do this, maintain adaptability and flexibility as that will serve you and your clients well!

SARAH: The biggest lesson I learned is that no matter the state of the world, connecting with other humans is an essential need. The ability to provide that opportunity through a computer screen, with virtual events, became a lifeline for so many. It really drove home how important what we do in the events industry actually is! Throwing parties and producing gatherings isn’t just a frivolous thing– it’s bringing people together, which is so valuable. There will always be a need for that, no matter what uncertainties lie ahead. We’re doing important work!

How do you celebrate successes as an entrepreneur? When do you allow time for this?

JULIE: It is so important to create space to celebrate and reflect on wins. To reinforce how important this is in our culture, one of our core values is “We celebrate and have fun.” Here are a few ways we celebrate team members and important milestones at PartySlate:

• Core Values Award: Every month at our all-company meeting, we give a core values award to one of our employees. We accumulate nominations throughout the year and share meaningful quotes from the submissions during the meeting. We also have a Core Values Shout Outs channel on slack. Anytime someone wants to recognize a coworker, they can post it to this channel.
• In-Person Events: Since we are in the events industry, we do everything we can to create memorable in-person experiences to celebrate wins and create stronger relationships. We hosted our first PartySlate Summit last year in Chicago to celebrate our accomplishments and reinforce our priorities as a company. It was an incredible time to take a step back and remind everyone how far we have come as a company. I also host an annual picnic at my house every summer where people are encouraged to bring their families or significant others.
• Milestone Celebrations: Not all wins need to be celebrated with a party. Simply recognizing “Workaversaries” and promotions during our monthly all company meeting is a great time for each manager to recognize the accomplishments of their employee. An important part of my role as CEO is making time to celebrate wins big and small. At times it is very difficult to work for a startup and it can feel like a rollercoaster. I believe part of the reason we have built a strong company culture at PartySlate is that we make time to recognize our accomplishments and people who are working so hard to achieve our mission.

SARAH: Real talk: I’m sure I’m not the only entrepreneur that needs to work on taking time out and celebrating the wins! We’re often juggling many things, so when a successful moment happens, it’s tempting to move right on to the next challenge. Usually, when I wake up in the morning, I tell myself, ‘you’re doing great!’... to me, it’s more about keeping that energy up every day, throughout the day, rather than setting aside a specific time to celebrate. But I’ll never turn down a glass of Champagne. 

What are you excited about in the events industry? For yourself or the industry? What’s new and coming up?

AVITAL: We've all seen the same boring event over and over and I'm excited by the openness of our clients in the events industry to trust us to continue to push boundaries in Food + Drink. Tasting water like its wine with a Water Sommelier?!?! Flavor Perception Bar Pop-Ups?!? Charcuterie Chalets?!?! Hell Yes!

PARTYSLATE: After a rough two years during the pandemic, the events industry is booming. With the new way of working, we believe events will play an even bigger role in creating company culture, celebrating wins and cementing relationships. Instead of having an annual company meeting, many organizations are hosting quarterly employee meetings. Company budgets are shifting from large office leases to events. I’m excited to see so many new experiential events that enable team members to bond and get to know each other better. At our PartySlate Summit last year, we had a flower arranging class hosted by Flowers for Dreams. Everyone had so much fun, and we each had an opportunity to meet new team members in this casual and lower pressure setting. I’m also really excited to host our first national event for our PartySlate premium members in New York. Our customers will fly in for two days of events and educational panels to network with the best of the best in the industry.

SARAH: I’m super excited to see what the ‘next wave’ is in virtual events! Most of us created our virtual programming as a reaction to a global crisis… which is to say, in the beginning, we were all just doing our best and figuring it out. It was scrappy at first! Now the bar is so much higher in terms of providing really premium experiences virtually. I’m sure there will be new capabilities in terms of technology, as well as new providers in the space offering solutions to things like shipping event materials, and stuff like that. It’s only going to keep getting better (and hopefully, easier for those of us on the production side!) 

What advice do you have for young females in business and event planning? Or for those who are making career changes to join the events world?

SARAH: The amazing part of the events industry is: every day is totally different. The challenge is: every day is totally different. The key is to embrace it and be energized by the challenge. If you’re someone that needs consistency and stability, I wouldn’t recommend a career change into events. If you don’t like putting out fires, stay in your data analysis job! My advice is: be open to possibilities, be flexible, and be able to roll with the punches. Have a sense of humor, work hard, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Some amount of ‘impostor syndrome’ is totally normal at first. Stick with it– an amazing career awaits! 

Who are your clients and how can our readers find you / support your business?

PartySlate is a photo-rich website that inspires people planning events of all kinds and connects them with the leading event companies across the country and the world. We have over 1.5 million stunning event photos that have been posted by leading event professionals. Our clients include leading venues, event planners, caterers, photographers, entertainment, and décor companies who are looking to build their brand and grow their business. You can find us at PartySlate.com.

Sarah: I love working with corporate groups of course– but I can also provide tasting experiences for fundraisers and social events. And, I’m a blogger– come visit www.thelushlife.xyz, click around a bit, and forward an article you found helpful or interesting to a friend. We love that! Or you can come say hi on Instagram, I’m @thelushlife.

AVITAL: Check us out at Avitaltours.com!