Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce, wedding industry veterans of more than 20 years, met in the early 1990s as they worked at Walt Disney World Resort, where they increased Disney tale weddings in a $ 100m operation a year. “It was a bit like lightning in a bottle the first time we had the opportunity to work together,” says Greinnals entrepreneur. “We had the opportunity to cooperate on some really delightful projects, and it was a truly formative time.”
Image Credit: Conduct of Commitment! Summity. Kathryn Arce, left, and Grinnals Rebecca, right.
After Disney, Grinnals and Arce began to be advised, helping hotels, resorts and tourism boards around the world to develop their wedding and honeymoon businesses. So the duo discovered an important gap in the industry: there was no event that united buyers, suppliers and various sellers focused on luxury weddings.
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What if we were able to unite them all in one room and have these really extraordinary, significant conversations to help support entrepreneurs and small businesses that strengthen the wedding industry? The co -founders thought.
So grinnals and arce created a conference to make it only: engage! Samite, now a multimillion brand of dollars.
Image Credit: Corbin Gurkin. Commit! in Paris, 2023.
It was April 2008 when co -founders decided to move forward with their idea of engaging! Summit – and their first conference would be that June. With just six weeks to withdraw the one-day event in Orlando’s Celebration Hotel, Grinnals and Arce were hired and relied on their industry contacts. Seventy -five people participated.
“We were able to invite [celebrity wedding planners] Preston Bailey and Marcy Blum be our VIP speakers, “Arce remembers.” We also invited Harmony Walton, the founder of the bride’s grass, come and provide an overview of the tendencies she was seeing. And then an editor from Destination and honeymoon wedding“
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The event was a hit. Bailey and Blum opened for the construction of their successful businesses over the years and the challenges along the way – the relating experience for everyone in participation. The morning after the conference, a present blog for how valuable she was and said she could not expect to participate again.
This is when grinnals and Arce knew they were on the right track. They continued with their advisory work and built engagement! Summity as a kind of “side acceleration” for the next decade, waiting for one or two events each year before going full time with their brand in 2018.
“In many cases, [we had one business] Serve the other in a very organic and natural way. “
Of course, co -founders relied on their industry experience, taking advantage of the possibilities of intersection, wherever it was possible to grow! Summit at the power plant is today. For example, the Kayman Islands Department was a long -term counseling client, and they have been waiting for Engage! Summity in the Kayman Islands five times.
“In many cases, [we had one business] Serve the other in a very organic and natural way, “explains the grinnals.” I think many people who have their own businesses find ways to do so, so they are not completely different but are able to converge and support each other. “
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After the expected events in Mexico and the Caribbean, engage! Summites put on her first European -based event in Puglia, Italy, in 2016, which withdrew its most international audience to that point and began years of reception throughout the globe. Commit! The next summit event in Tuscana will score its 48th, and the brand will celebrate its 50th in London this July.
Throughout its 17-year leadership to date, engage! Summits has received 43 events sold in 50 five -star luxury properties, with more than 7,500 present from 45 countries and 35 seats. Brand also boasts more than 100 million social media and media impressions.
Image Credit: Anya Kernes. Commit! At Boca Raton, 2023.
“Basically, small business owners and entrepreneurs need community.”
Conferences continue to cultivate an environment where business owners can be personally linked, an opportunity that can be difficult to come to today’s digital world. Virtual links and social media relationships can be useful tools of the network, but they are not a replacement for those conversations within people, especially for entrepreneurs, say co -founders.
“Being an entrepreneur is really exciting, but it can also be very isolated,” says grinnals, “especially when you are sitting in your office all day at Zoom, it’s so easy to think that everyone else is doing better than you are or no one else fights. In essence, small business owners and entrepreneurs need community.”
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A commitment! The Summits event in Tuscana can host sellers from 22 different countries, joining them in a place to talk through challenges and support each other. Because, regardless of the special area of the expertise of a business owner, they share a goal: serving their couples best.
“Being able to run through different scenarios personally with [other business owners is something] We have discovered that you cannot repeat and is really invaluable in building successful and strong lucrative businesses, “Grinnals adds.
“We wanted to dream bigger and better with each event.”
Co -founders encourage entrepreneurs who aspire to have an idea for their event -based business to continue to follow their great ambitions, even if they look scary in the early days.
“We were not afraid to look for things,” Arce says. “We wanted to dream bigger and better with each event. If you have an idea, design it to the maximum of your ability and see how things go. Keep learning, making changes and moving forward. Surround yourself with love and positive people who believe in what you are doing. There is no limit for nothing you can create and dream.”
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Grinnals agrees and adds that networking to establish “advisory tips or boards of informal directors outside your specific business can help you level as an entrepreneur.
“It is easy to stay truly focused on the laser for the person doing your kind of business,” explains the grinnals, “but it is really powerful to create a network of different people who understand the nuances of your business but also do it in a different way and understand [the industry-specific challenges]. Find people to be a healthy board, giving and taking advice from each other, and having that small group of people you can call [on] and faith. “
This article is part of our ongoing EntriprenEur® women’s series that highlights stories, challenges and triumphs of a business as a woman