Reflections on a trying year will no doubt dominate conversations in these final months of 2009, but in the seminars, Q&As, and show floor exchanges at the BizBash Expo in New York on Wednesday, the subject on the lips of almost every attendee was the future.
"People are really optimistic here this year," said Sophist Productions C.E.O. Reed S. Baker. "We do events around the country, and markets that were late to be affected by the recession are still slow. It was felt first here in New York, and now, a year later, we're the first ones seeing things get busy again. Everyone here is ready to get back to work and you can really tell."
Those describing how busy they are this season weren't just talking about a resurgence in business, they were talking about new ways they're seeking it out.
"I feel like at last year's show, people were saying they didn't even have any projects," said Props for Today C.E.O. Dyann Klein, who noted she felt a distinctly different vibe on Wednesday. "People were talking a lot about partnering this year. Caterers are teaming up with lighting designers and rental companies to pitch new business, and they're putting bids in together as groups. We've been approached several times to go in on bids with others."
Aside from talk about fuller schedules and drumming up new business, there might not have been a stronger indicator of industry resilience than the number of attendees using the expo as means of breaking into events. There were still many newcomers combing the show floor for ideas, inspiration, and advice from seasoned veterans.
"I'm just trying to move into the events business," said Trish O'Hare, who currently interns as an event coordinator at Event Makers. "A lot of people are looking for work right now, but I was surprised to see so many like me, trying to be planners for the first time."
O'Hare came to the expo with her friend Marie Brown, an aspiring planner also looking for her first work in the industry. "What's so interesting for me is how so many of these planners have been able to work around the economy," said Brown. "To hear all of the stories people are sharing about how they aren't just spending less, but looking like they did it without compromising, it's been reassuring."
The fact of the matter remains, however, plenty of the people looking for work on Wednesday aren't strangers to the industry—and have spent much of 2009 trying to find their place in a job market that may have permanently contracted. At one of the morning's first panels, three former internal planners for large financial firms discussed the months leading up to their recent departures and their different perspectives on where they and their profession are headed now.
"A few people came up to me after the session to tell me about their situations and ask for advice," said Dorothea Ann Cernera, former vice president and director of client and special events at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. "Everyone here who's in-between jobs right now just seems to be consulting others about what they have planned next."
For Cernera, that has meant work as an independent meeting and event planner, but she did mention one particularly promising bit for employed financial planners still struggling with limited budgets: "We're going to see bonuses return this year for most people in finance. And if the bonus money is freeing up, events are sure to follow. People will always need meetings."
