Liz Clark’s Sunday Thoughts: 26.01.20

Liz Clark’s Sunday Thoughts – I have enjoyed a progressive and fruitful week. The Pure Spirit Shows are taking momentum and have gained immense interest. The May show looks like it will be fully attended. With many new and fresh, readers, therapists and retail. And Visitor interest is fantastic.

On our next podcast, we’ll be joined by Barrie John. And he’ll be making a significant announcement. This announcement will be of great interest to all Community Members. The statement is a cornerstone to the future of the shows: and the decision will be one of the reasons the shows will have nationwide appeal. Only a week before the announcement, so have a little patience.

I received a comment about the vast size of the Lady Eastwood Centre: ‘That’s a big area Liz, do you think you’ll fill the venue?’ and my answer is ‘taking on the larger venue has nothing to do will filling it with more Community Members’. Yes. We will grow into the building. However, for some time, I’ve wanted to change the floor layout of the show: it is impossible to make the changes in the Cedric Ford Pavilion.

My constant thought is to improving Visitor and Community experience of the events. Experience of organising and engaging in international shows and events will now influence the layouts of all of the shows. Now, it is evident that the larger venue is more expensive to hire. And this show has sixty-five attending Community Members booked at the moment (with three weeks to go there will be additions). So, the increase from a Cedric Ford show is only fifteen (at present) more Community attending. This figure does not make up the additional cost. Fortunately, we have enjoyed a profitable 2019, and we can invest in the future of the show.

While some would look for cheaper venues and lower overheads, Ian and I choose to reinvest and look to the future. So do not expect us to double the number of crystal stands, spiritual counsellors, or therapists to fill the building and cover the extra costs of venue hire. We choose to enrich the show, with more activities, talks, and space for the Community. This restriction is a deliberate choice, and to encourage people to ‘try-out’ The Lady Eastwood Centre, Ian and I took the extraordinary step of lowering stand costs, rather than keep them the same and other events. It is of course, logical that the prices should have at least stayed in-line with other shows.

We can make this choice because our priority is for the Community’s success. Profit is NOT the number-one objective of our organisation. Do not forget we do not see LizianEvents Ltd as our business; we work for the company, not visa versa. It is the organisation’s health and ability to thrive, which matters to Ian and myself, and we make choices for the long term success of the organisation. Factually, we are not interested in those who denounce our business practice. Everything we do is transparent. Recently, I was called ‘unprofessional’, and that’s fine by me! So long as none see the Well Being Shows – Creativity Connected – Pure Spirit as ‘amateur’, you can call Ian and me whatever you like! Acknowledgement of the prestige and ethos of the events are paramount to meeting our longterm goals.

Therefore, we take the step to move to a larger venue. Reinvest profits into the new show, widen the horizons of our events and encourage new Visitors to them. We do not desire overnight success. Learning from mistakes, making adjustments to present activities and evolving the perception of the events is the way for us to move.

Gary Longdon is right when he comments:

“Simultaneously, standards of the best have gone up. Putting on a show is easy. Being the best isn’t. If you are the best you will grab the lions share of whatever market there is”.

and

“The organisers have the experience, and ability, to deliver that. The aim to be geographically fluid suggests great confidence in what the product will look like – exciting times ahead”.

And we’ll take Pure Spirit out into new territories. As for the Well Being Shows: Ian and I intend to position the events so as, Visitor’s travel to meet and become friends with the fantastic and growing Community. And this is another reason for moving to the Lady Eastwood Centre.

See You Soon
Liz
Liz Clark –  MD LizianEvents Ltd