From Kaiser Permanente to Wine Country: Norma Kropelnicki’s Unexpected Path to All Things Meetings

Anthony Codispoti (00:01)

Welcome to another edition of the inspired stories podcast where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired by how they've overcome adversity. As you listen today, let one idea shape what you do next. My name is Anthony Cotaspodi and today's guest built her career making other people's events run flawlessly, mastering every logistical detail behind the scenes until she decided to build the room

where those professionals come to find each other. She took over a company mid-career with a clear thesis. The hospitality industry needed a better way to connect, something with real energy and no pressure, where business happened because the room was fun enough that people actually wanted to stay. She is Norma Kropelnicki, president and owner of All Things Meetings, a Bay Area trade show and networking company that brings corporate event planners

from organizations like Google, Apple, Adobe, and Netflix, together with venues, caterers, and suppliers from across the country. Her events run across Northern California, from San Francisco to wine country to Silicon Valley. And her exhibitor list has grown to over 100 brands. If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to build a business around connection itself, this episode is for you.

But before we get into all that good stuff, today's episode is brought to you by my company, Ad Back Benefits Agency. Listen, if you run a business, you're likely stuck in the cycle of rising insurance premiums. You're paying more, but your team is getting less. And many people can't afford coverage at all. So we do things differently. We offer a solution that provides your employees with unlimited access to doctors, therapists, and prescriptions that's always free for them to use.

But here's the part that surprises most people. Unlike every other employee benefit out there, our program puts more money into your company's bank account. As an example, we recently helped a client increase net profits by $900 per employee per year. Results vary, but gains like that can change how a business is valued. See if you qualify today at addbackbenefits.com. All right, back to our guest today, the owner and president of all things meetings, Norma Kropelnicki.

Thanks for making the time to share your story today.

Norma Kropelnicki (02:26)

Thanks for inviting me, Anthony.

Anthony Codispoti (02:28)

So before you owned All Things Meetings, you spent over a decade in the trenches of event logistics, running health fairs, corporate road shows, nonprofit galas. Tell us about the work that you were doing during that time.

Norma Kropelnicki (02:42)

Well, ⁓ I actually was working for ⁓ Kaiser Permanente and when ⁓ my son and stepson were in high school, I found I had a lot more time on my hands and I love entertaining. We were always the Kool-Aid house, the barbecue house.

And I thought, you know, this might be a good time for me. In part two, ⁓ I started to recognize the proverbial glass ceiling. And ⁓ my career was going, ⁓ getting to the place where I didn't want to become management and it was more difficult to become management. I always joke that I can barely manage myself, let alone staff. So I decided to leave Kaiser. ⁓

That happened to be the year that the market fell. And the timing, yes, the timing was not the best. However, I partnered with ⁓ another individual, someone who had been working with Kaiser as an executive. And we started doing marketing for a lot of the small businesses that popped up. And with that, ⁓ our talents together,

Anthony Codispoti (03:34)

Is this 08?

Norma Kropelnicki (03:57)

we recognize the caterer who may be getting started, maybe they can promote their catering at this event, at this health fair. One thing led to another where we then started meeting nonprofit clients and got into the health fair and became... ⁓

event management company. Didn't do any social events with the exception of a memorial for one corporate client and a 50th birthday, but we focused on nonprofit. ⁓ And in the Bay Area at the time, there were a lot of nonprofit events, galas and fun music concerts. And I had the opportunity to work with one nonprofit that, ⁓ Who's Who list included ⁓

Darryl Hall of Hall and Oates, Kenny Loggins, Chris Isaac, ⁓ Diana Ross, Jay Leno. And as the hospitality lead, my favorite thing was walking up to them and saying, hi, I'm Norma. I'm in charge of ⁓ the event and hospitality. Please let me know if everything's copacetic.

And their response in introducing themselves always made me chuckle. You know, it'd go, well, I'm Jay Leno. And I'd be like, yes. ⁓ you know, I always wondered how people couldn't talk. And I'm like, come on. But yes, yes. And I discovered that they're, in spite of notoriety, the majority of them, including Miss Ross, ⁓ are

Anthony Codispoti (05:16)

Do you get a little starstruck, Norma?

Norma Kropelnicki (05:34)

very personable. ⁓ Most of them are shy, have my favorites. ⁓ Jay Leno was amazing. Huey Lewis was amazing. Dana Carvey is a nervous introvert. I mean, he, which surprised me. So that was a wonderful opportunity. That was almost a 10 year gig with this nonprofit, which opened up a lot of other doors.

⁓ And then while planning their 2020 annual event, I think you know what happened.

Anthony Codispoti (06:10)

Yeah, COVID hits and now everything shut down. Nobody's doing events.

Norma Kropelnicki (06:17)

Exactly. Nobody's doing events. Fortunately, I had a little money put away, but not enough money to just sit back. And I didn't have the job where I could work from home. ⁓ A friend ⁓ worked for assisted living company.

And she said to me, and this was a week before shelter in place in Northern California, she said, you know what, they're hiring an activities coordinator, activities assistant at the time. She said, it's an hourly thing. It's two miles from your house. And you basically just have to entertain, do games, music, be you, right? And I thought, hmm, a captive audience. So I... ⁓

interviewed, got the job. I was told I was overqualified, but they didn't have a lot of people wanting, you know, nobody knew what was going to happen. And it was literally five days. I started my job ⁓ on a Monday and that Friday, the governor announced that we were sheltering in place. And I was there for the year of COVID.

Anthony Codispoti (07:12)

Right, it's right before shelter in place and.

Norma Kropelnicki (07:30)

⁓ I have pictures that I look back on ⁓ where I, you have a room to room cart and in my mask I would like paint a little pink nose and put, you know, pipe cleaners for whiskers and ears and I'd go from door to door and knock and put down a little Easter basket or something and I remember for May Day ⁓ I had a mustache and I was a French florist.

delivering flowers and ⁓ it was very interesting because ⁓ I discovered that I liked obviously making people smile but I'm a real clown if given the opportunity ⁓ and a more creative side that I wasn't aware. I'm not a crafter but you can do a lot with a visit to the dollar store. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (08:22)

Yeah. Okay.

So this ended up being a good thing for you, right? You needed some work, you got some work. You said you were there for a year. And then what happens after that? What's the next step?

Norma Kropelnicki (08:34)

I was there for

a year and then an opportunity opened up for a coordinator position, the activity coordinator at another one of this company's facilities close to home. So I accepted that position. So that brought us to 2021. In 2022, things were opening up.

⁓ The gentleman that owned All Things Meetings was starting back up again. And just to give you a little background, while I was doing the nonprofit events, one of my clients introduced me to this gentleman who was looking for a hired hand to help with registration and signage and name badges. And with nonprofits, you have downtime. You're not doing events all the time.

⁓ And so I would work for him for some of his Bay Area events and he started his events again And at that time he called me and I said sure I'll I'll help out and it happened

Anthony Codispoti (09:37)

And you were able to do this

with the new coordinator job that you'd had as well. You could do them alongside of each other.

Norma Kropelnicki (09:41)

Yes, yes. yeah, yeah,

you you gotta have your side hustles, Anthony, especially after the pandemic, you never know. So, and I was able to do it because these events, they're evening receptions. So I was helping out with that and I was actually doing a March event in San Francisco.

And as folks were coming in and registering, I was hearing the murmur. I didn't get involved in the business side of it. I just worked remotely, ordering the name badges. I'd show up, set up the registration desk, check people in, and collect badges at the end.

⁓ And I started hearing some mumbling about that being the last event. And you have to appreciate the previous owner. It was his business. He was very, you know, need to know, hadn't shared this with me. And as people were leaving, they're like, ⁓ you can't let him not continue this. And the fact he's not gonna, he's not selling the business. He's not.

So while we were cleaning up, that's when I had the conversation with him. I was like, is this your last event? And he shared there were some health issues and he'd been doing it for 18 years. His plan had been to franchise. He was a travel writer. And ⁓ we had different philosophies on how the event would go, but I didn't have his background.

⁓ And I said you there's nothing like this in the berry. I know that I'm in events and He said well, you know, I I'm just gonna let it go. I said, you should sell it and He looked at me and he goes you want to buy it and I should have known when I didn't immediately respond. I was like

And I was like, no, I don't know. have a full-time job, know, blah, blah. And then he said those magic words. He said, well, I dare you. I dare you to buy it.

Anthony Codispoti (11:40)

He dared you to buy the business.

Norma Kropelnicki (11:41)

He

dared me to buy the business. I had shared with him once while we were setting up and talking about our background that ⁓ I had been dared by a friend to jump out of a plane. I have fear of still heights. He actually was in the army and he jumped out of planes and there was an opportunity to do some tandem jumps.

And he said, let's do this, this would be fun. And I was like, oh no, I don't think so, I don't think so. And he said, oh come on, you're a daredevil, you can do it, I dare you. And my son joined, we actually did it for my son's birthday, my adult son. And he and I went up in the plane together, my son and I. And I started having textbook panic attacks.

because you're in this red barren plane. Okay, we're talking propellers and it's noisy and you've had all the yeah you've had all the instruction.

Anthony Codispoti (12:42)

Yeah. And it rattles around and...

Norma Kropelnicki (12:48)

And the plane starts going up and I'm starting to hyperventilate. And my son's like, Mom, Mom, now my son, where I'm risk averse, he runs to risk. That's his personality. He's like, Mom, you know, you don't have to do this. You know, you don't have to do this. You know, I'll go first. You don't have to do this. And you get all this instruction of, you know, holding your body in when you do the free fall. And then the person you're with taps you and you open up and they open up the chute and you glide. And all of that was gone.

Also prior to all the instruction you watch this short video where every other word is You could die. It's their liability. It's their liability video. All this is going Yeah, so I'm in the plane and I realize I don't know if I'm be sick to my stomach I don't know if just everything is going to I'm gonna lose it. I can hear myself breathing and ⁓ My son goes out they open the door the wind comes in

Anthony Codispoti (13:28)

Great pep talk. Yeah.

Norma Kropelnicki (13:47)

And I'm like, I can't do it. I can't do it. I just can't do it. Now mind you, the instructor's behind me. We get up, we get to the door, the wind's in my face. And he said, okay, you ready to do this? I scream into the wind. No, no, no. I hear in my ear, he said, that's the spirit. Go, go, go. And out we went. And I'm

Anthony Codispoti (14:11)

Do you think he

actually heard what you really said?

Norma Kropelnicki (14:15)

him when we got got on the ground I said you know I said no and he goes no you said go the wind threw it back at me it sounded like go so I don't know I don't know but I'm glad I did it it was exhilarating ⁓ keep I don't recommend that when you do it should you decide don't scream while you're in freefall because you can't breathe you're suffocating open your eyes that when he go ahead I'm sorry

Anthony Codispoti (14:40)

Okay, sorry, go ahead.

Norma Kropelnicki (14:43)

When you're in free fall, ⁓ I had my eyes closed and I'm screaming as loud as I can and I'm literally going because all that air is rushing in. But my brain is telling me to stop screaming. Mouth is not cooperating, which happens a lot in in my life, by the way. And and I know a lot of times. Yeah. And then I have to stop and say, did I say that out loud?

Anthony Codispoti (15:00)

Yeah.

Your mouth doesn't listen to your brain very often, Norma.

Norma Kropelnicki (15:11)

⁓ But he tapped me in the arm, which is when you're supposed to open up. the shoot, you know, ⁓ and I was screaming so much that he punched me. He kept tapping me and I guess I didn't. And I went, hey, right, which is when the shoot opened right at sunset and we floated down and it was. It was magical, it was euphoric. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (15:26)

Mm.

Norma Kropelnicki (15:39)

It was amazing. Yeah, it was amazing.

Anthony Codispoti (15:42)

Okay,

so let's bring this back to all things meetings. Apparently the way to get you to do something you really don't want to do is to dare you. And then you have this terrifying experience part way down and this glorious experience the rest of the way. So this gentleman dares you to buy the business and that's enough of a apparently a trigger to get you to move forward.

Norma Kropelnicki (16:09)

You know, I think in part, ⁓ being a woman during the time when I was in corporate and being a subject matter expert at Kaiser, talking to a group of doctors and then having them ask questions of the gentleman that was my assistant, ⁓ recognizing that I really had to put myself out there. ⁓

I was also in the Navy. I was a med tech in the Navy. ⁓ that's my assistant. ⁓

And it was during the time when women didn't go on ships, didn't go to battle. It was very much and it still is somewhat. But so long answer to your question. I think that's where the I dare you. You know, I think that's where if I really wanted something and most folks who who know me know this about me, not so much my public persona. ⁓ I'm actually intimidated by a lot of

things. I'm hesitant. I'm afraid to do it wrong. What if I don't do it? What if I get it wrong?

Anthony Codispoti (17:18)

⁓ so that sometimes

holds you back from trying something that fear of failure.

Norma Kropelnicki (17:23)

Exactly.

And so very much the fear failure. ⁓ And so the being dared and you you have to get out there. ⁓ Kind of manifested into this, I dare you, because that's kind of my own, you know, I dare you to do this, I dare you. And so when he said it to me, and keep in mind, the business model, I did.

some of his events as an hourly hired hand prior to the pandemic. I saw how this worked. I saw all these ⁓ meeting and event suppliers, you know, signing up and all of these corporate planners. I mean, it worked. So that was part of it.

Anthony Codispoti (18:15)

Okay, so tell us what All Things Meetings does today and who you do it for.

Norma Kropelnicki (18:22)

So all things meetings falls into the category depending on, ⁓ I've heard it called many different things. So you have trade shows, expos, showcase, ⁓ and.

someone referred to me as a matchmaker. I said, you know, I'm not really a supplier. I'm not a planner. And she said, yeah, matchmaker. I said, okay, I'll take it. So it's a very small trade show by the definition of the name, ⁓ where people come who are in a set trade, meaning an event suppliers, and ⁓ I invite their potential clients.

It was corporate planners when I took over the business and ⁓ part of what I purchased was his Rolodex. ⁓ And since then, I've added associations, which Northern California is very rich, especially Sacramento with associations. And those are your.

⁓ California Lawyers Association, California Sheriffs Association, Teachers Association, and they have annual events and they have monthly events. ⁓

The previous owner didn't do a lot with social event planners, wedding planners, that kind of thing. ⁓ I do include them in the invitation because people spend money on weddings and hotels and caterers and ⁓ rental companies. That's their business as well. So it's a connection reception. That's what I call it.

Anthony Codispoti (20:07)

So you've got two different groups of people here. You're having folks that are responsible for planning events, events of all kinds, and then you've got the people who have the products and services that they need. You're bringing those two groups of people together.

Norma Kropelnicki (20:21)

Exactly.

It's a one-stop shop. So my clients and my client, those that help me keep my lights on, are the vendors, the suppliers, hotel, brand, branding companies, team building companies, caterers, ⁓ health and wellness companies, those that ⁓ go to corporate ⁓ or social or, you know, private.

clients and they get an introduction. So if you just imagine yourself with a grocery cart and you're coming into all things meetings and lining the aisles are all of the potential products that you're going to need for your party. And I call it party, I call my connection reception a party with a purpose. Okay, you're coming in, you're shopping for a party, but it's a party with a purpose. It's your corporate, your annual retreat, your director

⁓

conference, your employee incentive, whatever, or a wedding.

⁓ And so the suppliers are those along the aisles and it literally is aisles. That's how we create the space. And you get a chance to go from table to table and have face to face because during the pandemic we got very virtual. And this is a face to face where they are asking you, what is it you're looking for? A lot of the corporate planners

That's not their sole job. That's actually not even their title. The majority of them are project managers. They're executive assistants to the president, to the CEO, to the COO. ⁓ Some of them are event management and marketing within the corporate. But the majority of my planner database, their title is executive assistant.

Anthony Codispoti (22:24)

And so this isn't something that they're doing all day, every day. So they really need the help, right? They really need to meet these different vendors because in some cases they don't know what they don't know.

Norma Kropelnicki (22:30)

Exactly.

Exactly. They don't know what they don't know. some of them, now mind you, some of them either came from events or that is more of their job than not. ⁓ And so they come and they've got their list, but a lot of them don't. And also a lot of them aren't necessarily extroverts. They're not someone who's going to, they don't know what they don't know. ⁓ And they may not feel comfortable not knowing.

And so when they walk in, I told you you got a shopping cart, but they actually get a trade show bag. And it's like adult trick or treating. And my exhibitors have raised the bar on giveaway swag. So they've got their bag and they go from table. my goodness.

Anthony Codispoti (23:20)

Give me an example. What am I missing out

on?

Norma Kropelnicki (23:23)

Some okay so you know ⁓ the the latest ones I've seen are these little gardens in a box. It's a little wooden box and it's got the soil and seeds and you do that.

⁓ There's also not your old plastic see-through water bottle. You know, we've got the recycled material water bottles. They're really nice trade show bags. ⁓ One of my favorite ⁓ exhibitors has socks.

She has this whole array of fun socks. then ⁓ is it corn, corn hole? Is that the game? ⁓ They have a little tabletop version. One of our branding vendors had sets. So I guess you could play with your colleagues in the cubicle. I don't know. So fun things like that. A lot of them are very ⁓ focused on what the supplier provides. And of course they have their branding.

⁓ But yeah, it's no longer the old Post-It Notes and branded pens game. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (24:27)

So

here's part of your setup that I think will surprise most people. Obviously, the vendors are paying for booth space there. the would-be exhibitors, right? What do you call the folks on the other side? Because they're not technically your clients, The attendees, the planners, thank you. The attendees, you're not charging them anything to come in.

Norma Kropelnicki (24:32)

Thank

The attendees, the planners, we call them planners. Yes.

No, and ⁓ that's how the business was set up when I ⁓ purchased the business, when I became the owner. One of the things that I noticed because I was in a key position doing registration that there's a high no-show rate. When you have an event and people are purchasing a ticket or it's invitation only,

Life happens. People get sick. The kids get sick. You know, you have a 10 to 15 percent no show depending on the event. Some brag three to five percent. Others, you know, 20 percent. I noticed a 30 to 40 percent no show rate. As someone who throws parties, events, if I have that many people not showing up, I take that very personal. I'm like, uh, we've got food. We did all of this.

⁓ But the previous owner was like, that's fine, that's fine. One of the things that the exhibitors get as part of their investment, their marketing investment, they get the list. Anyone who attends is invited and they have to register and they provide their name, their title, the company they work for, the phone number.

⁓ and the type of events they do. That's marketing gold because they're qualified. You can purchase lists. There are companies that will ⁓ mine lists for you virtually, but these are qualified folks. Now that I own the business, I personally qualify them. Now some people aren't.

100 % honest with some of the information. I've discovered some folks that sneak in for the trick-or-treating, but I'm getting better at it. ⁓ But yeah, so I debated when I bought the business when that happened and I'm like, you know what? ⁓ There needs to be some sort of incentive or I was leaning more toward there needs to be a penalty, you know, because if you have a little skin in the game, you're going to show up to the game.

Anthony Codispoti (26:58)

That was exactly my thought. Charge them five bucks, 10 bucks, 20 bucks, something.

Norma Kropelnicki (27:01)

Right.

And maybe do like a nonprofit thing, right? So you charge them for a box and it goes to our nonprofit, some sort of community thing. ⁓ But the more I thought about it and the more that I talked to more suppliers than the planners themselves, I realized I was more upset about it.

They were very honest with me because going into my fourth year, April 2nd was my four year, started my fourth year. ⁓ And I started out with 30 exhibitors and I believe we had 70 planners, the first event that I did after I purchased. ⁓

Our San Francisco event in March, we had over 100 exhibitors and we had over 350 planners that registered. We had half of that that actually attended. And the exhibitors time and time again would say, it's a two and a half hour event. I can't talk to 350 people. One, I can't do it. And it's not quality.

So for them, not having everyone show up isn't necessarily a negative. They're still getting 170. And the planner's feedback to me was, and I get regrets. I'm sorry, Norma, please keep me on the list. ⁓ That it's a value to them, but life happens.

Anthony Codispoti (28:42)

So the interesting thing for me is that the events are only two and a half hours. Now, obviously I've never been to your event or an event like this. The trade shows I go to are multiple days long. So yours is just a fraction of a day. Why is it set up that way? Why such a short window of time?

Norma Kropelnicki (29:02)

I do not know what the previous owner's mindset or formula was for that. That is, I have followed ⁓ kind of the foundation structure. I've changed a lot of things above the foundation, but it really is face to face. And because it's concentrated in the Bay Area,

⁓ You know, some of the multiple day trade shows that you're talking about, they usually have breakout groups, they have training sessions. ⁓ It covers a wider geographic ⁓ area, maybe stateside. You've got the International Meeting and Event Expo, you know, where it's days and tens of thousands of people. ⁓

This is what I inherited and it works. It's a connection reception. That's why I call it that. It's a trade show. It's a showcase. It's an event. For me, it's a reception. You get a glass of wine. We have appetizers and you walk around and you connect. You start a conversation. You start building a relationship. ⁓ I wouldn't call it speed dating because we're not saying next, but

It's about connecting. you have an event that you're planning and you find that hotel or that team building supplier that has something that you're looking for, you're going to spend more than, hi, thank you so much. this is great. Have a good show. You're going to have a conversation. So there's no appointments there. It's a reception. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (30:41)

Yeah.

So what were some of the things that you did change, Norm?

Norma Kropelnicki (30:45)

⁓ I didn't go for how many exhibitors can I get. It wasn't intentional. When I decided, well, when the dare got the best of me, ⁓ I worked for a few more months in the nine to five trying to do both. There was a San Francisco show and a Silicon Valley show, spring and fall.

And that's what I had obtained in this transaction. So I was able to do it. Just me wasn't going to hire anyone, you know, ⁓ trying to figure it out. I had someone who I worked with, with the previous owner who I brought in to help with registration. So I brought her in to do my registration and it was manageable, but I wanted it to be more fun. You know, I, it is corporate.

But I want it again, I keep using that term party with a purpose. Not only are you planning an event that has a purpose, but you're also working all day. This isn't as a planner. This isn't your full time job. So planning it shouldn't be another heavy headache, stressful thing. It should be enjoyable. And that's more my personality because I love.

Anthony Codispoti (32:09)

So you brought

in the wine, you brought in the appetizers.

Norma Kropelnicki (32:12)

They I brought in the wine in the appetizers, which were already there, but I also started inviting the more wedding planners.

⁓ I started looking at okay very heavy on hotels hotels have budgets for marketing not so much the small businesses So I started wheeling and dealing I'm like, okay, you're just starting out ⁓ Let's see what we can do. Why don't we? Strike up this deal you participate at this one and at the next one, know You if you participate at this one, then we'll exchange trade show bags you do brand promotion You supply me the trade show

bags and we'll do a service exchange. I also added a marketplace. ⁓ With a lot of the large venues, they have what's called closed list. You have to use their preferred suppliers, their cater, their rental companies. I started seeking out venues that allowed me to bring in other caterers and restaurants and suppliers.

And one venue said, okay, but they have to be within 20 miles of our venue because we're promoting our area. And you have to use one of our caterers. So then instead of having one caterer, we would have four or five. We'd have local flavor, a restaurant, a caterer, and you'd have more of ⁓ a tastings instead of platefuls. Then the wineries came in and I'd say, hey, how can we let wineries do tasting pours?

Because if you're a winery and you have a bottle sitting on your table and you're just talking about the wine, you have to have the sizzle. You got to smell it, taste it, right? When it's food, you need to experience that. So they got to start doing tastings, started having more activations, which isn't new. Currently, activations, an activation is where you are actually doing something. It's kind of that instant gratification,

Anthony Codispoti (34:04)

What do mean by activations?

Norma Kropelnicki (34:13)

⁓ activity. A lot of the demographic ⁓ in corporate

They like to be active. They're more ⁓ athletic. They're not all sitting behind a desk. You look at your Googles, your Salesforce, all of their events include all kinds of fun, interactive things. So we started having more activations. We had ⁓ one vendor that came in and you filled out a card about scents, you know, that smells, and they would mix a scent for you that you took away while you were there.

⁓ We have chocolateeers that do the tasting. ⁓ So you get to taste the chocolates and they give away chocolates. We have a lot of photo booths. There's all of these glam bots and that you're familiar with. The head shop booth.

Anthony Codispoti (35:06)

Yeah. So now I'm starting

to understand why you've got people who sneak into these events and maybe aren't actually in the event planning space. Cause it sounds like a good time. Yeah. Now you do events across, you know, different geographies, right? San Francisco, wine country, Santa Cruz, Sacramento. Does the, does the setup, does the room feel different depending on where you are? And does that change how you run things at all?

Norma Kropelnicki (35:15)

It's a good place to be. Yeah, it's a good time. It really is.

⁓ Yes, yes and no. ⁓ So my plan was not to have all of the ⁓ events that I have. ⁓ It was San Francisco and Silicon Valley. That was the plan. On the shelf was bringing the East Northeast Bay back. They hadn't had an event there since 2018 pre-pandemic.

So the concentration of planners and companies that were invited as planners were in the corridor of San Francisco to Silicon Valley. You had folks that would come from the East Bay. But in 2023, I was approached by two suppliers in Napa.

And they said, would you be interested in bringing all things meetings to Napa? It's picking up post pandemic, but it's still very slow. And they came to my March San Francisco event in 2023 and I was like, I'm willing to have the conversation. ⁓ So up to Napa I went and we had the conversation and it was okay.

There were some parameters around it and that to your question, that's a destination event. So we now have open events, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, East Northeast Bay, and this year we're adding Sacramento, where any supplier, any vendor can ⁓ register if they're in the meeting and event space.

⁓ as a supplier, whereas the destination events, Wine Country, last year we went to Monterey County, this year we're going to Santa Cruz, and this will be our third year in Wine Country, and I'm in conversation with Paso Robles about bringing all things meetings there. These are destination events, and by that,

because of how the Napa event, and I can't take credit for that one, it was one of the sales directors' child. She's the one who put it on the table and we all kind of grew it together.

They're my partners. They're either in tourism or like visit Napa, ⁓ Sonoma County tourism, visit Santa Cruz, see Monterey. They're the conference visitors bureau tourism. They invite local vendors. They're showcasing what I call their house. I'm like, okay, I'm coming to your house. I'm going to bring the guests, which are the planners, but you...

invite the people that are going to showcase your house. So that's the difference and it feels different because one those are day events because we're traveling. Instead of the two and a half hour evening reception after work ⁓ these are day events.

Anthony Codispoti (38:30)

the vendors.

And that's another reason

why they're two and a half hours because it's after work. So folks don't have to take time away from their jobs. This is OK.

Norma Kropelnicki (38:51)

exactly. Exactly.

It's during the week and it's an evening event. The open events are usually on Wednesday. I learned with the remote ⁓ work model that Mondays and Fridays are actually part of people's weekends because if they had to come into the office Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday was their in office work week. So

We tried Monday, didn't get a lot of people that responded or showed. So Wednesday was our sweet spot. And those are during the week. The destination events are also during the week. The difference is they're day events. They're usually like from 10 to 2. And there's an educational component. By educational, there's either a panel.

that the local tourism or visitors bureau has put together based on how they want to showcase their house ⁓ or they have local activations right that are led by ⁓ local vendors whether it's ⁓ you know barreling wine which i think we're going to get to do when we go to this year ⁓

and ⁓ putting together, you know, maybe some oils, olive oils or mustard something or another that's wine specific. ⁓ We may do a little adventure in Santa Cruz on the boardwalk for our June event. ⁓

The education piece also allows the planner to say, ⁓ my boss, CEO, not only is this gonna introduce me to potential vendors, but I'm also gonna learn more about how to do group bookings or how to, so there's that component. It's not certified, we're not given certificates.

Anthony Codispoti (40:39)

There's no continuing ed credits or anything like that. Is there been any thought about adding that educational component to the open events as well?

Norma Kropelnicki (40:41)

No, no, no, but it's an educational component.

No, because it's already an evening event. One of the other key events, key elements with the destination events ⁓ is that we have a captive audience, right? So it's kind of like the multiple day conferences where you can actually have a 90 minute trade show and lunch and then a little break, you know, breakout or panel because you've got a little bit more time. And also

I bring the planners to the destination. I co-sponsor ⁓ transportation. So we have a transportation supplier, smart. They're like, ⁓ they're going to get to experience one of our nice buses or one of our nice spring. They have picked up ⁓ for ⁓ the initial wine country one.

Anthony Codispoti (41:23)

Mm-hmm.

And so what they're going through what downtown San Francisco picking folks up and.

Norma Kropelnicki (41:49)

which we now just rinse and repeat with the transportation. There's a pickup at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We pick up in Mountain View and we pick up in the East Bay. Last year for wine country, we picked up in Sacramento. ⁓ Those four pickup destination or pickup spots.

for our upcoming destination, Santa Cruz and wine country will be repeated. So what a plus, you know, you just drive and we identify a location with the transportation sponsor where people can leave their cars safely, where they can pull in whether it's a bus or what whatever they're utilizing based on the number of people that selected the courtesy shuttle option at registration and they drive them in.

⁓ and they're there. We still have a lot of people that drive ⁓ and also being responsible especially with wine country and the day event there is wine drinking and the idea that looks yeah it gives them a little time they also some of them actually work and network on the bus in route. ⁓ So it even though they're

Anthony Codispoti (42:52)

And that ride back gives them a little time to kind of level out again.

Norma Kropelnicki (43:09)

heading to the destination, they're already in the all things meeting space when they get on the transportation. And so it it

Anthony Codispoti (43:15)

Mmm, I like that.

Norma Kropelnicki (43:20)

It does vary because one's an evening event, one's a day event, one's destination is specific to that location, and it limits who can participate from a supplier standpoint. And so the vibe is different too. It's still fun at the reception, but people are going from table to table, filling their bags, chatting. There's a lot more networking and a lot more, it's almost like there's a little bit more playing hooky.

Anthony Codispoti (43:36)

Yeah.

Norma Kropelnicki (43:48)

with the day events, even though there's a lot of value. The Monterey County event last year, ⁓ C. Monterey was our partner and they blew me away. ⁓ Michelle from C. Monterey put together a woman's panel, Women and Wine.

And so she had some of the leading, someone from one of the large hotels. She had someone who ⁓ puts together events that bring in components of Monterey ⁓ and then the VP of C. Monterey. And it was, I learned a lot. ⁓ It was fun, but if I were a planner, I would have been taking notes. So.

Anthony Codispoti (44:29)

Yeah, so

one of the ways that you've grown this is that you're starting additional events, right? Different times of the year, different locations. ⁓ You've probably added some vendors as well. You're making it a lot more fun. Are there other types of vendors that you'd like to add in that aren't there yet?

Norma Kropelnicki (44:52)

⁓ I would, I'd like to add ⁓ folks that, ⁓ I'm sorry. I don't know what that is. ⁓ More wellness because the industry is calling for more wellness.

And by that, I mean, we don't have time for chair massages. We don't have time for meditation, that kind of thing. Because my objective, and I think that's why my events now sell out from the supplier standpoint, I know who's paying to play. And so even though we've created an event that will bring the planners in, their clients,

I want them to have the opportunity to connect with their client. So I need to keep the clients, the planners going from exhibitor to exhibitor. Massage, chairs, meditation, that's going to take away from the person who paid. So it's actually worked out as a good recipe for me.

⁓ in that if I focus on what is a value for the suppliers in addition to getting the list to having quality planners that they can connect with at the event and start building the reception the relationship and then for the planners to make it fun and bring in quality suppliers it's organically grown itself. I get and I'm very grateful

I get inquiries. I was talking to my supplier friend and they told me I need to exhibit at your event, whether it's a hotel, whether it's ⁓ a conference center, rental supply company, team building. ⁓ I get emails all the time. So that's how I'm adding.

⁓ audiovisual companies, event production companies, ⁓ restaurants, which is so fun ⁓ that we get these high-end restaurants. They're like, can we be part of your marketplace? I'm not spending as much time currently going out and seeking more ⁓ exhibitors in part because that part is working. Yeah, it's working.

Anthony Codispoti (47:30)

It's full. That's great.

Norma Kropelnicki (47:33)

⁓ As far as the planners, I'm curating more relationships in East Bay, Northeast Bay, and Sacramento because that's a market that's new. ⁓ Sacramento especially, and that's by invitation. Circling back to your question earlier, would you ever have a learning component with your connection reception? I never thought about it.

but the meeting planner ⁓ international Sacramento Sierra Nevada chapter one of the folks on their board for two years has been in my ear come to Sacramento come to Sacramento I'm like come to Sacramento come to Sacramento it's finally worked out where we're going to do a joint event where they're going to have a little education

in late afternoon and then it's going to go into the all things meetings trade show. They're doing that piece. I'm not as much as involved even though apparently I may get asked to be a moderator after my moderating gig for the panel discussion previously. ⁓ So I'm like okay you know I'm open to the conversation.

Anthony Codispoti (48:45)

And so how

was it that you find the event planners? How do you curate them? You're I don't know, you're looking at Google's website, you're looking at Netflix's website. How do you do this? What's your process? Yeah.

Norma Kropelnicki (48:59)

Sandwich board, honk if you do events.

So the websites do not have contact information. There's still the paper lists available out there. ⁓ There's also now, and I think this came out of the tech, you know how advanced we are with tech and people being in our business. ⁓ And ⁓ so there are companies that you can subscribe to.

that give you access to search engine where you can, you know, this size company. And then I literally go through because again, they're not planners.

So I go through and I start looking for, they have other titles, executive assistants, admin assistants, project managers. And then I've also broadened the scope because coming from the event world, I'm like, nonprofits, know, the Googles, the Metas, the Salesforce, but you know what? You have air conditioning supply company that's national.

Anthony Codispoti (49:44)

You have to look for other titles, executive assistants and.

Norma Kropelnicki (50:12)

and they're headquartered in the Bay Area, they have events. You have pool companies, you have, right? It's not just who you think of as corporate. So that's part of my data mining. And then also word of mouth. Right now we're kind of the belle of the ball. And I don't say that bragging, but...

things meetings people are aware of it. They hear how fun it is. I'll have planners who email me like the suppliers. ⁓ my colleagues sent me the information for the upcoming event. Can I get on your list? ⁓ How do I get on your list? I have suppliers who say I'm working with a client and I would love it if I could invite them and some of the other people that I'm working with to your event.

It's publicly posted. So I use a public site for the planner invitation. I posted on LinkedIn when ⁓ registration is open. ⁓ But I...

qualify each and every person that registered. You have to have a work email. Even though we may not necessarily send the information to your work email, because you know have firewalls and that kind of thing, you have to have a legitimate work email. I learned that the hard way, because anyone can say they work for Google. ⁓ And so ⁓ I'm able to qualify. ⁓

It's getting a little harder to manage. And when I say that an event sells out.

It's not necessarily because we've run out of square footage to put up tables for exhibitors. I've just run out of bandwidth because there are so many moving pieces. Once someone registers that supplier, you have a name badge, you have table signage, you're working with a rental company. Is it this type of table? Do they have power? All of the components of putting together an event. ⁓ But I don't have staff.

that works with me. People have approached me, if you're ever hiring, I would love to work for you. I'm just not, I'm kind of at the, ⁓ I'm at the point where I don't want to build a company with staff. That's not the direction I'm.

Anthony Codispoti (52:37)

You don't want to manage

people.

Norma Kropelnicki (52:38)

I don't want to manage people, ⁓ but also at this point in my life, a lot of friends and acquaintances are retiring. They have the grandbabies, which I'm going to be a grandma in three weeks. So I'm excited about that, my first grandchild. ⁓ So I'm in that chapter of my life. And ⁓ it's enough for me since I do it full time.

and I've got the routine down. It's just about managing time. And what I've done, especially this year, and I created this monster, ⁓ I may have said yes to too many dance carts ⁓ because I find myself ⁓ after this wonderful experience,

I'm jumping into my May event and I'm already working on the components for the June event. And then I have a July event and an August event. So that is a lot. I'm also finding that I inadvertently am cannibalizing my events because ⁓ planners

Anthony Codispoti (53:51)

You need to go

to further geographies. was the last thing you wanted to hear. Yeah. You need you need to go to L.A. San Diego.

Norma Kropelnicki (53:54)

thanks, Anthony. Wrong to... Yeah, wrong to... Yeah, no, like,

well, and I've been invited to go to Texas. There's a huge ⁓ event promotion company that's reached out and said, would you ever consider coming to Texas, bringing your event to Texas? I've been invited to Chicago. I've been invited by a local corporate headquarter planner.

who now has national, she does training for other event planners and they have ⁓ entities across the board and their big, other joint headquarters is in New York. And she's like, would you ever do this in New York? I've told plan, they have flown ⁓ executive assistants to come to all things meetings to kind of get the gist of it. But that's not 10 years ago, I'd been on it in a minute.

but that's not the direction I'm going in. And I joke, I tell people I don't run all things meetings. All things meetings is running me. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (55:05)

So say

more about that because you've made this transition from having a job to being an entrepreneur. You know, it's a very different thing. And you mentioned to me before something about the secret that you feel like entrepreneurs have been holding.

Norma Kropelnicki (55:21)

⁓ Well, and you mentioned the word secret and people people ask me a lot, you know how How have you grown it? You know, what is it that you're doing? ⁓ I'm very transparent Sometimes to my own demise and I'll just say you know what? I'm just I'm doing what I'm doing and I just repeat it

whatever it is that I'm doing. And I think part of that, someone shared with me at a conference last week. They used the word, they're like, so what's your secret sauce? And there were three or four other industry and planner folks, we were all chatting about all things meetings and other.

⁓ trade show models. I said you know I I'm not keeping any secrets. I said I'm being totally honest. I don't know. I said I really I pour my heart and soul into this. I love what I'm doing. I don't know what the secret sauce is and someone who I admire looked at me straight in the eye and said really you haven't realized you're the secret sauce? And I was like

Anthony Codispoti (56:34)

you

Norma Kropelnicki (56:37)

Okay. And I was like, yeah, you know what, I guess maybe I am. I because I don't have the grandbaby yet. And I'm this is my joy. I do need a little work life balance. I've come to that decision. But what I do is very social. So I love the fact that if I work really hard,

And even before I own this company, Anthony, my philosophy when I did events was if I didn't enjoy that event, if I didn't have a good time as a guest, then I, as the event manager, didn't do my job. If I, the end result isn't something I would want to attend, then I didn't do my job. And so I always approach it with that. Ooh, I like that. I want to have fun doing that. So it,

Anthony Codispoti (57:23)

Mm-mm.

Norma Kropelnicki (57:35)

I wish I would have known this earlier, but I believe the universe puts you where you're supposed to be. Things happen when they're supposed to happen.

But the joy of knowing when an event is over and as people are walking out, they're laughing, there's that beehive of people talking and networking and everybody walking out going, thank you for doing, my God, we had such a good time. I get all these emails after the fact from planners, from exhibitors. I have event photographers that capture people having a good time. And the emails, come do it here or how do I get on your list? I want to exhibit.

Let me write you a check. I want to be part of this. I'm like, it just, I hope you find that kind of joy in what you do. It is a direct result of hard work, which is very different when you work for a big company, an entity. You work really hard and yeah, you have success, but you don't always see the direct results of your hard work. Now mind you, I also see the direct results when I miss something.

So there is that downside. I'm like, ⁓ man, note to self, you know, right? Yep, exactly. Yep. So.

Anthony Codispoti (58:45)

When you're the chief, yep. You get both sides of that coin. ⁓

You know, I've just got one more question for you today, Norma, but before I ask it, I wanna do three quick things for the audience. First of all, if you wanna get in touch with Norma, learn more about what she's doing. The website is so easy, allthingsmeetings.com. Allthingsmeetings.com. You'll find out what they do. You'll see contact information there. Allthingsmeetings.com. And quickly, if you're enjoying the show,

please take a moment to subscribe wherever you're listening. It also sends a signal that helps others discover our podcast. So thanks for taking a quick moment to do that right now. And as a reminder, you can get your employees access to therapists, doctors, and prescription meds that counter-intuitively actually increases your company's net profits, real gains that can change how a business is valued. So contact us today at adbackbenefits.com. So last question for you, Norma, a year from today,

What is one specific thing that you hope to be celebrating?

Norma Kropelnicki (59:48)

⁓ Just one? Okay, thank you. A year from today, ⁓ since we are talking about All Things Meetings and it's currently ⁓ my only baby, ⁓ I hope to be celebrating another year of success with All Things Meetings.

Anthony Codispoti (59:51)

I'll give you two.

Norma Kropelnicki (1:00:11)

I hope to continue to build it and manage the value that it brings. For me, it's not about how many people on either side of that matchmaking can I fit into a room. It's how many people are getting value. So I hope to be celebrating another anniversary. In that, I hope for growth in not being as controlling about

how I do this business. When people say, I can help you, you should get an assistant. And I'm like, you know what? I wouldn't be easy to work with because I know my vision, I know what I want, and I'm not as...

flexible when it's done, not done my way. Anyone who knows me knows that and it's not necessarily a positive characteristic. I just revealed a little secret, but I'm working on that. So I hope to be better about that. I hope to let it go and let it grow a little bit more. And I'm seeing a little bit more of that. We have a lot more fun things at all things meetings now than we used to, because I'd be like, nope, corporate.

So that would be the one thing with all things meetings. And it actually leans into if I relax more with all things meetings and not necessarily hand it over, bring people in, but just let it not try and be so controlling about it. I'll be in a better place to then be okay spending time with the new addition to our family and being a glamor.

⁓ so that I'm getting that quality time without feeling that I'm, you know, taking one away from the other.

Anthony Codispoti (1:02:00)

You did not ask for my advice, but I am going to offer it anyways, Norma. I think that which you are resisting is the thing that is persisting. I think you would spend a lot more time and be happier with your grandbaby if you brought somebody in and let them help you. That thing that is so hard, that uncomfortable place that you don't want to go, that's where growth happens.

Norma Kropelnicki (1:02:18)

I know, I know.

I hear you and ⁓ I may have heard that before. I will share, do have someone that, ⁓ a contractor that does my website, that does all the technical stuff who I will call when I need some ⁓ feedback or some advice. ⁓ Donna is such an integral part of what I do behind the scenes ⁓ and she has suggested it. I'm not. ⁓

up to it yet. ⁓ And I think in part because I still feel we're growing. ⁓ But I agree. I agree that and it's a good thing because I'm guessing I'm probably going to dare someone to buy the business, you know, down the road. And it would be. Yeah, yeah, something like that. So thank you for that advice and I'll work on it.

Anthony Codispoti (1:02:57)

Okay.

You just got to find somebody that responds to a dare the same way that you do.

All right, fair enough. Norma Kropelnicki from All Things Meetings. I want to be the first to thank you for sharing both your time and your story with us. I really appreciate you being here today.

Norma Kropelnicki (1:03:33)

Again, thank you, Anthony. As you can tell, ⁓ I can talk all day about all things meetings, ⁓ but I appreciate the time. ⁓ it's, know, life is short and it's long if you're miserable. So even with work stuff, I think you should be enjoying it.

Anthony Codispoti (1:03:51)

I love it. Folks, that's a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories podcast. Thanks for learning with us. And if one thing stood out, put that into action today.

Connect with Norma Kropelnicki:

Website: allthingsmeetings.com