Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta
Bringing Together Local Businesses & Neighbors of North Atlanta
Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta
EP #69: SLATE Event Management with Megan Cornett & Matt Murnane
Prepare to have your notions of corporate events turned on their head as we sit down with Slate Event Management's dynamic duo, Megan Cornett and Matt Murnane. They spill the secrets on orchestrating unforgettable trade shows, conferences, and corporate experiences that leave the cookie-cutter approach in the dust. They're the behind-the-scenes heroes for companies lacking the fairy godmother of in-house event planning, and they're revealing why their expertise is non-negotiable for a standout affair. So forget the bouncy houses and wedding toasts; we're strictly business – with a twist of fun. Tune in and discover the yin and yang of professional prowess mixed with personal play, right here in our own backyard.
This is the Good Neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Rizzley.
Speaker 2:Hello friends and neighbors, welcome to North Atlanta's Good Neighbor podcast. Today we're here with Megan Cornette and Matt Murnane with Slate Event Management. How are you guys, matt and Megan?
Speaker 3:Hey, Stacey doing well, how are you? Thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 2:You're so welcome. I'm really happy to have you guys on the show. Well, we'll just go ahead and jump right in, If you will go ahead and tell us about your business. Tell us about Slate Event Management.
Speaker 3:Sure thing. Slate Event Management is a full service B2B event design strategy and management company with a focus on trade shows, conferences and corporate experiences. We'll do anything and everything, from sourcing and site selection to recommending and in implementing the best technology platforms for client events, all the way through executing that experience. I should say we're based in the Atlanta area, but we work with clients and venues in the Atlanta area as well as across the US and around the world.
Speaker 2:Wow, you guys do a lot. That's wonderful. Tell us, megan, how do you take this one. Tell us about your journey. Tell us about the ledger to Slate Event Management.
Speaker 4:Yeah, matt and I both got into the events industry pretty early in our career in our early 20s almost 15 years ago now. Matt had been at a company that I started at after him, and this is where we met and where the journey began. We started working events together and stayed in touch over the years, even when we'd moved on to other event companies. Matt brought me back into the fold almost three years ago at our most recent company that we worked for, where we did a portfolio of five to six events a year all over. That company ended up folding their events portfolio. We was rather abrupt, but we had always talked about getting into event management on our own and consultancy. It really forced our hand in a very positive way to start this journey together.
Speaker 2:Great Well. Are there any myths or misconceptions about your business or industry in general that maybe you want to clear up with listeners today?
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's definitely a couple that come to mind. I think the first myth is really that event production excuse me, specific events, specifically business events can be done in-house without having an events person on the team. Slate really helps plug those holes and catches those small details, whether it's contract negotiation or designing the overall experience. A lot of times companies that we work with don't have a dedicated events person to handle those components. They really get offloaded to an executive assistant or an administrator within the organization who already has a full-time job. We're really that added resource. Then I think the second myth or misconception is we focus specifically on business events. A lot of the questions that we'll get more from our friends. But it'll be like do you do weddings? The answer is a hard no.
Speaker 2:A soft no I definitely will not put in your wedding or your child's birthday party.
Speaker 3:Exactly.
Speaker 2:You stick strictly to corporate events.
Speaker 3:Exactly.
Speaker 2:Oh goodness, yeah, that would be a challenge for you to get the bouncy house.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I know I mean we'll bring in a circus theme for a business event. Some of these guys get wild with some of the things they are looking to execute, but yeah, no, five year old birthday party please.
Speaker 2:Yeah, please don't call us for that. So so what's? We're gonna shift gears from work for a minute and tell me, what do you guys do for fun when you're not planning events, which I know is probably a fun thing for y'all to do but what? What are you doing outside of work for fun?
Speaker 4:I will say I end up Planning a lot of events for fun as well in my personal life because I am that person so well. We like to stick to business events for our business. I do end up doing a lot of weddings or private gatherings for fun on my personal time or just kind of Traveling. I live in like the Dunwoody Roswell area, so my husband and I like to visit Novo as much as we can.
Speaker 2:I'm also a Dunwoody resident.
Speaker 4:Yeah, oh yeah, I love that place. So, yeah, you know, visiting the neighborhood and traveling a little bit and hanging out with our friends and family on my end.
Speaker 3:And I think I'm the complete opposite. I feel like I plan so much for work that I just like to show up places I love to travel. So I actually just hit my 40th country this year but, really like no itineraries ever. I just kind of booked the plane ticket and then figure out the rest when I get there.
Speaker 2:So that's funny because it really is the complete opposite of your here, so detail oriented with your job and planning these events, so then you just go to countries without a plan at all Sounds like fun to me. I'd enjoy it well to shift gears like is there been a challenge or a hardship that that you've been through? That you can say, for having been through that experience and coming out on the other side of it, that you're better or stronger for that today.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think Megan kind of touched on it. It definitely. We were both working for the same organization for the last few years and there were definitely some ups and downs specifically in this industry. You know we had just recovered from COVID a couple years. You know that took our entire Hospitality industry by storm. I mean, everybody was affected but really nobody was gathering in person.
Speaker 3:So going from that to going to you know the organization which folded their events portfolio, I think it really taught us, you know, about resiliency and you know it's something that we have been so passionate about just event production and kind of giving back within this Industry as a whole. I think it took us about five minutes to figure out that this was the natural next step. So I think, in terms of like struggles, it really, you know this is not an industry to get into if you're not up for constant challenge. There's never a dull moment, there's never a slow day. So, all that being said, I think it really just kind of emphasized how resilient we are and just going from being fully employed with the security of a nine to five to launching our own thing and figuring out how to become an accountant and a business lawyer and wearing all of those hats that you don't even think about when you're launching. I think it's probably just one of those hardships that really shaped and got us to where we are today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that a lot of business owners, especially during the COVID and the pandemic, were affected. But, like you said, the hospitality industry came to a halt. You know, I was in medical sales during that time and we were trade show based. You know every like our. That's where our leads were generated from, from, you know, conventions and they're completely there was just, it was an absolute dead halt. You know, and that's part of why I've gotten into helping small businesses with with the podcast and through through Dunwoody Neighbors and North Bucket Neighbors magazines.
Speaker 2:But like that, I mean I had a complete career change because it did. It came to a complete stop, halt and then for you guys to stay in that same industry and make it better and learn from your you know, learn from what 2020 got us all, but especially in your industry and this you know, still you know, be in the same industry and launch your own. I just, you know, applaud you guys for for sticking with it and, you know, coming out stronger. That's that's a good story and the good, a great reason you know, to launch your own business and and I'm excited for y'all. Well, is there anything else that you want our listeners to know about Slate event management?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I just want to highlight that just how flexible and easy it really is to work with us, whether you are a small business or a large corporation. I feel like when we say consultant, it kind of has a vague like oh, what do you really do? Like how are you really going to help us? And I want to highlight that it does just mean that we're experts in this industry and we have handled so many different things that we're here to kind of plug in literally any whole or area that you just might not have covered or you just might have questions about. So, if it's, I need you know two hours of your advice here or I want you on a whole project. It's totally tailored to whatever the event, production or the company may need.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, that's a good. I'm glad you shared that with us. You know so, whether it's a two hour consultation and getting advice on an event, or full scale, taking it over and doing every aspect you know from unless it's a birthday party or a wedding no bouncy houses. Unless you're going to work at Slate, that's right you can reach out to you right again, that's what you do for fun, so you're the person to contact for that. Well, it's been a real pleasure having you guys on, and if people want to reach out and learn more, what is the best way for them to get in touch with you?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I would just say it's to our website, wwwslateeventscom. You'll find a bunch of information on there about us and also a contact us on the page as well.
Speaker 2:Well, wonderful. Thank you guys so much for being here. It's been a pleasure having you on.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Well, that's all for today's episode, atlanta. I'm Stacy Risley with the Good Neighbor podcast. Thanks for listening and for supporting the local businesses and nonprofits of our great community.
