Welcome to episode 25 of Creative Collaboration: Conversations with Veronica and Jillian. In this episode, hosts Jillian and Veronica delve into the world of Online Networking with a Spin (ONS), a brainchild of Veronica herself. Born out of passion during the pandemic, ONS has evolved into a successful recurring networking event that transcends traditional boundaries.
Today Jillian and Veronica explore how ONS connects a diverse array of entrepreneurs, CEOs, professionals, and agencies, fostering invaluable connections and sparking collaborations that transcend the virtual realm.
As the discussion unfolds, listeners gain insights into the genesis of ONS as a non-profit-like endeavor, dedicated to community service. However, Veronica reveals the exciting future plans for ONS, including its integration into Spin Ideas' omnichannel marketing approach and the launch of a game-changing marketing accelerator.
ONS emerges not only as a community builder but also as a potent generator of business opportunities, podcast interviews, and strategic partnerships. Discover the transformative power of ONS and how it has become an integral part of Spin Ideas' vision. For those eager to be part of this innovative movement, information on upcoming events and registration details can be found on the Spin Ideas website.
People & Resources Mentioned in This Episode
About Veronica Guguian
- Website: https://spinideas.nl/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronica-guguian
About Jillian Vorce
- Website: https://thejilliangroup.com/better
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillianvorce
Credits
- Music Composed by BeeLa Music
- Voiceover by Amanda Balagur
Veronica Guguian: Hello, everyone, and welcome to episode 25 from creative collaborations conversations with Veronica and Jillian. Hello, Jillian.
Jillian Vorce: Hello, Veronica. How are you?
Veronica Guguian: Besides so, Dean. I'm very good.
Jillian Vorce: I know, me too. I have my big bulky scarf on because it is cold. So today, we're going to talk about, I guess, as a continuation or a logical next conversation following our previous episode, number 24, which was all about events and how to think about events, how to select events, and how to quantify events as well. So today, we're going to talk about a really valuable event, what I would describe as in my experience as an event community and platform called online networking with a spin, which is, I want to say, your baby. But then I feel like Bruno might contest that. So I feel like, as you can see, one of your.
Veronica Guguian: Yeah, yeah.
Jillian Vorce: Ons is one of your babies. So, I thought we could chat a little bit about online networking with a spin today so if you are up for that chat.
Veronica Guguian: And my tea.
Jillian Vorce: All right, perfect.
Veronica Guguian: So, ready for that?
Jillian Vorce: Yeah. So maybe start off just talking about what it’s on, more or less.
Veronica Guguian: It's a networking event, actually. Maybe it will make sense if I go a little bit in time and tell the story of how online networking is. The spin was launched, please, because we all know when in 2020 Covid hit us and we were stuck in the house and everything stopped. And we're like, what is happening here?
Jillian Vorce: Yes.
Veronica Guguian: At that point, I was actually part of the Amsterdam American Business Club, part of the board, in charge of the marketing, and we used to organize monthly events, and of course, everything stopped, and we were trying to figure out what to do. Shall we move them online? Not to do that. And I was actually pitching this idea. How about we just meet and we put people in different rooms, and we network? And I kept on pitching and kept on pitching. Amsterdam American Business Club has a chair for marketing that I was at that point in charge of, but also one for events that somebody else was in charge of. And me pitching the idea didn't really pick. Like people weren't so responsive. And one day, I said, ok, you know what, actually, I don't need the AABC to create this. I can do it.
Veronica Guguian: Because that was actually my response to the pandemic. I don't believe that. Actually, let me rephrase it. I believe there's a solution for each problem. And that was my solution and my response to the pandemic. And one day, I just opened Canva, and I started playing with a very horrible design that was at that point. I'm not a Canva person; I'm sorry, I'm not a designer; I'm the ideal girl or woman. So I created something. And then I think, at that point, I didn't even have Mailer Light, or did I use it already? Mailer Light just created a page, a landing page promoting the idea of how about we meet for 1 hour, we go into breakout rooms and we chat. And this is what I did.
Veronica Guguian: I invited people from my network, and the first event was somewhere. I actually don't remember the month, but I was online with 16 people. I still remember that.
Jillian Vorce: 60 late 16. Yeah, but 16 people for your first one out of the gate is really good.
Veronica Guguian: I had no idea. It was just like, let's meet a network. Like the fact that we are stuck in the house, that doesn't mean we can't run our business. We can't actually be curious to meet new people. And I just invited people that I knew and tried to put them in breakout rooms with other people that they didn't know because that was the whole idea. What will be the point? To put them in a room with someone that they already know? I apologize for my voice, but is the season of losing voices and getting calls and whatnot, right? Yes. I'm going with the flow here.
Jillian Vorce: Yes.
Veronica Guguian: So that was actually the first edition and then my invitation. What I was actually doing, following up with an email, connecting people, being 16 people, is quite easy to put them in an email with LinkedIn and to send it. It is work, but it's not that much work.
Jillian Vorce: Right?
Veronica Guguian: It's doable. And I did that for at least two years. But in these two years, from 16 people, we ended up with 50 people. And I had to adapt because I was alone there, trying to, it's one thing when you are facilitating and you have 16 people and say, just give me a second. I'm placing you guys in rooms, and I'm trying to do my best to put people who don't know each other or haven't spoken up with each other in rooms. But when you have 50, and you have people that you have not met yet, it becomes a challenge. So it's not overnight, but there was growth. Right? So what I started introducing, actually was not speakers, because you're not going to have a speaker, but you're going to have experts providing tips.
Veronica Guguian: And I was very keen on that, because what I needed was three to five minutes while I do the tech side, putting people in rooms, someone to maintain the energy, to keep the people engaged, to give them something to do, not to look at the screen and be awkward. So this was very practical, how the experts came into the equation.
Jillian Vorce: Into the equation.
Veronica Guguian: Thank you. Into the show. Thank you. Yeah, so I was still doing that, still trying to put everyone in the right room and also sending that email to everyone to be able to connect. At that specific point, I just collapsed. It was way too much. And I was thinking, what can I do around this? How can I make it easier, and what can I do? And this is how the spin community actually took place. I already had the base community because of the conference, and I was, how about we create the spin community in parallel with that one? And instead of me trying to figure it out, the LinkedIn, because it became too much, honestly, I was like, how about all of you connect with each other and you continue the conversation in the community? Or maybe you didn't have the chance to chat.
Veronica Guguian: You go to the community, and you move afterward to have a private chat. So that was the evolution. And we kind of did that until we were still doing it, but we kept on changing. But somewhere beginning of next year, you start having that fatigue of doing things the same way. And also people had the fatigue of being online, and we're like, we need to reinvent. Why are we doing it? Because the purpose of why one was created, it kind of disappeared, right? The pandemic stopped, or even if Covid still exists, it's a normal part of our lives. It doesn't keep us in the house. So the face-to-face events are taking place, and everyone prefers those, or they prefer a combination as a reality at this point.
Veronica Guguian: And everyone was asking me, how about you're moving the ons from online to face? And I was like, oh, that could work. And then I realized, looking at the data. What is your favorite topic?
Jillian Vorce: Yes. That.
Veronica Guguian: My audience is so diverse. So I have people from the States that I'm so grateful for to wake up at 06:00 in the morning just to be part of a networking event from India, from Germany, from France, from Belgium. So it's so diverse that it's impossible to do it. So, online networking with a spin will always be an online network because of the diversity. And that's the beauty of it. You are meeting people that otherwise you wouldn't meet. We continue the conversations, the community, but we are switching because I realized instead of putting all the pressure on me to move people, how about I let them choose?
Veronica Guguian: So what we do now, actually, we do have the experts, and we are working now on the planning for the entire year in terms of topics, but we are creating different rooms based on the topic. Let people choose what is interesting for them, what they want, who they want to speak with, and then it's.
Jillian Vorce: That's great.
Veronica Guguian: Like giving them the power back in one way.
Jillian Vorce: That's great. There's a lot of value in that.
Veronica Guguian: Yes, we are working. We keep on working. And it's very interesting to see what people are choosing, actually.
Jillian Vorce: I bet. Let me talk about, yeah, as you said, the data; you can get some great data from that to find out not only about the career kind of title, occupation, not only the location but the specific content that people are interested in. That's really great to have that kind of trifecta.
Veronica Guguian: Interesting. The location has no impact. They don't really care. It's about; how they want to connect, they want to strike partnerships, they want to learn about how we had AI, that's a hot topic, how to apply AI, how to create strategies. These are the topics that you want to learn about location nowadays. It doesn't really.
Jillian Vorce: No, it doesn't matter. But I guess what I was trying to say is for you as the organizer, to have that data, to be able to see where your people are coming from. But certainly, the content is applicable everywhere. But for you to know not only who the people are like I said, what industry they're in, or if they're a founder or worker contributor or whatever, but where are they? But now to know what content as well. So that's really great. So we talk a little bit about who because now you have the ONS 2.0 that we also talked about in episode eleven. But right now, moving in, we're in January 2024. So for people that maybe have not ever joined an ons previously, can you talk a little bit about who it's for?
Veronica Guguian: Excuse me? I used to say it's for entrepreneurs, and it is for entrepreneurs, but it's much more than that. It's for CEOs, for professionals. We used to have only business starters, or they were in business, but they were very small. Now, we do see more agencies or smaller companies coming and sharing and being curious. So wireless companies are actually coming, networking connections, strategic partnerships, actually businesses conducted out of it. Podcasts were launched out of it because of the connections, like getting clients. And that's the whole idea about it. Be curious. Come and join. Come and learn. Come and share. Give back to the community and take. That's the whole purpose of it.
Jillian Vorce: I can give you a brief kind of testimonial about attending one because I attended one. And through that. Let me think. So, through that, I ended up developing a relationship with a woman who ended up working with me for quite a while, and she was fantastic. And then, through somebody else, I got an introduction to another woman who then interviewed me on her podcast. So that happened. And through that same woman who introduced me to the podcast, I ended up bringing her into a client situation, and she got a nice chunk of business out of it. So that was kind of a full-circle thing. And then, through somebody else I met at Once one time, I really liked him. We connected on LinkedIn, and just kind of followed him. I liked his content. He seemed pretty great.
Jillian Vorce: And then, one day, he hosted an event that I was able to physically attend. So I went and attended his workshop, which was great. That was Ryan Miller. It was really great. And then he ended up speaking at the women in tech conference. And so he now got me to that event as well. So, so many things personally that happened in my life and my business were all a direct result of attending. I think it was just a couple of sessions. I don't know. We call them events. Ons events. Yeah, I would say Ons has been very productive for me in terms of the amount of time I spent and the output. So that's my testimony, my plug for you.
Veronica Guguian: Yeah, no, there are a lot. And it's a great community. And I do like the fact that I see new energy, new people coming, because that actually is opening doors. I always say you have like the veterans; I like to call them the ones that keep on coming. And then you have the once in a while people that are coming and then you have the new ones that could go in either category depending on the time or how they feel. But what I love is the fact that if somebody comes purely to sell and not build connections, because that's the whole thing. You are here to build a connection, to be curious. The community is actually setting the tone and the boundaries. Excuse me. And they are actually protecting the values.
Jillian Vorce: That's great. That's key to having that. I feel like that's a degree of maturity when that happens within an organization. That's a really good sign. So, kudos to you for having that take hold. Thank you. The last part I would love for you to talk a little bit about, and this will come as a huge shock probably, but I'm curious about the relationship between Ons and your business. So I could frame it as like, was there a business case for it? But I feel like I want to skip all that and just kind of ask it in a more open-ended fashion. So, what is the relationship between Ons and your business with spin ideas?
Veronica Guguian: Well, that's a good question.
Jillian Vorce: Are they siblings or, I guess, like stepsiblings, or are they overlapped? Or is one for the top of the funnel, or is it for nurturing relationships or all of the above?
Veronica Guguian: Well, we are in the process of redefining that because, honestly, it was just launched. I didn't have any business. You can see it as an Ngo. Actually, when I launched, it was just a response. No business service was a service to me.
Jillian Vorce: A passion project.
Veronica Guguian: It seems like it was pretty much a passion project. But again, after the pandemic was the moment where I invested quite a lot of money and energy in it, and I do need to see how I integrate it into the rest of the things. Basically, what I'm preaching to my clients, how do I make it an omnichannel? How does this fit into everything that I do? So at this point, we are actually in the process of creating the planning for the entire year. And we are looking for sponsors, actually. So if there are any organizations targeting this particular audience that they want to sponsor, us. Have a call with me. This is very new, actually. So we are looking into that. That being said, they will not dictate the agenda.
Veronica Guguian: They will not dictate the type of connections or how things are going. We are very protective of that. But we're going to provide visibility towards the community for them. So everything that we do will have the community and the best interest of the community in the first place. We're not going to renounce our values or quality for that, but we are in the process of launching a marketing accelerator that could serve this community and other services to help them. So again, it is a place for people to connect and to get value. But we'll start introducing what we are doing here as well. I realized, actually, a lot of people don't know that what I do is actually marketing. They think I do events. So I do want to change the discussion a little bit.
Jillian Vorce: That's fair. So for folks who are listening and are interested in checking it out, where can they learn more about one or possibly even register to attend a future monthly event?
Veronica Guguian: Very simple. Spinids. Nl just go to our website, and you'll see there, in the middle, the online networking events.
Jillian Vorce: Okay. So, right on the homepage of your website? Yes, perfect.
Veronica Guguian: It's a specific page, but from the home page, it's easy to get there.
Jillian Vorce: Okay, great. So, any last thoughts? Anything about ons that we didn't get to? Or do you feel like it was so comprehensive? Because what a smooth job I did interviewing you.
Veronica Guguian: You did a great job. I think you need to experience it to understand it. Just come and be curious if you don't like it. Worst case scenario, you spend 50 minutes, or you stay the entire hour, and you meet some interesting people. So nothing to lose.
Jillian Vorce: Yeah. I applaud you for building this. I think it was; I respect so much your initial kind of motivation to get it up and running and the service that it did provide, but continuing to work at it and to focus enough to create the 2.0 version. So, I applaud you for putting it together and sticking with it. So, kudos. And with that, check out one, if you haven't already. Yeah, that's what we have for episode 25. Yeah. All right. Cheers, everyone. See you.
Veronica Guguian: See you. Bye.