by Kandia Johnson

August 20, 2014

Power Women of the Diaspora: Award-Winning Event Planner Tells How To Execute Events Abroad

(Image: Thinkstock)

What advice would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur/event planner?

  • Be detail oriented. You have to be able to guide people from the moment they leave their homes, arrive at the event location, and return home.
  • Conduct research around business etiquette in different countries. Sometimes “yes” means “no” in some cultures.
  • Hire a bookkeeper. Even though I am very good at managing finances I knew keeping track of huge budgets was key to operating my business. So, I hired a bookkeeper. I am happy to report she’s kept my records in tact over the years and is still with me.
  • Be flexible. You have to think on your feet because things change suddenly.
  • Conduct a continuous self-assessment. I am always measuring how I can I be more efficient with my planners.

You are also the Founder of GLOW, Golf and Leadership Opportunities for Women. Why did you start an initiative to help promote golf and encourage participation in the sport from minority women?

One of my clients was so heavily involved with the golf, I had to learn how to play. Those four hours of talking to someone and getting to know them on the course proved to be more important than just hanging around a boardroom for an hour.

I founded GLOW in 2010 as a division of my company and a certified member of the PGA Golf Industry Supplier Diversity Initiative.

While traveling several times throughout the month, you’re managing accounts from $500,000 to $5 million, employees’ and client expectations. Do you have any on-the-go apps?

  • “Super Planner” iPad app for the professional event planner (for budgeting, table size, etc.)
  • “Iprompt Pro” Works as professional tele-prompting software
  • “Evernote”— Captures and organizes business cards quickly and easily
  • “Currency Converter“
  • “Trip It” Keeps all of my travel plans in one spot

Kandia Johnson (@kandiajohnson) is a communications strategist, writer, and world traveler. She is dedicated to empowering audiences to tap into their hidden potential to achieve success. Driven by a passion to help people and organizations turn vision into reality, Kandia creates content that educates, engages and inspires.


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