How to Choose the Right Networking Group for Your Business | Mark Addington

Kevin Dennis (0:0.942)

All right, folks, welcome to another episode of Mind Your Wedding Business. We're here with the one and only Mark Addington. And for those of you in the WIPA world, you know who Mark is. But Mark is with Mark Addington Events, and he's here today to talk to us about his joining and networking organization, Write For Me. And his answer to that better be yes, or he's going to get in trouble with all his WIPA friends. anyway, but Mark, before we delve into our topic today, can you tell us a little bit about Mark and how we got Mark here today?

Mark Addington (0:30.694)

Yes, absolutely. Thanks for having me, Kevin. So yeah, I started out in the industry, like I started DJing parties in college. And then when I first moved, that was Kansas of all things. And when I moved from Kansas out here to California, got a job. Oh yeah, KU, I'm a Jayhawk. When I moved out to California, I started working at a casting agency in San Francisco. I was like, man, I'm gonna be in the movies. You know, all these things.

Kevin Dennis (0:44.972)

I was gonna ask, where was that? Okay, I'm glad you told me.

Mark Addington (0:59.388)

big hopes and dreams. And of course, know, listen, that's a great industry. It's not exactly pay well. So I was like, oh, let me DJ on the weekends. I got approached to DJ, turned him down a couple of times, then picked it up. And it was for a big box DJ company. And I always have to say this correctly. This was a company run that you showed up, you got their equipment, you went out, you did their thing. The owner didn't actually DJ anymore.

but love to tell you how to do things. So I learned more there what not to do. You know, I think just what I love about you, Kevin, is you still DJ and people, you go, oh, this is how it should be done, right? This is how something should actually. Stepped away from them to work at, I actually got a job offer to work at Pixar, worked there for a while and then stepped away to start my own or DJ company with a friend, pandemic hit.

Kevin Dennis (1:28.824)

Mm.

Kevin Dennis (1:37.976)

You

Yes.

Mark Addington (1:58.408)

Shutdown Pixar, wedding industry shutdown. And when I came out of that pandemic, you know, I was off and rolling on my own company, Mark Addington Events. The one thing that I said, you know, and this is just getting into this networking thing is how do I meet all of the great people in the, in the area in one place at one time? My business partner at the time said he's going to ILEA.

I said, I am going to WIPA. And it was amazing to walk into my first like WIPA with my own company and people go, Mark, we wondered where you went. Great. Instead of just kind of on the DJ side of things calling and going, Hey, I'm a DJ. Can we meet?

Kevin Dennis (2:38.894)

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (2:46.146)

Well, it's funny. It's funny you say the WIPA thing because I think I was the president of WIPA, you national when you I remember you sponsored your first event and I totally remember that we were at a hotel in the city and I don't know why I remember that mark but yep. Yep. Where was it? Yeah.

Mark Addington (3:5.160)

Yep, it was in December.

Mark Addington (3:9.672)

It was in December,: 2019

Kevin Dennis (3:15.690)

It sounds about. Yep, that sounds about right. Yep, and I just remember I'm like, oh, I need to get to know this kid. He's he's a good kid.

Mark Addington (3:24.567)

Well, it was weird because I there's such a difference in when you are DJing on a weekend for somebody else and you come in and that's your only world, right? Because in my head I always used to say God, I don't want to be X amount of age, right? I did it when in my 20s I was like man I don't I don't I don't want to be 25 and still DJing right because your head tells you something different, right? It doesn't tell you that it's a real

Kevin Dennis (3:34.434)

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (3:49.708)

Yeah.

Mark Addington (3:50.536)

And growing up in a very strict household that was business, everything was business, business, business. You're supposed to work in a cubicle for 60 years and get a gold watch, right? And that doesn't really happen now. So my mind was never telling me that this is a real business. It's not something you can do. Then I was saying, you know, when I'm thirties, I don't want to be DJing. And then it was like in my forties, I don't want to be. And what I really started to realize is that I just hadn't been shown. I hadn't seen the light, right? I didn't know that one, this was a viable business.

Kevin Dennis (3:58.412)

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (4:4.461)

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (4:21.189)

Two, I didn't know that I would have such a passion or enjoy it until I found, like for me it was weddings. Weddings really made me fall in love with what I do. But it was leaving a company and going, how do I go zero to 60, especially for someone that has already had 15 years in the industry? How do I get out there and make this happen?

Kevin Dennis (4:32.461)

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (4:49.732)

That's exactly what it was, was attending a networking event. People knew who I was already. And that for me took my business zero to 60. And that was, you and then of course I joined the board for the local San Francisco board for WIPA. Now I'm on the national board.

Kevin Dennis (4:54.126)

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (5:8.310)

And we could, well, I'm gonna stop there real quick, is we could do a whole podcast episode on getting involved in these associations because that, I'll be honest with you, because I think that's where a lot of people mess up. They pay their dues. And when I was with the president, one of the questions I got the most was, I joined, but I'm not getting any business from it. And then it's like, are you going to the events? Are you involved in the committee? Are you on the board? You know, like, how are you?

Mark Addington (5:16.390)

Right, yeah, yeah.

Kevin Dennis (5:38.028)

You got to give to get, know, and not just give your membership dues is not going to get you business, you know, just because you're a member doesn't, know, one, it's like scratching the surface. I think it's the next is like, you got to get involved. I think you're zero to 60 analogy, joining the board. think that was the right move for someone. And the one thing too is when you join the board, it's a lot of work.

Mark Addington (5:40.262)

Right.

Kevin Dennis (6:6.924)

You gotta you can't be a flake because if you're a flake on the board and you know this mark from dealing with so many uh whippa folks is like I could tell you everyone i'm like I would never hire that person I would never hire that person so you don't want to be that person if you do get involved so you got to make sure you're gonna do it the right way too so i'm sorry I went down a rabbit hole i'm very passionate about this

Mark Addington (6:25.020)

Well, no, not at all. I mean, it's all relevant. Yeah. And I think so. So I'm going to tell you, mean, with, knowing what I know now, right? I think that getting involved one, right? You, kind of start to understand your business, but even if you don't fully understand your business, right? Just starting out, I started brand new business. How do I get in the faces of everybody quickly? Right? And one of the things is.

Kevin Dennis (6:45.442)

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (6:53.422)

Yeah.

Mark Addington (6:55.270)

I'm going to say is as a wedding vendor, I show up at a venue, I get to work with somebody, you know, for four or five, six hours, right? But that doesn't mean that I have them in my sites for four or five, six hours, because that's not my job. My job is my couple, right? And so I meet people, great, let's keep in contact. And then you don't see them for another year until you work with them again somewhere else.

Kevin Dennis (7:9.996)

Mm-mm.

Mark Addington (7:21.104)

So an organization like a networking organization, an industry organization is a fabulous thing to do. But it also doesn't discount your other organizations to where you can network to really meet people. Kevin, you just said you were winery organization. was it? Winery. Thank you.

Kevin Dennis (7:41.767)

Oh yeah, Winegrowers Association. Yeah, we're gonna be joining, yeah, the local Winegrowers Association to support our wineries. And I would have never thought of that. I would have never thought of that until, because I'm doing a leadership class through the local Chamber of Commerce and the Winegrowers Association executive director came and spoke to us and she said, they're always looking, the wineries are always looking for people to refer, but...

Mark Addington (7:47.899)

a local chamber.

Kevin Dennis (8:6.262)

and they want to refer people that are part of the association. And in my head, I'm like, I would have never thought to be a part of this association, but I'm going to go join today because it's, I get a lot of business from these wineries.

Mark Addington (8:18.208)

Absolutely. The groups like your BNI, your local chamber of commerce, those are great stepping stones and great places to be. They're not industry-like adjacent, but those are places to go in and start to cut your teeth, start to get an understanding of what is... And it's funny, we jumped into talking about this, but I do think, Kevin, though it's also a few things going into...

the networking, right? It's understanding when you're bandwidth, right? We only have so much bandwidth. You can, you can pay to join.

Kevin Dennis (8:50.412)

Yep, 100%. Yep. Because this could be a full-time job. This could be a full-time job belonging to all these associations. I think that, so you're totally right with the bandwidth part. Because if you're not going to do it right, then you shouldn't be a part of it. Because you're going to be, I mean, you're going to just get a bad rep. And that bad rep trickles down to people referring you business.

Mark Addington (8:59.332)

It absolutely can.

Mark Addington (9:12.412)

Yeah. And I think the other side is, understanding your, understanding your business in the means of, um, where are my advertising dollars spent and where is my, cause this networking could basically be your advertising, right? Where are you best spent just starting out? If you are, if you're a DJ and you're working at a property that, um,

Kevin Dennis (9:26.402)

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (9:31.625)

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (9:41.208)

like a Wedgwood property or Fairview or anything like that. Wonderful. You're probably not spending the money on the knot, right? You're probably not having to because you're working for a company that just hands you. But if you want to become better, right, you can still do that and then still go to networking events and start developing your own thing. I think getting started in the business, I mean, I'm going to tell you when I started my company, pre Mark Addington events, it was a let's throw all the irons in the fire and see what hits.

Kevin Dennis (9:47.564)

Mm-mm.

Mark Addington (: 10:10

you know, Google AdWords and the not and all these other things. And I will tell you, I don't advertise anywhere right now because of networking and vendor relationships. And that has done more for my business with catapulting me zero to 60 than, than I ever could have gotten by paying thousands of dollars a month for something that I'm getting somebody that constantly wants, you know,

Kevin Dennis (: 10:10

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 10:23

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 10:38

Hey, I'm here, but every call that I take, want a budget, right? I want people to go, no, you have to have Mark Addington and that's why I get hired.

Kevin Dennis (: 10:41

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 10:47

No, I agree with you on that. it's there's, mean, again, we opened the rabbit hole, but all right. So how do we know, what networking association is good for us? There's local ones, there's national associations, there's industry specific, like the DJs have their own, you know, videos, photographers, all those have their own, you know, so how should a wedding pro go, you know, about choosing the one that's right for them?

Mark Addington (: 11:15

Well, think one of the, mean, definitely making friendships in this industry, I think is so important, right? Kevin, you and I talk a lot and we bounce a lot of ideas off each other's heads. And I think that's one of the most important things, right? Finding those people that are aligned with those same values that you have are really great in helping let go, hey, I want to join a networking organization. I'm just not sure what to do, right? Your next question is going, what are you primarily focused in, Mark?

Kevin Dennis (: 11:22

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 11:28

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 11:41

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 11:44

Well, I really want weddings and everything like that. Beautiful. Let's talk WIPA. I really just want to do more local stuff. I don't care what it is. I just need experience. I'm in my first year. I want more experience. Great. Maybe something like a chamber of commerce or something like that, just to go out and get your feet wet. I really want corporate. Corporate is where I'm looking to go. I've been in the industry for five or six years. I'm looking, you know, fill in those weekday stuff. Great. That's where your ideas and your MPIs and PCMAs and things like that.

Kevin Dennis (12:0.173)

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 12:14

Um, and just like I said, it's knowing your bandwidth, what you're doing when you're stepping into it, you know, but I think really is you have to do kind of that, that self dive and really start to figure out what do you want? And I know when you first start out, you're just like everything. want all the things I want. I want, you know, I will DJ anything, but when you start to narrow some of those down and focus, um, you're really able to kind of get laser focused and start to know what do you enjoy?

and what do you not enjoy anymore? You know, I have events, there's certain events that I just don't, I am not a school dance person. I am aged out. I've probably gotten a little crabby when it comes around. That's not my cup of tea, you know. I'll do bar and bar mitzvahs all day long, but I, it's not, you know, I am your wedding and your corporate.

Kevin Dennis (: 12:51

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (13:3.032)

Different. That's different. Yeah.

No, I, so finding the right group, you know, like, so that's the biggest thing is the biggest. And then I think like going out there real quick, I was going to say it's like you could use Facebook or Instagram too in your local market to find some of these groups. But also, you know, if you know, like WIPA is now everywhere. When I was WIPA president the first time there was there was no chapters. And when I left, there was only like 18, 20 chapters. And how many chapters are there now?

Mark Addington (13:8.486)

So I think.

Mark Addington (: 13:16

Okay.

Mark Addington (: 13:38

We're 22, 21, 22. Yeah. Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 13:40

So, okay, so I was not far, so it's gross. there should be a whip in your market. If there's not, then you could start a group. That's another thing that's really popular right now. Because a lot in these associations, because I'm really still heavily involved in NACE, and NACE right now has six chapters in formation right now, in six different areas because...

what happened in COVID, everything got shut down and everything got lost. Now all of a sudden the world is in a place where we're starting to bring all this stuff back. So I think, you

Mark Addington (: 14:12

Well, and a couple other pieces, Kevin, you talk about what should you do to start finding your place or your organization? You're a lot of your things like your NASAs, your ILEAs, your MPIs, your WIPAs, they have non-member events that you can attend. And it's great to go and attend to find out if that's something for you. Right. And it's kind of just the same thing. What you said though, is attending a networking event, when you go to attend,

Kevin Dennis (: 14:29

Mm-hmm. Yep. Good point.

Kevin Dennis (: 14:35

Yeah.

Mark Addington (: 14:42

Um, you know, you can't like, you can't just join a gym and expect results by just, you know, joining, right? You have to go to the gym and put the time and work in. Um, but the second thing is, is, um, like you said, you know, just kind of asking around and finding out what is that right path for you to go in and join. And then you can make those moves from there. But I think it's really doing a deep dive and just like, you have to keep trying until you find that fit.

Kevin Dennis (: 14:49

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (15:9.814)

Yeah, no, that's the thing is, it's a nice thing is you can, like you said, you can go to these industry events and try them on. But the other thing too is I don't think you should accept or expect instant results from you going to your very first event. Because again, Mark, you hit on it earlier, it's relationships. So it takes time. Rome wasn't built overnight, neither is...

Mark Addington (: 15:25

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 15:36

you know, your networking relationship is not going to be built overnight. It takes time. So how long do you think someone, I have my number, but I'm curious what your number is. you know, once you, we, we found that event that we are the association we want to be a part of. Where do you think you start seeing results after how, how, how, how long?

Mark Addington (16:1.832)

Oh, this is such a formula. mean, it really is. back when I was acting, the thing was that you had to hit 60 auditions before you booked one, right? That was like the thing, right? This isn't anything like that, right? It's a whole different, it's hard coming in just in the aspect of think of what your discipline is versus need in the industry.

Kevin Dennis (16:4.907)

I have my numbers, I'm curious.

Kevin Dennis (: 16:23

Yes. Okay. Because that's a great point. Because if you're a photographer, a caterer, a venue, a DJ, you know, you're great. But if you're a pet sitter, a cigar roller, I own a VW bus that has a photo booth in it, these are very specialized disciplines or specialized businesses that I'm going to get instant work from going to these events.

Mark Addington (: 16:52

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 16:53

but as a DJ, so let's pretend we are normal.

Mark Addington (: 16:57

Yeah. Okay, so as a DJ, I mean, let's say if I attended and I was just a DJ,

Mark Addington (: 17:11

I would probably say you have to put a good, a year and a half in. mean, that's probably like, you need to be religious about it. You need to be attending every event. And I, there's a whole nother part to this that we'll get to, I'm sure. But just being respectful to the other people there. There's like the little things that you have to tick off. Kevin, what do mean, eight to 10?

Kevin Dennis (: 17:36

So, I'm a two to three year person. we're not far off, you were 18 months, so we're close on the two year, but I feel strongly and it just from my experiences, and I even go back to my NACE chapter, there was a wedding, or an event planner that I wanted to work with and I would never get, I would get the time of day with her, talk with her.

Mark Addington (: 17:40

Okay.

Kevin Dennis (18:4.600)

But I never got business from her and I'm not one I don't walk up to you and I want I don't go I need your business. I develop relationships and relationships. I believe You know that subject will come but if you walk up to someone and go because I've seen that So back up put the car in reverse here. I've seen it go wrong so many times. So being from the valley Where we are we're about 45 minutes east of San Francisco. So I would go into the city with a lot of

the local vendor, wedding venues and the venues here in the market. A big group of us would go in and literally, Wente Vineyards, big vineyard, they sell wine all over the world. But the first thing is, is they'll go, oh, hi, I'm Heather from Wente Vineyards. And the first word out of someone's mouth is, oh, how do I work for you? I wanna work at Wente Vineyards. And I'm like, you're not, that's not.

way to do it, you know? And so I would see so many people go about it the wrong way from just kind of... And that was the greatest education I ever got. So I think a part of it is just, it's like getting to know Mark and getting to know Mark a little bit more at the next event. And then you start seeing the results and it's like, oh, hey, Mark's a really good guy. I, you know, I have a need coming up for a DJ for a wedding that I think...

You know, Mark and I talked a lot about Disney and this couple really likes Disney. So I think Mark would be a good fit, you know? And so again, that's not going to happen on your very first event, you know? So it takes time.

Mark Addington (: 19:43

Right. And, and you know, it definitely is those things of, know, does lightning strike? Oh, absolutely. You could totally be the right person in the right place. Right. So I am also a, I am a see a need, fill a need. Right. And when you walk in and somebody is saying, you know, Hey, we're looking for like at Idlea the other night, somebody asked, would I be willing to sponsor or DJ an event? Right. Sponsor, sponsor one of their things.

Kevin Dennis (: 19:51

Yes.

Mark Addington (: 20:13

And I had to, Kevin, had to politely decline. because my bandwidth does not allow me the time to, and could I clear the day? Sure. Um, but there's so many things going on. If I'm going to do it, it has to be perfect. And that's just me where I'm at right now. Whereas if, if this is something I'm trying to build up and I really want to be able to sponsor and help out, like you can get seen and you can put, but when you show up, you.

Kevin Dennis (: 20:16

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 20:29

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 20:42

do need to show up because we are in front of our peers. You have to bring your A game. You have to have 100%. And it just is because you're representing your brand, your business. And like I said, you can get into everybody's face. But I think it's great because there is the possibility where people could break what you and I have seen. But you can't just show up and expect.

Kevin Dennis (: 20:47

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (21:3.846)

Mm-hmm. Well, well, you said there is lightning in the bottle and every once in a while you might just happen to talk to the person that like Desperately is trying to fill a need that not like they're going to the networking event with an agenda You know, like I I needed I need a photographer for June 11th And I'm gonna go to this networking event to try to find one, you know right away So, I mean you might get lucky that's far few in between and people we go to these networking events to

catch up with everyone, you know, and just, and I think the thing is too, is getting to know Mark on a business level, but also on a personal level, you know? Like, and that's where, that's where the magic is, is when you're at these networking events is I'm getting to know someone and I'm getting to know a little bit about their business, but then I'm also getting to know a little bit about what makes them tick because, cause then, then that's when the deeper connection comes in.

And then that's when it's like, oh, I can really work with Susie because Susie and I, you know, I can see we both have a love of, you know, baseball and her, you know, like, because that's happened to me too, because I coach Little League. I'm in my 17th year coaching Little League this year. And I have connected with wedding vendors on their kids play Little League. I coach Little League, you know, and I have kids in Little League, you know, and so it just and we talk Little League and we're at a

We're at a wedding event and we're not even talking weddings. We're talking Little League, you know, you know what saying? So there's there's a way to connect with people on a deeper level that I think then that strengthens your relationship because there's still some people that I see and it's like, hey, how's your Little League season going? How's your Little League season go? You know, and it's just like and that's an opening, you know, and it's not just and I'm not asking them, I need business. Give me business. And they're not. And it's it's not that kind of thing. So I think that's the biggest thing.

Mark Addington (: 22:31

Right.

Mark Addington (: 22:45

Great, yeah.

Mark Addington (: 22:56

Yeah. I just, I just ran into, um, a, someone that I've known for 10 years and we literally at the ILEA event spent 20 minutes talking about family and like where our family is at and all the different pieces before we even talked before I even go said, Oh, wait, where are you at now? You know, it was, it had nothing to do with business. was just exciting to see. And Kevin, you not know this. mean,

Kevin Dennis (: 23:10

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 23:18

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 23:25

where you had events with people that are like events where you're just like, this is really like painful and you're counting down the last five minutes of it. But then you get to like, whatever you've gone through something with somebody, I'm going to tell you that that bond is strong, you know? And so when you leave, great, when you get to the event, you have those people to kind of commiserate with, which is great. I love knowing.

Kevin Dennis (: 23:44

Yes.

Mark Addington (: 23:55

I loved being a part of WIPA during the pandemic when we were getting on Zoom calls. And this is such a horrible thing. When we were all on a Zoom call crying, one week to the next of somebody's business, like refunding 800 people, you know, whatever, you know, redesigning contracts and whatever. But there was something just knowing that there was other people that were going through the same thing that you were, that you go, okay, we are a community, you know?

Kevin Dennis (: 23:57

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (24:3.886)

you

Kevin Dennis (: 24:11

Yep.

Kevin Dennis (: 24:23

Yeah, and I happened to be the national president of WIPA the year we were doing it. I remember, so Megan Ely was my VP. I don't know if you know, Mark, she's my older sister, but that's a subject for another day. But anyway, so Megan and I, literally we were at Cater Source and the world was ending. And we sat at the food court at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and both had a slice of pizza and a Coke, or I don't even know what we were drinking.

Mark Addington (: 24:35

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 24:51

We should have probably been drinking something stronger, but we were like, all right, the world's going to shut down for two weeks. We're going to do four webinars. So we called on our speaker friends. We planned four webinars to just kind of help people through. I ended up doing over 60 something webinars throughout the pandemic, and it started to become more of a regular thing. got to interview David Tatera through it. But my point was, we started

the state of the wedding industry. so we would have someone from California, myself, then we had Brie up in Washington, we had Texas, Utah, represented Atlanta, New York. think those were all the, but it was kind of, like you said, we were commiserating with each other and it was, we developed a sense of community with everyone because we were understanding what everyone was going through.

e, you know, by the summer of: 2020

Mark Addington (: 25:56

Right.

Kevin Dennis (: 26:20

you know, that we got out of it as well. So I think that's like you said, there's so much to be part of that sense of community.

Mark Addington (: 26:28

Yeah. And I really want to, I'm going to segue on that Kevin, because you, you hit it exactly. And this is a perfect point for this. There's, I almost feel like there's two types of networking groups, right? There's the group where you're getting together and you're just kind of talking, right? It's, it's that networking, that meeting, that talking back and forth, right? Yes. And, and, know, you're finding out better ways or local things, your chamber commerce, you know, Hey, there's a grand opening at this store. need a DJ, da da da. Right.

Kevin Dennis (: 26:44

Almost like a B &I. Like a B &I. Yeah.

Mark Addington (: 26:56

There's the other organizations that really work hard to put on educational events. And those are gold, right? It's, I feel like you can attend an event and you can network and you can all this great stuff. But if you really want to become better, you could start paying attention to what people are doing, what they are using, what is out there, what's coming down the line, because it really helps you, especially like I said, in the wedding world, right? You start understanding trends.

Kevin Dennis (27:1.837)

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (27:5.347)

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 27:26

you start understanding what are other DJs or MCs doing.

Where are, or corporate, what is coming down? What are the needs of corporate? What is corporate interested in right now? And I think that was really helpful. I I know during the pandemic, as you said, like you guys did 50 something, 100 webinars, 60 plus webinars during that year. That was a lot of Yeah. And like right now with WIPA, and cause I speak to this cause I know it and I was director of education for four years.

Kevin Dennis (: 27:38

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 27:45

60, 60 plus.

I hosted them all.

Mark Addington (: 27:58

You have a WIPA library that has over 200 something videos in it, right? When you join, right? You get access to that. That's free education. If you wanted to learn about, you know, AI, you want to learn about sustainability, you want to learn about what you have access to that. There's, there's so many of these, the ILEA events that I've gone to that there's, there's, think there's an MPI one coming up that I want to go to. That stuff is, is really helpful because I'm getting a better understanding.

of what's coming down the line. I have a better understanding of, for me as a DJ, what are my planners looking for? If a caterer is getting up and talking about something, I understand better. Oh, caterers don't like it when people do this. Guess what? I am no longer doing it events. I'll just speak to this, TriValley, right? You had that amazing panel discussion last year.

Kevin Dennis (: 28:45

Exactly.

Kevin Dennis (: 28:51

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 28:55

with all of the local Livermore Valley vendors, got up and spoke, coming from somebody that dropped all of their advertising and starting off the year a little bit slow last year to have local vendors say, no, this year is just starting off a little bit slow, but gets busier. My mind goes, we're all in the same boat. This is so helpful to hear. And then when you turn around once that's over,

Kevin Dennis (: 28:58

Oh yes.

Kevin Dennis (29:6.915)

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 29:19

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 29:25

And somebody at Wente is saying, yeah, we had a DJ that showed up here in cutoff jeans and a t-shirt loading in, and they are no longer allowed here. Not that I ever would, but my mind goes, oh, guess what? I'm never loading in and cut off shorts and a t-shirt at Wente. So it just is those pieces of your mind just starts going. You can learn so much by going and just listening and paying attention.

Kevin Dennis (: 29:50

And think that's the biggest thing is listening because a lot of people in our industry just like to diary of the mouth and let out what they're, you know, let what they're saying out. But there's so much power when you're networking. It's more about listening to the person than it is about talking. And I think that's where a lot of people, the egos get in the way. So sometimes, you know, I'm someone in the industry, I'm someone famous, so you're going to listen to me. No, that's where that's where they go wrong.

Mark Addington (: 30:12

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 30:20

It's about listening and learning. mean, one, you know, think about it, Mark, if you didn't go to that Tri-Valley Wedding Pro event that we had, and you know, and we had the panel and everyone's talking about it, you would still be stressing out and going on about like what's going on in our industry and not have any clue because you weren't part of the discussion or you weren't part of the, you know, just the education of it all.

Mark Addington (: 30:49

Yeah, and it's, it is, I mean, it's, really like, I have felt the education that I've gotten out of networking, but also then the,

Just the, I feel like that family that you've gotten out of, you know, the groups. I mean, I have so many people that if they called me tomorrow, you know, whatever, what do need me to do? You need to come change your tire? Like I'm in, you know, and it just is because there's such good people. You've, like I said, you've gone through the trenches, much like that theater community, right? You've gone out there and you've put your heart and soul into everything. And there's like the second that they called, but you're also getting an education out of everything. And, you know, I...

Kevin Dennis (: 31:11

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 31:25

Yeah.

Mark Addington (: 31:27

building off a really quick something else that you just said is that understanding the networking of, I know we are all taught, right? Have your elevator pitch down, right? To have it down. But that doesn't mean that you walk right into a networking group and you give your elevator pitch to every single person there and then turn around and go, well, why didn't I get anything? Well, what did those 10 people that you talked to, what did they do? What were their jobs or what was their positions?

Kevin Dennis (: 31:39

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 31:53

Yeah.

Mark Addington (: 31:56

You know, and I think there's something else that you said was there's a lot of, there's a lot of planners that are within WIPA that I don't want to say I just never work with our paths just don't cross or are, are, you know, at a level where they have their core group of people. does not make me love them any differently. And when I need a planner that's where I know where they're at, I will refer all day long. Um, but I also know they've gotten really good because.

Kevin Dennis (: 32:22

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 32:26

They have their core group of people and this is corporate, this is anything. When you get your circle, right, your circle of trust, you know, occasionally a spot opens up to where you have a chance to go in.

Kevin Dennis (: 32:40

Two to three years. I'm a big believer.

Mark Addington (: 32:42

Yep. But yes, and it's, that makes a lot of sense. I've always said your job is to start building your circle, right? That is where you start going. You start meeting. My favorite is whenever we're at a networking event and somebody raises their hand or, you know, and the, the membership person goes, who, how many of you, this is your first event. And I'm like, those are my people right there. Right.

Kevin Dennis (: 32:51

Mm-hmm, correct.

Kevin Dennis (33:5.666)

Yep. Yep.

Mark Addington (33:6.502)

Because I want to know where are they and how'd you get started? What can I do? Is there anybody you want to meet? You know, and it's just helping move people along, but I'm amazed sometimes at how many vendor lists I'll get on or how many people, you know, that I can go, Oh, I can refer this person there. Like you said, they have a, you have a VW bus that is a photo booth. Like that is, you know, so.

Kevin Dennis (: 33:11

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 33:25

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Unique, unique, unique. All right. So we talked real quick because so you touched on so many things that I think we should dive a little deeper in is we go going attending these events, which we didn't really talk much about, like the etiquette in in in attending the events, because there was one thing you mentioned is like you had the approach of connecting. Like I think there is so much power in being the connector.

is when you're talking to someone, it's like, oh, hey, Mark, you work over here. OK, let me connect you to this person over here that you guys do. You're in the same area or you guys are you guys need to get to know each other. You know, there's so if I walk up and I have a relationship with both of you and I connect you, it's going to one help you guys immediately connect deeper. Right. Because you there's a trust level between with you and me and me and the person that I'm connecting you with.

And so that relates. So there's a lot of power. I can't tell you how many times people go, oh, my God, thank you for referring me to X, Y and Z. I still use them here today. You know, there's a lot of power in that. So let's talk about events. So attending the events, I should we. What should we be doing, Mark? Should we be doing spray and pray where we walk around and hand everyone our business card and pray that we're going to get business or, you know, a couple of tips, I guess.

Mark Addington (: 34:32

Yeah.

Mark Addington (: 34:52

So I think that obviously, yes, and this is great. You should always have a game plan going into, right? If you're just like, there's a couple Tri-Valley events that I've attended where I'm like, I need to speak to this person. I have an event coming up there in June, and I really just want to say hi. I'm the DJ for that, so whatever, right? So sometimes it'll be that. It's not a bad thing.

Kevin Dennis (: 34:59

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 35:19

And that's a good icebreaker right there. That's a good way to walk up to someone and meet them. Hey, I'm working at your property already. You know, I would love to know a little bit more about it. And then you're going to build a little bit trust level with them because you're getting to learn more. That's a good approach. I like that.

Mark Addington (: 35:35

Well, and when somebody says, oh my God, do you want to set up something and come by and check out the property? Yeah, it's been a year since I've been there. Is there anything different? I would love to come by. you now you've created something different, right? Beautiful. But I think that, so there's that, but I always bring, I mean, I think that you should have some way of, I'm still, maybe I'm old school, but I bring business cards, right? I always have my business cards.

Kevin Dennis (: 35:46

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 35:49

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (36:1.113)

I am old too and I still think you need a piece of paper to hand someone. There's a lot.

Mark Addington (36:4.572)

Yeah, the hard part is, and I understand all the little devices and the scanners and all the other things. I have people from an event a couple months ago that scanned their thing and I don't know how to find it. I don't know how to, you know, whatever. you know, so that part of it's hard, but having a game plan going in, right? I'm just going to meet people. I'm just going to whatever. If you get locked into two conversations, but they're great conversations and you don't get to network with anything else.

Kevin Dennis (: 36:25

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 36:34

That is not a loss. And I think that sometimes people think that Kevin, hi, elevator pitch gone, done. I'm onto the next person. Find that solid, great convo.

Kevin Dennis (: 36:36

No.

Kevin Dennis (: 36:42

It's.

Kevin Dennis (: 36:45

Okay, so I'm a big two to three business cards you should leave a networking event with because you've made two to three good connections. You know what I'm saying? So that's a good, so it's funny that you said two conversations. There's so much more power in that than walking around and doing all that kind of stuff. So, all right, so now we touched on attending, right? But now we attend one event, they have four in the year.

Mark Addington (37:4.006)

Yes.

Mark Addington (37:9.320)

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 37:12

and we only go to the one. Should we expect results?

Mark Addington (: 37:17

No, no, not at all. I no. I mean, I first off, mean, going back to one thing is I also think you need to, we have somebody at an event show up in just jeans and a t-shirt and I don't have any problem with that, but you also have to say, I'm going to attend this event and I want to represent my company. And that's great if you were a jeans and t-shirt person, but like, you shouldn't also have to be buying an

Kevin Dennis (: 37:18

Okay, I love it.

Mark Addington (: 37:44

You shouldn't have to buy a new outfit for every event. If you want to, great. But you don't have to, right? So now you've attended your event, right? You attend one event and you can sit back. That's like going to the gym one time, right? You're not gonna get anything out of it. People, you need to stay relevant. You need to stay, I got really lucky, Kevin, coming out of the pandemic because we were.

Kevin Dennis (: 37:58

Yes, good analogy.

Mark Addington (: 38:12

jumping on all the WIPA boards. I attended all their virtual meetups, all their other stuff.

I got lucky with, and I keep saying I got lucky. I worked really hard to prove myself and I don't know why I always say I got lucky, but I was right place at right time. The wedding world started coming back online. Some of the planners said, which DJs are still in California? People started pointing to Mark. Mark Addington, he's still around. I went from zero to 60 and I just...

Kevin Dennis (: 38:37

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 38:41

Yep. Yeah.

Mark Addington (: 38:46

I worked hard to get here. I worked hard on my reputation. I, know, everything with it, but it, it was just really nice to go. mean, I was never jumping on those calls to be doing that, but it was really helpful for me. I was able to refer some planners that I knew were still around or some photographers that were still around. Or it was, it was interesting for somebody to go, where is this person at? Oh, they, they actually, moved to Idaho, but I know they're still shooting.

Kevin Dennis (39:9.144)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, they're a real estate agent now. No, I'm just joking. No, no, no one.

Mark Addington (: 39:14

Yeah, yes. That did not happen to anyone, Kevin. Yeah. But yeah, no, and I think that you just need to keep in people's, just in their eyesight, right? It just, I mean, there's people that have attended many of WIPA events that I don't know if I ever knew what they did. And then we're three events down and I got, now I get introduced to them and I'm like, man, why did we never meet before? Like, that's just, it's just what it is.

Kevin Dennis (: 39:42

Yeah.

Mark Addington (: 39:43

But if you hadn't put the time into coming to three different events, we wouldn't have connected. Now we've connected, you're a nice person, but I still don't know you, Kevin. I haven't had time to do research on you. Like, that sounds so weird to say, haven't Googled you. You know, I haven't had the time to know. And I can't, if somebody comes up to me, this happened at a WIPA event where somebody came up and said, oh my God, I'm just starting DJing. You if you ever have dates that are open or whatever, just shoot them over to me.

Kevin Dennis (: 39:49

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 39:55

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 40:12

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 40:13

I don't know you and that's the hard part about it and I don't want to be rude by that, like, let's talk and let me figure out where, you know, like what do you do?

Kevin Dennis (: 40:16

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 40:24

It's well, there's back to the connector story. There's a power in I connect with you and I know you're going to connect with this person and the same goes with clients. It's like, hey, if I don't know you, how am going to refer you? Because I don't know what you do and I don't know if you're going to be a good fit for the person I'm referring you to, you know, because then and then it looks bad for you. So, yeah, there's a lot of power in that. So I bet I'll tell you a quick little story is which happened to me and I I learned from it and.

Mark Addington (: 40:45

Right.

Kevin Dennis (: 40:53

You but I was on the WIPA board. was the national president twice. I was very focused on the national side of the association world. And so I was, you know, going, I would walk into the room at WIPA New York and people knew my name. You know, I'd be at WIPA, you know, Las Vegas. I knew Pete, you know what I'm saying? So I got to that level of doing stuff. But what happened in my own market was called out of sight, out of mind. So Kevin was no longer

Going to all the local markets or anything anymore. So when I stopped and I you know ran through and I was done being past president of WIPA and I was like, all right I'm gonna join Ilea again and get but we're back involved and everyone goes Oh my god, we totally forgot about you or I'd go to an event. They're like, oh my god, you're still around So I was like had to take some humble pie and go what a freaking idiot I am for not continuing to be you know, what what we just all talked about

I got so focused outside that I forgot my own local backyard.

Mark Addington (: 41:57

Right. Yep. Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's, I had, because I was doing so many bar and bat mitzvahs with this other company. I mean, Kevin, I'm talking, I had to be doing over 40 a year. Um, and it left me no time to do weddings or anything else. So when I stepped into, even though I'd been DJing for 15 years, when I stepped into the wedding market, I was somewhat still a new little baby, you know, and it was,

Kevin Dennis (: 42:13

Well, that's a lot.

Kevin Dennis (: 42:25

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 42:27

I didn't have that background. People knew who I was because they're like, oh yeah, Mark, so we don't have many bar mitzvahs that come through our business. And I'm like, I do weddings. Like I do do them. So it definitely is and getting those connections and connecting with other people and connecting to venues and then whatever it all builds from there. And I think that's the fun part now for me getting more to the corporate side of things and trying to get into some more corporate.

which I've done, you I have 20 something years of corporate under my belt, but you are, I've heard you say this before, right? You're only as good as your last event. You're not doing them all the time. Those corporate planners don't know who you are, you know? And so you do need to get out and to be like, say hi. I mean, I'm joining the, I'm joining everything right now just for the education. So I can understand better how the corporate world works. What is.

Kevin Dennis (43:4.536)

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 43:18

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 43:23

Because what's popular now is not the same thing as it was 10 years ago. know, it's what's new, what's different. Just educate me first so I know where to step and what to say.

Kevin Dennis (: 43:28

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 43:35

Yeah, I agree. All right. We're to wrap up here with, I got a question for you. I got probably two questions. We're going start with this one. What do you say to professionals who feel like they don't have time for networking events or meetings?

Mark Addington (: 43:41

Yep, of course.

Mark Addington (: 43:49

You know, I will say that I think you need to figure out whether you actually have time and you just don't want to do it. Right. Cause I think, mean, look, we all wake up sometimes we're putting on our socks and go and get networking tonight. But all you need is one good conversation, one good connection. And that could be at that networking event. You could connect with somebody that you just.

never thought you would connect with or see or even reconnecting with someone that you haven't seen for 10 years, right? You leave the event, you're like, that was worth it, right? So sometimes it's just that thought process. But I also do agree too that Kevin, it's understanding, we talked about this at the beginning, but it's understanding your bandwidth, right? It's understanding your, if you don't have time and it's not, you're not gonna make a difference if you don't really wanna be there. If you're just unhappy, like why did I sign up to go? And you sit in a chair and you're like, you know.

Kevin Dennis (: 44:23

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 44:34

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 44:46

That's that's it's not worth it. So understand your bandwidth of that and then I'm a big person. I'm just taking a chance. You have to put yourself out there because you know it's things aren't going to magically come to you. You you need to be. You said you've got your two to three years.

Kevin Dennis (: 44:49

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 44:55

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (45:5.172)

Yep. No, yeah, I'm a big believer in that. And you got to create your own magic. just doesn't, you know, just because you put up a website, you have a really good Instagram, you know, doesn't mean people are going to be coming in there. They want to know the real you. They want to know, you know, behind, know, peel that onion back a couple of layers and really get to know you. And that's where the magic is. So, all right.

Mark Addington (: 45:27

Well, I think, Kevin, we talk about it a lot with weddings, but like Gen Z in planning anything, they want that authentic, that real person. And I think that what people are forgetting though, like in the planning world, Gen Z are planners too, right? They want that authentic person. want to bring in Kevin because, you know, they're like, he's a cool dude, but then I can also ask him some Disney tips, right? That's what they want. So yeah, I get you.

Kevin Dennis (: 45:50

Yeah, yeah.

And I'll teach their kid when it's old enough how to throw a baseball. Anyway, go all around. I'm sorry. It's Little League season and it's on my head. Literally had baseball. Yep. I have I have lots of answers. All right. So all right. And then now. Which groups do I go to is, you know, like, what do you think? How many how many groups should I belong to as we wrap up?

Mark Addington (: 45:56

Beautiful.

Mark Addington (46:2.330)

Oh, no, we just signed my son up for Little League, so I'll have questions for you. yeah. Good.

Mark Addington (: 46:22

Okay, that's all with obviously what's in your bandwidth, right? So right now I am on the national board for WIPA. I attend a lot. Well, I'm always gonna say if you're a wedding world, beautiful. I attend all of our WIPA events and obviously I do a lot on that national board. So that consumes a lot of life. But I also have joined ILEA and I'm putting my toes more in that corporate world, which is where I wanna go. I know that MPI, I wanna start attending some MPIs.

Kevin Dennis (: 46:28

So you should join WIPA.

Kevin Dennis (: 46:49

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 46:52

I have the bandwidth to handle all this, right? And I know what I can and I can't. If I was just starting out, I would try something smaller. Like you said, your winegrowers, your chambers of commerce are great. Your B &Is, finding a lot of places along those lines. I personally love any of the bigger organizations because they do offer those education pieces. But it's not to say that, like, didn't you say you were speaking at one of the winery things or no?

Kevin Dennis (: 46:54

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (47:4.440)

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 47:20

No, I I'm a part of the leadership class. So yeah.

Mark Addington (: 47:22

Oh, God. But, but, oh, dude, I mean, that's Kevin, you've got invaluable information that somebody would love to know. Right. And those, those are the pieces. So I think you're, when you start to reevaluating it, but I'm a big person on figuring out where you can cut advertising somewhere. Because this is networking is, is so much better than paying a website to be a random fourth page that anybody can, you said it, anybody can make a beautiful website, right?

Kevin Dennis (: 47:28

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 47:38

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 47:47

the Google Ads.

Kevin Dennis (: 47:51

Mm-hmm.

Mark Addington (: 47:52

doesn't speak to who you are and people want to know that authentic, that authentic Kevin. So I think that you just start to figure it out and then, you know, if you ever have questions, reach out to us. We'll guide you in that right direction.

Kevin Dennis (: 47:54

No.

Kevin Dennis (48:8.083)

We're happy to tell you where to go. No, I know it really well and that's it's so much and it's gonna be different and where you know, where are you listening to this? You know the biggest thing, you know that that's what's in your market You know, if you may not have something in your market, you may create something You know, like even in our local market the girls have started a book club where they get together You know, and so I was joking with a few of the of the guys that are around I'm like, well, we're not invited that we've got to start a dude's club. So, you know like

Mark Addington (48:8.656)

May have opened a can of worms there.

Kevin Dennis (: 48:35

golf club or you know like where we all come together and do something different you know like so you could create something on your own i guess is my point in saying this and that's exactly where my tri-valley wedding pro started from there was a need we filled it

Mark Addington (: 48:43

Yeah.

Mark Addington (: 48:47

My my wife crafts, you know, she, she's on the, she's on a, on, on a bunch of different Facebook groups and you know, she's always networking on there and she always is commenting on something or sending people somewhere. I get, I get hit up because she is always going, you know, somebody's looking for a DJ and it's like, talk to my husband, you know, so it's always those things.

Kevin Dennis (49:6.755)

Yeah.

Mark Addington (49:8.518)

In fact, it's funny because our local area, it's people are always like fantasy sounds or me, you know, it's always like, which is great. love that. You know, and it just is those things, but it's, getting yourself out there for WIPA. can, and for most of the organizations, if you're in an area that doesn't have one, you can join as an at-large member and, then still log in and view all of the educational videos, you know, and attend these online things.

Kevin Dennis (: 49:13

Yeah

Kevin Dennis (: 49:26

Yes, good point.

Kevin Dennis (: 49:32

You couldn't, yeah, that's a great point because you couldn't pay the amount of money that it costs for a membership to get all that education. It just, mean, you're getting that education for pennies on it all. You know, like I'm going to be sage a conference here in a few weeks, beautiful conference, you know, but like that's a very expensive conference to attend, you know, but like just getting, I'm going to, you could get a lot of that education by just joining something like WIPA and looking at these videos that are, you know.

Mark Addington (: 49:47

Beautiful.

Kevin Dennis (50:2.966)

I was part of that group that started that video file, which I'm sure, you know, it's grown to hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of videos by now.

Mark Addington (50:3.421)

Yeah.

Mark Addington (: 50:11

And I have, I mean, I have friends in network that, that in, in some of these groups that we, know, that, that I have now met. And if they're in Tahoe or if they're in, you know, SoCal or whatever, that if somebody goes, Mark, need a DJ in SoCal. Are you available? If I'm not available, I know who to refer to that. I'm going to know I'm comfortable enough referring you. That you'll do me right. Right. I don't care about anything back. I just know that I'm handing somebody off because I want them to turn around and go, Mark.

That changed our life. That was amazing.

Kevin Dennis (: 50:41

Well, and it's funny that literally just happened to me last week. My wife's girlfriend, co-worker is planning a wedding in Southern California and they needed a couple planners to look from, a couple photographers and a few caterers. And I was able from my WIPA experience to go in and give them, I gave them three caterers. I knew three people off the top of my head that I could refer them to. again, those people got business because of relationships and maybe I...

Me not being in southern california can't refer them all the time. But hey, I was able to you know Down the road, you never know when it's gonna happen and you know, you never know who you're talking to. So that's the biggest thing Yeah, it really is. I mean we could spend hours and hours on this mark. So Yes, but anyway, thank you for being here. How how do how do our listeners find you?

Mark Addington (: 51:23

It's the power of networking.

Mark Addington (: 51:28

Oh my god,

Mark Addington (: 51:31

Yes.

Mark Addington (: 51:35

Um, just my, my website is, is my name, Mark Addington events. Um, and I know I get stuff for it all the time with events and I'm not an event planner. I am a DJ. Um, but if you set, spell it out, M A E May is my, um, oh yeah, I so. Uh, may as my daughter's middle name. So it just all kind of works together. So I connect everything with my kids, guess. Um, uh, but at Mark Addington events is my Instagram. Um, and you know, just, I'm always happy to chat it up. So.

Kevin Dennis (: 51:47

I'm an airfield.

Kevin Dennis (: 51:53

Oh.

Mark Addington (52:5.384)

you

Kevin Dennis (52:5.774)

Perfect. And we'll have all Mark's information in our show notes so you'll be able to get a hold of them as well. And we'll be sure to tag you in all our Instagram posts and all that. So Mark, we can't thank you enough. I'm sure people are going to have lots of networking questions out there for you. But get out there. I mean, if anything, just try. Put yourself out there. And because you're going to get something out of it. You really are. folks.

Mark Addington (: 52:16

Yes, it's proven.

Mark Addington (: 52:31

Yeah, you're gonna spend less money going to one thing and trying it out than you are signing up into your contract.

Kevin Dennis (: 52:39

Oh, with one of the wedding websites. I agree. 100%. All right, folks. Thank you for listening to another episode. Be sure to like, go out there and review. And if you have a question, send it on in to podcast at weddingiq.com. And folks, thank you so much for listening to another episode of Mind Your Wedding Business. Bye, guys.

Mark Addington (: 52:43

Yeah.