Personal Brand Story and Online Events,
with Reme Mancera and Michelle Pontvert

Michelle Pontvert

Hello. Welcome to Intersection Chats. I am here today with Michelle. Thank you for Michelle for being here. I am delighted that to have this conversation.

Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited for this too. Yeah. So I am Reme  Mancera, I am a personal brand story strategist. 

Please, Michelle, introduce you and tell us about what you do. Yeah. So I style myself as an easy events expert. I work with small business owners to host low lift versions of typical online events we might see, like virtual summits, bundles, and other collaborative events that can help us grow our list, get visible, really start to expand, especially for people who are selling one to many.

It’s a really fun way to grow your audience with other people in your industry, and I’m a big fan of collaboration. So this is very much up my up my alley. Nice. So let’s go into the topic. Like Yeah.

In your experience, how you you see, like, personal brand story and online events interact, impact each other? Yeah. So when you asked me for this chat, I I did some thinking about it. And the thing that really came to mind for me is that the topics that we choose for our events, for our summits, for our bundles, for the things we’re putting together can, yes, be strategic for your business, but I think there can also be a way to sort of explore and live out some of those sort of core values you have as a person and as a business owner. For example, I host two online audio summits each year, and they’re on topics that are really personal to me.

One is about preserving and finding more energy in your work, and I’m I’m neurodivergent. I am a caregiver of a kid with high support needs. Energy and capacity is a big, big thing that I have to wrestle with daily, and I created that event as much for myself as for my audience because I really am wrestling with these questions every day, and it it’s something I love to create space around these conversations I need to be having too. And then the other event I host is also an also audio summit around showing up with more humanness in our work, especially now we’ve got AI in the mix. There’s a lot of desire to automate and streamline and look professional, and I actually think business at its core, especially small business, is made in the messy human y bits.

And so we sort of celebrate and explore different ways to show up as a real person in our work in that event. And, again, it’s a topic that’s so personal to me and something that feels really aligned with, like, my own values as a person. And I love when I get to sort of live out those values with other people and explore those conversations, and it’s not sort of the traditional way you would do a summit where you’re like, I’m an expert on this and I’m gonna teach you all these, you know, specific tools. It’s like, no. I wanna have these conversations.

I wanna explore all this nuance on these topics that are really meaningful to me. And I think that is one really big way that we can live out that sort of personal brand story, our perspectives, our missions out loud in our work in a way that I find at least in regular content when it’s just you, it is different. It’s harder. Like, I love bringing other people into that conversation to get the nuance, the perspectives and stuff. But, yeah, I’m curious actually what your definition is of brand story.

I used to be a brand designer back in the day. So I have that kind of filter, but I wanted to hear what your your perspective on it was. Oh, yeah. Of course. So for me, I the way that I do personal brand story is not for looking for one big story, but, 10 meaningful stories, moments of your journey.

And each of them is connected to a key factor of what you offer. Oh. And, also, is having in mind what is your audience and what is the offering that you have for them. Because for me, it’s really important that it’s strategic storytelling in the sense of it’s going to help you to to as a bridge to to bring, like, highlighting these things that are important to you and your values, why is important to you to work around this topic, around this specific, helping this group of people. I work a lot with service providers, our coaches, our creatives.

So it’s a lot about services and what you offer. So for me, it’s, like, having in mind how sharing your stories can bring context about who you are, what you do, what you do. So that’s a a a big part of me, and it’s based on I felt overwhelmed. I remember when I started my business, felt feeling overwhelmed about the idea of using storytelling and and all that. And now it’s like, okay.

Maybe instead of looking for this big thing Mhmm. Let’s split into parts and make it a little more digestible. So that was the the base of it. I love that. I love that kind of shift of rather than it being, like, the one big story you have to figure out, these little threads you can explore.

I think we’re we’re like minded that way. I think you don’t have to just see one thing, but I think it’s important to find the through line, the thread that connects everything. I really like that. Thank you. And I feel like, and with what you said about the online events is is and the collaboration is so aligned because it’s like, we are multifaceted personal people, and then it’s like how you are showing up in your business in a way that people see that and the nuances because I feel that’s so important.

Yeah. It’s like, when you are choosing, a person to work with, you will, go and look for that. Even if you are not really conscious about, you are, like, really see, like, okay. How is the personal apply? How how working with them will look like?

So showing up, showing your values, and showing why this thing that you do is important to you. So I feel that using your stories for that is a nice bridge, especially for people that they don’t want this aggressive marketing way of doing things. Yeah. And, yeah, I’m going to the topic of events. I feel like with the collaborations, with events, you can show up, like, what are your values.

And and you can include storytelling may even maybe if you are doing, like, conversations, you can Yeah. Okay. Have being intentional about, okay, maybe I can incorporate some of my own stories in in every presentation when I am talking to the to the guest and see how we have points in common or what has been their experience and so on. Very much so. And funny you mentioned that.

I actually kind of so I do my presentations for my audio summits prerecorded because I can’t do lots of live interviews. And instead of asking for presentations, I actually ask them for a story. Oh, that’s really perfect. Like, I always say I’m much I learn so much more hearing people’s stories than hearing their perfectly packaged up frameworks and, like, their proven whatevers. Like, no.

I want the nuance. I want to understand how you got there, understand what you were trying to solve for. And so I ask my people in in my summits, and that’s how I kind of teach people to approach these is, like, tell us the context, and we can figure out for ourselves which piece of that is interesting. And if we want your proven framework on your systems, we can go buy that from you. We won’t know if you want that until you understand the context of who that person was, how they were trying to figure out, how they solve this problem that maybe you have too.

And I think for online summits where you may be meeting people for the first time, I think it’s actually a much warmer introduction than spewing out a bunch of just information about your expertise. Like, I’d much rather hear, like, the why, the what, the how, all the interesting bits that led you to the solution you found. 100%. And one of the things that I always say is, like, through personal brand story, you build you provide this context. And then that’s going to show if you are someone trustworthy of, that person.

I feel like, as you mentioned, trust is now so important. I feel like it’s it has all been because, of course, without trust, you you are not going to buy or or you are not going to work with someone or collaborate with someone. Because I feel that’s too, especially around events. If you are the host or if you are a guest, you would like to know also about the person and and see if you are aligned. Yeah.

And especially if you are hosting events, you have to put yourself out there and ask people to partake in them, to, like, be your speakers, to be your collaborators. And as you’re saying, there is a level of trust that they put in you to put together an event they’re proud to be part of, to make it easy for them to be the best participant they can be in that event. And you earn that trust, I think, through the outreach and the pitch. I think you gain it further through creating this great experience for them. That’s sort of one of the underlying foundations of how I put together events is I want it to feel like it’s a win win win.

A win for me, a win for my collaborators, and a win for the participants, the people actually enjoying the event. And, again, that kind of comes through that brand story piece of, like, I don’t want it to feel like I’m extracting an email list from people. I don’t wanna feel like I’m just getting people for their emails. I want to actually say, I’m interested in you as a person. I like what you’re doing.

I think we have things in common. Let’s collaborate. Let’s, you know, pool our resources to create something bigger than us in this event and have these conversations and put something different and interesting out there for people to then hopefully, you know, make some new online friends, to make some connections. And for me, much more than the email list is start the conversations because the conversations are where the sales, the collaborations, all those good things happen. The email list is kind of the the red herring.

We think we want the email list, but, actually, we want the connections and the conversations, and that’s what really drives business. There is a people focus on the list, but, actually, it’s the conversations you get from these events that is what really matters both with people attending it and the people you’re collaborating with, and it’s that you need the trust to start the conversation in the first place. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Absolutely. And, also, something else is like you are giving those people the space to share their voices. So this also, that connection that you build there, that the relationship that sometimes you are asserting because sometimes you are not, like, really knowing, like, long term this person. But I feel that’s, like, the starting point of maybe a a great relationship that then that person is part of the people in your business circle. So Exactly.

Yeah. And I always say when you’re pitching people, yes, you can start relationships with people who say yes to be part of your event, but you can also start conversations with the people who said no. Like, just saying, I’ve thought of you and putting this thing together, I think you’d be great, is a great opener to start the conversation with people you just wanted to get to know in the online space. And because we don’t have these real life in person places to just go up and meet people, I think it’s a really nice, like, ice breaker. I thought, I think you’re doing interesting things.

You know, would you like to be part of this? And even if it’s no, you you’ve now got a conversation started with those people. Yeah. There’s something, that goes unexpected for me when I started, like, asking people to do this kind of events. And before this sec, I was doing another series.

The first time that I did was actually I I wanted to I I, I choose, live because that that way I don’t overthink, I don’t over edit, and I cannot procrastinate. I have a meeting with someone else to have a a wonderful conversation that I am looking for. So that’s not, like, my way to trick myself. Mhmm. But then, it was like this idea of how I was able to ask people to have a conversation that otherwise, I will not maybe be, in in that situation and those opportunities.

And, yeah, again, back to the conversation. And I feel that’s really as well when we are, like, thinking about starting the relationship with potential clients. I feel like the base of it for me is like starting a conversation. Mhmm. Because if you want them to to get to tell you what they need and what is their situation and so on and so.

And the same with collaborations. Right? Like, start in a conversation and then see, okay, why this person is putting together these seven, who they want to have or inspire or or or help in a way, teach or wherever. So, yeah, I feel that’s, like, the the key of this is how is based on their relationships be behind that. And I think there’s something lovely too when you you make the ask to have someone in your event.

There’s sort of this reciprocity that we have as humans. We want to pay that favor back. And I’m not saying that, you know, I ask people to speak at my summits because I want them to pay me, but often they turn into really good referral partners. They introduce me to other interesting people. And I think there’s just it’s such a nice way to start this really reciprocal peer to peer relationship, especially with people who you might feel a little bit further ahead.

And I get I’m always a little bit surprised how many bigger names I get in my events because of the way I approach the ask as, like, I want to do this thing with you. I’m so excited for you specifically to do it, and I get some pretty big name people to say yes because of this kind of human approach I take rather than just trying to pitch and extract their email list. And that turns into these lovely, like, peer to peer relationships where they’re like, oh, I’ll have you come on my podcast or I’ll have you come in my community, and we can continue that collaboration because I think that is where the beauty of these kinds of businesses we run, we’re not in a silo. We’re not on our own. It only works when we’re in collaboration with clients but also with peers.

That’s how you get referrals. You have kind of brand trust that’s lent from other businesses, and it helps you shortcut this kind of relationship building with other people. So, yeah, I think trust, as you said, is is really a big piece of the puzzle. Yeah. And I feel like because sometimes with events, you might participate for also showing as a guest, like, your authority and how you are someone that you know your stuff and and so on.

But, also, I feel like in conversations, you have the opportunity not just to share your stories, but also to share how you how are you as a person, like, what is your your way of communicating and how you react to someone else questions and ideas and thoughts and all that. So I feel there, people can feel how how you as a person, not just, you professionally or your business or your offering, but also, yeah, that kind of, like, colorful, way of being. Yeah. It’s funny because, you know, we’re talking about the brand story, but that’s sort of the stuff you don’t intentionally weave into the story. It’s just sort of who you are.

But I think you’re right. It does say a lot and, you know, I have people who comment always about my accent and I go, yes. It’s just parts of me. But whenever you hear me speak, I sound like me and I don’t sound like other people. And it becomes kind of this recognizable part of my brand story as you will that I have no conscious decision about including, but just is part of it.

And I think that is kind of how you piece together this picture of who this person is and how they work and who they are by having those little, like, subconscious pieces show through too. Yeah. And I it’s, yeah. It’s I I dread so much with me when you talk about the accent because I am transplaying and so and and I do this in English and people even for the assumptions of, okay. Maybe you are just, working with people in Spain or working ask with people in The US, and it’s like, no.

Actually, I work with people from all over the world, and I love that. And that’s why it started my business. I wanted to work from anywhere with people from anywhere. And and, yes, it’s kind of a conversation starter sometimes. And, also, I I remember specifically one person that was was asking, like, but why you or someone not being English your first language can be interesting for someone trying to tell their stories?

Yeah. And I was thinking about that. I love that question because it’s It made me speak. Yeah. And then I thought, okay.

May just know when they say you need to share what your business does for Mhmm. Like, child and the child or the grand grandparent needs to understand, like, in an easy, simpler way. I feel that that’s something, like, someone that is language is not the first language Mhmm. Understand what you are sharing your stories and your way of that. So but I love how other people’s angles and other people’s perspective can make you think about your own topics in a way that otherwise you will not go there.

For sure. I think you find often your best, like, thought leadership, your best perspectives by being confronted by somebody else’s. It makes you, as you say, like, think differently or question it or really dig into why you want to do certain things the way you do. And, yeah, I think it’s hard to create in a full silo all on your own. I think sometimes we need as creative people that outside x sort of input.

We need we need the muse, yes, but we also need just, like, to be pushed against other people and see where we fit and how we want to interact with it. Mhmm. Yeah. I feel like that. And it’s like that’s why I started this series, actually.

It’s like, it’s going to make me think about personal brand story from so many different angles. I am going to learn from experts how my topic is affecting their work. Yeah. It’s made me think about, okay, how personal brand story is connected to online events. And maybe this is something that otherwise I will not be thinking about now Yeah.

And and processing how I see that affecting each other and so on. So for me it’s a way to to expand what I am thinking about so it’s really interesting they are curious. Yeah. Speaking of things that we’re interested to explore, I’ve had something on my mind that I thought actually would be great for us to talk about because I think as also, I’m I’m an English speaker natively, but I live in France. I’ve been here ten years.

So I have this sense of many different cultures, and I work with a lot of Americans who are really into the identity language, like saying, I am this, this, this, this. And it’s very much about, like, almost collecting the list of the things you are. And that’s not something I grew up with. I’m Australian. I moved around a lot, but I do feel like there is something in the online business space that is really impacted by that American logic of I am, as like we say, I am a brand designer, I am a copywriter, and then often we include our personal identities in that, like, you know, I am a whatever your, you know, gender and sexual identities and, like, all these different things.

And I’m wondering how you, as someone who explores brand story, approach that feel about the the labeling kind of piece of our identity that we present online. I feel, and this is something that I really appreciate because I feel that the work that I do with people is so private and so intimate in a sense because go to the your thoughts, your beliefs, and and what has impacted through your life. So I feel that’s basically going it goes it’s going to depend on the person. For some per people, like, they are, like, having one big label on front and they are going with that. Most of the people I work with, they might feel they don’t have an epic story Mhmm.

Or they feel they have too many stories that they don’t know which one to choose from. Mhmm. Especially with people that they have this feeling because it’s like maybe they have done so many different things. They have so many different interest. For them, one of the things is they have a lot of different identities.

And I love that because we, Nenuance, is like showing that combination, unique combination of all the things that are interesting to you and all the things that you like. And and that’s part of how you approach your work. Because for some people that likes, a set of things, that’s going to affect how they see their work, how they For sure. They approach their specifically in their businesses and so on. So I I love how the opportunity of having these 10 meaningful stories, these 10 story connectors, is helping them to show how they have different Okay.

Identities, different combinations of labels in them because they they might be several of these. All of us. We are several things. Right? And I love how the stories can be helpful for that to show that nuances on how you are not just one story.

You are a set of different stories because you are more than one thing, and but you are one bigger thing that is like the the the combination of all of that. Right? Yeah. I like that. I think, you know, as I think I’ve been kind of wrestling with the the label idea.

I understand it. It’s practical. It’s neat. Because you can put in a bio when you’re applying to something. They’re like, I’m a x y zed, and I’m also like a mom and a cat like mom or whatever all the other things you identify as as kind of shortcuts for some of these other pieces of you.

But I also start to feel like, am I just this list of things? Like, there’s so much nuance to it. And, you know, I always have the complicated piece of, like, where are you from? I I’ve struggled with that my whole life. I’ve been an expat my whole life.

And and it’s like the simplest label you think people would know how to answer and you wouldn’t think about, and I really struggle with it. I was like, where am I from? I don’t really know. And that’s where I’m like, yeah, maybe you’re right. There’s the label is just the opener to the conversation of, like, I’m from a lot of places, and we can have that conversation.

I love that you mentioned that because I love, following this, channel where they are exploring the different languages, to cultural and this cultural shocks when you are from one country living. You know? They don’t know that. I I love that type of content. It’s really dersing to me, especially to see what everyone’s highlight is telling a lot about their culture.

And, like For sure. Yeah. I love the question that the the person hosting this is like, he always ask, what countries are you from? I love that. Love that.

It’s like, yes. I wish people would ask me that instead. Yeah. Because then Yeah. Is or with that question, you are saying that you are not just one from one place already from the starting point, and I love it.

Yeah. Oh, I love it. So what countries are you from? So in my case, I am from Spain. I haven’t lived abroad, but I feel I am part of places that I have been in contact with Yeah.

Through the languages, through the people that I love, that they live in other places, to the people to the places that when I arrive there, I feel like home. So Yeah. I think that’s such a big piece too. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. That helps. So I cannot say a list of, of other countries, but I feel like, I have this global part that I I am really connected to people that are from different places. I love to work with people, and I tend to to attract a lot of people that as you you mentioned, like, you are from an from one country living in another. Maybe, I I have worked a lot with people that their family looks like different languages together and a mix of come of culture living in another place.

I don’t know. I don’t know that. This feels a lot of, like, a a lot of cultural nuances and and it’s showing a lot about yourself and others. Even when you learn another language, even the sayings and the idioms Mhmm. Telling you a lot about the culture and you are learning about that.

So so yeah. Yeah. I think the big part of my story that I don’t share enough about is my Frenchness. So I have no ties to France that I knew of. My family is all, let me say, Anglo Saxon.

I moved here because of my now husband, and I had to learn French as an adult. Yeah. But my story started way before that. We have in Australia where I did most of my schooling, majority of my schooling, we had required French classes, and I hated it. I hated French so much that my dad actually went one day to the principal to yell at her for making me take French classes because I was never going to need it in my real life.

And it’s this big running joke in my family, but after hating it, failing multiple French classes, having it be like the burden of my entire education to then fall in love with a Frenchman, come to France, and have to learn French as an adult. And I have this really love hate relationship with the language because it is so hard to learn as a grown up. But I also as you say, like, you think about things so differently when you have multiple languages going on in your brain, and it’s such a strange thing to add to your experience now. I I think sometimes in French and English, I I dream in both. And it is such a different way of going about the world.

And because I lived for so long with just one language in my head, it is a strange, like, new part of me that now I have two and two perspectives kind of simultaneously. It’s a really interesting experience. Yeah. It is, Anya. How I I for some I don’t know for you.

For me, I love listening to podcast, and then I remember, oh, I remember listening to about this, but, wait, I don’t remember in which language. So now I even I don’t know if I am going to maybe share with some friends, and they don’t know one of the other languages. Oh, I don’t remember which language it is. And this experience about dreaming in another language Mhmm. When you realize it’s like, wow.

This is actually happening. I feel like that. I was so proud the first time that happened. Yeah. No.

Because, like, I dreamt in French. Yeah. Because it’s like the language is already is in you as that way. Yeah. Yeah.

So so yeah. That’s, so interesting. I, and, yeah, I wanted to mention something about identities. Going back a bit about businesses, I work a lot with people that they are in a pivot moment, like transitioning, navigating a transition in their business and so on. And I feel like that there, you have this identity crisis, if you will.

Mhmm. Like, you were before for me, for example, I started my business as a virtual assistant for course creators. Okay. And that was clear. I knew what to say.

Yeah. And then I moved to the personal strategy, personal brand strategy. I was doing kind of consulting and so on, and it was in that moment of how I introduced myself. It was so easy to say what I did before. And I see that with with the people that I work now, and maybe it’s an evolution.

And when I arrived to personal brand stories, like, something click and it’s like, yes. This is it. I feel it in my body that that was I love that. And then I was with my story collector framework and so on. And, yeah, I have a look back since, because I really I am passionate about stories and so Mhmm.

But I feel like in that moment when you are changing, maybe repositioning yourself. And I know in the events, you need to introduce yourself. You need to say what you are. You need to share these bios. And you when you are in that moment of not having the clarity of, okay, how I say what I do, how I do in a succinct, clear way, and so on, you have this lack of clarity and it’s like, yeah.

I want back this idea of it’s easy for me to explain who I am. And I feel Yeah. That it’s kind of an identity. You have a label that maybe you had from before doesn’t fit anymore, and now you’re looking for the new things. And you mentioned that you were before brand designer, and now you are Mhmm.

So I feel like I would like to know your experience in that moment. So I I definitely I’ve changed this business focus three times. So I did website and brand design at the beginning, then I shifted into calling myself a life first business strategist, and I really worked with people around systems and, like, designing your business to work for your life. And I actually realized that was more of a philosophy of mine and more of, like, a mission for me. And as I fell, like, deeper and deeper in love with hosting and being part of events, I shifted it, but I wanted to keep that life first piece alive.

And so it it is something that I took a moment to understand, like, what do I wanna call myself? I still sort of play with the term of what I call myself, like an easy event expert. I also call myself an easy event enthusiast. And I think the fun part of going through those sort of messy figuring out how you call yourself in front of people is that you get feedback. And I actually feel like going through some interviews, going through events, and kind of auditioning different ways of describing myself helped me find the words that made sense to other people, that felt good to me to describe myself.

And I think if I just tried to, like, sit and figure it out, it might not have come out the same way. It might not have ended up in this thing that instantly people understand what I mean. Because I had to kind of road test it in front of a lot of people. And especially in interviews like this, people will give you space to introduce yourself, but often they’ll ask you questions. They’ll follow-up.

They’ll pull the thread to get a better sense of who you are and what you do, and that really helps inform you of, like, oh, I needed to explain this part of my context in my story, my work to make the whole other part make sense. And for example, now when I do my bios, I, you know, introduce the work I do, but then I also share that I used to work in film, I used to be a set decorator, I used to work in wedding planning, and I have a lot of, like, project management and planning in my background in really creative fields. And so this is kind of a lovely culmination of the creativity, the the event process, and the production, like, getting things done piece. And I think without going through the process of asking a bunch of people, you know, how did that go? Like, did you understand what I said?

I wouldn’t have got to the point where I needed to provide that extra context, and I think now that context makes tons of sense. People always ask me about it. It’s become kind of a hook a sticky piece of my intro that I I really like having now. Yeah. I love that because yeah.

When you mention working in this type of, profession, it’s like, wow. Yeah. You have certain skills that are so valuable for the work that you do now. Yeah. Without going farther, I can see how you might have some natural skills that are valuable there, and I ensure in the that’s one of the things that I love love.

Actually, one of the story connects, so I have, like, these 10 categories. And one of them is, like, a past work experience. So sorry that it’s related to that. And I love when they are totally disconnected to what you do now Yeah. Because it’s like how you get a lesson there that is still valuable today, that is relevant for your audience to understand how this is something that you naturally do because it’s important to you because it’s based on your, set of values and so on.

So I I love that you bring that past work experience to highlight certain skills that are so valuable in this work around online events and easy events. Well, now I’m curious what yours is. What was your past work experience? So I have been working one of the things that I I love to to mention as the past work experience is I work in a supermarket when I was at the university. And there, I love how when someone tell me, oh, pick this type of food because it’s my the fabric of my son that is coming to visit and so on, they were sharing the reason why they want to pick that piece and was based on love and care about others and so on.

And I feel like their the behavior of what they were buying, fixing their stories and the people that they care about. And then when you listen people’s stories, you can feel that. It’s not just, oh, I want this specific way of the apples that they need to be sweet or not or so. It’s about okay. This is an act of taking care of someone that you love and how you as a way, like, picking the right apples for someone that you love.

Is some a way of taking care of them? Yeah. And by then sharing the the story behind, it’s helping me as someone that is picking the right ones, picking them with with care. Like, oh, I know Yeah. A a good reason.

It’s not just because this person randomly want that. They want Oh. Reason. And I love I feel like that’s that’s, show me a lot about the behavior and how the emotional thing. Even if it is that we are buying every day, it can have this emotional side behind.

So it shows a lot, of course, about customers and being in front of people and and all that. But even for how stories can build their relationship. Even when you want to buy something, you use your stories as a way to provide context so that people can Yeah. Feel related to that. That’s such a fun that’s such a fun link, and I really like what you said too that people don’t just do things randomly most of the time.

There is reason. There is story. There is, like, context there, and I think that’s such a, yeah, such a lovely reminder. Yeah. Oh, so I I am loving all this conversation, but I know that we might be, needing to to use the deploy.

But, yeah, I would love to ask you maybe something that, okay. I have two questions. I will go before that. What is qualm misconception or something that you see for people when before working with you, something that they have in their mind around the work that you do that is like a misconception or something that they they get and just you see how that could be not beneficial, having that thought for them. Yeah.

I think a lot of people who decide they want to host their own event are doing it because they’ve seen other people Mhmm. Hosting events that they admire. But I think they often assume they have to do all the things and be the big, big, big name and match the type of workload, the type of effort that a very established business owner running their tenth summit. They think they have to match that for the first time they do it. And I think it’s a big disservice because you skip over those foundational pieces of actually getting the right people, the conversations, your system set up.

And so I like to remind people that you can do those big, what I call, maximalist events when you have the foundations figured out. But you absolutely can and maybe should start with something more minimalist, something stripped down, do this sort of foundations first, work on making the point of your event really, really functional and work well, picking a good topic, making sure it’s well executed, keeping it on point, and not distracting yourself and everybody else with all the bells and whistles right away, it it makes it an easier project for you to pull off, often makes for a much better experience for everybody involved. I think it builds your confidence to then add layer and layer intentionally as you go, but you can’t you you set yourself up for failure if you try and aim for where, you know, 7 figure business owners who have teams and, you know, hundreds and thousands of dollars, pounds, euros, whatever to throw at their event when you’re on your own doing this in a couple of hours each week for the very first time. It’s just not fair to you and it’s not going to lead you to have the results you want.

I’d much rather you keep it small and keep it intentionally simple to start with and then build the momentum with time. Love that because one of my models is simplify and focus. So it’s like, just try to be as simple as possible, make things as easy as possible for you and others. Yeah. So I feel that in life, but but especially in business that we are talking about, I was like, yeah.

You want to make your life easier. Yeah. And, like, there’s room for complexity later, but you need to be so comfortable with the first steps that it feels like those are easy now and you can add on. It like, I love knitting, but I would never have started trying to knit the complicated color patterns right away. First start, we’re trying to knit like a square and keep it a square.

I love It’s crazy to try and do something way too complicated right away. I love that example for you. I don’t know if you are usually using it, but it’s something nice to use because it’s easy to understand how you are going to start. Just try to put the needles together. Just try and make the needle go together.

You’re so mean to yourself to try and make Yeah. Like, fancy fair isle, super color and complicated. Yeah. Like, it just isn’t isn’t reasonable. Yeah.

I’m sure if you show something that you do now to the your version of yourself when it started was like, oh, I am not able to do that. That you start with the simple things and then keep doing doing. So I love that that analogy for for you to so it’s so easy. So I love that. I’ll I’ll take note for that.

So now the question that I was going to tell you until I I went to the misconception. So I don’t know if there is any message or thing that we haven’t cover, into this conversation, but the field is important for people to to have in mind. Yeah. Well, I did sort of mention that previously, I focused on creating life first Mhmm. Businesses.

And I think there is something I I’m constantly reminded of and I think is a big factor of now living in France, that our work is important. It’s a big piece of us, but I never think that our work should detract from our ability to enjoy the life we’re living too. And I think when we take on something as big as it seems to host an event and have all these eyes on you, with that pressure, it’s easy to succumb to letting that take over your entire life, to work late, to push yourself, to, you know, over stress yourself and over stimulate yourself. And I just think it’s rarely worth pushing yourself through that torment and not enjoying the thing you’ve created. And that’s something I really try and remind people of like you’re you’re not just doing a thing to tick it off the box, you’re hosting an event, you’re hosting a party.

If you don’t enjoy the party, nobody else is gonna enjoy it. And what’s the point of hosting it if you’re not having a good time? And so that’s why I think being really thoughtful about how do you build the structures behind the scenes to help you put this whole thing together and still have energy capacity and excitement for the event once it’s live and afterwards. I think that’s that life first piece coming through of, like, we need to make this actually fit you as a person in your calendar, in your schedule, in your energy levels, in your capacity, in your team or not. And you need to design the event to fit your reality, not just hit a bunch of checkboxes and then feel stressed that you’ve got deadlines.

Like, that there’s no point in that because, again, the specifics of events, but I think in general, like, people need you to be having a good time for them to want to come and join you. And with our launches, with our promotions, people feel that they see that. I think it’s easy to get sidetracked by just doing the work and forget that, like, they’re you showing up with your excitement and you feeling like you’re in a good place has such a big impact on it too. And I think we sometimes get sidetracked by just doing the doing. Yeah.

I think this is a great reminder, a message, to put out there. Thank you for sharing that. And and this, like, connected to the idea of how we find more moments of, if in our businesses, and that’s part of how we we actually meet each other through Yeah. Exactly. Another similar community playhouse and how they’re one of the big component is like, okay.

How to make that part that assignment part of, how you work and what you do in in your business. I love that that you’ve been that topic. We tied that in nicely. Okay. And then the final, question that I love to ask is, like, how would you summarize the connection between personal brand story and online events in one, two, or three words?

Oh, it’s I’m not good at summarizing to one or two, three words. That’s okay. I think it’s an opportunity to explore content and topics that really interest and excite you, and I like to think of it as, like, it’s a way to live out loud your values, your mission, the things that matter to you. I think it’s a it’s a nice, like, external way to display that stuff with other people with you and, like, build community around the things that matter to you. That’s way more than No.

It’s okay. Is okay. It’s just this is a question to to bring that. And then yeah. It’s we are in an open space to explore things, so no worries.

For me, I will choose the word reciprocity because you’ve mentioned, and I like that. Because the base of a collaboration, I feel, is like this win win win situation that you mentioned. Yeah. And I see that in the events as you described so well. And I see that when you use personal brand story because I feel it’s a way of winning, a way of inspire get inspired and understand yourself for your audience.

Is that we situation for your business to get connection and people get to know more of you and maybe become clients. And I feel it’s a win for yourself because Yeah. I see that going working with clients how through that work of understanding who you are, the process that you this common thread, especially for people that are pivoting, how there are things that is, like, common in your journey. It’s kind of understanding yourself more, and it’s a feeling of recognizing yourself and this inner authority. I feel that’s so important when we are going to show up, in front of others, feeling that inner authority in the sense of, okay.

I know why I’m talking about this topic and what why this is important to me and what has been like, reassuring. Yeah. Yeah. So I feel like that. And this is something that I am I have learned through the work with my clients how this happening, and I feel so grateful because it’s like, yeah.

We are in a way where we might be second guessing ourselves or having this imposter syndrome or inner critics here and there. It’s like, hey. We need ways to brainstorm ourselves, and and it’s like, yeah. It makes sense for me to talk about these topics because I am passionate about it. I am excited, and I love to work with people around that.

Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Thank you. K.

Thank you. Thank you so much. This has been so amazing to have this conversation together. Please tell people how they can find more about what you do and how you help people with their events and so on. Yeah.

So I’m very easy to find. I’m the only Michelle Pontvert out there. So I’m Michelle Pontvert everyone, but I mostly I host my own events. I’ve got one coming up in January. So if you’re curious about that, keep your eyes peeled for that.

It’s called Energy Safers. And then, otherwise, my website, michellepontvert.com, I’m not that good on social media, but I’m trying on threads. I’m over there. And then I have a private podcast where I share the behind the scenes of my business, and that can be a really nice way to see again some, like, inner workings of how I’m leveling through doing all these events and doing all this stuff with limited time and capacity and energy. So those would be the places I’d recommend you.

Nice. I will add the the thread sling and then the private podcast link. Some people are it’s easy for them to go and find. So thank you. Thank you so much, Michelle.

This has been a blast. You so much for having me. Yeah. This has been really lovely. Yeah.

For anyone watching, thank you for, being with us. If they have any comment or any thought based on what we talk about, feel free to tag us and mention and keep the conversation going in the in the comments. We would love to know what what you get from this conversation. Right? Very on theme to have the conversations going on.

Yeah. Okay. Until next time. See you soon. Bye.