Last week’s industry guest speaker was Ben King, owner of King Performance and Stadium Stomp. Ben has extensive experience in creating successful charity fitness events including the Olivia Newton-John Fitness Walk which raised over $1.2 million and other walks such as the Monash Children’s Hospital Walk.
Much like the rest of the world, Ben experiences some challenges and difficulties once COVID-19 hit, including the cancellation/postponing of all his events for the year as well as having to act quickly on behalf of his clients, creating backup plans and reviewing policies. Through these difficulties though, Ben spoke about some awesome successes such as;
- With the cancellation of the live event, Stadium Stomp turned into a virtual event with 70% of participants being new to the challenge, compared to previous live events
- Ben created the Worlds Biggest Stair Challenge which was a free, global virtual event that rewarded participants with badges and achievements but also created opportunities to sell merch
- After the success of his initial virtual events, Ben has been working with other clients to tailor and deliver virtual events to their needs
What at first seemed like an impossible obstacle, has created opportunities for Ben and his team to consider in the future. With the seasonal nature of King Entertainments event program (most fitness events take place during Winter) and the success of the virtual events, Ben recognised an opportunity to consider pre-season online events to build excitement and fill the yearly program before the busy season.
Ben left us with some encouraging tips and tricks for networking and gaining employment;
- Always say yes
- Always approach the who’s who with a handshake, quick chat, then follow up with an email and stay in contact
- Be as confident as possible
- Research and know who you’re talking to - this creates great conversation starters
- Take your chances and get out there
- Specialize in something - that can be your point of difference
It was fantastic hearing the success of another industry professional, and I think we all learned some awesome lessons about resilience and adaptability.
Stay tuned next week for our final workshop on Wednesday 9th!