Hell Puppy
09-23-2008, 03:25 AM
Here are my thoughts on the Atlanta Forum...
First off, I've never been to such a smoothly run show. Big props to NationalNet and especially Kathi as I know she worked her ass off making sure that was the case. Sweet T does everything first class, but one of the few secrets of his that I've figured out is that he hires top notch people with the same eye toward quality as he has.
Nit Picky Bitch List
I have only one. The volume on the music and bands were at times too loud for a conversation. At the clubs, we expect it. But for the smaller events and especially around the patio, pool, etc, it's nice to be able to sit with someone and not have to yell at them to attempt to do business.
The Hotel
The Atlanta W was not originally built as a W, but they did a good job when they converted it over, it has all the luxuries you'd expect and a funky vibe with the decor. It was about the perfect size for this event.
I was expecting the normal first time freak out from the hotel staff. We are in the south afterall. But they were delightful. No problems at all.
Security
This is another tough one to get right. You either end up hassling the attendees or if you go too far the other way you get normals mixed in when they hear they might get some free booze and see a porn star. Bubba's crew did great. Never a line, never a hassle, and I dont think anyone got in who shouldn't be in.
Attendees
We had the entire hotel. No idea how many attendees, a bit larger than Cybernet in San Fran for sure. I would call it good attendance for a first time show especially in the current economic and industry climate.
But here's the important part. The mix of attendee's was excellent. I dont think I talked to anyone who I wouldn't consider a decision maker. We also saw a lot of attendees who dont normally do west coast shows.
And let us know forget, with Sweet T in his home town, there's no sausage fest. All of the events and parties had lots of local party girls in addition to the beautiful ladies in the industry. Let's call it "stocking the pond".
I cant help but wonder how much the show being so close to Miami and Amsterdam impacted attendance.
Weather
Props to Sweet T, he obviously called in a favor at the Weather channel. The weather broke into beautiful Atlanta fall cooler temperatures as the show started, but stayed just warm enough to make the pool usable.
Food
Ok, fess up, how many of you cheap bastards made meals out of the 24 hour snack bar? It was that well stocked. I dont know who catered lunch, but it was great southern cuisine.
And Waffle House? Pure genius, they literally bused us over to Waffle House who amazingly kept up, as one group would finish, bus would unload more hungry drunks and load up the previous batch for a gaseous ride back to the hotel.
The hotel restaurant was weak, but there was plenty of great restaurants in easy walking range.
Booze
If you couldn't get drunk here, you weren't trying. Open bars available almost the entire time. And even if you try to hide on the patio behind the hotel's cash bar, Mojohost's Brad Mitchell was trolling like a shark and would send these potent little fruit drink shots to make sure your liver got no rest.
Parties
There were lots, three of them really stood out:
PussyCash took over the Oasis, one of Atlanta's best strip clubs. Not only was it open bar, but they even gave us each a wad of money to buy dances with. I've never seen that before. Started a bit slow, but it picked up. Bubba had to drag us out to get on the last bus.
GFY Warm Up Party is a tradition. This one had a twist. Heavy Metal Karoke with a live band. Ok, that scared me, I had William Hung visions in my head. But ya know what? We have some people in the biz who can actually sing and have the sack to do it in front of a crowd. I have video to prove it. Biggest surprise to me was Tony404. Our timid little flower Tony who is so shy this is only his second show (and both had to come to him!) can wail.
National Net Closing Party at Opera. Holy shit. Best club in town, we had the whole VIP area, and again the pond was well stocked. And it was my first time to experience DJ Roonie G. Club music isn't my thing normally, but this guy is an amazing talent with those video mixes.
Seminars and Keynote
Ok, here's where I messed up. Seminars looked great and different from the typical industry stuff. I fully intended to go to some. That damned Westin Heavenly Bed combined with late night partying took care of that.
I did make the keynote though with Mark Klein. That guy is entertaining and could work in front of ANY audience. I laughed my ass off. But at the same time he had some really good underlying messages about things such as life and freedom of choice which tied in very well.
Business
My agenda was very very short as usual. I accomplished what I came to do. I also got the usual show inspiration buzz and renewal of energy. That's something you wont understand unless you go to one. And one thing that was unique, almost everyone I talked to had at least one deal, discovery or hook up fall in their lap that can increase their income fall in their lap that they weren't expecting. That's representative of a good show mix that is conducive to business getting done.
Conclusions
I definitely hope this one happens again next year. My guess is good word of mouth will make it grow. I went by the seat of my pants this time, I would plan my schedule better next time. I enjoyed the slow pacing, but given it to do over again I would've taken advantage of some of the down time instead of sitting on the patio drinking or hanging out.
First off, I've never been to such a smoothly run show. Big props to NationalNet and especially Kathi as I know she worked her ass off making sure that was the case. Sweet T does everything first class, but one of the few secrets of his that I've figured out is that he hires top notch people with the same eye toward quality as he has.
Nit Picky Bitch List
I have only one. The volume on the music and bands were at times too loud for a conversation. At the clubs, we expect it. But for the smaller events and especially around the patio, pool, etc, it's nice to be able to sit with someone and not have to yell at them to attempt to do business.
The Hotel
The Atlanta W was not originally built as a W, but they did a good job when they converted it over, it has all the luxuries you'd expect and a funky vibe with the decor. It was about the perfect size for this event.
I was expecting the normal first time freak out from the hotel staff. We are in the south afterall. But they were delightful. No problems at all.
Security
This is another tough one to get right. You either end up hassling the attendees or if you go too far the other way you get normals mixed in when they hear they might get some free booze and see a porn star. Bubba's crew did great. Never a line, never a hassle, and I dont think anyone got in who shouldn't be in.
Attendees
We had the entire hotel. No idea how many attendees, a bit larger than Cybernet in San Fran for sure. I would call it good attendance for a first time show especially in the current economic and industry climate.
But here's the important part. The mix of attendee's was excellent. I dont think I talked to anyone who I wouldn't consider a decision maker. We also saw a lot of attendees who dont normally do west coast shows.
And let us know forget, with Sweet T in his home town, there's no sausage fest. All of the events and parties had lots of local party girls in addition to the beautiful ladies in the industry. Let's call it "stocking the pond".
I cant help but wonder how much the show being so close to Miami and Amsterdam impacted attendance.
Weather
Props to Sweet T, he obviously called in a favor at the Weather channel. The weather broke into beautiful Atlanta fall cooler temperatures as the show started, but stayed just warm enough to make the pool usable.
Food
Ok, fess up, how many of you cheap bastards made meals out of the 24 hour snack bar? It was that well stocked. I dont know who catered lunch, but it was great southern cuisine.
And Waffle House? Pure genius, they literally bused us over to Waffle House who amazingly kept up, as one group would finish, bus would unload more hungry drunks and load up the previous batch for a gaseous ride back to the hotel.
The hotel restaurant was weak, but there was plenty of great restaurants in easy walking range.
Booze
If you couldn't get drunk here, you weren't trying. Open bars available almost the entire time. And even if you try to hide on the patio behind the hotel's cash bar, Mojohost's Brad Mitchell was trolling like a shark and would send these potent little fruit drink shots to make sure your liver got no rest.
Parties
There were lots, three of them really stood out:
PussyCash took over the Oasis, one of Atlanta's best strip clubs. Not only was it open bar, but they even gave us each a wad of money to buy dances with. I've never seen that before. Started a bit slow, but it picked up. Bubba had to drag us out to get on the last bus.
GFY Warm Up Party is a tradition. This one had a twist. Heavy Metal Karoke with a live band. Ok, that scared me, I had William Hung visions in my head. But ya know what? We have some people in the biz who can actually sing and have the sack to do it in front of a crowd. I have video to prove it. Biggest surprise to me was Tony404. Our timid little flower Tony who is so shy this is only his second show (and both had to come to him!) can wail.
National Net Closing Party at Opera. Holy shit. Best club in town, we had the whole VIP area, and again the pond was well stocked. And it was my first time to experience DJ Roonie G. Club music isn't my thing normally, but this guy is an amazing talent with those video mixes.
Seminars and Keynote
Ok, here's where I messed up. Seminars looked great and different from the typical industry stuff. I fully intended to go to some. That damned Westin Heavenly Bed combined with late night partying took care of that.
I did make the keynote though with Mark Klein. That guy is entertaining and could work in front of ANY audience. I laughed my ass off. But at the same time he had some really good underlying messages about things such as life and freedom of choice which tied in very well.
Business
My agenda was very very short as usual. I accomplished what I came to do. I also got the usual show inspiration buzz and renewal of energy. That's something you wont understand unless you go to one. And one thing that was unique, almost everyone I talked to had at least one deal, discovery or hook up fall in their lap that can increase their income fall in their lap that they weren't expecting. That's representative of a good show mix that is conducive to business getting done.
Conclusions
I definitely hope this one happens again next year. My guess is good word of mouth will make it grow. I went by the seat of my pants this time, I would plan my schedule better next time. I enjoyed the slow pacing, but given it to do over again I would've taken advantage of some of the down time instead of sitting on the patio drinking or hanging out.