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Sarah Neukom is Founder and Partner at ESP Presents and on this episode, she’s discussing everything about the people side of her business.
Show notes:
0:59 – About ESP Presents (Follow them on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook )
1:59 – Hiring the first employee and the decision to hire interns
“We decided we needed to hire someone. I’m a firm believer in always remembering people that stand out and make a list of their names. It might sound a little creepy, but when you need people, and you can reference a list of people that you’ve met and say, ‘I wonder what so-and-so is up to these days,’ it’s a great resource.”
4:45 – Where Sarah learned how to hire and the rare training she received
6:19 – How has ESP built their team?
8:08 – What kind employee are you looking for at ESP Presents?
“With ESP, as an event producer and planner and company that’s catering to other organizations, you can never be stressed out or appear stressed out to a client. You never give the answer no, and you always figure out how to make things work. We look for people who are aware of situations, aware of how they’re communicating, aware of how they can improve someone’s business or project or event.”
9:43 – “Where do you see yourself two years from now?” and other things to watch out for in an interview.
10:55 – ESP Core Values
13:00 – “Our team is an extension of the organization that we’re working with” and Sarah’s people philosophy.
15:20 – Sarah’s approach to feedback and coaching
“We don’t give negative feedback. We just have open conversations and honest conversations and really try to help everyone grow.”
16:50 – The biggest lesson Sarah has learned since launching ESP Presents
“They’re watching everything you do if they’re truly invested in the company. I want to make sure that we are setting the best example for our team, and making sure that we’re presenting ourselves as something they want to work to become.”
19:01 – Delegation, managing expectations, and keeping clients top of mind
19:43 – An honest answer to “What book are you reading right now?”
20:55 – What does the next year look like for ESP Presents?
“Well, I think in the next year, if we keep up the trajectory that we’re currently on, we’ll need to find a new office space and we have an office dog, so we have to make sure that remains the same…”