Go Big or Go Home

Go Big or Go Home

My grandfather once told me that that I should shoot for the stars. If you believe, he told me, it will happen. Back then, I couldn’t believe him. I come from a family that always struggled to put food on the table, how could I believe?

But then something happened and I started to realize that if I set my mind to something, I could make it happen.  That’s what I did in 1992, when I started HJMT PR.  And that’s what I did in 2009, when I published my first book on social media. And that’s what I did when I became a Google Glass explorer in 2011 and my staff and I created the first Google Glass reality show, Glasslandia on YouTube. And that’s what I just did with the NY TRI EXPO ’16.

I wanted to create an event where athletes could get together with brands and learn more about the sport. So, I booked Citi Field for the day and had 40 guest speakers talk in three rooms on 20 different topics. We also had nearly 70 exhibitors who had competitions, tastings, massages, information and more.

Leading up to the event, my staff and I went over all the things that could go wrong and how to handle dozens of times. But those things never really prepare you for the big day.

Besides the usual stuff, and there always is stuff that happens out of your control, the day ran without a hitch. The first hour had nearly 400 people in the door! The steady stream kept going, even when vendors decided to pack up and leave because they thought it was slowing down.

We had one irate vendor who refused to calm down even when we apologized profusely for not getting thru the loading dock faster. He yelled at me. He yelled at my staff.  He refused to change his attitude. We realized there was nothing that we could do to calm him down, so we walked away.

It’s amazing that when you try to do good, you get backlash.  And, I got my fair share of backlash throughout the process!  I got very nasty emails from at least a half dozen people.  They sent emails before the event, saying that I shouldn’t do this event and I even received one email after telling me that since I didn’t have a pool or a track, the entire day was a waste.

But that was very few. The majority of the folks seemed very happy, actually thrilled.  Vendors, athletes and volunteers told me they were in again for next year, if I do it again.

I guess the point I’m trying to make here is, if you have an idea, run with it.  You will be a success if you believe you can make something happen. Listen to my grandfather and “go big or go home!”