Episode 72: Amanda Simons - Designing Sustainability Into Live Events

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Hello, beautiful humans.
Welcome to today's show.

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OK, so call me crazy, but I have
a thing for women who know how

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to juggle.
Not necessarily in the literal

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sense, but some women are just
amazing in the way that they're

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able to juggle the needs of
their families, being a loving

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mom of small kids and running a
business and being a fervent

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activist for causes that they
care about.

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Next guest is an extraordinary
woman who seems to be doing just

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that.
Meet Amanda Simons, cofounder of

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Honeycomb Strategies.
Honeycomb is a very cool

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business that leans into
environmental sustainability.

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In a nutshell, it's about making
sure that we're caring for our

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planet.
I'll let Amanda tell you more

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about herself and her awesome
work.

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So welcome to the show, Amanda.
Thank you.

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Thanks so much for having me.
Oh, it's wonderful to have you

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and to talk about you.
So first of all, you, we've

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worked globally specializing in
sustainability for almost 20

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years, right?
Yeah, yeah.

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I got my start honestly,
working.

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I went over to France and helped
start a bed and breakfast and

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Tour Company there, just to take
people around to mostly artists

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but also cyclists, just to see
the small village in the South

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of France.
And that's really where I got my

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inspiration for living locally
and just this different way of

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life in the pastoral context of
southern France.

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And so it.
Really shaped how I love the

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rest of my life.
Wow.

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Wow.
And So what was it about that

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that led you to think about
sustainability in particular?

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Yeah.
So really what was interesting

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is that I shifted from shopping
at supermarkets all the time,

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having a really big fridge, all
of these sort of just more

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traditional American ways of
living.

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And my house in France is really
small.

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My refrigerator was small and we
just shopped at the farmers

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markets every week, and it was
fascinating.

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That's where everyone shot.
There wasn't like a huge grocery

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store where we were.
So it was really just what was

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seasonal, what was local to
really just deal with our diet.

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And then also just taking the
time to be around the small

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community where there were
artisans, stone Masons, all

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these things that sort of we
kind of take for granted in our

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regular lives that people
actually make things that it's

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there, it's their way of life.
So I really just wasn't grossed

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in that for years, and when I
came back to the States, that

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was just such an important part
of my journey.

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Going forward and wanted that to
stay with me.

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Yeah, I can totally relate.
Because when I was younger, I

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would go over to England, my
mother's British.

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And yeah, you'd go downstairs
from the flat and there would be

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the local fishmonger and the
fresh food.

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And because they did, they had a
small flat with a tiny fridge.

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And so you bought locally and
fresh for that day rather than.

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Yeah.
And then by contrast, in the

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West, it was big cars, big, big
SUV and massive refrigerators

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where you had a lot of stuff
that's frozen and not really

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fresh.
And so, yeah, this idea of just

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getting back to living each day
and being a bit mindful about

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what you're doing with every
day.

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Yeah, it was very purpose
driven, which was really nice.

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Wow.
Wow.

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So at what point did you decide
to start Honeycomb and tell us

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about what that is all about?
Yeah.

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So that was kind of a long and
interesting journey.

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So when I got back from France,
I really dove in and said, OK,

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I'm going to study
sustainability more.

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So this was sort of before.
I don't want to age myself.

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But before there were
sustainable master's programs.

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So I sort of made my own
master's program at Portland

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State University, where I could
combine my business background

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and economics and finance with
sustainability, which at the

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time was really focused on
really environmental issues.

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So it was a lot about like
forestry initiatives or water

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conservation, things like that,
which was really interesting to

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me.
But really I wanted it with the

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business lens.
So I went back to grad school

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and I just was looking for a
parttime job and I got a job at

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an organization.
That doesn't exist anymore.

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Called the Green Meeting
Industry Council and it was this

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nonprofit where it brought event
planners and event suppliers

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together to talk about
sustainability and the issues in

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that industry.
Because people were really

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starting to see there's just so
much waste that was happening.

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And just like so many things
that they could try and address

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or that they wanted to try and
address from everything from

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like carpet use to booth
building to food and beverage

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really like how are we sourcing
things so.

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So that was amazing to get
involved in that group, to meet

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a lot of really key players who
sort of started that movement in

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the industry.
And it's where I met my

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cofounder, Lindsay Arrell.
So she was working at the

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Colorado Convention Center at
the time, leading a

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sustainability program there.
And we really hit it off and we

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did a lot of education and
programs together there.

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So I was working for a
consultant at the time, it was

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great and I started a family and
unfortunately we had a bit of a

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a differing of opinions when it
came to having.

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Kids and working.
And so I sort of went out on my

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own.
And luckily I had been working

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in that industry for a long
time.

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And so that way I could balance
having two small kids at home.

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A husband that travels, he's an
airline pilot.

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So there was a lot to navigate
there.

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And so I went out on my own and
Lindsay and I joined forces in

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about 2017 because she had also
gone out on her own.

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And it was a really nice
partnership of two women, two

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moms who were working in the
same sort of space that could

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really.
Support each other's needs and

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flexibility, but also really do
really meaningful work that we

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really wanted to keep pursuing.
I think that that is such an

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important point because for
companies that don't make it

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easy for women to have families
and knowing.

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I think that things have
probably opened up a little bit

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more, especially over the last
few years because there's so

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much visibility about it.
But back then, when you had to

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take a child to a doctor's
appointment or there was a

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school play or something like
that, the attitude that you

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would get sometimes from upper
management was really stressful.

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I it really made you feel like I
am not doing well, either as a

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mom or as an employee.
And there was always this

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conflict of interest between
trying to raise a family and

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juggle your career, got passions
in both places and so you

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created your own table rather
than trying to get a seat at

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that table.
Lindsay both did, which I think

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is really very notable and
commendable.

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And it's something that I think
more and more women, I think now

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more women are graduating from
college than men, but the more

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women are entering into the
workforce than men.

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And it's because we are
recognizing that it is OK to be

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your whole self and to
understand that it's not

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necessarily work life balance.
It's work life integration.

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It's like we have families and
we can do it.

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We can, we can do what we want
and we understand our

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limitations.
But we recognize that that

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doesn't mean that you are any
less of a person, an employee or

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a businesswoman because you have
a family and because you've got

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children and are juggling these
things and you can be successful

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in all aspects of your life as
long as you take care of

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yourself and yeah.
Yeah, 100%.

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Yeah, 100%.
And I think it was a hard leap

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because when you have small kids
and also just in all honesty of

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starting your own business is
scary, right?

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You just don't know.
But I think just knowing that

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that work life integration was
really important for me and was

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going to be really important
throughout the rest of my

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career.
That it just made the most sense

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and I am fortunate I had a
partner that could help support

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that in a community around me.
And like I said, Lindsay, to

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sort of both understand and that
we could grow and do it at a

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sustainable rate, right.
And that the output could be

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based on what we wanted to see
and do.

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So that's sort of how we got
together.

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And then as our kids have grown
and we've sort of gotten a

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little bit more freedom with
time from that, then we've sort

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of really pushed the envelope on
what we wanted to do.

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And expand our business and and
get out there more.

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And there's also just like this
fundamental shift now that's

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happening in the events industry
and in globally, frankly around

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sustainability.
I think the pandemic was a real

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eye opener for folks obviously
in a lot of different ways, but

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definitely about the
environment, what we consume,

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how we operate in the world,
what's important.

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And so those were things that
Lindsay and I had been preaching

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and working on with companies
for years.

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And so now as everybody was
catching up, it just sort of was

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this catalyst after the.
Pandemic to really get more

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engaged and involved in the work
that we were doing.

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So it's grown major props to
your partner for being

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supportive because they know a
lot of people don't have a

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supportive partner and some
people don't have a partner and

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it becomes even that much more
difficult.

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And so those are gifts and
blessings that you're able to

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have such a wonderful
relationship.

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And I imagine it probably wasn't
so easy during the pandemic to

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have a company that was working
in the event space.

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No, it was. 1000 No, That must
have been a little bit

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challenging, right?
It was pretty wild actually.

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Lindsay flew to an event that
was happening and when she

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landed the event said, oh, guess
what, we're done.

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We're not running this event.
And so she was like, OK, so this

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is real.
So it was definitely very scary

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I think, for everyone in that
time.

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But the silver lining for us,
which I'm sure a lot of people

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found a silver lining, was that
we suddenly had all this time

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that we had.
Never had and something that we

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had been working on for a really
long time but just couldn't keep

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moving it forward was becoming
A/B Corp And so I was like

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great, we have this time now
like let's do it.

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So we spent a lot of that year
getting everything in place and

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organizing a lot of things to do
our B Corp certification.

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So we were able to just do that
and wrap that up at the 2021.

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So that was really great.
And that's been just such a

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magical community to become a
part of and to be involved.

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With so it also sort of set us
on a task which we kind of

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wanted to have that was still
purposeful but wasn't like so

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tied into Oh my gosh, this
industry just gonna implode and

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then everything.
So yeah, So what was it about

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becoming A/B Corp that made you
be like, OK, we want to do this,

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but we don't have the time.
And it taking the better part of

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a year just is testament to the
fact that it's not easy to

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actually become certified.
But yeah, tell us why you

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decided to do that.
Yeah, so Lindsay night.

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Always been really familiar with
B Corpse, just we were exposed

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to them a lot with some of the
work we had done with the Green

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Meeting Industry Council that
long ago.

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There were some people in that
group that had become B Corpse

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that way back then.
And so I think it was just this

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another level for us saying like
we are doing all these really

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important, amazing things and we
work in the world of

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certifications with clients, we
help them go through that

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process and we felt like let's
like put our money where our

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mouth is and like really?
Really look at our process and

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also Lindsay and I wanted to
grow Honeycomb at some point

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really when if everything was to
come out, like we really wanted

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to be able to grow.
And B Corp really makes you look

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at all your processes and what
you're doing and how you're

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doing them.
And so it was a really good

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foundation for us of oh, this is
how we want to build a company.

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So it really gave us that good
foundation to sort of keep

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building when the time was
right.

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Excellent.
So I want to dive in more

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specifically to what Honeycomb
is.

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Honeycomb does because I know
we've talked a little bit around

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it.
But yeah, tell us about like,

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what is the mission, what do you
do for clients?

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What is the type of work that
you do to help them?

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Yeah.
So our mission is really to

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empower people with knowledge to
make positive change by removing

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barriers and collaborating on
data-driven, really holistic

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solutions for the future.
And we do that through the live

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events industry.
So we really want to inspire and

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unify those communities and so
we work in the.

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Realm of live events.
So that's like festivals, trade

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shows, conferences.
And then we also work with

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venues, destinations, both sides
of that puzzle that piece for an

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event to sort of take place.
So we work with an event

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organizer basically to look at
their whole impact.

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So we look at things like
energy, wastewater, obviously

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those are the big ones.
Then we start looking at carbon

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emissions and then we also take
into consideration.

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All of the social impact.
So when you come to a city and

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you bring 30,000 people, what
does that do to the city that

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you're in, the traffic, the
labor market, How are you

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positively impacting that
community and what are the

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negative impacts?
And then we work with our

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clients to be really strategic
around how can we reduce

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whatever negative impact that
might bring.

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So instead of looking at like
we're going to spend a lot of

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money and we're going to, maybe
we'll buy food from somewhere

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far away or source wherever we
really look to be Like how?

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Can we keep that money local?
How can we buy local?

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What items can we procure?
What is the waste that's going

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to be left after the show?
What could be donated to local

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communities, charities, schools,
anything that's left over from

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some of these big stands or
booth builds and things like

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that?
How do we engage the local

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community so you have all these
people coming, Are there CSR

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projects?
Are there community needs that

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maybe this group might be
interested in so we can tie

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those up and provide some social
benefit there?

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So we really try and look at the
whole.

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Picture there.
And then from the arena and

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venue side, so we work with
stadiums, arenas, venues.

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We recently sold a part of our
company to partner with ASM

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Global, which is the largest
venue manager in the world.

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So they manage arena stadiums,
venues worldwide to help them

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implement sustainability for all
of those venues as well as when

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they're bringing on new venues,
how are they building and

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developing that so that they're
taking?

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Into consideration, the
communities that are there

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historical issues or like
addressing some of those needs

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of some of those maybe
disadvantaged communities that

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might be sometimes where they
want to build something or where

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they want to move a building or
things like that.

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So really trying to understand
what the communal impacts are of

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those things as well as the
environmental impacts.

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So are we reducing our waste?
Are we really looking at carbon

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emissions and fuel consumption
for those facilities also just

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what they're procuring?
Again, so making sure that

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they're trying to source as much
stuff locally as they can,

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working through good labor laws,
all those kind of things to

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really make sure that we're
being the best stewards that we

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can in those communities in
which we operate.

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So, gosh, that is a lot of work.
Yeah.

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No.
And it's so to me it's

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refreshing to hear that
companies, organizations,

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venues, stadiums are really
looking at being much more mild

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mindful with every single aspect
of how they are operating and

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running the business from the
actual construction and the

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materials that they're using in
even constructing to see what

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kind of emissions are in the
materials to who's actually

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building and what is the impact
on the local community.

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All of those things.
Because those are the things

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that had been completely
overlooked for years and years

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and years and years and years.
And I think that it's only been

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within perhaps the last decade
that it's really gotten to the

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point where if we are going to
be consuming, if we're going to

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be engaging and if we're going
to be enjoying life, then let's

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do it responsibly.
And so companies such as yours,

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Honeycomb are helping for other
organizations that are doing

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00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:46,400
these big live events, which are
massive to try to get down to.

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If there's a point where we can
be 0 net zero, you know that

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that's always like the big
question mark about like what is

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00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:56,360
net zero and how can we actually
really get there and how do you

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and all of those things.
But these certain steps are

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helping us to create more
mindfulness as well as have the

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00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:05,600
intelligence to make the right
decisions.

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00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:07,920
Yeah.
And I would say too, like we're

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in this interesting industry
where we're bringing all these

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people together and people are
really cognizant of like, OK,

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00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:16,360
well, am I traveling for this?
Like why am I going or what am I

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doing to make business sense?
Is it environmentally

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00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,200
responsible, frankly.
And so we, the way we kind of

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look at it as, and I think it
really became clear after the

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pandemic when we couldn't be
with anybody how important

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00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:28,800
events are.
They're this really like unique

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and powerful experience.
To bring people together.

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And so we want to make sure that
that experience is the most

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sustainable it can be.
Because really amazing things

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00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:39,800
happen when people get together,
right?

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00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:41,840
Like they feel a better sense of
community.

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They learn, they grow, they see
different perspectives.

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And so for us, it's just such an
important realm in which we work

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in.
And so we want to make sure that

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whatever we're doing is just
really minimizing those negative

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00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,000
impacts so that people can feel
good about coming together and

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00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,520
feel really good about all the
different pieces that come

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00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:01,320
together.
Geez, everything's just

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happening right now, OK?
For years I've been going to

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natural products Expo W, which I
think I believe is a clients of

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00:17:10,599 --> 00:17:13,800
yours.
And it always did astound me

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that for being in the natural
industry that there was so much

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waste and I was only looking at
what was on the floor left

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00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,839
behind and how people were
disposing of certain things or

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not.
And I did notice over the course

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00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,840
of years, more accommodation
being made.

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There would be more
accommodations for the people

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who were exhibiting.
So that if they did have product

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left behind, a lot of times they
were like, you know what I We

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00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,440
have all this stuff left behind,
pallets of stuff and it's just

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00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,560
too expensive to even ship back
to our home warehouse.

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00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:46,880
So we're just going to leave it
here and it would just be left

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00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,880
there and people would either
take it or it would just go into

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00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,800
the waste.
And so having the opportunity to

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actually donate it to local
shelters or local nonprofits so

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00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,840
that they can benefit from the
product that is left behind was

348
00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:02,920
helpful.
And it's nice to see that that's

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00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:05,160
available to the exhibitors
there.

350
00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,440
Yeah, yeah, that's been a really
awesome project and client that

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00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,600
we've worked with for years.
And that's a great example of

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00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:16,680
just trying to shift what people
have always done to figuring out

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00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:19,600
ways to manage that stuff.
So there is a huge donation

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00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:21,320
program that's tied to that
show.

355
00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:25,000
Now at this point, there's been
tons of movement on reusable

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00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,600
serviceware, having compostable
like testers and tasters and all

357
00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:31,120
those.
Anything so that we can really

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00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,600
eliminate single use plastics,
that kind of stuff.

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00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,960
And then the other really cool
thing that happens sometimes

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00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,360
when we work with clients, which
is really where we get our our

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00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:43,400
inspiration on why we do what we
do is that when we're working

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00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:46,240
with a group of people and
they're all coming together,

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00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:48,160
right.
These big trade shows are like

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where their industry comes
together to solve problems,

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00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:52,120
frankly.
And then you see that, oh,

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00:18:52,120 --> 00:18:56,040
there's actually sometimes just
problems within our industry and

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00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:57,960
at the trade show and all these
things are sort of happening

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00:18:57,960 --> 00:18:59,600
together.
So what was really cool about

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natural?
Products, is that one of the

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00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,000
issues that they were seeing and
a lot of waste that they were

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00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,240
actually seeing at the show had
to do with packaging and the

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00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:10,520
issues around packaging.
And So what ended happening was

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00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:13,240
we sort of talked about this
packaging issue that we were

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00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:14,960
seeing at the trade show and all
this waste.

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00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:17,480
And then they were like, wow, we
should really address packaging.

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00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,720
And so then they started a
summit around packaging at the

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00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,320
trade show based on sort of
these findings that we saw

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00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:24,960
there.
And now it's grown into this

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00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:28,480
really huge group of people who
are really trying to address

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00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,240
packaging in the.
Products industry, which is

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00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,680
exactly what we are trying to do
and see like to make these big

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00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,880
changes in the world.
So it's things like that that

383
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,680
end up happening by being there
and being with these groups to

384
00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:43,960
sort of address these bigger
huge industry issues, which is

385
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,320
really where Lindsay and I get
our inspiration and why we just

386
00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:49,080
want to keep going and work with
more clients to solve some of

387
00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:51,560
these bigger issues.
Yeah, it starts with the

388
00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:54,000
awareness.
It starts with the idea that

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00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,560
nothing is too small.
Of course, you can go after the

390
00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,880
big ones and the big things like
total industries, the package

391
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,320
industry I like.
So looking forward to the day

392
00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:07,120
where we can find this decent
substitute for plastic and for a

393
00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:10,960
lot of these like polylayered
materials that are all of

394
00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:15,000
products are in that are just
not recyclable or the, yeah, it

395
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:16,360
just goes straight into the
landfill.

396
00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:19,040
And so I mean, I look forward to
the day where there's just like

397
00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:22,680
multiple solutions, multiple
creative solutions for those

398
00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,000
types of things for sure.
But yeah, starting the

399
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,920
conversation and what we were
saying before is, you know, it

400
00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:29,880
starts with just the awareness
of the problem.

401
00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:32,760
It starts with people really
kind of galvanizing and saying,

402
00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:34,640
you know, this is a cause that
is important.

403
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:37,720
We want to have an Earth that's
going to be here a few more

404
00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:39,880
years.
And the way to do it would be to

405
00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,520
stop the greenhouse gases.
These emissions will help to

406
00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:48,440
stave off climate change and to
do that can be less reliance on

407
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:50,520
FOSIL fuels.
Understanding what we're doing

408
00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:54,200
in terms of end of life waste,
managing what we're doing and

409
00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:59,440
every part of the life cycle of
products and the way that we're

410
00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:02,720
treating people and make sure
that both people and planet are

411
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,840
truly as sustainable as
possible.

412
00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:07,360
Yes, definitely.
That's our that's our mission.

413
00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,480
Excellent.
And So what do you have on your

414
00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:12,920
horizon?
What is exciting for Amanda

415
00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,920
Simons coming into the future?
Yes.

416
00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:18,440
Well, we're really excited.
We just brought on another

417
00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,560
member of our team, someone we
worked with for years, who's

418
00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:24,200
really respected in the sports
and venue industry.

419
00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,320
His name's Tim Trefser, so he
just joined us this week to

420
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:31,200
really build out our venue.
And sports offerings.

421
00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,400
So we're really excited to have
him on board.

422
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,920
He was also a member of GMIC.
So we've known him for a really

423
00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,880
long time and he's had some
amazing jobs and led a lot of

424
00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:42,520
sustainability programs at some
really incredible venues.

425
00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:46,800
So yeah, we're really excited to
just keep growing and really

426
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:51,400
service our clients to just
provide them with solutions.

427
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,040
It's really fascinating right
now where clients are coming

428
00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:57,440
from and sort of their
background.

429
00:21:57,440 --> 00:21:59,800
So it's interesting.
It seems to always make.

430
00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:01,800
Months when we're working with
clients like for natural

431
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:05,200
products Expo or for green
builds or things like that,

432
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,520
right, They're really tied to
sustainability missions for

433
00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:10,360
those groups, those
associations.

434
00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:14,240
And we're moving to work to
groups that maybe aren't as

435
00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:17,040
traditional but are really
caring about sustainability.

436
00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:19,640
So we have a really great
partnership with the National

437
00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,480
Business Aviation Association.
They're really looking into

438
00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:26,720
sustainable aviation fuels,
electric flying, electric

439
00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:29,800
transportation, so they're
putting a ton of energy.

440
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,440
Resources into solving again
some of those big industry

441
00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,080
problems and they want to make
sure that their events are that

442
00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:37,600
place where they're also being
really sustainable.

443
00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:41,760
So we're on our way to Europe
next month for their European

444
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,760
big Expo and then they have one
in the US as well.

445
00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,320
So there's just some really cool
new clients that are coming on

446
00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:51,280
that are in less traditional
sustainable I would say,

447
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,160
industries that really are
putting their money where their

448
00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:55,920
mouth is and really trying to
improve.

449
00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:58,840
So that's the most exciting.
And then I live in Portland, OR

450
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:00,960
and so I'm also just.
Looking forward to the spring

451
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:06,480
and the summer, funny today I'm
really excited to get outside

452
00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:09,880
and not be soaking wet.
So that will be great.

453
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,640
Yeah, just to do that and to get
more opportunities to go on site

454
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:15,840
and to be with our team.
You know, we're all virtual.

455
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,920
So as a business owner and I
think also as a lot of people

456
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:21,600
just out there working, it's
awesome to be virtual.

457
00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:25,560
It's also sometimes hard to just
feel that sense of community and

458
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:29,080
team when everybody's like out
and so it's really important for

459
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,560
us to.
Just as a business that

460
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,000
everybody gets an opportunity to
be together.

461
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,960
So we are having our first
retreat, which I'm really

462
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,800
excited about South that
everybody can come and spend a

463
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,880
long weekend together and we can
talk about the company and plan

464
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,640
for the future and really make
sure that that their voices are

465
00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:49,400
heard and that it's not just
Lindsay and I driving the

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00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,320
initiatives.
You know, I think we really

467
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:55,800
value all of the people on our
team and we really understand

468
00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:58,400
they bring a unique perspective
and so that's what's going to

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00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,320
make our business successful.
So I'm really excited to have

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00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,120
that that meeting with everyone
for sure.

471
00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:07,920
For those of you listening, I
want to just recap because I

472
00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:12,160
think this is such a beautiful
example here of the example that

473
00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:15,440
is Amanda Simons that you know,
when she was younger, she took a

474
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:19,360
trip and was inspired by the
environment, by the area where

475
00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,320
she was living or where she was
at the time, which was in

476
00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:24,920
France.
And that caused her to think

477
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:28,400
about mindfulness in the way
that she was living her own

478
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,360
life, which caused her to think
about the sustainability of the

479
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:35,120
environment, which cascaded and
escalated into her starting this

480
00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:39,320
business, which now has an
impact, I would say worldwide in

481
00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:41,160
many cases.
Because you have clients that

482
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:45,160
are all over the place and
making a difference not only in

483
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:50,200
the actual live events that she
is working with, but also the

484
00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:54,560
industries and reaching out to
other industries that hadn't

485
00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,160
been so sustainable in the past,
including airlines.

486
00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,640
I mean, look at what the
trajectory is of what Amanda has

487
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:03,080
been able to build just by the
simple inspiration.

488
00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:06,280
And so that's what I want you to
take away from this podcast is

489
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,800
that you might have that spark,
you might have that interest and

490
00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:13,120
that excitement in you that
really catalyzes you to want to

491
00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:14,920
take action.
It could be to solve a problem.

492
00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:16,680
It could be to make the world a
better place.

493
00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:19,000
It might be to touch other
people's lives in a very

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00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,240
meaningful way.
And to me, I find it so nice to

495
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,640
bring on guests just like
Amanda, who have shown that

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00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:29,400
there is power and there is
opportunity not only in that

497
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:32,600
spark of but in the people that
she's met along the way.

498
00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:34,920
He or she, as she found her
partner, she's finding new

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00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:38,200
employees through the people
that she's been able to align

500
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:42,160
with, the people who she's been
able to have a similar purpose

501
00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:45,200
and values with that are like,
yeah, this is important to me

502
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:47,360
too.
So find those connections,

503
00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:51,480
really nurture them, hold on to
them, really see what you can do

504
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:52,960
to build and collaborate
together.

505
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:56,520
Because to me, it's much more
about collaboration than it is

506
00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:00,280
about any kind of competition.
We can do much greater things

507
00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:03,000
when we build together.
And so that's why I'm so

508
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,680
appreciative for being able to
offer this podcast to you and

509
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:09,320
hopefully you got a nugget of
inspiration today out of it.

510
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:11,960
Thank you so much, Amanda, for
being my guest today and for

511
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:13,640
juggling all that you had today.
Thank.

512
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:17,200
You so much for having me and
for juggling with me.

513
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:19,520
I really appreciate it.
I will juggle with you.

514
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:22,360
Have a great one.
Thank you.

515
00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:24,460
You too.
Thank you for listening to the

516
00:26:24,460 --> 00:26:28,620
Human Beauty Movement Podcast.
Be sure to follow, rate and

517
00:26:28,620 --> 00:26:31,260
review us wherever you stream
podcasts.

518
00:26:31,580 --> 00:26:34,740
The Human Beauty Movement is a
community based platform that

519
00:26:34,740 --> 00:26:36,900
cultivates the beauty of
humankind.

520
00:26:36,980 --> 00:26:40,700
Check out our workshops, find us
on social media, and share our

521
00:26:40,700 --> 00:26:43,900
inspiration with all the
beautiful humans in your life.

522
00:26:44,140 --> 00:26:48,100
Learn more at the Human
beautymovement.com Thank you so

523
00:26:48,100 --> 00:26:49,940
much for being a beautiful
human.