This episode of Smart Business Moves brings on CEO and Co-founder of MGN Commercial Cleaning and Maxi Maids, Karina Neff. She is also the chairman of the convention committee for ISSA Residential (fka ARCSI). In this episode, Karina goes into detail about the specifics of the ISSA 2020 Convention, including the schedule of events and a few names of those who are giving presentations! Karina made it clear things are different due to COVID, but with the right mindset, everyone can still gain something from attending. Watch this episode to learn everything she has to say! Click the link below to watch.
Episode Highlights
Karina's business. Karina is co-founder and CEO of MGN Commercial Services, a commercial cleaning company, and runs Maxi Maids, a residential company her mother founded in 1989. Karina took it over around 2011–2012. Through a chamber of commerce event, she learned about Clark Construction's Strategic Partnership Program. Clark is building Amazon's second headquarters in Virginia. Karina applied and was accepted into the program, which mentors small businesses for a year to prepare them for Clark's bidding process. It meets every Wednesday evening, plus a monthly lunch-and-learn. Since joining, she said RFPs have been "flooding" in. Her advice was that opportunities present themselves, but owners have to be in the right mindset to recognize and pursue them.
Her role. Karina chairs ARCSI's convention committee, taking over from Marlo, who ran it for years. She accepted before COVID existed. The convention moved from Chicago to Las Vegas and finally to a virtual format. She credited Erin from ARCSI with rolling with each change.
Basics. The convention runs November 16–19, and all times are Central. Pricing was briefly confused on air. Liz guessed $149, then $179, and Erin posted the price in the chat as $199. Karina didn't know whether discounted pricing exists for additional team members and said she'd check with Erin. Recorded sessions will be available on demand until March 2021. Karina said the live sessions will likely be recorded too but wasn't certain.
Format. The event combines several elements.
- On-demand sessions cover eight or nine tracks, including infection prevention and control. Speakers named include Alonzo, Carrie Knight, Debbie Sardone, and others whose names are garbled in the transcript, so please check them against the official speaker list.
- Live sessions come from four speakers chosen for their energy, namely Liz, Don Finn, Carrie Knight, and Brandon Vaughn.
- Morning coffee networking runs each day with a featured member, so attendees can ask questions directly.
- Roundtables work like a Zoom town hall, opening as one group and then splitting into breakout rooms by topic. Liz pointed out that presenters can share their actual forms and documents on screen. Leslie volunteered to lead one.
- A virtual trade show runs on an ARCSI/ISSA platform that works like the My Show Planner app. Attendees can visit booths and book appointments with vendors, and speakers will also have booths. Karina said this avoids the long lines at in-person booths. She said the floor will likely be open on a similar schedule to past shows, and a live walkthrough of the platform with Erin is planned.
Schedule highlights.
- Monday. Coffee networking features Karina and Elena, followed by a welcome and orientation. Jeff Henderson, a celebrity chef with a comeback story after years in prison, is the spotlight speaker. In the afternoon, Brandon Vaughn leads a 2.5-hour Conquer Live workshop. Attendees get a workbook and work through it in breakout rooms with coaches, including Alonzo and Carrie. Karina said this responds to past survey feedback asking for practical takeaways. The day closes with an evening "Quarantini" happy hour hosted by Karina, with RJ streaming in from a beach house with friends.
- Tuesday. Coffee features Carrie and Brandon. The spotlight speaker is Sarah Thomas, the first female NFL official. Next, Carrie leads a session interviewing RJ and Gosha on what they did in their first 30 days of COVID. Roundtables run from 3 to 5 p.m.
- Wednesday. Coffee features Liz and Alonzo. A COVID-19 panel on "where do we go from here" is moderated by Patty Olinger of GBAC, with Gavin Macgregor-Skinner and a third panelist whose name is garbled. Liz's live session follows. Karina said Liz chose the topic before COVID, but the title is unclear in the transcript.
- Thursday. Coffee features the Residential Cleaning Council. Don Finn closes the live sessions with "Managing the Emotional Energy of Leadership and Engagement." An unannounced, expensive ISSA spotlight speaker follows, and the Innovation of the Year Awards close the event.
The pitch. The hosts and Karina made several arguments for attending.
- Treat it like a live event. Liz said attendees should block off the time instead of working while sessions play in the background, and Karina agreed.
- Bring the team. Karina said supervisors and managers who couldn't travel to Chicago or Las Vegas can now attend. She plans to watch sessions with her own supervisors so they can see the bigger vision. Liz suggested using the on-demand library in weekly leadership meetings through March.
- See everything. Tom noted that live conventions often run three sessions at once, while the on-demand library lets attendees catch all of them.
- Lower cost. Liz said attendees save on travel, food, and convention extras. She joked that people should supply their own candy bowl and their own overpriced sandwich.
- Who it's for. Liz said it addresses common past complaints that the event felt overwhelming for first-timers, that attendees couldn't reach every session, and that it was geared toward smaller companies. Karina said there's plenty this year for larger companies and called it a "golden chance" for first-timers. She also promised that every question asked during a live session will get an answer, even if time runs out.
- Tom's view. Tom said he's attended every ISSA convention for about 18 years, starting as a distributor. He said owners only need one or two useful takeaways to get a return on the event, and that hardworking owners almost have an obligation to invest in it.
Karina's closing. Karina urged attendees to go in with a positive attitude rather than comparing it to past conventions.
