NC PANDEMIC PROFILE: Meridith Walters, CSEP
(c) 2021 Kate Pope Photography
MERIDITH WALTERS, CSEP (Meridith Walters Coaching & Consulting)
Freelancer, Coach
Hi, my name is Meridith Walters, CSEP. I'm a freelancer providing event production support, stage management, entertainment management, and event production support.
Do you remember when you first felt the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on your work or business? Immediately because I was 2-weeks out from flying to Orlando for a corporate event. I just bought new luggage and we were literally getting ready to buy the [airline] tickets and as soon as everything shut down that event was canceled and within a matter of a day or two, all of my events for the year were gone, too. My entire calendar. I had about half a dozen events. Not much, but not insignificant either. It was all corporate work.
I do a lot of work that comes up really quickly, so a lot of that stuff wasn’t scheduled yet and I have no way of knowing what the loss was there. But the jobs that were contracted and on the calendar were all gone within a day or two, even the ones in the fall. I was surprised, but corporate made decisions for the longterm, and everything was just called off.
They were they were canceled with the potential to reschedule but none of that ever got to me. Some of these events were only held every two years so those just they just canceled out right.
As a freelancer, were you eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)? I was not because my freelance work was all contract work and so, no. I wasn't able to do any of that.
Really, truly, even when they were trying to decide if they're going to cancel events or not there was discussion about pulling me off and putting a staff member – who’s an employee - on because as events were canceling everyone around was starting to get more available and they thought it would make more sense to put a staff person on and let go of the freelancer. But the company for that particular event, they said they would honor the contract and weren't going to cut me off and replace me, which I appreciated. But that was the reality of the situation that they were in.
Freelancers are going to be the first to go; contractors are always the first to go and as a freelancer, that’s what you kind of have to live with knowing that you’re the extra help. I love that, but it also means that even if I have something on the calendar – and even if they’ve contracted with me - I know that if they are able to cover my role in-house, then they might let me go because they’re not going to pay me when they can have somebody inside the company do the work.
When all of your freelance event work disappeared, did you come up with a way to pivot? I thought, optimistically, that fall and Christmas events were going to happen and so for several months, I thought I could just hold on and things will come back. Then, mid-summer I realized that that was not going to happen, and that's when I really ramped up my consulting and coaching work.
As a freelance event person, I also had other work outside of the industry - thankfully - and I ended up just putting way more emphasis on that work because the events network was gone. Usually, I like having a balance of both but that was not the reality during the pandemic. And, while I did have coaching and consulting to fall back on, it was a little scary to try to go out and get work when everyone was suffering in all industries. I got very lucky that I found work.
During the summer I also realized that my time as an event person is probably over, and I really allowed myself to sit with the fact that this is probably it and [my event work] was kind of done. That I should not put hopes and dreams or anymore anticipation on what was coming because when things came back, they're not going to bring freelancers back first, and there are probably even more people out there looking for work now, so I figured I would probably just sunset out even though I really don't want to and it’s by no means a final decision.
I did do a virtual event, which was great, and it kind of reignited my love for what I do; being a part of the team and all the people I was around, but I'm not super optimistic about what I will be able to do going forward and I'm just trying to be really realistic because I don't want to be disappointed. I can't count on it, and while I would be happy to do that work again this happening kind of forced me to put more emphasis on my other work, which is where I will likely have more sustainability. It’s my work; I'm not freelancing.
What adjustments have you had to make to work or business practices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? Very practically, not being able to meet people in-person. Coaching and consulting can be done remotely, but I like to be around people, and I think that it's been very hard to do Zoom meetings and not be around people.
Also, the mind-shift adjustment - I have to think broader than the events industry now. I've been in the events industry for so long – probably 18 years. So, wrapping my head around the fact that might not be my world anymore, that’s been an adjustment. I like the people, I like the work, and I like being the part of that.
You’ve participated in a lot of different aspects of the industry over the years: photography, production, and leadership. You’ve seen a lot. I have, and honestly, this industry shaped my career - in such a way that it's not easy for me to walk away from it, and so if somebody calls and asks me to be part of a team and do this amazing event, then ‘yes’ is usually the answer. But in terms of pursuing it, and building a career from here, that is not likely in the cards for me.
Would you say that the pandemic gave you the space to come to that realization? Yeah. I think I would have floated along. Every event that I took was time away from the other work, and I knew all along that the other work (coaching and consulting) was going to be longer term. The pandemic forced me to step away from the freelance work for a time, and to put more focus on that other work.
I will work for the people that I like, and I will work for my friends, and the people that I enjoy working for; if they call and they need help, then I will be there, but I'm not out soliciting my services as a freelancer. I like having a double life, but I will not be out promoting myself, seeking that work in events, but the network I have and the people that are around me, if event work comes my way and I'm available, then I'll help them.
What challenges have you seen in the events industry as a result of COVID-19 pandemic? I think morale. I think the hardest thing is to be a positive person. I have been really positive throughout this but to see so many people that I care about that I respect, who are super, super sad and not doing well.
The few people that are still working are overworked; they’re unhappy. They've had to do work that maybe wasn't what they signed up for because they're filling a gap. They’re so bare bones, skeleton crews that it's not fun for them, and they're not enjoying the work, or they are suffering so much with the stress of it that the fire and the spirit and the love of [the work] is just not there anymore. I have hated to see how people have suffered mentally, financially. That’s been the hardest thing.
What is one way that you think the events industry has improved during the COVID-19 pandemic? I think the most encouraging things is that so many people have gone outside of the events industry and learned new skills, become more diverse in their knowledge, and are now able to make money and survive outside of our industry. I really think that that's been good. I think that was needed. That’s how I survived. That’s how the people that I do see have survived, have survived because they had other things and other skills, and I think that if somebody was forced into that position and had to learn a new skill or go out there and do something different, then I think it's to their benefit and it's going to be good because when they do come back to the industry, they have that new skill to fall back on, and they know that they're not as vulnerable as they were before. Also, all those additional skills will likely help them in whatever else they're doing.
What is one thing you want the general public to know about the live events industry? We are such a large industry, and we have such a huge economic impact on our country, but yet we’re the most fragmented under-represented industry I can think of. We’re full of all these small businesses, gig workers, freelancers and people who are spread out all over the country. But we don't have a voice and we don't have the ability unify in a way where we can ask and lobby and get aid and help; yet we're such a huge, huge, huge piece of the economy. It makes me sad because we see other industries getting bailouts; you see people getting support and people getting behind an entire workforce but [the events industry] doesn’t have that because we're not unified. We’re so diverse and there are just so many of us doing so many different things.
I don't know what the solution is for that, but I think what I might suggest is encouraging people who are in the events industry to be more diverse in their skill set so that they can survive outside the industry, and they don't have to rely on just one skill set or one job or one thing during times like this. That if you’re diversified enough, and if an employer allows his employees to be diversified in other things, then maybe we can be more self-sustaining because right now as a workforce, event professionals are incredibly vulnerable. That’s the thing I want people to understand is how vulnerable we are.
When you look around and you see the suffering, the event professionals that have backups or other sources of income and other places to find work are the ones that are surviving, and the others, I do not know how they're doing it.
I think in this day and age it’s okay to diversify. The slash culture thing that’s what I've done for a while, but I think it's smart to do that. Think about the skills that crossover when you can do more than one thing, you're not just an events person.
Do you think that live events will come back? I do believe - I've always believed – that events will come back. And I think that when they come back, they're going to come back with passion, enthusiasm and an energy like we have never seen before.
I don’t think virtual is the new way. I don’t think you'll ever be able to replace human connection and the experience of being together with other humans. As an event professional, the idea of standing at an event and sounds really good right now. We’re all probably living for that feeling that right now, and I hope one day I can have that feeling again.
I would give anything to stand in a ballroom right now – it makes me emotional – with people coming in the doors, we’ve just done sound check, and we're excited and ready to go. I am not kidding. When I think about what I do it's that: standing in that ballroom, headset on, ready to go, everybody is in their places, and we're getting ready to do something really awesome. That feeling is the feeling that I have when I talk about events. Will I ever stand in another ballroom again in my ballroom event shoes, in my work outfit with the headset on and the energy of what's about to happen?
As event professionals, we all do this for a reason, and we could probably all pinpoint those moments that we think about when we think about events or the thing that we love about events. And that’s what it is for me. I can see it: the stage in front of me, the tech people behind me, we're ready to go, we're all just making sure, then the final countdown, the doors open and it's go time. Totally miss it.