2020 was lining up to be the biggest year yet for our small business, The Atelier Collective. On March 5th, we secured the keynote speaker of our DREAMS and were ready to move full speed ahead with the most ambitious event we had ever embarked on. Then, only a few short days later, the world stopped. And like so many other businesses across the globe, our massive 2020 plans vaporized in an instant. The landmark year we thought that was going to unfold was no longer, the very core of our business—gathering people in person—was halted for the (extensive) foreseeable future and our entire business was shaken to its core.
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We took some time to reflect and focus on the heart and soul of The Atelier—our community—and just what they needed during this immensely challenging shift in the world. We reflected on what ambitious women, who thrived on connection, needed during a time when all connection was nearly lost. So after much deliberation (and perhaps some lengthy wine chats!), we decided to plan our first digital conference. But the quandary that faced us was HOW could we capture the aesthetic that The Atelier was known for and the magic that is created when hundreds of ambitious women are all in one room…virtually?
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The Atelier Collective is Born
The Atelier Collective was conceptualized during the summer of 2017. Friends for years, we’d always admired one another’s business successes—in the corporate world and as entrepreneurs—and further bonded over our love for adventure and travel. While catching up over lunch, we launched onto the topic of personal development and how immensely important it is to the person as a whole – both in business and in life. While we both reflected on some decent experiences attending business conferences in the past, we realized there wasn’t anything out there that encompassed all of our main touchpoints – something that was experiential, content heavy and energetic. And something very important was missing: INSPIRATION.
That was our a-ha moment. We recognized there was a clear gap in the market, and we had the excitement and experience to create something exceptional for our fellow entrepreneurs and business leaders. That fortuitous first conversation evolved into inspired action: energized coffee dates, exciting working sessions over lunch and strategy sessions in wine country (we like wine, okay?). Our collective background of event planning experience, marketing skills and business operations intersected to proudly create The Atelier Collective.
So fast-forward to March 2020 and our decision to move ahead with a virtual conference—we instantly began to reconceptualize the way we could go to market and host a memorable virtual event.
The Virtual Conference
Most importantly, we knew we needed to mimic the typical experiences you’d expect from any Atelier event. We needed to create a beautiful, immersive virtual venue to transport attendees from the typical Zoom call to somewhere special. We wanted to create moments of connection throughout the event so attendees could ‘meet’ with other ambitious women in business through networking lounges. We also wanted to weave punchy experiences into the fabric of the event—a virtual cooking class with a recipe we’d send out in advance and a visualization exercise, for example—so we could essentially transcend the virtual space into one another’s homes. And on top of that, we knew it was imperative to include an at-home delivery of everything you’d need to enjoy throughout the conference day. We wanted to complement the elements that were taking place online with products to be enjoyed at home so we could experience collective moments together, even though we were apart.
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When we launched tickets that May, we were amazed at what unfolded. That first event in June 2020 ended up being our biggest event to that date! With no capacity or geographical limitations that previously existed in hosting an in-person event, we were able to expand to a global audience. We were able to connect online in a way that offered education, inspiration and even hope.
Our next big event was our ‘Beyond 2020’ Conference held in November of 2020. It ended up being one of the most epic moments for The Atelier Collective as Hollywood multi-hyphenate Mindy Kaling headlined the event. She’s a celebrity that has not only achieved such comedic success through her television shows, but also has blazed new trails in her accomplishments in Hollywood and beyond. The response from our community was tremendous and people felt so inspired and a sense of lightness during a time that was still so heavily in lockdown. This event also had Glennon Doyle, Angela Duckworth and Sarah Lewis as keynotes—we’ve never had so many keynote speakers at any of our events, so this was a major milestone for us!
We’ve seen so much resilience and grit from this community who have continued to innovate during some of the most challenging times the world has seen in recent history. As two women entrepreneurs with young children at home, times were very trying as we tried to juggle online school and disruption from routines and consistently pivoting our business. We’ve seen so many women in this community do the same and it has inspired and fueled us to keep going as well.
Perseverance
The Atelier Collective has continued to persevere through these unprecedented times in the pursuit of connection, inspiration and seeking out that light at the end of the tunnel. While the past year and a half has difficult, new incredible opportunities that may have never previously been a consideration were able to materialize for us— launching the ‘Virtual Experiences‘ arm of our business, collaborating with Jillian Harris on The Jilly Academy and hosting The Atelier 25 Awards, to name a few.
As we look ahead to 2022, we would love to be able to host in-person events again as soon as it’s safe for our community. We’re still navigating those waters and are so excited for when that day comes—because we promise that we will host the most beautiful and epic reunion for us all to come together again!
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