Joy & Eddie Johnson - Part 1

Summary

Joy Johnson of A Joyous Event, 23 years and 250+ events in, joined by her husband Eddie Johnson, 17-year NBA veteran and Sirius XM NBA Radio host, walks Rachel through how she actually started the company. The standout stories: getting her first contract from the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce after Eddie set her up an interview before she had a bank account or an LLC, producing a play in three weeks for a friend with terminal breast cancer who lived to see it staged, and sitting at Muhammad Ali's table for the unguarded version.

Key takeaways

1. The first contract can come before the bank account — Joy didn't have an LLC, a name, or a bank account when Eddie set her up an interview with the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce. She got the contract, then built the company around it. A Joyous Event was born backwards.
2. The best version of someone shows up off the script — Eddie's favorite event was sitting at Muhammad Ali's table. Ali was talking junk and laughing. The unguarded version of a public figure shows up in the relaxed environment, not in the speech.
3. Plan for the worst, prep for X, Y, and Z — Joy's rule. A dust storm hit a Fountain Hills outdoor event 30 minutes before guests arrived. The team grabbed food, tablecloths whipping, bouquets knocked over. It ended as quickly as it started. The plan can't catch it. The team has to.
4. Champagne taste on a beer budget is a no, not a yes — Joy will override a client who's set on a vision their budget won't deliver. "Go find more money or you're going to be disappointed." Honesty up front saves the brand and the event.
5. Table seating is the worst job in event planning — 677 people coming to a pastor's retirement, 327 names received. When guests show up in the wrong seat, the blame goes to the planner, not the missing RSVPs. Joy takes the hit and runs the room anyway.

Transcript

00:00 With over 33 years in the mobile bartending and service industry, he is the guy who brings the party and the joy wherever he goes. She's a seasoned event planner and producer with more than 20 years of experience in sports, corporate, nonprofit, and private events. Together we are Hot Mics, Cold Drinks and Untold Disasters.

00:27 This is the Event Talk podcast with Dave and Rachel.

00:31 Hi everybody. Welcome back to the Event Talk podcast. We're super excited for not only one but two guests today for a two-part series — the Johnson family. Eddie Johnson, NBA alumni, currently on Sirius XM NBA Radio, has his own podcast, does color for the Phoenix Suns broadcast team. 17-year career in the NBA, multiple teams. But you also got your BA in history from Chicago. And Joy Johnson — beautiful wife, 23+ years in the business, 250 events. Winning awards from Trends magazine, Positively Powerful Women. I like to call it she plans, he attends.

02:08 What inspired you to kind of get into event planning? Well, that's a great question. The absolute true answer is that man right there, my husband. I did follow him around to many NBA cities, and every time we landed in a city I was at the helm of their NBA wives organization, planning events. For me it was just fulfilling. The money was raised and contributed to worthwhile organizations. Eddie saw I was good at what I was doing and said, "you need to start your own business." I thought, who would pay me to plan events when they can do it themselves?

04:14 After our All-Star weekend in 2001 in Washington DC, Eddie ran into a gentleman, vice president of a local organization, the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce. He had seen me being interviewed on BET. He asked Eddie, "does she plan events in Phoenix?" Eddie came home and said, "I got you an interview." I didn't have a name, a bank account, an LLC — went to the interview, got the contract, and A Joyous Event began. I had an event before I had a bank account.

05:35 What stands out as your favorite event? Probably my most favorite event was one we pulled together in three weeks. A girlfriend was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 and wrote a play during her journey. In 2013 when she learned she was terminal, a group of us decided to produce the play. Got Cox Communications on board. We produced this play three weeks before she passed away. The play was excellent, and she got to see it realized on stage before she passed away.

07:32 Eddie — any memorable events? I'm a groupie. When I'm around people that watch weather on TV or in sports, I gravitate to them. My favorite was Muhammad Ali. I was able to sit at the table with them. The amazing thing — I was thinking, okay, he's having a tough time speaking. It was thorough. He was talking junk and laughing. In a relaxed atmosphere I got the true Muhammad Ali. That is probably the best event I have been to.

08:40 Things behind the scenes that you can tell us? I've seen stories about writers who look out and see their father's not sitting where he should be. One of our trucks on the way catches fire. Planning for an outdoor event and the weather is beautiful, then a dust storm comes up. This beautiful home in Fountain Hills — we set up so beautifully outside, and then out of nowhere a dust storm comes up. My girls are grabbing food, tablecloths whipping, flower bouquets being knocked down. As quickly as it started, it ended. A half hour before guests arrived.

10:18 Especially when you're dealing with audiovisual — technology is wonderful until it isn't. When something doesn't work. Tech rehearsals, making sure all the videos and PowerPoint are all loud. When I get to the event on Friday, I will not only be manager — I'm going to act as director. My husband says I'm the voice of God. I'm going to be right there back with them telling them when that video needs to hit the screen.

13:34 What people don't realize — Rachel, you'll probably agree — table assignments and seating are the worst. I'm dealing with that right now. I have an event this Friday — a very popular pastor in our community is retiring after 48 years of service. 677 people coming. I have received 327 names. When people show up and they're not in the proper seat — who are they going to look at as it being incorrectly done? They don't look at me. So we have to take the hit.

14:39 Sometimes I have to override clients. There have been times they have a certain vision they pitch to me, but when I tell them how much it's going to cost, they back out. They come up with a budget, but I can't do what they want for that budget. I have to say, "look, go find more money if this is really what you want, because you're going to be disappointed." I have a brand and people come to me — but if they want champagne on a beer budget, I have to be honest with them.

15:43 Eddie, do you see Joy go through stuff that you're like, yeah, nobody knows this behind the scenes? She strives for perfection. Everyone is going to be judged. One person can walk up to you and complain and you can overcome the other 2 or 300 people in the room. You always try to strive for perfection. I just kept reminding her — everyone is not going to like what you do, that's just the way it is. You just have to go about your business and do what's best for you. She works extremely hard. She's hands-on. Even if you come up a little short, it's great.

18:13 Joy is one of the best in the industry to host an event and then get multiple clients post that and retain them. You've created this brand. You always see the white parties and the black parties, but you bring your own flair — bright vibrant events, unlike most planners that are very monotone. She's always wearing four-inch heels. Girl, how do you do that?

19:23 Advice for people starting in the event industry? Truly make sure that it's your passion, because you are a servant leader. You're going to be told what to do and you might not like it, but you still have to. My passion aligns with my purpose. I love that I'm able to bring clients' vision to life. It's not easy. Make sure you really have a passion for this — it's not all "the room is beautiful, the music is playing." It's a process.

20:50 Don't you think most people think it takes you a week to do this? Like no big deal. When you need six months, eight months. We just snap our fingers and it pops up. Especially when you're dealing with audiovisual — technology is wonderful until it isn't. So having to manage even tech rehearsals.

22:52 Eddie, advice for people getting into the events space? Just understand it's not the result. Some people see me and they see I'm 6'8" — they say, "well he can play in the NBA." It doesn't work that way. I put my whole life into this. All the little details — getting up, practicing, eating right, making sure I had good conduct. You always have to pay attention to the details. The unfortunate thing is they don't see the details. They only see the result. When they walk into a Joyous Event, they're going to see the result and expect it to be done quickly because look at this.

26:13 I say always plan for the worst, because if that worst happens you have plan X, Y, Z. Always think of what's the worst thing that could happen and how to solve it. And then hopefully fix disasters along the way.

27:10 How do your professional worlds complement each other? My husband is a local voice in the community, I'm a face. I've been able to secure speaking engagements for him. I have a client that I do 4-5 events for every year and her keynote speaker fell through — "does Eddie do public speaking?" Absolutely. At least 4-5 clients who retain me every year to plan their fundraiser. There's always a silent auction or live auction or raffle. The Phoenix Suns family — "honey, sign this basketball" — I'm always putting together packages that go well at these fundraisers.

29:20 Eddie, what about you? She came in at the end of my career — I met her my senior year of college. The encouragement to persevere, to focus and go after it. She pushed me. Then I had to realize my basketball could lead to something else. When we got to Sacramento, the community wanted to get to know us, so we were always at events. Believe it or not, at that time in my life I didn't really say a ton. I would talk around people I knew. She got on me, and I took it to heart and accepted the corrections. Look what it has led to — a tremendous media career for 25 years now. So much of it I attribute to her.

35:04 Well, that's a great end to our first segment with the Johnson family. Tune in next week, we are going to have part two. We have a couple more questions for Eddie and we'll jump into a couple more questions like we just ended this podcast. Super excited to have you guys join us. Thank you everybody for joining, tune in next week.

35:07 Thanks for tuning in to the Event Talk podcast — Hot Mics, Cold Drinks and Untold Disasters where every event has a story. A big thank you to our guests for their laughs, stories, and lessons. If you loved this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your fellow event pros. Until next time.