MUSA
The pandemic shifted the live landscape drastically. How did you deal with that shift?
YVONNE
It was very difficult for me. For the Essence Festival, I had booked Janet Jackson, Bruno Mars, New Edition that we were about to announce the very next day before everything shut down. So it was one of my best years that I had worked so hard to get to these moments. Everything fell apart. Everybody kept calling me asking how I was going to pivot. I had to just silence it out. Because I was like what does that even mean? I’m not going to do nails now. I was going to figure out my skill set to move through this. Because at first we thought it was a few weeks that turned to months. So initially it was extremely hard. I could hardly even get up every day because I didn’t know what I was going to do. Then finally cause I’m always like sink or swim I had to pull it together. I had be like Issa Rae in Insecure, when she would talk to herself in the mirror. I was like if you don’t get up and figure this out. So then I started figuring out technology. Cause everybody was like just go to Zoom. I’m an award winning producer I don’t produce on Zoom. But I was like let me figure out what this looks like for me. How do I make it feel the way it should feel. Where people don’t have virtual fatigue. Where they feel like they are engaged. So I started looking for ways from a technology perspective. Even for Essence Festival made it virtual shooting in empty venues. People could see this is where we are right now. Artists are still able to perform in an actual venue even though it was empty. Like the Wyclef concert I did at The Apollo was Emmy nominated with no audience. I started looking at different ways to engage people so they wouldn’t tune out. Because in these virtual events people check out fortunately the numbers were really record breaking. People tuning in, sticking with it and watching it. Because of the fact I sat there and got quiet and tuned everything out and decided what was best for me and my business. People will tell you how to do something they’ve never done. So for me I had figure out what does this mean for me. I started dominating the virtual world. I was hiring people back because I was so busy with what I was doing in the virtual space. Fortunately we were able to go back live. I was able to do live and virtual and stream. Like the Adcolor Reggae concert with Wyclef and Estelle I was able to do both. I don’t like to say pivot I say evolve. I was able to evolve my business.
MUSA
What’s next for CMG?
YVONNE
It’s more collaborations and more ownership. I’m excited about several projects coming up for 2022. And then more mentorship which is super important to me. I’m going to continue to provide opportunities for young Black women and young Black men as well. I don’t want Black men to feel left behind. I’m making moves to align myself with important strategic alliances. We can’t be afraid to have strategic alliances. That’s what I’m focused on for 2022.
MUSA
What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into the events business?
YVONNE
The advice I would give for the events business or any business is find someone who is doing what you want to do and to shadow them or get on their calendar. Talk to them about their experiences. And sometimes you gotta do stuff for free. I did that to build up my portfolio. I’ve had people who have come and wanted to work but they didn’t want to sacrifice anything. Well this is how you gain your experiences and you can’t be afraid to do that. Now we all have to eat and pay our rent and all that stuff. But when you’re first starting out you have to really be a sponge and learn as much as you can. And when get someone’s time that you really want you have to value that time. I’ve had people come to me but they didn’t value the time when I’m super busy and traveling. Value the time, be coachable, listen, ask questions and put in the work. Because I think the event business is a wonderful business to be in especially when you own your own business like I do where I get to work with so many different clients and have so many different types of projects so they challenge different parts of my brain. That’s my advice.
MUSA
You’ve worked with some major celebrities but I have ask about Prince. What was it like working with Prince?
YVONNE
Hard. Also it taught me so much about me. It definitely sharpened my skills and it made feel like there was nothing I can not do because it was so challenging. Challenging from a standpoint of he’s the best of the best. So you have to be the best of the best. A lot of times things were very last minute. You have to walk on water in three hours. Those short time frames I learned to be flexible, never give up. Be even more resourceful then I was growing up. It changed my life. I started in Chicago when he came in for a residency and it was a whirlwind after that. That was how I got to New York.
MUSA
Tell is about your company Captivate Marketing Group ( CMG) and it’s philosophy.
YVONNE
My philosophy is to operate with integrity and sometimes I have to be really firm and stand my ground. Show people that we can do it at the highest level possible like anyone else. I go above and beyond to make sure my clients are happy. To over deliver each and every time I do something.