What Innovate Means for Me

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https://canvasrebel.com/meet-jan-levie/

Two women talking. Always learning.
Always be learning at Villa Christina

Edited version of What Innovate Means for Me from CanvasRebel

What innovate means for me

Talking about what innovate means for me means choosing the most innovative thing I’ve done in my career. That’s a tough call for so many reasons.

First of all, where does a career begin and end? Furthermore, what is truly innovative? Is it about finding a way to turn a known way of doing things on its head? Or trying something completely different?

I’ve done some things in my life that some people consider innovative. Other people think they are just wild. Me, I follow my gut.

Some of the wildest things I’ve ever done are the ones that make me proudest:

  • Things like paying people really well for their work.
  • Speaking up when there is an ethical breach.
  • Training and hiring people with disabilities.
  • Creating entertainment activations to create a specific mood and vision—no matter what it takes.
  • Speaking professionally on how to tap into an enormous pool of invisible labor while also connecting with a new market with large discretionary spending power.
  • My latest obsession is how to create jobs for the person instead of having people fit into jobs.
    • Huh? Yes, we can do that.
    • You can do it too.
    • I presented on it in my talk, “Intuition in Business” in Anaheim, CA, in May 2022 at The Special Event/CaterSource Conference.

The most innovative thing I want to do RIGHT NOW includes plastering a living person with soil and living stuff in it. There is quite a bit more to it than that, but until it’s done, I’ll spare you the details.

Is It Woo?

One thing that impacts people’s perceptions of who we are and what we do are ‘readings.’ Most commonly, we utilize something personal like lips, palms, handwriting, or face shape. Some people find it woo or are scared we’ll see they’ a’re embezzling their company. Word to the wise: Yes, we can see it if we want to, but that’s most likely not what you are hiring us for!

Did you know—you can read anything? That means anyone can interpret anything and give it meaning. Although companies frequently try to hire us to conduct psychic forensics or develop algorithms for their investors, that is not what we do.

What we do is create new ways to move people and put them in touch with themselves through innovations like ‘Food Readings’ and ‘Butt Readings’ (clothed)!

Maybe my greatest innovation has been the flavored and scented chocolate ganache I created for our Chocolate Lip Print Analysis.

It might be the creation of the Contactless Entertainer Booth that gave you all the feels of the original Zoltar Fortune Teller Booth, let you interact with a live human being, and protected you from aerosol particles.

What I do

I realized that making people’s special events magnificent and all about them and their guests was the most creative, inspiring, and useful work in the world.

Creating interactive, immersive, or just plain extraordinary moments that celebrate people’s most important life events, gatherings, or impactful moments is always changing, and quite frankly–it’s thrilling.

How do we do it? We dig deep, find out what our client really wants, and build an experience around it that helps them achieve their goal.

In brief: We can get the Montagues and the Capulets tongue-kissing.

At a wedding reception, we created an unforgettable experience sitting under an exquisite tea tent in the Egyptian Ball Room of the Fox Theatre, giving teacup readings with Rooibos and Oolong on fine china. Their wedding was featured in the 2023 January Atlanta Styles Wedding Magazine! 

Transitions – Solutions – Traditions

In other words:

We help companies make transitions, create solutions, and reinvent traditions that no longer serve their purpose.

By producing customized, interactive entertainment, we connect people to each other, to you, your company, your project, or your mission.

That helps your guests understand what makes you tick/your true nature.

The results? We show your guests your creativity, how much you care, and how much they matter to you.

A Pivot and a Mission

Clients repeatedly come to us to design and produce their signature events. After focusing almost exclusively on entertainment, it became clear that they love having us as trusted advisors.

We listen and ask questions, create options, source and manage vendors and builds, but more than anything, we make our clients shine!

During the pandemic, we worked with a community organization to produce an event to educate and unite their community. We helped them safely gather as a large group. They were able to share information to a crowd that encompassed over 300 dialects. Even though the event was postponed three times and had three venue changes, we helped them successfully meet all their goals!

Why I Do It

I’m driven to find different ways to tell a story, teach, and move people to see things from a different point of view. Sharing a sensory experience with someone is powerful and transformational. Watching someone light up as they feel seen and accepted for themself is extraordinarily fulfilling. We embed the insights into a specific context, nail down the story, costume it to fit our client’s concept and expected outcome. Then, we design an activity flow with all the moving parts that contribute to the happy ending—the moment your guest feels truly seen for who they are—THAT is the true work.

Who do you serve?

The Atlanta Botanical Garden hired us for their annual fundraiser. They wanted to thrill and delight their VIP supporters and encourage them to increase their donation levels.

Our entertainer wandered through the gardens costumed as an Edwardian Lady. She shared good fortunes to guests she encountered on her stroll. We also embedded a call-to-action in the readings. The entertainer would pause, shift voice and posture, and state, “We have a Public Service Announcement,” then tell the patron, for example, “you will be selling those old Ferragamo shoes and donating the proceeds to your Atlanta Botanical Garden!”

A well-known marketing company hired us as a gift to their client of 30 years—a major chicken company’s conference breakout sessions and trade show. Our mission was to reassure franchisees that “Yes, there might be a wing shortage, but more are on their way!” Lucy, from I Love Lucy, made her way through the exhibition hall, looking for Ricky and passing out cookies and fortunes to amused and astonished attendees. The future of those desperately sought wings was also included! Franchise owners felt understood, valued, and warmed up to the rest of the conference.

What’s next?

Share your problems with our Concessional Booth! Coming soon to a country near you, tell the entertainer your problems or sins (just like your favorite bartender). In exchange, get a sip, good tips, and a nosh!

How to find us:

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

On top of really caring about my clients and being loyal to a fault, I get a kick out of giving people gifts I believe will serve them.

During the first year of the pandemic, revenue was way down. I sent out holiday cards, with a commissioned design from a young artist whose work I love. On top of that, I also decided to give everybody some fancy dress options for their Zoom calls!

This is how I stumbled onto Pearls and Bowties! Working with a colleague, I designed a big fat pearl choker and some big old bow ties with eye-popping patterns. I sent them out with the cards and I believe I got more joy out of their responses then they got out of our swag!

And that’s when I realized that I was in the thick of “My best Pandemic Evah!”

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

There’s this thing called Guerrilla Marketing. Jay Levinson developed the concept. I look back at some of the times when I didn’t know how to show people what we did in a way that would make them comfortable hiring us.

That’s when “A Good Costume Is A Terrible Thing to Waste” happened!

If, after an event, I was wearing a good costume and it was still business hours, I’d pop in and say “Hello!” to a prospect or former client and drop off some ‘swag’!

Georgia Power, Instacart, The Atlanta Botanical Garden–so many agents and venues!

People loved it. I loved it. Swag sometimes melts. And sometimes I melt. But it’s so much fun to surprise people and leave them happier than you found them!

Image Credits
Allah Christmas, Inaya Christmas, Martin Kincaid, Jenny Girtman, Manuel Llaneras, Hannah Podhorzer

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