Meet Paul Northover – Redefining what an essential business is
No one would dispute the enormous impact this pandemic has had on our health, economy, and social interactions. Small businesses have been particularly impacted by COVID-19 and those that are not designated as “essential business,” even more so.
For Paul Northover, the impact was devasting for his two businesses whose primary offering lies in developing and hosting large in-person conferences and forums. “The abrupt and immediate suspension of large gatherings was something I hadn’t planned for, nor did I have a disaster recovery plan in place to offset the significant loss,” said Paul.
Paul is a serial entrepreneur and masterful negotiator who thrives in the fast-paced vibe of hosting conferences and forums. Paul joined Q1 Productions’ leadership team in 2007, where he focused exclusively on growing the business in highly regulated industries by offering bespoke education to the medical device, pharmaceutical, life science, diagnostic, healthcare, and food & beverage industries.
Paul assumed ownership of the company in 2008 and has since expanded its offerings to 50 unique annual programs across North America and Europe under the mantra that they are “Dedicated to Quality First.” In more recent years, he began recognizing the emerging trend of online education and established a market intelligence division focused on delivering online webinar content for just-in-time training.
A momentum of unrivaled success
Then in 2016, Paul saw the opportunity to build upon his proven success and expertise in educational conferences and fill the underserved need of providing professional educational services to Executive Assistants. “The look, feel, and delivery of reaching and connecting with EAs was far different than the other industries I had spent over a decade in.”
Paul founded Executive Leadership Support (ELS) and began creating forums under the banner ELS Forums in most major cities across North America. The community and supporters that ELS cultivated was electrifying. “I could tell we were onto something big here, a movement actually, that was raising the profiles of executive assistants who now felt that they were being given the knowledge, tools, and diverse EA network that enabled them to reach new heights in their careers.”
Hindsight is 2020 vision
The start of 2020, was a promising record-breaking year marked with big plans for both of his companies. With a renewed mission and core values, they were well-positioned to achieve the aspirational goals set by their leader, Paul Northover.
And then COVID-19 struck bringing both of his businesses to an immediate halt. For Paul, this spurred a visceral reaction to protect not only the companies that he worked so hard to build but, more importantly, the team of professionals that he employed. “I have some very longstanding, loyal employees that deserved to have me stay laser-focused on getting both businesses back up and running as quickly as possible. I owed it to myself and I really owed it to them.”
Paul saw the classification of an “essential” business differently than the officials. To him, providing educational resources in the industries in which they served was paramount, and yes “essential,” to moving the world forward during a time of extreme uncertainty.
Pivoting a way forward
With this belief, Paul began reengineering the way he would provide education. The natural choice was to host sessions virtually. This was not a new method for either of Paul’s companies as they had been conducting webinars with great response over the past few years. The webinars, though, served as a supplement to the in-person conferences or forums rather than a leading offering. The challenge at hand now was how do you monetize the education virtually to fill the gap that was once fulfilled through large in-person gatherings?
Paul did not take the task lightly to explore a platform that could support a virtual model. After weeks of research, gathering insights from employees, delegates, trainers and sponsors, he arrived at a platform that would assuredly deliver the type of educational experiences his companies had become known for.
Paul and his teams are working around the clock to launch their first virtual events this summer. And the best part is there is also a digital app that has been developed to provide even more connectivity to information and build networks amongst the participants. “Launching an app has been something we have wanted to do for the last two years. In many ways, I feel fortunate that the silver lining of this pandemic forced us to move on it now.”
“To have a CEO invest in such a sophisticated platform in a time of uncertainty made me more confident that we would stay employed and continue to serve our clients,” Kathryn Fitzsimmons, Senior Manager, Campaign Planning, Q1 Productions
The best is yet to come
The second half of 2020 will look and feel different than the first half. “I feel energized by how quickly we have pivoted, the amount of interest and support from our delegates, trainers, speakers, and sponsors, and knowing that I employ a team of professionals that will continue to rally to deliver a superior product and service to all of our stakeholders.”
To learn more about how Q1 Productions is upskilling highly regulated industries virtually, visit them online or follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.
Curious how Executive Leadership Support (ELS) is serving Executive Assistants with inspiring educational experiences, and collaborative virtual forums, visit them online or follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.
Meet Paul Northover – Redefining what an essential business is
No one would dispute the enormous impact this pandemic has had on our health, economy, and social interactions. Small businesses have been particularly impacted by COVID-19 and those that are not designated as “essential business,” even more so.
For Paul Northover, the impact was devasting for his two businesses whose primary offering lies in developing and hosting large in-person conferences and forums. “The abrupt and immediate suspension of large gatherings was something I hadn’t planned for, nor did I have a disaster recovery plan in place to offset the significant loss,” said Paul.
Paul is a serial entrepreneur and masterful negotiator who thrives in the fast-paced vibe of hosting conferences and forums. Paul joined Q1 Productions’ leadership team in 2007, where he focused exclusively on growing the business in highly regulated industries by offering bespoke education to the medical device, pharmaceutical, life science, diagnostic, healthcare, and food & beverage industries.
Paul assumed ownership of the company in 2008 and has since expanded its offerings to 50 unique annual programs across North America and Europe under the model that they are “Dedicated to Quality First.” In more recent years, he began recognizing the emerging trend of online education and established a market intelligence division focused on delivering online webinar content for just-in-time training.
A momentum of unrivaled success
Then in 2016, Paul saw the opportunity to build upon his proven success and expertise in educational conferences and fill the underserved need of providing professional educational services to Executive Assistants. “The look, feel, and delivery of reaching and connecting with EAs was far different than the other industries I had spent over a decade in.”
Paul founded Executive Leadership Support (ELS) and began creating forums under the banner ELS Forums in most major cities across North America. The community and supporters that ELS cultivated was electrifying. “I could tell we were onto something big here, a movement actually, that was raising the profiles of executive assistants who now felt that they were being given the knowledge, tools, and diverse EA network that enabled them to reach new heights in their careers.”
Hindsight is 2020 vision
The start of 2020, was a promising banner year marked with big plans for both of his companies. With a renewed mission and core values, they were well-positioned to achieve the aspirational goals set by their leader, Paul Northover.
And then COVID-19 struck bringing both of his businesses to an immediate halt. For Paul, this spurred a visceral reaction to protect not only the companies that he worked so hard to build but, more importantly, the team of professionals that he employed. “I have some very longstanding, loyal employees that deserved to have me stay laser-focused on getting both businesses back up and running as quickly as possible. I owed it to myself and I really owed it to them.”
Paul saw the classification of an “essential” business differently than the officials. To him, providing educational resources in the industries in which they served was paramount, and yes “essential,” to moving the world forward during a time of extreme uncertainty.
Pivoting a way forward
With this belief, Paul began reengineering the way he would provide education. The natural choice was to host sessions virtually. This was not a new method for either of Paul’s companies as they had been conducting webinars with great response over the past few years. The webinars, though, served as a supplement to the in-person conferences or forums rather than a leading offering. The challenge at hand now was how do you monetize the education virtually to fill the gap that was once fulfilled through large in-person gatherings?
Paul did not take the task lightly to explore a platform that could support a virtual model. After weeks of research, gathering insights from employees, delegates, trainers and sponsors, he arrived at a platform that would assuredly deliver the type of educational experiences his companies had become known for.
Paul and his teams are working around the clock to launch their first virtual events this summer. And the best part is there is also a digital app that has been developed to provide even more connectivity to information and build networks amongst the participants. “Launching an app has been something we have wanted to do for the last two years. In many ways, I feel fortunate that the silver lining of this pandemic forced us to move on it now.”
“To have a CEO invest in such a sophisticated platform in a time of uncertainty made me more confident that we would stay employed and continue to serve our clients,” Kathryn Fitzsimmons, Senior Manager, Campaign Planning, Q1 Productions
The best is yet to come
The second half of 2020 will look and feel different than the first half. “I feel energized by how quickly we have pivoted, the amount of interest and support from our delegates, trainers, speakers, and sponsors, and knowing that I employ a team of professionals that will continue to rally to deliver a superior product and service to all of our stakeholders.”
To learn more about how Q1 Productions is upskilling highly regulated industries virtually, visit them online or follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.
Curious how Executive Leadership Support (ELS) is serving Executive Assistants with inspiring educational experiences, and collaborative virtual forums, visit them online or follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.
Michelle is Mariola Unlimited’s Chief Brand Officer and has 20 years of experience in branding and marketing strategy. Her blog is dedicated to sharing her mastery of marketing best practices, insights into building brand equity, and her reflections on creating intentional cultures and the leaders that make it happen.
