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Women in Industry – Stephanie Moss
 In today’s fast-paced business world, where it is more and more commonplace for corporate companies to outsource their event, Solutions Group offers its customers the type of attention to detail and style that clients just don’t have the time or expertise to organize on their own. When Managing Director Stephanie Moss started the company back in 1990, the events industry was far more low-key (although these days the pace is fast and the number of events that companies hold annually has grown exponentially).
"I was working as an Advertising and Promotions manager for Unisys South Africa when I finally decided I wasn’t cut out for the limitations of corporate life,” says Stephanie. During her time with the company, events management stood out as the most exciting and rewarding activity she performed so the decision about what to do next wasn’t difficult. With the encouragement of friends and colleagues Stephanie stepped into the exciting world of entrepreneurship.
At the time, outsourced events management wasn’t an easy sell – companies mostly performed the function themselves as and when needed. The only way to get started was to literally begin cold-calling companies and convince prospects of the benefits of using an agent. Within one week the company received its first brief, and things were on the move!
Twenty years later, Solutions Group is one of the better known event management companies in South Africa and provides a myriad of eventing services for many midsize corporations and multi-nationals who expect top class service. It’s here that Stephanie finds herself in the enviable position of doing exactly what she loves. "Events are my passion,” she says. "I still get excited at the prospect of every brief we receive, be it an Exec Stratcom session for the Board of Directors of a company or a countrywide launch of a new product through an international incentive trip.”
What makes Solutions Group great at what it does? According to Stephanie, twenty years of experience does go a long way. "We’ve got a head start on so many of our competitors when it comes to knowing what clients want.” The ability to visualize a project down to the smallest detail, an insistence on the best value and quality from subcontractors, and a propensity for flawless execution are just few of the reasons some of Solutions’ earliest clients continue to return for more.
As a keen networker, she believes that a company’s success is built on communication. Therefore sales performance is measured by the number of calls made regularly, how many of those are converted to meetings, then into projects, and finally result in further opportunities. "You don’t just land a project all that often,” she says. "You have to own the account by communicating your value to the organisation as a whole.”
Outside work, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her two daughters, whom she refers to as her "heroines”. "I did career and jet setting first and had my children after that, and I am so pleased with that decision. I’ve been able to give them so much more quality time, patience and life experiences than if I had just been starting out in business.”
Then there are the other kids: the children of Yenzani Children’s Home, a refuge for orphaned, abused, or abandoned children. "We decided that by focussing Solutions Group’s resources on one good cause we could have the greatest impact.” In past years, the kids have enjoyed outings to her weekend home and regular visits to Stephanie’s home in Johannesburg to interact on an everyday level as well as share movies and other action activities days. She believes that fun-filled life experiences such as these will contribute to their positive social development.
Stephanie is also an avid learner and spends time researching subjects of interest in many business and general knowledge topics rather than watching TV or meaningless and pointless socialising. Knowledge is power as they say! She is interested in the role technology is currently playing in events. As the influence of social media grows around the world so do the opportunities for expanding the way events are publicized, managed, presented, and reviewed. Done properly, events can become a truly interactive experience and the potential and future of Social Media in eventing is only in its infancy, she believes.
When it comes to social responsibility, Stephanie is most concerned about the environment, green initiatives, sustainability, and giving back to society – especially children like those of Yenzani. "We all have a responsibility to make the world a better place to live in. For the environment, it’s time more stringent laws and standards were developed – to make a real difference.”
Finally, what about the future? "There are several promising developments coming together to make Solutions more diversified, stronger, bigger and slicker. Time will tell.”
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GRAND CENTRAL AIRPORT MIDRAND EXPANDS ITS DESTINATION OFFERING
Grand Central Airport in Midrand is in the process of applying for an international airport license and seeks to launch commercial operations within the next 18 months. The airport is currently in discussions with Airlink but several limitations and issues still need to be resolved.
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