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Featured WBE Interview
Claudette Stroble

Orlando Conference Management Group, Inc.

Tell us a little bit about Orlando Conference Management Group, Inc.
Orlando Conference is a corporate meeting management company which I opened in 1993. We started out doing meetings for groups coming into Central Florida but our clients wanted us to be their meeting planners wherever they went. So we plan and manage meetings all over the country and sometimes overseas.
We have a secondary business that has evolved over the years and it’s totally different from meeting management. It’s a vacation discount program that’s offered to corporations and associations free of charge for their employees and members. It provides discounts on Orlando theme park tickets, Disney cruises, Disney resort packages and the new “Adventures by Disney” travel trips … as well as other leisure travel arrangements.


What made you go into this business?
It was strictly a fluke. My corporate assignment at GE was coming to an end and there weren’t any good job opportunities in my field in the company. So, I decided to start my own business. My first choice was to go into free lance writing (I’m an advertising copywriter by profession) but after talking with some published authors, I realized that would be tough to do. Meeting management was something I had done over the years as part of my jobs in marketing communications. I was good at it and I was quite sure I could make the business work. So I rented office space, hired another meeting planner and off we went.

What has been the worst or the biggest obstacle you've faced or had to overcome?
Changes in the economy. Meetings are often a discretionary expense; they’re an easy item to eliminate or downsize if a company is looking for ways to cut budgets.

What has been your biggest triumph?
Successfully leading the business through all of the changes and challenges we’ve had over the past 14 years … and managing to do it without getting an ulcer.

What is the best advice you've ever received?
You can do anything you set your mind to.

Is there anyone who inspired you and why?
Not one specific person … I’ve been influenced by a lot of people - friends, business associates, my family.


What is the best book you ever read and would recommend?
I can’t think of one “best” book – that would depend on what I’m reading for. One of the books I go back to every now and again is “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum. It has surprisingly good advice for business owners like: Ethics - “play fair” and “don’t take things that aren’t yours”; Team Work - “watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together” and my all-time favorite Health Tip – “warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.”

What is your favorite quote?
“Progress always involves risk; you can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.”

What are your goals now and where do you see yourself going?
H-mmm … my goal for the company is to continue on with our main business but to grow the vacation discount program because I think that has tremendous potential. As for where I’m going, I’ve started to write and have submitted my first article to a national magazine. My topics are retirement issues. I wonder why?

How has being a member of the WBDC and WBENC helped you?
I’ve made some wonderful business contacts and met some amazingly talented people … especially since I became involved in doing the WBENC certification interviews. I’m continually astounded by the kinds of businesses our members start – I walk away from some conversations saying “I wonder how she thought of that!

What do you want to be remembered for?  

The ability to see the forest and not just the trees.

How does someone get in contact with you at Orlando Conference Management Group, Inc.?
Phone: 407-354-0256
Email: cstroble@ocmg.net