Small Business Spotlight for Jocelyn Davison & Rebecca Schulte from The Virtual Effect

From Corporate (Jocelyn) and Real Estate (Rebecca) to Event Planning & Purpose and Engagement.  How Jocelyn & Rebecca turned passions into purpose!

Entrepreneurship is so much better with friends by your side! If you’ve ever been curious about how the small businesses in your community have gotten to where they are today, you are in the right place. In this series, you’ll get to meet your fellow YEG Entrepreneurs and hear their stories of launching a business, overcoming obstacles, and building a career they love.

Today, I’m sitting down with Jocelyn & Rebecca of The Virtual Effect. Pour a cup of coffee (or wine) and join us as we learn more about her business journey.

Hi everyone! We’re Jocelyn Davision and Rebecca Schulte, business partners of The Virtual Effect.

We help heart-centred organizations build community and long-lasting relationships through impactful events and meaningful giveback opportunities.

We are passionate about creating impact that connects people, communities, and causes.  We believe in connecting experiences and relationships to a greater purpose with passion.

Q. Tell us more about you! We’d love to know about your business today and the story of how you got there.

A. Our journeys are similar in that our previous work in the corporate world (Jocelyn) and Real Estate (Rebecca) wasn’t serving us personally or professionally.  Through some soul-searching, we decided to take a leap of faith and follow our hearts/dreams!  Always loving events, Jocelyn started The Virtual Effect in 2017 and Rebecca joined the business adding the Purpose & Engagement arm in January, 2021.    

Q. Let’s dive more into the specifics of your business. What products/services do you offer? What do you do for your clients that sets you apart?

A. Event Planning:

• Full service event planning and management
• In-person events
• Virtual events
• Hybrid events
• Day of event management

Purpose & Engagement:

• Cause Matching (finding you the perfect charitable partner that aligns with your values)
• Impact Campaigns
• Annual Giveback Strategy Development & Execution
• Staff gifting & recognition
• Team building
• Client experiences

Working with The Virtual Effect means getting a partner.  We want to know and understand what you do and why you do it so that we can create an event that seamlessly connects your guests to your reason for being and builds long lasting relationships.  We love becoming a part of your team during the event planning process, we pride ourselves on representing your brand, charity, cause, or organization in a way that we are an extension of your team, we are your partner not just someone you hire.  

We take the time to understand you, your team, your organization, and your vision for the event.  We listen to your needs and we come up with a theme and ideas that help you achieve your goals and beyond.  

Q. What inspired or influenced you to create your business?

A. Jocelyn has loved events for as long as she can remember.  It has been what she wanted to do since before her working years officially started but as the twists and turns of life inevitably happen her professional path took a very different way than what I dreamed of when I started out.  The funny things about all those off path twists and turns are the learnings, the moments, and the experiences they equip you with when you don’t even know you need them.  The Virtual Effect started essentially as a “side hustle” but eventually became a full-time reality!  

For Rebecca, the impact she saw in her last Community Engagement role was so inspiring and the more she talked to business owners and community members she realized this was an area that they struggled with.  The common sentiment was that there was not enough time, resources or expertise to execute meaningful giveback strategies.  This caused to her develop Purpose & Engagement to work with companies on developing and executing their giveback strategies.

What we’ve come to realize is that both Event Planning and Purpose & Engagement go hand in hand.  There are so many ways the two are intertwined and we feel like we have found a unique niche to help serve our clients.

Q. What are you most proud of in your work?

A. Something that we’re proud of is our very own Purpose & Engagement arm of our businesses called Elevate.  Elevate is a community built to elevate yourself, elevate one another and elevate the community.  We host a variety of events throughout the year (typically one per month) on topics we want to learn more about, societal issues, etc.  Our Elevate community is so special and we have made some incredible friendships because of it and also learned so much.  To date, Elevate has raised over $10,000 through in kind and monetary donations for a variety of not for profit organizations!   

Q. What is one challenge you’ve overcome as a business owner, and what did you learn from it that you can share with others?

A. One challenge has been that feeling of isolation and not having others to bounce business ideas off of.  Being a business owner can be lonely but you don’t have to go through entrepreneurship alone and I think that is something that we didn’t always know or feel confident in reaching out.  We have been lucky to have our office in a space, The Creative Hive, that is surrounded by other entrepreneurs.  We have also invested in business coaching and that alone has been a game changer.  We now have someone who is invested in the success of our business and keeps us on track and accountable.  

Q. What is your favorite part of what you do?

A. Connecting with our clients.  We love learning all about the work that our clients do and the “why” behind it.  We love bringing their visions to life and seeing how their work is making impacts on our communities!    

Q. What is one thing you do to set yourself up for success every week?

A. We start our week with a Monday morning team meeting to connect and ensure we’re all in the loop on what’s going on.  We have found it’s a great tool to keep us on task!

Q. What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

A. Making sure you always choose celebration over competition!  We love this piece of advice because there is room for everyone at the table.  Collaboration and celebration is so much more powerful than trying to compete so next time you find yourself comparing yourself or trying to compete with something you see or someone else, try and flip it around.  Celebrate that person or idea and take it one step further…let them know they’re doing a great job 😊

Q. Where can people find you to learn more? (Leave your email, website, social media handles, etc.!)

Jocelyn@thevirtualeffect.com

Rebecca@thevirtualeffect.com

www.thevirtualeffect.com

@thevirtualeffect 

@elevatebytve