Preview of the Industrial Marketing Summit 2025 with Chris Luecke

Curt Anderson  00:00

Hey guys, happy post Super Bowl. Happy Monday to you. How Damon, how are

Damon Pistulka  00:06

you? Man, I’m great. Curt, wonderful, wonderful weekend and ready for this week. Let’s

Curt Anderson  00:11

dive in. So we’re the Monday after Super Bowl should be like, you know, for, I know dame, for at least, like, past 40 years, they say it should be like a national holiday this day after the Super Bowl, I kind of agree. But you know what? Found the super bowl like this is kind of like our Super Bowl right now, because we got the one we’ve got the only we’ve got Chris Luecke in the house, dude, how are you, Chris,

Chris Luecke  00:33

I’m doing well, I’m no Jalen Hurts or Patrick mahomes, but I hope I can bring a good performance to this conversation. Well,

Curt Anderson  00:41

if you can, can you like a little Barkley, can you jump over backwards? Can you do like a little flip? Or, you know,

Chris Luecke  00:46

you know, I would be able to, but the ceiling is just not quite high enough in my new studio. So I had to, I had to start skipping out on the back flips for these. Fair enough.

Curt Anderson  00:55

Fair enough, when we’re at the industrial marketing summit together, dude, we’ll bust a couple of those out. I might pull a hamstring, but Chris, I can’t wait to see you in action. So let’s go here, man, dude, repeat offender, dear, dear friend of the show you and I, actually, I always claim to fame. Like, you know you and I are pre COVID, so that’s how long you and I have been friends. Let’s start off with a little bit. You’ve had a couple transitions. It’s always tough keeping up with you, dude. Like, you always got something new, something exciting. But this, let’s give a little background on you. Who is Chris Luecke. How are you making the world a better place? Yeah.

Chris Luecke  01:28

So to give anyone that’s not familiar with me, you know, to give you a bit of an intro, I run a podcast called Manufacturing Happy Hour. So the reality is, it’s the way I described it now, and how I described it before we went live, is I’m really running a podcasting and entertainment company. Because in addition to the podcast, which is a weekly interview show that’s meant to distill and dissect the biggest trends and technologies impacting the manufacturing industry, it’s an interview podcast. So I do all this through interviews with manufacturing leaders. But, you know, it’s evolved into a community, and it’s evolved into an event platform All Things Considered. You know, if there’s a large trade show or maybe I’m just doing a small live podcast tour across a particular region of the Midwest. You know, what I try to do is bring together manufacturing leaders under one roof, and that could be the virtual roof of my podcast and the digital platforms where our community congregates, or that could be an in person event at a brewery or an after party at a conference, for example. So I, you know, I It’s easiest to describe Manufacturing Happy Hour as a platform at that point, at this point, because that can encompass the podcast, it can encompass the community, and it can encompass all the events as well. Well, I

Curt Anderson  02:53

love that. And if you don’t mind, I want to, I want to pull up your website just for everybody take a peek. But I tell you, this is you’ve had such a fascinating career, and again, I’ve had the privilege of, you know, appreciate, value your friendship. I can’t express my internal thanks for the number of people that I’ve become friends with because and thanks to you as matter of fact, we’re all going to be together at the Industrial Marketing Summit. I’m actually hanging out with Jeff Long, who I met through you. So again, you know tons of friendships that I’ve met. You know your Rockwell Automation. You’ve kind of had a nice transition. Let’s dive into, like, your entrepreneurial journey. How did you go from like, Rockwell, one of the largest corporations, just a powerhouse in manufacturing? How did you let’s walk through your evolution into entrepreneurship. Yeah,

Chris Luecke  03:37

so I’m an engineer by degree, but I have spent the majority of my career in sales at Rockwell Automation as well as fixed software, which is a company that Rockwell had purchased. You know, I think there’s an entrepreneurial aspect to being in sales. You know, you have to manage your business. You need to make sure you’re hitting your number. There’s not necessarily a single playbook for building relationships, building rapport, building trust. So there’s all that. Obviously there are proven best practices in sales and their sales processes, right? I don’t want to pretend it’s the total Wild West, but, you know, I’ve seen a lot of different techniques used, and I feel like the most effective salespeople are the ones that are able to do it while being really authentic and true to who they are. So when I was working in sales, I realized it’s like, Hey, I’m comfortable being on camera. I don’t have any, you know, and I knew that was a big hang up for a lot of folks, right? They just, you know, anytime the camera started rolling, they’d get petrified, right? So my thought was, hey, I need to reach my audience, and I need to reach a younger audience, in a lot of cases, in new and novel ways and video podcasting, short videos, long form podcasts that became kind of my unique, authentic way of reaching out to my audience. So it just like it evolved over. Over time. I wouldn’t say when I started it that I thought it was going to turn into what would eventually be my full time business, but, but here we are, you know, I think there’s something to be said about just staying consistent, doing, you know, growing in little incremental bits and chunks, and then all of a sudden, you look back three years, five years later, and you’re like, Wow, this is there. There’s something here. I can scale it. I can monetize it. All those things start playing into it. So that’s that’s really kind of how I went from being a salesperson at a large industrial manufacturing company to being an entrepreneur in this, in this day and age where there are more opportunities than ever to be an entrepreneur. Absolutely

Curt Anderson  05:43

love it. And if I’m not mistaken, weren’t you in the Bay Area when you started manufacturing happy hour? Was that correct?

Chris Luecke  05:50

Yeah, this would Manufacturing Happy Hour got its start in late 2016 and started getting momentum in 2017 but I always count it the first time I hit record and had a published video on YouTube, was in 2016 so we count that as the starting date, and that was one in the Bay Area. Is relevant to why I started it, because I had been in the Houston market prior to that, and that was definitely a more old school handshake relationships, sales market in the industrial space in the Bay Area. You know, there were a lot of folks my age. I was in my 20s at the time, that would work a couple years here, jump to another company. Work a couple years there, jump to another company. So, you know that that, let’s say that company loyalty, you know, wasn’t necessarily the same thing, because people were just jumping all over the place, right? Um, but what, you know, on the flip side, I’m like, Okay, well, if that’s the reality out here, if it’s a lot of young folks that are making decisions at these organizations, well why not I reach them the way they want to be reached? Which I thought, How do I consume content? How do I get information? And that was through podcasts and YouTube and video series. So I’m like, Well, I’m just, I’m just going to do the same thing. No one else was doing it in the manufacturing space. So I’m like, I don’t really have a guide to go off of, but let me just try this. And, you know, there was no downside, really. I mean, the only like, it’s not the worst thing that could happen was I would have made some videos, and maybe no one ever saw them, right? I would have just learned it didn’t resonate, and I would have moved on, obviously, that that was not the case, and it resonated and grew into the platform it is today. But yeah, that’s, that’s kind of the that I was out in the Bay Area, and I would say that’s why it’s also relevant to this story,

Curt Anderson  07:29

you know, and I want to hit on this, and I know you’ve been on the show multiple times, so anything that I repeat just, you know, my respect and admiration for you what you’ve done, because not only were you doing the videos, you did a great job at building community. And so David, we’re constantly talking about that, and it’s kind of like, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s not a comfort zone for small manufacturers to think about community. Yeah, at least the folks that I engage with, they’re more like nose of the grind zone, just trying to build things. But you did a great job pre COVID, where you were setting up, you know, virtual calls, people from all over the country were coming on. I met some fascinating people. I’d be like, the only marketer in the room, the only ecommerce guy in the room. It was a bunch of automation guys. But just, and I’m gonna, I’m gonna dive into your website next, but just talk a little bit, but like the spirit in, like your dedication to building community, and what that’s meant and done for you. Just, just scratch on that for a second, if you would. Yeah. I

Chris Luecke  08:22

mean, I it really did take off with COVID because, you know, I was hosting small happy hours out in the bay area, you know, very quickly I realized, if I had a platform called manufacturing happy hour, it didn’t just have to be a video series. I’m like, Oh, I can call, you know, happy hour where 12 manufacturers in the area get together and grab a beer at one of the many great Bay Area breweries. So there, from an early stand, from an early time there had been an event focus to manufacturing happy hour. But I really do think it started to shift and certainly evolve during COVID, because we were stuck at home. We couldn’t go anywhere for the majority of 2020, right? You know, we had two months at the start of the year, and then, you know, locked down from there. But I remember, and I’m gonna, I’ll share a link to this, because it’s crazy to think that this episode will be five years old soon. I hosted a zoom call, um, first of all, I hosted a zoom call on my birthday, which was St Patrick’s Day, right? So I had friends from all across the country show up to that. That was, that was more something in my personal life, right? But that that was, that was on a Tuesday, Tuesday, March 17, I had hosted like, kind of a party on Zoom, yeah. But to myself, it’s like, wait a second, if I can do this in my personal life, can I try this for the manufacturing industry as well? So I think it was probably the next day I put out a post. I’m like, Hey, if you want to join us on Zoom manufacturers from across the country, sign on to zoom this Wednesday afternoon or this Thursday afternoon, whichever it was. I think it was Thursday. So Thursday, March, 19, two. 2020, myself and probably about 12 other manufacturers signed on to zoom, and I had this, I don’t know what it was. I just said at the start of the call. It’s like, Hey guys, I don’t know what we’re going to talk about during this call, but I’m going to hit record, if that’s okay. So we recorded it, and everyone shared what their what their gut reactions to being, you know, on lockdown were going to be. This was back when we had no idea how long it was going to be, but everyone shared, kind of their initial impressions, how everyone was feeling. And then, like the 12 or so people on the call, we went around another time and said, Hey, what are the actions we’re going to take to make the most out of this situation. So anyway, that was recorded on March 19, on March 20, 2020, I release as a bonus episode of the podcast, and it’s still a pretty interesting I’ll call it a document, just to see where we thought things were going, just what the community vibe was like at the time. But long story short, you know, there’s a reason for me telling this story that kind of launched essentially what became a weekly, or bi weekly effort where I said, Hey, I’m going to throw these virtual zoom calls, so that way, you know, we’re stuck at home, but manufacturing Happy Hour is going to be a spot where you can come to hang out with folks in the industry virtually. And sometimes it’ll be an open discussion. Sometimes we’ll have a topic. We’ll have, like an MC or a keynote speaker, if you will, to so that way there’s more of a topic. And we started doing that throughout all of COVID. And, you know, once, once the world started to open back up. You know, that’s when it’s like, Alright, let’s take this out of zoom and back into the real world. So 2022 is really when we started seeing a lot more manufacturing, happy hour live events, in person parties. But you know, if there’s a lesson here for other folks, right, like try to think about what the strengths are in your business, or the unique aspects of your business, and try to pivot those to whatever situation the world throws at you, whether that’s a pandemic or whether it’s an opportunity to start throwing bigger and better parties for your customer community, bigger

Curt Anderson  12:09

or better parties, man, and I know I was a, I was part of those zoom meetings, you know. I remember those clearly. Dave Griffith was on a call Greg mischie Sully, you know, so a bunch of just wonderful people that I again, the friendships that I was able to create thanks to you kind of spearheading and being a leader. And I just, I cannot express my thanks. Let’s dive into your I’m going to share your website, if you don’t mind, please. Let’s take a look. So like someone’s out there and they’re just like, Okay, I hear podcast and I hear, can you guys see my screen? Yeah, yeah. Okay. So if I go, if I’m going to back up one so Okay, here is what you see when you land on Chris’s website. We’ve got manufacturing happy hour. Connect with Chris. We’ve got Chris Lukey here, manufacturing a happy hour. Do yourself a favor. Connect with Chris on LinkedIn does amazing work. So now we’ve got the podcast, and then, dude, like, Could this be? Like, Damon, how’s this? Everything else? Like, bam, right there. All right, making manufacturing content cool and approachable, Chris, let’s hear what you’ve got going on here. Yeah,

Chris Luecke  13:13

so you know, I will preface it this. This is about to get very much updated in the near future, so it’s but it’s still going to have a similar vibe, because at the end of the day, manufacturing Happy Hour is here to tell stories in the industry. So, you know, I created it as a way to really get people to start talking about manufacturing the same way they would, as if they were having a drink with someone, right? So that’s where the whole manufacturing Happy Hour moniker came from. But, you know, the biggest thing that I, you know, I found like that, I think is a win on my digital presence so far, is just the consistency, whether that’s on the website, whether that’s on LinkedIn, like you were talking about, you know, I’ve been doing this for over five years now. So when folks are want, and that’s, I think, the thing, like, people can kind of take from this, it’s like, when you’re trying to build trust in the manufacturing space, one of the best things you can do is just be consistent, right? Because then, you know, and especially in this digital age where there’s, like, a, you know, a digital paper trail of, like, your values and your insights and the type of people you surround yourself with. You know that’s why, I think you know, having the digital presence, whether you’re a salesperson, whether you’re an individual contributor, whether you’re an executive, you need to have some sort of digital presence, whether that’s a website, whether that’s a video channel, whether it’s a podcast, whether that’s just being active on LinkedIn, right? It doesn’t need to be a full blown platform like manufacturing happy hour, but that’s kind of the way I think of, you know, things like websites, social media, etc.

Curt Anderson  14:54

Yeah, I love that. So, alright, let’s go here. So Chris, we’re for a small manufacturer. You know you’re. A booming Are you introvert, extrovert? How would you I’m just teasing, definitely,

Chris Luecke  15:04

definitely extrovert. I know some, some people are tricky to figure out which, which direction they go, but there’s, there’s no fool in anyone.

Curt Anderson  15:11

Yeah, you are. You are the booming extrovert. So let’s, you know what I again, it wasn’t like upper management at rock wall or somebody’s like, hey Chris. Like you really need to, kind of, like, you know, get yourself out there, like you totally just took the bull by the horns and, like, you spearheaded this. You had the vision, you had the creation, right? And, and a major company supported you with that whole process, right? Yeah. I think, I

Chris Luecke  15:35

think the lesson here is, or what I would share, is, like, very, I feel like very rarely is someone going to come up to you and present the golden opportunity for you. People are going to need to go out there and create it themselves, you know. And I think one of the things that worked well with manufacturing Happy Hour was it was never part of my formal job, but it was something that I’m like, you know, hey, I you know, I have a voice. I have a customer base. I have the potential to build a community. One thing I need to make sure I do is make sure I align what I do with the brand voice in some way, shape or form. You know, you like, I think it’s important that people come off as their authentic selves. You don’t want to sound like you’re just regurgitating something that came off a marketing white paper. But I do think I always tell folks, you know, it’s a two way street, right? People who are employees at organizations, they need to be paying attention to, Hey, what is the brand voice? Right? You know, how does my company sound? And find a way to kind of merge that with your own voice, right? Because you want to be a good representative of who you’re working for, and that’s the ultimate way to create a win, win. And I share with marketing leaders, now that I give more talks on content strategy, it’s like, Hey, if you ever see someone that’s out there like starting to share content, do your best as a marketing organization, as the leadership of the company, if it’s more of like a small, medium sized manufacturing you just don’t have that large, you know, individual marketing infrastructure do your best to empower that individual to continue to share and continue to be a representative of the company, and continue to have a unique, a unique voice, but one that’s also on brand, right? The cool thing about social media is, if you share content like it’s going to be out there for a little bit, and then, more than likely, it’s going to disappear. So even if you say something that’s, you know, maybe there’s a different word your company would have used to describe something, hey, that post is going to disappear at some point, if you’re the marketing leader, or if you’re the executive at that organization, what I would do is just say, Hey, I love the content you’re doing. By the way, you know, we’ve got this new this new line coming out, or this is how we’re saying, you know, this is how we phrase things in this organization, you know, just, just collaborate with them, so that way they get it right on the next post. I mean, that’s kind of the way I think about it. It’s if you’re doing content right, it’s going to be an ongoing activity versus this is your one shot to say the right thing. And I think too many people, when they get on camera, that is their concern. They’re like, if I don’t say the right thing right now, I’ll never get an opportunity to say this again. It’s like, you could literally go on LinkedIn two hours later and post something else on LinkedIn. Yeah, the things you know attention would start going over there, and you post another thing tomorrow, you post another thing the next day, the next week, and you know, all of a sudden, you know, you’re building that body of work, and people look at your expertise and your insights and your values in the community you’ve built, not as a single post, but of the average of all the things you’re putting out there, right? And that’s kind of the way I think about content, if I’m just out there constantly trying to add value to my audience out there, and that’s that involves knowing my audience, what they care about, what their challenges are, what’s important to them, and building content that either helps bring my audience together, you know, showcases some insight that might help them, you know, either that day or maybe at some other point in time, just constantly keeping my eye on the ball in that regard.

Damon Pistulka  19:15

Yeah, and that’s, that’s a great point, because so many times you’re working with someone that hasn’t done a lot of content development, and they’re like, Oh, we we need this to do a video, and they’re ready to bring in all the lights and extra camera people and all this stuff. And I’m like, dude, just start. Yeah, yeah. Just start. Or posting. Oh, is this post format? Just start. Write, write your Thought for the Day, whatever it is, and get going, because everyone looks back at the beginning and goes, Oh, man, that was pretty rough. Yeah,

Chris Luecke  19:47

yeah. One of the things I try to do is, you know, just so I’m setting an example for the industry, is I try to create some posts that are really simple, right? Like, maybe just a couple sentences, no, like, no pictures. Like, I. Not everything has to look perfectly curated. If you you know, sometimes I think to myself, if I have, like, a moment of clarity that day, I’m like, huh, this might be helpful if I shared it with my audience. A lot of times I’ll, like, post it, maybe schedule it to go out the next day, just so I have time to do a gut check. It’s like, maybe that wasn’t as insightful anyway, you know, so sometimes that happens, but, you know, I just, I do that stuff to get it out there, right? Because there’s usually, I think, more damage, for lack of a better word in second guessing yourself, yeah, on a lot of the little things, like, I think, you know, for little things, it’s okay to make more of that gut reaction saying, hey, you know, I was just in this sales meeting, and I feel like this gave me clarity on something that I’ve been trying to learn as a salesperson for the past six years. I’m going to share that insight with you know, the industry on LinkedIn, not necessarily, and I want to be clear, like, if you’re coming out of a customer meeting, you don’t mention the customer name, right? Things like that. Just like, you know, I’ve been visiting a lot of customers for the past six months, and one thing that just hit me today was blank, right? And, you know, you you share that out. It could be as easy as that. I just, I wish more people would be willing to put out those, you know, those posts that are less than curated, or just, you know, film a video with their iPhone, sharing something they learned, because that’s how you build momentum. Because early on, no one’s paying attention, like you’ve got your LinkedIn network. They’ll, they’ll think it’s cool that you shared something. But here’s the reality, like that post is going to go away pretty soon.

Curt Anderson  21:37

Yeah, you do a phenomenal job. I like, you know, you mentioned, like, being authentic and just, you know, what you see with Chris Luecke is what you get, you know. And I don’t know if there’s anybody that’s a bigger brand advocate for US manufacturing. You’re just doing a phenomenal job, you know, stirring up young folks. And you also, you share a lot of personal stuff. You’re a music junkie, you know, you and I’ve talked about music on the show before. I believe you’re an avid traveler. How many countries are you right now? Chris,

Chris Luecke  22:02

I am at, oh gosh. Well, I think it’s 33 No, 3434 34 I went to 34 right before I turned 35 So in an ideal world, I’d be keeping up with my age I’ve been to, or, you know, my respective age, but you know, having traveled a lot now, like, I’m going back to a lot of my favorite spots, right? Like, you know, I’ve been back to London a handful of times. You won’t have to twist my arm too hard to get me to Berlin. So, but yes, 34 is the current country count.

Curt Anderson  22:36

Well, I’m a huge man. It’s one of my wife, my wife and I that my wife and myself, Berlin’s one of her favorite cities. Now, do I have this I like, as we’re talking and I could be wrong. You’re talking about post. I thought about a post, were you in Spain last summer, last year?

Chris Luecke  22:50

I was, yeah, I was, I was hiking the Camino

Curt Anderson  22:52

thing. And I have to was it with your dad? Yep, yep. So dude, like, all right, I want to talk about, I’m going totally off script right now from what I explained, but you so share. Let’s hit that for a minute. This is, this is more like heck with everybody else. This is just for me. So you take, you go to the Camino. Tell folks if they’re not familiar with de Santiago, am I pronouncing that correctly, or am I close? I probably butchered it. But

Chris Luecke  23:16

yeah, the the Camino de Santiago, yeah, it is, sure,

Curt Anderson  23:20

sure what it is. And like, Dude, you did it with your dad. Like, how cool is that? Yeah,

Chris Luecke  23:25

no, it was, it was awesome. Like, this is something my dad’s wanted to do for, you know, a long time. He’s been talking about it, probably for like, five years, and I’ve, I’ve been kind of nudging him, saying, Hey, we should, we should probably do this at some point, because I’m, you know, I’m pretty good about going on trips, right? Like, as long as I put a little bit of planning into it, like, I know the barrier between me and getting on the trail in Spain is not much more than an airfare and like a train to the right part of Spain, right? Like, there are ways to get there. Are ways to get there and make it happen. So you know that for a little context on the community Santiago. I believe it translates the way of Saint James, right? So it’s a pilgrimage that’s rooted in faith, rooted in Catholicism, I believe is the the right way to describe it. But, you know, it’s evolved over time, right? Where you know, regardless of you know your your background, right? You know, folks are going out there as a pill, like it’s a pilgrimage to gain clarity reflect whatever it may be. There’s, there’s a great movie out there called the way, which is about an individual that goes on the trek after the tragic passing of his son. I’m trying to remember. I think it’s a Martin Sheen is the main character in that movie. I think, I think you’re exactly right, yep. So, you know, there’s a lot, there’s, there’s pop culture around this that, you know, a lot of travelers around the world, they’re very familiar with it. So there are lots of reasons to go on the Camino, but, you know, to kind of weave this into a bit of a. A brand topic, if you will. You know, I was, I was on vacation, right? So I wasn’t out there posting a lot of LinkedIn stuff, but I did share a post, you know, saying, hey, my dad and I are out here to track the Camino, you know, just kind of, you know, mixing in that personal element of my life a little bit. And that post got a lot of visibility, right? And, you know, it was a great track. I love traveling. Love experiencing the cuisine somewhere. I’ve done a lot of other treks in my life, in Patagonia and the Canadian back country. So, you know, walking through a more populated part of Spain was, was certainly an easier trek than some of those ones where I’ve been really off the beaten path. But long story short, you know, it was an awesome trip. We got to go to Portugal afterwards as well, like, just a great time all around but when I came back, you know, I went to a couple of industry events, right? I was at which one was it? I went to pack Expo down in Chicago. I went to automation fair out in Southern California. And each time I bumped into, you know, a couple people that had, like seen that I had been on that track, right? And it was all of a sudden, it was something different that didn’t have that beyond just, hey, here’s what I think about content strategy right now, or hey, here’s what I think about building community. Or hey, here’s what I think about automation. It was a different way to build a relationship with someone, strengthen a relationship with someone, build trust, build rapport, whatever it is with someone, because they had seen that social post and it had translated to a real world conversation that we connected over the next time we saw one another. Because I talked to a handful of people, it’s like, Oh, I did that, you know, you know, X number of years ago. Or, Hey, I’ve always wanted to do it. I think it’s so cool that you went on that trip with your dad. So just a lot of different ways that you know, being a little vulnerable, sharing a little bit about your life outside of what you do for work, can, I mean, it translates back into building trust and relationships in in your day job as well. It’s pretty cool. Yeah,

Curt Anderson  27:04

and same here. And so I, you know, obviously I found your you come up on my feed frequently, and I was following your trip, and I’m very tight with my dad. Damon, you had an amazing relationship with your dad. And I just, it just completely warmed my heart to see that you had an opportunity with your dad while your dad’s still here with us. Because, like, dads don’t stay, you know, around forever and and, you know, and health comes and goes. And so dude, I just, and, like, you’re saying, it’s not always about business. So like Damon, we talk with a lot of manufacturers, very, you know, might be resistant to get on LinkedIn. Don’t want to talk about anything personal, but Chris, I just, I love how you’re sharing that and you’re just being your true self, like, these are things you would talk about if I met you in person. You’re not doing anything different online. Yeah,

Chris Luecke  27:50

you know what I kind of realized over time was like, I don’t, I don’t need to turn LinkedIn to Facebook, right? There’s, there’s a different way I use LinkedIn versus other social social media platforms, but I tend to mix in things from my personal life for my hobbies as easter eggs in some of my broader posts. Right? A lot of times it’s like, you know, mentioning something about music or mentioning something about craft beer, all these things that are on my list of of things I love during my spare time. And you know that that over time, people like, oh man, Chris is a craft fan of craft beer, or, wow, Chris is really into punk rock and things like that. And that gives you, it’s just something that allows you to relate to certain people within your audience on a different level. And it doesn’t really alienate anyone else, if they’re if you know, if you know, for example, like, I’m not a hunter, but I know a lot of people that hunt, right? Like, if I did that, I’d probably have that as a report builder, right? Everyone has different things that are going to overlap with with their different comrades, if you will. Yeah,

Curt Anderson  28:54

yeah. I absolutely love that. So I want to slide in here. I want to talk one more question about your business. Then we’re going to dive into the industrial marketing summit again. If you’re just joining us, we’re over the top of the hour. We’re here with Chris Luecke manufacturing happy hour. Please do yourself a favor. Connect with Chris on LinkedIn. Stop by his website, manufacturing happy hour. So Chris, you said that you’re kind of like, you know, podcast entertainment. Now back to I recall you guys did a big event, and I think you put on, like, you had, like, a 90s little concert thing. Did I see that correctly? Yeah. Or, like, All right, so like, talk a little bit when you say, like, Hey, we’re kind of becoming, like, a little bit of entertainment company. Talk about, like, some of the previous events. And then I know you’ve got some big events coming up. Let’s, let’s go there, yeah?

Chris Luecke  29:38

So it’s, it’s funny that you bring up the concert, because that was something completely different, right? Yeah, never, never done something like that before. And to an extent, that’s exactly why I wanted to do it. Because I’m like, you know, people, people love going to see live music, right? And they want to go to, you know, people like going to proper concerts, not like, Hey, we’re at an after party at a conference. There’s a band playing in the corner, right? That’s just kind of there for some filler, and which is all well and good, right? Nothing wrong with that. But I’m like, what if we threw an event where the purpose was to go and rock out and see the band and be really into the music, and that was the whole thought process. And the other piece of is, hey, people are traveling for work. They don’t always have. You know when you’re traveling for work, right? You Your time is limited, especially if you have kids, you know. So when you’re out, this might be your only opportunity to go to a concert, if you will, or to do that really fun thing. So I’m like, it doesn’t always just have to be a networking happy hours, like, let’s start mixing in comedy nights. Let’s start mixing in concerts. So that way, when you are traveling, you can still have those unique, authentic experiences that don’t feel like a corporate event. You know that you know, especially if you’re in your 30s or 40s and you’re raising a family, you probably don’t have time to go out as much anymore. So yeah, hey, but if you’re having to travel for work anyway, let’s make use of those three or four days where you’re outside of the house, not only get a lot of stuff done, but also, let’s give you the opportunity to have some fun in a way that you’d really you know that that you’d do, that you do it if you had the time to go out and things like that. So that was, that was kind of the vibe there. We had 150 people show up to this old school punk rock club in Chicago. Just, just a ton of fun all around, you know. So we’ll, we’ll be doing more stuff like that. I do have other events coming up that will, some that are more traditional happy hours, others that are going to kind of change the game again. So lot of fun stuff on the horizon.

Damon Pistulka  31:37

Awesome. I do have to, I do have to go here. You’re a craft beer enthusiast, right? So you’re walking into a brewery. You’re excited about what they got on tap. Where are you going?

31:53

Ooh, anywhere in the world.

Damon Pistulka  31:55

No, I mean, what are you looking for on their menu? On there, they’re 10 or so of theirs that are up there. Which ones are you looking at? First, great

Chris Luecke  32:04

question. So my beer preferences do evolve and kind of shift over time. I’m into certain beers at different times, you know, as now that I have, you know, been in a craft beer enthusiast for like, around 15 years now, I would say some of the tried and true ones are IPAs, just because there’s so much variety under that category. But when someone asks me, it’s like, Hey, what’s your what’s your favorite beer? What’s your favorite style of beer? What’s your favorite specific beer? I am looking for something to answer your question. I’m looking for something local first and foremost, right? If I can find something I haven’t had before, or if I can find one of my favorite beers that might only be available in that city, whether that city is Austin, Texas, San Francisco, California, whether it’s an old favorite or something new, I’m getting something that more than likely you can only get in that region. Yep. The other thing I like to say is my favorite beer in general, are seasonal beers, beers that pair well with that moment in time. Like, if it’s a, you know, since we’re going to Austin soon, you know, won’t be 100 degrees, but if it’s 100 degrees in the middle of summer in Austin, I’m going for a lager, because that’s going to taste refreshing cold. Like, that’s what you need at that point in time. If I’m hanging out in Milwaukee right now, you know, it’s cold, it’s it’s below 32 degrees Fahrenheit right now. So I’m probably going to go with something darker, more fuller bodied in that case, and that that can range right that could be anything from a really piney IPA to a, you know, a barrel aged stout, or even something like, like a short spear, like a dark German lager. So that whole answer was an opportunity for me just to name drop a lot of styles that I enjoy. But no, that’s, that’s, that’s my very I realized I didn’t really give you a specific answer. I basically said, You did everything. That’s kind

Damon Pistulka  34:02

of what it did. You did. You did local, seasonal. Start there,

Curt Anderson  34:07

local and seasonal. And you know what else he did? Damon, very, very, I tell you, Chris Luecke is like, you know when the most, most fascinating guys? Because now, when we’re in Austin, anybody that caught this now they know what to buy him when they’re at the right Chris, he kind of teed it up. Now they know, buy something local, something seasonal, when you’re buying crystal beer, and he’ll be happy. So how about that stuff? Good stuff. Alright, let’s dive into the industrial marketing Summit is coming up. My goodness gracious, just next week, next Wednesday, right? My Where did time go? Do I have that right? It’s a week next week. The

Speaker 1  34:40

week after we got we got two weeks, but it is sneaking up fast.

Speaker 2  34:43

Yeah, today, I gotta look at my calendar. Is the 10th today?

Curt Anderson  34:47

So alright. So the week after, it’s two weeks, right? Two weeks. Alright, thank you. Chris Manny, I panicked there for a minute. I’m like, wait, okay, alright. So, 2627 28 let’s take a look, and let’s go to the website. I. And Chris, I do believe you did a wonderful session last year. You were moderating a great session. Let’s talk a little bit about, first off, your insight, your thoughts from the industrial marketing summit from last year. What was your takeaway from last year? Best

Chris Luecke  35:17

event we could have done in the industrial marketing space like it was for especially, I mean, the whole team behind it has done an incredible job this year, did an outstanding job last year, because this was the first last year was the first time it was its own standalone event. It used to be like a side event that was part of Content Marketing World, but last year was the first time it was a standalone event. And I am always impressed when anyone just absolutely knocks out of the park with, you know, let’s say the with the first year the event, right? You know, it for a lot of events, I would expect there to be, like, a little hiccups, right? If this is your first time doing it, not the case with the industrial marketing Summit. It was incredibly well executed. And then just beyond, like, things going smoothly in the in the schedule being full of relevant, timely content. It was a who’s who in industrial marketing, in the US, like it pretty much anyone that’s anyone in this space was there. And that’s not to make someone feel left out if they didn’t go last year. But you know, being able to just riff with people that are in many cases, you know, I think the thing about industrial marketing is we are not always the, well, I run my own company, so I’ll keep myself out of this, but industrial marketers are not always the heroes that they should be within an organization, right? Because if industrial marketing is done right, and is done with, you know, some ingenuity and it’s unique, it’s a revenue driver, right? It is not sales support. It is not create, you know, making a white paper, a PowerPoint, look good, and handing it off to the sales team, it is a revenue driver in its own right, where the marketing leaders understand what the goals of the company are, who they want to reach, and create a content strategy that ultimately results in brand recognition and leads. So I’m going down this path because I think the most important part about this event is the quality of folks there. And if you are a marketer, that might be a one person show at your company. This is a spot to rub shoulders with other people that are on larger marketing teams. Maybe they’re in the same boat, right? But this is a place to build your alliance, your alliances of other industrial marketers that can help you out and you can exchange ideas with that will last all year long. So I think it’s incredibly important in that regard,

Curt Anderson  37:41

absolutely love it. And as a matter of fact, might be little hard to tell right there, but if you take a peek like There’s Chris Luecke right there moderating his session, it was a phenomenal session. Damon So Eddie Sanders was on stage. Let’s see who, who else was on stage with you that day.

Chris Luecke  37:58

Nikki Gonzalez and Jordan Yates, that was our panel. Yeah,

Curt Anderson  38:03

your pan, I’ll tell you, man, it was a powerhouse. Jordan was, as a matter of fact, Jordan came on the show Damon last year, like two weeks after, after she presented, and so Nikki’s been on the show. Just Dynamo. Let’s dive into this year. So some phenomenal speakers. Chris, you know this. Have you ever met this guy before? Do you know him? Just

Speaker 1  38:21

just a few times? Yeah, he’s okay. He’s okay. He’s a keeper,

Curt Anderson  38:26

right? So we’ve got some phenomenal speakers. Uh, Dale was just on the show last week. He is just an absolute powerhouse. Can’t wait. I mean, I’d say just we go right down line. But Chris, just share a little bit. What are you going to be talking about at the Industrial Marketing Summit.

Chris Luecke  38:41

Yeah. So the session, as folks looking at the screen can see, is how to host an unforgettable live event with a massive digital impact. And if I were to summarize what this discussion is about, in fact, I’m looking at my notes from it right here. I’ve got the whole thing written out, and it’s, it’s going to be, it’s a talk I’ve never given before, but I’m, I’m excited to debut it at the Industrial Marketing Summit. I would say the biggest preview I can give folks right now is that this, this session, is meant to be a mindset shift around how you go about planning, promoting and executing an event before, during and after that event. So that way, you can turn the event life cycle into like a three month endeavor that engages your community, gets your brand out there and creates a lot of excitement that you wouldn’t if you were just doing a typical webinar, if you will. Right? So I’m a big believer in, you know, doing community first events, right? You know, don’t make the event about yourself. Make it about the people that are going to be there. So, you know, for example, when I do podcast tours and we do a live podcast, we’ve got some coming up in Indianapolis and Columbus, you know, we’re going to make it about the Columbus manufacturing. Community. We’re going to make it about the Indianapolis manufacturing community. So keep a community first approach and promote document, take photos, all of these type of things, because, hey, right after this call, I’m about to really like put out the event artwork. I’m going to put the links to the events. I’m going to start that hype, right? That’s going to be one of the impressions the event makes, right? I’m going to be talking about it for the three weeks leading up to it. What type of partners we’re bringing to the table, what type of nonprofits we’re bringing to the table for these events. At the event, there’s going to be photographers, videographers. It’s going to be a content creation event in and of itself. You take photos, you make those photos available to folks that are there so they can share them as well. I say all this because what this turns into is it’s not just an event that takes place from 5pm to 8pm after work on a Tuesday. It is an extravaganza that engages your community and also is plastered across your digital channels, across social media and hey, maybe that results in a new email list. Maybe that results in some brand awareness that pays off a year from now, but it’s just a way to shift your mindset around an event. It’s not just the thing that occurs after work at one moment in time, but it can be something that you build into your content strategy, and depending on the size of the event, for a three to six month period of time. I just

Curt Anderson  41:23

absolutely love this and be great. So I mean, it can be either a physical event. Can be a major conference. It can be your own event. And again, like, when you look at like what you’ve done, like you’ve just completely created your own opportunities with manufacturing happy hour. Are you podcasting from the industrial marketing

Chris Luecke  41:39

Summit? I will at the at the party on Thursday night. I’ll be recording a couple podcasts there live. So if you want to sit in our area and listen in to what we’re talking about, it’ll be focused on, you know, we’re going to be talking about marketing for small companies. We’re going to be talking about marketing for enterprise. And we’re also going to be diving into a bit of the martech that’s out there right now as well. So it’ll be a nice little smorgasbord of topics. Really looking forward to that. Well,

Curt Anderson  42:04

absolutely love it. Chris and for a shameless plug, we’re going to be going live ourselves on our, I think Thursday, there’s like a break at 230 so I’d love to have you available. Get you on stage with us. We’re just going to do a little rapid fire. I think you’re, you’re with us last year, right? You?

Chris Luecke  42:19

Yeah, yeah. I jumped on. And I’m looking forward to being a part of that party, so to speak, this year as well.

Curt Anderson  42:25

Yeah. So Jeff, well, I, I’m bringing Jeff Long because last year, man, Damon, I just like, I have a really pathetic, like, setup, and so I’m bringing Jeff Long’s got more muscle with the camera. So we’ll have Jeff Long this year. How about Chris? Let’s go here. You know, we, we mentioned, I want to give a little love. Little shout out to Joe Sullivan, the entire team at gorilla 76 Wendy COVID, true marketing, we had a couple of two of their teammates around the show Friday. Yep, got Adam from cadenas. Just little shout out to the folks on like, what you know, just think what it takes to put this event on right? Like you’re the party planner, you know what it takes. Let’s give a little shout out, what’s your perspective for those guys? Yeah,

Chris Luecke  43:02

in terms of what it take, like, what it like, what it takes to put on the event like, you know, you know, the nice, the nice thing is, they’re very savvy marketers as well. So, you know, they they know what they’re doing when they put on these events. But what it takes to pull it off, it takes a great team. It takes being organized. Takes picking, like, you know, it takes focusing on the details, right? You got to get a venue that feels comfortable. You got to get spots for the after parties that feel comfortable, that are engaging, that are unique, curating the right list of speakers. But I think it goes back to one of the earlier points that I was making. Is it, you know, you got to know your audience, right? What are they most interested in? What is going to get someone to sign up and say, Hey, I’m making the investment of money. I’m making the investment of time, you know? What are the things that are going to entice them to get there? And then, once they’re there, how are you going to deliver on that? And by creating the agenda that they have with the team they have, you know, they’ve, they’ve created a bulletproof team, a bulletproof like, list of activities to make sure that the event is going to be a success. That’s the thing that I would say, that that team does really, really well in terms of putting this together. Yeah,

Curt Anderson  44:18

I totally agree. And I think if anybody’s on the bubble if you’re on the fence, you know, go back if you’re, if you’re, if you’re just catching us. Now, hit that little replay button, but Chris, I think you hit it right on the head. It’s not just the amazing speakers, the energy, the innovation, the creativity, but just like rubbing elbows with each other in halls, you know people that you’ve you know you and I had a relationship for years. We get, finally get to high five and hug it up in person. It just, it just such a wonderful event. So I know you’re a busy dude, and I’m keeping it. We’re going to start winding down here events that you have coming up on the horizon that you want to share for folks. Where can we catch catch Chris Lukey on top of the industrial marketing Summit? Where else

Chris Luecke  44:56

can we catch you? Yeah, so, so actually, that week I’m doing two events, so I’m starting. Week at the Midwest manufacturers trade show and summit in Branson, Missouri. So not there, kicking off that event with Drew Crowe, uh, we’ll be taking the stage together there. So that is February, 24 through 26th then I’m heading right down to the industrial marketing summit after that, which is the 26th through 28th I believe. Is

Curt Anderson  45:23

that correct? 26 through 28 That’s correct? Yep. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, yep. So

Chris Luecke  45:27

the week after that, we go on the first manufacturing happy hour tour of the year, which is going to be the 2025 winter tour. It’s the blizzard bash. I’m teaming up with Clifton Larson Allen and the Association for advancing automation on that on march 3 through sixth, we’re going to Kalamazoo, Michigan on the third. We’re going to Indianapolis, Indiana on the fourth, Columbus, Ohio on the fifth, and Toledo, Ohio on the sixth. So back to back to back to back. It’s going to be a big week. They’re gonna, you know, in In addition there, there are quite a few. So I’ll do the abbreviated version here. We got an after party at pro Matt on March 18. We’ve got an event at in Rothschild, Wisconsin on april 24 a comedy night in Boston on April 30, a special surprise party in manufacturing, Happy Hour on May 10. More details coming on that soon, that’s in Milwaukee. And then on May 13, at automate, I’m teaming up with uh Jay call, who we saw earlier on the screen. Uh, we’re doing our annual extra innings after party at automate. So nice. There’s a lot going on between now and and May, and I’m looking forward to all of it. And

Curt Anderson  46:46

Chris, best way for folks to kind of, if any, if anybody’s in any of those cities or available, available or interested in catching your events, can just connect with you on LinkedIn, follow your website. Is that best?

Chris Luecke  46:59

I think the best spot actually is go to manufacturing Happy hour.com/tour that’ll take you to our event page. That’s where you can get tickets register for all the events that have been released so far. We just posted the spring tour there. So manufacturing Happy hour.tour.com/tour is usually the best spot to go to access the events that I am I am hosting directly, right? Um, of course. Check out the Industrial Marketing Summit. Check out the Midwest manufacturers trade show and conference, but manufacturing Happy hour.com/tour, that’s the best way to find me in the parties that I’m throwing.

Curt Anderson  47:36

Alright, you know, so super fast. Let’s see, did I? Did I catch it? Am I at the

Chris Luecke  47:41

right place? Yep, you got it? Yep, that’s our so scroll down. You’ll see all our events are down there. So, and if you have any doubts of our ability to throw a party, you can see all of our past events as well. So it’s it’s going to be a good time. This

Curt Anderson  47:57

is phenomenal. And Damon, I love it. Damon, we’ve actually had somebody from Clifton, Larson Allen on the show before, so that was cool to hear. Hear those guys are supporting you. So that is absolutely wonderful. So alright, Chris, as we wind down, my last question for you, I’m going to stop sharing. So again. Chris Luecke, LinkedIn, go to manufacturing Happy hour.com. You want to catch those events? Just throw a little black backslash. Through on tour, and you’re going to catch any of those events if you’re in one of those cities, man, you do not want to miss this great place in network. Wonderful way to meet new friends and just meet the one and only. Chris Lukey, Chris, going from like rock wall automation, you’ve lived, you’ve been all over the world, all these countries. You just did the Camino with your dad, as you were building up your business, this entrepreneurial journey that you started about 1516, months ago, could you please share what’s the best business advice that you’ve ever received that you has really helped elevate your business and or that you want to share with a new entrepreneur? Best business advice that you’ve ever received?

Chris Luecke  49:01

Yeah, I’m trying to, trying to go through the Rolodex of great pieces of advice that I’ve received. You know, there are a lot I’m going to share one that I don’t always share, because this one, this one’s pretty pragmatic. But, you know, I built a business that’s really built around a lot of my passions, right? Like throwing events. There’s some craft beer mixed in, you know, podcasting is mixed in. One of the best pieces of advice I got from Mike chroma key when I was collaborating with him on one of my first startups was, you know, I was, I was trying to figure out where to spend my time. And he was saying, it’s like, Hey, you gotta, you gotta pay attention to where the money’s coming from. And I say that because, you know, it’s, it’s not, that’s not to say, Hey, you’re all you’re focused on is the money, right? But when you have a lot of competing priorities, it. Is really important to keep in mind, like, Where, where are the opportunities that are going to pay the bills? Right? Who are the partners that, that I work with, that we just create this big win, win for one another, and both of our businesses succeed in the process, right? With all the things that can distract a business owner, you know, I think understanding where the money is coming from, and making sure you’re putting time into that is incredibly important. And that could be where the money is coming from short term as well as where the money is coming from long term as well. That’s not to confuse, you know, just short term thinking with with long term results, right? You got to be thinking of both. But I do think, especially for an entrepreneur that might be getting overwhelmed with all the different things they could be doing, the different directions they could be going in, it’s a great way to take a quick reset and say, what are the things that’s going to allow my business to survive? Right? Like you got you got to sit you got to sit down and look at the things that you know I need to do these activities so that way this business will grow and be viable for the next six months, year, five years, etcetera. So that would be the piece of advice I would share today. I know there are others that other pieces of advice out there that I could have gone in those directions as well, but we’ll end with that one for today.

Curt Anderson  51:14

Well, drop the mic, my friend. That is brilliant advice, and it sounds, you know, I love the line where, you know, it’s not always, it’s it’s easy. How do they say it it’s simple, but it’s not always easy, you know. And it’s hard to decipher when you’re solopreneur, entrepreneur, you know, like, Hey, what are, you know, I call em like those time wasters, profit killers, where you think it’s a priority, but maybe there’s other things that you should be focusing on. So, brilliant advice. I thank you for that. We’re going to close down Damon thoughts, takeaways, what do you what are your thoughts from this wonderful, incredible conversation with Chris?

Damon Pistulka  51:46

Luke, yeah, I just Chris. It’s awesome talking to you and hearing how you transitioned, you know, from your sales career, into what you’re doing now that really feels your passion, you know, interacting with your passion and helping manufacturers all in one. It really is inspirational to hear your story and what you’re doing now and helping people, because it does make a huge difference. You’re bringing the younger generation into manufacturing. You’re bringing people into a community that really can talk about some things that they may not have places to do that otherwise, honestly and in fun settings. So it’s awesome to hear what you’re doing. Yeah, and

Curt Anderson  52:22

was, was a Zig Ziglar said, if you pursue your passion, you never work a day in your life. And you know, like, when you see, like the music of like you said, the craft brew, your passion for manufacturing and just, you know what, and just your unapologetic commitment to building community. And you do it with integrity. You do with authenticity. And for that, I’m going to invite everybody to give Chris Lukey a big round of applause. How about a stain innovation for Chris Luke today, Chris, I appreciate you. I cannot wait to see you. I’m going to see you, and I’m glad you. I’m glad you correct me, because I would have been hanging out in Austin next week wondering where everybody was right. So I will see you in two weeks, dude, I’ve got a big high five waiting for you. Hang out with us for one second, and I just want to share with everybody. Man, just go out and be someone’s inspiration, just like this young guy, and you’re going to make the world a better place. So Chris, thank you. We’ll see you in two weeks. Guys, have a great rest of your week. Damon and I will be back here Friday. God bless and just keep crushing it, man. So see you.

53:19

Have a great week, everyone. You.