ZEMZ Events: Creating community

Creating Community

ZEMZ Events helped others pivot during the pandemic

BY PAUL LARA

plara@insidenova.com

Yahaira Stewart has a knack for creating community. Better known to friends as Yahya, Stewart, who hails from “the west side” of Manassas, has been coordinating gatherings since 2006, when she owned a company called REC Productions.

Much of her focus then was on planning splashy events and club life at signature Washington establishments.

In 2008, a motorcycle accident forced her to reassess her life.

“I had children, yet I’m living like I’m single with no worries,” Stewart said.

After a hiatus, she picked up event planning in 2016. “Event planning was my passion, and I enjoyed making people happy. It started with weddings and birthdays, and then I pivoted when I realized I was helping other business owners showcase products to the community.”

As a small-business owner herself, she realized she didn’t want to go to Alexandria or Washington. “I wanted to do what I did in my backyard, and I saw the need for event vendor showcases here.”

In 2018, she had her first community event in Manassas. Her outreach was so successful that Stewart said her entire next year would be booked by August – and then the pandemic arrived.

COVID-19 caused a need to pivot – and quickly. Stewart said her savior was the Prince William Chamber of Commerce. She knew how to set up virtual spaces, and the chamber helped get her name out there.

“Had I not had the chamber backing me, it wouldn’t have happened,” she said.

Her virtual platform mimicked a live vendor showcase, and each vendor got a suite with a gallery.

Debbie Jones, president of the Prince William Chamber, said she was impressed with Stewart’s ability to turn on a dime.

“We had started doing – overnight – virtual events and she was extremely helpful with my office,” Jones said. “She pivoted her business overnight.”

Ellie Goldstein, one of Stewart’s clients, said it was not just Yahya’s knowledge of event management that drew her in; it was something more intimate.

“She sets up vendor events – which is great – but she goes beyond and introduces you to other incredible business owners in the area,” Goldstein said. “I’ve made so many incredible connections through that.”

Goldstein, an oncology nurse who lives in Vienna, noticed that many of her recovering chemotherapy patients were getting amazing results with some skin care products, and she started selling those, which then led to her teaching her peers how to use social media. But Stewart helped her connect with a larger community.

“She’s one of those people that are less about her agenda and more about the people that come to her for help,” Goldstein said. “Yahyah has connected me to a lot of people who needed a lot of coaching. I don’t know what it is about her, but she’s so forward about ‘let’s all help each other,’ and I’ve watched her grow because of that. She collaborated with people and lifted them up.”

Angela Schwartz, a yoga teacher in Bristow, could

Yahya Stewart, owner of ZEMZ Events and More, shows off her 2021 award from the Prince William Chamber of Commerce. ZEMZ Events was named the top emerging business of the year.

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barely contain her excitement when asked to explain what ZEMZ Events and More had done for her. In 2019, Schwartz, who had been a Prince William County Public Schools special educator for years, obtained her certificate to teach yoga, and then signed on with a local studio.

Schwartz says she is a habitual list-maker, noting that she likes to turn a to-do list into a “tada” list, and when acronyms pop in her head she adds it to her list. CEO kept appearing, but she didn’t know why. At a retreat with other ZEMZ members, she recalled how Stewart framed the team.

“‘Come to my event’ is a totally different feeling than ‘We are CEOS in the community and how are we going to come together?’ That is the essence of connection, engagement and sharing opportunities. At that moment, I realized that it is about CommUnity,” said Schwartz. Thus was born the next iteration of ZEMZ Events: CommUnity CEOs.

The continual sharing of ideas within the community is what Schwartz said allowed the unexpected to become possible.

“On a Monday, as everyone sheltered at home, I was told I was no longer needed at my studio,” Schwartz said, “but I didn’t want to stop teaching, so I realized ‘meet me on my mat’ means I can continue to serve my existing students. On Wednesday, my students were waiting for class to begin [online]. It happened seamlessly, and it’s been continuing for more than a year.”

Goldstein said Stewart’s selfless sense of community has allowed her to succeed.

“Yahya is particularly helpful to sole proprietors and women of color. She doesn’t oversell people on what they don’t need,” Goldstein said. “She’s is relational over transactional – that’s what I love about her, and that’s who I love to be. I wish more people were like her.”

Schwartz said it’s the perfect example of how caring resilience can infect a community – in a wonderful way.

“She doesn’t skip a beat; she figures out how to make it work,” she added. “She pulls people together in a way that never feels like we’re working – it feels like a community coming together, and it’s more about sharing skills and passions and talents than it is selling anything. It’s really beautiful.”

“I don’t know what it is about her, but she’s so forward about ‘let’s all help each other,’ and I’ve watched her grow because of that.”

—ELLIE GOLDSTEIN, TALKING ABOUT YAHYA STEWART

Ellie Goldstein, left, looks at gift boxes, while Angela Schwartz conducts a yoga session at one of ZEMZ Events’ business showcases in August. COURTESY ZEMZ EVENTS AND MORE