Alexis Totin is the General Manager of Music City Tents and Events in Nashville, Tennessee. She oversees 38 employees and reports to the COO. She started at the company as a receptionist and worked her way up through various roles over 14 years. Her background includes a marketing degree from Auburn University. As General Manager, her typical day includes warehouse work, job interviews, routing deliveries and pickups, and operational meetings. She emphasizes the importance of networking, following through, and using internships to gain experience.

1. PRACTITIONER
INTERVIEW
Interviewing: AlexisTotin
By: ShelbyVandenbergh

2. General Manager at Music CityTents and
Events
■ Promoting and Representing the company
■ Warehouse, jobsite
■ Constantly networking
■ Promotes for more business
■ Competitors
■ Marketing the company

3. Where the job starts
Place
order
Delivery &
pickup
Follow up Check in
• Best possible service
• Experience
• Best in the business

4. Organization Structure: Executive
ManagementTeam
Report to the COO
AlexisTotin
38 employees

5. Connections
■ Started as a personal trainer in Nashville
■ Client saw dedication
■ Asked her to work at Music CityTents
■ Started at the bottom and worked her way up
– Receptionist
– HR manager
– General manager

6. School Background
■ Marketing Major from Auburn University
■ Learned how to market herself
■ Became a good candidate for jobs
■ Personal selling, Sales Management, etc. became beneficial to her and her career

7. Life as an Intern
■ Interned at the College of Business at Auburn University
■ Taught how to work quickly and efficiently
■ Learned what it took to be successful
■ Prepared for her career
■ Business classes proved to be helpful even though she never thought they would with
this position

8. Typical Day
■ Fast paced
■ Hands on in the warehouse
■ Goes through previous day orders
■ 3-4 job interviews for new people to join their team
■ Routing deliveries and pickups for the next day
■ Picking which crew members go where
■ Operational issues
■ Meetings & jobsites

9. Highlights of Job
■ Working with people
■ Providing opportunities
■ Problem solving of operations
■ Make quick decisions

10. Lows of Job
■ Operational mistakes
– Really have to work hard on the PR of this so the public knows to use us even when
we make the occasional mistake

11. How do you define public relations in
your job?
“To me public relations is the relationship between the public and the company.”

12. What are some of the most significant
trends/issues affecting MCT today?
■ Big weddings
■ Rising in Nashville
■ Have to be innovative with the new wedding trends that come to us

13. What are some things you wish you had
known?
■ The power of networking
■ Personable & respectful
■ Follow through with your words

14. Advice to our class
■ Meet as many people as you can
■ You never know where one conversation will lead you
■ Would not be where she is today without training the owner of MCT

15. Internships at MCT
■ Always looking
■ Interns in sales department and operations department
■ Look for:
– Individuals who are not afraid to put themselves out there and to make mistakes
– Determination
– Get where they want to be