March 11, 2025 • 20 mins
Jessica and Deanna, owners of Social Bee Events, share their journey from friendship to business partnership, explaining how they transformed a passion for event planning into a thriving business during the pandemic.
• Started as Jessica's solo venture for grazing tables and catering in 2019, before partnering with Deanna in 2020
• Target clients are busy professionals who want memorable events but lack time to plan them
• Differentiate themselves through visual presentation and professional expertise similar to specialized mechanics
• Instagram serves as their primary marketing tool due to the visual nature of their business
• The New Year's Eve party they planned demonstrates their ability to transform spaces completely
• Learning when to say "no" to clients who aren't the right fit has been an important business lesson
• Their professional success relies on building a trusted network of reliable vendors
• Partnership that allows flexibility when personal challenges arise has been crucial to their longevity
Find Social Beat Events on their website socialbeedfw.com or on all social platforms @socialbeedfw.
🎙 Market It With ATMA Podcast
Brought to you by Advent Trinity Marketing Agency
www.adventtrinity.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Storie (00:14):
Welcome back to Market it with Atma, where we share the
tips, tools and strategies tohelp your business be successful
.
Today we have on the showowners of Social Beat Events,
jessica and Deanna.
Welcome everyone.
Deanna (00:29):
Thanks for having us.
Storie (00:32):
So can you guys tell us one?
You're co-owners, so each ofyou own a portion of the
business.
How did you guys envision thiscompany?
Did you envision it?
Did you stumble upon it?
Can you tell us a little bitabout how it all started?
Jessica (00:53):
So it started out me by myself just doing grazing
tables and catering differentthings.
I did catering managementbefore that and decided to
strike out on my own and kind ofquickly realized that it's a
lot to take on myself.
And so me and Deanna have beenfriends since seventh grade and
I asked her, you know, to comeand help me with some stuff, and
then eventually coerced herinto continuing to do it with me
(01:15):
every day.
So how long ago was that?
That was in 2019.
And in 2020 was whenever wecame together.
Storie (01:25):
Wow.
So you're not only an eventplanner, you're also a chef, is
that correct, jessica?
Yes, so.
Jessica (01:31):
I've been in the restaurant industry for years
doing different events fordifferent companies and just
kind of found a love in that.
Storie (01:42):
Yeah, so can you guys tell us a little more about what
exactly y'all do?
What's your clientele and howdid?
What separates you from otherevent coordinators or event
planners?
Jessica (01:53):
So I think definitely our our clientele which took us
a while to figure out exactlywho that was is people that are
generally too busy or have a lotof other things going on, but
they want to plan a successfulevent that makes it memorable
for their guests.
So we have a strong emphasis onour clients being happy with
(02:16):
their guests being happy andmaking sure that the guest
experience is there for sure.
So most of our clients are goingto be people office managers
for corporate things that that'snot really their first job.
Their job is to manage theoffice, not to plan an event or
come up with different cateringoptions and everything.
Or you know, we have a lot ofdoctors and lawyers that are.
(02:39):
They work 50 hours a weeksometimes, but on the weekends
they really want to do somethingfun.
So they come up with granderplans for things and execute it
for them.
So they don't have to worryabout it.
They just have to get dressedand show up.
Storie (02:53):
Wow.
So you guys kind of follow astringent process of how you go
through onboarding a client,seeing if they're a good fit for
you, and then playing it out.
So, deanna, can you kind ofwalk us through what the first
portion of that looks like,whether it's a corporate event
or like a wedding you all doweddings as well yeah, we do
weddings, we do a private event,normally what it is.
Deanna (03:14):
I have a more background in sales, so normally I do the
first meeting with our clientsjust to kind of get a feel of
what they're wanting, what vibethey're wanting, what they're
needing from us, how we can helpthem.
Storie (03:30):
And I take all that information and then we discuss
it together and then we'll sendthem a price quote.
Okay, Okay, great.
And then kind of back to myquestion earlier what's to
separate you all once you getyour client kind of onboarded
and you discuss it?
What separates you guys from mehiring my sister-in-law to plan
the event and you guys planningmy event?
I know, with your background infood and the restaurant
(03:53):
industry, your presentation is akey point for you guys.
Jessica (03:57):
Yes.
So definitely what reels peoplein with our business is usually
our presentation.
It's a very visual business.
Whenever somebody walks into anevent, they really want that
wow factor to it and that goesback to, you know, the guest
experience of everything.
But what a lot of people don'tunderstand with hiring somebody
that's professional versushiring you know you're not even
(04:20):
hiring, just getting your auntto do it Is.
It's the same thing as like amechanic, like are you going to
take, if you drive a BMW?
Are you going to take your BMWto some shop that you don't know
that's going to work on it, orare you going to take it back to
the dealership that you got itfrom, who has expertise and who
knows what they're doing?
I know lots of people havestarted crafts before where
(04:42):
they're like I can do thatmyself, and they end up spending
thousands of dollars on all ofthese gadgets and little things.
And then you know they eitherget tired of it or they decide
that it's not for them.
It's kind of the same thingwith an event.
If you're not hiring the rightvendors and you're not getting
the right people in place,there's no way to stay on budget
, there's no way to have an ideaof what you're doing and have a
(05:04):
full cohesion of everythingthat's going on throughout the
event and someone to manage it.
Storie (05:10):
That's a great point.
So when I think, okay, I'mgoing to hire somebody to plan
this event, I think, okay,they're going to set everything
up, it's going to look beautifuland we're going to know where
to be.
But it really is.
You guys communicate with thevendors, you find the correct
people to either bring a foodtruck or to serve the alcohol.
You really put a fine, finiteresearch into those different
(05:32):
things, based on yourexperiences or referrals Is that
correct.
Yes.
Jessica (05:37):
Yeah for sure, Definitely.
A lot of it is based onexperience and just going to and
planning and being a part of somany different events and
understanding how those puzzlepieces work and how important
they truly are.
Deanna (05:52):
Right.
Sometimes clients don't fullyrealize the investment was worth
it until the day of their event.
Storie (06:00):
Right, I can see that for weddings Like okay, we're
planning a wedding, we knowwe're going to have to spend a
pretty penny, but you're sayingafter the wedding event, instead
of being let down because Iknow a few weddings I've been to
the brides were not happyafterwards Instead of being let
down, you have more the emailingthe phone calls and everything
(06:24):
like that.
Deanna (06:25):
Most people kind of have an idea what to expect.
But what they don't expect iswhen we're there at the event
and everything is runningsmoothly and they are enjoying
themselves and not worried abouteverything that's happening is
when we get our greatestfeedback.
Storie (06:37):
That's awesome.
So do you guys stay all the waythrough the event or do you
just kind of plan everything,coordinate everything and then
stay for the beginning, or doyou completely help break down
and all of those things?
Jessica (06:55):
It really depends on the package that people choose.
So, depending on what theirbudget is for the event, if they
really only have the budget forus to come in and plan the
event and get everything reallystarted for them.
A lot of that is more corporatestuff, because generally
wherever we're hosting thecorporate things at, there's
already a plan implemented forcleanup or whatever else that
they need, or even like littleintimate gatherings and stuff.
(07:16):
Usually they'll clean up thingson their own or kind of take
care of that, but our job is tomake sure that all their vendors
are there for the correctamount of times and that they
have people to break down and doother things.
If they hire staffing servicesthrough us, then our staff will
stay.
If not, then we just make sureeverything is lined out so that
they can take care of itthemselves and we don't have to
(07:36):
be there through the entirety ofthe event.
Storie (07:38):
You don't have to worry about if it's going to run
flawlessly or not, you just makesure that happens.
So, deanna, you mentionedyou're in sales before, so do
you handle a lot of themarketing portion of the
business and what would you sayis probably your best referral
source or your best outreach?
Do you network?
Do you use social media?
Deanna (07:57):
Yes, I mean I've done a lot of networking.
The networking has helped but,like she was saying, it's a very
visual thing.
So, like Instagram, for example, has been a very good way for
us to get leads, because you canvisually see what we put
together and how it looks andenvisions.
So that's something that's beenvery helpful.
Storie (08:13):
Wow, and you all cater to all of DFW, right?
It's not just one specific areaof Dallas-Fort Worth.
Jessica (08:20):
We're all over the DFW Metroplex, but we've also done,
you know, events down in Houstonor San Antonio.
I did an event in Colorado nottoo long ago, so it's kind of
just branching out to whoeverneeds the services and how we
can help them out.
Storie (08:37):
That's exciting, though being able to travel and have
fun at these events and thencome back home to real life.
That would be fun for me.
I'm thinking about taking upevent coordinating now, so what
would you say, with all thatbeing said and the traveling and
you guys starting out?
I think you mentioned youstarted out during COVID.
Yeah, how did that affect you,or was it the catalyst?
Jessica (09:08):
it the catalyst?
I don't want to say that it wasthe catalyst, because my dream
of branching out on my ownstarted literally right before
COVID.
Luckily enough, you know, Istill had my job beforehand.
Storie (09:18):
In corporate America.
Jessica (09:20):
And doing that, and so you know I had a lot of time on
my hands.
Actually, both of us just had alot of time on our hands at
that point.
So we went from, you know, doinga lot of things and having
quite a few contracts early onwith different caterings and
plannings, to kind of having todraw back everything because
pretty much everybody canceledon most of the events that we
(09:43):
had that were coming up, but italso gave us the time to really
think about what we wanted outof things and taking the time to
take it one step at a time anddo what we needed to do in order
to start our business.
Storie (09:57):
Yeah, would you say that attributed to y'all's success
of having that real firm gameplan laid out.
So it almost worked cohesivelyand right in line with your plan
we were able to slowly getstarted and not rush.
That's nice especially becausewhen I think event planner, I'm
like, oh my god, I gotta get allthis stuff together for them.
But I think I had in my pastcompany.
(10:20):
I had a meeting with both ofyou about trying to plan an
event with them and it was likeI felt relieved after I got off
the call.
So you guys really gather theinformation you know is the most
important, not all of these,these other details.
You're like, okay, I need thestructure and then we go from
there.
Is that right?
Jessica (10:36):
I feel like a lot of.
I feel like this is like aquintessential crazy like, but
nobody wants to know how thesausage is made you know what
what I mean.
No kidding, and so a lot of ourquestions are geared towards the
things that they do want toknow.
You know, like, what is mostimportant to you, what is your
vision for it, what are youwanting at the end of the night?
(10:56):
Are you wanting to just show upand be dressed and everything
be done?
Are you wanting to havemultiple meetings so that you
know exactly what kind ofpersonality do you have?
And it's learning whether thatpersonality is also going to
work with us or not, which Ithink is an important part of
the business.
Storie (11:16):
So have you run into that situation where you had to
turn away a client because thepersonalities just weren't
meshing Tell?
Deanna (11:22):
me about that.
Well, I mean, it's kind of itfalls in the aspect is we're,
we're planning the event, you'rehiring us to plan the event,
right?
Um, it depends how involvedthey want to be.
If they do want to be involvedsomewhat and we have the
meetings and we go over things,completely fine.
But every now and then we runinto a client who kind of almost
seems they want to take overthe planning of the event, while
(11:42):
they've us to do so Right which?
Storie (11:45):
kind of clashes, I would assume, because the plan and
the execution don't happen.
Jessica (11:51):
Well, and it's like putting your name on something,
because that's what.
That's what we're doing we areplanning the event, we are
coming up with the vision andthe design for it and figuring
out how it should look and flow.
And we have some clients wherewe've had some clients before
that are like, yeah, I totallyget that, but also we're not
(12:14):
going to do any of that.
We're going to changeeverything and the last day
we're going to bring in a bunchof things that we are not going
to tell you about because we'rehaving other meetings and those
just aren't the clients for us.
Storie (12:24):
See, I'd never thought about that side of the brand
awareness you're altering.
They would be altering yourbrand and so that doesn't.
I mean that's not a partnershipand I feel like your business,
you almost have to be apartnership in this.
Wow.
So can you tell me one of thebiggest successes you think you
guys have had?
What event where that youthought just went off without a
(12:49):
hitch?
Jessica (12:50):
New Year's Eve.
New Year's Eve was really good.
That's the, I guess, theclosest that.
We love doing intimate parties.
We love doing like smaller than50.
You really get to play aroundwith what they want out of their
guest experience too.
And this particular new year'seve party just went over so well
(13:12):
the aesthetics of everything,the fact that the client again
was a doctor and she was justlike I just want to show up and
do this and I'm thinking blackand gold and maybe a photo booth
, and we definitely need a bar.
And we're like okay, but it wasone of those things where it's
like, okay, well, these are thedifferent things that we've
(13:32):
found.
Here are our ideas for that.
Usually we give, depending onwho and what stage that they're
in say they're doing like avenue, then we'll give them
three different venue optionsthat fit in their parameters and
they can kind of narrow it downfrom there on what's going to
work and we'll give them.
You know what our opinion onthem is.
Um, and that's us doing theback work on the on the back
(13:55):
side.
Um, and it was just greatbecause the client completely
trusted in us and we knew heraesthetic and what she was going
for and we were able to go inset up everything it looked it
was so good it was at her house.
Deanna (14:09):
Oh wow.
So we transformed her houseinto a very elegant New Year's
Eve party.
Storie (14:13):
That's wonderful.
Is that on your Instagram aswell?
Can we go look at thatafterwards?
Wonderful.
So, what would you both say isone thing you wish you had known
prior to starting this businessthat you would tell your past
selves or anyone wanting to getinto this industry or start out,
to give them a little bit ofthat insight you didn't get to
(14:35):
see.
Deanna (14:36):
I mean just knowing when to say no, or knowing when a
client is not the client for you, because then you find yourself
in the situation where you'rereally trying to appease their
needs and they are making it ashard as possible for you.
Because then you find yourselfin the situation where you're
really trying to appease theirneeds and they are making it as
hard as possible for you andthen you just feel I don't know.
You just feel like you're notdoing your job right and it's
really not your fault.
Jessica (14:56):
It's just it's not the right client for you yeah, okay
definitely, definitely learningwho who your client basis is and
learning when yeah, learningwhen to say no, because in the
end, like neither one of you,there's just some sometimes
where people clash and not evenmaybe clash, but they just have
(15:16):
a different idea of how thingsshould go and I guess that goes
back to you know, sticking toyour brand and knowing who your,
who, who your client is.
Storie (15:26):
And who you are right, what you want to display that
kind of on path.
Deanna (15:31):
Yeah, cause we're.
I mean, we were doing thisbusiness obviously as a as a
career, but we're doing it causewe enjoy it.
And if we have a client that isturning something we enjoy into
something that is overlystressful and overwhelming, then
they're not the client for us.
Storie (15:44):
That's a good point to remember Love what you do.
If you don't love what you do,you can't be successful, right?
So would you two say thatyou're mentors to each other, or
would you suggest having amentor even in this industry?
I mean, I can plan my kid'sbirthday party, but Lord knows,
I can't do the trays and thepresentation that you guys are
(16:04):
able to do.
So did you guys have any helpin starting this business, or
someone that you kind of go to?
Jessica (16:10):
I feel like, especially even with networking and
meeting a bunch of differentpeople and being in different
industries too, because Deannawas in sales, she did wedding
dresses and all kinds of thingsbefore and so that was, you know
, her, her expertise in that andbeing able to meet people in
that industry and kind of minewith, like, service industry and
(16:31):
different restaurants andvenues.
You know you meet so manydifferent people that you learn
things from and it's importantto have that community of people
that you can rely on and talkto in order to figure out what
you really want to do, becauseone of the companies that you
know I still go in and workdifferent things for them
sometimes and they're a marriedcouple and they are very into
(16:56):
their business.
Their business is verysuccessful, but at the same time
, they've learned how to findthe right management team so
that they're not right there ontop of everything.
They don't have to micromanageeverything, and I think that's
one of those things thatlearning from them how to put on
things and be successful andput your presentation out there
(17:16):
and be you, know your brand andbe authentically you, you know,
just learning from those peopleis so important.
It's very, very important tohave a community and a mentor
that you can rely on them to behonest with you.
Storie (17:29):
Right.
So would you say that you wentthrough a little bit of trial
and error in developing thatcommunity that you guys use
today, because I know you havesome preferences on who you like
to use, because you can trustthem, you know they'll show up,
you know they'll be there, andthe worst thing about an event
like if they hire a DJ is themnot showing up.
Yes, so you guys kind of ensurethat.
(17:49):
Did you ever have thatexperience maybe?
Jessica (17:52):
Yeah, I think it means starting out.
Even trying to find yourcommunity sometimes can be
difficult but and people grow indifferent directions so
sometimes you know you may havepeople that are in your circle
for a little while and then theygo in a different direction or
things change.
But especially in our industry,it's really important to have
vendors that you can trust toshow up, because showing up is
(18:15):
99 of it, like absolutely andand it's it's what keeps us
stable is being able to know theright people to go to in order
to get the job done, and we knowthat they're going to share the
same values as us as well.
Deanna (18:30):
It's such a large industry and there's so many
vendors, so just knowing whichones are the ones that you
prefer and will do the job isvery important.
Storie (18:38):
That is important that is, and it's great that I would
also say that you guys areco-owners, because it almost
gives you the flexibility ofbeing able to pick up if the
other isn't there.
But that's hard to find acohesive partnership that
doesn't fade.
So having that good balance,would you say, is really
important in y'all's business.
Jessica (18:59):
It's yes, it's super, super important.
You know this past year hadbeen pretty difficult for me.
In January of last year I lostmy ex-husband who is the father
of my two oldest children, andour company would not still be
going if it wasn't for Deannaand she had to pick up a lot of
(19:21):
the slack for me that I justcouldn't handle at the time.
I believe so yeah and if, if, ifwe didn't have that partnership
and not like openness and havethe ability to, you know, have
empathy for each other and takecare of pick up pieces whenever
the other one can't, um, then wewouldn't be able to do what we
do absolutely, and it's funnybecause I met you about a year
(19:44):
ago it was probably a littleless than a year ago and you
could never tell.
Storie (19:48):
You guys are so put together and presentations are
beautiful.
You've done some presentationshere at Nouveau Desk which
everyone can go see, I'm sure,either on your Instagram or ours
at Nouveau Desk.
But what say?
Someone is wanting to get intothe industry and wants to ask
you some questions, or evensomebody needs an event
coordinator, and they're likeyou know what that sounds so
(20:09):
stress-free.
How can they reach you guys?
Where can they find you?
Jessica (20:14):
So they can always reach us on our website, which
is socialbdfwcom, and, to makeit super simple, all of our
socials are also social dfw, soyou can find us at the same
thing, whether it's any of thedifferent socials that you're
looking on or going to ourwebsite to fill out an inquiry
man, that's awesome.
Storie (20:33):
Well, I really appreciate you guys coming on
this show and hopefully we seeyou back here, maybe in six
months, to tell some moresuccess stories.
Jessica (20:42):
Thank you for having us .
Storie (20:43):
Thank you, and to all of our listeners out there, we'll
see you next time on Market itWith Atma.
Welcome back to Market it with Atma, where we share the
tips, tools and strategies tohelp your business be successful
.
Today we have on the showowners of Social Beat Events,
jessica and Deanna.
Welcome everyone.
Deanna (00:29):
Thanks for having us.
Storie (00:32):
So can you guys tell us one?
You're co-owners, so each ofyou own a portion of the
business.
How did you guys envision thiscompany?
Did you envision it?
Did you stumble upon it?
Can you tell us a little bitabout how it all started?
Jessica (00:53):
So it started out me by myself just doing grazing
tables and catering differentthings.
I did catering managementbefore that and decided to
strike out on my own and kind ofquickly realized that it's a
lot to take on myself.
And so me and Deanna have beenfriends since seventh grade and
I asked her, you know, to comeand help me with some stuff, and
then eventually coerced herinto continuing to do it with me
(01:15):
every day.
So how long ago was that?
That was in 2019.
And in 2020 was whenever wecame together.
Storie (01:25):
Wow.
So you're not only an eventplanner, you're also a chef, is
that correct, jessica?
Yes, so.
Jessica (01:31):
I've been in the restaurant industry for years
doing different events fordifferent companies and just
kind of found a love in that.
Storie (01:42):
Yeah, so can you guys tell us a little more about what
exactly y'all do?
What's your clientele and howdid?
What separates you from otherevent coordinators or event
planners?
Jessica (01:53):
So I think definitely our our clientele which took us
a while to figure out exactlywho that was is people that are
generally too busy or have a lotof other things going on, but
they want to plan a successfulevent that makes it memorable
for their guests.
So we have a strong emphasis onour clients being happy with
(02:16):
their guests being happy andmaking sure that the guest
experience is there for sure.
So most of our clients are goingto be people office managers
for corporate things that that'snot really their first job.
Their job is to manage theoffice, not to plan an event or
come up with different cateringoptions and everything.
Or you know, we have a lot ofdoctors and lawyers that are.
(02:39):
They work 50 hours a weeksometimes, but on the weekends
they really want to do somethingfun.
So they come up with granderplans for things and execute it
for them.
So they don't have to worryabout it.
They just have to get dressedand show up.
Storie (02:53):
Wow.
So you guys kind of follow astringent process of how you go
through onboarding a client,seeing if they're a good fit for
you, and then playing it out.
So, deanna, can you kind ofwalk us through what the first
portion of that looks like,whether it's a corporate event
or like a wedding you all doweddings as well yeah, we do
weddings, we do a private event,normally what it is.
Deanna (03:14):
I have a more background in sales, so normally I do the
first meeting with our clientsjust to kind of get a feel of
what they're wanting, what vibethey're wanting, what they're
needing from us, how we can helpthem.
Storie (03:30):
And I take all that information and then we discuss
it together and then we'll sendthem a price quote.
Okay, Okay, great.
And then kind of back to myquestion earlier what's to
separate you all once you getyour client kind of onboarded
and you discuss it?
What separates you guys from mehiring my sister-in-law to plan
the event and you guys planningmy event?
I know, with your background infood and the restaurant
(03:53):
industry, your presentation is akey point for you guys.
Jessica (03:57):
Yes.
So definitely what reels peoplein with our business is usually
our presentation.
It's a very visual business.
Whenever somebody walks into anevent, they really want that
wow factor to it and that goesback to, you know, the guest
experience of everything.
But what a lot of people don'tunderstand with hiring somebody
that's professional versushiring you know you're not even
(04:20):
hiring, just getting your auntto do it Is.
It's the same thing as like amechanic, like are you going to
take, if you drive a BMW?
Are you going to take your BMWto some shop that you don't know
that's going to work on it, orare you going to take it back to
the dealership that you got itfrom, who has expertise and who
knows what they're doing?
I know lots of people havestarted crafts before where
(04:42):
they're like I can do thatmyself, and they end up spending
thousands of dollars on all ofthese gadgets and little things.
And then you know they eitherget tired of it or they decide
that it's not for them.
It's kind of the same thingwith an event.
If you're not hiring the rightvendors and you're not getting
the right people in place,there's no way to stay on budget
, there's no way to have an ideaof what you're doing and have a
(05:04):
full cohesion of everythingthat's going on throughout the
event and someone to manage it.
Storie (05:10):
That's a great point.
So when I think, okay, I'mgoing to hire somebody to plan
this event, I think, okay,they're going to set everything
up, it's going to look beautifuland we're going to know where
to be.
But it really is.
You guys communicate with thevendors, you find the correct
people to either bring a foodtruck or to serve the alcohol.
You really put a fine, finiteresearch into those different
(05:32):
things, based on yourexperiences or referrals Is that
correct.
Yes.
Jessica (05:37):
Yeah for sure, Definitely.
A lot of it is based onexperience and just going to and
planning and being a part of somany different events and
understanding how those puzzlepieces work and how important
they truly are.
Deanna (05:52):
Right.
Sometimes clients don't fullyrealize the investment was worth
it until the day of their event.
Storie (06:00):
Right, I can see that for weddings Like okay, we're
planning a wedding, we knowwe're going to have to spend a
pretty penny, but you're sayingafter the wedding event, instead
of being let down because Iknow a few weddings I've been to
the brides were not happyafterwards Instead of being let
down, you have more the emailingthe phone calls and everything
(06:24):
like that.
Deanna (06:25):
Most people kind of have an idea what to expect.
But what they don't expect iswhen we're there at the event
and everything is runningsmoothly and they are enjoying
themselves and not worried abouteverything that's happening is
when we get our greatestfeedback.
Storie (06:37):
That's awesome.
So do you guys stay all the waythrough the event or do you
just kind of plan everything,coordinate everything and then
stay for the beginning, or doyou completely help break down
and all of those things?
Jessica (06:55):
It really depends on the package that people choose.
So, depending on what theirbudget is for the event, if they
really only have the budget forus to come in and plan the
event and get everything reallystarted for them.
A lot of that is more corporatestuff, because generally
wherever we're hosting thecorporate things at, there's
already a plan implemented forcleanup or whatever else that
they need, or even like littleintimate gatherings and stuff.
(07:16):
Usually they'll clean up thingson their own or kind of take
care of that, but our job is tomake sure that all their vendors
are there for the correctamount of times and that they
have people to break down and doother things.
If they hire staffing servicesthrough us, then our staff will
stay.
If not, then we just make sureeverything is lined out so that
they can take care of itthemselves and we don't have to
(07:36):
be there through the entirety ofthe event.
Storie (07:38):
You don't have to worry about if it's going to run
flawlessly or not, you just makesure that happens.
So, deanna, you mentionedyou're in sales before, so do
you handle a lot of themarketing portion of the
business and what would you sayis probably your best referral
source or your best outreach?
Do you network?
Do you use social media?
Deanna (07:57):
Yes, I mean I've done a lot of networking.
The networking has helped but,like she was saying, it's a very
visual thing.
So, like Instagram, for example, has been a very good way for
us to get leads, because you canvisually see what we put
together and how it looks andenvisions.
So that's something that's beenvery helpful.
Storie (08:13):
Wow, and you all cater to all of DFW, right?
It's not just one specific areaof Dallas-Fort Worth.
Jessica (08:20):
We're all over the DFW Metroplex, but we've also done,
you know, events down in Houstonor San Antonio.
I did an event in Colorado nottoo long ago, so it's kind of
just branching out to whoeverneeds the services and how we
can help them out.
Storie (08:37):
That's exciting, though being able to travel and have
fun at these events and thencome back home to real life.
That would be fun for me.
I'm thinking about taking upevent coordinating now, so what
would you say, with all thatbeing said and the traveling and
you guys starting out?
I think you mentioned youstarted out during COVID.
Yeah, how did that affect you,or was it the catalyst?
Jessica (09:08):
it the catalyst?
I don't want to say that it wasthe catalyst, because my dream
of branching out on my ownstarted literally right before
COVID.
Luckily enough, you know, Istill had my job beforehand.
Storie (09:18):
In corporate America.
Jessica (09:20):
And doing that, and so you know I had a lot of time on
my hands.
Actually, both of us just had alot of time on our hands at
that point.
So we went from, you know, doinga lot of things and having
quite a few contracts early onwith different caterings and
plannings, to kind of having todraw back everything because
pretty much everybody canceledon most of the events that we
(09:43):
had that were coming up, but italso gave us the time to really
think about what we wanted outof things and taking the time to
take it one step at a time anddo what we needed to do in order
to start our business.
Storie (09:57):
Yeah, would you say that attributed to y'all's success
of having that real firm gameplan laid out.
So it almost worked cohesivelyand right in line with your plan
we were able to slowly getstarted and not rush.
That's nice especially becausewhen I think event planner, I'm
like, oh my god, I gotta get allthis stuff together for them.
But I think I had in my pastcompany.
(10:20):
I had a meeting with both ofyou about trying to plan an
event with them and it was likeI felt relieved after I got off
the call.
So you guys really gather theinformation you know is the most
important, not all of these,these other details.
You're like, okay, I need thestructure and then we go from
there.
Is that right?
Jessica (10:36):
I feel like a lot of.
I feel like this is like aquintessential crazy like, but
nobody wants to know how thesausage is made you know what
what I mean.
No kidding, and so a lot of ourquestions are geared towards the
things that they do want toknow.
You know, like, what is mostimportant to you, what is your
vision for it, what are youwanting at the end of the night?
(10:56):
Are you wanting to just show upand be dressed and everything
be done?
Are you wanting to havemultiple meetings so that you
know exactly what kind ofpersonality do you have?
And it's learning whether thatpersonality is also going to
work with us or not, which Ithink is an important part of
the business.
Storie (11:16):
So have you run into that situation where you had to
turn away a client because thepersonalities just weren't
meshing Tell?
Deanna (11:22):
me about that.
Well, I mean, it's kind of itfalls in the aspect is we're,
we're planning the event, you'rehiring us to plan the event,
right?
Um, it depends how involvedthey want to be.
If they do want to be involvedsomewhat and we have the
meetings and we go over things,completely fine.
But every now and then we runinto a client who kind of almost
seems they want to take overthe planning of the event, while
(11:42):
they've us to do so Right which?
Storie (11:45):
kind of clashes, I would assume, because the plan and
the execution don't happen.
Jessica (11:51):
Well, and it's like putting your name on something,
because that's what.
That's what we're doing we areplanning the event, we are
coming up with the vision andthe design for it and figuring
out how it should look and flow.
And we have some clients wherewe've had some clients before
that are like, yeah, I totallyget that, but also we're not
(12:14):
going to do any of that.
We're going to changeeverything and the last day
we're going to bring in a bunchof things that we are not going
to tell you about because we'rehaving other meetings and those
just aren't the clients for us.
Storie (12:24):
See, I'd never thought about that side of the brand
awareness you're altering.
They would be altering yourbrand and so that doesn't.
I mean that's not a partnershipand I feel like your business,
you almost have to be apartnership in this.
Wow.
So can you tell me one of thebiggest successes you think you
guys have had?
What event where that youthought just went off without a
(12:49):
hitch?
Jessica (12:50):
New Year's Eve.
New Year's Eve was really good.
That's the, I guess, theclosest that.
We love doing intimate parties.
We love doing like smaller than50.
You really get to play aroundwith what they want out of their
guest experience too.
And this particular new year'seve party just went over so well
(13:12):
the aesthetics of everything,the fact that the client again
was a doctor and she was justlike I just want to show up and
do this and I'm thinking blackand gold and maybe a photo booth
, and we definitely need a bar.
And we're like okay, but it wasone of those things where it's
like, okay, well, these are thedifferent things that we've
(13:32):
found.
Here are our ideas for that.
Usually we give, depending onwho and what stage that they're
in say they're doing like avenue, then we'll give them
three different venue optionsthat fit in their parameters and
they can kind of narrow it downfrom there on what's going to
work and we'll give them.
You know what our opinion onthem is.
Um, and that's us doing theback work on the on the back
(13:55):
side.
Um, and it was just greatbecause the client completely
trusted in us and we knew heraesthetic and what she was going
for and we were able to go inset up everything it looked it
was so good it was at her house.
Deanna (14:09):
Oh wow.
So we transformed her houseinto a very elegant New Year's
Eve party.
Storie (14:13):
That's wonderful.
Is that on your Instagram aswell?
Can we go look at thatafterwards?
Wonderful.
So, what would you both say isone thing you wish you had known
prior to starting this businessthat you would tell your past
selves or anyone wanting to getinto this industry or start out,
to give them a little bit ofthat insight you didn't get to
(14:35):
see.
Deanna (14:36):
I mean just knowing when to say no, or knowing when a
client is not the client for you, because then you find yourself
in the situation where you'rereally trying to appease their
needs and they are making it ashard as possible for you.
Because then you find yourselfin the situation where you're
really trying to appease theirneeds and they are making it as
hard as possible for you andthen you just feel I don't know.
You just feel like you're notdoing your job right and it's
really not your fault.
Jessica (14:56):
It's just it's not the right client for you yeah, okay
definitely, definitely learningwho who your client basis is and
learning when yeah, learningwhen to say no, because in the
end, like neither one of you,there's just some sometimes
where people clash and not evenmaybe clash, but they just have
(15:16):
a different idea of how thingsshould go and I guess that goes
back to you know, sticking toyour brand and knowing who your,
who, who your client is.
Storie (15:26):
And who you are right, what you want to display that
kind of on path.
Deanna (15:31):
Yeah, cause we're.
I mean, we were doing thisbusiness obviously as a as a
career, but we're doing it causewe enjoy it.
And if we have a client that isturning something we enjoy into
something that is overlystressful and overwhelming, then
they're not the client for us.
Storie (15:44):
That's a good point to remember Love what you do.
If you don't love what you do,you can't be successful, right?
So would you two say thatyou're mentors to each other, or
would you suggest having amentor even in this industry?
I mean, I can plan my kid'sbirthday party, but Lord knows,
I can't do the trays and thepresentation that you guys are
(16:04):
able to do.
So did you guys have any helpin starting this business, or
someone that you kind of go to?
Jessica (16:10):
I feel like, especially even with networking and
meeting a bunch of differentpeople and being in different
industries too, because Deannawas in sales, she did wedding
dresses and all kinds of thingsbefore and so that was, you know
, her, her expertise in that andbeing able to meet people in
that industry and kind of minewith, like, service industry and
(16:31):
different restaurants andvenues.
You know you meet so manydifferent people that you learn
things from and it's importantto have that community of people
that you can rely on and talkto in order to figure out what
you really want to do, becauseone of the companies that you
know I still go in and workdifferent things for them
sometimes and they're a marriedcouple and they are very into
(16:56):
their business.
Their business is verysuccessful, but at the same time
, they've learned how to findthe right management team so
that they're not right there ontop of everything.
They don't have to micromanageeverything, and I think that's
one of those things thatlearning from them how to put on
things and be successful andput your presentation out there
(17:16):
and be you, know your brand andbe authentically you, you know,
just learning from those peopleis so important.
It's very, very important tohave a community and a mentor
that you can rely on them to behonest with you.
Storie (17:29):
Right.
So would you say that you wentthrough a little bit of trial
and error in developing thatcommunity that you guys use
today, because I know you havesome preferences on who you like
to use, because you can trustthem, you know they'll show up,
you know they'll be there, andthe worst thing about an event
like if they hire a DJ is themnot showing up.
Yes, so you guys kind of ensurethat.
(17:49):
Did you ever have thatexperience maybe?
Jessica (17:52):
Yeah, I think it means starting out.
Even trying to find yourcommunity sometimes can be
difficult but and people grow indifferent directions so
sometimes you know you may havepeople that are in your circle
for a little while and then theygo in a different direction or
things change.
But especially in our industry,it's really important to have
vendors that you can trust toshow up, because showing up is
(18:15):
99 of it, like absolutely andand it's it's what keeps us
stable is being able to know theright people to go to in order
to get the job done, and we knowthat they're going to share the
same values as us as well.
Deanna (18:30):
It's such a large industry and there's so many
vendors, so just knowing whichones are the ones that you
prefer and will do the job isvery important.
Storie (18:38):
That is important that is, and it's great that I would
also say that you guys areco-owners, because it almost
gives you the flexibility ofbeing able to pick up if the
other isn't there.
But that's hard to find acohesive partnership that
doesn't fade.
So having that good balance,would you say, is really
important in y'all's business.
Jessica (18:59):
It's yes, it's super, super important.
You know this past year hadbeen pretty difficult for me.
In January of last year I lostmy ex-husband who is the father
of my two oldest children, andour company would not still be
going if it wasn't for Deannaand she had to pick up a lot of
(19:21):
the slack for me that I justcouldn't handle at the time.
I believe so yeah and if, if, ifwe didn't have that partnership
and not like openness and havethe ability to, you know, have
empathy for each other and takecare of pick up pieces whenever
the other one can't, um, then wewouldn't be able to do what we
do absolutely, and it's funnybecause I met you about a year
(19:44):
ago it was probably a littleless than a year ago and you
could never tell.
Storie (19:48):
You guys are so put together and presentations are
beautiful.
You've done some presentationshere at Nouveau Desk which
everyone can go see, I'm sure,either on your Instagram or ours
at Nouveau Desk.
But what say?
Someone is wanting to get intothe industry and wants to ask
you some questions, or evensomebody needs an event
coordinator, and they're likeyou know what that sounds so
(20:09):
stress-free.
How can they reach you guys?
Where can they find you?
Jessica (20:14):
So they can always reach us on our website, which
is socialbdfwcom, and, to makeit super simple, all of our
socials are also social dfw, soyou can find us at the same
thing, whether it's any of thedifferent socials that you're
looking on or going to ourwebsite to fill out an inquiry
man, that's awesome.
Storie (20:33):
Well, I really appreciate you guys coming on
this show and hopefully we seeyou back here, maybe in six
months, to tell some moresuccess stories.
Jessica (20:42):
Thank you for having us .
Storie (20:43):
Thank you, and to all of our listeners out there, we'll
see you next time on Market itWith Atma.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com