We were lucky to catch up with Olivia Denton Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Olivia, appreciate you joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

When my husband and I got married, we realized our area had a shortage of venue options for couples who wanted to maintain a smaller budget. After we said, “I do,” we started considering purchasing a new home with more land than we had, and we also started to consider looking for a property that could double as a new home and potential venue. The first step was narrowing down what that property must include. We looked for a place with at least 10 acres located in the same Tennessee county where we already lived. It had to have mountain views, be accessible relatively quickly from the main surrounding towns, and fall within the budget we had in mind. It took two years to find the perfect place.

In those two years, I did extensive research about our area. I looked at all the surrounding venues to see what amenities they offered, what pricing structure they used, how many guests they could accommodate, what made them special, etc. I also considered the demand and average amount spent on weddings in our area. I also verified any business licenses needs, zoning requirements, etc. for our locality. I’m a true believer in educating myself, researching everything I possibly can about a potential venture, and being honest with myself about what I find before moving ahead with an idea. I feel that the primary way to mitigate risk is simply to do your homework.

My research and patience paid off, and we found the perfect property in the summer of 2019. Not only was the property we found beautiful, it also had in place a couple of barns and my dream home. We found the place by chance one Saturday when my husband happened upon an estate sale just two miles from our existing home. He knew I loved antiques and called to suggest I go to the sale. Since I was busy, I told him we could go to it together later if we had time. Thankfully, we took the time. When we pulled into the driveway of the home, I knew this was it! It just took my breath away. We perused the last few sale items and made a couple of purchases, but I had my eye on the house and land. I asked the lady who accepted our payment what the plans were for the property and was told the owners intended to sell. I watched for a listing but never saw it advertised. I did some research and located the names of the owners and sent a letter letting them know how much I had fallen in love with their property. They accepted my invitation to contact me if they wanted to chat about selling to us, and we visited the property on a Friday just before leaving on vacation. The owners fell in love with us and we with them. They agreed to sell us the property at a price we could afford, and I used my vacation to line up the financing. We truly believe the whole experience was divine, because nothing happens by chance. All the hurdles we jumped through to make it happen were accomplished purely through heavenly intervention and my stubbornness. Finally, a few short weeks later, the farm was ours.

We spent the next year renovating one of the barns. By the fall of 2020, we were ready to start advertising our space. We had our first event, a customer appreciation day for one of our realtor friends, in September 2020. We utilized social media to announce ourselves and began promoting the venue for weddings, parties, and other events. I priced our packages at the bottom of the spectrum for venues in our area and arranged for a styled photo shoot in order to produce content for posts and ads. We knew we had to begin to compete primarily on price. Our prices were attractive, and our farm was gorgeous. It was a combination that drew attention. One of the couples whose attention was piqued approached me about trading services. The bride worked in marketing and offered to create my website, produce marketing materials, and assist me with our social media pages in exchange for using our farm for their wedding. She also agreed to allow us to use pictures from her wedding for promotion of our venue. I jumped at the offer, and she became a client, a valued part of my team, and a dear friend.

We’ve continued to grow since then. Each year, we’ve drawn more attention by continuing our mission to provide a beautiful place for weddings while ensuring almost any budget can be met. We like to call it affordable luxury! We add more and more value to our packages each year and, although we have increased our prices from the rock-bottom charges of our first few month in operation, we still remain at the lower end of the spectrum in our area, especially for all the amenities we offer.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the daughter of a couple of entrepreneurs who taught me to work hard, to identify a goal, and to work relentlessly to accomplish it. When I realized there was a lack of more affordable venue options in our area, I immediately began to think about how to remedy that. I am also a firm believer in the power of real estate investing for creating wealth. The venue idea began to take hold, and I couldn’t stop trying to figure it out! I knew I could solve a problem for many couples in my area. I could provide a place that would cost less yet provide a gorgeous backdrop for their big day – all while paying for our dream home. Little did I know that all of this would happen, plus I would meet so many sweet, dear couples who would become close friends! This venture is one of several that my husband and I have tackled, and I am so glad we did. Every time a bride tells me that her day was exactly what she dreamed of, it fills my heart and makes me proud to have been part of her story. Watching couples move through their lives together and seeing how they grow after starting their marriages on my farm is a reward I never anticipated. What began as a spark of an idea has become so much more!

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Cash is king. I’ve been a saver since I was old enough to know what money was. Thankfully, my husband and I are on the same page where that is concerned. When we began looking for property, we had both been saving for quite some time, and we had paid for our existing home in full. So, we had cash, and we had equity. Buying the farm was a stretch for us, without doubt. It was the biggest purchase we had ever made, and we jumped through many hoops to make it happen. It started with negotiating with the owners, not being afraid to ask for what would work for us. They agreed not to list the property on the MLS, which meant they could take less due to not having to pay realtor fees. The next step was finding the right lender. Who had the lowest interest rate, the lowest cost to close, etc? We knew we had extremely high credit scores, so we knew we had options. We also knew we could and would sacrifice to make the deal work. When we bought the farm, we found ourselves land rich and cash poor, owning the new farm, our previous home, and an investment flip property. We were ok with pinching pennies in the short run to make it all work. We sold the flip property and, soon after, our previous home, freeing up capital to renovate the barn on the farm. It was a well-coordinated financial ballet, and it paid off tremendously. My advice to would-be entrepreneurs is to concentrate on accumulating cash and assets. These are what talk to financial institutions and give you power when negotiating.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

With every client, I make it my mission to under promise and over deliver. If I tell a couple I will do something, I do it. There is no question. I will follow through on any promise, big or small. If they ask for something, I try my best to say yes. If I have to say no, I offer an alternative. I am transparent in my pricing. There are no surprises when the invoice arrives. I’ve made it my goal to have answers. If another vendor is needed, I can offer suggestions and recommendations. I always answer emails and inquiries within hours. In short, I simply treat each and every client as I would want to be treated, and each client is treated as if she is my only client. Planning a wedding is often the biggest, most daunting task most of my couples have ever attempted, and I do everything in my power to reduce the stress, anxiety, and fear that goes along with such an undertaking.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thefarmonpemberton.com
• Instagram: thefarmonpemberton
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefarmonpemberton

Image Credits
Apple Ridge Photography, Tamara Pierce Photography, One Focus Photography, Randall Bennett Photography, Hannah Murray Photography