We recently connected with Michelle Stubbs and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

There are lots of skills required to run your own business in the hospitality industry. The majority of these skills I picked up outside the classroom during my part time jobs when I worked for hotels, restaurants and bars. The most important skills were communication, being able to multi task, attention to detail and using initiative!! There is a lot more that goes into operating and running a business not to mention all the legal aspects, compliance, financial reporting and analysing. A lot of which is constantly evolving. I don’t think you ever stop learning especially if you want your business to grow and evolve! So as for speeding that process up I don’t think it is possible!

We are fortunate to live in a world with so many more resources for learning. The only obstacles I see in the way of learning more is time management, fear of failure or lack of self esteem. If you can push yourself out of your comfort zone there is no reason you can’t learn more.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I got into the industry of hosting events and weddings quite by accident. I was asked by a client who was renting a property from me if she could possibly get married there and could I help her organise the details! This was over 8 years ago now and we do over 100 weddings and events a year at this venue. We are expanding our offering to another venue within the grounds of this UK property which will be completed in 2024 and we also offer our event and wedding planning skills globally with a team of professionals based predominantly in the UK and the USA.

We only work with the industry’s top professionals to create bespoke events for our clients and make their dreams a reality! We pride ourselves on our dedication, level of service and keeping abreast of the industry trends and constantly evolving. We want our client and their guests to be wowed and try to provide something unique to each event.

It is through our uniqueness and creativity that makes us stand out from the crowd.
We take the stress out of planning a wedding or event to make the process enjoyable and fun for the client.

In the teams combined 100 years of experience we have seen and done a lot!!!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is seeing peoples faces when they walk into an event. We love the whole journey from getting to know the client, what they want to achieve from the event and delivering above and beyond what they could have imagined! This is what drives us to be who we are as a business! No event is ever the same and we love hearing peoples ideas and they keep us on our creative toes!!!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The pandemic was an extremely hard time for all of the hospitality industry. We were effectively told to shut up shop with no further guidance or support. We were trying to navigate our way through this period as well as trying to support and reassure our booked clients, suppliers and staff. In order for us to survive we had to come up with creative ideas to keep an income stream in line with the ever changing restrictions! We did virtual tours and consultations and changed the way we sold to our customers. So although we were unable to host any events we were able to sell events. As restrictions eased we were able to modify our offering for smaller intimate gatherings so we encouraged our clients to elevate their event by using the existing budget towards adding more to the experience! The more intimate gatherings meant hosts the were able to spend more quality time with their closest family and friends. Some wedding couples loved the idea of not having to stress about the huge guest list!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.michelleoliviaevents.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/michelleoliviaevents?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=