Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jazlana Gerber. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jazlana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I started off my adult career as an intern for Funk Flex and Hot 97 along with working for Newark Police Department. I was majoring in Journalism/Media Studies & Criminal Justice at Rutgers-Newark. I secured two good jobs in both of my chosen fields- which is often very rare. Since High School, I always worked waitressing and catering jobs for a company in my area. The bartender used to teach me how to bartend so he could sneak out for smoke breaks. Long story short, I became a pretty popular bartender- landing jobs at all of the major clubs, bars, restaurants and lounges between New Jersey & New York.

I became extremely involved in the club scene for years- which took a giant toll on my life (although the money was AMAZING). Upon meeting my man, he gave me a deadline to leave the clubs. He said he’d invest into whatever business idea I come up with- but I just had to figure it out. Around that same time, I started doing private events as a bartender- forming my LLC and expanding my client base from my regulars from the clubs. I’ve always been obsessed with taking photos and. videos- always trying to capture the moment. The majority of the private events I was doing usually always had either a classic photo booth or a 360 booth present. It sparked the idea to start my own since I already have the private party clientele from my bartending company- The Bottle Bullies. Hence, Lavish Lights Rentals was born & the rest is history.

My man gifted me my first photo booth in December, 2021. It arrived on February 10th, 2022 and by February 12th- I was fully booked for MONTHS. It was the most amazing decision I ever made. I was able to then buy a new booth within months. Now currently in November of 2024- I own 5 photo booths and 1 360 booth. I have a team of 8 bartenders and 5 wait staff workers. We’ve expanded into decor, flower walls, party rentals, bouncy houses, DJ & photography services, and so much more.

My father, who tragically passed away unexpectly a few months ago, was always crazy with taking pictures. No matter where we were or what we were doing, he INSISTED on documenting the moment to have memories to cherish for years to come. I never knew how important that was until he passed away. I was always big with taking photos because you just never know, but losing him gave a whole new meaning to wanting to “capture the moment.” A huge part of my love for photography comes from my father- the picture king himself. Just knowing I’m creating a platform for people to document these important memories- not knowing it could be their last together, is something so huge for me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In a nutshell, if you’re having a party – you can contact me, and I will put it all together for you. I try to make my client’s life as easy as possible- taking care of all the little details most fail to realize need to get done to throw a successful party. Since I was always in the service industry ( waitress, catering, bartender, etc), it was already in my blood from my parents both being musicians, I’ve been in the party scene basically since I was born. My father used to always say, “I don’t work a 9-5.. I work a 9-5 (9pm-5am). I used to go to Jazz clubs with him in NYC when I was 5 years old and all of the hottest concerts and events. I loved every second of it, hence why I turned out this way.

So far in my career I have 5 main “proudest moments.”
1) I’m the prefered vendor for UBS- a multinational investment bank and financial servicces company. Why is this special to me? My mother worked there for years when I was a child. I’d always attend “Take Your Child To Work Day” with her every year, imagining what my life would be like working there overseeing the beautiful view of NYC each day. Fast forward to now, I handle majority of their departments (in both Weehawken and NYC) events and tech conferences. It means the WORLD to me to be back inside the building as an adult with my own business.

2). Coming from years of working in radio at Hot 97, I learned how to network and market myself quite well. I now am their preferred photo booth vendor for all of Flex’s events. Being back at the station and seeing my old coworkers and industry friends as a CEO of my own company servicing the event is fulfilling beyond words. In so many ways, Flex made me who I am. Hot 97 opened SO MANY doors for me. I have a large online following mainly due to being a blogger for Inflexwetrust and Hot97.com for many years.

3) Back in March, I was selected to be a vendor for a Women’s Empowerment Spring Fling at Canvas in Englewood. Karina Correa, who is the owner of a very successful marketing company called Fortune House Media, was on the panel to speak, along side a bunch of other “boss babes” as we like to call it. Caught completely off guard, Karina told my story to this room full of 300+ women. She told them how I started in nightlife (as did she) and was able to branch out and build a successful business from scratch. Our main objective of telling our stories is for other females caught in that life have hope that they can save all of their fast money and invest it into an empire that will last a lifetime.

4) I attended college at Rutgers-Newark for Journalism/Media Studies and Criminal Justice. Upon still paying off my student loans, I was lucky enough to network my way into the doors at both RU New Brunswick and RU Newark with my photo booth services. The constant flow of money I bring in from Rutgers events is what I use to pay off my student loans, while servicing the school I got my degree from.

5) Recently, I was booked to do my old high school’s Homecoming. Just walking into the building I spent 4 years of my life in with my company’s shirt on, creating memories for the next generation of high schoolers in the same cafeteria I spent my days at was also a very proud moment.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The main part of my story is where I thought all I knew had to do was bartend. I only knew bartending, bartending, batending and parties. However, as a bartender I always had a pretty packed bar and always sold a lot of whatever it was I was doing (drinks, bottles, food, etc). Nightlife is such a wonderful place where you can meet tons of friends and make so many amazing contacts for your network while bringing home crazy amounts of money daily. HOWEVER, there is also a very ugly side to that. The side where you’re drinking everyday, caught up in a lot of unnessary drama, lack of sleep which causes excessive wear and tear on your body.

Once I started my business and got lucky with an almost instant flow of events, I realized there was much more to my identity than “just a bartender.” I learned I am a very smart business woman, an A1 networker, a very skilled marketing specialist, and the list goes on. Sometimes you need to take that step out of your comfort zone to realize just how talented and skillful you really are.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

For business in 2024, social media is KEY. The only thing more important than social media presence is networking. Prior to the boom of social media presence, people had to work a tad bit harder to get their business booming. Now all you need is one viral video and you’re set. People want to see content; they want to see interaction. With the click of a button, people can read reviews on your company, photos showcasing your work and see how creative your reels are. In my line of work, creativity in reels is super important because people love to watch reels that are comical yet relatable. Whether it be relatable to the client or to other fellow vendors in our field, this is what the audience wants.

My main piece of advice is put your creative cap on and dig deep into your mind to come up with captivating, original videos. Always check the trending audio to increase your chances of going viral. USE CAPCUT! Don’t be cheap and buy the Pro. It’s like $80 a year- YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT! I use it so often and it’s worth every cent. Watch YouTube videos on how to play around with CapCut to perfect your videos. Watch other people in your field’s videos to grasp themes and popular font layouts. Remember, your social media is your SHOWCASE for your work. It’s where people can go to see what quality of work you do. TAKE IT SERIOUSLY!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lavishlightsrentals.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lavishlights.rentals/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lavishlightsrentals/