We recently connected with Alex Victtoria Howland and have shared our conversation below.

Alex Victtoria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I started my business in 2021 as a solo event planner, at the time, people thought I was crazy. We were just starting to see a rise in in-person events for the first time in over a year and rather stay ‘safe’ in my well-to-do nonprofit job that felt very secure, I dove straight into the world of entrepreneurship and never looked back. I had zero dollars saved to start, no clue what it meant to own a business, but just enough faith that I knew I could do it.

I started scared. The greatest companies in the world just started because they saw an error or flaw in the system and they set out to fix it. By putting one foot in front of the other and believing I can make my clients dreams come true, I was able to find great success in a very short amount of time. In less than one year, I had a client roster of over five major companies in the region I serve and hit over $100,000 in under 9 months. I thought it was a fluke, but it kept happening year over year. Now, we’re nearly four years in and I’ve not only exceeded my wildest dreams but have been able to hire a full-time employee. An achievement I truly did not think was possible in less than four years of business ownership as an event planner. To this day, I have never taken a loan or investor. I’ve had offers but have always declined because I firmly believe that it is still possible to bootstrap and build a business of your dreams without having to sell your soul or give away half of your business and earnings. There have been some devastating and scary times, but after those moments usually come some of the most incredible growth and determination.

I know not everyone can have a story like this. I recognize my privilege in the world and ability to lean on my spouse, friends, and family, however that doesn’t negate the fact that I have worked so hard to become successful by putting in the hours, making the connections, doing the absolute best I could for my clients and in return, I created a successful and sustainable business model that supports my lifestyle as well as my employees. I may have started small but I have big plans to become a majorly recognized event planner and consultant.

At the end of the day, I know that by creating success for my clients, I create success for myself and my team.

Alex Victtoria, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was turning 8 or 9 years old, had recently moved to a new school, barely knew anyone, but just knew that I needed to have all my ‘new’ friends at my birthday party (I’m a Leo, what can I say?) since my parents were not the best at planning parties, I decided to make my own invitations, call my friends parents to let them know, order pizza from the Domino’s near our house, and make decorations for my party.

My mother was in absolute shock and awe when about a dozen kids showed up at our house one Friday for my birthday party that I had planned all by myself. She never let me live that one down but she had always agreed I was ‘born to be a planner’. By default, I was always planning parties or trips throughout my teenage and college years. I graduated from College with a BFA in Fine Arts in 2011, during a time that the recession was still affecting people across the country. It was tough to find a job in the arts, so I settled for a nonprofit gig to pass the time and I planned birthdays and baby showers for friends and family on the side. Not too long after, I found myself planning my own wedding! I really fell in love with the planning process. I knew that I wanted to plan ‘real’ events and one day, an intern at my nonprofit job told me about an Event Coordinator’ position at a Arkansas Business Publishing Group in Little Rock, my home town.

I lived in Little Rock and didn’t ‘love’ my current job so I jumped on the opportunity and actually got it! With very little ‘professional planning’ experience I landed my dream job. Very quickly I rose to the top of the corporate ladder (at least for this medium sized business) and was working directly with the CEO. He took a chance on me when no one else did. He was an incredible mentor who taught me how to budget, plan better, and helped me realize I had a penchant for entrepreneurship. He often said, “you run this business like it’s your own and that will take you very far in your career”. I didn’t realize it at the time but when I left that beloved job, it set in motion everything that needed to happen to start my own business. I truly did not want to leave, but I knew if I stayed that I may not grow as much as I wanted or needed to at the time. I had to leave the ‘security’ of that job – the longest one I had ever been in.

After leaving that job, with the best boss, the best hours, and people I absolutely loved to work with, I was hit with another nonprofit role. A role in what I thought would be next-level leadership and a huge career move. It ended up being one of the most degrading and soul crushing experiences of my career and I wouldn’t change a thing because that role and boss taught me every single thing I would never be as one. It was heartbreaking but after only 8 months of grinding my teeth and basically ripping out my hair, I got the gumption to leave, without having a solid job offer in place.

The day before I was going to put in my notice, the universe gave me a new opportunity with another nonprofit and I just happened to have some amazing connections to the CEO. It was kismet. I couldn’t believe it but got a job offer within a few days of interviewing. I remember pushing up my exit date because I was so desperate to start this new job. It could not have been more perfectly timed, or so I thought. The date was January 2020 and my entire world was going to turn upside down in a month.

I was an event planner for in-person events and just started my new job in February 2020. Within a month we were in full lock-down. I barely remember all the details because it was such a horrible time and we had to transition and adjust everything we ever knew about events. My boss and I butted heads, a lot. Not because of personalities, but because of how we approached problems and solutions.

And while it seems insane, I still would not have changed that path, even though the last two bosses and jobs were difficult they taught me invaluable lessons in how to be the best boss I could possibly be. How I don’t have to stay stuck in my ways, how I can help others rise and not fall behind, how I don’t have to dull someone else’s light for mine to shine. I thank those bosses for their in-adaptability and for inspiring me to be the best I can in my every day life and business. They also taught me that while my business is so incredibly important, I don’t live to work, I work to live my best life.

After all of those years, I realized I was always destined to open my own business and be an entrepreneur. I want to be an agent of change and make business fun, meaningful, and help people along the way. With my company, Alex Victtoria Events, we serve everyone where they are at, whether it is a small intimate gathering or a large-scale corporate summit, we meet our clients needs and bring their dreams to life. My brand is based on intentional and thoughtful designs, sustainability, and ensuring we are always putting our client first. I firmly believe a people-first approach is the biggest reason for our success and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I hired someone! It seems all too simple but as a small business owner, I know my limits. Some days I can ‘do it all’ and some days I just know I can’t. I knew I had great content and an eye for what ‘looks great and tells our story’ but I recognized that I really fell short on actually creating and executing that message.

When I realized we needed to grow our online presence, I hired someone who could take my vision and implement it. I still gave her quotes and imagery, but she was able to put it together in a way that I just wasn’t able to. Hiring someone to help with social media gave us the ability to grow our online presence by several hundred followers in a very short amount of time. It also led to some business leads! It was a huge win.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

While I was at my last job before starting my business, I was very intentional with creating true connections with the people in my community. I would go a step above and beyond to ensure people felt truly heard and connected with me on a deeper level than ‘just another business connection’. I would not only ask my new connections about their business journey but also about their families, what inspired them, what events or community activities they were attending. All of this intentional networking helped me build thoughtful connections and long-lasting relationships with people. I also tried so hard to diversify my network, I think this was one of the greatest assets when building my business. I was reaching out to new groups, networks, and companies that I had never worked with just to see if there was some alignment.

Another thing that I believe helped me build my reputation was leaning on my clients to send me testimonials after their event was completed. Those testimonials were instrumental in building out our website, social media, changing the way we worked with clients, and helped us build a presence online so that people could find us. Most of my business the first two years were by word of mouth and referrals from current clients. It was incredible to see how much additional business just one successful client event could create. Through all of that, we have become one of the premiere Event Planning and Design companies in the region that serves just over 500,000 people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexvicttoria.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexvicttoriaevents/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexvicttoriaevents
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/100553228/admin/dashboard/
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits

Alex Howland
Jessica Whalen