We recently connected with Aiyesha Minott and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Aiyesha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?
Asking for friends and family to support your business can be risky. Be prepared to have your emotions ready. This is because often times, and too many times, family and friends do not always readily see the vision that you have for your business, which can cause a lackluster approach on their end to supporting you. First, you have to understand that if they have never owned a business, they honestly and legitimately may not know how to support you or in what ways you need it. This is what I have experienced, it wasn’t that they didn’t want to support me in the beginning. I had to learn that I needed to explain to them in which ways they could offer support. For example, asking for them to share my posts was super simple and when they realized that was one way to support my business, they shared and never stopped. It’s about making sure you let them know your expectations for how they can support you.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
HELLO THERE! I AM A NATIVE HOUSTONIAN WHO ABSOLUTELY LOVES MY CITY. WHY EXACTLY AM I PASSIONATE ABOUT WEDDINGS? WELL, I’M GLAD YOU ASKED!! I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTRIGUED WITH TAKING A DESIGN AND BRINGING IT TO LIFE, AND THEN, WELL, WHEN YOU ADD IN THE WHOLE ‘LOVE’ ASPECT…I’M ALL IN!! I LOVE, LOVE AND DESIGN. THERE IS SOMETHING ALMOST WHIMSICAL ABOUT BEING ABLE TO FUSE THE TWO TOGETHER AND WATCH IT ALL HAPPEN FROM BEHIND THE SCENES. I GUESS YOU CAN SAY I WOULD CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE THE FAIRY GOD-MOTHER TO MY BRIDES (IT’S THE DISNEY MOVIE LOVER IN ME). I GREW UP AS A LITTLE GIRL WATCHING MY PARENTS GROW THEIR FLORAL COMPANY AND I ADMIRED SEEING THE PASSION IN THEIR EYES BRINGING JOY TO OTHERS BY ADDING THEIR CREATIONS TO THEIR CLIENT’S WEDDING DAYS. I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT SAME PASSION, AND I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT TO MY COUPLES. THIS IS WHAT MAKES MY COMPANY SO UNIQUE. I WAS BRED TO ENCOMPASS SUCH A FLAIR FOR ALL THINGS CREATIVE AND I TAKE MY PASSION VERY SERIOUS. IF I HAD TO NAME MY STYLE, I’D CALL IT, ‘CHIC GLAMOUR’…JUST PICTURE CRYSTAL CHANDELIERS MIXED WITH PEARLS AND A SPLASH GARDENIAS, AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! I AM A WIFE, MOM, LOVER OF DESIGN, WHO WANTS NOTHING MORE THAN TO BRING SERENITY TO ALL WHO SEEK TO SHARE THEIR LOVE BY HAVING A WEDDING. BTW, NOW THAT YOU HAVE SEEN MY BIO PICTURE, IF YOU SEE ME IN YOUR LOCAL STARBUCKS….SAY HI! MY FAVORITES: SPENDING TIME WITH MY FAMILY, READING, STARBUCKS (GRANDE SALTED CARAMEL MOCHA W/ONLY ONE SHOT OF EXPRESSO, EXTRA HOT WITH CARAMEL DRIZZLE ON THE INSIDE) (I’M EXTRA, I KNOW), PAPPADEAUX, MY CHURCH (WHEELER AVENUE B.C.), SHOPPING (WHEN I CAN FIND THE TIME TO, AND WHEN I DO IT’S MOSTLY CLOTHES FOR MY SON AND DAUGHTER), MAC LIPSTICKS, PLANNING, DECOR, DRAWING (EVEN THOUGH I RARELY DO), TRAVELING, COOKING, PINNING NEW RECIPES TO MY PINTEREST BOARD, HAPPY HOUR WITH MY GIRLS, IMPARTING KNOWLEDGE ONTO OTHERS.
THINGS PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME: (1.) I BEGAN PLANNING AND MADE THE DECISION TO START MY OWN PLANNING BUSINESS RIGHT BEFORE I BECAME ENGAGED IN 2015, THEREFORE I HAD ALREADY BOOKED A WEDDING PRIOR TO THE START OF MY OWN WEDDING. SO WHILE MOST PEOPLE KNEW THAT I WAS A BRIDE, THEY HAD NO CLUE THAT I WAS SIMULTANEOUSLY PLANNING OTHER WEDDINGS (2.) MY HIGH SCHOOL CHEER TEAM WAS FEATURED ON MTV’S “TRUE LIFE: I’M AN URBAN CHEERLEADER”, SO I GUESS YOU CAN SAY I WAS ON TV?? I WAS THE TEENY FRESHMAN LUGGING AROUND THE LARGEST BAG EVER, THAT LOOKED INTO THE CAMERA (WITH ROLLERS IN MY HAIR AS WE WERE GETTING OFF OF THE BUS FOR COMPETITION) AND SAID FURIOUSLY, “I PACKED TOO MANY CLOTHES!”….MY 2 SECONDS OF FAME LOL.
Polished Occasions by Aiyesha is an event planning firm that specializes in creating elegant events for a multitude of occasions. We specialize in opulent weddings and events, our goal is to ensure that our clients receive superb customer service and that we bring their visions to life, with our added refined touch.
We are known for our regal flair that we add to our weddings and events. What we are most proud of as a company is that we have won the WeddingWire Couple’s Choice Award for 2017, 2018, 2019 and also won the Knot Best of Weddings for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 which is an award representing the highest-rated wedding professionals as reviewed by real couples, their families and wedding guests on The Knot, the leading online wedding brand, an app.
In 2021, only 3% of the approximately 300,000 local wedding professionals listed on TheKnot.com have received this distinguished accolade. What sets our company apart from the others, honestly, is the genuine care that we have for our clients and that we take customer satisfaction very seriously. We love what we do and we love to make planning the most memorable moments in our client’s lives a smooth process for them.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn that I need to keep my identity on the back-burner so that people will only focus on what my business produces and how good it is. Meaning, for a very long time, I never posted a picture of myself on any of my business social media outlets. I didn’t want to readily reveal that I was a black woman right away, I wanted people to see how good I was at planning weddings first and gather a ton of amazing perfect reviews first. This turned to be untrue, I had to learn that people will support you and your business no matter what race you are, as long as you churn out a great product/service consistently. In fact, once I did post more about myself, it allowed for my following to resonate with me and it made them like us even more. People want to see who is behind the brand. They want to see who and what you stand for.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The time I had to pivot in my business was when I had my first child. I had to re-structure the business so that it could run with me being more hands off. I had to interview and bring on more planning staff. Hire virtual assistants to handle emails. I actually set up a staff email account so that all inquiries would be handled by the staff and I could focus on the emails of our booked clients. This allowed for the business to run extremely smoothly and I began to see that a weight was lifted off of my shoulders, while allowing the business to thrive.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.polishedoccasions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/polishedoccasions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polishedoccasionsbyaiyesha/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDWblMppd_CH9hUo6Xhv9Yw
- Other: The Knot: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/polished-occasions-by-aiyesha-houston-tx-998470 Wedding Wire: http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/polished-occasions-by-aiyesha-houston/d1eb2b768d0460ee.html
Image Credits
The Klasik Creatives Photography