We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ana Karina P. a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ana Karina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?
Overnight success takes 10 years! This is a quote I read a long time ago and it resonates with me because we are so used to having everything in matter of minutes, days, or months but things that really matter the most in life take years to accomplish. In my case, we prepared our selfs with a strong foundation mentally. I started reading about successful people and learning their routines, habits, and their mentality. I know this is information needed to improve and by learning from others I can confidently say I have been on an eventful journey of personal growth. While there’s still things or skills I need to learn, I’m just grateful for being brave, consistent, and doing things outside of my comfort zone. Taking these risks as a business owner remind you that you have to be comfortable being criticized and It’s all about learning how to be better than before even if you thought your “before” was your best!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi there! I’m Ana Karina the owner of Dream Events by Karina; an event decoration company that provides event planning, day of coordination, event decoration, and rentals. I am a mother of three wonderful kids, a wife of a very hardworking and supportive husband, and a caregiver for the most resilient, generous, and big hearted lady, my mother.
How I started Dream Events by Karina; Our company became fully public in 2022 following the decline in employment surrounding the “Covid years”. Everything began with me knowing that in 2020 I was going to start working on something that would give me the flexibility to care for my family while I worked toward my dream business: making other’s dream events a reality. This is the reason I do what I do, crafting events brings me so much joy. Weddings are something I’m especially passionate about since I was a little girl. I remember it was all I wanted to play about and I guess I put my dreams aside temporarily while I myself got married and started my family. For years I have worked in hospitality and love to work with people; our services specialize in transforming spaces into stunning and unforgettable experiences while helping others celebrate life’s milestones. I believe that every event tells a story and my team and I are dedicated to making each one as special and unique as the people they honor.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
The strategy that I have seen become the most effective in growing my clientele has been creating a community with all of the vendors and clients I collaborate with. With my business being known for creating a manifestation of our clients visions for their events, it’s important to be in close and constant contact with them. Because of this, I find myself staying in touch with the wonderful people I got to work with and see my clients become close friends. By creating this welcoming environment, I am able to get refered to new clients constantly and the community grows itself. Not only this, but attending networking events are a perfect way to build your presence by meeting new people and being able to talk to them and others about the work you do. However, what I enjoy the most Is the community I have built with my vendors and clients.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Back in 2020, I had just given birth to a baby boy after 15 years of watching my two other children grow up. I knew what I had to do to adjust to my newfound life as a mom after many years of rest, but I was unsure of what I would be doing for work to support my expanding family. Not only did I have to pivot my personal life in the direction to fulfill my newfound 24/7 motherly duties, but I had to start pivoting my career life in a new direction that I was sure would help support my family while simultaneously enjoying the work I do. After losing my job earlier that year due to the pandemic, I was sure about one thing; I no longer wanted to work for corporate America. After many long conversations with the people closest to me, I decided I was going to start my dream career by creating my own event decorating and coordinating business now known as Dream Events By Karina.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreameventsbykarina?igsh=dGkydXhrc2VtMWIy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084106126332&mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-karina-p-520958316?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app
Image Credits
Personal Photo: Javier Carrera