We caught up with the brilliant and insightful April Manigault a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

April, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think consistency is the key to be successful. If your consistent in your learning consistent in the work you produce you will see growth.

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 was formally a school bus driver of 14 years. I started off In this industry offering custom party favors, backdrops and shirts. That turned into me wanting to do full parties. I did some events for family and friends, from there I started doing baby showers and quickly found that it was my passion. I love doing baby showers I often build bonds with the moms over time. I get to play such a role in such a special moment of honoring the life they are bringing into the world. We are in the process of rebranding our venue as well to become the 1st and only baby shower venue in the SC area. There are many wedding and event venues but none that cater to baby showers and we will be the 1st to offer that service as it is our passion.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I funded my company from my paychecks. I would work from 6-9 am as a bus driver get off go home work on designs and be back on the school bus from 1-5pm. Once I got some of my graphic design going and started getting request I would save that money for the inventory I needed to do parties.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the most rewarding part of being an event decorator is the appreciation. The feeling my clients get when they see they event. Hearing them tell me that everything was more beautiful than they could have imagined. That gives me a sense of pride in knowing that my early mornings and late nights was all worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cceventsandrentals.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/cceventsandrentals
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/cceventsandrentals
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@ccevents