We recently connected with Caleigh Hoyne and have shared our conversation below.

Caleigh , appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Working in a growing business often feels very overwhelming but in the best possible way. However, regardless of the 40+ work weeks, we all deserve much needed R & R! I feel like the best way to navigate this feeling of not being able to pull away is to set boundaries with your clients, especially when you’re taking some much needed vacation time or even if it is just a day for you to tackle your personal to-dos; a reset day is a requirement! Some ways SMS & I get to accomplish this is by scheduling an announcement via our social media platforms as well as having an automatic email reply during the dates we will be out of office. This lets our clients and followers know if there is a delay in responses while giving us the peace of mind to just relax.

It is also never a bad thing to ask for a little help, whether that means you have a trustworthy admin, a familiar person with your business watching your main email or even just leaving it until you get back, you deserve this time to yourself & giving yourself the space to remember you are not your business!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Caleigh, I am the Operations Manager for SMS Events. I got my start in the event industry through working as a Cosplay Character for Children’s events & really found that I had a huge passion for working events. Even from the time I was little, I always knew I wanted to work with the Wedding Industry specifically. I found my way to Orlando & graduated from the University of Central Florida with my Bachelor’s in Event Management & immediately went to work at a local wedding venue. I found that I loved being involved with making someone’s Wedding planning an enjoyable experience.

In 2021, I began working with Michelle at SMS Events & have never looked back! SMS specializes in Day of Coordinating. Our Day of Coordinating package offers the best of both worlds for our clients, as they have the opportunity to select their own vendors & put together the details for their event but have the perk of handing over all of those details to their Coordinator and getting to fully enjoy their event the weeks leading up to it without having to pay a fortune to a Wedding Planner, as we are NOT Planners!

I am most proud of the growth SMS Events has provided for me over the last 3 years, Michelle & I put so much of ourselves into not only the events we lead out on but also the brand of SMS and to see the growth of going from 120 to 250 Events per year in that short time is truly a blessing that allows us to feel very prideful in the product & outstanding service of the entire team! The ladies in Pink are a force to be recon with & we won’t stop until everyone believes that they should have an Event Coordinator for all of your events!

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

I think for SMS, the biggest help to growing our reputation & brand within the market is the power of strong branding! Michelle & I really started looking at SMS Events as a brand rather than a small business. This was a strategy we used when looking at how we were presented to our industry through networking, along with how we were presenting ourselves online through social media platforms. I feel as though through the efforts of joining networking groups, starting to use “Ladies in Pink” as our brand & our strong product, this allowed us to build a reputation that we are proud of but will always be a work in progress as we continue to learn & grow the brand more!

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

One of the most integral stories in my career path has to be my road leading me to SMS Events. Michelle & I were connected through one of the business partners that works with SMS closely & after our initial meeting together, I don’t think Michelle was sold on me quite yet. I accepted the position working full time with her while she was transitioning to being an entrepreneur full time. I think the reason Michelle & I have grown such a beautiful, close working & personal relationship is because we came together at a time when there was so much change happening to our careers. This allowed us to not only rely on each other for support & guidance while refining the business model & making process improvements while growing a team. To this day, Michelle & I work hand in hand day in day out for going on 3 years now & I don’t see us being separated any time soon, at least until the Ladies in Pink do a total takeover of the Event Industry!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://smseventdesign.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smseventdesign/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smseventdesigns
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caleigh-hoyne/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PartywiththeLadiesinPINK

Image Credits
Daylin Lavoy Photography Chris Gustafson Photo