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

Deadra, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Success is measured by your mindset and how open you are to growing in your business and life. You have to be strong and tough. Your focus must begin with your mental growth. I developed a strong will power that helped me achieve my goals in starting my business and building my brand. Failure is not an option but understand it can occur if you do not have a plan.
Success for me is measured through patience, resilience, consistency, and having a strong social support.

Deadra, 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 am a native of Charleston, SC. I am married with three children and two grandsons. I am a certified Wedding and Event Designer with The Bridal Society. I became a full-time entrepreneur in September 2022. This was not only about a leap of faith but also about careful planning ensuring myself that there was no turning back to my previous employment as a supervisor for a medical transportation company.

I knew I wanted to branch out from just planning baby showers and birthday parties for my family members. As a little girl, I would dream of my wedding day as something out of a Disney movie, like Cinderella. My journey of designing the most elegant, innovative weddings and events began with my daughter’s wedding. I used my southern upbringing and merged the Charleston sweetgrass history into a beautiful, chic and the most talked about event of the summer. From there, Southern Chic Events and Rentals was born!

I can be somewhat of a perfectionist! If it is blue roses you want, blue roses you will get. I want people to see my creativity and their vision in the designs of their events. I want people to see their event as a distinctive and memorable event like a true fairytale.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My former employment was a supervisor for a medical transportation company for 20 years. Having worked there was fulfilling, however, I knew I wanted to do more outside of this career. I realized after designing my daughter’s baby shower, event planning and designing was my happy place.

I watched members of my circle, make attempts to plan their family members’ events and just becoming frustrated, and exhausted with their events. I would go assist and give suggestions until finally, I would ask them to let me plan the event. In the beginning, there were a few hits or misses, but my resilience kept the fire burning and the creativity growing inside my mind. I never gave up! Each time, my creative juices would appear, thus creating a vision for all to see.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Keeping in touch with my clients and continue brand loyalty involves a few key strategies:

First, I continue to communicate with my clientele by way of social media, emails, and most recently the introduction of my magazine, Southern Chic Magazine. I also continue communicating with my clients about new items added to my rental inventory. When I hear from my clients it is always a “thank you” for making them feel valued and appreciated.

Second, Southern Chic’s staff always provide excellent customer service by responding promptly and resolve any issues efficiently. I am thoroughly engaged with providing my staff as well as myself, with the opportunity to attend professional development sessions.

Third, I always tailor my ideas and communication that will meet the client’s specific needs and preferences. For example, a high school prom wanted fresh floral navy blue roses (i.e.: live flowers) which they received. All I can say is I aim to please.

Last and most important, is providing a feedback mechanism which I provide after each event. I want my clients to understand that I value their opinions and I am committed to making changes and improvements.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Southernchicrental.com
• Instagram: southernchiceventrentals
• Facebook: Southern Chic Event Rentals, LLC

Image Credits

Photos by Ricardo Rivers Photography