We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ella Blake a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ella, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?
The Plaid Picnic Company is run by me with the help of my family. They all support what I do and help when they can. Every single one of them including my mom, dad, sister, husband, etc. have helped me to get where I am now. On event days at least one of them is there with me helping to set up. I intend to always keep this business within my family and close friends. I have some amazing people surrounding me who help me to grow The Plaid Picnic Company every day. I hope that one day my children will be able to take over The Plaid Picnic Company and to help grow it even further.
Ella, 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 in the event planning industry. I originally started this business to have a baby viewing for my son who was born in the midst of Covid. I wanted the opportunity for family to meet him while still feeling safe and comfortable. It was my first picnic and so many people stopped to tell me how beautiful it was. I thought to myself that this is something that I could help people with. From there I hit the ground running and continued to market myself every day on social media and with the community. I am extremely creative and can curate my clients dream event. I have a unique eye when it comes to designing events and can bring my clients visions to life. The Plaid Picnic Company provides planning services for all size events including picnics. I am a mother to two now and have still been working every day to grow my business and provide extraordinary event services to my clients. I take pride in knowing that when a client comes to me they will be happy with what I provide. I have a passion for what I do and that makes what I do even more special.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
It is 2022 and social media is bigger than ever. I would say that 90% of my clients come straight from social media. This includes Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Social media is a key part in growing my business and finding new clientele. Without social media I think that things would be a lot harder to market. I am continuously posting on all platforms and reaching potential clients. At least every other day I am posting something new or designing a post.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Consistency is key. My goal is to post at least once a day. That’s just Instagram and Facebook posts for our feed. As far as reels or TikTok‘s go I try to post those as often as I can. Posting different material attracts different clientele. If you can post every day that’s fantastic but even posting 3 to 4 times a week is ideal. When your clients see what you do and what you can offer they will become more interested in your business. Also, captions that draw your clients in and get them engaged with your business is a great addition to your posts. There are planning apps that will help you to plan out your posts for the week or month and also help you to add hashtags and captions.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplaidpicniccompany/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/theplaidpicniccompany/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@theplaidpicniccompany
Image Credits
Katherine Thaxton Naomi Jemison