We recently connected with Evan Potter and Karen Ferguson and have shared our conversation below.

Evan Potter and Karen Ferguson, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

This is a great question. We think the most important key to being successful is “doing it scared.” Our favorite jobs and memories in this business have come from saying YES to opportunities we were initially afraid to take! Catering for 500? This is daunting number and we were worried if we could pull it off. We knew in our hearts, however; that we had the correct tools and knowledge to handle this. With meticulous planning and hours of hard work in the kitchen, we were able to pull it off – with the help of our awesome team, of course! After the event, we had numerous people come up to compliment us on the quality of the food and service. A job that we initially wanted to say NO to, turned out to be one of our best ones ever!

Ever since then, we know what we are capable of. We now feel even more confident in our abilities, and we also feel truly proud of our work. This is what true “success” looks like for us!

Evan Potter and Karen Ferguson, 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?

We are Karen and Evan, a mother and daughter duo who decided to venture into entrepreneurship together! We originally started in 2018 and got into this industry because one, we wanted out of our current work situations, and two, we were obsessed with all things events! We also craved flexibility and freedom, and we were willing to do anything to achieve it.

Growing up in our family, every holiday was celebrated to the MAX. Even when the tooth fairy came, it was a momentous occasion. Every holiday was special, even the small ones. Karen always made a special pistachio cake for St. Patrick’s Day. We would set out our adorable Valentine decorations in February. We would always have red beans and rice and King cake on Mardi Gras, and we would ALWAYS celebrate our birthdays in special ways. These traditions created long-lasting, beautiful memories for our family.

When PlanIT Events LLC began, we solely offered event planning services. This didn’t last for long though as Evan quickly discovered her deep love of balloons and started taking online classes. After her first balloon garland, she knew she never wanted to stop! Soon after, we decided to take personal chefing classes and started offering this service to our current clients. Turns out, they absolutely loved the food and wanted more! We worked hard and jumped through all the hoops it takes to receive a catering license. Currently, we proudly offer planning services, luxury balloons/custom décor, and full-service catering!

Along with being a “one-stop-shop” for our clients, I believe we offer a level of customer service that is hard to replicate. Yes, all our food and décor is top-quality; however, we are most proud of the way we treat our clients. We realize you are trusting us with your most important memories, and we do not take this lightly.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing our clientele has been through the relationships we build with clients when they book with PlanIT Events. After all, good business equals good relationships. We try to build rapport with each and every client we assist. We remember their kids, their preferences, their style, etc.

Basically, we care. A lot, Even if we make a mistake, our clients have full trust in us and know we are always going to make it right.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Right before COVID hit, PlanIT was doing great. We were finally making money with our business and excited for what we had going on in the following months. However, this was quickly all lost due to COVID. Everything was cancelled or at best, rescheduled for the future (with no exact date or timeframe). Along with many other businesses, we were scared and left wondering if PlanIT would see the other side of the COVID nightmare.

During the time we were all stuck at home, we didn’t give up. We continued to hone our craft – Evan practiced and practiced with balloons. Karen was trying new recipes every day. We did as many drop-offs as we could, (safely, of course), and checked in with all our clients.

Even though the odds were stacked against us and we had a very small income during that time, we did our very best with what we had and tried to stay positive. We didn’t want to give up what we had worked so hard to build. Luckily, it did end up working out for PlanIT.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.planiteventsllc.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/planiteventsllc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/planiteventsllc

Image Credits
For the pic of me and Karen the photographer was : Roohi Photography