We were lucky to catch up with Gladys Prieto recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gladys, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?
I learn some many lessons along the way; but the most important of them all was that you could never be great at something unless you do what you truly love. Yes, I had a great job before I started my own business, and I was very good at it; but after starting The Pretty Picnic, is when I realized how important it is to do what motivates you in life. I learn through this experience that when you do something you love every day your motivation will improve. Having something to look forward on the daily basis is important to sucess; even those days where you feel everything is going wrong, feeling motivated can give you that much needed boost to make it through difficult situations.
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 started this business as a hobby during the biggening of the pandemic. It was a time people were more comfortable being outside and I was looking for a creative outlet. In a million years, I would have imagined The Pretty Picnic will become what it is today; I am grateful for every minute of it and all the sucess we have had. Our company specializes in styling and catering luxury picnic all across south Florida. I came from a financial background but wanted to use my interior design skills to create memorable events. Luxury picnics was a new concept at that time and now our company is organizing over 100 outdoor picnics a month in venues ranging from clients’ backyards to local park and beaches. Themes can be as simple as an intimate picnic for two to or as elaborate as bridal showers, bachelorette parties or birthday bash. We are proud to have created a new concept that allows our clients to enjoy the outdoors in a way they have never experienced before. You can dine at the best restaurant, but this way you can enjoy the outdoors and have a truly unique experience with family and friends.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
I believe the most successful way to grow your clientele is to build a sense of community; not only with your clients but also by partnering with other local businesses. I can’t stress how important this is, especially for new business owners. We were lucky to have built amazing relationships with other vendors, that not only have helped us elevate our brand, but have included us to be part of the community they have built. Everyone has something unique to bring to the table; that’s why we don’t believe in competition but alliances. Also, for us, it was important to always deliver a quality product; from day one our company mission/vision has been ‘quality over quantity’ and I truly believe that has been the main reason for our success. Yes, having a social media presence and investing in marketing is important, but it is not all of it. We believe word of mouth is the key and the best strategy when you are trying to grow your clientele, that why our main focus is to make sure the experience our clients have at our picnics is truly one of a kind.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
The event industry is undoubtably a high-pressure job. It involves constantly meeting time-sensitive deadlines and what makes it even harder is dealing with unforeseen mishaps and/or delays that are completely outside of your control. There is a lot that happens behind the scenes for us to be able to produce an event for our clients and we always strike to exceed expectations; therefore, the pressure is real! That is why is important to build a strong team that understands what the mission of your company is and feels motivated to carry that mission every day. Keeping your team happy is crucial to maintain high morale and motivation; in our office we keep an open-door policy where if an employee have any questions, complaints, suggestions, and challenges; these are all being heard, addressed and/or taken into consideration. It is important to understand for any business owner that your business is always going to be a work in progress and the best advice you can receive is from the people under your organization that are actually performing those tasks.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theprettypicnic.com
- Instagram: @theprettypicnic_
- Facebook: @theprettypicnic
Image Credits
Annie Cooper Photography Florencia Serra Photography