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

Alright, Heidi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I worked in both the service industry and professional workforce for 10 years before I decided to take the leap into owning my own business. Entrepreneurship is scary and if you thought the doubts that echo in your own head are bad, wait till you hear the fear projected on to you from everyone else. However, standing on this side of the fire, I am overjoyed at the life I get to lead. The gratitude I feel for getting work in this industry and support myself is nothing short of a dream come true. Our busines is well on its way to supporting two households and I cant think of a better dream than that. And I will never go back to having a Boss.

Heidi , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Heidi Johnson and I am one half of Cake and Champagne Event Planning. My business partner is my cousin Meg and we are living out our childhood dream of working together, owning our own business and getting paid to eat cake. You know how in every relationship, one person is the Kite and one person is the string? I am the kite and Meg is the string and that is why we work so well together. We plan and execute events all over Kansas city from small intimate gatherings to events up to 1500 people. We exist in an amazing wedding vendor tribe that values community over competition. Cake and champagne values creation, inclusion, integrity and hard work. We lead with our hearts and bust our butts because we are living the dream.

How’d you meet your business partner?

While Meg and I look like sisters, it is actually our mothers who were sisters. She and I were raised in homes that loved a good theme party. Our mothers used to joke about party planning as a profession but little did they know their daughters would internalize that dream and make it their reality. I would always sign my cards to Meg as ” Your cousn/sister/ friend” and I am over the moon to add Business partner to that list.

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

Networking. Kansas city has an unparalleled community of wedding vendors. As entrepreneurs, we don’t really get the chance to stand around a water cooler and swap stories. In fact, owning your own business can get rather lonely. Our community has multiple networking and community events every month where we meet up, ask in on each other, welcome new people and think of ways to drive the industry in to the future.

Contact Info:

• Website: Cakeandchampagneplanning.com
• Instagram: cakeandchampagne_eventplanning

Image Credits
Copper Tree Photo, Sheree Nicole Photography, McBride Photography