We were lucky to catch up with Jatona Patton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jatona thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I always wanted a Intimate Space to cater to people looking for the perfect space to host their intimate gatherings! I begin looking for the perfect space, not to big, but a perfect size. I found my perfect space which was a 1,000 sq ft building suite that consist of 3 individuals suites (originally a hearing aid office). When you walk in the main door there’s a huge private foyer area which lead to the main suite door that opens up with 3 individual suites! The first two suites were private suites i immediately said hey, these are going to be content studios, a place where creators can create rather its a photoshoot or podcast. The last suite which is a open style space was perfect for 4 tables and 30 chairs to have a intimate event, along with these suites, through out the space i wanted to create more eye catching visual/props with wallpaper, glitter wall etc to not only provide a intimate space for people to host their events but to have picture props for memories! I knew i wanted to stand out from the traditional event space so I immediately begun executing with my equipment and inventory. Being a smaller venue that only holds up to 30 guest it was easier for me to get my equipment and build my linen/decor inventory! First thing first i knew my husband and I needed to get in here and get busy! It only took 3 months to complete the space, while doing this i starting getting my equipment together (Tables, Chairs, Decor, etc). During the renovation i knew i needed to build my website and find vendors like caterers, bakers, DJ,s etc to collaborate within the venue, along with comparing prices amongst other venues around me. Fast forwarded everything is done and the space is ready for bookings, i begun promoting on social media, showing walk through videos, pictures of the space layout, and all the services we had to offer. Eventually came up with a 3 and 1 package which consist of a 3hr rental, light decor, and a catering package at a affordable price. This created a buzz and bookings started coming in, well i knew i already had tables and chairs, but now bookings were coming in and deposits were being made i had to start ordering different color linens per booking to match the customer color scheme. Although we were getting busy, we still needed to keep building up the inventory for the event space, and keep promoting to keep business going. Marketing was fun but challenging, i loved to capture the variety of setup/colors to start creating the space gallery, but staying creative and relevant has been the most challenging factor in this business.

Jatona , 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?

My name is Jatona Patton (Jae) I’m a licensed nail technician and salon owner of The Intimate Wax Spa. I begun my entrepreneur journey through out the 14 years of being in the beauty industry which have allowed me to expand into other business opportunities. I worked as a nail technician when i graduated beauty school in 2009, then eventually became a salon owner in 2014 building a strong clientele specializing in manicures, pedicures, acrylic, and gel enhancements. While doing this later in 2017 i started offering tween polish workshops for tweens who were interested in doing nails. I would rent our various of spaces monthly to host these smaller workshops, which lead me to becoming a event space owner. I got tired of renting out spaces for all of my workshops and classes, so why not open your own space and do the same thing and host your workshops and events for free. This is where i begun to get curious about the event space business, where i knew this had to generate great income from a business stance. Who don’t host events?! Right! People are forever needing a space for baby showers, birthday gatherings, bridal showers, meetings, etc. Yes everyone must of thought i was crazy jumping into another business while juggling my current salon business, clientele, and booth renters. The salon helped my build structure and discipline within business and myself. I was ready, and knew it was going to work out. In 2021 The Intimate Space Indy was created! A Intimate space for all your event gatherings, a content space for creators to create, and last a suite space for meetings, trainings, and or workshops!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Formerly already having one business i was able to build my second business from the following Ive already had from social media. I will say not everybody is going to follow your business page if they aren’t interested in what you have to offer. So knowing you targeted audience is just that, my target audience was anyone who needed a small space rather its a event, photoshoot, and or meeting space. Being that i was able to offer multiple services in one space this gave me plenty of ideas to create content, packages, etc to keep my social media fresh, which organically it started to build, and i am still building, Anytime someone booked the space they always took pictures and tagged the venue, which then their followers liked the content that was taken within the space and which cause them to follow and like the space along with the guest who attended the event. I recommend to anyone beginning to build on social media, is to post daily, create reels/videos, show the good, bad, and the ugly, and just be you!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Honesty and Integrity! Business has its ups/downs through it all i always was honest and straight forward in business, which gained the peoples trust. We all are humans but honesty goes along way.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.theintimatespaceindy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theintimatespaceindy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theintimatespaceindy

Image Credits
Venue: The Intimate Space Indy Decor: Jatona Patton