We recently connected with Jennifer Rugh and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

I have a background in wedding planning, but I had not been working in the industry for over 20 years. Before and around the time I was working as a banquet manager booking weddings, I was also bartending and waitressing. As a venue owner, all of these skills have proven critical. I think it is critical to be able to fill every position I might need in this job market when employees are difficult to find. Throughout my early employment years, I learned many lessons about customer service, organization, staffing, and more even though opening my own venue was never a plan. We are opening our second location, Lexington on the Square, on the Harrisonville Square next month. I have realized that every experience has the potential to prepare you for the next experience.

Jennifer, 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 own Brick & Mirth in Historic Downtown Pleasant Hill and Lexington on the Square on the Historic Harrisonville Square. After investing in residential real estate for 20 years, I began to invest in commercial real estate. I decided that my next step was to build businesses. When I saw these gorgeous historic buildings, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them, and we began renovations to turn them into sophisticated event space for the community. We truly feel that we have filled a niche and added something special to our community. Our motto is “Life is what you Celebrate”, and we get to celebrate with people in our town and surrounding areas. We have made many friends this past year. I think that my personal interest and involvement in every event sets us apart from other event venues. We offer top shelf service and a beautiful space at an affordable price. Our main goal is to create a perfect event with our clients. I am very proud of the growth we have had this past year at Brick & Mirth, and I can’t wait to see what we can do at Lexington on the Square. We partner with local vendors who know our space and take the same pride in servicing our guests as we do. As we grow, we are adding to our team. Our people share the same passion for guest service as I do, and we are so happy with the people we are partnering with in the industry.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The event business is cyclical, so the slow months were scary our first year. We began to plan our own private events such as musical guests, vendor events, parties, etc. Our first year, we threw an adult Halloween Party that was a huge hit. We were completely booked this year, so we could not do it again. Several of the attendees from last year reached out hoping we were planning it again. It was disappointing that we could not have the party this year, but we are thankful to be booked with weddings every weekend…and the guests were so genuinely happy for us. My lesson is that pivoting when we need to is critical. There are slower months, but there is always something we can do to generate business and get people in the door.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building our following on social media has been one of my biggest challenges. We are constantly learning how to create on-line exposure. We also pay for marketing with reputable wedding and event online sources. I recently hired a pro to help with reels and videos. These are the very important marketing strategies that I simply do not have time ( or expertise) to do. I definitely learned early that paying for marketing is a priority. A lot of our business is also from guests who have attended events and end up booking their own event with us. I always talk to guests and find out where they are from. My goal is always to branch out to new customer bases.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brickandmirth.com
• Instagram: brickandmirthevents
• Facebook: Brick & Mirth

Image Credits
Kay Web Photography