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

Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I think that for the most part, I AM happy as a business owner. There’s definitely a lot more flexibility and freedom when it comes to scheduling. I get to choose what fills up my calendar, as compared to a regular job, where you typically have a set schedule Monday through Friday or something similar to that. It’s up to my own discretion what I choose to do with my time, and that truly is a gift!

Of course I do sometimes think about what it would be like to go back to having a regular job.. and mostly that is because there’s a lot of other things you have to take care of as a business owner, that you don’t have to when you work for someone else. For example, business taxes, business licenses, business insurance, marketing, business expenses, etc. I can easily get overwhelmed sometimes trying to keep up with it all, and it can seem nostalgic almost to think about going back to just working for someone else so that they are the ones that have to deal with all that stuff!

I recently got a letting in the mail from the IRS, and had a moment (or 30) of panic. I don’t know what I’m doing a lot of times when it comes to the back end of business ownership, so a letter from the IRS definitely elicits panic! HOWEVER- there’s so many great resources for business owners out there! So I reached out to my CPA and asked if they could help, and of course they could! There’s always a solution, and I think that the benefits to business ownership outweigh the negatives. So I am super happy to be a business owner! I love the flexibility in my schedule, the creative liberties I can take anytime I want since it’s MY business, and the community of other small business owners that you meet along the way. Such a fun club to be in!

Jessica, 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?

I am so happy to live in Charleston, and be a part of the amazing community of wedding vendors here! I am a military spouse, and just moved to CHS in 2021. My husband and I have lived all over the country, but Charleston is hands down our favorite duty station! We are from Tennessee originally, so the south is home to us, and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

I used to work remotely in finance, and it worked for me for a decade. The flexibility aligned with our military lifestyle of moving every couple years, so I made it work. But in 2020 when the pandemic hit, something shifted in me, and I knew that I needed to make a change to finally do something that I was actually passionate about. So, I quit my job in finance and took a leap into being a small business owner!

I have always been the one to plan parties, events, weddings, or showers for all my family and friends, and absolutely LOVED it, so I decided to step out and try and make it my career. Soon after making that decision, my husband got orders to move to CHS, and once we arrived, my business just took off! Charleston is such a beautiful destination wedding spot, so it’s been pretty amazing for growing a wedding and event planning business. I am so blessed and thankful for that!

Yes, one day my husband will get orders again and we will have to move away from Charleston, but I know now that I can be successful as a business owner, and I look forward to the next challenge, wherever that is!

Wedding planning can be stressful. There’s so many moving parts, and a lot of stress to give your clients the best day of their lives, so you definitely have to be able to roll with the punches and stay on your toes at all times. I think being a military spouse who lives in unpredictable times on a daily basis has helped me a lot with this, and sets me apart from others in my field. I am extremely ready and capable to tackle anything that comes my way on the fly, without batting an eye!

I want my potential clients to know that I understand the need for things to be affordable, and to stay on budget. That’s why I think I am most proud to provide excellent service at an affordable price to my clients. No cutting corners here! Just a gal that is passionate about what she does, and wants to be able to provide that to as many people as possible, without breaking their banks!

I offer day-of services for weddings, full planning, partial planning, as well as date nights, picnics, parties and events such as corporate events or fundraisers! Whatever your dream is, I can help make it your BEST DAY.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think that I have just stayed true to myself regardless of my audience. I am who I am, and what you see is what you get! lol There’s something about genuine people that attract others, and I strive to be that the best I can. That along with staying true to my word, has helped build my reputation within my market here in Charleston. For example, early on in launching a business, I just wanted to book things, so I was severely under charging for services. I mean to the point I was losing money and spending from my own pockets just in order to book a job. I quickly realized that wasn’t sustainable, and changed course, but there were lots of events I had already booked under those same terms. So, I followed through on them and honored the price I quoted, even though it meant I lost my BUTT in the process. haha I just knew that staying true to my word was important and would benefit me in in the future in more ways than I was losing at the time. And I have seen that to be true in the success of my business!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me has been word out mouth referrals! Usually two of my clients per month have been referred to me by either another client, or a vendor that loves my work! It’s such a blessing to be able to work here in CHS because of people I have made happy in some way! And I love being able to return the favor! I refer other vendors as much as possible! It’s such a fun community here, and I am so thankful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thebestdayweddingsandevents.com
• Instagram: @thebestdayweddingsandevents
• Facebook: The Best Day Weddings and Events

Image Credits
Palm to Pine Photography Asia Woodmancy Photography Emily Doran Photography Sydney Lynn Photography