Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joselyn Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joselyn, we appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

My first “adult job” was with our local public housing authority in the property management office. I was young, and up until that moment I thought I wanted to own a poetry lounge. I wanted to have special events that would bring people together. My time at this job changed everything! I helped the team with an annual community day where we had resources, radio stations, kids activities and more on the property. The staff pulled the grill out and cooked until everyone was served. I remember stepping out on the porch and seeing a whole community of people coming together, having a good time and getting important information. At that moment I went from wanting to plan events at my own lounge to wanting to produce community events. Events that would have a positive impact on others.

That was in 2008(ish). I had NO IDEA how I would do it but I knew that’s what I wanted to do. But I had no community/nonprofit experience. So at my next job my amazing manager allowed me to keep strengthening my event planning skills by planning community events for the seniors in the independent facility I was the admin for. While on that job I found out about AmeriCorps. I remember thinking to myself “maybe I want to do non-profit events! Let’s get my foot in the door!” After 8 years at an organization it clicked for me! I had launched my business in 2016 but most events were weddings and social events. But after building a great network of supportive non-profit professionals, gaining non-profit programming experience and understanding the type of non-profit events I wanted to do, I realized I had a niche! I can merge my desire to serve the community and plan events! I re-launched my business to strictly do events for impact!

Joselyn, 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 a Goose Creek, SC native with a passion for serving my community. I hold a BS in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University. I started my career in human services as an AmeriCorps member. My service term fueled my desire to marry my love for event planning and community service.

My event planning company is committed to making a difference in the community one event at a time. My company provides event planning, management and consulting for local nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofits and community events are unique from social celebratory events. I support my clients by providing unique solutions to obstacles such as logistics, funding and programming for these events. Producing a program that captivates the audience is important at a community event. I help clients think about their event beginning with the end goal in mind and keeping it at the forefront of every decision.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I re-launched my business and became a full-time entrepreneur October 2019 as an event planner. It was a great leap of faith to make this transition. Within the first quarter of 2020 the entire country shut down. Not only did it shut down but it shut down in the middle of the setup of day 2 of a 3 Day Event!! This was one of the contracts I DREAMED of having!! So to say I was scared would be an understatement of what I felt! I had helped my previous employer fill the position I once held with someone I KNEW would not only do the job well but would take the program to the next level. I left a secure salary to be an event planner and just like that NO MORE EVENTS…YIKES!!

So after a quick panic (LOL) I thought about my other skills and the network that I built over my career and launched the consulting side of my business. I was able to take the lessons I learned as a Program Manager, Administrative Director, Event Planner and my love for technology and support non-profits! The consulting arm of my business helped to sustain Eventions and even grew it beyond what I could have imagined!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me has been word of mouth.

When I shared with one of my mentors that I was launching my own business; we made a lunch date. At that lunch we discussed my business model, she gave me first steps and resources to tap into, she told me to purchase a book, read it and at our next lunch we would discuss what I learned. On the drive back to the office she said “okay, what is your elevator speech? 30 seconds….Go” I froze! She said “Your elevator speech is going to be vital to your success. What you tell them should be enough to stick in their minds but not so much that they don’t remember. That way when they are in the next conversation where services you provide are mentioned they say “do you know Joselyn?”….Okay go”. Needless to say I definitely didn’t have it by the time we got back to the office (LOL). But I made a commitment to learn it. And it has been my best marketing tool!

The first piece of advice that I received when I started in the nonprofit industry was “your name will proceed you”.

So, to this day, my elevator speech and name are what people are able to share and those alone have produced 90% of my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://eventionsbyjoselyn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eventionsbyjoselyn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1540584596250377
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joselyn-johnson-33a6906b/