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

Alright, Julie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I was living my best life in San Diego working as a freelance event planner. I had an apartment on the beach with my two best friends and really thriving in my 30’s. Then the pandemic happened. The beach and boardwalk were closed and slowly the world began to shut down. All of my event planning contracts we canceled as we figured out what Covid had in store for us. I eventually decided I’d have to move back home to St. Louis with my parents while I figured out my next move. I officially became roommates with my parents in June 2020. I asked around to friends and family and found some odd jobs to fill my time. I worked as a maid, a dog walker, grocery shopper, firework stand cashier and even a donut shop manager. All jobs I never envisioned myself doing (and honestly they were all fun in their own way). Finally in September 2020 I was scrolling through Instagram and saw a pretty picnic on the beach. And that’s when the light bulb went off! Does St. Louis have a picnic company? Would people in St. Louis even want to have a picnic here in the Midwest since we always seem to catch on the trends a few years too late? I stayed up all night researching on all of these topics. And the next day I was making my Dad pick up an old kitchen table from Facebook market place so we could cute it down and it would be my first picnic table. From the very moment I saw there was an opportunity in our market I went in 100%. I kind of just had that feeling this was going to work. The pandemic regulations of being outdoors and with small groups make this an even great opportunity since people still had the need to socialize in a safe way. My first picnics were for friends aka I drug though out to parks, made them haul my supplies and we discussed what worked. Studying other midwestern cities and seeing other picnic businesses getting success, I started an LLC in October 2022. From instagram, word of mount and some media coverage, Alpaca Picnic was now a local STL business. I was so excited!

Julie, 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?

This is what took me so long to write back. I hate talking about myself. I try to let my picnics speak for themselves and hide from the social media aspect of this business. I’m not trying to be insta famous but want my picnics to be. BUT I truly understand your audience connects to the person.

I’ve always wanted to be where the fun was happening. I’m pretty social and I’ve rarely missed a party. My Mom’s water broke on the dance floor at my Grandpa’s birthday party, even then I didn’t want to miss a party and I was a few weeks early. In college, I got a business degree in Entertainment Management. We did so many fun things within that degree like working at the Super Bowl, going to TRL in New York City. I even scored an internship at E! Entertainment in LA. And just from my social connections I landed a summer job working for The Hills on MTV (Season 3 – I was there when Justin Bobby left Audriana’s helmet at the beach party). It was a wild summer!

After college I got an office job in St. Louis and I only lasted 6 months. So I did the most opposite of an office job and moved to Breckenridge, Colorado to be a Ski Instructor. After 2 years of being a ski bum I moved back to St. Louis to work as a Travel Director for Maritz. That was another dream job. Traveling the world, staying at 5 star properties with 18 hour work days but it was totally worth it.

Then out of no where I decided to become a Private Jet Flight Attendant and eventually Flight Concierge. Again chasing the fun careers. I flew sports teams, presidential campaigns, actors, even went on tour wit U2 and Shakira.

At the ripe age of 34 I decided I needed to settle down and get back in to the the event planning world. And I moved to San Deigo to work as a freelancer since we would live any where with that job.

But all of these crazy fun jobs I’ve had really built the foundation for the picnic business. I’ve had so much experience setting up events from start to finish, interacting with clients t all levels and anticipating needs. Not to mention I’ve had the training on high event events. And above all, I wasn’t afraid of the hard work, long hours or even low pay. Did I forget to mention every career I’ve chose wasn’t going make me rich? But I’m ok with that because I have so much fun and truly enjoy it.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I have the most loyal repeat customers. I’ve had clients that had hosted 2, 3, and even 4 events with Alpaca Picnic. It makes my heart so full that they enjoy the experience so much that they want to celebrate their events with me.

Word of mouth goes hand in hand with my repeat clients. I consider myself a positive and happy person and I want to always make my clients so excited about their party.

I aim to exceed my guests’ expectations and provide them with an exceptional event experience they won’t forget. Creating those fun memories. But that does mean I have a hard time saying no, I’ll usually find a way to make it happen.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Funding my business at the start of a pandemic was difficult as I was never a “saver.” I began this business with at $3000 and tons of finds from second hand stores and Facebook marketplace.

4 months into the business I bought an large “Amazon Sized” cargo van. With he is van I went from 1-2 events per day to be able to accommodate up to 5 events in a day. Thankfully my parents were able to co-sign on this for me. It was a huge risk because at this point I was only going 2-3 events on the weekends. But the cargo van helped me execute 298 (just short of 300) picnics my first year in business. Did I mention I do this solo? It’s tough but a good workout :)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alpacapicnic.com
• Instagram: @alpacapicnicstl
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alpacapicnicstl
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieaellison/
• Other: Google Reviews under: Alpaca Picnic LLC St. Louis

Image Credits
Emma Renyae Photography