We were lucky to catch up with Kathy Heilman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kathy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

There is often a misconception that if you own a venue, you don’t have any “real” work with an event. You simply open your doors, let everyone else plan, oversee, and execute everything. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Imagine hosting a party of 100 people in your home. Do you need to do anything to get ready for the event? Now imagine after that party, you have another party the very next night for 200 people. There is so much maintenance involved in owning a venue and so much wear and tear each time an event occurs. It’s a lot to keep up with to ensure each guest has the venue they envisioned. Additionally, we take the journey with our guests during their planning process. While they are required to hire planners, most only hire a month of planner, which leaves us to help them navigate the process the year leading up to the event. There is so much that goes into the selling, maintenance, marketing and overseeing of a venue. It’s definitely not a job for the meek of heart. There have definitely been times that I thought it would be much easier to just have a regular job where I can go home at the end of the day and keep my work issues at work. Something where all of the pressure of someone’s wedding doesn’t fall on me maintaining the perfect venue of their dreams. However, with risk comes reward. I can honestly say that I’ve never had a more challenging career. Yet the reward that comes with a happy bride or client and them sharing their memories in “their beautiful venue” is all worth it. It’s awesome to be a part of someone’s special day or create an event that they will remember for a lifetime. The smiles on the faces of the guests when they see each other or reunite after years of being apart is immeasurable. Definitely worth all the blood, sweat and tears that goes into owning a business.

Kathy , 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 began my career in hospitality about 15 years ago as a corporate sales person for Barnsley Resort. I was asked, after a couple years, to take over the wedding department. I was extremely reluctant at first stating that I loved corporate clients and that brides scared me. The drama and emotion that I heard about along with all the bridezilla horror stories were enough to make me run the other way. After some conversations with the owner, I decided to try my hand at weddings. I knew sales and customer services; but I knew nothing about weddings. The first step I took was to get rid of the previous process as I realized it was confusing for the client. My brain thinks in very simple terms and I quickly realized that a bride’s does too. The more simple the process was, the less confused the bride was thus leading to a satisfied client. I watched the bride through the planning process and quickly saw that if they became overwhelmed with details and questions, it was like a steel curtain came down and they got frustrated. The more simple the process, the more successful the event. I quickly learned how to “speak bride” and customized our packages and offerings to accommodate a bride’s needs on wedding day as well as throughout the planning process. After a decade of working as Director of Weddings, I decided to venture off on my own and buy my own venue. Definitely a risk but I felt this allowed me the ultimate freedom to cater to the client. What I didn’t count on was COVID. I purchased the Whitlock Inn in 2020. Talk about risk! But one thing I knew was that weddings would make a come back and weddings always happen. So I moved forward with the purchase and executed weddings throughout 2020. At the end of the year, I was able to completely renovate the Whitlock Inn and create a space that I felt accommodated the modern bride looking for a historic venue. My goal was to stay true to the authenticity of the beautiful venue and honor the history of the building while still updating it enough so the client felt they could put their stamp on the vision of their event. I wanted the client to stand out in the photos not just the venue. I have an amazing list of preferred vendors that I share with my clients and with my experience in the industry, I can guide them through the process and offer some creative ideas to make their event spectacular!

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

The best source of new clients is social media and past clients. I spent a great deal of time formulating a preferred vendor list so the best of the best are executing the weddings. These spectacular events generate the most beautiful photos which are shared on social media. That is huge in reaching potential clients. Also, past clients that are happy and word of mouth. The best sales person for a venue is a happy client. The referrals have been amazing. I’ve had friends of brides book as well as guests at weddings or events that are now in the market for an event. We love our clients and we love celebrating with them. Making people happy is our business and we are thrilled when someone inquires and says they were at an event and had an amazing time!

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

The best story of resilience I can share is living through COVID. I purchased Whitlock Inn in May of 2020. I knew it would be a challenge but I had faith that weddings would survive and grow. As I worked with every wedding to move their date; I was hit with yet a second round of COVID which lead to closings and fears. It was definitely a time of uncertainty. I kept thinking, “who would buy a venue in 2020?”. Well, I did, so I figured out quickly that I needed to strategize and empathize. I worked with all of my clients to customize their event and date. It definitely took a toll on the business and staff as we ending up doubling all of our work. But I kept the end goal in mind; a happy client and a successful event. We made it through with just a few “bruises” and now we are getting to what I think is back to the normal booking pattern.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.whitlockinn.com
• Instagram: @whitlockinn

Image Credits
Picture This Photography Unique Floral Expressions