We recently connected with Keith Willard and have shared our conversation below.

Keith, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

They say that entrepreneurs are born that way. I believe that wholeheartedly. Throughout my career, I have always leaned towards positions that allowed me a lot of freedom. In my twenties, I was the Executive Director of a small not-for-profit. I made my hours and had few limitations. The success of the organization was dependent on whether or not I was successful. When I moved into the world of event planning, I aligned myself with a company that provided the same foundation. My hours and my success were totals of my own making. At the age of 34, I decided to change my life completely and moved to Florida. Being new to the area, I took an entry-level catering sales job at the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty Six. Again, my boss was all about allowing me the freedom to come and go as needed. The difference with this particular position is that there was a support structure that when used correctly, propelled ME quickly up through the ranks. Within four years, I took on the role of Director of Catering for a property that had recently come out of bankruptcy. Again, the success of the business was dependent on my success. It took less than two years for the catering department to become hugely successful, so much so that Ritz-Carlton took interest and bought the property. I was the only Director that they asked to stay on.
This would also be the first time that I worked for a company that had very specific guidelines to my job description, including hours that I was expected to be on the property and a stringent sales process. This was incredibly difficult for me to conform to since I was so used to having total freedom. For two years, I trudge through, still successful but not joyful.
It was only then that I realized that throughout all of my years, I was yearning to be my boss. The roles I took on through the years gave me the semblance of that, but it was completely true.
I knew that no matter what the challenge, that when left up to my devices, I would be successful. I just needed to make the jump.
That was five years ago, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m both successful and joyful. That all of my hard work is going to support me and my business. It feels a lot like the difference between renting a house and owning a house. Both give you access to the property. You fill it with beautiful things. You work on the garden to make it your own. But, one of these ultimately belongs to someone else, and the other belongs to you.

Keith, 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’m been doing events for almost my whole life. Starting way back with the Jerry Lewis Telethon. Does anyone remember that? I must have been six or seven years old and I was focused on filling my milk carton with pennies… that’s what they did back then is give you a milk carton so you could ask for change. I had no shame in asking anyone for a penny and had great pride as the milk cartons started to add up! This was my first exposure to fundraising and not for profits. Over the years I volunteered for Kiwanas Club, Kiwis, HIV/AIDs charities, breast cancer walks, school fundraisers, and so on. In my twenties I was asked to take on a job as an Executive Director for a small not for profit in Dallas Texas. Because it was a small 501(c)3, finding grants was almost difficult, but I did know how to throw a good party! And with a background focused on finding donations, it was an easy leap to finding sponsors. Everything from liquor sponsors, to venues, to photographers. I knew that if I didn’t have to pay for it, that meant more of the ticket sales could go to funding the charity.
But I also knew that to get people to come to an event, it had to be fun and an event that people felt good about giving up precious time to come to it. Logistic and marketing became a huge piece of the puzzle. If companies and individuals were donating materials and money, I had to make sure they looked good and could take pride in supporting my organization. And when it came to the event itself, it had to run smoothly. It’s amazing how fast a negative experience by a delivery driver can reach back to a CEO. You have to make sure everyone is treated with respect and that you are concious of their time.
All of these things are now huge factors in my own business. Making sure that I respect everyone’s time, that the logistics are solid, that guests feel special, and that budgets are being paid attention to. It all adds up.

If you factor that in with my hotel background, I have really well rounded view of a wedding or an event. I’m not wasting peoples time with random questions about load in, electrical issues, staffing needs, setup timing, or food and beverage questions. I am very proud of the reputation I have of someone that never freaks out or anger issues. There is always an answer and always a solution. It’s not the problem that should be focused on, or how we got to the place where we have a roadblock, we whoudl be focused on the solution and then move on. Time to hash out who, why and where can happen after the event.

I work like a crazy person for my clients. Many times they have no idea of how much is going on in the background, and that is perfectly fine. They don’t need to know. All I want them to do is be in the moment knowing that no matter what, I’m going to make sure they have the best time of their life.

Great events are never about how much money was spent. Great events are based on being thoughtful about every item that goes into the event and giving good advice about what to focus on. One of my main conversation with couples is who is invited to the party. Having the wrong attendees can ruin the best day. My advice is that if you wouldn’t go to dinner with them, then don’t invite them to your wedding. This can get tricky when it comes to your immediate family but I have tips on that too – book me and I’ll help you with that!

Have you ever had to pivot?

I am the owner of a wedding and event planning company – Keith Willard Events. The first four years of my company had a pretty good year-over-year growth. I had built a foundation of excellence with nothing but five-star reviews and raves from clients. Then Covid hit and everything stopped. No new clients, no events, no revenue. But, I had clients and there was work to do on their weddings. Contracts had to be renegotiated, dates had to be moved, vendors needed to contact. What struck me is that I started getting calls from couples that were not clients. These were couples that had been planning their wedding. They had no idea what to do. How do you tell your guests, what do you do about your deposits, what happens with their contracts… lost. I knew I wanted to figure out how to help as many people as possible, but how to do that in a way that would be effective. So was born Behind The Veil – a weekly show where couples could ask questions and get answers from the experts. In the beginning, it was done on Zoom and pushed out live on Facebook. I had other event planners, florists, and hotel representatives on so that they could answer the plethora of questions coming at us. As the weeks went by, I realized that the needs were much broader than I could have imagined. So I changed the show and started inviting other professionals. One week I had a psychologist on talk about mental health and wedding planning during covid. On another week, I had lawyers on to talk about contracts and how to go about renegotiating.
Week after week – a new show with a new subject. Before I knew it, we were getting between four and six thousand views! Like my business, I pivoted the show to be able to handle the increasing complexity. Changing from Zoom to online production software, updating the graphics, moving to YouTube, and adding a podcast version.
It gave me something to focus on and kept me relevant. The show also increased my PR and the guests were teaching me things about business that I would have never learned in a normal world.
Now that we are coming out of the pandemic, my business is busier than ever! I’ve taken all the suggestions and knowledge from 16 months of shows and added it to my day-to-day practices.
What could have been a moment that ended my business turned out to be exactly what I needed to take me to the next level and create a foundation for even more growth!

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

The best source of new clients for me are past clients and hotels that I have planned weddings at.

Making sure that you take care of the couple throughout the wedding process carries a lot of weight into whether or not they recommend you to someone else. It’s a long process and many times I am with the couple for almost a year. We get to know each other incredibly well. You can’t fake loving what you do for that long. They get a true sense of my passion and focus.

Hotels are a huge source of future clients. They have to deal with a huge variety of wedding and event planners. I am always shocked when I see another wedding planner yelling at servers or arguing with the catering manager. Many times the issues have come from the fact the the planner didn’t know what they were doing so they try to divert the blame to the hotel. Why would anyone recommend someone like that! I always go above and beyond for my hotel partners to ensure that they have all the information possible to ensure a succesful event. And if I did not do something right or didn’t provide the right information, I own it! I never blame the hotel or the vendors. Take responsibility for your own mistakes!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.keithwillardevents.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/keithwillard
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/keithwillardevents
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/keithwillard1
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/keithwillard
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@BehindTheVeilPodcast
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/keith-willard-weddings-oakland-park

Image Credits
Munoz Photography