We were lucky to catch up with Kim Nguyen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kim, appreciate you joining us today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

My parents are my heroes. I know many people say that about theirs, but just the other day a friend from kindergarten commented on a photo of my mom that I posted “literal legend” – but what’s funny is that she has no idea. Both my parents came to this country with nothing – like many immigrants – and built an amazing life for themselves and our family. They worked hard, was never “below” any type of work and taught us to “NEVER COMPARE” which I think is one of the best and most important lesson they ever taught me. No two people have the same story. Even siblings who grew up in the same home. So you can’t compare apples to oranges. I could easily get trapped in a downward spiral of how many other event planners out there are “better” than I am, but I do the best that I can each and every day and accept that some days are better than others. They taught me that and so much more – I am so incredibly lucky to have them as parents.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I studied event management in the sport industry, but coming from Boston it was a very competitive place to find a job so I ended up in digital advertising at Yahoo! I was lucky enough to have an amazing manager and team right from the start. I am still in touch with them and am very grateful for that. After 15 years in that space doing account management, business operations and marketing, I was presented with an opportunity to start my own event planning business with the support of my husband. I had always been tasked with planning events and such during my “corporate years” so not only did I have a lot of experience, I was good at it and I liked it.

Kaden and Mimi is my little event planning business. I help people and companies organize the chaos of planning an event – large or small. I pride myself in being very involved and have become friends with many of my clients. As a full service planner, I coordinate everything that needs to come together to create the perfect event for my clients. I do all of the ideation, planning, organizing, coordinating and budgeting. Even as a full service planner, I work with my clients and make their vision come to life. This allows them to feel confident that they know what they will be getting and get the most out of their budget.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As an event planner, when COVID hit, the obvious happened. There were no events being held and I had to come to a realization that things would not be the same. I actually had a very important bar mitzvah planned for March 14, 2020 and we had to cancel it 2 days before due to the shut down. I was able to conserve a large amount of the money already spent with the vendors that I had relationships with for my clients. And 2 years later in December 2022, I planned the bat mitzvah of the daughter of that client. I was able to apply the funds towards her event and being able to do that for my client really felt great. I kept in touch with those vendors and because we were all coming from a similar situation, we helped each other during the pandemic. Because clients have come back to me or referred their friends, I believe speaks to my resilience after the pandemic.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe I am way more involved than more planners. Mostly because I have been told that and because I like to have a hand on everything because this is my reputation. I am more of a behind the scenes person which allows me to do what needs to be done so that the event to my client and their guests is only what they need to see. If I need to take out trash or fix something that went wrong, I do it. I think my clients see that I am invested in their event as though it is my own. I care and I think that is what helped build my loyalty and dedication to my clients. I also am very supportive of the vendors that I work with and continue to grow those relationships which helps my reputation as well. It is very important to have like-minded people around you that you can be open and honest with. I believe both my clients and the vendors I work with know that I am very open and honest which creates a trusting community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kadenandmimi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kadenandmimi/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kaden-and-mimi-santa-monica