We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Koral Gerwatosky a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Koral, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Being a business owner has it’s ups and downs, but there are more ups forsure. I am 100% happy as a business owner and wouldn’t change that for the world. Going through all different sorts of jobs growing up such as working in the restaurant industry, working the front desk as a receptionist, being in the veterinary field, to finding my passion in weddings and events has truly made me positive of my answer to this. Getting to the point where I am now, I totally needed to experience what it was like being a hostess and building my customer service skills and being prompt to answering calls + emails as a receptionist and working in fast paced and high stress environments in animal hospitals to truly understand my work ethic to be the best wedding + event planner I can be. Transitioning from being an employee to my own boss means I work longer and harder but I do not miss having a “regular job” at all. Have I thought about it during my low times? Sure. Would I actually act on it? No.
If you feel like you’re capable of starting a business because you’re either uninspired in your current job or there’s no room for growth or you’re wanting the freedom to do your own thing, then my biggest advice is to do it and don’t look back. There’s struggles (just like in every job) but you will feel the rewards more in your own business than in that “regular job.”
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
The founder of Koral & Ko., Koral, is an event planner, wedding blogger, Instagram content creator, social media manager, dog mom and a 2022 bride. You can say that Koral wears many hats and loves everything she does; especially planning weddings and events. Koral has always liked planning her own parties ever since she can remember. After graduating from the University of Arizona in 2018 and 10+ years in the animal field, Koral decided she wanted to follow her heart and become an event planner. She loves making her couple’s dreams come to life! Her organizational skills, enthusiastic personality and compassion for others are what drive her the most in this industry. Koral understands how important all aspects are when it comes to weddings after planning her very own. Whether you need help from the start or an extra hand in the final push, Koral & Ko. offers full planning and design, partial planning and wedding coordination for Southern California + BEYOND. From the overall event design, vendor referrals, digital tools and monthly checklists… every aspect of your event is covered to bring your dreams to reality.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
There are TONS of wedding + event planners in Southern California! Building my own reputation in this market has been important to me because I want to stand out and be different from others. I once had a bride ask me, “what makes you stand out compared to the rest?” and I really had to think about that. I like to consider myself a social butterfly who gives it my all with everything that comes in my path, but when I was asked that question I didn’t have a good answer for her. Since then I have worked on finding the answer. I strive to be a person someone remembers in a positive light. I want someone to say, “Oh Koral? Yes I love her!” So building my reputation throughout my community over the years has been essential and every interaction you have with someone is important because you don’t know their current situation or how your conversation will impact them. Spend the time networking at events with people from your industry, go on those coffee works dates (even if you really don’t get any work done!) and make sure to always be kind even if someone isn’t kind to you. So what has helped me build my reputation? 1) Be honest with myself 2) Be kind to others 3) Be authentic in my relationships 4) Be personable and professional 5) Always smile, even if you don’t want to
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Social media has changed the game for businesses. The best place for anyone to get new clients is Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. Showing up on social media has a big impact for potential clients who are wanting to book your services. They get to know you and your business online better beforehand (aka Facebook stalking, duh!) BUT this is good because they see the actual person behind the business before officially meeting them. Posting consistently and engaging with your community is important to build up your clientele on social media.
Contact Info:
- Website: koralko.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/koralko_
- Other: pinterest.com/koralko_
Image Credits
Brianna Mari Co. Fern & Fountain Shoreline Weddings