Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kristin Crooks. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kristin, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
Back in 2016, I was at a crossroads in my life. I had recently moved from Chicago to Arizona and had started a new job there. 6 weeks into the new job, my Dad passed away. I was only 25 years old at the time. As you can imagine, being so far away from family and friends became too much to bear while trying to grieve my Dad. As I was driving home from Arizona, I really started to evaluate my career. My Dad had owned his own business most of his adult life and he enjoyed the freedoms that came with that. Being very similar to him, this got me thinking that maybe this was a time to really go for it and make my own business. I have been passionate about planning and hosting events since a very young age. The light bulb went on that opening a wedding and event planning business was my calling.
When it came time to name the business, I didn’t have to think long to come up with the perfect name. My Dad called me Besher my entire life. (Besh-er). What does that mean? Well, it’s technically a made up word. When I was a baby and my Dad brought me to meet his parents, my grandparents, for the first time….my Grandpa pulled him aside as we were leaving and said, “Now Chip, I want you to drive more responsibly. You have a very precious package in the car with you now.” He started calling me his precious package and over the years it got shortened to Besher. How you get from one to the other is beyond me, but there you have it.
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?
One of the things I am most proud of as a business owner is the undivided attention and top notch service I provide my clients with, at all times. They know I am always a phone call or text message away, no matter what time it is or what the concern is. On wedding day, I have showed up as early as 3am to start setting up decor for my clients and work as late as midnight. I am always on site to make sure that every little detail is attended to. This is much different from other planners in my industry. They don’t typically show up as early as I do and they usually leave after the speeches and first dances are done. I plan every single event down to the literal second and make sure that I have all vendors on the same page, to enable us to provide a flawless day for our client. My attention to detail and over-planning set me apart from others in my industry.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Back in 2019, I got hired by a couple to plan their September 2020 wedding. We had all of the details done well before 2020 even arrived. Then, disaster struck when covid showed up. We were told by our venue in Michigan that we had to move the date from September 5th until 2021 because they still had gathering restrictions. We ended up moving it to June 26th, 2021. I then had to go to each vendor and pray that they had the new date available. By some miracle, every single one of them did. However, then I spoke to our DJ. He told me he had another client getting married at the same venue and that client was told the venue was going bankrupt and cancelled their wedding.
I reached back out to the venue and they lied to my face and told me this was false and the other client must have misunderstood. A week went by and then we found a news article saying that, in fact, the venue was filing for bankruptcy. I reached back out letting them know we expected our $3000 deposit back. They asked for an address and said they mailed the check. Two weeks went by and nothing arrived in the mail. What was worse, is that they were not completely unresponsive to all communication.
After about a month waiting for the check, we found another article in the paper saying that the owner of the venue had committed suicide. If that doesn’t sum up the stress of being a business owner during Covid, I don’t know what does.
At that point, the couple decided to move their wedding from Michigan to Wisconsin, because they now lived in Wisconsin. For the 3rd time, I had to re plan the wedding. Brand new venue, half of the vendors we had to resource. It was a very chaotic and stressful situation for all involved. However, the wedding went off without a hitch and the couple had the best night of their lives.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
A book called Eat That Frog by by Brian Tracy. I read this at a corporate job of mine many years ago. I wouldn’t say this impacted my management, as these were things I realized I had been doing my entire life. What this book did was show me that sometimes in life, a quality about you can be negative in one situation but positive in the next. I have been told my whole life that I am annoyingly punctual, overly obsessed with detail and that I try to do too much in a day. While other people might be annoyed with my Type A personality, this exact personality benefits me in the event planning world. The book was a really nice affirmation that I am doing things the right way to fit the lifestyle that I lead. It’s a great book about time management and organization.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.besherevents.com
- Instagram: @besherevents
- Facebook: Besher Events
Image Credits
The wedding photo @brittanybekas Holly Boyles photography