We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristin Mitchell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristin below.
Kristin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?
I would say the biggest challenge to profitability is how many people don’t truly understand the planning and details that go into events and costs associated with the event planner’s time. This isn’t just an issue in my small business now, but it’s also something I saw in the corporate world.
The key is helping clients understand the planning needs and why they are necessary to ensuring their event is flawless. Sometimes, it isn’t always the right fit and that’s okay – but it’s so important to stand up for your worth. I’ve learned that being transparent upfront is the best approach and being flexible with their budget always leads to a win/win for both parties.
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.
HOW I GOT HERE
Although I have been planning and organizing parties pretty much all my life, my curiosity about event planning as a professional career started as a junior in college. At that time, I was planning my Annual Sorority Formal as well as Greek Week & Talent Shows for the entire Greek body at West Virginia University. I just loved bringing people together, and Greek Life provided a perfect platform to learn given how active the community was.
Immediately after graduating college in June 2010, I started working at Thomson Reuters as a Communications Intern in Stamford, CT. This internship was slated to be a 9-month period and if I performed well, I had the chance of getting hired full-time. I was thrilled about this opportunity because it was extremely difficult to find a job coming out of the recession.
From day one, I made it clear to my manager that I was passionate about event planning and wanted to explore that as a path if any opportunities were available. She then connected me with a woman who planned the Stamford Holiday Party – and I became heavily involved in the process that year and eventually lead the party from start to finish alongside her as an intern.
Ultimately, I was hired full-time and transitioned to the Corporate Events Team in NYC where I continued to stay for 5 pivotal years. We focused on sponsorship integration and large-scale client events – and starting out I was bringing our corporate brand presence to life at tentpole events like the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, Aspen Ideas Festival and Formula 1. Before too long, I was producing our Reuters Newsmaker event series and large-scale client-centric event programs around bucket list events like the Super Bowl and the White House Correspondents Dinner.
In late 2015, I decided to move on and take another events role at Corcoran Real Estate Group. I was eager to continue challenging myself and learning more – and that’s exactly what I did. For two and a half years, I went on to plan and produce the company’s Award Ceremony and Holiday Parties in NYC and the Hamptons as well as Incentive Trips in fantastic destinations like St. Barts, Ibiza, and Barbados.
In 2018, an opportunity came up at Wasserman Media Group to become a member of a newly started events and hospitality team. It was my dream job and another perfect opportunity to continue learning about events from an agency perspective.
I remember telling my boss and mentor at Corcoran that I had taken the job and she said, “I want you to strongly consider starting your own business one day because you’re the best I’ve ever worked with. You’re just as good if not better than some of the best planners in the world.” At the time, I was extremely flattered and didn’t really know what to think – but in hindsight, I realize how important it was that she said that to me because sometimes all it takes is someone to believe in you.
From 2018-2021, I worked at Wasserman Media Group on an amazing Events & Hospitality team and learned as much as I could. I was primarily dedicated to the Microsoft account and pitched, led, and executed events and hospitality business around incredible programs like Incentive Trips in Hawaii, NFL Game Day Events and massive Super Bowl Experiences in Atlanta and Miami.
Looking back on my professional event experience, I can’t help but feel grateful for the key people who took interest in me, opened doors for me, taught me and advocated for my career. Because of them, I had the opportunity to learn, work hard and lay the amazing foundation that supports and powers the event business I have now.
WHAT I OFFER
Today, I have my own boutique event planning business, called Gathered in Style, where I offer customized event services on a personal level. My main goal is to make premium event services more accessible and affordable for my clients through the private social events they host.
WHAT I’M THE PROUDEST OF
The thing I’m the proudest of is my courage to start my own business. It has truly been the most rewarding experience of my life and I couldn’t imagine not doing what I’m doing now. Becoming an entrepreneur has allowed me to continue learning while following my passion and servicing others in my own unique way.
MAIN THINGS I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW / WHAT I THINK SETS ME APART
I firmly believe that there’s always a reason to celebrate – and I take immense pride in activating a wide range of events, so I don’t pigeonhole myself into one event type. My event work includes gatherings like: Milestone Events, Pride Parties, Celebration Dinners, Corporate Dinners & Events, Harvest Parties, Garden Gatherings, Fundraisers and Weddings.
Over the course of my career, I’ve come to realize there’s no one size fits all for event planning needs. So, in my opinion, the service sets me apart from other smaller event companies is my consulting offering. Sometimes, clients need end-to-end event support while other times, they may just need help venue sourcing or inviting guests/managing RSVPs. Depending on the need, I can plug into my clients planning process at any point and support with specific tasks as they navigate their way through planning.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
COVID-19 had a big impact on everyone – especially the events industry.
In March 2020, corporate events swiftly transitioned to virtual and after a few months I quickly realized how unhappy I was with that trend. After a lot of reflection, I remembered what my old boss and mentor told me, and I started seriously thinking about my goals in life and what my next steps were in my career. I started having conversations with other entrepreneurs and accountants to understand what went into starting a business.
During these conversations, I became even more fascinated with entrepreneurship and quickly began to realize it would be the perfect next step in my career as I whole heartedly believed that when events made a comeback post-COVID, they would be revived in a big and very different way. I desperately wanted to be a part of that change.
Entrepreneurship allowed me to combine my favorite aspects about business and events and be lazar focused only on those areas, which are: Excellent Customer Service, Business Development and Creative Event Ideation/Execution. I also loved the idea of being able to work with who I wanted and only take on work when I had the bandwidth because like many people in the corporate/agency world, I was suffering from severe burnout.
When I decided to quit and transition to a different way of work, it was March 2021. Based on what I was reading about the COVID-19 vaccine plans, I knew I had to launch my business in the spring so I could catch clients who were yearning to host and gather again. When I officially launched by business in May 2021, I was overwhelmed with the amount of support and inquiries I received. I put my brand + website everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn. I even had a 300+ person contact list that I wrote a personal email to announcing my business.
Though those launch efforts, I was referred to my now biggest client who I absolutely adore. While some of my clients have found me on social media, word-of-mouth has proven to be the most powerful marketing tool for my business. You know that quote, “build it and they will come”? Well, I’m a firm believer of that mindset as that’s how it’s all played out.
I do often wonder why it took me so long to make this transition, but as I start to reflect, I realize I wasn’t truly ready until last year. The foundation I laid has been key to the success I’ve had so far in business, and I wouldn’t have had my story unfold any other way.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy for growing clientele is twofold: excellent customer service and communication. You cannot have one without the other. My goal for any client I take on is to go above and beyond in every way which I’ve found always leads to more business referrals.
A happy client will bring a growing client base.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gatheredinstyle.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gatheredinstyle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gatheredinstyle
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-mitchell-58847620/
Image Credits
MY PERSONAL PHOTO – Rebecca Ou Photography
Photo 1 – I took that photo myself
Photos 2 & 3 – Heather Olker Photography
Photo 4 – I took that photo myself
Photos 5 & 6 – Kathleen O’Donnell Photography
Photos 7 & 8 – Rebecca Ou Photography
Photos 9, 10 & 11 – Megan & Kenneth Photography