We were lucky to catch up with Lawrence-Vonzail Odom recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lawrence-Vonzail , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Becoming an entrepreneur and stepping completely away from the comfort and stability of an full time career path was one of the scariest and riskiest decision i’ve ever had to make; But i had a vision and a faith to carry it. Prior to entrepreneurship I had a very promising career in the entertainment industry with both BET NETWORKS and RADIO ONE. My career with both entities was advancing I felt productive, but there was no fulfillment.
For 8 years I worked behind the scenes of a hit TV show BET’s 106 & park, BET award shows, Red carpet productions, On-Air radio syndications, and many other industry events. I excelled in all arenas and positions and made these corporations millions using my creative talents. I was grateful to have the opportunity to work in a sector that so many only dream of but I was constantly reminded that my worth and value was only predicated based off of what I produced.
I was reminded of a prophetic word spoken over my life; my hands were gifted, my creativity was was one of a kind and I had a vision. 2017 while still working with BET seasonally I took a leap of faith and moved to Atlanta Georgia with a vision to start my own event company. Within 3 months I was hired by my very first Celebrity client Mimi Faust of VH1 LOVE & HIP HOP to curate an event for her and stevie J daughters Eva birthday celebration. This formed an relationship and I have been hired annually landing and highlight on the reality show. My work with mimi has opened many doors expanding my clientele to the likes of the Braxton family, Rashan Ali, Michelle williams of Destiny’s child, Coca-Cola national sales executive Stella Ringer, top performing real estate professional Gabby Maddox and a host of many more. With an already extensive satisfied clientele I then landed a position with one of VH1 “MY CELEBRITY DREAM WEDDING” co-host Tori Williams of TW Events as one of her in-house designers. Through this relationship over 2 years I further learned the business of event designing and floral structures. My time there was definitely build my confidence and greatly prepared me to take on the industry alone and join the rest of the design sharks in the Atlanta market.
This achievement took heart, faith and a risk, but it was the faith part that gave me the push I needed to take the first step. Being an entrepreneur comes with many risk; every day im faced with an new challenge to take the next risk as my company grow. You will lose sleep, lose money, experience moments of failure and uncertainty and discouragement. You will go from working 9-5 to working 24/7 and not see the reward; however the reward is knowing that you are building yourself and the hard work you put into what it is that you do will fulfill self. there’s no greater feeling than the feeling of feeling fulfilled and doing what it is that you were called and purposed to do.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born and raised the small but growing city of Columbus, Ohio. There wasn’t a lot of entertainment productions happening where I came from so seeing such productions on television was the highlight of my day. I lived in a neighborhood surrounded by mansions and I knew then I wanted to live life a certain way; similar to that on the tv show “LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS.
At the early age of 4 I remember there was a network called BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION and I would watch a syndication called “VIDEO SOUL” with Donnie Simpson; even at a young age I remember being drawn to him because first his birthday was a day before mines and he worked in both radio and television and that was exactly what I wanted to do. Many years later a show on BET came out called “106 & PARK” hosted by Free and AJ Calloway. This was it I wanted to work on this set. I was intrigued by how studio set design and production worked not just on this programming but all programming be it award shows, red carpet, movie sets you name it; I wanted to know the behind the scene involvement of entertainment productions.
In 2011 while on the campus of Capital University in Bexley ohio; where I was a theater performance and music technology major there was a guest speaker by the name of Mr. Stephen Hill who at the time was the president of music programming for BET 106 & park. This was my opportunity; God this must be you. I sat in the back of the lecture class literally in tears wondering how to take advantage of this once of a lifetime opportunity. After lecture as many students ran up to him to ask him for pictures and autographs I patiently waited until i was the last one in the auditorium to approach him.
As I approached him I said “Mr Hill thank you for taking the time out to speak to us; This moment was just for me and you have no idea how profound this moment is so thank you” I shook his and and proceed to walk away. He stopped me and said why was this a special moment? I said “well sir if you have time to listen I would love to share” he then asked if I had a class to get to, I fortunately did not and he invited me to the campus cafeteria to have a conversation. That conversation forever changed the trajectory of my career path. He put me in contact with the internship department of BET 106 & Park the rest is history; 4 months later I was headed to New York city to begin my first day on the set of 106 & Park.
While at 106 I was assigned to the Talent department where I worked with a team of producers who was responsible for booking talents to appear on the show and create storylines for their appearances. This put me in direct contact and communication with record label executives, management and oten times A-list celebrities themselves. This seemed natural to me because I’ve always seen myself working in this arena since I was a young boy.
My path was truly a dream come true because I not only worked for BET but I also worked with RADIO ONE and was in charge of Green room and meet and greets for listeners and fans of the station when artist would make on-air appearances. my superiors noticed how well I handled celebrities and how comfortable and relaxed they became around me that they often assigned me to this position permanently.
Whenever a celebrity was visiting the station I raised the standard that the station has never seen before in their green rooms, my manager was like “Vonzail I can see you creating your own Celebrity star studded events,you should really look into being an entrepreneur and moving to a major city where celebrity events are booming”. This was the birthing of “LVO CREATIVE”
LVO CREATIVE; a luxury event design company has taken the Atlanta event culture by storm. I pride myself in creating memories that touches the heart for a lifetime! I tell everyone in not just your typical designer, but it’s ministry to me. When i’m designing and setting up for an event I set an atmosphere of peace and invite the presence of God and pray over every floral held, every linen placed on the table and I pray for the overall success of my clients event and special day. I pray that the beauty of decor ministers to someone’s heart and remind them that the Beauty and love of God is manifested through the ambience and wowness of the decor they experience at said event.
I am proud that my work is not highly publicized but its word of mouth, I don’t have a huge social media presence or a strong branding but 100% of my clients have been referred to me by some one who has experienced my work or who have had the pleasure of using my services. Clients come to me just trusting me because of the reliable sources and believe I will provide something that is much greater than their own expectation.
I guarantee your experience with LVO CREATIVE will be one that you and your guest will remember for years to come, I’m not trying to be like the rest or compete with the next and that is what sets me apart from the rest. We all have room to win! LVO CREATIVE is my finger print and it is like no other and no other is like it.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
To be honest I am here now, as I grow my business I have to grow my mindset. I’m learning that I must lose the hustle mentality in order to be a successful business man in a overly saturated and competitive industry. Knowing when to say no and walk away from a situation or assignment that could cause a potential threat to your brand, Someone once said all business aint good business and all money is not good money so don’t be afraid to walk away from some business opportunities and some paying clients that could greatly affect your brand.
Right now I am focusing on quality of services versus quantity of inquiries. LVO CREATIVE is branded as a luxury design company so this means from the time a potential client is vetted the luxury experience starts during their initial consultation; how is their experience during conversation and then follow up. I am running the company by myself and I do not have staff in position to handle the CRM of business flow. As a creative administrational duties are not my strong point so assigning roles to those who excel in these areas are key to the success and further growth of the business.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
As a Event designer and curator the most rewarding feeling is seeing the response of my client on their special day, Like the moment a bride and groom are given their room reveal; to watch them tear up with tears of joy is ministering to my soul. This reminds me that what I do is from the heart and it moves my clients to tears just to see the beauty of my work and hands. I stand back and I’m just like “God you used me to make this moment a memorable one for them for years to come”.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lvocreativedesign.com
- Instagram: lvo_creative
- Facebook: LVO Creative LLC
Image Credits
Majorephotography Jawanscottphotography