We were lucky to catch up with Lorri Lofton recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Lorri thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, one thing many business owners consider is donating a percentage of sales or profits to an organization or cause. We’d love to hear your thoughts and the story behind how and why you chose the cause or organization you donate to.
I am the creator and founder of the Charlotte Brunch Festival. This event is community focused as it combines everyone’s favorite past time – brunch and spotlights local chefs all while giving back to a local non profit. On September 18, 2022 the 3rd Annual Charlotte Brunch Festival Powered by Chandon Garden Spritz was held at a new event venue in Charlotte, The Ruth. Construction on this venue ended a few weeks prior and we were their first public event in the Queen City. 13 local restaurants and chefs were present with brunch creations available to sample. A portion of door proceeds went to Hope Vibes. This non profit focuses on the homeless community but providing creative exit strategies to end homelessness through direct relief, research, innovation, advocacy and systemic disruption. We sold out of 650 tickets in advance and were able to sell more tickets the day of. One month after the event, we were able to present at $700 donation to this organization. While it was important to donate, it was also important to bring awareness to this organization in the event that others may want to donate or volunteer.
Being able to tie in a community non profit with a growing, sold out community event is truly a win win.
Lorri, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m originally from Birmingham, Alabama but relocated to Charlotte, NC in 2013 by way of my management position in Corporate. Moving to Charlotte was a huge leap for me as I knew no one here. I had been to Charlotte before for work and knew that I liked the city. I made it my mission to figure out the city. I attended lots of events to familiarize myself with the city – parties, galas, fundraisers, networking events, and more. This went on for 2 years before I decided to dip my toe in the event world after being encouraged by others. While this was scary, I marketed to myself meaning I put on events that I would attend if I was a new, young woman to the city. I started with networking events every 3rd Wednesday called WCW – Woman Crush Wednesday. This event highlighted a deserving woman in the city who was crushing it in her field. We partnered with a local restaurant to highlight them as well. This event would grow to Greenville, SC as well. In 2018, I saw Brunch Festivals being done in other major cities such as Orlando and Atlanta and wanted to bring this to Charlotte. This event was my first largest crowd with over 700 in attendance. Since then I have curated or hosted over 70 events in Charlotte, NC and Greenville, SC. Since COVID, I have scaled back to Charlotte Brunch Festival, Diner en Blanc (Charlotte and Greenville) and assist with consulting other event enthusiasts on their events. I feel the key to event coordination is focusing on one’s senses. How do you want your customer to feel when they arrive? How does your event look? Is it appealing to your audience? Does your cost to attend compare to what they will receive in return? If you’ve never done events before and you’re interested, focus on doing one that you would attend and make yourself your target audience. What would you like to see when you arrive? There are 2 hard parts when launching any idea. The first is getting started and the second is staying consistent. If you find it hard to stay consistent, find a mentor in that field that can keep you motivated and on track.
When I’m not curating or assisting with events, I create content for brands and restaurants on my personal page. I’ve worked with NBA All Star, Local openings of restaurants, spas, and more to create awareness and/or drive traffic and sales to them.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
There is an underlying assumption that when you start or launch an idea, your family and friends will support you. While this may be true for some, it’s not always the case. Often times, your family or friends may not consistently support OR they may not understand your why and will attempt to stifle your growth. At my events, I used to measure my success if I looked up and saw ‘my people’. I now measure the success of my event of how many faces I DON’T know. This means that they are there because they truly support the brand or event and not me personally. I had to grow and mature to learn to be ok with that. Major lesson learned: Some of your best supporters will be people that you have never met.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
In my time of working out, I often listen to podcasts or audio books. I would encourage everyone to read (or listen to) Start with Why by Simon Sinek. It gets to the core of why you’re doing what you’re doing and allows you to drive others to buy in also no matter if it’s your own team or the consumer. Next, a great podcast is How I Built This with Guy Raz. He interviews founders of brands and businesses that we use every day and allow them to tell their story such as Yelp. Telfar, Spanx, and more. Every story has some sort of low moment where they had to pivot and make some tough decisions and/or sacrifices to get to where they are today. This motivates me to keep going as anything that is worth having will not always come easy.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @LorriAshly – @cltbrunchfestival
Image Credits
All were taken with my phone