We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mariela Guerrero a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mariela, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

If I were starting my company again I would definitely not invest in a lot of different color tablecloths, I know it sounds so silly but, seriously. When I first started I rushed to purchase many colors in polyester which is not needed in the wedding industry. I mean they are very essential but when you work with weddings and are barely starting, having ivory, creams, and white in different fabrics will be enough. Then one can move forward to purchase cloth napkin colors as customers come in and request a certain shade. Most brides do not opt for color tablecloths for guest seating. The color is usually added in cloth napkins and table runners. If not you will have inventory sitting idle in your warehouse.

I would encourage a lot of event professionals to reach out to coordinators take them to coffee and really sit down and make genuine friendships/connections. They are key professionals who seek services for their couples. Networking is a big deal in the event industry and you get what you put in. However, splurging on the most expensive networking group in your town is not necessary. You can opt to chime in several times a year. Explore and branch out to different groups find which is best fit for your industry and then join if it is in you, do not get pressured into joining expensive memberships when your company is just a baby and capital is what you lack.

If I was starting out again I would create a unique social media account and create a name with just three words. I think that as a 20 year old forming Luxe I never realized how long and lengthy my name is. That is pivotal to your brand and the name that you will create your legacy with. Another thing I would do if I was starting over would be not to rush to form an LLC, I know this might be controversial but I am firm believer that you should focus on making revenue and uplifting your business in the first few months before registering it in the state in which you reside. Forming an LLC at first does not “make it real”. I think as an entrepreneur you should focus on the first obstacles that will be thrown at you during the first few months.

Lastly, I would never pay to advertise on facebook or Instagram. I am a firm believer that raw organic growth is more important than bots and accounts that will look at your account but are not your target audience. You want to attract real customers or firm avid industry professional that follow you for tips or services. It also helps with your brand and establishing its entity and enhance brand authenticity.

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?

Hello my name is Mariela I am 23 year old Latina living her twenties in a small town north of Houston. I am an event stylist who focuses on designing weddings and corporate events. I own Luxe Event Design Firm, at Luxe we are a team of three, my mother Claudia, my sister Melissa, and I. Our company provides linen and tablescape rental decor options for couples who are planning their wedding. We service the North Houston and College Station area in Texas. At Luxe we strive to provide an unparalleled experience when it comes to decor rentals for your event. What makes us unique was that we started this company out of my mothers basement with no showroom at all. We did not have the capital to open a showroom in the beginning phases of our business so we decided to meet brides personally at coffee shops or their wedding venue, then provide consultations via zoom! In a world that is quickly changing we believe that it is of upmost importance that we keep up with the advances of technology. We were not going to let, not having a showroom get in the way of us booking clients. Once a client received a proposal with selected rentals and liked pricing we would move forward to offer a dry run at their wedding venue with rentals that they had selected prior in decor consultations over zoom. This kept me with no overhead cost for at least two years. It was not until May of 2024 that we decided to move forward with the expansion of an in person showroom to have brides come and play with mockups using rental items available in our showroom.

I started Luxe at the age of 20 years old when I was in college. I was cash flowing school and I needed a way to pay for college. At first, I seriously did not think that the event industry was for me but after working at a wedding venue since the age of 15 years old I felt safe in the industry. I used to work at a wedding venue where I was in charge of the photobooth and that is what I first launched Luxe as, a company that provided a fun photobooth rental experience to couples. It was not until later that I decided to help my mother launch her idea of diving into wedding tablescapes. Everything started by advertising on facebook marketplace as wedding day decor and the rest is history. I was eventually able to pay for my college all cash at the beginning of every semester, I think being able to graduate debt free is one of my biggest accomplishments.

What I would really like brides to know is that when you book with us you are really helping a small business owner. Our team literally has a happy dance every time someone inquires through our website. You as a client are pitching in to fulfill my mother’s dreams of one day owning her business in the US. My mother who immigrated here at the age of 23 is my hero. She has always worked so hard to ensure her children have a better life than hers, therefore, I strive to make her proud by helping her run this business as much as I can. Therefore, I strive to make her proud by helping her run this business as much as I can. When brides book with us I want them to know that I seriously do not go to sleep some nights because I daydream of how I can literally make their wedding day better. Even if it is a small gesture such as an iced coffee. I want brides to feel important and know that we value their input from beginning to end.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

This might be long but it’s really how I got started with my business. When I was in college I was cash flowing it by paying cash every single semester. I knew I did not want to go into debt therefore I knew I had to work to put myself through school. I was not receiving any financial aid and my parents, well, they are first generation immigrants they truthfully didn’t know how to help me by applying for grants or any of that. Although they were my biggest support system I still had to basically navigate that by myself. I used to work cleaning houses with my mom and work at a wedding venue during the weekends. At the wedding venue I started at the age of 15 and worked there until I was 21. I learned so much there and I would have to credit the owner Ian Ramirez. I started as a staff member and eventually earned a spot as a “point b” which was the assistant coordinator to the wedding planners there. My last role there was to be in charge of the photobooth. Which is what sparked the curiosity in me to start my own business. I started saving money little by little until I could purchase my own photobooth. I eventually bought one and dived into the event industry by myself. The reason why I started doing tablescape rentals was because my mother who had always dreamed of owning a business as well. My mother Claudia is the backbone of Luxe she is the owner of all of the linens + decor items while I mostly take care of the photobooth, backdrops, and other miscellaneous rentals, plus client relations. When our company first started we used Facebook marketplace as the main source of where we would reach clients. It’s so silly to think that I was so naive about the wedding industry when I first launched this adventure.

At first I did not have the capital to open a showroom so our business model compromised of brides inquiring through our website, us responding with a questionnaire which enabled us to do a proposal specifically catered to their needs, once the proposal was accepted and they want to move forward we would meet in person for a consultation. However, that worked at first without any overhead cost but as we grew we eventually noticed the need for a showroom. Fast forward to May 2024 we signed a lease for our very first showroom ever.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

We are currently only on tik tok, Instagram, and Facebook. We do have a website where 90% of our inquiries come from but mostly clients first find our social media accounts then recur to our website once they are ready to inquire for pricing etc.

We have built our audience on social media by seriously trying to post a story every single day on Instagram and Facebook. It’s so hard to keep up with the algorithm, hashtags, what days to post/what days not to post, and catchy captions but we do use ChatGPT which truthfully helps our small business. I think more small businesses need to know about the power of AI and use it to their advantage.

Most of our growth has been organic growth no help of paid advertising. Which I personally think is the best because you gain real genuine followers and a real audience.

I do not post every single day because I also have a life outside of my business and I try to spend as much time present with my family. Currently we do all of our social media marketing ourselves but we do plan on hiring a content creator for wedding days and just better branding. Social media presence is so important nowadays but we also have to remember that social media can be deceiving and we cannot get hung up on being the most perfect business because there will always be someone having a bigger team, a bigger company, a better logo, etc and the comparison game is a silent killer. It is better to focus on your brand and what you are doing. Every business is different and has their own challenges that they silently face. Always remember that you are your own persona have your own unique characteristics to bring to the table! :))

Lastly, If I could advice small business owners over any technical subject it would be for them to have their own website because their instagram/facebook can be shut down if Meta crashes or is having bug issues. Your social media accounts can also be hacked, however if you own your own website who is going to take that away? A website allows for SEO benefits while Instagram/Facebook do not.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.luxeeventplanningandstyling.com
• Instagram: @luxeeventdesignfirm
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luxeevent.planning2021?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: Tik Tok: claudialuxeeventdesign

Image Credits
Haley Ostrander Photography (all of the pictures of dusty blue wedding) The pictures where the three of us are present are by San Angel Photo. Maryann was the photographer.