We were lucky to catch up with Micaela Stevenson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Micaela, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

One of the easiest and hardest aspects of Red Carpet Eventions is we are in a league of our own. There are both pros and cons to creating your own lane. Pros are obviously there is essentially no competition. Since we are a unique service, often times we are able to capture the client by merely talking about all our services. The con is there is no data to use for marketing and pricing purposes. This drives the marketing and research part of me drives me insane as I am a visual ,”apples to apples” kind of girl!

Although there are others providing red carpet rental or even red carpet-setup, they aren’t providing the services, which is where the difference comes in. Most of my clients initially call us looking for carpet rental and always ask “Where do I pick up and drop off?” Once I explain that we provide white glove service, red carpet-setup, paparazzi service and star-gazed ‘fans’, they are either intrigued or confused. Some explain that they are only looking for rental, while others continue to ask more questions. If they ask to hear more, that is where the fun happens! Once we explain that our services give the look and feel of a pre-awards show, you can see/hear the aha moment. It is exciting every time!

I also think our customer service is second to none. These days customer service is lacking across the board in all industries. No one wants to feel mistreated after giving you their money. We strive to always stand apart in that aspect. Often times event planning is stressful and we want the process with us to be one of the parts of the event that is not.

Micaela, 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 am Micaela, owner of Red Carpet Eventions. I was born and raised in the Clear Lake area of Houston, Texas. I started Red Carpet Eventions out of the concept that celebrities and socialites shouldn’t have all the fun! We create an obvious distinction between anything you and your guests have experienced in the past.

RCE specializes in taking your corporate/private event (i.e., gala, auction, private movie viewing, anniversary, retirement celebration, etc.) to the next level by providing an “Oscar/Grammy reception” atmosphere.

A unique feature of RCE is that it does not interfere with your existing flow of activities. RCE is a pre-event service; it is the prelude to the actual affair.

Your guests will be greeted on the carpet by a professional event correspondent requesting a brief interview, while the flashes of the paparazzi and ‘star-crazed’ fans build the level of excitement. We also have additional services such as bodyguard/escort to accompany you from your vehicle down the red carpet.

It is truly a one of a kind experience!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Ha! This is a great question! I have had to learn (and admittedly, I’m still learning) a few things.

One, I had to get out of my own way. There were so many opportunities that I initially passed on because I didn’t think I was good enough or too new of a business to get the client. I had to realize I had something so unique that the services itself stood apart and made us stand out.

Second, I worried that someone bigger and better would “steal my idea”. I had to realize that there are lots of things lacking in the world but fortunately money isn’t one of them. If social media and Covid has taught us anything, we should know that there are millions of ways to make money and plenty of consumers ready to patronize.

Lastly, and in some ways the most important, I had to learn my budget isn’t someone else’s budget. I remember my very first client wanted red carpet and paparazzi for her private screening movie premiere. I was terrified to send the invoice because I didn’t want the client to pass me up. Again, many clients are use to a price based on a regular carpet rental where they pick up themselves. I was providing full red carpet set up and paparazzi. I’d done as much research as I could to make sure the price was appropriate based on our region, other rental companies, etc. Once I sent the invoice, I kept refreshing my email to see if they responded and I was prepared to counter offer if they declined. I’d literally already had an email drafted. LOL! They emailed within 30 minutes “WOW! I wasn’t expecting that price. Please send invoice and contract to lock us in. “Talk about thrilled!

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Quarterly, we send an email of all the cool things that happened during the previous quarter to everyone who used us or inquired about services in the past. I like to always include venues we are a new preferred vendor for, pictures of all the wonderful events for that quarter, upcoming events (fundraisers or corporate events) and upcoming specials.

We make sure to sponsor 2 non-profit events every quarter so we highlight those charities and non-profits. We send handwritten thank you letters (if we have the address) or personalized emails. We do research monthly on up and coming venues and send them welcome gifts. We also send “just because” gifts to past corporate clients.

If someone inquires and we are either booked that day or just not a good fit for whatever reason, we send a code for a discount on a future event.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.redcarpeteventions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redcarpeteventions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redcarpeteventions
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/red-carpet-eventions-houston