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

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

In April of last year, I took the risk to quit my job and start working for Stephanie Arias Event Planning part time. I was very unhappy at my 9-5 job and I knew that I needed out, so when I was out sick for a week with the flu, I took it upon myself to start thinking what my next step would be. My sister, Stephanie Arias, the CEO of SAEP was looking for a marketing person at the time to help her scale her business and I decided to pitch myself to her! I had always had a creative brain when it came to social media and she knew that so, with no experience, we both took the leap of faith and started working together which has been amazing ever since! I could not be happier that I took the leap of faith and finally started working in a field that I am truly passionate about.

Michelle , 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 the Marketing Director of Stephanie Arias Event Planning. I have always had an eye for marketing and all the trends on social media. When my sister, Stephanie started her event planning business, I always had my eye on the marketing side of it but it wasn’t until April of 2022 that I decided to take a leap of faith and work for Stephanie Arias Event Planning part time. Stephanie has given me the ability to explore all different aspects of marketing and together we have grown her business tremendously. I have become her go to girl about all things social media, branding, etc.

I am immensely proud of taking the leap to begin with. Taking a risk to follow your dreams is not something everyone can do, I am very proud that I did it.

I hope everyone understand that every business needs marketing and there are many ways to do that organically, you just have to know how to do it.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I’ve had to learn is that working really hard leads to success. Although yes, this may be true for some, its not always the truth. Working hard doesn’t always means you will be successful. There are people that work very hard and never get to a place that they want to be in throughout their life and there are people that do not work hard at all and find themselves in a great place in life that they didn’t necessarily “work” for.

That being said, this doesn’t mean that I think you shouldn’t work hard but it means that I think there is way more to being successful than just “working hard”.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Well, Stephanie, the CEO of Stephanie Arias Event Planning is actually my sister, so we’ve known each other for quite a long time! I have watched her grow her business from the ground up with no guidance at all. She is a first generation grad student as well as entrepreneur. With her organizational skills and her love for planning she has not only made the most of creating a business and name for herself but has thrived while doing so.

Contact Info:

• Website: stephanieariasep.com
• Instagram: @stephanieariasep
• Facebook: Stephanie Arias Event Planning

Image Credits
Nicole Horton Photography Chrissyann Photography Lifelong Photography Studios