Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Penny Chevalley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Penny thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

I truly believe that all our clients really need to feel appreciated is good communication. You’d be surprised how many times I get response emails like “Thank you for responding so quickly”, or “I appreciate that you always get back to me with clear answers to any questions I have”.

I’ve learned in a decade as an owner and entrepreneur that most clients and customers really just want to be heard. Think back to yourself, as a consumer, don’t you want the company or service that you hire to actually communicate with you and keep you updated on status of a project? If it’s what you would want for yourself, why wouldn’t you want to execute the same patterns for your clients.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Virginia Native and San Francisco, California transplant, who has moved to the Chattanooga area in the tail end of 2017 with my family.

I have been part of the wedding industry in almost every capacity for a decade. My journey into the wedding industry started as a makeup artist who evolved into photography. During a wedding in 2016, my couple’s Officiant did not show up, so I quickly got ordained online while my associate shot the wedding. Shortly after that, I became an Ordained Minister through the church and have been part of about 75 ceremonies as the Officiant. This moment was where I truly realized you have to be flexible, not just in the wedding industry but in any industry. You have to be able to pivot and change your business plans and the outlook for your business on a dime. In the short time between being a Hair & Makeup Artist to Photographer & Officiant, I saw gaps, gaps that I could fill. All of these gaps boosted profit margins for me but also served my client’s highest needs.

When my family relocated to Tennessee, I continued my work in weddings as an Officiant, but I also began hosting monthly Styled Shoots and coordinated weddings and elopements from Chattanooga to the Joshua Tree, CA. After being part of a small but beautiful elopement in North Georgia in 2019, the couple who originally owned our newest venture reached out. Life was taking them in a different direction, but they wanted me to take over their prized possession, Tipsy Tin.

You just won’t find an experience like Tipsy Tin anywhere; we truly are the best. Tipsy is available for weddings, private events, birthdays, graduations, and more. In 2021, we added an additional bar as well as a stand-alone satellite bar and Icicle Tricycle which can be rented for indoor functions if the whole trailer isn’t what you need. Our bartenders are the best in the Chattanooga area, and we create custom seasonal cocktails just for Tipsy. So, whether you want an Old-Fashioned or some of our Harvest Hooch, we’ve got you covered!

In 2022, we are working on our newest venture (and probably last) which is two modern wedding venues in the Chattanooga, TN area. Both unique, both extremely fluid in what the space will provide for our clients and overall gorgeous options. The venues have always been a goal I’ve had and to see it start to come to fruition just proves to me, that I really have found a way to serve my clients past, present and future in ways they need. I’m happy to continue to pivot and open (or close) doors if that’s what serves the overall good for the community and clients.

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

In 2019, I met a couple that had started a horse trailer bar. They asked me as an Officiant to marry them at their “Business Grand Opening” which then turned into an engagement party which then quickly turned into a “we’re getting married, RIGHT NOW!” kinda party. I feel in love with this couple almost immediately, both were just good, quality humans and I was so thankful to be part of their special moment and day.

We stayed in touch, even ended up at a couple events together. In March of 2020, shortly after the pandemic hit, the couple reached out to me again, but for a whole other reason. The husband’s business had expanded and was going to be taking them for long periods of time away from home. They couldn’t take the trailer with them (liquor laws are notoriously hard) and were wondering if I knew of a potential buyer. I told them quickly that I would look around, ask some people and see what came up.

The next text was more around the lines of “let me try that again, would YOU want to take over Tipsy as a business?”. I was flattered and flabbergasted at the same time. Sadly, we were in this really scary space of COVID, and no one knew what was going to happen. Weddings and events were being cancelled and postponed for a year at that time. I asked my husband his thoughts. I told the couple that “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the world and right now for my family I can’t risk all my capital but if you’d be open to a lease to own type business let’s discuss it”. They said “perfect”, and we moved forward.

Thankfully, the business already had a decent amount of events booked which covered about 3/4 of the cost to purchase the business. We worked out a 50/50 split on any new bookings for events that I secured to pay off the balance of the purchase price. This was a solution that worked for all parties. It’s not a solution that would work for a lot of people but in this instance, it was the perfect option. The couple was able to have additional income from their clients coming in. I just served as a bartender for those events. I sacrificed pay for purchasing a business. That is a trade that would not come easy to some. But quickly, and I do mean quickly, within 6 months the business was bringing in $50k. By the end of 2021, Tipsy was (and still is) a multi-six figure business.

I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve accomplished with Tipsy. The addition of 2 more mobile bars and the clients and relationships have outweighed any “what did I just do?” moments I’ve had. I’m also so grateful to the couple who started it all for us. I’ve gotten many messages from them saying “we never imagined it would be what it is today, and that’s because of you”.

Again, this type of purchase is not for the faint of heart. It requires a level of trust between parties that is un-matched. However, if you’d like to learn if this could work for you, feel free to contact me and I’m happy to help facilitate.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Relationships. Relationships. Relationships.

I cannot express enough how important relationships are in my industry, much less any other. It’s taken me 10 years to figure out there are certain relationships more valuable than others.

This sounds harsh, but I don’t need friends. I need relationships that support my business, my personal growth and the growth of my brand. The relationships I have focused on in the last 5 years that have helped bring new clients (and repeat clients) to my business are via wedding venues, coordinators and photographers. Those have been the most valuable relationships for me. Investing in those people and others within my industry has proven to bring more income my way than any friendship. There’s a saying I’ve seen that goes: “a client is more likely to become a friend than a friend become a client”. Don’t get me wrong. Friends can be clients and great ones at that. They can support you and your business in multiple ways but in my experience, this phrase is right on. I have more clients that have become friends than vice versa.

My clients have also been a huge source of bringing in new clients for my business. It could be that they were at a previous wedding or a couple from a past event has recommended our services to them. But again, all this leads back to relationships. If you don’t communicate with your clients, you will lose the potential for their referrals and potentially big bucks being left on the table (or the keyboard, depending on how you communicate).

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tipsytinchattanooga.com
• Instagram: tipsytin
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/tipsytinchattanooga

Image Credits
Photography: Ivey Photo