We were lucky to catch up with Penny Haas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Penny, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

As a business owner, I hope I leave a lasting impression. I want to build the company with hospitality and consistency as the focus. Of course from a profit side, I would love to have a multi million dollar company that gains its income from planning and executing high profile events. In order to do that, I must establish trust and make sure I provide what I propose to my clients. I want to teach any team members that come in to the company what it means to provide the best guest experience from the moment a client calls to inquire about an event all the way to the final walk through after the event ends. Every single detail matters when it comes to party planning. I hope to create and cultivate lasting relationships and teach my predecessors the importance of relationship building. From a client or vendor standpoint, my legacy left behind would be that I was great to work with and I made the planning process easy and stress free in all areas.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

My name is Penny Haas and I am the owner and lead planner for Penny Haas, LLC, an event planning and management company established in December 2020. I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, until 2001 when I moved to Tennessee.

While in college at Middle Tennessee State University both of my sisters were planning their weddings. I loved the idea of putting together a lavish event, so I explored options in event management and began as an intern a local country club doing their catering and special events. From then on it was history! I worked in the private club and formal dining world for seven years booking events and managing every aspect from catering and menu planning to set up, design and service. I worked in the hospitality and hotel industry and learned more about corporate events and conventions. The experience gained from multiple venues and atmospheres helped me to be well rounded in all event aspects from weddings and black tie galas to conference management and corporate functions.

I ventured into the Nashville event scene in 2018 while working at a world renowned music venue. My portfolio and knowledge expanded far beyond my wildest dreams! After 10 years in the events industry, I decided it was time to start my own company. In December 2020, I officially launched Penny Haas, LLC and have worked full time with my company ever since.

My favorite part of event production is creating the vision, the logistics, and problem solving. I hope to help others plan with ease so they can get back to the party. My strengths are communication, timeline management, on site management and execution, as well as logistics. I enjoy being the go to person to make any event happen while my clients are able to be with their family, friends, business partners, and other guests.

I take pride in having my own company. My success is 100% measurable by how well an event happens, the vendors I recommend and my overall efforts towards each project. It is important to me to maintain high standards and be transparent in all of my business dealings.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I managed different venues prior to opening my business. I’ve been a W2 employee and a 1099 contractor depending on the job, the company, the role, etc. Prior to the pandemic, I set up my LLC to secure myself and prepare for the future. Little did I know that setting up the LLC would really help me through the pandemic. I was eligible for PPP and funding through the SBA. I made the decision to open up my own company. I used the funds essentially as a start up loan — using the money for branding, contracting / legal advice, marketing, supplies.

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

I had to unlearn that I will not be the right fit for everyone. I dislike rejection and when someone tells me no. No is a great answer for a lot of scenarios. I had to learn to not take it personal when a client went with a competitor or if our styles did not match. There are SO MANY events, clients, vendors, gigs to go around. I decided to focus on my ideal customer, my ideal style event, and put a lot of my power towards these projects.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pennyhaas.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/pennyhaasllc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/pennyhaasllc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/penny-haas-0685167a/
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/pennyhaasllc

Image Credits
Kera Photograhy, Yellowbird Visuals, Feitein Photography