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

Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I don’t think there is one recipe for success. I think there’s a list of reasons why a certain company is successful. I think you have to love what you do. If you aren’t passionate about it, people will know and they won’t trust or hire you to do the job. You also have to be accountable. If you say you’re going to do something, you need to do it. It’s all about building trust with your clients so they allow you to do what you do best. In my field of work, my clients want to know they have partner. Someone to guide them to the right vendors and make the right decisions. To listen to their concerns and take on their worries. Our job is to make our clients feel at ease during very stressful situations and allow them to enjoy the moment. If we can do that, I would consider that a success.

Rachel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was a student at SDSU in the Hospitality & Tourism Management program. My best friend signed us up to volunteer at an event expo in 2005. It was just THE coolest thing I had been to and never new these types of events even existed. From there, I connected with a few event coordinators and told them I would just love to assist them at their events. Every weekend in college, I would work mitzvahs, weddings, corporate events, etc. It was great money and experience. From there, I went to work in the hotel industry of La Jolla and migrated to the non-profit event sector eventually. Over the years I got married and had two kids. In 2014, I was asked to partner with Sherrill Kinsler Gilford. I was nervous to leave my non profit event coordination job, but excited for the possibilities. I haven’t regretted that decision for one second. Sherrill and I stayed very busy until 2020. In 2021, Sherrill officially retired and I took over the business.

We strive to make every party YOUR party. Its not our party, it’s yours. We listen to what you want, what you don’t want, make suggestions based on your style and budget, etc. In a way, we are match makers. We care about the guest experience as well. We want your event to be different and unique in some way. Its super fun when a client has a vision that we can bring to life.

The company is doing very well and have recently hired on more coordination assistance. We do a ton of bar and bat mitzvahs (because they are just the most fun), select weddings, and also have some amazing repeat corporate clients. The biggest compliment we receive are referrals. 100% of our business is based on referrals from past clients and vendors we work with. The vendor referrals mean the world to us because they work with planners every day and to be the one they recommend is very honorable. This San Diego event community is the best!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

My current clients are the ones who refer all my new and potential clients. I know that people are more likely to tell others about about their bad experiences so I really do try to go that extra mile. I want my clients to see my value and know they are getting what they paid for. It’s all word of mouth and word travels fast.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I never intended this to be full time or the scale of where it is today. I had a goal of one event per month. That way I could contribute to the family but also spend time with my babies. Slowly, I started taking on more and more. As the kids spent more time in school, I was able to take on more meetings. I never said no to an opportunity. I just said yes and then made a way to make it work. I’m not sure if there was ever a specific milestone but the types and scales of parties started to increase over the years. I’m now on my way to 40 events this year.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rsvpsdevents.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/rsvpsdevents
• Facebook: Facebook.com/rsvpsdevents
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rsvp-events-san-diego

Image Credits
True Photography, Shane Fellows Photography, Ali Art & Photography, Rich Soublet Photography