We recently connected with Samantha Mitchell and have shared our conversation below.
Samantha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
Where do I start. From early childhood to high school, my parents allowed me to explore various outlets including dance, sports, arts & media programs and more. Through those experiences I learned the importance of work ethic, self-confidence, time management, balance, reliability and so much more.
These experiences allowed me to hone in on life skills and figure out what I was most passionate about. I thrived in most areas, basketball was a little suspect lol, but all in all I had fun, learned a lot and made so many friends along the way.
In my primary years, I grew up in a diverse suburban community, including schooling, which I believe really nurtured my love for culture, diversity and creativity.
I’m forever grateful for the diverse upbringing and spaces I was placed in.
Samantha, 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 found my passion for event planning during my high school years which stayed with me through college. As a marketing & public relations major, my communication and marketing skills were sharpened through numerous experiences and learnings during my tenure at Columbia College Chicago.
After graduating college, I launched my first business, Eminent PR Group, with my good friend. We worked with small businesses in Chicago for around 3-4 years, and eventually went our separate ways due to changes with our personal passions and life goals.
During this time, I continued to plan gatherings and parties for friends and family (while still working full-time) which ultimately birthed SamanthaStarr Events in 2016. Prior to launching my event planning business, I had been laid off from a corporate marketing job and experienced 2.5 years of unemployment (at some points, underemployment).
During those bouts of unemployment I worked on a formal plan for SSE, continued to perfect my craft, and build relationships. This season was tough, slow, rewarding, and reassuring. I learned a lot about me, what I like/don’t like, what types of events I like to plan, and who I wanted to work with.
I’ve gone from planning events of all sizes, to intimate events, and now back to all sizes lol. Because in life, sometimes we have to roll with the punches lbvs. In all seriousness, you have to be able to adapt, watch trends, and move accordingly. I now have a lead event planning assistant, and have scaled up to corporate events.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Earlier I mentioned scaling back to smaller, intimate events. There’s a couple reasons for that. One, I started to lose my passion for planning and needed to figure out what aspects I loved the most to “keep the flame.” Two, at the top of 2020 I began to suffer from chronic neck & back pain. Ultimately, that confirmed the real need for me to shift, as I was a one woman show.
Now, I’ve been blessed to acquire a lead event planning assistant, which allowed me to expand back to large scale events.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Relationships, consistency and attention to detail.
Contact Info:
- Website: samanthastarrevents.com
- Instagram: @samanthastarrevents
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samanthastarrevents
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-mitchell-38869a5
Image Credits
Justin Gordon Photography Lecks Creative Group