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

Hi Tabitha, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

How DOES someone start a business, especially with no prior experience, is a great question. During the heat of covid in 2020, I was a first-time mom with a newborn, terrified about the unknown. Would my child be able to have a normal childhood if we were trapped in the house? Being that I already felt a strong sense of cabin-fever from my lack of adult interactions during my maternity leave, I was fervent about finding a way to get out of the house. I spent a lot of my time doing what everyone else was doing (for the majority of the time) and watched TikTok to pass the time during quarantine. I saw a similar idea from another creator in California, and thought, “What a great concept. How can I make this my own where I live?” From there I began my list of organized chaos. I opened up a note on my phone and started writing down all the basic things I might need. I would need a table, something to cover the ground, plates, silverware, and cups. Once I got the basic thing listed, I began figuring out what things would cost. I had some money saved up from maternity leave and decided to use some of it to buy my first table. Let me tell you, you would have thought I had purchased myself a car. I was so excited. In small amounts, I collected enough things to set up a picnic. It might be only one table, but you have to start somewhere, right?
Living in a tourist area, such as Bar Harbor, you get a lot of people who visit from the spring to fall season. How could I use that to my advantage? Who was my target audience? Being that I was trying to launch a service that wasn’t “necessary” in a time where the world is uncertain, could work against me. But it didn’t. People craved getting out of the house, and this was my opportunity to shine. I spent the next week trying to figure out the business aspect of it (that’s an entirely different story). I made myself a business Facebook page and reached out to a photographer to take some photos of my display. Using those photos, I posted teasers online about what I would be offering and invited all of my friends to like my business page. The response I had was far beyond what I could have imagined. From there it blossomed. I was invited by a popular local elopement photographer to participate in a styled shoot, which landed us a spot in Real Maine Weddings Magazine (a magazine, I coveted as a bride in 2017). I cried ugly tears of happiness and ordered myself 5 copies in print HA! I made in my duty to get to know as many local business owners as possible, and photographers in Acadia to try to get my name out there. You never know the power of networking, until you do, and then, whoo, you’re in for a ride. I live in an area where community and small-town values, are huge. It’s all about who you know, if the locals like you, they will embrace you with open arms.

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 Tabitha Brown (no, unfortunately not the vegan queen herself), but a 31-year-old mother of two who lives in rural Maine with my small hobby farm of poultry, and my Great Dane, Thor. As a child I watched a PBS special about the president at the time (don’t ask, we didn’t have cable LOL), and they were travelling on a train. Inside of this fancy train was a dining room, fully decked out in the finest decor I had ever seen. I was captivated. I immediately went into my parents dining room and set the table as close to what I had seen on tv. I was sure it would impress my parents. I even put paper towels inside of the glass cups, I mean come on. To a 7-year-old, I thought this was high class. stuff. I never realized it would manifest into what I currently do, today. I now have the pleasure of setting up small intimate dinners for couples, as well as micro weddings in and around Acadia National Park. From full set up, to full clean up, I come and bring everything you could need to have a dinner with a view most could only dream of. What I think sets me apart from others, is that I consider myself a full-service business, from taking care of the planning, to setting up, to figuring out the food, I can do it all. I handle myself with confidence and hold myself to a standard that I would want to treat my clients the way I would want to be treated. I want to be able to have my clients say, this was a completely stress-free experience, and that I treated them with respect and kindness. Another thing that sets me apart is that I am the only picnic business in the state that holds a permit to set up inside of Acadia (major perk). I am very proud of that because I worked hard to obtain it and convince the NPS that I was worthy for lack of better words.

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

The best source of new clients for me has been word of mouth from photographers. This for me was an untapped source, that I hadn’t even considered. I originally thought that social media would have been my biggest source, but after the inquiries began rolling in, the majority of them said that they had been recommended by elopement and wedding photographers. This was a total surprise to me because I had never even heard of an elopement photographer prior to starting this business. When I had my idea in the beginning, I thought my client base was going to couples on vacation, wanting to do something special and romantic, and men wanting to propose. Never did I think people eloping would become my niche. I suppose they say you don’t choose your niche, you fall into it, and I have found this to be true. Throughout the last 3, almost 4 years since I began this journey, my business has slowly grown bigger, and bigger. I have now progressed to doing micro weddings (weddings of 40 and under), as well. This is also something I hadn’t anticipated, but I am incredibly thankful for.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Money is always a complicated subject. Especially in a world where the market is ever changing, and often unpredictable. As I mentioned, I began my business during the pandemic and also on maternity leave. Where on earth did the money come from, and to be honest, I don’t truly know. I feel the same way about having children. You think you can’t afford them, but you always make it work. Prior to the pandemic, and still to this day, I work at a special needs preschool. I was able to go back to work in June of 2020, and start saving a small amount from each paycheck to start buying supplies, and slowly build my inventory. I can credit my parents for playing a big part in my ability to save money, as my dad really prioritized us knowing about and managing our finances. In brief, if I saw something small that I wanted, instead of buying it, I would put that $3 or whatever, in my savings account, until it added up over time. With this, I was able to save about $2000 to buy my amazon wishlist and really get my business off the ground.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.luxurypicnicsacadia.com
• Instagram: @luxurypicnicsacadia
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luxurypicnicsacadia/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@luxurypicnicsacadia

Image Credits
Emily Brianne Photography Zi Photography Bridget Stephenson Photo