Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Cecilia Claudio-Torres, Co-Owner of Elegant Evening Events, located in Tampa, FL, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Elegant Evening Events is a wedding and event planning company. We are a women-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned (my best friend and business partner is an Army veteran) company that provides its clients with an event planning experience that is genuine, reliable, and elegant. Our customers range from brides and grooms to corporate clients and nonprofit clients. I co-own the business with my best friend, Maria Parrilla, and we always like to joke with our clients that they get two for the price of one. We both are very involved with every detail and love the connections we make with our clients and our vendors.
Tell us about yourself
I never thought I would have my own business. My start was a complete lovely accident. At the time, I was working at a bridal retail store; a client called during her reception because she couldn't bustle the train of her dress. I clocked out for lunch, drove to the location, and helped her out. The dad slipped me $100 for fluff services which I had no clue what it was. Word spread, and they started paying me to help brides get dressed on the wedding day. One day a coordinator didn't show up, so I stayed to help. The next thing I know, a friend asked me to plan the entire thing. I asked my best friend, who also worked with me at the store, if she wanted to help me, we did it, and five days after that wedding, we LLc'd the business, and here we are today.
What motivates me is many things, but mainly it's that my best friend and I work each day to bring these events into a reality and the look on our client's faces when they see everything come together. It's knowing that my daughter is watching me work on my dreams everyday.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our biggest accomplishment was pivoting during the pandemic. For anyone in the event industry, it was a hard hit. Events being canceled, and venues shutting down. Vendor friends of ours closed doors permanently. It was really tough. We decided to make the best of it and created mini-moon packages for small gatherings, taking into account the government regulations at the time, masks being worn all the time, 6-ft social distancing, you name it. And bride and grooms who didn't want to wait or lose all their money were able to still get married and celebrate with close family. It kept our business going, it helped some local vendors, and we were able to weather the storm.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
I think the work-life balance for me, especially as a single mom. I tell all my clients and vendors there will be days where I will bring my kid with me. I am a mompreneur and making sure that I'm not neglecting myself, my kid, or my business and handling that delicate balance is not easy. But I wouldn't change it at all. My child gets to see what I do; she loves meeting the brides, and she thinks they are princesses! I get to spend time with her, and I get to work on my dream job.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Start. Just start. Don't wait for the "right time." There are people with less preparation already working on their goals. Start where you are at.
- Don't neglect research. Part of the reason we've been so successful is that while working at the bridal retail store, I hadn't realized I was already doing research. In those 5 years I worked there, I spoke to over 4000 brides. Hearing the good, the bad, and the ugly of their wedding plans. So when we started, we already knew what we wanted to give our brides based on all those stories.
- Develop relationships. When you go network, don't just hand over a business card. We get referrals from people we've never done events for. They do it because we've developed relationships with them for years, and they've gotten to know us.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.eleganteveningevents.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eleganteveningevents
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eleganteveningevents/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cecilia-claudio-torres-936714234/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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