There are some events we can never plan - like a global pandemic. As event planners who thrive on bringing people together for memorable moments, 2020 impacted J-Leigh events by eliminating months of work. When the cancellations started rolling in, we asked ourselves: what are we going to do? If you listen to other podcasts for event planners, they likely discuss the positive outlook for recovery in the events industry. But, getting to this point wasn’t easy. Here’s a quick recap from a recent Zero to Ten Podcast with Hygge Charlotte, where I share my personal and professional story as an event planner in a pandemic.
During the podcast, I followed up with Garrett, owner of Hygge Charlotte, on how the pandemic impacted my business almost two years later. At the beginning of the pandemic, events started canceling back in March 2020, leading to a large amount of lost revenue. I think I went 5 or 6 months without one physical event. You might think, “well, what about virtual?” For our clients, a Zoom event is not as attractive or lucrative. So, virtual events were not an immediate solution to retain business. Luckily, things picked back up - starting with working with Camp North End and the City of Charlotte to support local businesses.
As a team, we readied ourselves with COVID-19 backup plans and creative methods for socially distanced events as things ramped up towards the end of the year. Of course, the pandemic continues throwing surprises our way, like the Delta variant, and being an event planner means having a conversation with vendors about pandemic policies and protections early in the process. But, truthfully, COVID-19 affects not only business but life as a mother and entrepreneur.
For other event planners, mothers, and business owners going through the new challenges of the pandemic, here’s my advice: there is hope for everything and ask for support.
Check out the Hygge Charlotte recap and listen to the full podcast here. You can also listen to the audio on Apple Podcasts here.
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