Today we’d like to introduce you to Theresa Smith.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started because I wanted to plan fun and exciting birthday parties for my children. I would come up with unique and fun things like fear factor parties or scavenger hunts through the woods finding a certain item and having to collect so many to win a prize.. We also had a bonfire at some of them, and at others, we would have water balloon fights and maybe egg toss or tug of war.
It then moved onto planning baby showers and weddings for my family and friends. I then got a position at LeTourneau University as their special event’s coordinator and loved it! It was great to get paid doing what I loved and it came naturally. My friends and family continued saying that I should open my own business planning events. What I thought came naturally for everyone else also, which was just organizing and coordinating, I came to learn did not. I then took the big leap of faith and left the corporate world and started my own business. Little did I know that it would take extreme discipline to get up every day and go into my office and stay there. It was so easy to start cleaning or organizing my house, or turn on the tv and ignore my work. I also knew that it would not get done if I didn’t put the time in and do it. I am not happy with mediocre event planning. I truly enjoy making each event spectacular and unique each time. The only way to get those results is to put plenty of creativity, thought and ideas into each one. 8 years later, I still thoroughly enjoy planning each event, and I know without a doubt that I definitely made the right decision to start my own business. I am so blessed to do what I love every day and have repeat clients that hire me year after year, which confirms it as well.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some struggles that I endured by starting my own business were learning the things I needed in place like getting a business name filed so no one else could use it or finding a good CPA to help me learn what I needed to do to file taxes. I had not been in business long when COVID happened, so that really slowed down the industry as a whole for a while. In 2021 I organized and started an event professionals group that is still helping new businesses meet like minded individuals and helping them navigate in the industry. I love helping others and it also helped my business so it was a win win! Having to run the group is not easy, but I have had some great people step in and help over the years that I will always be thankful for. We have monthly meetings, so I organize those and make sure we have some type of content, whether it be educational or fun games to play! We all need some down time and what a better way to spend it than being with colleagues that have grown into friends.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Classy Planners Event Planning & Rentals, LLC?
Classy Planners strives for excellence and does everything possible to meet the needs, wants, and desires of our clients. We have planned everything from weddings and showers to the most elaborate birthday parties, quinceanera’s, retirement and graduation celebrations. We are also not only woman owned but have had the honor of being veteran owned, as our owner is a proud Air Force Veteran.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
We will continue to work hard to bring our clients a positive experience for each event that we plan. We hope we can build more relationships that will develop into lasting friendships.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Classyplanners.com
- Instagram: Classyplanners19
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/eventplanningofanykind
