Today we’d like to introduce you to Keysue Kim.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Keysue. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved celebrating any occasion. I loved helping with all of the details and I was usually the first one to offer my help. In my family growing up, we celebrated every holiday from New Year’s to 4th of July to Christmas. My enthusiasm with decorating and celebrating things definitely began from seeing my mother excitingly engage every annual celebration with happiness and love. Celebrations, since I can remember have always stirred up feelings of warmth, comfort and good times for me. I can still remember wearing my traditional Christmas pajamas and curling up on the warm wooden floor on Christmas Eve with all of my cousins. I loved preparing my Easter basket for an Easter egg hunt and finding the prized chocolate Easter bunny at the end. I loved every Thanksgiving filled with all the aromas of Thanksgiving food. Memories have always been worth more to me than anything in the world because they can last forever.
As time went on and I became a housewife, my desire to help and participate with celebrations grew further. I began to plan friends baby showers, birthdays, housewarming parties, and even children’s parties. Events became a rewarding hobby for me that provided some happiness not only to myself but also for someone else. As my youngest was approaching the milestone to enter grade school, I finally began to look at all the possibilities of my new free time. On a road trip to Houston with a friend, I began to brainstorm and bounce off all of the ideas that I enjoyed. My friend pointed out how event planning could be an option for me to consider as a new venture. One referral post showing my styled event on a Dallas Physician Mothers group sparked the business I have today! Ever since then Keysue Kim Event Planning has almost completely generated business solely through the client’s word of mouth referrals.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Fourteen years ago when I first became a mother, I had to deal with the responsibility of a new life, but I also had to deal with the new challenges of having a special needs child. I was not prepared and it was an extremely difficult time for me as a mother. I was so focused on my son and his needs I did, in fact, lose a sense of who I was as a person. My life has been a bit of blur since 2004 and now fast forward fourteen years later and three children later, 2018 arrived and I was back to thinking about what this new stage in my life meant for me. I no longer wanted to only be considered a housewife and mother, but I wanted to add a new title in my life. I didn’t know what that would be just yet but the thought process began.
At the same time, I was thinking about my future, the life that I portrayed amongst friends and family superficially was not the honest truth. After experiencing years of emotional abuse, domestic violence incidences and infidelity, I was heartbroken and tired. I was truly at the lowest point of my entire life and on top of this, I was parenting my children alone for the longest time. It took me quite some time to refocus and think about all the positive aspects in my life. But as time went on my thoughts became a bit better and the shift to focus on my new business venture began. I began to direct all of my positive energy into something I wanted to call my own. There were many days where I felt doubtful and hopeless when dealing with my struggles.
But as a struggling mother whenever I think about my children, decision making and purposeful goals in my life always become much clearer. As a mother, I have always felt it was important for me to teach my boys to be their best and never give up in anything they do. With this in mind, I told myself to move forward with my business idea and see how it would go. My life soon started to feel exciting again and I fairly quickly decided to take the leap. Although I had barely any experience with a business or any funds to begin my business, taking a risk in something has always been easy for me to do. It has felt extremely rewarding to personally create and make decisions without seeking approval from anyone. I am eager and hopeful to see what the future holds for my business and what else life could possibly bring my way.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am the owner of Keysue Kim Event Planning LLC. My company is managed and organized completely by myself. I do have a few local high schools and college helpers that I employ for events that require more detail here in Dallas. Keysue Kim Event Planning specializes in providing clients a custom one-of-a-kind theme for Children’s Parties, Adult Parties, Bridal Showers, Gender Reveal, Sweet 16, Anniversaries, Holiday Parties, Social Engagements, Corporate Events and More. I provide a multitude of services ranging from Partial Planning to Day of Coordination and everything in between for all clients living in Dallas and its surrounding areas. I strive to focus my efforts in helping a client’s vision come to life.
My specialty has grown to become Custom Children’s Parties. This was not something I specifically set out to do, but it is the one type of event that I have much experience in. Since I used to be an Elementary school teacher and I am a mother of three children, I do believe that I have a great deal of knowledge with anything child-related. I consider myself to have attention to detail and I do believe I have the ability to help each client with their specific needs. My goal is to always try and meet the expectations for each client’s personal event and make it a success. I believe what sets me apart from other event planning companies is my ability, to be honest with my client’s goals and vision. I enjoy helping my clients stay focused and relaxed while I take care of all the details of their event. One of the things I always aim to do for each event is to treat it like it were my own personal event. Every concern from my client are my concerns, every goal of my client is my own goal as well. It does not matter to me how big or small the event is, every client and every event is just as important as each other.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I do not really believe in luck in one’s life. If I were to place luck as something true, I believe I would be setting myself up in also believing that everything is out of my control. If I think in this mindset, wouldn’t it affect my possible success? Thomas Jefferson wrote, “I am a big believer in luck; the harder I work, the luckier I get.” No matter what life brings good or bad, I believe never giving up and choosing to put forth effort will bring “luck” for me both in my personal life and in my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kkeventplanning.com
- Phone: 972-292-8237
- Email: keysuekim@gmail.com
- Instagram: @keysuekimeventplanning
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/keysuek
- Twitter: @keysuekim
Image Credit:
Esther Huynh Photography
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