What’s in this episode:

The Healing Power of Nature: How a personal season of hardship led Melinda to find therapy and a new calling in the Tennessee soil.

Lifelong Learning: Why Melinda chose to attend the College of Design in Oxford even after achieving business success.

Staff as Family: The "non-negotiable" standard of respect for laborers and Melinda's plan to eventually pass her business to her lead worker.

Setting Boundaries: Learning to identify "trouble clients" and the bravery required to fire a top contractor to protect the team's morale.

Scaling vs. Designing: Recognizing the "headaches" of scaling and choosing to stay close to the creative process and the clients.

A Spiritual Approach to Entrepreneurship: Moving from "putting down the sword" to "picking up the paintbrush" and learning to hold a business loosely.

Quotes:

"I just started working with my hands in the dirt. And I knew that it was somehow healing. And it was my therapy." — Melinda Perry

"I realized how much I did not know and how expensive it was to pull everything up." — Melinda Perry

"I just love to learn; I'm just a student at heart." — Melinda Perry

"I'm not sure if the bottom line gets all that better... there were a lot more headaches with having more people." — Melinda Perry

"My guys, they're so much smarter than me in what they do... they've been in the business 30 years and could run rings around people." — Melinda Perry

"I like to live at the end of myself. I think when we come to the end of ourselves, that's when we see the magic happen, because we are no longer in control." — Melinda Perry

"It's time to put down your sword and pick up your paintbrush." — Melinda Perry

"The world is so hostile... if we can create spaces that are comfortable and easy for each other to communicate... the more we can set the stage for amazing conversations to happen." — Melinda Perry

"I hold [the business] loosely because it's all a gift." — Melinda Perry

RESOURCES:

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!  

Learn what to do with an underperforming piece in your collection with RW’s Utilization & Liquidation Worksheet

Learn what Melinda learned at our conference by grabbing your spot for Lend & Gather Online! 

Join the Lend & Gather mailing list to be the first to hear about our next conference for boutique event rental business owners. 

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram

AND OUR GUEST:

Melinda Perry of M2 Exteriors

Website | Instagram 

What’s in this episode:

Navigating Seasonal Cashflow

Flexible Staffing Models for Scheduling & Hiring

The "Utilization" Test for Inventory

Leveraging Industry Relationships

Implementing Damage Waivers

Strategic Saying Yes to New Inventory

Quotes:

• "During the slow season [...], let's really make more appointment time slots available and focus on making those bookings." — Anna Samodarov
• "If these pieces aren't paying their rent, they don't get to stay here on the shelf." — Allison Howell
• “...that's how business works, it's always a risk, you have to make these decisions and be okay with whatever happens.” — Anna Samodarov
• “One inquiry does not equal cash in the bank, right? Even if someone asks about it, that doesn't mean they were actually going to book it.” — Allison Howell
• "You will not grow, you will burn out. You will hate what you're doing if you don't hire help, if you don't learn how to delegate." — Anna Samodarov
• "If you insist on being there with them, then you become the bottleneck for your growth." — Allison Howell
• "We didn't want to have what big box companies had. We wanted to be something completely different. So that was our focus." — Erica Trombetti
• "Being a smaller rental company, every cup counts, every plate counts." — Erica Trombetti
• “I also was a very ‘yes, yes, yes,’ and then I went into ‘no, no, no,’ and you feel bad for saying ‘no, no, no,’ then you're like, ‘oh no. No one's gonna wanna use you. You should go back to saying yes, yes, yes.” So I think that is just the cycle. Everyone kind of goes up and down in business and trying to feel what works best. — Erica Trombetti
• "What was happening was we were using all of our profits to buy all of our inventory. And we got to the point where like, okay, we just can't anymore." — Erica Trombetti
• The tricky part about it is if you just keep buying, then the things you currently own aren't going to rent, right? The hope is if you say no, that they actually rent something that you do own. But the risk is if they say no that they get what they want somewhere else. — Allison Howell

RESOURCES:

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!  

Learn what to do with an underperforming piece in your collection with RW’s Utilization & Liquidation Worksheet

Learn what Erica learned at our conference by grabbing your spot for Lend & Gather Online! 

Join the Lend & Gather mailing list to be the first to hear about our next conference for boutique event rental business owners. 

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram

AND OUR GUESTS:

Erica Trombetti of La Affitto

Website | Instagram

Anna Samodarov of Memorable Events Rentals

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Highlights:

The Transition from Corporate to Creative: Leveraging product development experience to curate a unique collection.

Data-Driven Decision Making: Using dollar and time utilization metrics to dictate inventory growth and pricing strategies.

Leading vs. Following Trends: Recognizing the "bell curve" of client adoption and the patience required for fashion-forward items.

Operational Innovation: The seven-month journey of creating custom, sustainable packaging to ship flatware nationwide.

Maintaining Brand Standards: The bravery of walking away from "good enough" prototypes to protect brand identity.

The Power of Community: Overcoming growth plateaus through styled shoots, networking, and industry collaboration.

Quotes:

• "In the beginning... I just took a lot of trust in my own tastes because... I had no historical data to rely back on, but luckily it worked out." — Tammy Noel
• "I'd much rather be setting the trend versus following it." — Tammy Noel
• “When they want something unique, unexpected, unusual, those are the kind of validating words. I’m like, okay, we’re doing it the right way.” — Tammy Noel
• "If you have a piece that has really high time utilization, it's going out all the time, but it's not making you very much money, then you can say, oh, my rates are too low." — Allison Howell
• "There's honestly no amount of money that I can spend to put out a product we're not proud of." — Tammy Noel
• "If I had ego, TableMade would not be the business it is today." — Tammy Noel
• "It has to be more than a product. People have to enjoy working with us." — Tammy Noel
• "People first, style always... that is our mantra." — Tammy Noel
• "I realized we are only going to get out of our community what we pour into it." — Tammy Noel
• "It’s not so much just about the pictures or where is this getting published. It’s really about that opportunity for people... to see what it’s like to place an order with you, see what it's like to collaborate, see what it's like for you to deliver. It’s like a kind of a rehearsal." — Allison Howell
• "You can always find out, okay, how much did I pay for it? How much has it brought me in the last 12 months? How much is it going out in the future? So you can do that math on your own, but having that information can be so powerful in making those strategic decisions moving forward." — Allison Howell

RESOURCES:

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Rental Utilization Explained + Two Goals

How to Use the Collection Activity Metric 

RW’s Rental Inventory Utilization & Liquidation Worksheet

Essential Pricing Strategies for Event Rental Businesses Webinar

Getting More Out of What You’ve Already Got

Five Ways to Squeeze More Money Outta That Piece

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram

AND OUR GUEST:

Tammy Noel of TableMade.

Website | Instagram | Facebook

What’s in this episode:  

-Strategically Staying Small

-Creating Operational Efficiencies

-Defining Success Through Intentionality

-The Power of Sisterly Partnership

-Tricks for Managing Tabletop Rentals

Quotations:

"I think that that has become ingrained in a lot of us, the more options you offer people, that's positive... I have found that the less options I offer, but that are more geared towards a specific kind of client that has allowed me to find success in this small niche." — Courtney Inghram

"We were hungry because this was our first couple years in business. So we just took on everything... but we were creating a lifestyle that really wasn't sustainable for our home life." — Jillian Mackey

"I think we as women just want to make sure that we're talking to people in the right way and we don't want to offend anyone. You kind of almost shoot yourself in the foot a little bit... when you don't send those emails and make those calls and just put yourself out there." — Courtney Inghram

"So we've really streamlined our processes... and that's really, really helped us this year to the point where, I don't know if it's okay to say this but we owe way too much in taxes now because we're too efficient." — Jenna Mackanich

“The more instruction you can give people, the better. Because the person who rented it is almost certainly not the person who’s going to be packing it.” — Allison Howell

"It's very fulfilling to see the finished product. This is creating memories. People are sitting around a table together, having this once in a lifetime moment. That makes me feel good and like what we're doing is important and it's not just all frivolous." — Courtney Inghram

“Every year I feel like there’s a new challenge we have to overcome, but when you figure it out, it’s a really good feeling.” — Jenna Mackanich

“If you’re the type of person who needs help right now, send an email to a handful of people, because it might be that they can’t get back to you today but they can get back to you in the future. It’s not personal sometimes when they don’t respond.” — Allison Howell

“We have a very small space for storage, which has caused me to be very intentional both about the pieces that I buy and make an investment in and…sell off the pieces that aren’t doing their job anymore.” — Courtney Inghram

Resources: 

Never overbook or doublebook any in your rental inventory ever again with RW Elephant. 

Organize your warehouse with:

• Item Labels for your Event Rental Warehouse
• 5S Event Rental Warehouse Guide

Platescrape Dishwashing Kit for onsite scullery

What’s in this episode:  

• Organic Launch of Lavish Event Rentals
• Strategic Creation of a Separate Brand Identity
• The Unique Tableware Niche
• Scaling Through High-Quantity, Designer Inventory
• Emphasis on Brand & In-House Fabrication for Differentiation

Quotations:

"I need to know what you're going to want before you know you want it." - Raul Rodriguez

"We want to rent it for an event. And I said, you heard wrong, but that's a great idea." - Raul Rodriguez

'We have a software that tells us every piece, how many times it goes out, how much money it generates. We know everything, what are our so-called greatest hits. And I'm always asking our staff, what are people asking for? What is renting the most?" - Raul Rodriguez

"Hey, if somebody had all the top line China, I'm talking Versace, Hermes, Baccarat, Christophe, would you guys rent it? And the response from everybody was a resounding yes, who has it? How can we get it?" - Raul Rodriguez

"People make decisions with feelings. So I wanted them to immediately open up the lavish web page or Instagram anything that they see, feel, touch. And they're like, I want to be a part of this world. These people get me and they understand me." - Raul Rodriguez

"I don't usually pay a lot of attention to what the other companies are doing. I don't like weigh myself down with like, oh my God, they have this, I need to get this, or they have that, and I'm like, no, I don't, there's plenty of space, you know, they're doing what they're doing and we're doing what we're and that's fine." - Raul Rodriguez

"I see things from one perspective, but I want to see things and hear about things from all the different perspectives, I talked to the caterers, what do you guys need? What's out there that doesn't exist?" - Raul Rodriguez

RESOURCES:

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram

AND OUR GUEST:

Raul Rodriguez of Lavish Event Rentals

Website | Instagram | Facebook

What’s in this episode:  

• Best practices for creating culture
• Handling conflict within your team
• Being self-aware as a leader
• Trusting your company to your people
• Setting yourself apart with branding

Quotations:

“People know what they're doing here. They're good at what they do because the environment has been set up to learn and to grow and to do these things and to give freedom to make decisions.” - Ashton Pollock

“If you were to strip everything back, you just have to simply respect and be kind to the people that you are with, even in moments of frustration, and trusting their attention, trusting who they are as a person, and communicating as frequently as possible.” - Ashton Pollock

“I just don't understand when people say, oh, it's not personal. Like, **** that, it's personal. Of course it's personal. It is my entire livelihood.” - Ashton Pollock

“I have a rule. I'm not allowed in the building if I'm a ‘Stressy Bessy.’ I have to check myself. If I'm a ‘Stressy Bessy,’ I work from home. Because I'll project. I know I will. And that's not what I want.” - Ashton Pollock

“It takes a lot of, “Nope, you know what? I'm not going to say anything right now. I'm going to shower. I'm going to reset. I'm going to have a sleep, and then tomorrow I'm going to know what to do." But it can be tempting to be like, X, Y, and Z has happened. We're going to talk about this right now, but that's never the best case.” - Ashton Pollock

“So I am a lover of change, baby. I really like to see things change. So we have rebranded every two years pretty loyally.” - Ashton Pollock

“Everything has been a pain in my *** at some point. Team included, inventory, trucks, whatever it is. But at the end of the day, like I've met some of the people in my life that will be there until I'm a little old lady carrying around a chair. And that is just a gift in itself.” - Ashton Pollock

“I think that's attractive to your ideal client. They recognize that they are going to get that quality in the work that you're doing. You're being very intentional, even with the copy that you're writing. And they see that intentionality in your design. They see that intentionality in the color palettes you put together. They see that in all of those little aspects of what you do. And they can see that this is going to translate into my event. And that really speaks to them.” - Ashton Pollock

RESOURCES:

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram

AND OUR GUEST:

Ashton Pollock of Bespoke Decor

Website | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok

What’s in this episode:

• Studying design, and moving to Austin
• The seed idea, fundraising, and launching with 3 partners
• The five factors in setting your brand apart from the pack
• Discovering your core values with frameworks for operational guidance
• Navigating relationships and buying out partners
• Managing growth from the post COVID boom and customizable builds
• The importance of Lend & Gather Conference in the business’s growth

Quotations:

“Another thread that I see through the people who have that sticktoitiveness, that longevity, are really just people who can see the bigger picture. They see, oh, I'm not just dropping off stuff at a wedding or not just renting tables and chairs. You recognize hey I'm creating culture here. This is the stuff of celebrations. This is what makes up these milestones and memories for people. ” – Allison Howell

“And so I think what I learned from you, Allison, which you've always said is like more inventory doesn't mean more money. And so we've really taken that to heart and that we don't just buy things that we think are cool. There are exceptions. I would like to say we're more intentional and focused and super planned out on what our collections are, but they are largely driven by what the market is asking for and what also feels on brand to us.”  – Christie Zangrilli

“Tomorrow, this big box company could literally go buy every single thing that you have. So inventory is never going to be your unique differentiator and so I was like, oh man, like that's super scary but made us realize how important all of the brand pieces were and how that goes into operations. So again, what are the things that you are winning?” – Christie Zangrilli

“We are going to reevaluate once a year, it is planned. Let's stick it on the calendar. We will hire somebody to do it. It becomes less uncomfortable because it was pre planned versus a reaction to something happening that seems more confrontational.” – Christie Zangrilli

“You're liable for them as the business owner. I personally am liable for their well being. And I'm also personally liable for keeping them paid. I was at the point where I was like, if I'm going to shoulder all the additional stress of having all these employees and also the business was growing and doing really well, I want to be responsible for all of its successes.” – Christie Zangrilli

Resources:

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Christie Zangrilli of Party at the Moontower

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok

Partners Holly and Charlie couldn’t be more different but that’s what makes them work so well. Charlie loves logistics and operational efficiency while Holly is the creative mind and driving force that clients can’t get enough of. Their combined strengths and work ethic earned them the national award for Venue Stylist of the Year in 2024. They operate just outside of London, England.

What’s in this episode:

• How Holly got started right out of Uni with the help of mentors
• Charlie joins the business and roles are defined
• Using Instagram and styled shoots to increase social media reach
• Winning Venue Stylist of the Year Award and leveraging it for growth
• Sourcing inspiration and finding creative options for storage
• Can you believe this is our job?

Quotations:

“How can we take that and display it creatively? Or come up with a prop that is useful for that, but also looks great. It creates a photo opportunity and then all the guests are taking pictures. That is what couples love. Practical and pretty I always say, and that's why we really try and focus on that as a company.” – Holly

“One of the benefits and beauties of working with your partner, business partner, romantic partner. She's at one end of the desk. I'm at the other one. It's not a particularly difficult task for me to say, “Oh, Holly, I think she might want styling.” – Charlie

“We know now that actually seeing couples on our Instagram page, for example, real couples is fantastic, but actually styled shoot couples like models doesn't work as well. People just want to really see our products. So we don't post that much of our couples as much as we love them. But it's the products that we're trying to sell and the service.” – Holly

“Sometimes when we get an award or we achieve something in our business, we say, okay, check that off onto the next thing. But it can be so valuable for us to say, okay, I got this thing, or I achieved this thing or I have this thing in front of me, how can I squeeze more out of it so that I can get all of the benefit or value out of this thing that I already have before I move on to the next marketing opportunity or before I move on to the next thing or before I invest in the next phase, right?”

– Allison Howell

“We never want to be the sort of company where we're doing thousands of events every year. So it's very important to us to identify very strategic venues to try and penetrate into a high proportion of their yearly total events. And as you say, having that leverage to get in there and actually capture those for us, that's a far more valuable way of doing business and expanding business.” – Charlie

Resources:

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guests:

Holly and Charlie of Locate to Create

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok

What’s in this episode:

• Why and how the sisters were lead to the industry
• Growing the business, running the family and enriching the community 
• The separation of roles and resolving conflicts between founders
• Curating and pricing an eclectic, customer driven collection
• The rule of 3 wow factors guaranteed to make clients happy
• Carving out their market and maximizing margins

Quotations:

“We would get money, we would pour it back in. We would get money, we would pour it back in. We were very passionate about not going into some crazy debt for this business where we couldn't walk away. So we would load, we would unload the trucks. We were everything. We were marketing. We were labor. We did that for years. We got your software, which was amazing.” – Holly Barton

“...this is just a little plug for Lend & Gather. We have to go to that this year because we have gotten as far as we have by the grace of God, by hard work, sweat, blood, tears, and a great industry. Our industry is awesome, but we still have so much to learn on the business side.” – Amanda Cox

“There's always more to learn. There are always ways that you can improve. There's always lessons that you can learn and things that you can do differently next time. Because that’s what entrepreneurship is about, right? Recognizing and celebrating our successes and then saying, ‘Okay, what's next?.’” – Allison Howell

“When I had a baby three years ago and obviously that pulled me a little bit away from the business. She stepped up. She's had personal things where I've had to step up and that did create conflict. But I think we have worked through it and ultimately when we started this business, we knew and it still stands true. If she's ever out of it, I'm done. If I'm ever out of it, she's done. If it's coming between us, then we're done. ” – Amanda Cox

“The term in our marriage is fight fair. And my husband is my business partner. So similarly to you being sisters and business partners, the relationship is super complicated because you develop a dynamic and then there's a pattern that happens, right? And whether the pattern’s in your kitchen or the pattern's in your office, that happens whether you're intending for it to or not, because that's what you practiced and it's the roles you've gotten into.” – Allison Howell

Resources:

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Holly Barton and Amanda Cox of Greenhouse Picker Sisters

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

What’s in this episode:

• What Mandy does after taking over her family’s flower shop
• Breaking into the rental market with PropHouse 
• How she manages multiple businesses and dozens of employees 
• The logic behind her collection and approach to purchasing
• The importance of safety nets and icebreakers when hiring 
• Milestones and giving back!

Quotations:

“I think when I made the decision that I would raise the minimum for floral and really push towards the props. I wanted to be a leader in that market in our area. Being able to do the whole event design and incorporate or push new ideas on people. That was the avenue that I saw as an opportunity because I was really doing it anyway.” – Mandy Majerik

“I was very driven to make it something that was distinct and different. And I think I've just been riding the wave going in that direction.” – Mandy Majerik

“There's some things that I buy just because I personally think this will do well in the market. Or someone doesn't have it to offer where we are. And so that gives us a leg up sometimes of something different that we have that can be that little pivot point tipping the scale to rent from us versus someone else.” – Mandy Majerik

“I think you have to be organized and have a plan. I think you have to be a person who sets goals. Because if you don't set them, you're not going to be able to reach them. ” – Mandy Majerik

“Bringing me joy is being able to give back to the people who I think dedicate themselves so much to the business, the crazy business that we're in. ” – Mandy Majerik

Resources:

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Mandy Majerik of HotHouse Design Studio + PropHouse Rentals and Styling

HotHouse | Facebook | Instagram

PropHouse | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

What’s in this episode:

• How Ann started borrow with only $7,000
• A tragic event that destroyed nearly everything
• An efficient and effective system for furniture repair
• Her method for keeping herself and her team accountable
• Learning how to “chill” as a boss and fostering culture
• Being a role model, reaching milestones, and more!

Quotations:

“You're not starting over. You're gonna go in and rebuild as an absolute expert. When you first started this business, you were not an expert. You didn't know what the hell you were doing. ” – Ann King

“We always have kept good records. So I was literally able to just press that button on RW Elephant and spit out exactly how much stuff we had.” – Ann King

“I'm way less attached to the collection. It's stuff. And probably the biggest takeaway is, you think it's about the furniture. It is not about the furniture. Not at all. It is about the people. It is about the people that you work for, that you work with. It's about your community.”  – Ann King

“When you call OSHA in and you say, I want to do this the right way, can you show me how to do it? They love you for that. They understand that you're just trying to do things the right way. So it's not scary at all. It's very, very informative and helpful.” – Ann King

“One thing we did invest in, and actually it was a company that we found at Lend & Gather. We hired Upright Labs to come in and give us a 150 page deck of how to reset the warehouse for primal efficiency. So that was massive and a big investment, but totally worth it.”  – Ann King

“I didn't realize that like management was about empowering and supporting. It's not about telling and teaching.”  – Ann King

Resources:

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Ann King of Borrow Curated Furniture + Design

Borrow | Instagram | Facebook

What’s in this episode:

• How Pablo got started in the industry
• Discovering a niche and growing organically
• Expanding the sales team to different locations
• Finding the right talent and empowering them
• The freedom in learning to let go

Quotes:

“I just took it day by day and just grabbed every opportunity that was presented to me and met every single designer that referred me to another one. It was just like one thing leading to the other. And before I knew it we weren't just doing business here in Miami, we started shipping.” – Pablo Oliveira

“I think that referrals have been the best way for us to find the right talent, especially because I think that someone that is already working with us, they want to have the best people joining the company.” – Pablo Oliveira

“I think the magic really happens when other people believe in your passion and become as passionate as you are for the business and they take ownership in everything that they do and every day that they come to work.” – Pablo Oliveira

“You have to start and risk failing and then after you've worked so hard, you have to let go in order for it to grow. I don't know, which is harder, but that part takes a lot of courage too.”  – Allison Howell

“When I realized the potential that I had with placing salespeople across the country, that obviously allowed us to grow exponentially compared to just doing business locally.” – Pablo Oliveira

“I am freaking essential. Or we are freaking essential because, what is life if we don't make memories, right?”  – Pablo Oliveira

Resources:

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Pablo Oliviera of Nüage Designs

Nüage Designs | Instagram | Pinterest

What’s in this episode:

• How Alice discovered a gap in the market... and filled it effectively
• What it’s like to manage multiple locations under one business
• How Flock Events schedules and pays staff in a mutually beneficial way (and avoids seasonal hires)
• How Alice is building a brick-and-mortar shop which ties into her larger business

Quotes:

“I guess whenever there's a gap in the market, you say “Is the gap there because there's no demand? Or is the gap there because the demand's not filled?’” - Alice Sip

“I’ve learnt to be very very specific about every single detail [...] I think the more specific you can be, the better.” - Alice Sip

“I always look at demand before I just buy. I would never look at a piece of furniture and say ‘Oh, that’s nice. We’ll add that to the collection.’ We’ll always say, ‘Well who have we got that that’s going out for?’” - Alice Sip

“I also don't believe in money over relationship in terms of what we take on in our business.” - Alice Sip

“I’ve realized the importance of delegating and realized the importance of my time and that paying someone an hourly wage to do something actually is worth it because it frees up me.“ - Alice Sip

Resources:

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Alice Sip of Flock Events & Kindred Road

Flock Events Website | Instagram

Kindred Road Website | Instagram

What’s in this episode:

• Building a new brand in a new market
• How Sherine plans her purchases around pieces that fit and further her brand
• The strategy behind rebranding Modern Vintage Rentals as Lily & Cane
• Lessons learned commissioning custom pieces
• The endless battle for work-life balance

Quotes:

“A brand embodies so much more than just the look and feel. The client experience is a huge thing.” - Sherine Iskander

“Some people give up after attending once or twice at one of these networking groups and then they say, ‘ph, that doesn’t work for me.’ But what I’ve found is that you really have to stick with it for six to nine months before anybody with any kind of great reputation will give you a chance because if they recommend you, then their reputation is on the line.” - Allison Howell

“This was important for me to explain to myself or to keep repeating to myself: ‘I can’t be all things to all people.’” -Sherine Iskandar  

“I decided I’m not going to wait for perfection to start promoting a product.” -Sherine Iskandar

“My name was doing a disservice to the brand, and I had to change it.” - Sherine Iskandar

“It was a big goal when I quit the corporate world. My goal was to be a healthier person – mind and body. And I am a healthier person now because I’ve allowed myself the balance of work and life.” - Sherine Iskandar

Resources:

SITU Creative Agency

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Sherine Iskandar of Lily & Cane

Website | Instagram

What’s in this episode:

• How mentorship helped grow Little Celebrations
• CeCe’s business strategy for surviving the pandemic
• How embracing the power and freedom of delegation has helped CeCe grow
• Behind the scenes of one of Boston’s biggest collections of little furniture

Quotes:

“When kids go to events, they're sitting at these adult tables. It’s not as fun for them or parents are telling them to stop touching the silverware… So why not create a space... for them?” - CeCe Champion

“It seems like that kind of thirst for knowledge also goes hand-in-hand with some humility– the ability to acknowledge that you don’t know everything yet but also coupled with the confidence to say, ‘I can do this.’” -Allison Howell

“And, you know, starting this business has allowed me to really build a backbone to like say no, creating boundaries, respecting, or protecting my own peace.” - CeCe Champion

“I learned early on that delegation is key. I am not the control freak. [...] For me initially, it was very important for me to invest in a bookkeeper and make sure I had all my numbers together so I could understand the growth of my business.” - CeCe Champion

“When I look around at the industry, the people who are continuing to do [their own] deliveries, and especially late night pick-ups, are the ones that burn out the fastest.” - Allison Howell 

“The opportunity for scale in a business like yours is really different than a business that really requires the main principal to be the one doing the hands-on work on the day of the event.” - Allison Howell

Resources:

How Successful People Lead by John Maxwell

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

CeCe Champion of Little Celebrations

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

What’s in this episode:

• A look at buying a business from a friend
• How Jacqueline and her husband made Collected & Co. their own
• How to build on someone else’s collection 
• Growing your core services, like, adding event planning to the mix
• How to handle client disappointment, both before and after it happens

Quotes:

“What can we do to really stay ahead of the market and just push Minneapolis to be something that you just don't see all the time?” - Jacqueline Johannesson

“Would that be easy? Yes. But we’re never about the easy.” - Jacqueline Johannesson

“It sounds like you don't want to just fulfill the vision; you want to cast the vision.“ - Allison Howell

“So for our lounge furniture, we try to, on the third time it's going out, it's got to make some sort of return, whether it's three dollars, it has to bring something in. We know that there are some pieces, like our dining chairs, that's going to take more rentals to bring that back in. We want our pieces to, you know, hopefully last a couple to three seasons before we have to retire something out.” -Jacqueline Johannesson

“We've worked really hard to build great relationships with the other vendor partners in the city to be trusted, to say, ‘they're the people who are willing to take a little bit of a risk sometimes.’” -Jacqueline Johannesson

“We learn something new every single day, every single event. There's always something that we are learning, whether it's from a client, an experience, an event professional who knows more than us because we are not naive to say we don't know half of it. Like, we're always learning and growing, which is what you need to do in order to continue to grow and have a successful business.” Jacqueline Johannesson

“When you start out, you're thinking of all the beautiful things you're going to create, and that's sort of the primary stuff of your vision and your dreams. But, a big chunk of what you do is actually move furniture around.” -Allison Howell

“There's always room for growth. There's always room for growth in your business. There's room for growth personally, always. Like we always need to strive to be better the next day. We can always wake up and do better.” -Jacqueline Johannesson

Resources:

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Jacqueline Johannesson of Collected & Co.

Website | Instagram

What’s in this episode:

• Keeping purpose at the core of your business
• 
  
• Literally keeping the companies core values in your back pocket
• 
  
• How to price your delivery process
• 
  
• Tips for partnering with moving companies
• 
  
• How to (really) load and unload a truck

Quotes:

It’s hard to create value for your employees in order to keep them enthusiastic and wanting to continue to work doing entry level work.” - Aaron Steed

“There's a lot of meaning as to why we do what we do. And I feel like we've been able to harness that grit and get through the hard times.” - Aaron Steed

“I believe the owner’s job is to create clarity, strategy, and accountability for the team.” - Aaron Steed

“Number one, I do not care what my competitors charge. At all.” - Aaron Steed

“Most businesses get clear on their values and their mission statement but that’s really for the executives and the business owners to guide their decisions and whatnot. But our employees, what they have is their service pillars. And their service pillars are what they live and breathe and what they get judged on.” - Aaron Steed

“[Entrepreneurship] forces you to take a good, hard look at yourself. You know, I've been I've been arrogant. I've been humbled. I've been on top of the world. I've been crying to bankers. You know, you're signing up to bet on yourself.” - Aaron Steed

Resources:

Aaron Steed’s perspective on employee turnover: Should your company encourage employees to quit?

Inc.com features Meathead Mover’s Encouraged Employee Turnover

The E-Myth by Michael Gerber

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Aaron Steed of Meathead Movers and Mini Storage

Website | Instagram

What’s in this episode:

• How to build a work culture that empowers your staff long-term
• Patina’s famous roller skating parties, and how those started
• The rent-ready guidelines Patina uses for their vintage furniture
• Pricing your work in a way that builds self-respect and client acclaim
• Selecting and organizing a warehouse in the Big Apple
• Getting creative with business marketing 

Quotes:

“I had this house filled with cool vintage things, and I said - ‘Oh, I can rent! I can use those chairs!’” - Corrin Arasa

“Everything that we have today is built up on those relationships we made early on.” - Corrin Arasa

“What I realized was that those were going to be the early adopters… corporate. Although there are so many interesting things that you can do experientially and activation-wise, the wedding market was ready to adopt what we were doing and was really excited about it.” - Corrin Arasa

“It is a very lonely thing being an entrepreneur sometimes, and so it’s nice to have a community of people to bounce your ideas around with.” - Corrin Arasa 

“I built a business plan and a business model and a mantra and values... and everything that was really based on scaling and having work-life balance and bringing other people in.” - Corrin Arasa

“While we eventually got to where I wanted to be, and we’re still going, there were so many starts and stops along the way.” - Corrin Arasa

“It was really intentional letting go to grow and realizing my skill set and my time is going to be far, far better spent on mentoring other people and working on the business rather than doing it myself. Because they’re going to come with new ideas. They might not have done it exactly the same way that I do it-- they might do it better. They might come up with a new way to do it. And there are so many smart and talented people out there who can bring so much to the table. Maybe if it doesn’t go off exactly well, we’ll lose a client but it’s not about that. It’s really about building bigger so that we can all be better and learn and experience these things and improve the company overall.” -Corrin Arasa

“I was pricing for me and now we’re pricing to help the client understand their budgets a little better.” -Corrin Arasa

“They needed content, and we needed content. And so we kind of gave them a cocktail and blasted the music, and sent them around the warehouse, and then told them to come back and create this design in an hour.” - Corrin Arasa

Resources:

The E Myth by Michael E. Gerber

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Corrin Arasa of Patina Rentals

Website | Instagram

What’s in this episode:

• How Dang! Fine Rentals & Designs leveraged its expertise with custom bars to get “on the map”
• Behind the scenes of the Phoenix business climate, where “the busy season” runs all year long
• The fun and nitty-gritty of designing big budget events
• Pricing your work so you and your clients take your business seriously
• Work-life balance as a mother, business owner, and creative force

Quotes:

“I just thought, let's bring a little bit of LA to the desert.” - Matiana Gregory

“It’s always better to be on the same page especially when it comes to budget. Price is a tough topic.” - Allison Howell

“From day one, even when I started this business in my garage, I wasn’t the cheapest provider. I was always at a good price point because I knew I wanted it to grow.” - Matiana Gregory

“If I'm giving you a discount, you're going to have an entire contract of what you owe me.” - Matiana Gregory

“I think whether you start your business first or you have a family first, that juggling act is real.” - Allison Howell

“I was alone for so long building this dream, and so now that I look around and I’m just surrounded by people... it’s just like the best. This is better than anything it could have been because now I like literally am people’s job. And that’s pretty special to be able to have been able to have created something that makes enough money to invest in people.” - Matiana Gregory 

Resources:

The Lend & Gather Conference

The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes!

Thank you to our sponsor:

RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity!

Website | Instagram 

And our guest:

Matiana Gregory of Dang! Fine Rentals & Designs

Website | Instagram

Matiana’s Personal Instagram

What’s in this episode:

• Martha’s path from social work to event rentals. 
• Turning a hobby into a business.
• Protecting your business dream from the skepticism of others.
• Having family members as co-workers.
• How to make space for creative work.
• Policies and processes which have fueled business growth.

Quotes:

“Well, I actually find that most of the clients that come to us, they appreciate that our farm tables are made with real wood. [...] It just has so much character to it. And so our target bride loves that.” —Martha Sanabanda

“Well, and it also gives you a point of view, right. This is not just any old table. It's a table created here from the point of view of this place. It's unique in that way, too. I think it's really a beautiful way to add to your collection to be hyper local.” —Allison Howell

“We don't have a business background. We've never done this before...It was an idea I just couldn't stop thinking about.” —Martha Sanabanda

“Whenever I felt like I wanted to give up, I just told myself: ‘This is the course.This is how it is when you start a business.’” —Martha Sanabanda

“So in the beginning, it was really tough for me to not be at every delivery and every pick up. And even though physically I couldn't because I was pregnant, I think I realized that he can handle that. And it allowed me time to kind of dream a little bit about our business. And it gave me energy to do that.” —Martha Sanabanda

“We used to deliver two chairs all over town for an event. We definitely put in place some rental minimums. And that was a bit scary at first. We thought we would lose business. But if anything, I think it's helped us gain more business.” —Martha Sanabanda

For full show notes and resources, head to https://rwelephant.com/podcast/episode-6-martha-my-dear-rentals

What’s in this episode:

• How one of the founder’s own engagement started everything
• Gathering a vision for the Loot collection
• Working with family members
• The importance of the Austin community in Loot’s success
• Investing in artisan and local makers.
• Honing fresh styles and sharing them in regular company lookbooks
• Screening future team members and cultivating a company culture
• Managing a business with multiple locations

Quotes:

“You’ve always heard ‘Don’t go into business with your family or friends.’ I think we knew that was a risk but we were willing to take it.” - Rhoda Brimberry

“I joke sometimes how it’s like a hoarding problem that has turned into a successful business.” - Rhoda Brimberry

“Austin is full of a lot of early adopters...they’ll try something unusual and aren’t fearful about what that is.” - Rhoda Brimberry

“What is lacking in the market? What do you need? What are you not seeing?...That feedback is going to guide my purchasing decisions.” - Anna Crelia

For full show notes and resources, head to https://rwelephant.com/podcast/episode-5-loot-rentals

What’s in this episode:

Leaving a career as a lawyer to start a jewelry business

The “burrito” checklist for taking care of “the legal stuff” in a business

Your Legal BFF offers legal templates and resources for small business owners and entrepreneurs

Common legal issues in the wedding and events industry

The problems with using any old legal contract template from the internet

How to communicate expectations and contractual terms with clients

How to part ways with a client when it’s not working out

Quotes:

“I felt like I could speak creative but I could also speak legal and so I thought it was a really nice way to marry the two skillsets.” - Annette Stepanian

“Contracts are evolving documents. It’s not a set-it-and-forget-it type of thing. You know, you don't just do it once and then never touch it again for the next like 10 years. I do recommend that people revisit them at least once a year to make sure that it reflects their current policies and procedures.” - Annette Stepanian

“I think you need to walk into every client relationship assuming that nobody is going to read your contract because most people aren't going to, unfortunately.” --Annette Stepanian

“If you’re relying solely on your contract to communicate your policies, your procedures… It is a vehicle to communicate them but it shouldn’t be your sole vehicle.” - Annette Stepanian

“We’re all wronged in a lot of different ways. But sometimes you just have to look the other way because the cost of proving yourself right is taking your energy away from things that are more constructive.” - Annette Stepanian 

For full show notes and resources, head to https://rwelephant.com/podcast/episode-4-annette-stepanian

What’s in this episode:

The situation that led Maggpie to custom-build a portion of their rental inventory.

The factors that define Maggpie’s aesthetic and collection now. 

How Maggie and her young business survived a shocking cancer diagnosis and years-long treatment program

Getting married while working in the wedding events rentals industry

Advice for business owners on carving time out for yourself

Running your business rather than your business running you

Quotes:

“I did really love to always be at the warehouse with my parents, but I loved the team that he had. And that was always super appealing to me to have this group of people that worked so well together and admired you so much. But they were just such a team. It was never like you work for me. It was like we work together. And, you know, I just loved the environment.” —Maggie Farrell 

“When you get money in your hands, you know, you don’t want to give it back. So, I said to Jason ‘We have to figure out how to make these tables.’” —Maggie Farrell

You get to be involved in creating the environment for the event and for this special celebration that then becomes incorporated in the environment of their lives.” —Allison Howell

“I think we used to buy because we knew what people were going to rent. But now, over time, we're able to set it ourselves and it's like, ‘oh, well, Maggpie has that so that's what we should get because they have that.’ So that was always a goal where I want to buy what I like. I want to be proud of my collection.” —Maggie Farrell

“The day after my 26th birthday I had my first day of chemotherapy.” —Maggie Farrell

“I started to really allow myself to just take time and think about what was going on. Just trying to dig a little deeper. And I think I started to feel, I don't know, I just started to get these feelings of like when I was sick, I wish I gave myself more attention and I paid more attention to like my body and my mind but [...] I was just so focused on the business and nothing else and I feel I completely lost myself.” —Maggie Farrell

“It was after I wasn't sick anymore. After we didn't want to sell our business anymore. We moved out of the warehouse and we were like, ‘Alight, it's time. Let's do something for ourselves.’” —Maggie Farrell

For full show notes and resources, head to https://rwelephant.com/podcast/episode-3-maggpie-rentals

What’s in this episode:

How Morgan and Perkins got started—through the catering business.

Early missteps in vetting professional partners.

Rules for expanding a rental collection. 

The relationship between personal growth and business growth.

Traits that have contributed to the Paisley & Jade team’s success.

Moments of celebration in Morgan and Perkins’ rental adventure.

Quotes:

“She pulled together an incredible business plan as if to reassure me before I made that leap.” - Perkins Morgan

“We were smart enough to be successful but dumb enough to not really know what was coming at us.” - Morgan Montgomery

“[Smaller rental companies buy] inventory because it's cheap, but not because it fits a particular style or aesthetic that they're grooming into a collection. And we suffered that same mistake.” - Morgan Montgomery

"I think it's interesting when an outsider's point of view recommends something that you never thought of, but instantly clicks.” - Perkins Morgan

“As our business evolved we evolved who we were working with and who was the best fit as we continued to learn and grow.” - Morgan Montgomery

“Why it's worked is definitely a yin and yang dynamic...we are super, super different. But have a lot of respect for why we're different.” - Perkins Morgan

“You have to make the right choices for you and for your team...and sometimes that requires being uncomfortable, which we're not necessarily good at.” - Morgan Montgomery

For full show notes and resources, head to https://rwelephant.com/podcast/episode-2-paisley-and-jade

What’s in this episode:

How a dream event for Coral Lane Event Rentals turned into a nightmare. 

How Borrowed Charm Event Rentals & Styling recovered when their most popular sofa got damaged right before an event.

How it helps to be upfront and transparent with clients about their expectations.

How Paisley & Jade turned a stranded delivery truck into event magic. 

Quotes:

“Our crew is lugging these huge vintage sofas and things down a cliff, over a little bridge over a pond to the ceremony space in the heat of Texas summer, mind you.” - Lindsey Abell

“If you didn’t Instagram it, it didn’t happen.” - Allison Howell

“I learned being in the wedding business and doing as many weddings as we do [that] no one reads contracts and so by being upfront and transparent with what they can expect, it makes us safer on the back end if something does happen and people are less quick to jump on social media or just jump online.” -- Angie Martin

“You have one chance to get it right in a very short time period with no option for mistakes or things to go wrong. You have to be able to think on your feet.” -- Allison Howell

“They looked at it and they were like, ‘You got 600 bucks? We could get this guy moving.’ I’m like, ‘Take my money. Take my money.’” - Morgan Montgomery

For full show notes and resources, head to https://rwelephant.com/podcast/episode-1-event-industry-pros

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