Lenee’ Valentine parties with a purpose. The event planning phenom gives us the do’s
and dont’s of running a successful event planning and design company while her party
life was caught completely off guard.
Valentine hosts parties, plans events, and gives purpose to celebrations, but this wasn’t
always her life. She talked to us about how she started off in the corporate world.
Valentine didn’t plan to leave her job, but somehow she ended up celebrating as a
boss.
“I was always the go-to girl for family and friends when it came to throwing
celebrations,” she expresses.
Her passion eventually landed her a job with a company that would last five years; a
huge aspect of her job was to simply throw parties on a monthly basis. After the five
years of dedication to her job, Lenee Valentine moved on to marketing. Coincidently, she was
only there for 5 months. Ironically, weeks prior to the marketing company letting her go,
Valentine sealed a deal with her previous company of employment to host all of their
parties on a regular basis. Lenee’ had no idea how she was going to manage working
for both companies but after the layoff, that was no longer an issue for her.
“God knew I needed to be fired for this to ever do what it was supposed to do,” she
said. Here she is now over almost 14 years later, still self-employed and all because
she got fired.
Valentine’s destiny ordained her event-planning and design business and has also
allowed her to blossom two book publishings. The latest publishing, “Just Jump”, is a life
tale that she suggests is a necessary investment as a daily affirmation to becoming
successful and walking into your purpose.
Her journey wasn’t always easy; in fact, she says the hardest part was not always
knowing what was ahead. Lenee’ had to develop a sense of understanding her season
when it comes to running a successful event-planning business.
“With event planning, usually once you do an event, that is it. Starting in January your
slate is clean, you get it? There are no guarantees for more events for that client
because many of them are once-in-a-lifetime celebrations. Normally, if a company hosts
a Christmas party, they aren’t going to throw a New Years party. There are dips in time
where bookings are low and time where demand is really high. You have to prepare for
it.”
We can definitely understand what she means by learning business seasons. Finding
an event planner is not hard. In fact, there are so many planners out there and
distinguishing originality of work is hard. It’s so important to learn the art of your craft
without duplicating others work.
“Watch for people who stand up and applaud for you. I think we all are on steps. If I am on step six and I have a colleague on step four and another one on step nine, why
would I hate on the person on step nine if I can learn from them? The person on step
four can learn from me! I don’t t have any competition; what God has for me is for me.
The clients that I gain is ordained for Lenee’ and not for anyone else. When you look at
things that way and realize that you don’t have any competition, why wouldn’t you help
someone else out? One hand washes the other.”
But what makes Lenee’ Valentine stand out?
Her love and passion for what she does and being able to create memories that are
everlasting for her clients. “I’m so attached to what I’m doing. The reaction is a
paycheck for me. The other paycheck keeps my light on, but the “oohs” and “ahhs” are
the paychecks I’m looking for.”
What’s her advice to new and upcoming entrepreneurs?
“When you first get in the industry it can be kind of scary. Think about it — you are used
to having a paycheck coming in every two weeks and then all of a sudden, the phone
isn't ringing as an entrepreneur. My advice is to work harder than the day before. Have
integrity, be fair, and be honest…it will all payoff.”
For more inspiration check out Lenee’ Valentine’s book, “Just Jump”, available for
presale now. Also, visit www.leneevalentine.com to learn more about her brand.
IG: leneemvalentine
TWITTER: leneemvalentine
