Month: February 2023

Today’s guest is Susan Kidwell, the general manager with Hensley Event Resources! For the last thirty years, Susan has continued to raise the bar when partnering with planners and designers to create unique ways of transforming space. Susan truly enjoys the creative process of hearing a design concept and then breaking it down into production elements for her team to fabricate in multiple mediums.

Susan touches upon various topics such as what got her interested in party rental and tenting, the pros and cons of tenting, the differences between transforming a ballroom and transforming a tent, how she creatively turns cons into pros, her approach to building a team, what she has coming up in the future that she is excited about, how she defines success, and much more!

Andy really appreciates Susan for her time on the podcast, and it has been so informative for him because tenting is an aspect of the weddings and event industry about which he didn’t have much knowledge. If you enjoy his conversation with Susan, he would appreciate it if you would share this episode with a few people you know who might also enjoy it and would also be grateful if you were to subscribe to the podcast if you aren’t already so that you never miss a new episode! Be sure to also leave a top review wherever you listen because that really helps out the show and helps people find it!

This episode is sponsored by Zola, the fastest-growing wedding platform that connects today’s couples with the right planners and vendors. Zola gives wedding professionals more control, better exposure, and higher quality leads – all with competitive pricing and no annual commitment. Create your free listing at www.zola.com/andy.

Have you heard about Stop and Smell the Roses with Preston Bailey on The Wedding Biz Network? Listen as Preston shares the secrets, tools, and technologies behind his extraordinary ability to create a theatrical environment out of any space. Also, don’t forget about Sean Low’s podcast The Business of Being Creative, where Sean discusses the power of being niched, pricing strategies, metrics of success, and so much more. You can find both shows on The Wedding Biz Network.

SUPPORTING THE WEDDING BIZ

Become a patron and support Andy and the show! If you are so inspired, contribute!

Time Stamps

[0:00] – Today’s sponsor is Zola.

[0:42] – This episode’s featured guest is Susan Kidwell of Hensley Event Resources.

[1:56] – Susan was a competitive ice skater when she was younger.

[3:27] – What got Susan interested in party rental and tenting?

[5:40] – Susan discusses the pros and cons of tenting.

[8:11] – Learn about Susan’s approach and process.

[10:37] – Susan touches upon the collaborative aspect of what she does.

[11:50] – Are there differences between transforming a ballroom and transforming a tent?

[14:06] – Susan provides us with a recent story.

[17:46] – What is Susan’s approach to building a team?

[20:28] – Susan enforces the idea that every problem has a solution.

[21:19] – Susan identifies team management as her greatest challenge.

[22:43] – Susan advises planners to be clear and transparent.

[24:02] – What about the future excites Susan?

[25:44] – Susan reveals how she defines success.

[27:00] – Susan’s Tenting 100 presentation is on her website.

[27:39] – Andy shares Susan’s contact information.

RESOURCES

The Wedding Biz – Transforming Spaces with Laurie Arons, Susan Kidwell, and Sarah Winward
Tenting 101 & Space Transformation Presentation
Tenting Gallery

Find Susan:

Hensley Event Resources – Website
Hensley Event Resources – Instagram Page

Follow The Wedding Biz on Social:

The Wedding Biz

The Wedding Biz on Instagram: @theweddingbiz

The Wedding Biz on Facebook: @theweddingbiz

The Wedding Biz Network

The Music Makers

Support The Wedding Biz by clicking here.

Title Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Kushner Entertainment & Zola.

Andy welcomes two guests to the podcast today – Julie and Chris Neubauer, the founders of Yonder Design! Yonder Design is a boutique graphic design firm which specializes in branding for social and corporate events. Their specialty lies in creating unique and highly tactile pieces that combine a variety of materials and production methods which includes save-the-dates, invitations, websites, large signs, menus, collateral, and gift boxes.

Julie and Chris each share a little bit about their backgrounds with us, such as how they got started in this industry and how they met each other.  They also address what it’s like to be a married couple and business partners at the same time and whether or not that requires setting any boundaries with one another, what the creation process is like and how they come up with ideas, why they had to downsize their team especially during COVID, and so much more.

They also offer up some tips for creatives to foster the best possible relationship with their clients. This conversation is full of so much information, and Andy not only really appreciates Julie’s and Chris’s time but also really hopes that you find the interview useful and interesting. If so, then he would also appreciate it if you would share this episode with a few people you know who might also enjoy it and would also be grateful if you were to subscribe to the podcast if you aren’t already so that you never miss a new episode! Be sure to also leave a top review wherever you listen because that really helps out the show and helps people find it!

This episode is sponsored by Zola, the fastest-growing wedding platform that connects today’s couples with the right planners and vendors. Zola gives wedding professionals more control, better exposure, and higher quality leads – all with competitive pricing and no annual commitment. Create your free listing at www.zola.com/andy.

Have you heard about Stop and Smell the Roses with Preston Bailey on The Wedding Biz Network? Listen as Preston shares the secrets, tools, and technologies behind his extraordinary ability to create a theatrical environment out of any space. Also, don’t forget about Sean Low’s podcast The Business of Being Creative, where Sean discusses the power of being niched, pricing strategies, metrics of success, and so much more. You can find both shows on The Wedding Biz Network.

SUPPORTING THE WEDDING BIZ

Become a patron and support Andy and the show! If you are so inspired, contribute!

Time Stamps

[0:00] – Today’s sponsor is Zola.

[0:38] – Learn that today’s guests are Julie and Chris Neubauer of Yonder Design.

[1:51] – Julie and Chris address what it’s like to be married as well as business partners.

[3:00] – Do Julie and Chris have boundaries?

[4:30] – Chris talks about his background.

[5:07] – We learn about Julie’s childhood and background.

[7:29] – Chris identifies what makes Yonder unique.

[8:40] – Chris reveals that they spend a lot of time learning about the venue before an event.

[10:02] – Julie adds that they want to learn the story of the couple.

[12:31] – Hear about how Julie comes up with ideas and plans.

[13:39] – Clients sometimes come up with ideas themselves.

[15:59] – How can opportunities be created from guest touchpoints?

[19:55] – Hear a story of a recent event that Yonder did.

[22:40] – Julie discusses downsizing their team.

[25:20] – Julie used to do all of the printing in-house.

[26:52] – What is the most challenging aspect of the job for Julie and Chris?

[28:05] – Julie stresses the importance of organization.

[30:06] – Julie emphasizes the importance of color language and color theory.

[31:43] – Final content being proofed and edited is very important to Julie and Chris.

[34:06] – Hear where to find Yonder Design online.

Find Yonder Design:

Yonder Design – Website
Yonder Design – Instagram Page
Yonder Design – Facebook Page
Yonder Design – Pinterest Page

Follow The Wedding Biz on Social:

The Wedding Biz

The Wedding Biz on Instagram: @theweddingbiz

The Wedding Biz on Facebook: @theweddingbiz

The Wedding Biz Network

The Music Makers

Support The Wedding Biz by clicking here.

Title Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Kushner Entertainment & Zola.

Did you grow up knowing what you wanted to do with your life? Most people change their minds multiple times before they decide on their career. Today’s guest grew up always being creative, as her father was an engineer, building things. If you asked her then, she would not have an idea she would be where she is today – an entrepreneur growing something from nothing, and knowing what her skills were, and what she could pass on to others.

Paula LeDuc of Paula LeDuc Fine Catering and Events started out in college studying Sociology and Special Education. With an Italian heritage, Paula LeDuc grew up surrounded by family who loved to cook and entertain, yet she never cooked until after she was married! Exploding unexpectedly, the catering business for Paula came so naturally. Listen in to hear all about Paula’s ultimate goal of creating the experience for her clients.

This episode is sponsored by Zola, the fastest-growing wedding platform that connects today’s couples with the right planners and vendors. Zola gives wedding professionals more control, better exposure, and higher quality leads – all with competitive pricing and no annual commitment. Create your free listing at www.zola.com/andy.

Have you heard about Stop and Smell the Roses with Preston Bailey on The Wedding Biz Network? Listen as Preston shares the secrets, tools, and technologies behind his extraordinary ability to create a theatrical environment out of any space. Also, don’t forget about Sean Low’s podcast The Business of Being Creative, where Sean discusses the power of being niched, pricing strategies, metrics of success, and so much more. You can find both shows on The Wedding Biz Network.

Show Highlights:

• The transition into becoming a caterer
• Paula’s first catering event
• The organic process used for developing Paula’s business
• How it is all about the relationship
• The process of a catering event, with examples
• Not being cookie cutter, or following other trends
• Details on the extravagant wedding of Sean Parker and Alexandra Lenas
• Differences between the different types of events
• Training employees to their summary of style
• Challenges faced and how to handle them
• It is a team, and the team needs to stay in sync
• Organic garden, being 100% green, and everything cooked on site
• Thoughts about the next 5 years
• Inspired excellence program Paula uses with her company
• Balancing business and personal life
• Paula’s morning routine and how she defines success

Resources:

Instagram: @weddingbizshow

The Stylish Bride with Julie Sabatino

Paula LeDuc Fine Catering & Events Website

Instagram: @paulaleduc

Paula LeDuc Facebook

Title Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Kushner Entertainment & Zola.