The Life of a Social Entrepreneur
I'm an expert event planner, but I didn’t go to business school. When I decided to make LW Events my full-time job, there was (and is) so much to learn. One of my core principles is to work with nonprofits. I want to help them tell their stories through events, while also contributing to their fundraising goals. Little did I know that it's not that simple when you're running a business by yourself.
I’ve been building this metaphorical plane while flying it over the past year. Despite the stress of managing my philanthropic aspirations with building a sustainable business and supporting my family, LW Events continues to fuel my creative ambitions. With the help of event coordinators and day-of execution support to fabulous vendor and client partnerships, LW Events is taking to the skies.
Through every patch of turbulence, I learned a lot. Here are some of the biggest lightbulb moments I've had over the past few months:
#1: Self-care is non-negotiable. Pilates, spa days and peer groups are just a few of the ways I try to include self-care as a part of my work weeks.
#2: Schedule emails in advance. Gmail has this amazing tool that allows you to schedule emails anytime you want. As one of those people who cannot have unopened emails in my inbox, it's helpful to be able to respond and schedule email responses for future work hours, so I know something is off of my plate even when I'm not actually dealing with it in real time.
#3: Relationships are everything. I learned a long time ago that I cannot do this by myself. So while I'm the ringleader that pulls all the puzzle pieces together, I'm always depending on my event partners (which have now become friends) to ensure that everyone is operating at the same level that I expect from my own work. Without these relationships, it would be really hard to make everything work so seamlessly, and I'm grateful for their support as I grow my business.
If you have a big idea that you think could work as a social enterprise, I'm happy to chat anytime! I’m always available to help other community-minded entrepreneurs take flight.
