Partying is making a comeback — the corporate type at least.
Wendy Wyne, who runs an event planning firm in Richmond, said the volume of corporate events fell when the economy tanked. But now it’s coming back, she said.
Wyne launched Fete Studio in 2007 after 10 years in advertising, working for such firms as the Martin Agency and Work Labs.
She was already spending a lot of her own time planning events for some of the various boards she was on. When her mother suggested she should get paid for it, a seed was planted.
We recently caught up with Wyne at her office to find out how she managed to survive the recession.
Richmond BizSense: I’m sure starting a corporate event planning company seemed like a good idea at the time, but we all know what happened in 2008. How did you adapt to the economic climate?
Wendy Wyne: I researched the market and saw a need in Richmond for what we wanted to do. There were not a lot of corporate event people at the time. When we started we were doing corporate events and weddings, but it was too much to handle when we were just starting out, so we dropped the weddings for a bit.
Then the economy hit and the corporate clients hit the breaks, so we switched back to weddings. We also worked with non-profits who have to keep fundraising no matter what.
RBS: What are things like now?
WW: We are still doing weddings, but the corporate side is starting to pick up this year. A lot of corporate clients are afraid to say they are going to spend money. If they do it, they want to be frugal. They are fearful of looking flashy or getting employees too excited. But now that they have money to spend on an event, it is a sign the economy is improving.
RBS: How do you go about finding new clients?
WW: Well I started to come up with the cupcake teaser. [Wendy opens a decorated box that has a cupcake inside.] When they get this they see a lot of thought goes into the work I do. The message is if I can do this for myself, I can do it for them too. So I send these packages out to corporate clients along with my sales packets. People love them.
Every job I have ever gotten I got from the cupcake.
RBS: How many do you send out, and where are they from?
WW: Last week I sent out 90, the monthly average is 150. They are from the Westhampton Bakery.
RBS: That’s a lot of cupcakes. Tell me a little bit more about the company. How many employees do you have, and how do you charge for your services?
WW: I have two other employees aside from myself. When we work with a client we usually do it by project. There is no way people could pay by the hour. We work with their budget and usually charge around a 20 percent flat fee. The events we have done range from about 30 on up to 900 people.
RBS: What would you say to a company on the fence about whether or not they should splurge on a party?
WW: How does the economy get better? It gets better when people start spending money. It also makes the employees feel better and keeps morale up.
Al Harris is a BizSense reporter. To send him a news tip or invite him to a party, please email [email protected].
Partying is making a comeback — the corporate type at least.
Wendy Wyne, who runs an event planning firm in Richmond, said the volume of corporate events fell when the economy tanked. But now it’s coming back, she said.
Wyne launched Fete Studio in 2007 after 10 years in advertising, working for such firms as the Martin Agency and Work Labs.
She was already spending a lot of her own time planning events for some of the various boards she was on. When her mother suggested she should get paid for it, a seed was planted.
We recently caught up with Wyne at her office to find out how she managed to survive the recession.
Richmond BizSense: I’m sure starting a corporate event planning company seemed like a good idea at the time, but we all know what happened in 2008. How did you adapt to the economic climate?
Wendy Wyne: I researched the market and saw a need in Richmond for what we wanted to do. There were not a lot of corporate event people at the time. When we started we were doing corporate events and weddings, but it was too much to handle when we were just starting out, so we dropped the weddings for a bit.
Then the economy hit and the corporate clients hit the breaks, so we switched back to weddings. We also worked with non-profits who have to keep fundraising no matter what.
RBS: What are things like now?
WW: We are still doing weddings, but the corporate side is starting to pick up this year. A lot of corporate clients are afraid to say they are going to spend money. If they do it, they want to be frugal. They are fearful of looking flashy or getting employees too excited. But now that they have money to spend on an event, it is a sign the economy is improving.
RBS: How do you go about finding new clients?
WW: Well I started to come up with the cupcake teaser. [Wendy opens a decorated box that has a cupcake inside.] When they get this they see a lot of thought goes into the work I do. The message is if I can do this for myself, I can do it for them too. So I send these packages out to corporate clients along with my sales packets. People love them.
Every job I have ever gotten I got from the cupcake.
RBS: How many do you send out, and where are they from?
WW: Last week I sent out 90, the monthly average is 150. They are from the Westhampton Bakery.
RBS: That’s a lot of cupcakes. Tell me a little bit more about the company. How many employees do you have, and how do you charge for your services?
WW: I have two other employees aside from myself. When we work with a client we usually do it by project. There is no way people could pay by the hour. We work with their budget and usually charge around a 20 percent flat fee. The events we have done range from about 30 on up to 900 people.
RBS: What would you say to a company on the fence about whether or not they should splurge on a party?
WW: How does the economy get better? It gets better when people start spending money. It also makes the employees feel better and keeps morale up.
Al Harris is a BizSense reporter. To send him a news tip or invite him to a party, please email [email protected].
The business economy will improve, when greedy government bureaucrats stop taxing them for every stick of furniture they own, every computer, building, piece of equiment and inventory, for which they have already paid sales tax. Cash-strapped businesses are taxed, again and again, year after year, on these same items. Shouldn’t they have the right to purchase CUPCAKES for their employees, with their own money, rather than DOUGHNUTS for bureaucrats?