Name: Emelie Harris
Major: Communication Studies minor in PR
Year: Senior
Hometown: Nashville, TN
This week I sat down with Belmont student and entrepreneur Emelie Harris to learn more about her exciting new business, Essential Events.
When did you know you wanted to go into event planning?
I knew for sure that I wanted to be an event planner after I worked my first wedding as an intern. It was such a magical moment for them and to be a part of making that day a dream come true was very fulfilling.
Starting your own business is a big step, why do this instead of joining an established event planning company?
Starting my own company has always been a dream of mine. Throughout my event planning career I have worked for many different companies as an intern, free-lance, or in-house event coordinator. From my experience I have been able to learn so much about the do’s and don’ts of the business and it really came down to asking myself, “why not now?” I am planning on graduating in December of 2018 from Belmont, so I thought that this would be a great time to get my company up and running!
What’s been the hardest part about making Essential Events a reality?
The most difficult aspect of starting a company is definitely working through the business logistics of establishing a company. There are so many fun parts to starting a business, like social media, web design and graphics, but it is very important to nail down the more important logistics of your company, like insurance, licensure, etc.., before all else.
You have a lot of wedding posts on your social, do you plan/ hope to plan other kinds of events?
Essential Events is a Wedding and Private event coordination company, so our main focus is weddings and private events, but we are always willing to work outside those boundaries. We are founded on the principle that nothing comes before the vision of our clients. As a team, we believe in turning dreams into a reality. That being said, we are enthusiastic to make sure that we can facilitate the vision that our clients have!
Do you have a favorite event you’ve helped plan?
Thus far in my event coordinating career, I have had many opportunities to plan events working as an intern of employee. My favorite event that I have helped put together was a launch party of the Fat Bottom Brewery event space with Ninth & Everett Design Firm.
Aside from Essential Events, what else are you involved in?
Besides this, I am finishing school at Belmont University but that’s about it! Running a business is very time consuming.
Where do you hope to see your business five years from now?
I hope that in 5 years Essential Events will be an established and recognizable event coordination company. I would really like to see us grow with Nashville and become a highly recommended organization.
What advice do you have for other Bruins looking to start their own business?
Starting a company can seem very intimidating because of all the complicated moving parts, and that can be a huge reason why people don’t venture out on their own. If you’re passionate about what you do, don’t hesitate to explore the option. When you’re doing something you love, all the moving parts will be more like fun than work.
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