IAM874- Owner Brings About Memorable Moments

Yosira is a 15-year career Project Manager who aligned her transferable skills with her passion for connecting people through events. She is the owner of Events by Yosira, a boutique MD-based event planning and design company. Through her company, she takes pride in mapping the complete guest experience, organizing the flow of the day, and paying attention to each unique detail that brings about memorable moments.

• CEO Hack: HoneyBook
• CEO Nugget: Just do it even if you're not ready
• CEO Defined: Having freedom in different areas

Website: https://www.eventsbyyosira.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eventsbyyosira/
Instagram: @eventsbyyosira

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Transcription

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00:02 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:29 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Yosira Jamison of Events By Yosira. Yosira, it's awesome to have

00:38 – Yosira Jamison

Thank you, nice to be here.

00:41 – Gresham Harkless

No problem, super excited to have you on. Before we get started, I want to read a little bit more about Yosira so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Yosira is a 15-year career project manager who aligned her transferable skills with her passion by connecting people through events. She is the owner of Events by Yosira, a boutique Maryland-based event planning and design company. Through her company, she takes pride in mapping the complete guest experience, organizing the flow of the day, and paying attention to each unique detail that brings about memorable moments. Yosira, great to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:14 – Yosira Jamison

I am, I'm so excited to be here. So let's get to it.

01:17 – Gresham Harkless

Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I wanna hear a little bit more about how you got started. Could you take us through what I call your CEO story? Well, let's get started with the business.

01:25 – Yosira Jamison

Sure, so I think what got me started, particularly in event planning, was about 15, 20 years ago, just realizing that I loved doing this and just bringing people together, that connection that you get when you bring people together. I've experienced it through, you know, organizations that I was part of, and I was always the one raising my hand, trying to plan everything. If there was an event to be planned, it was me. I was always on the volunteer committees for everything. So I'm a, there's a term for it, just like volunteer-aholic, So because of that, I kind of put that aside for a little bit as I graduated college and got my master's and focused a little bit more on the traditional career.

But then I felt it was time, I think it was the right time for me last year to start something on my own. And that something became my business. And I wanted to make sure that not only did I merge those skills and that passion that I had, but I also, I'm a painter. And so that creative outlet for me was something that I just needed to have. So this event planning, both, and I always say that it's my transferable skills as a career project manager because it allows me to do all the logistical things that I'm good at because I've been practicing it for so long and merge it with the creative side. So this was like the perfect blend.

03:00 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, it definitely sounds like it. And I was actually just going to say that it sounds like you kind of get the best of both worlds to some degree, where you have the creativity is I imagine that, you know, when somebody wants to have an event, they're thinking about all the things that you can do, but you need to have those foundational, practical, this is how things are going to be organized, so to speak, so that it is executed and can come to fruition.

03:20 – Yosira Jamison

Right, and I think that's the part that as I'm working with clients and I'm working with creative clients and with brides, mostly because grooms are typically not as involved as you would want, But as I'm working with clients, they always their focus is on the pretty, right? But it's beyond that for me. I mean, it's all the logistics, all of the collaboration that goes with the vendors, all the contracts that you got to make sure that you're advocating on your client's behalf and making sure that the contracts are written in a way that, you know, makes sense for their particular event. So it's all the things behind the scenes that I love doing. I don't like to be in the limelight. So this stuff is not my forte, but I do love just thriving in the shadows if you will, and making that perfect ambiance for the client.

04:19 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that's definitely awesome. And I think too, I was just visualizing kind of like the rungs of a chair or having that solid foundation, which allows the creative, the really nice looking things to happen. Because if you don't have those things, of course, you know, you don't have a chair, you just kind of just sitting on the floor, but you want to be able to have that strong foundation through those systems, through that processes and all those things. And then you're able to kind of see the success of that event.

04:42 – Yosira Jamison

Yep. Yep. Absolutely.

04:44 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. So I know I touched on it a little bit when I read your bio, could you take us through a little bit more on what you do and how exactly your process works that you help support the clients you work with?

04:53 – Yosira Jamison

Sure, so I mean, I always say I'm a planner first and a designer second. I walk my clients through the different packages, right? There are different levels of clients. Some just need that help in the execution part. Some just don't wanna be as involved. They just wanna come in to see their vision come to life and from beginning to end, I'm there with them. So my process processes, because again, it caters to different types of clients that I have are unique to that particular, you know, person or people, because sometimes it is for organizations that I am doing this for.

And so I would say I like to streamline as much as possible. I like to make it simple. It doesn't need to be complex, but I do walk them through from beginning to end, What is this going to look like? What can you expect from me, right? Our communication, how that works, or how that's going to work. That way everything's pretty transparent and they know what to expect from me.

05:59 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I feel like when you have those processes and things in place, as you kind of spoke to, I believe it creates a certain trust as well too, because I think when you know what to expect and whatever you expect to expect happens, that to me creates a bond and a valuable experience.

06:15 -Yosira Jamison

Yeah. Yeah. And so that's why I like to be upfront with, okay, especially like the longer term clients. If I'm booking a client and let's say their event is a year out because you have to remember with events it's not like you know they're hiring me a couple of weeks before We're talking a year plus out. And so we are building that relationship. And from the beginning, I'll let them know, I'll do monthly check-ins just to see how you're doing. This is what you can expect. These are the things that are gonna get booked. And when you can expect these things to get booked, That way they know what to expect versus having my clients contact me and ask me, okay, what's going on with this? I like to get ahead of things. That's just a planner in me, naturally, right? I just like to get ahead of things and make sure that everybody knows what's coming up next.

07:04 – Gresham Harkless

So it helps.

07:05 – Yosira Jamison

It definitely helps with the relationship building.

07:07 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. I mean, I think it's so big to be able to control the things that you can control and to be able to have those things in place because it allows you to be really present, to be creative, to really extend that, and be able to provide that client experience. And so you can provide any type of event for anybody in any organization as well, correct?

07:22 – Yosira Jamison

Yes, yes. And I love working with brands, small brands, particularly women-owned businesses, and doing launches for small brands. So that's also part of it. It gives me such satisfaction knowing that I helped in some shape or form, bring that brand to life and to the world. So those launch events are unique and very special to me. But you said something about projecting not only what to expect, but also what, you know, things happen that you don't expect, right? And so that's also something big for me.

Again, I go back to like my project management side. Risk management is one of those key factors. And so I'm always applying those things like, okay, you know, everybody wants to have their perfect day and just envision their perfect day. But what if it rains? What if somebody was not on time? What's the plan B and the plan C, right? Just in case. So I like to put that together. I put like, I may be going OD with the way that I plan things out, but I do like to put like a risk management plan together with mitigation strategies, just in case something doesn't go the way we originally planned.

08:44 -Gresham Harkless

So. Yeah, I think that's so huge. And I often we often say, I often believe at least I should say in business, you wanna try to minimize as much of the risk as possible. And a lot of that is because you have different, what if X, Y, and Z happens you're able to go through that, but you're absolutely right. You know, as far as events being able to have a risk management kind of process of what could potentially happen so that a client knows that they're in good hands when they're working with you.

09:09 – Yosira Jamison

Yeah.

09:11 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. So would you consider that to be what I call your secret sauce? So the thing you feel kind of sets you or your organization apart is that is it that ability to be able to kind of forecast and see some of those things and help and prepare and equip your clients with the ability to be able to kind of get through that.

09:26 – Yosira Jamison

Yeah, that's absolutely my strength and what I bring to my business is that foundation of just strong project management skills. I think the other thing that allows me to kind of differentiate myself from the rest of the planners out there is that ability to turn around things quickly, particularly in communication, again, going back to that like relationship building, right? I think we live in an era and most of my clients are either millennials like myself or younger. And so the expectation is instant, Right?

You have to be able to turn something around, not necessarily the end product or finished product, but something even if it's a quick reply. Right? So I always, you know, even on my website, I put it's a 48-hour turnaround time, but usually it's faster than that. Like I'm usually within the apps that I make sure that I have and that I manage my business through. They allow me to be on top of things. And so I get alerts and with a healthy boundary, right? Because I can't be like all the time at 3 am texting people back or replying back to emails, right? I definitely with a healthy boundary, but I pride myself in being able to have that communication in a timely manner back to my clients.

10:47 – Gresham Harkless

So. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And so I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be an Apple book or a habit that you have or some of these systems that you talked about but what's something you feel makes you more effective and efficient?

11:01 – Yosira Jamison

Well, what we talked about is a little bit of it, but I mean, there's a particular tool that I just love, and I don't want to, I'm not getting any kickbacks on this. Just putting that out there, but I love HoneyBook. It's just the simplicity of, and there's a ton of tools, right? It depends on what works for you and how your mind is wired almost, right? But I like simplicity. I like a tool to not be over the top, like not give me all these features that I'm never gonna use. So it's to the point, it checks the boxes out on what I need to serve my clients. So I rely on HoneyBook so much. So that's my back end, what fuels my engine in terms of running my business.

11:49 – Gresham Harkless:

So. Absolutely appreciate that hack. And now I want to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something you would tell a client or if you have to do a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

12:02 – Yosira Jamison

I would just say, even if you're not ready, and I think this is something that I've posted before, even if you're not ready, just do it. I think, and I have a couple of friends who are kind of like toying with the idea of starting something, but they're never quite ready. And I'm like, I was not ready. Nobody's ready. Just do it because at least now that keeps you accountable. Now it's out there. Now it's out. It's completely scary, right? But it's taken that leap of putting things out there and saying, this is what I'm gonna do, and following through, because now you have an audience, now you have people that are holding you, even if they're not your accountability partner per se, but they're holding you accountable, Like, oh, how's that going? It's gonna get asked.

And so you put it out there, you can always perfect it. You can always change it. Especially if you're trying to start up a business, I mean, it's your business. So you can change it whenever you want. You can change whatever element of it, right? You literally are running your business. And so I would say that's the key to it. And I say that to both your audience and to my younger self because I have been toying with this. Like, if I would have started when I thought of it, like when that aha moment of, okay, these are the 2 skill sets that like are emerging together and this is my core and this is my passion. Like I had that feeling about a decade ago, a decade ago. And so I kind of kicked myself sometimes in that I should have started it, but I'm here now.

I did it and I am loving every bit of it. I mean, I just, it's such an outlet to the point of like, I need to like to move away from it a little bit because I find myself just like a day in day out kind of like I need to, you know, edit this and perfect that. But again, I think that's the growth of an entrepreneur. You learn as you go and you get to the point where you can plateau and kind of say, okay, this is a good foundation and I can let go a little bit of all the changes, but definitely it's just jumping into it, do it, and then perfect it along the way.

14:20 – Gresham Harkless

Exactly, exactly. And so now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So Ysera, what does being a CEO mean to you?

14:32 – Yosira Jamison

It means having freedom, Absolutely having the freedom in different layers, right? Not only from a time perspective, as you get established, right? In the beginning, it's a grind, I'm not gonna lie, right? But it's having the freedom of saying, you know what, I'm taking this weekend off, or what, I don't like the way this looks, I'm gonna change it. You're calling the shots, right? You are in charge of how this thing shapes up.

15:03 – Gresham Harkless

Truly appreciate that definition. And I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

15:16 – Yosira Jamison

I just wanna thank you for interviewing me and giving me sharing your platform with me. The way that your listeners can get in touch with me is either through email, hello at eventsbyyocera.com, or through IG, That's usually where I hang out the most. So the handles at events by user. So really appreciate you again. And I, you know, this interview was awesome. I'm looking forward to hearing some of the feedback from your listeners and really hope that some of the nuggets that I left here with them resonate.

15:58 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Wow, I truly appreciate you again and the time that you took today. We will have the links and information in the show notes as well too, so that everybody can follow up with you. But thank you for the work that you do in getting and helping so many brands be able to get their name and all they do out there. Thank you for the reminder as well on all the awesome things and how important it is to have those systems and processes in place to be successful. So thank you so much again, Yosira. I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:19 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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