IAM1132- Event Planner Makes Special Days a Success

Millen Haile is the founder of Millen’s Occasions, a seasoned event planning professional with 15 years of experience across the hospitality and professional event planning industry and now, a podcast!

Established in 2016, Millen’s Occasions specializes in all luxury weddings, multicultural weddings, as well as, social & corporate functions. Although Millen’s Occasions is based in the Metro D.C. (DC/MD/VA) area & serves clients, they offer event planning & coordination services. They are willing to travel within the U.S. to ensure your special day is a success.

• CEO Hack: Seminars, workshops and networking
• CEO Nugget: Set a short-term goal and get a coach
• CEO Defined: Making your own hours

Website: http://www.millensoccasions.com/

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/millensoccasions/

Check out one of our favorite CEO Hack’s Audible. Get your free audiobook and check out more of our favorite CEO Hacks HERE

Transcription

The full transcription is only available to CBNation Library Members. Sign up today!

Please Note: Our team is using the AI CEO Hacks: Exemplary AI and Otter.ai to support our podcast transcription. While we know it's improving there may be some inaccuracies, we are updating and improving them. Please contact us if you notice any issues, you can also test out Exemplary AI here.

00:27 – Intro

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

00:55 – 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. We have Mielin Haile of Millen's occasions. Millen, it's great to have you on the show.

01:04 – Millen Haile

Thank you for having me, Gresham. I'm excited to be here.

01:07 – Gresham Harkless

Super excited to have you on as well. Before we jump into the interview, I want to read a little bit more about Millen so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Millen is the founder of Millen’s Occasions, a seasoned event planning professional with 15 years of experience across the hospitality and professional event planning industry and now, a podcast. Established in 2016, Millen’s Occasions specializes in all luxury weddings, multicultural weddings, as well as, social & corporate functions. Although Millen’s Occasions is based in the Metro D.C. (DC/MD/VA) area & serves clients, they offer event planning & coordination services. They are willing to travel within the U.S. to ensure your special day is a success. So Millen, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

[restrict paid=”true”]

01:57 – Millen Haile

I am.

01:58 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, well, let's do it then. So to kind of kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit and hear a little bit more about how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

02:05 – Millen Haile

Oh my goodness. So of course, I'm originally from East Africa, Eritrea. I've been here for almost 36 years. I came here when I was 9 years old. Starting on my own, in owning the business, of course, it started with my family. My dad is the owner of a restaurant called Salam Restaurant. Never in a million years I would own my own business as a wedding coordinator, but as the functions that we do, the multicultural weddings, birthdays, like I was telling you Gresham, I mean, everything we do is big. There's nothing small when it comes to our events. And just started helping the family out and just seeing my own family, our community always going out of their way.

And then of course, later on, as I've gotten to the age and I think I need to do this as a business because it's always giving, always going helping someone out. I'm like, why not take it as a business and just go for it? So that's how it really started. And always just helping a bride while they're walking down the aisle, they have no idea what's going on, whether they're veils flipping on the other side. So I always jumped in to help. And family always said, you need to do this, you need to do this for business, like for just like a period.

And it's been exciting. I love what I do. I was just on vacation, last week and, I was on my laptop, working,  instead of being on vacation, once it's in your heart, the podcasting, let me tell you, it's been just a great experience with that. It all started being a member at a wedding loft And that's usually for women entrepreneurs being creative, working together, networking. And they had a podcast room and one of the owners just said why don't you use that room as a podcast? I'm like, great. And it started that way.

And when I sit there, Greshman, and I know the feeling, you just feel relaxed. As you're interviewing folks and other clients, it's just therapy also as well for you. That's how I feel. I don't know of any other podcast, but I'm sure. It started also because of COVID, how a lot of entrepreneurs lost some businesses, and some businesses went down. That the exposure was not as high as it used to be. And that's when I came up, I said, you know what? How about interviewing entrepreneurs to get their names out there again? And so far from what I've been hearing from the other folks that I've been interviewing, it's been great. It has been giving them great exposure for some that I've heard.

04:25 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I absolutely appreciate that. I love that you said the word therapy because I always say as much as we try to help out the guests that are on the show, I feel like I get so much more, if not equal from the guests and having them on the show. But I love how you've been able to grow this business and we're kind of doing it sounds like for a very long time.

And then it formalized itself into business. You had people that were telling you, you need to do this. And I think so many times when you have a gift, you have a passion, especially too, sometimes those people around us will make way for that passion and opportunity just come about from there.

05:00 – Millen Haile

Yes, it does. That's why I would say it's so important to surround yourself with great family, and friends. If it wasn't for them, and definitely with the men upstairs, I wouldn't be here. And even speaking to you right now, so it's been amazing.

05:15 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, Absolutely. So I know I touched on it a little bit and how you work with your clients. Could you drill down a little bit deeper to let us know exactly what you do with your clients, how you serve them, and how exactly that experience goes?

05:26 – Millen Haile

So of course I specialize a little bit more the multicultural because that's where it's most needed, which is it takes so much planning. And that's my specialty, which I love. You are with them from day one. So that takes a whole year of planning. So when someone comes up to me and I know it's a multicultural wedding, it's definitely gonna be starting from the time that they that we speak, they signed that contract is a whole year planning. I know some that say we can do it in 6 months, but that's just a lot. So basically, I'm handling their meetings Once they hire all the vendors and if they don't have one or the other vendors, I'll definitely refer them to like 3 of them.

And so once they dial down to which would they want, I stay with the logistics of the time, who they hire. If they have a venue, I go with them and check that out to make sure it's okay. A lot of times I tell my clients when they pick a venue, just make sure they pick to the point that the ceiling's not too high, so music will be able, it won't be an echo. Where a lot of clients did not know that. So they always wonder like, well, why is it so echoey? Because the ceiling is too high.

So these are things that I try to teach them with DJs, with catering. Sometimes they're like, okay, how can I bring 2 caterers? Well, you can always ask the caterer, if can they make others so if it's like a multicultural rich like Habesha food, we call it rich in Ethiopia, they can make that one. But instead of bringing a different caterer, which can be a lot sometimes just ask your caterer, can make some American food, so trying to cut down also on prices, because weddings, as we all know, can cost. So I try to help them with the budget sometimes to yeah definitely is the time because I hear a lot of folks now I'm in this group is called love of black wedding And the majority of them don't even have a planner and they handling everything, the time.

And then at the wedding, you make phone calls. A bride and a groom should not be calling anybody the day that you're getting married. At least have a planner in the family. That's to help you. But consuming. I work with it just like right now, next month, we pretty much have the timeline. But guess w I'm gonna get with my ass to go over the schedulers ag venue, they want to know in the building. So I have to send them an email, with all the types of vendors that are coming inside the building for safety reasons.

08:00 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that makes so much sense. And I think that so many times when something that is or should be, I guess, once in a lifetime, you know, to be able to get married, you want to make sure it's a really great experience and to be able to kind of juggle all the things that we have to juggle in life. And sometimes if we have a business or we have a job or whatever it might be, in addition to all those things that can sometimes take a year, it can be a lot. So I love that. It sounds like you're in partnership with the people who are getting married because it allows that opportunity for them to lean on your expertise, but also, of course, getting those things done.

08:35 – Millen Haile

Definitely. It helps a lot. It really, really does. Of course, like I always say, I know not everybody can be perfect there are hiccups, but at least the main important thing you want to get out of the way and communication.

08:47 –  Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And I'm a big believer in like a lot of times, even with the hiccups, that shows a lot about the person and shows a lot about like where they are because I think very few things go on in life without hiccups. And I think that how you respond to those hiccups shows who you are and what you're doing.

09:02 –  Millen Haile

Thank you. I appreciate that.

09:03 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And so I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce and this could be for yourself personally or the business or a combination of both. But what do you feel sets you apart and makes you unique?

09:14 – Millen Haile

Outgoing and just speak up. Just letting them know, I think they feel more special, the specialty, the multicultural for where I'm from. That helps them. I'm like, okay, that's where she's from. She's been around that. So they feel comfortable. And then of course the other side Being here in America for 30 or 36 years. They're like, okay, she has both. So this is great. So that's when I can see what they feel the comfort and not just even for me. I even try to teach my other planners who have never really done a wedding culture. That's why a lot of time, I don't know if you've seen my post, I share. I share a lot of our traditions just to give them an idea because there is a lot to learn. Even for us now it's changing.

The dances are changing, the music is changing, and the clothing is changing. No 1 is following the same routine as it was back 20 years ago. So of course when the new newcomers come in they're like, well should I follow the old tradition? And I'm like, of course, you want to make sure with your family. I never tell a client, no, you shouldn't. You want to check with your family first. And instead of changing the whole thing, maybe you can add a little bit of the old traditional as well. Cause you don't want to give a shock to your family. Right. Cause at the end of the day, it is their wedding too. I don't care what anybody says.

10:38 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. No, I love that and being able to stay aware of what's new and what's happening and be able to add in the more traditional or the custom merry maybe even way things have been done and how to blend both of those things. Because I think it is like we talked about so many different things that you have to juggle in addition to being aware of what's happening now vendors just so many different moving parts to be able to lean on that and be able to understand like each of these different people and how and what they need for the wedding to go well is huge.

11:10 – Millen Haile

It is. So yeah, that's one thing that I think makes it unique about me.

11:17 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely, well, I appreciate that. 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 app or a book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

11:29 – Millen Haile

I go to a lot of seminars and networking. So of course, COVID is getting better now. It is picking up. I, and of course with coaching, and workshops, these are the things that get me updated in my business. Cause if it wasn't for that, seriously, I would not be here. And yes, we spend money on it. So when our prices go up we turn to like, oh my God, we got to pay this. I'm like, well, I'm paying for these things so I can make it better for you.

So we try to explain it that way, but definitely seminars, workshops, and networking are my main thing. They used to call me the networking queen because I went to like everything. I mean, even the one that I thought at that time, well, it might not be for me. Well, you don't know until you walk into that building and you never know where you're gonna meet. And that happened a lot of times.

12:24 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Well, I love that. And so I want to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something if you were to hop into a time machine, you would tell your younger business self.

12:37 – Millen Haile

You know what I would say, set a goal in a short time. I wouldn't do a long one. I did that. So when Mila's occasion, like, well, how long? I said, oh, about 15, 20 years later on when I started. And of course, now that I'm where I'm at, I didn't know podcasting was gonna start. I thought we were just gonna do a wedding all the way or event. Of course, I still love it, but I know there's gonna be a stopstone somewhere.

So just setting a small goal is okay, because sometimes we think big so quickly, you don't have to. So definitely, I would say set a small goal, maybe like 5 years. And then after that, definitely get coaching. Get a coach. I don't care if it's in business, I don't care if it's as an entrepreneur, even as a career, you go to school or at a school, get a coach. Coaching is important.

13:26 – Gresham Harkless

Nice, absolutely appreciate that. And so now I wanted 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 this show. So Milanne, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:38 – Millen Haile

Make your hours, your boss, no one telling you what to do, go on vacation when you want to. I'm telling you, it's a list. You can change it on hours, if it's 9 to 5 today, it can be 9 to 2 tomorrow.

13:55 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Millen truly appreciates that definition. And I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do was mic so to speak, just to add what you want listeners to know. And how can they get a hold of you and the things you're working on?

14:09 – Millen Haile

Would like to say to everyone who wants to start anything by a career, please don't be and do what I've been there. I've done it. And you know what? I don't want to say regret because you learn from your regret. So just go. Listen to yourself. Listen to your heart. That's one thing I will say about it and pray about it. And the way you can find me, of course, the best way it's all one word, MillenHaile on Facebook. I will be more than happy to help you.

14:56 – Gresham Harkless

Perfect. And you have your podcast as well too on your site.

14:59 – Millen Haile

Yes, oh my God, thank you. Look at me, How can I forget the podcast? Yes, definitely follow me on podcasts I'm on Spotify, and the Millen's occasions I made it easy, And then also on Apple podcast as well. I am on 3 episodes right now The fourth one should be coming out soon. But I think after that, we're going to take a little break and probably come back in October.

15:23 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, definitely from one podcast or two another, I would not let you forget that. So we will have the links and information in the show notes as well to make it even easier. I love everything that you're doing and everything you've been able to create. I love that final piece that you reminded us of is like, feel the fear and do it anyway, because a lot of times we have those things, and most of us, if not all of us have some type of fear about going to that next level, whatever that looks like, but to do it anyways, is really what we need to do. And we realized that that's how we get to success, not by ignoring the fear, not by saying it's not there, but by doing it and going into it.

15:56 – Millen Haile

You said it. Thank you. You said it, Gresham. Seriously. Now I'm so proud of you. Thank you for doing this because you know you have also given us exposure as well. I really really want to thank you for doing this.

16:07 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I appreciate you. I try to create as many win-win opportunities so I'm glad we got a chance to win a little bit on the mic today and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:15 – Millen Haile

You too. Thank you so much again.

16:30 – Outro