We were lucky to catch up with Lindsay Seel recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lindsay, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
There is a difference between being risky and being intentional. What may look like risk to others, is truly a choice based in intention. My husband and I have taken many risks together, including quitting our jobs and traveling the world, moving across country or starting a business. While all of these decisions may seem risky to others, there was a lot of discussion and planning behind them. I think how I developed my ability to take risks is by having patience, doing as much research as possible and working through every worst case scenario. Risk is much less intimidating when you know you have worked through as much detail as possible. It is also helpful to challenge yourself with the question: “If I take this risk, what will my life be like in 6 months?” This puts a lot of things into perspective quickly.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I started Vivant Event Rentals in 2017 after my husband, Brian, and I had returned home to Florida from several years on the West Coast. While in California, I had worked for several different companies in the events industry and really fell in love with rentals. It was creativity and logistics combined. Before arriving back in Florida, I made a mock catalogue of the style I wanted to curate. I emailed it out to every planner I could find and one contacted me back. But from that one contact, I did my first three events as Vivant Event Rentals. It’s been a wild ride since then – we now provide rentals from Florida all the way to Michigan. We provide high-end rentals and custom design for events of all kinds.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I don’t have three things that were most impactful on my journey. There is one experience that changed how I engaged with others as a manager and leader. While I was working for Nestle, I had an incredible manager who mentored me. He taught me how to meet people where they were at and bring them along on the journey. He taught me how important it was to care for others and discover what gives them a passion, as opposed to forcing mine on them. If I could lead with compassion and kindness, I was going to get much more from those on my team. That one skill has impacted every choice I make as a business owner and leader.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
Our team is obsessed with Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality. As an event rental company, we are in the service industry and serve a high-end clientele. So many of the example’s in Will’s book resonate with myself and our team. The overarching theme is to give people a tailored experience beyond their expectations. As a team, we now spend time reviewing our event details, questioning if something from the design is missing, returning to our warehouse to pick up more pieces that could improve the event on the day-of, etc. We also have tried to focus on the small things because how you do the small things is how you do the big things. It’s a worthwhile read for those that want to change their mindset of service.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vivantrentals.com
- Instagram: @VivantRentals
Image Credits
Jacqui Cole / Elizabeth Lanier / The Edges / Jessica Bordner / KT Merry / Joseph Rogero Headshot: Rachael Osborn
