Meet Dee Greene

We were lucky to catch up with Dee Greene recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dee, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?

First, I feel like I need to define what risk means to me. Risk feels like anything that could lead to rejection or failure. Like many of us, I have a fear of failure! A few things I’ve learned through many “failures” is that the fear is far worse than the actual failing. Failure often turns out to be a valuable lesson or a redirection toward something better! We are all creative masters of our realities and can create something beautiful and bigger than ourselves just by taking one small step forward.
I believe that taking risks begins with identifying your dream, calling, or an idea you want to share with the world. One of my dreams is to own a bed and breakfast or a wedding venue. That dream has remained safely tucked away—it can’t fail if it’s just a dream, but it also can never succeed. The famous quote by Wayne Gretzky is true here. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
I pursued a degree in Human Resources with the goal of training new hires. I did that for several years but ignored the tug on my heart to pursue my “scary” dream. It felt safer to take the corporate route. Guess what? I failed at the “safe” route! I ignored the universe’s whisper until it became a painful door slamming shut in my face. Just because a route feels safe doesn’t mean it is without risk—failure can still happen. The key takeaway was to listen to the calling before it turns into a painful lesson.
After my corporate failure in 2019, my family and I decided I would stay home with our small children until it was time to re-enter the workforce. This leads to my next point: it’s essential to have a solid support system in place to take risks. That will look different for everyone! We were blessed to be able to live off one income, allowing me to take small financial risks without much impact to our family. I also relied on a few trusted loved ones for guidance when challenges arose.
Beyond external support, I also needed to be my own support system. Not everyone will understand your dream. Some people may accidentally project their own fears and insecurities onto you, and that’s okay! It’s not their dream—it’s yours! Many questioned what I was doing in the beginning, and I had to recognize my own strengths. I was my best support system!
At first, the dream of owning a venue felt like too big of a leap, so I took a smaller step and started with event rentals. Taking small steps toward your larger goal is a great way to mitigate the fear of risk. In 2022, I launched Blue Heron Events with a dance floor, and guess what? That dance floor didn’t get rented out until the summer of 2024. In essence, I started my business with a failure.
To diversify, I added marquee letters to my inventory, initially purchasing them from a U.S.-based company. That experience was disastrous—I had to negotiate for a refund, which they resisted. Through that failure, my husband and I decided to build the letters ourselves. He had the skills, and although we had never done it before, we figured it out. Now, we have over 60 marquee letters and numbers, all built to order. These pieces have been part of special moments like proposals, baby showers, weddings, and more!
I’m continuing to expand my inventory with a new rule: if I get asked for an item three times, I’ll strongly consider investing in it. This strategy has served me well, and now I’m outgrowing my storage unit—bringing me closer to my dream of owning a venue than I ever imagined. It’s exciting, and yes, it’s terrifying—but I’m doing it scared!
Any choice in life comes with risk. Setting yourself up for success is essential to moving forward confidently. It starts with defining your goals, building a support system, and taking one step at a time. Recognize that the fear of failure is almost always worse than the failure itself. The world needs your dream to come to life! It starts with you—and that first brave step. You’ve got this!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am passionate about connecting with others, especially with other woman owned businesses in the Seattle area. I host free or as close to free as possible events and run them like an open house, styled shoot and networking event all combined into one! Through this passion I have had the pleasure of working and connecting with incredible events based businesses and women across many industries! My hope for when I get a venue space is to host a few free events each quarter to continue this passion.

I take great joy in the fact that many have connected for the first time at my events and they continue to partner with each other for fun projects together! I am really proud of my events and work incredibly hard to ensure the attendees feel empowered when they leave.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Three qualities that have been essential for my success are;
-Doing what I say I will do-this is such a simple idea but incredibly impactful when building trust! A part of this skill is also under promising and over delivering. Be realistic with yourself and your clients or those relying on you when you make commitments.
-Communication skills are crucial as well! If you find yourself unable to meet deadlines, take that opportunity to ensure you communicate! Keep the involved parties in the know of what is going on!
-Network, network, network! I am not talking about meeting as many people as you can to get them to buy your product or service. Genuinely believe in what you offer and go out and make quality connections with others. They may not buy from you, but they may think of you when they hear someone is looking for a service like yours! If you do the same by referring others to their business it will lift everyone up!

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

This may sound incredibly silly, but when I first started my business I did a lot of free collaborations in exchange for exposure. I think that can be great at times, however, you do need to be careful who you provide free things for, because they will ask for it again. I finally got to a point around my second anniversary where I made the decision not to offer that any more! This was an incredibly hard choice for me because I hate saying no or disappointing someone!
You gotta love the universe because I was almost immediately tested in my resolve. Soon after making this choice I was approached by a big influencer in the area asking for my product in exchange for video and photos. I declined politely which was received very well but the fear of missing out on a potential opportunity was real! The cost to do these free events was too high for my business. It was the right decision for me and I ended up being fully booked this summer and I have grown each quarter since opening. I highly recommend making that decision for yourself and not feel obligated to provide your product in exchange for exposure to anyone! The right clients who are willing to pay full price for your product or service are out there!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blueheroneventrentals.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blueheroneventrentals/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueHeronEventRentals
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahjgreene/

Image Credits

Pacific Mist Lifestyle Photography “Profile Photo”
Mystache Photo “Lets Go Girls”