Meet Louisa Swithenbank-Frets

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Louisa Swithenbank-Frets. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Louisa below.

Louisa, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My work ethic was ingrained in me by both my parents’ from a young age. My Mum always taught me how to be independent whilst also working as a team in the household.

My Dad started a burrito stall when I was 12 at a market in London and he needed a sous chef; I was his first choice.
Every Saturday and Sunday we would get our tables set and generators fired up rain or shine. This was how I earned my pocket money and it gave me a sense of freedom and drive.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m a Londoner entrepreneur living in KC whilst also balancing new motherhood.

What I’m really trying to focus on professionally is getting into even bigger events here in the KC community.

I run my own mobile bartending business called Smashing Fizz. I do all sorts of events, from birthday parties to beautiful weddings. I strive on making every celebration and special day unique to my client’s needs through my cocktails and services.

I’m incredibly passionate about what I do and just love making people feel happy and relaxed.

Wedding season is upon on us and whilst I have lots of amazing events coming up I’m really looking forward to working the weddings I have booked with my husband to celebrate love!

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?

The three main qualities, skills and knowledge that were most impactful in my journey were; working with different types of personalities in the restaurant industry, learning from other bartenders and always asking questions.

I love to learn and ask questions. I really love how food and drinks go hand in hand, so I would always ask executive chefs that I have worked for, for their opinion on taste qualities and what I could improve on.

The advice I would give to people who are just starting out in their journey is to always be open to constructive criticism, learn from it and create something even better.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

I would say my number one obstacle I’m currently facing is keeping up with my business IG account.
Yes, I know that might sound silly to a lot of people as we are a society that are typically glued to our phones but I really find it hard to market myself. I’m always so focused when I’m bartending an event I forget to take pictures.

I’ve been really lucky to get most of my clients through word of mouth but this summer I’m going to focus on getting more pictures and maybe hiring someone to help me with my social media portfolio.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: smashingfizz

Image Credits

Trevor Frets