We recently connected with Morgan Fox and have shared our conversation below.
Morgan, 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?
I come from a two parent household that are in industries that are commission based only. Seeing the way they handled money that was not necessarily “promised” as if you are in a salary based income made me understand the value of the dollar. My parents provided everything that was needed and more, but didn’t just hand things over to myself or my siblings. At 15 I got my first job at Cold Stone Creamery. From that point on, while in school I always had a parttime job and continued to work my best to buy myself a car. Working hard and staying persistent with a goal of the future gave me the work ethic I still have to this day. I knew college was never going to be the path I took so putting myself into the work force early gave me a sense of financial freedom and knowledge for the future endeavors I was looking into. I am thankful to see my parents be successful within their jobs and that they taught me working hard can get you to the place you want in life.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Elder Fox LLC is a small-town Wedding Coordination, Rental and Wedding Venue Management company. We are based out of the beautiful mountains in Linden, Virginia. I created this company to bring not only joy to my clients but provide the vision they have on their wedding day. My first experience in the wedding world was working at a country club with the wedding coordinator. I have worn many different hats within working weddings such as wait staff, bartender, event set up and assistant coordinator. Loving all things weddings and never getting tired of it, I knew I wanted to venture out on my own but wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. It was after my own wedding that I realized what exactly I wanted to offer in the industry. Venue Management and rentals. I became in love with the Blue Mountain Lodge, the wedding venue I got married at. It’s unique story, and gorgeous A-frame windows over looking the mountains. I had realized that many venues do not offer event set up or some of the essential furnishings needed for a wedding. These were things lacking at the Lodge – So I created Elder Fox and started with Ceremony chairs, cocktail tables and other rental Items that brides would need to rent. Not to long after, my company acquired The Blue Mountain Lodge as our first Wedding Venue to manage. It’s been such a blessing seeing the Lodge bring happiness to so many couples, it’s truly a special place. However, I wanted to provide more to my beautiful clients, and day of coordination is something I specialize in and that is now one of our biggest packages booked each year. Not only do I coordinate at BML, I have been to many gorgeous venues throughout the Shenandoah Valley helping brides and groom on their big day. And we are now offering Full Service Micro Wedding Planning! I am so excited to have packages for clients that want a special day but do not want the stress of planning. Intimate, gorgeous and easy planning is what we strive for in our Micro Packages!
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 believe the three most important qualities and skills I have are: 1. Vision. I have always had a clear idea and drive for things I could do and make it happen. I’m someone with a “I can do that myself” attitude and once a vision is set in my mind I go for it. You can never reach your dreams or goals by telling yourself you can’t do something. My 5th grade teacher branded me with the word “fearless”. She knew I was a go getter and that helped me visualize at young age I would one day be my own boss. This has also provided me to have a key attention to detail.
2. Networking. I like to make myself known, connect with people in all sorts of industries. The ability to meet people and explain what I do and offer services that may be helpful to them or future clients they might have is something I take pride in. Networking is a personal experience that creates a bond of sorts. It is such an important part of any business.
3. Friendly Professionalism. I like to look at my company and myself as polished yet approachable. I always want to come across in a good light but as someone you can connect to. Allowing clients and other businesses to get a glimpse about the person behind the company is a helpful tool in success. Being a day of coordinator my clients like to feel comfortable yet stress free as I will ensure everything gets handled. The balance of respecting boundaries my clients have and need is important to me.
A piece of advice I have for anyone wanting to start the journey of owning a business is, love what you do and take calculated risks. We all hope for things to work out when you first start off but it always comes down to “what if”. Understanding the position you put yourself in financially when starting out is the biggest calculated risk to look at. You need to prepare yourself for what if it doesn’t work out but have the attitude of what if it does work out.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am always looking for partners and collaborations with vendors around. Our goal is to manage a second wedding venue and by that a partner, owner of a venue who is looking to take a step back but still wanting to own that property is someone we would love to connect with. We love doing one to two styled shoots each year and collaborating with vendors we have and haven’t worked with before. I like the fact that a styled shoot allows each vendor to be their creative selves and let that shine through. Connecting with anyone in the industry never hurts!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/elderfoxllc/home
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elderfoxllc/
Image Credits
Alex McCormick Photography Pop of Molly Photography Courtney Layne Photography
