We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sugeidy Scott a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sugeidy , first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
When I started my business I felt like I was a total impostor I mean I had planned parties and events before but not in a setting where it was my only and direct responsibility plus most of the events were personal for my daughter or other loved ones. I thought what am I doing and why would people trust me to do this but every time I’ve executed an event I would hear back from the clients on how happy they were and how they thought I did a wonderful job. Deep down you know that but is always good to have the feedback. The more and more that I’ve been managing my business and doing bigger and more high profile events I know in my heart that I am doing what I am meant to do. After you develop a process and you time things correctly the product is always good and you know the client will be happy. So as the saying goes “just start doing it” and “practice makes perfect”.
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?
I curate luxury events more prominently picnics but I have planned celebrity dinners, birthdays and corporate events as well. I really feel super privileged anytime a client decides to hire me to curate a special time in their lives. It makes me feel so blessed to be able to make their day luxurious and extraordinary . Our brand is curated and tailored to the customer needs. We like working with our clients to create special moments in their event that are tailor made. We execute these moments with special touches such as the color theme or name cards for each individual guests to even their favorite flowers. We are excited to expand our services and concentrate on more events more than just picnics. We are working on a few projects to include helping other picnic entrepreneurs launch their luxury picnic business. Stay tuned!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think three things that have helped me have been. Attention to detail, constant communication and being able to pivot. I pride myself in listening to my clients in what colors they like or a special phrase they want displayed at their event. That attention to detail from matching a font to color selection has always been a skill I use in my business on a daily basis. Communication is so important in the event planing and curating space. Communication with the client and with the vendors were as everyone is keeping the theme throughout and specially on the day of the event that everyone can be timely with set ups and deliveries so that the day can go smoothly. Lastly being able to pivot and adapt. As much as you can plan things go wrong or do not come out how you’d thought it would and so you have to come up with solutions at the last minute. I think that is true for any business owner problem solving on the fly is a must! I would advise any hopeful and future event planners to have very strong sense of attention to detail, communication and problem solving skills. I will say these are things you learn as you go too the more you do the more you learn and perfect your process.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
The most impactful thing my mother did was immigrate to the US from the Dominican Republic in the early 80s. I was about 4 or 5 years old when my mother decided to take the risk and leave everything she knew behind and come to this country. At the time my mother thought she needed to make a change to provide her daughters a better education and opportunities for a better life. It took a lot of sweat and tears. It is very costly to immigrate to the US and after she came here the process to her daughters to the US took about 5 years and about 25k dollars which was a small fortune at the time. He decision placed me in a trajectory of obtaining a college education, being a young home owner and finally being an entrepreneur. I am very grateful for all her sacrifices for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lafetepicnicco.com
- Instagram: @lafetepicnicco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lafetepicnicco/
- Twitter: lafetepicnicco
Image Credits
Theary Louneoubonh