Today we’d like to introduce you to Paula Lawson.
Paula, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My wife, Kim and I have both been in the event planning/event design industry for about 15 years. She focused more on the event planning side, while I have always been involved with event design. We both originally began by planning and designing small events such as birthday parties, baby showers, and graduation parties, and then eventually expanded into weddings and corporate events. When we got married it was natural for us to begin working together on events. In late 2017, we made the decision to take what we felt like was a natural step in the event rental industry. We had long relationships with event rental companies around the city, and we felt that our area had demand for a party rental provider. We knew from years of experience working with other party rental companies that it was important for us to provide high-quality rental items at an affordable price. We have been extremely pleased with the reception we have received from the Pearland community and surrounding areas. We are currently working diligently to build a business that we may one day pass on to our children.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
We were pleasantly surprised that the barriers to entry to this side of the event industry were relatively low. Our biggest struggle initially was hiring and retaining enough personnel to keep up with the growth of the business. We also had to increase our inventory more rapidly than we expected to keep up with the demand. Because the business is such a passion project for both of us, we have had to make a concerted effort to allocate consistent quality time for non-business related family activities. Overall, the enjoyment we get from being able to work together doing something we love has far outweighed any obstacles we have had to overcome.
Please tell us about Elle Event Rentals.
Elle Event Rentals is a family owned and operated party rental business, with over 15 years of experience in all facets of the event production industry. We pride ourselves on providing high-quality party rentals at the most affordable prices in the area. We carry a variety of chairs, such as Chiavari chairs, garden chairs, and plastic folding chairs, as well as a number of styles of tables to accommodate all types of event needs. We also carry specialty party items, such as portable bars, linens, red carpet runners, LED up-lights, and more. Customer service is at the forefront of everything we do, therefore we are continuously expanding the variety within our inventory to meet customer needs. We believe that our customer inquiry response time ranks with the best in the industry. Our goal is to be a one-stop shop for party rental equipment for birthday parties, graduation parties, weddings, baby showers, corporate/school functions, and more. We are most proud of the fact that we have built this business from the ground up as a family. Our passion for making the events perfect for our customer and our commitment to keeping the rental equipment in top operating condition sets us apart from other rental companies. Our customers have also expressed appreciation for our free delivery and pick-up services, which gives the customer more time to focus on the other aspects of his or her event.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If we had to start over we would not have underestimated the demand in our area for party rentals and made a larger investment in our initial inventory. However, we understand that there will always be orders that are larger than you can fulfill, and you can’t be so reactionary that you don’t stick to your business plan. Our plan centered around intentional organic growth, as such, we have had to be disciplined and make investments in our inventory only when the move was supported by market analysis.
Pricing:
- chairs starting at $1.50
- tables starting at $7.50
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ElleEventRentals@gmail.com
- Phone: (832) 574-3497
- Email: elleeventrentals@gmail.com
- Instagram: @elleeventrentals
- Facebook: @elleventrentals
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/elle-event-rentals-pearland?osq=Elle+Event+Rentals
Image Credit:
Rita G Photography, Neydi Photography
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