Summary: Cindy Lo is the founder, owner, and Chief Event Strategist of <a href="http://redvelvetevents.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Red Velvet Events</a>, an international award-winning full service creative events agency. She’s also the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Red-Velvet-Curtain-Planning-ebook/dp/B0784VLZ7J" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Behind the Red Velvet Curtain</a>.<br> In this episode, you’ll learn how event planning can be an exciting, rewarding, and incredibly fun career… But, it takes more than just knowing how to throw a great party if you want to make it work.<br> You’ll be getting:<br> <br> * The best advice for professional event planning greatness.<br> * Some of the most amazing stories about celebrities she’s worked.<br> * High-end events that she’s planned along the road.<br> <br> <br> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Red-Velvet-Curtain-Planning-ebook/dp/B0784VLZ7J=" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>Get Cindy’s book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Red-Velvet-Curtain-Planning-ebook/dp/B0784VLZ7J" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Behind the Red Velvet Curtain</a> on Amazon.<br> Find out more at <a href="http://redvelvetevents.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Red Velvet Events</a>.<br> <br> <br> How Cindy Lo Got Her Start in Event Planning<br> Cindy Lo: I started in high-tech coming right off college, and I love the job. It treated me well, but something was missing and I didn’t quite know what. Unfortunately, 9/11 happened and that kind of fast-forwarded my job track, because at that time I was working for a client actually in New Jersey and New York.<br> They said, “Don’t come back. We need to take a pause, because we’re trying to rebuild our city.”<br> I faced what you would call furlough, essentially, and I was given an opportunity to take time off. I was like, “Oh my gosh! I’ve never had this. What am I going to do?”<br> My natural tendency was to go and apply for jobs, but no one wanted to touch me because of the fact that I had zero hotel experience, and no planning experience. I even offered to do it for free, because I didn’t need the money and I wanted to show them that I was a fast learner. But no one believed me.<br> With my business degree, I was going to create, basically, the experience that they kept saying I was missing.<br> <br> But I was only going to do it for one year, because after all, I did not want to be my own boss.<br> <br> So I did it for a year, and I was having too much fun. It just was natural. I didn’t dread waking up in the morning. The feeling was like, “Wow! I am at my element.” That’s when I knew that I had to continue on with Red Velvet Events.<br> Charlie Hoehn: When did you first feel that “This is so much fun, it doesn’t even feel like work” feeling?<br> Cindy Lo: About 6 months in. But I was still like, “Oh my gosh! I’ve got to make money. I’ve got to figure this out.” Also, probably even at six months in, I was still telling myself, “I need to make sure my resume looks good so that when I reapply for these jobs, they’ll hire me.” So I wasn’t even thinking about carrying on at that point.<br> Enjoying What You Do<br> Charlie Hoehn: What’s first fun event that you remember?<br> Cindy Lo: The first one that I realized that this was me was actually a corporate event. I got it because they knew me from college. So the people hosting the event knew me from college—and they only knew me from college.<br> They didn’t know me in the professional world. So when they gave me this opportunity, it was almost bigger than life.<br> <br> I probably underestimated how much work it was going to be.<br> <br> I went about the course and just trying to figure everything out, how to negotiate with the hotels, how to do registration, how to do all these things, and I would basically present myself as if I knew more and I had more clients than I ...
