Conversations with Jennifer Mejia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Mejia.

Hi Jennifer, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a 41 years old mother to a beautiful nine years old named Olivia. I started my event décor/picnic business in 2021. I was laid off at the end of 2020 and really did not know if I wanted to continue in the Customer service industry. I knew I wanted to use this time to focus on what I wanted in life and pursue my dreams in the event décor industry. I have always been very creative and have and immense passion for creating beautiful aesthetically pleasing gatherings. The creativity for parties came more into play when I had my daughter Olivia.

Growing up, I never really had Birthday parties so I knew when I had my 1st child I would become that crazy Pinterest mom. I wanted to create the most beautiful parties for Olivia, but I was also on a budget, so I had to teach myself how to create all these extravagant backdrops by watching youtube videos. I love gathering friends and family together and creating special moments. I have always been the go-to girl when it comes to helping friends and family out with their special events. My friends always advised me to start my own business, but I would always limit myself by making excuses. Starting my own business was never really in my plans as I always assumed I needed lots of money which I did not have and or a bank loan which I really did not want to consider.

I decided I was going to find a job in the event décor industry and I ended up finding a job working for a picnic company. I worked for that company for about 6 months and gained lots of experience through them. My boyfriend at the time pushed me to pursue my dreams and convinced me to start my own company. I used any stimulus money received, to start buying my own materials to start my own picnic businesses. My friends helped me come up with the name for my business, Enchanted Olive Events and I opened up an IG account to start posting and promoting my services. The Enchanted was just something catchy my friend April thought would be a good fit and Olive is after my daughter Olivia, that is her nickname.

I started off with just picnics, but my friends advised me not to limit my services to only picnics as I do so much more than just picnics so I started promoting Balloon services and now I do both Balloons and picnics. It has been a learning curve as I really had no experience in business, but I have learned so much as I continue on this amazing journey. I have made plenty of mistakes and taken hits, but every year my business grows, more & more. Through every event I gain new referrals and Instagram also helps me generate lots of new clients. It has truly been an amazing experience and I am so happy to be where I am at today.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest struggle for me has been the whole business aspect of it. I had no clue what I was doing at the beginning. I really had no one to mentor me or give me direction. I just knew I wanted to create and get better at my craft. I did not know how to price my setups accordingly. I wanted to make sure I was affordable enough so my clients would not turn me down because I was too overpriced and not experienced enough. I was also spending too much money adding inventory taking mostly losses and not really profiting. I would easily get discouraged when I would go more than a month without a gig and really had no idea how to promote myself.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I own a party décor/picnic business. I specialize in balloon décor and love creating beautiful backdrops for special events. I also do picnic setups for special gatherings.

I have always had a passion for all things art. I started off just creating costumes for all the festivals I would attend. I would always see the girls at festivals wearing these cute outfits. I found a store in Hollywood and would shop there at least once a month, but it was getting way to pricey, so I started creating my own outfits and then selling them on Etsy.

The party décor came after my daughter was born. I was always inspired by the beautiful setups I would see on Pinterest and promised myself that one day when I had a child I would create these beautiful parties for her.

What sets me apart from the rest is my passion for all things art. I can pretty much do it all from balloons, florals, picnics, makeup and creating a gorgeous costume for you. If I do not know how to do it, I will figure it out and make it happen. I truly love working with people and being part of the special events in their life.

What I am most proud of, is just being here and being able to do what I love and make a living out of it. I still cannot believe I actually took the plunge and at 41, I am making my dreams come true. When people tell you it is never too late they really don’t lie as I am living proof of it.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Instagram is my number one app for referrals, marketing and just overall inspiration seeing other artists work and taking their advice. I am a DIY girl so You tube has also helped me out tremendously. Honey Book has also helped me organize myself with bookings, proposals, contracts and keeping track of my overall expenses as well as receiving payments. Mockup Pro is an app I just started using to create mockups of my setups to present to clients for approval. It also makes my job so much easier when I create mockups.

Contact Info:

• Email: enchantedolive_events@gmail.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/Olive2014