Today we’d like to introduce you to Kat Johann.
Hi Kat, 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 an event planner in Newport Beach, California, and I own the company Parties By The Sea. I started my company in Los Angeles four years ago and then moved to Orange County during the pandemic. My love of cooking, meeting new people and truly loving the artistic side of designing new spaces were the catalysts to launching an event company. I now have a very large network that is very desirable to clients, brands, bars, and restaurants. I have the ability to bring in large revenue to different venues with the people who support me and want to collaborate and cross-promote. I have had the incredible opportunities to be featured in Vanity Fair Magazine and also plan parties for the Real Housewives of the OC on Bravo and Selling the OC on Netflix.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I moved to Newport Beach, I only knew a handful of people. So, I hosted my own events to show people my taste level, to create new content to use on social media, and reached out to other successful people in the area. It took me less than a year to establish my brand, make hundreds of friends and contacts, and create relationships with the best vendors in the area. It certainly wasn’t easy, but I’m very friendly, sincere, and determined, which came across to everyone. I now have a massive network who support me and recommend me to new clients, and I am very grateful for the rapid growth of my company.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
One of the events I am the most proud of recently is one of my good friend’s 50th Birthday parties. It was very challenging and had so many components to balance, including tenting, ice sculptures, a casino, catering, lighting, rentals, valet, flower wall, photographer, drone videographer, and extensive floral and cake design. The home is on the Bay in Newport Beach, so we even had guests going out on their Duffy boat for rides with a captain. I created custom welcome bags for guests staying at the home as well as party favor bags for over 80 guests. I designed the invitations, custom matchbooks and even created a personalized logo that went on napkins. I didn’t have enough help at the time and balanced all of it myself and it really showed me what I could do and pushed me harder than ever before. I look at the photos and videos now and think… wow… I did that.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I have a lot of people who come to me and want to learn from me and want to start their own company. One thing they have to understand is they have to be prepared to invest a good amount of their own money to establish a brand. Every event company needs a certain amount for the legal side, logo design, website, photo shoots, staff. I purchased all of my own bars, high-top tables, tablecloths, and dinnerware and had custom beach picnic tables made. It was so hard in the beginning to get jobs because you have to pay for Yelp, advertising, search engine tools, etc., to gain exposure. But, when you start to gain a following and prove to others what you are capable of, it will eventually start to work. My advice is to never give up on making the life you truly want.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.partiesbythesea.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/partiesbythesea.la
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/partiesbythesea
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/kathrynjohann
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/partiesbythesea
