Today we’d like to introduce you to Robb Thornsberry.
Hi Robb, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My “LA story” started out much like millions of other people in that I moved to SoCal from the Midwest right out of college where I majored in communications with an emphasis on broadcasting and minored in theatre. And like millions of others, I decided to take my shot as an actor. To make money, I started working for a DJ company where I was able to apply my skills as a performer and my love of music. I eventually started my own DJ company and began DJ’ing corporate events which opened my eyes to an industry that I didn’t even know existed.
My crushed dreams of Hollywood would quickly fade and be replaced by a renewed passion for the theatrics, creativity and spectacle of planning live events.
Throughout the late 90’s, I had worked for a couple of different event companies however it was the birth of my oldest daughter in 2001 that motivated me to take a leap of faith and launch my own event agency where I could not only apply my experience of building a successful DJ business but also create opportunities to do what I love while also having the flexibility to be present and involved in raising my daughter.
Fast forward 21 years, I am a proud dad of 2 beautiful daughters (22 years and 19 years) and owner of a successful full-service event management company that has afforded me the opportunity to build a long career out of doing something that I genuinely love and hope to still be doing 21 years from now.
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?
The road to success in whatever you do is rarely ever smooth and for me, the bumps in the road have primarily been a result of the challenges that my industry has had to face.
The first major challenge for me was launching a brand new company in October 2001, one month after 9/11 when all events were being canceled and the in-house corporate meeting planners who were responsible for planning their company’s meetings and events were being laid off. Rather than seeing this as a challenge however, I chose to see this as an opportunity to lend my experience and rapidly growing list of resources to overwhelmed administrative assistants who were now tasked with planning critical meetings that would address the next steps of how their organization would overcome the aftermath of the recent Terrorist attacks.
The next big challenges that would bring the entire meetings & events industry to its knees were the 2008 Housing Crash followed by the 2009 AIG scandal. The AIG scandal would single-handedly go on to create a Tsunami of opinions and outrage about the perceived “excessive” budgets of events being hosted by large corporations at that time.
It took many years to overcome the setbacks of 2008 and 2009 and to rebuild the credibility and invaluable service that meetings and events provide. For me, 2019 was easily the best year on record for my company with 2020 projected to be even better and then Covid 19 changed everything.
For the first time in my career, I wasn’t sure that my industry, much less my career would survive this global set back however as we have proven time and time again, our industry is incredibly resilient and creative enough to overcome any obstacle.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business is a full-service event production and management company that specializes in event design, full-scale production, entertainment, meeting planning and overall turnkey project management for corporate clients worldwide.
My job is not to simply be an order taker but rather a strategic partner and extension to my client’s team. I strive to learn and understand the culture of their organization as well as what is internally expected of my client contact so that I may be better equipped to provide solutions that will not just meet their needs and expectations but exceed them.
I suppose I am most known for the visual elements of my job which is an event design and large-scale production but once a client begins to work with me, they quickly realize the amount of attention I put into each little detail as well as the hands-on approach I take with every single project. I would venture to say that this is also what sets me apart from others in my field.
I am generally proud of the longevity of my career and for the respect and credibility I have earned in my industry but I think I am most proud of the incredibly high ratio of repeat clientele I have and their loyalty and trust in me year after year. It is a high honor that I do not take for granted.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I have always referenced my company as a small boutique event firm with very large capabilities and that is made possible by the remarkably talented team of vendors and contractors that I work with on each project.
I tend to do a great deal of research for each project so by the time I start requesting bids from vendors, I am usually very decisive and know what I am looking for however, I always welcome and encourage input, new ideas and innovative solutions that perhaps I haven’t thought of from those I work with.
Of course, as with anything, communication is key and typically the more communication there is, the better. The same is also true for transparency. The easier a vendor can make it for me to hire them such as providing me with a catalogue of inventory with pricing as well as how they calculate their labor and delivery fees, the less I need to wait for them to get back to me and the more they will be considered.
At the end of the day, I don’t focus as much on using labels such as vendor or client but rather partnerships. Each partner is valuable and necessary to the success of the project.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.infinityeventsinc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infinityeventsinc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/infinityeventsinc/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/INFINITYEVENTS
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/infinityeventsinc
