Jamiece S. Spears

My journey in event planning began almost 20 years ago when I served as the social officer for my high school track team, where I was responsible for social gatherings and team bonding exercises. About 14 years ago, after having my first daughter, I started getting more serious about event planning. Coming from a family where I was one of four kids, I wanted to do something extra special for my daughter as an only child at the time. I began DIYing and decorating baby showers, got involved in PTA and Girl Scouts, and really discovered my passion for this work. My grandma encouraged me, saying I could make a living doing this, but I was hesitant because I had a daughter to take care of and wasn't sure I could make a consistent income. From 2012 to 2015, I dabbled in event planning, offering my assistance for pay and learning the ropes - how hotels function, how conference spaces and convention centers work, and sharpening my questions to get the right vendors for my clients. In 2018, my life changed dramatically. I had been fighting against making an actual business when I got into a serious car accident. Somebody hit my car, sent it upward, and it rolled over in the air twice before landing in a McDonald's parking lot on the driver's side. If that wasn't a big enough sign to start a business, I don't know what could have been bigger. Thirty days after that accident, I bought my LLC, my first round of branding, and my website, and started my business full throttle. Since then, I've planned weddings, conferences, baby showers, milestone birthdays, galas, fundraising events - a plethora of different events. I've planned galas that have raised half a million dollars and others that have raised $100,000. What sets my business apart is that I'm not just an event planner - I have a very heavy operations background, so I'm more like a strategist. It's not just about planning the event, but also helping businesses understand what planning this event means, what they can anticipate getting on their ROI, what it looks like from a long-term strategy perspective, and how they can leverage this event to increase their brand awareness. Events cost money, and money means we want a return on our investment. Right now, I'm working with a couple of apprentices through my apprenticeship program, and I'm hosting a workshop in October for new to mid-level event planners. My typical day involves checking my calendar, reviewing agendas and vendor presentations with my assistant, taking client meetings, attending networking events, touring venues, and staying current on industry trends and reports. As my mom said during COVID, even though the world was ending, you still can't be a silent event planner, so I stay active in networking. Currently, I'm planning small-scale conferences, milestone birthdays, graduation parties, corporate events including Christmas parties, and business anniversaries. I'm also passionate about Pilates and would love to plan Pilates retreats abroad in the future.