Sara Nost

I attribute my success to my love of putting smiles on people's faces and helping them make memories. It's all about creating the environment or creating the space for them to have the best day of their life, whether it's their wedding, their baby shower, or a family celebrating the death of somebody. This is going to sound crazy, but every single wedding that I've been a part of, I cry when that bride walks down the aisle because I have just grown so connected with them. I feel like they're part of my family because I've been working with them for some of them for over a year. My heart flutters, I tear up. Just knowing that I was a part of that and helping them with that process, that's all I need. I don't care what kind of profit or revenue that I've made off of them. It was more of the fact that I was a part of their day, and they asked me to be a part of their day. They trusted me to be a part of their day, and now I've put a smile on their face.

I think one of the biggest things is that there are going to be times that things are challenging. Us women, whether you're young or old, we balance many, many different roles at one time. We're a mom, we're a wife, we're a girlfriend, we're still working, we're a caretaker to aging parents when that becomes a thing. Some of the strongest women I know have built success while overcoming all of those challenges. I've learned that setbacks really don't define you, but it's how you respond to them. Follow your dreams, and just because that first year isn't as successful as you think it's going to be, don't give up. Failure's not fatal. You may fail, but you're going to get right back up and you're going to keep pushing through because that's the challenges that we face, not only as a business owner, but in our everyday life. I think confidence is a huge part as well. Confidence doesn't mean having all the answers. It means just trusting yourself enough to keep going and learning. The more we learn, the more successful you're going to be. Sometimes we underestimate the value of what we bring to the table, and maybe some other people underestimate us as well. But owning yourself is very powerful.

I believe all about empowering other women and supporting other women instead of competing with them. There's so much competition, and I feel like we are all putting our pants on the same way, and we all need to be supportive rather than competitive. There's room for all of us to be successful. There is room for everyone. Sometimes the most powerful thing to me is watching another woman in their capabilities of what they're doing. I have watched and sat back and realized, I want to be like her. At the end of the day, I hope I can influence people like those women in my life have influenced me, because they've definitely encouraged and inspired me along the way.