I left my job to start a company, with nothing but the name – Park Lane Events.
Having lost two members of our family the year before I wasn’t in the least bit scared of starting out on my own. From working more hours than the day allowed and gradually seeing less and less of my family, this came to an abrupt halt when we lost two members of our family within three months during 2014. One being my father-in-law who died of cancer within 6 weeks of diagnosis and who not only referred to me as the daughter he never had, but was also an amazing hands-on granddad to our two girls. The other being his brother who we were sadly not close to due to a family disagreement 20 years prior. The two funerals were worlds apart – the first was a true celebration of life with three generations of families and friends attending and drinking into the early hours and the latter with only ten of us in attendance, including those who worked at the cemetery.
Experiencing the loss of a loved one, holding their hand as I had no choice but to let them slip away left me never more certain of how little time we have on this planet and how I needed to make my new venture work for me, my friends and my family.
And so it was, with a huge slap in the face of the usual clichés ‘life’s too short’… ‘you only live once’, etc, I pulled the plug on the iPad, phone and laptop, handed it all back with the company car to my employer to pursue the laid back life of renting out our VW Campervan Elvis. With my daughter’s 5th & 8th birthdays fast approaching, my first accomplishment was to hand make their birthday cakes for the first time. A huge pat on the back for the working mum!
What next?
With an empty diary and no definite contracts in place, I was totally reliant on my business relationships that I’d worked hard to build on over the previous 20 years in the industry. I decided that this might be a good place to start and so I planned to focus initially on event based projects, using my network as a sounding board to get myself back out there.
My first project was through an introduction at a corporate event, one meeting later and I was given the opportunity to consult and showcase 4 luxury car showrooms in London that were available for evening hire. Due to the location, Park Lane Events was a name suggested to me and I loved it – I now had something to talk about! On the plus side, there was no contract and as it was on a commission only basis, I had the flexibility of doing as little or as much as I wanted, working on my terms, around Elvis and my family. On the downside, I had no wage coming in so was effectively working for free…….but I felt happier, time-rich, and freer than I’d ever felt before. For the first time, ever I felt like I was in control of my day. Everything I was doing was for the right reasons, there was no more ticking boxes for corporate targets, no more drawn-out reports and tedious admin; I had stripped everything back to a much simpler, efficient way of working and was enjoying cutting my way through the red tape and joyfully burning it!
Working in the hospitality industry gets into your blood, ask anyone event professional and they’ll agree with you; going solo meant that I was finally able to channel my enthusiasm and energy into my own future and focus on making Park Lane Events a success.