13 July 2021
Every Cloud…
So, I can’t lie, the past 18 months have been incredibly challenging for me and Lucy Claire Events. It has been a case of digging deep and surviving but now with things (everything crossed) getting back to normal, I can finally take a breath and look back with a sense of pride, as I not only got through it, but I surpassed our abilities, added new skillsets and showed some dogged resilience to boot.
I finally took some time to reflect recently and I have to say, I’m pretty chuffed with myself. And trust me, I don’t normally say that! It has been tough no doubt but in a weird way – I am further along in my business than I ever would have been if it were ‘business as usual’. I have managed to rebrand and get a new website that truly reflects me, and Lucy Claire Events and I have become consistent on social media. This is something that I knew was so imperative to my success, as many of my potential clients check my social before my website and I get a lot of comments and people finding me this way.
Alongside this, I have organised alternative events, to those that were supposed to happen, with very short lead times and transitioned live events to online with a hugely fast turnaround due to the government guidelines changing and the goalposts moving. This includes a client’s conference and exhibition that was moved four times and pulling together a brand-new event in only a week – that was, thankfully, a great success.
A big achievement for me was to look at alternate routes to market. Last autumn I collaborated with two local businesses, Woodchester Valley Vineyard and The Cotswold Cheese Company, to produce a beautiful hamper for both private and corporate clients, together with an optional online Cotswold wine and cheese tasting. This was a huge learning for me in light of logistics and packing and shipping perishable goods – I will never forget just being surrounded by boxes, cheese and wine at home and taking great pleasure putting the boxes together! I will also never forget the barriers when trying to ship a few boxes over to Europe, and the odd occasional courier problem around the UK – one time I spent a Sunday dropping off 11 hampers around the south of England!
Over the past 18 months the events I have organised and hosted have not been huge, as many of my clients have preferred to wait for the return of live events. However, I have loved those that have hosted these smaller events, as they have put their teams and staff at the heart of what they do. We have worked together on their team socials and looked at different ways to entertain their clients to ensure they know they are supporting them. It’s been a challenge coming up with innovative ideas to engage, support and entertain, but we succeeded, and have some very happy clients and guests.
During this time, I have worked with some fantastic new clients and had the opportunity to network far more than I had before. It’s been wonderful making so many new connections, meeting new industry friends and new clients, especially locally – something we just wouldn’t have been able to do if things were normal.
It’s been tough, no doubt, but there are some really amazing things to have come out of this time and I have to say a huge, massive thank you to my clients, suppliers and connections for your continued support and belief in me and my business and, even when things were tough, you stuck with me.