May
21
Behind the Scenes | The IY idea
There is no I in team but there is an I in IY.
So why am I so hesitant to say I, when describing the behind the scenes of a company I created? Take this personal look with me, into the start of Inspire Your® weddings and events.
The IY Idea came to me in 2015 through a few moments of attachment over the year. Earlier that year I had started reading a book, about how ideas exist all around us. I am not much of a reader, but when I do find a good book, I will fervently take notes on what I am learning. The takeaway from this book, was that ideas come to all of us, all the time. Sometimes we are not ready to attach to that idea and it will either leave us and manifest in someone else or come back to us when we are ready.
In 2015, I was working as a Restaurant Manager putting in long hours, consistently juggling an overabundance of task, working weekends & holidays and being exhausted from the operations of the day. As many of us know, working in the hospitality industry is not for the weary. If we work in this industry, it is truly because we love using our talents to make someone’s day.
The moments of attachments in that year came in three phases of questioning myself. First, how do I not work long hours & weeks for the rest of my career? Second, I know I am talented in operations, but how can I strive for more as a leader? Third, how do I bring my knowledge over the years in a variety of hospitality jobs to others?
As a sat one evening on my couch, I picked up an old binder I had made in my first hospitality job in 2009. I had been working the graveyard shift at a historical beachfront hotel and to stay awake I would eat chocolate chip cookies and tear out pages from wedding magazines to then categorize into piles, so I could learn more about weddings. Here comes the idea! What if I found a way to engage an individual in a process by deconstructing a topic (in this case weddings) through a collection of simple & standard products and services?
So, even though I am the owner of this manifested idea, I will always feel it was a we collaboration with all those individuals & teams who guided me over the years in hospitality, to come to the IY Idea.