Today we’d like to introduce you to Mayesha Manzoor.
Hi Mayesha, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
First, I’d like to say thank you for the opportunity to share a little more about myself.
I’m an Atlanta native and first generation, Pakistani-American. I graduated from the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!), where I studied Management Information Systems. I’m a Cybersecurity Consultant by day and Event Planner/Coordinator by nights (and weekends).
Although my educational background is not in Event Planning, my interest in event planning and coordination began when I was in undergrad and joined the board for MIST (Muslim Interscholastic Tournament) to lead the Award Ceremony planning efforts. My first official event was for roughly 600-700 guests, and for my first gig – it turned out pretty great!
After realizing that I was able to pull that off, I wanted to find ways to get further involved with local community events. I went on to help with with various non-profit and fundraising events, where I learned a great deal on vendor communication and management. My full-time job as a Cybersecurity Consultant also helped me to further develop my skills with project management, client relations, and learning how to work in a fast-paced environment.
In more recent years, I had the opportunity to help close family friends and my younger brother with planning and coordinating their weddings. I realized that I really enjoyed the process and the moment where it all falls together was such an incredible feeling! It was around this time that I felt like it was something that I felt a true calling towards and wanted to explore further. Shortly after, I committed to completing a certification course in Event Planning and officially launched Events by Mayesha in June 2022!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As with any new venture, there will always be challenges and learning curves – I’d be shocked if anyone says otherwise. Challenges are a good thing though. They’ve forced me to reflect and grow. After each event, I take the time to consider lessons learned, what went well, and things that could be improved upon for the next time. This practice has helped me tremendously.
In the beginning, the biggest challenge was figuring out where to begin. Pricing is an area that I probably found the most challenging. I wanted to price myself at a point that made it affordable for people to utilize the services of a planner/day of coordinator, but I didn’t really have much of an idea of what a “fair price” truly was. After doing a TON of research and speaking with various planners/coordinators, I learned how to fairly charge for the time spent on bringing an event vision to life.
Another challenge was realizing very quickly that the events I was usually contacted for were South Asian Weddings. If you’re familiar with them, you know that these affairs are rarely intimate and tend to have a few hundred guests each time. This meant figuring out how to expand my team quickly. Thankfully, my sister-in-law, Amina has similar detail-oriented qualities as me, and when I asked if she was interested in learning how to coordinate, she was really supportive. She has been my right hand from the very beginning, and I am truly grateful!
As I continue to grow, I’m faced with new challenges every single day. As a small business, you have to wear multiple hats at once until you have grown enough to bring on a larger team. This means you are the admin, the social media/content creator, the coordinator, R&D, sales team, and much, much more.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have been planning events for several years for various organizations, family friends, and relatives. After realizing that I sort of have a knack for it, I decided to start offering event planning and coordination services in a more formal capacity. As of June 2023, it has officially been a year that Events by Mayesha has been around, and I’ve had the honor of planning/coordinating over 25 events already!
Although I haven’t formally decided what my niche is, the majority of my clientele are soon-to-be brides and grooms. The more I plan and coordinate weddings, the more I truly enjoy it. However, during the wedding off-season, I tend to take on projects such as non-profit fundraisers, holiday parties/end-of-year celebrations, and other private events.
When thinking about what I’m most proud of, it would have to be the personal relationships I develop with my brides. In the weeks leading up to the big day, I spend a lot of time talking to brides about their vision and gaining their trust that things will go smoothly. Once the big day officially arrives, my brides have a sense of calm because they trust that we have done all the planning we can, and now it is time for them to enjoy their special day while my team and I take care of the rest. Time and time again, I have brides (and grooms) reach out to me about how happy they were about choosing to have my team help them on their special day. However, the feedback that sticks out to me the most are where brides relay to me that they feel like they have a sister looking after them the entire time. When I receive messages that state this, it warms my heart and reassures me that I’m doing something right.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Ooh, this is a tough one. It’s such a personal thing for every individual. Success in the broader sense could be setting goals and achieving them. However, if I reflect internally, I think for me, it goes a step further. Success comes when you go out of our comfort zone to achieve a goal you set out for yourself. It means going beyond the status quo and doing whatever it takes to achieve your goals without compromising on your core values and beliefs along the way. In my eyes, not losing sight of that moral compass is vital to achieving true success.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/eventsbymayesha
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/eventsbymayesha
Image Credits
Hakim Studios
Crystal Byrd (Love Byrd Photo)
