January 20, 2017

Meet Jacin Fitzgerald of Jacin Fitzgerald Events & Creative Consulting in Johns Creek

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacin Fitzgerald.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in a quintessential New England shoreline town in Connecticut, working at my family’s hardware store Page Hardware, which has been in business since 1939. This experience instilled a strong work ethic in me from the moment I was old enough to walk and start “working” at the store. Following college, I worked for an event venue in Newport, Rhode Island doing everything from weddings to 30,000 people per day festivals and absolutely loved the social, planning and design side of events and weddings. From there I went on to work for Sailing World Magazine as an event coordinator, traveling the United States to plan and set up regattas, then moved to Australia solo to “get out and see the world before the looming black cloud of the real world set in” – I ended up getting a job in Sydney, Australia, helping a private school with smaller events and tasks. Once my work visa expired, I traveled the eastern coast of Australia, and then went on to New Zealand, and finally Fiji before making my way back to the States. Initially, I went back to work for the hardware store again but I really wanted to get back into events so I ended up getting a job for a PR-type of agency that represented pharmaceutical companies. That job ended up moving me to Hoboken, New Jersey, then San Francisco, California, where I started a west coast division for my company. I loved climbing the corporate ladder but missed the creative and colorful side of planning events so I started my own wedding planning company in late 2009 as a side project and creative outlet. In early 2012 I left my corporate job to take my wedding planning company full-time and I haven’t turned back since. Most recently, my husband’s job transferred us to Georgia and as my events were nationwide, the move worked perfectly as a transition to events here in the southeast.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Of course not – I think every entrepreneur comes across bumps in the road along the way but I’m a pretty laid back person for a “type-A” if that makes any sense. In other words, when something didn’t go right, I treated it as a blessing rather than a curse (I know, it sounds so cliché). Every bump was an amazing opportunity for me to learn and grow and without those hurdles, I wouldn’t have been able to know how to act quickly and calmly under pressure. One of the biggest struggles to this day is continuing to stand out in a very saturated industry but I’ve realized if you stay in your own lane it’s a lot easier than worrying about the traffic around you (and there’s a lot less noise to sort through!).

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Jacin Fitzgerald Events & Creative Consulting story. Tell us more about the business.
My company has two business “arms” – one offers full-service wedding planning, design + floral, the other offers creative consulting for businesses via mentoring, corporate event + set design, social media management, etc. I would say I am most known for my wedding planning as that is the most tangible offering – aka it’s the most visual through photos of the designs + florals from previous client events. My clients are based all over the country though I would say I probably split my time most between the southeast and Napa Valley.

In terms of what I’m most proud of, I would say probably my ability to stay small and provide my clients with the highest level of service while maintaining my personal life. I only take on up to four (4) weddings per year in order to do this – it’s a formula I’ve developed after years of trying to please everyone, only to find somewhere something was always running on empty. I think in my industry, and many creative industries, there is a “glorification of busy”; in order to show you are successful you need to constantly share how busy you are. I wanted to flip that model on its head and instead focus on quality over quantity and that has really helped me and my business in more ways than I can count. I think this “less is more” model also sets me apart from my competition.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck, I believe in working your ass off to get what you want, whether it’s to better your craft, or to improve a skill. Luck plays no part in my business – working hard does!

Pricing:

Weddings + Events – Pricing is dependent on scope and determined based on a free consultation.
Creative Consulting + Mentoring – Remote Sessions start at $275/hr, full day sessions start at $2,200

Contact Info: