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Party Mom Case Questions

1. Your story

• Do you have a degree or certificate in event planning or management? If no, what was your previous experience?

No.
only experience would be my art degree(BA)

• Do you have support from your family, friends…?

Yes. My husband watches kids during the time I need to prepare for party or be at the party. Some of my friends are also there for me when I need childcare or extra help in preparing for party.

• Did you perform any market research before starting your company? Such as the possible population of Korean around the area?

No. But I knew ahead of time that there are enough Koreans for this business to have a market for.

• What problems/challenges did you face in starting your company?

Being the first in this kind of service provider in this area, pricing was the hardest part since we didn’t have anyone to compare with.

• In your opinion, what are the competitive advantages (makes you different) of your company?

Strong and unique style.

• Are there any other event planning companies in the Korean community in Seattle? How are they different? (If not, why not?)

There was one that I don’t think it is there any more. There is another that just started that has more traditional Korean styling which is somewhat different than us.

• How did you find a partner?

Close friend

• How did you come up with the idea, what was the inspiration?

Being a mother of 2 and having to go through their 1^st birthday parties and seeing many of my friends preparing parties for their own kids, I realized how hard it is to put together a party, and how occupied you are during the party not able to enjoy your kid and the event made me think about the need of modern day Korean parents.

• Did you have a business plan when you started? Did you use the help of business consultants, advisors?

No. never thought it would get this big.

• Can we know a bit more about her story, that is the reason why she chose to start this specific business? Because of her own frustration to find a good party organizer, maybe? Or simply want to preserve the Korean tradition?

We in corporate some of the Korean traditions, but our styling is very modern. So, preserving Korean tradition wasn’t my 1^st priority. It gets very expensive to have all the Korean traditional party supplies which is also hard to find. So we decide to go more modern.

It was a lot of work to throw a 1^st birthday party. I saw everyone going through the same kind of things with no resources shared. I thought if I could provide some kind of resources, it would be helpful to other moms that are preparing for their own parties.

• Is she the 1^st generation here?

Yes. I came to the US when I was 16.

2. Your company

• Where do you have your office?

Home office

• How many employees do you have? Their responsibilities?

None

• What skills should prospective employees have?

Organization skill, lifting heavy items, work under time pressure

• What are your work hours? Flexible or part time?

Flexible.

I meet with clients during the week. I prepare for parties at night once kids go to bed. My weekends are my major work hours.

• Is your company a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation?

Sole proprietor. It was the easiest form I could fill. J

• What are your today’s biggest struggles, limitations?

Organizational skills which I don’t have much.
limited space as party supplies grow in quantity.
in need of bigger car as I’m constantly asked to do a balloon decoration which is hard to transport in small car (station wagon)
not having a partner anymore(a need of an employee)

• Does somebody advise, consult you regarding the business?

No

3. Your customers

• Are they mostly Korean? %?

Mostly Korean. 95%

Of that, 70% 1^st generations, 30% 2^nd generations

• How would you describe your customers? Their income and educational level, ancestry, geographical location…

mostly professionals, 2^nd generation well to do yuppy parents.

• What role do traditions play in party planning in the Korean culture?

Some symbolic and iconic meaning.

• Have traditions of birthday and wedding celebration changed? How?

• If a lot of customers are Korean American, why do you think they want to follow old Korean traditions?

1. They want to keep their identity. They do not know much of the traditions, but it is somewhat important to them to keep tradition

2. Their parents want Korean traditions

3. their friends all do it this way.

• Do you organize Korean-themed parties for different events (Sweet 16, July 4^th, Christmas, Super Bowl and etc.)?

No. 1^st birthday is about the only Korean themed party there is. It is a trend to have a party with a little bit of tradition and the luxurious modern decorations.

• Do you provide corporate service (organizing corporate events, fundraisers, receptions)?

No.

• If you don’t organize corporate services or Korean-themed parties, are you willing to do so? Do you think there’s a market for your services in organizing corporate events/Korean-themed parties?

• Please describe an initial consultation

Meet with client in person, show the portfolio.
I provide the information regarding my services. I hear about their ideas and preferences.

• How do your customers contact you?

Email/phone call

• Do you have any difficult/unhappy customers?

I have demanding customers. They are usually happy since it is an happy occasion.

• Can you provide references?

• What is your customer retention rate (return customers)? How many of them are one-time customers?

I’ve worked with several return customers. It is hard to come back for another 1^st birthday since they have to have a baby. But now that I’m in my 3^rd year, there are handful of returning customers. They do book ahead of time to make sure that they have the date secured.

• Do you have a client database? Can we have it?

I have them in file. I would have to know what you need them for in order to let you have it.

4. Your operations

• On average how many events do you organize per month?

I’ve been doing average 3 parties, sometimes 5 or 6, but sometimes much less. These days, I’ve been feeling exhausted, so I’m trying to book 2 per month max.

• Average budget of an event?

500

• What is the most profitable event?

• How did you find your suppliers? How many suppliers you have?

Whole sale balloon supplier

• Can you describe your inventory? How do you manage it?

No system

• How did you find your partners (catering, entertaining companies…)? How do you keep your relationship with partnering companies?

Usually clients know their preferences in venue, catering and entertainment before they come to me.

I have been thinking about what to do to keep good relationships with some of the venues or restaurants. But it’s been hard since I have no clue what is normally done for that. I’ve been thinking about attending small business networking events. But haven’t had time.

• What are you office operations? Computer, fax, dedicated phone line, website, payment accounts…

Computer, lazer printer, website, blog, business account with a bank.

• What is your inventory? Do rent or sell merchandise?

No. i did rental before, but didn’t want to deal with damaged items. I am not very good at confronting. Selling merchandise is something that I’m considering. I would like to set up an online shop for customized party knickknacks.

• What are your typical duties for a party?

Carrying party supplies – 2 portable tables, 4-6 boxes of supplies, balloons and things.

Balloon setup

Table setup

• How long does it take to organize a party? Do you design yourself? Do you handle set-up and/or clean-up?

I do my own design

I do all the setup and cleanup

Setting up for the party takes about 2 hrs.

Preparing for the party usually takes about 5-15 hrs depending on how much of computer graphic work I have to do.

5. Marketing

• Do you advertise? How? Do you find it effective?

No. clients find me.

• If you don’t advertise, please explain why? Do you wish expand your advertising?

Doing a party itself is an advertisement in my opinion.
People are there to see what I do.

I’ll do advertising once I setup an online shop

• Who manages your website?

I do.

• What kind of advertisement generates the most orders?

n/a

• How much in average you spend on marketing?

I would consider website management is a part of advertising. My website maintenance fee is about $50 a year.

6. Financials

• How is the business financed? Small business loan, savings, investments?

None of those. My partner and I put $300 each to start the business. We added our savings as we gained profit.

• How much do your charge for your service?

Average $500

• Do you have any seasonal trends?

Not necessarily.

• Please list your start up costs.

• What is the cost structure of your expenses? %?

• Did recession affect your business? How?

No. I think people started having more kids!

• Is your business profitable?

Not as much as I’d like to

• How your clients pay: cash, credit cards, checks, paypal?

Mostly checks

• Do you keep records of all transactions? Could you provide any financial statements?

All my spending is through my bank card, and all the payments from clients get deposited to my account. It keeps its own record for me.

• Who does accounting?

I do. There isn’t much.

7. Future

• How do you see the future for your company?

I see that it will go however I decide it to go. There is a future for sure, but I do not know which direction to take it.

• Do you plan to expand? New geographic area? Expand client base?

Online store is something that I’m leaning towards. I do not want to grow to new geographic area unless I have my system figured out.

• Are you looking for a new business partner?

Not at this point.

• Do you wish to continue without a partner? How long?

There is a chance my other partner will come back in a few years, but it is not definite. I’d like to go one without a partner if I can for now.

8. Korean culture

• Please explain the significance for the 1^st birthday party? Cultural relevance?

• What kind of decorations are provided? Significance?

Cake tower

• What games do you provide? Significance?

Dol Jabee – let the birthday baby to pick one of the items that represent different meaning (yarn –longevity, money-wealth, rice-plentifulness, pencil/book- brain smart, etc.)

• What other ages are celebrated? Significance?

None other

• Why did you feel that the Korean community would respond to your party style?

Koreans like luxury. Luxury cars, luxury brands. My party style was tailored towards them. It is not necessarily my style.

• How traditional is your party style?

Not very much. only the important things.
but I am interested in maybe providing completely traditional party, as well.