She was known as the cookie mom but she wanted to be more. After leaving a job in the financial markets, Carolyn Savini threw herself into cooking and even took classes at various epicurean schools around the country. “I thought I wanted to be in the culinary field until one day I had an enlightened conversation with a friend.” 
At lunch talking about her endeavors, Carolyn’s friend said, “Cooking must be your passion?” After thinking about it, Carolyn had a wake-up call, “Cooking was not my passion, what was I doing? This conversation turned my life around 180 degrees.”
She thought about what she really loved to do and kept coming back to the elaborate parties she threw. “I would get immersed in every little detail of an event, from the invites, to the décor, to the food, to the lighting. This was my passion.”
So for a couple of weeks Carolyn brainstormed about how she could turn this into a venture. In her past job as a currency trader it was all about the plan, but this time she decided to practice being impractical. Carolyn wanted her venture to be fun, regardless of the outcome. She came up with the name Poppyseed Events because, “It’s the little things,” (like poppy seeds) that elevate an event.
Because party planners had been calling her for cookies and dessert tables, she knew she could play off of those requests. Event planners were in charge of the venue, the caterer and the numbers, but Poppyseed Events would be the firm to make it all come together under one theme. Carolyn says, “We believe that the most lasting impressions are created when a single theme is imaginatively infused into each glorious detail!” Carolyn needed a web site and some photos of her work. She was able to get a few pages up on her web site and then asked a friend to help her finish it. “Having a web site to refer people to was huge.”
Next, she offered her services, including table décor, theme development, and party favors to a few clients at no charge for her labor. This allowed her to gather testimonials and, more importantly, photos of her work. Her first full job was to make cookies for a father’s 80th birthday party. She gave suggestions like making a crown for the birthday dad and having fun table décor. She got more than just the cookie assignment on this job.
Her business grew through word of mouth and Carolyn hit the streets meeting with caterers and event planners to offer her event décor services. She knew she was really in business when she set up a dessert table and matching décor for a local salon’s annual party, “A famous caterer asked for my contact info.” Now she’s getting bookings months in advance. “I want to be careful not to get overwhelmed so I can continue to focus on the things that make me happy. “
Carolyn realizes that her beautiful cookies are her entre to jobs but then she’s able to offer her creative handcrafted elements that make an event even more special. “I know I’m in the right field, I’ve found my niche. It’s very liberating to operate in the moment.”
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VentureMom Tip
Access why you are doing something and make sure it’s for the right reasons.
