Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby Kirchner
Hi Shelby, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My interest in the wedding and events industry started in college as a part of a course of floral design classes. After getting to explore a new area of creative expressions and having the opportunity to see campus events behind the scenes, I knew events was something I was passionate about.
After college, I got my foot in the door of the industry as a venue manager and coordinator. It was at that property that I learned the ropes of coordinating for clients on the wedding day along with the unique aspects of being the venue representative.
After a while, I felt the itch to expand my experience to outside of that specific venue property. My now-husband (boyfriend at the time) encouraged me to start my own business. At first I thought the idea was so far fetched- how could I really start a business? What would that look like? Eventually I wrapped my mind around the idea and decided to dive in and register for an LLC for Plan On It ATX in the summer of 2019.
While working as an admin assistant in downtown Austin, I built my business. Late nights, long weekends, and all of the other challenges that come with working full time plus a side hustle. In 2020 I got married, and decided at the tail end of that year to really focus on building Plan On It.
In 2021, the business exploded. I had the pleasure of serving over 25 clients that year. By the start of 2022 I had gone full time and later that year, added another employee to the team. Since then, we have rebranded to Plan On It Events & Design, and added on a new team member every year. I couldn’t be happier with where we are today!
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?
There are always challenges in growing a business. Taking the leap to quit my 9-5 office job and rely solely on this business of mine was hard. There is a lot of unknowns when running a small business.
Overall though, we have been able to meet each challenging season with grace and resilience.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Our team focuses on creating guest centric, full weekend events. Our clients typically have a majority of their guests traveling in for the wedding day and want to give everyone the “Austin experience”. We help them do that by creating a cohesive calendar of events throughout the wedding weekend engineered to foster fun, connection, and celebration!
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I truly think we have gotten this far in our industry due to the kindness and respect we give to our vendor partners.
Yes, we are very good at our jobs. We are logistics experts, relatable to our clients, and have a great eye for design.
But if we don’t establish true connections with our vendor partners, no one will want to work with you! For us, it’s been extremely important to focus on being positive, productive members of the team on the wedding day and always building our fellow wedding vendors up, not tearing them down.
Pricing:
- We have everything from event management (coordination style) to full service wedding weekend planning. Our pricing can always be found on our website!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.planonitatx.com
- Instagram: @planoniteventsanddesign
Image Credits
Ruet Photo
Ruet Photo
Light as Gold
Light as Gold
Franny Pullins Photography
Elle Reaux Photo
Elle Reaux Photo
Elle Reaux Photo
