Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Lougee.
Hi Nikki, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started in events when I was in high school. Any organization I was a part of I always chose the planning committee to lead and it has been a passion ever since. I got my first job in events in 2014 at Wine Country Party & Events in Sonoma, CA as a front desk receptionist while I was still in college. I worked with WCPE while they rebranded to Bright Event Rentals and learned the ins and outs of what it took to be in the event industry as a career. I worked at Bright until 2017 when I moved to Austin. I interviewed with a few companies once I got here and ended up taking the offer at Marquee Event Rentals. I worked there as an event consultant for about 6 months until I was promoted to Assistant Consultant to one of the outside sales reps. This was my first look into large scale event production and sales. It opened a lot of opportunities for me and I learned a lot about what it took to work with high end clientele. In fall of 2018 I accepted a job at Strong Events as an event producer. I designed, sold and produced events from $100- $650,000. I loved having a hands on job where I wasn’t always at my desk. A few years later, Covid happened and our team was dwindled down to only 5 of us as we weathered the storm. In 2022 when business started picking back up I was running a majority of the events for our company and our owner at the time promoted me to General Manager at the age of 27. For the last 3 years I have been learning what it takes to be the best manager I can be, how to influence employees, how to run a small business and have learned so much about myself in the meantime. It has been almost 7 years working at Strong Events and I have loved every second of it!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No road is smooth but Ive learned to always make the best of things.
Covid was a very hard time to be in the events world. We lost all business overnight and it lasted for about 1.5 years give or take. We had to think on our feet and really hit the ground selling items we hadn’t ever sold before.
Another struggle was when our owner of 32 years sold the business. I was involved in the sale process and had to keep the secret from our employees. When the sale was final it was a long road of transitioning all systems, processes, protocol and accounts from old ownership to the new. Once that was all finished, it has been a continuous road of persuading and convincing our long time employees to come on board with new management styles and structures.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Strong Events is a custom fabrication and event decor company that has been around since 1991. We specialize in oversized props and custom fabrication. We are known for being the company that will help any client out no matter the situation, we are there when they need us most.
I am the General Manager. I run the overhead of Strong Events and our 25 employees. I manage all departments, Handle HR, Payroll, basic invoicing and Employee experience.
I am most proud of how far our employees have come in the last 7 years of working with Strong. We have made huge moves into using more technology when we can (IE. Google drive, Trello, Google Calendar, Whatsapp, Etc.) We have learned more about how to communicate in a digital world while some of our employees have to be in person to complete their jobs.
We are the oldest running fabrication shop in Austin Texas and have employees who have been with us since 1980. We are a family and it is seen through our work and through our team connection.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I see risk taking as the only way to get you to your goals. In order to reach high goals you must take risks to help you get there.
Personally I took a risk of becoming General manager at the age of 27 without any management experience. I knew I could do anything I put my mind to but that it would take time and effort to become a great general manager and continue the trust I had with my team.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.strongevents.com
- Instagram: strongeventsatx
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-lougee-48718b100/
