S2 E4 Danielle Browning - The Dashing Suites

In this episode of Cosmos and Commerce, hosts Michele and Janis welcome Danielle Browning, the owner of the innovative micro event center, Dashing Suites. The conversation dives into the rise of mini weddings and intimate gatherings, reflecting on how Danielle's journey in the event industry led her to create a unique space catering to small-scale celebrations.

Key Highlights

• Danielle's Background: With over a decade in floral design through her business, Dashing Designs, Danielle identified a gap in the market for small event venues in Pickerington, Ohio. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the trend toward micro weddings, prompting her to establish Dashing Suites.
• Business Launch: After a challenging search for a suitable location, Danielle opened Dashing Suites in August 2023. The community welcomed her venture warmly, with a successful ribbon-cutting event that attracted over a hundred attendees.
• Challenges Overcome: Danielle shared insights into the hurdles she faced during the startup phase, including zoning issues that delayed occupancy for six months. Her persistence and strong community ties were crucial in overcoming these obstacles.
• Event Specialties: Dashing Suites specializes in various events, including baby showers, bridal showers, milestone birthdays, and micro weddings. Danielle emphasizes personalized service, offering clients customizable packages that range from full decor to DIY options.
• Unique Experiences: One memorable event involved transforming a space for an intimate surprise birthday dinner for two, showcasing Danielle's ability to create special moments tailored to clients' needs.

Conclusion

Danielle Browning’s story is one of resilience and creativity in the face of challenges. Her commitment to providing a beautiful and customized experience for small gatherings positions Dashing Suites as a standout choice for those seeking intimate celebrations. Tune in to hear more about her inspiring journey and the vibrant world of micro events!

The Dashing Suites

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Transcript

Danielle Browning
[00:00:00]
Michele: Welcome back listeners to another exciting episode of Cosmos and Commerce. I'm Michele, your guide to all things business and bubbly.
Janis: and I'm Janice here to sparkle in a bit of humor and keep Michele from getting too serious. Okay. Today we had a fantastic show all lined up. Don't we, Michelle?
Michele: Absolutely. Janice, we're talking about mini weddings, baby showers, and small parties with the fabulous Danielle Browning, the owner of the cutest micro you'll ever see.
Janis: Absolutely. I'm already thinking about all the many cake possibilities, but for Michelle, would you rather organize a mini wedding for a hundred puppies or surprise party for a group of flamingos?
Michele: Oh, definitely puppies. Imagine the chaos, but the cuteness overload would be worth it. What about you? 
Danielle: [00:01:00] 100%. 100%. Puppies all the way. I love
flamingos, but puppies 100%. 
Janis: would be cool, too. They've got the moves and the color coordination down pat. But enough about us. Let's get to the real star of the show. Stay tuned, folks, because Danielle's story is one you won't want to miss.
Michele: That's right. Grab your drink and get ready for some inspiring insights and a whole lot of fun. Welcome to the show, Danielle. 
Danielle: Thank you so much, ladies. Thank you. Thank you.
Janis: So happy to have you here.
Danielle: I'm happy to be here. Thanks for asking me to come on the show.
Janis: For sure. So the Diatchine Suites is a fairly new business. Can you tell us about what gave you the idea to start the micro event center?
Danielle: Yeah. So I started Dashing Designs, wedding and event floral design. I started that, um, I've been in business for about a decade with that business. So I was doing mainly aesthetics, florals, decor, rentals, kind of the aesthetics of all of, , the weddings, , all things pretty in the wedding, , [00:02:00] and events industry.
, and I've been all over the state of Ohio. I've done, , room transformations. I've been in tons of different venues and I noticed my, my sister and I have lived in, in the Pickerington canal Winchester area for the last 23 years. And I noticed. Over the last 10 years of doing flowers and being in different venues that we didn't really have a small space over here in the Pickerington area.
And over time, especially since COVID, micro weddings and small events have been become more popular, , especially in the micro wedding industry. , and so we just felt that there was a need for a space, , like this over in the Columbia or in the far East area, , in Pickerington. And. We just we looked around, , everywhere, but what seemed to be Pickerington and we came across this little gem, hidden gem, and everything just started falling into place.
Not without its challenges, but [00:03:00] in the long run we're here. So that's all it matters.
Janis: We'll probably get to some of those.
Danielle: Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely. 
Michele: Would you share a synopsis of your business journey from idea to grand opening?
Danielle: so we, we grand opened, , our first event was the first weekend in August of 2023. So we have, , we're coming up on our one year anniversary. , but we've done so well since, and we've been so, , welcomed by the community and, , it's just kind of just, it's been a sounding board and a springboard.
It's It's, it's, it's gone. So amazing.
Janis: Your ribbon cutting. Yeah, your ribbon cutting was amazing, and
Danielle: It was fun. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think we had almost a hundred, a little over a hundred people that came through that night. So yeah. So, , again, being in the wedding industry with Dashing Designs, , I wanted to stay true to the brand, to the Dashing brand. And, , I wanted it to be kind of, , when you hear about one, you think of the [00:04:00] other. , so staying brand. streamlined was really important to us. Plus, , we felt it was a catchy name and it's immerses any and all types of events.
, and so we just felt, , you know, just, it took us a little while to, to find the right space and, but we knew coming into this, I mean, In the wedding and event industry background that I have, I, we felt that we would more so book like baby showers, bridal showers, , graduation parties, small intimate events of that nature.
Our goal was to eventually, , get into micro weddings, , just because we have the full distinction. , service to core background, all of that, we could be a one stop shop for couples. , and I just, , you know, we just felt the need to kind of look around and we found, , this space about six months after looking for it and, , everything just kind of fell into place.
So the, the goal [00:05:00] was to have a small space where you could feel like you're kind of Coming home, you feel comfortable, but it could be transformed to be, you feel like you're coming into a grand ballroom, , in a larger event space, but it's on a smaller scale. And we wanted to make sure that our clients didn't need to sacrifice or didn't feel like they needed to sacrifice design and style and aesthetic for price.
Janis: How'd you come up with your name, Dashing Sweet?
Danielle: So, I originally came up with dashing designs, just because, if you look up the word dashing in the dictionary, , it can be used in different terms, like a dashing word. You know, a dashing gentleman, or it's, it's really the, the, behind the name dashing, , is energetic, confident.
So we really wanted to have a name that reflected that, but was also catchy and people would remember. , we've been able to come up with some [00:06:00] really kitschy, fun things during the holidays and, , just in general.
, but we wanted to make sure that, , we kept, again, brand sensitive with the Dashing Suite, , because we, although they're two separate entities, we wanted to make sure that , people remembered us. And so, we decided to, keep that moving along with the dashing suite. So, , each suite that we, , eventually will pop up in different cities, , it'll just be, the name, but our best practices and the way that we do things will be different than most venues.
And that's what we're really trying to kind of set the foundation for right now.
Janis: I love it. What are some of the biggest challenges that you've encountered during your startup phase?
Danielle: Oh, so we, we wanted to, my sister and I, who's, , my business partner in both businesses now, , we wanted to, , make sure that we, , ran the business as, streamlined and as cost effective as possible. [00:07:00] Our goal was to not take any loans out to really start from the ground up. And I felt like Dashing Designs was a good springboard or catalyst for that because I had already built all of the networking relationships with all of the party planners and wedding planners, all of the DJs, all the caterers.
And I'd spent 10 years working really hard at Creating a name of integrity and a reputation in the industry, , that, , resounded with, , competency and discipline and just showing up and being, , present and doing, being a woman of my word. And so, , , expanding off of that, we basically just wanted to, to do that now, I will say this, we have managed to, from the get go, we have managed to not take out any loans.
, we've not had to borrow money or pull money from personal funds. This is literally been a. , boots on the ground, grass roots effort, and just expanding, [00:08:00] taking the, , all of the, what, what is that saying? Your net, your network is your net worth. So we really took that and kind of ran with it. So it was important for us to get out there and really just, , let people know what we're doing.
And we didn't know all the answers. , and that's, that's like the fun and the exciting, but also the gut wrenching part of business is that you don't really know, um, What's lies ahead and it's terrifying, but it's also exciting because it challenges you to kind of break the mold and think outside the box.
Our, our biggest challenge here was when we got into the space, , We actually found the space in 2022 and we're getting ready to sign the lease and, , , like 
not, I was right after Thanksgiving of 2022 and then in like right before Christmas, we got word from the township that they were not going to, um, Give us our final occupancy because of some zoning issues.
So we had to wait six months for zoning [00:09:00] and thankfully we have some amazing, building owners that believed in our business, believed in what was needed in this area and wanted this space to be used for something good. And so they patiently went through the process and it took us about six months, but we got, we got the final occupancy last July, and then we literally, while we were waiting, we were hoping and praying, we knew it was gonna end up being positive in our favor.
So we started immediately booking even without knowing if we were gonna get So I'm more of like a ready.
Janis: Yeah. Yeah. Across
Danielle: and then aim kind of gal.
Janis: Yeah. Did the township help advocate for you? I mean,
Danielle: Yeah, there's always some, you know, they have to be very, , kind of unbiased. , and, and, and I'll be honest, we were kind of nervous because they own an event space, , that they run out of. So we thought, Oh, , this might be something that they might not want here.
, Pickerington's not easy to [00:10:00] start a business in. , there's a lot of. , red tape, a lot of things you have to go through, but, , we were patient and, , , they were really great with just guiding us along and keeping us moving. But it ended up working out really well for us.
Janis: good. 
Michele: Was there anything that surprised you by how easily it went?
 
Danielle: You know, the, the rezoning process was not the easiest. , and it, and we didn't have a lot that we had to do as business owners. So it was really on the, the building owners to, to deal with all of that. , but as far as. Surprises. , 
no, , it was, I mean, like I said, we, we have felt like we hit the jackpot finding this space and it was just like, , we've just asked for certain things and , I've always been taught, like the worst thing anybody could tell you is no, and if you don't ask, you might never know.
And so we just, went into it like, Hey, can we do this? Can we do that? And , at first it was almost too good to be true. We were like, Oh, something's about to [00:11:00] happen because everything is, , it seems to be going too well. So, but no, we didn't really come across anything crazy that we had to deal with.
Janis: That's great. 
Jen, what type of events do you specialize in?
Danielle: So we have a really good mixture of events, but I would say baby showers, bridal showers, milestone birthdays and graduation parties during graduation season. , and micro weddings have been good to us. I mean, we've been in business not even a year yet and we have curated maybe about six to eight. Of those.
, we've got several more micro wedding receptions on the books for the remainder of this year. And we've even started booking into 2025. . We've, we've had some corporate events and holiday parties and, , we've had a, uh, a wealth management group come in and use, utilize the space during the mornings.
And so, I mean, we've got a good mixture of everything, but I would say top three would be micro wedding receptions, [00:12:00] baby showers and bridal showers.
Janis: Yeah. Do you, uh, go to any of the bridal shows to set up to offer your space availability to the brides that come through? Yes.
Danielle: Yeah, so we've been to a couple of shows. I would have to say more so on the floral event, like floral side of things, , that we've had better, return of investment, , on those. , most of our business. , I would have to say would be just local shows like farmer's markets, you know, go where the people are and, , , we don't try to limit ourselves just to bridal shows.
Janis: Are you scheduled to be at the farmer's market this, this summer? With
Danielle: not this year, , with us hitting the ground running and, , just booking and, and keeping it moving. We haven't had an opportunity to do that much this year. Plus we're just, now this year, over the course of the last 10 months, we're establishing that budget of marketing and advertising and where we want to allocate those dollars to.
And, , so we're just trying to take that one step at a time, but we'll take it on a case by [00:13:00] case,, if it's something that we, deem, necessary or, or would be, a good investment.
Janis: the referral groups, when I see any questions, , I always refer you guys. And
Danielle: And we're so thankful for that. We get so many notifications. Jen's Yeah, we get so many notifications of people who, , will tag us. So we, we see it all the time and to us, that's true. And we're really trying, in the age of social media, it's so hard to, everybody's like wanting likes and wanting to wanting this.
And for us, it was more so I'm old school, so I'm like, I'm all about the handshake and the organic communication with people. So for me, word of mouth is more important than even social media right now, because, we don't ever know what's going to happen with social media.
And we want to make sure that lasting impression. Of how we make people feel when they come through the doors it lasts and so we've done very well analytically and i'm sure you'll that's probably a question you'll ask but analytics wise [00:14:00] on where our leads and everything are coming from
Janis: So can you walk us through the different styles of services you offer for your mini weddings and baby showers and your small parties?
Danielle: so we can do as little or as much as our clients need. , we've had diyers That want to just rent the space out. , and we can certainly do
that. , as far as our services for our weddings, , we can do, , as little as, , just full decor, or we have packages of 50 guests or less. Where we can include the catering, include the DJ, photo booth, cake, custom signage, florals, everything.
So, like, they literally don't have to do anything. They just show up and have a 
good time. , and with our, , smaller events, , We have a la carte items where they can add on if they, , want to take on decor themselves, but they need some additional items like specialty linens or champagne walls or doughnut walls or dessert setups.
We have that option available as [00:15:00] well. 
Michele: . tell me how you personalize your events for your clients. Is there something specific
that you change up for every client 
Danielle: Yeah. So we are a boutique customization all the way. So we initially, if we get a client that wants us to do full decor, um, we sit down with them. We have a planning meeting just like I would with
our floral, , wedding floral clients. And we get them to send us inspiration photos, themes. , we ask them, uh, uh, Plethora of questions.
and then once we get that consultation, , then we go to
the design board and we create an entire mood board, , , , and a full proposal. , so they see itemization on everything that they're getting, what it's going to look like. And, , that way they can have peace of mind knowing that. If they want a wild one theme with like Safari, we can do it.
Or if they want like a SpongeBob SquarePants party, we can do that. But, everything is customized and we
treat our smaller, [00:16:00] micro weddings.
Um, no clients, no different than we do our larger, you know, larger budget, larger 
scale clients. 
Michele: what's the 
biggest micro wedding you've had or micro event and then what's the smallest? Oh, 
Danielle: So the smallest we've had is, well, 
okay, let's go with the largest, the largest, we've had about 60. , and it was a micro wedding. , 
and that was just the reception and the smallest event. We actually had a 
client who had booked the space for her daughter's sweet 16 birthday party. Well, her daughter was like, I don't want to party.
I want to 
go on this trip. And so she ended up, didn't want to lose 
you know, lose the space and didn't want to lose the money. And so she ended up, , we created this, she had us decorate, 
A cute little table 
for two, and did like balloons and everything. And it was this romantic, like, surprise 
40th birthday for her boyfriend.
And so
Janis: that's sweet.
Danielle: yeah, we got the space looking all pretty. 
And then he came in [00:17:00] to a romantic dinner and it was just the two of them and they had music going and they were 
just dancing in the space. And they had a couple of hours where it was just like 
a super surprise and he loved it. It was, it was the coolest.
So we've had 
as little as two and as big as like 60.
Janis: I love that. The 
next question is, can you share a particularly memorable event you've hosted and what made it special that might
be, that might be it? Or one of them anyway.
Danielle: was, it was one of our first weddings. and 
long story short, 
this couple came to us, it was heartbreaking. 
They had dealt with some 
death in the family, 
some sickness. they had been trying to get 
married, 
and have their their dream wedding for, for, um, forever.
And, um, when the bride came with 
her, I think it was her sister. She came in 
during one of 
our open houses when we first opened. And, um, she was like, we've tried to get 
married multiple times. Everything just seems [00:18:00] to be working against us. She said, we even, you know, we even chalked it 
up and decided to, so their first venue fell through.
And then they tried to go down to Nashville and 
do an Airbnb and ended up getting scammed out of like a thousand 
dollars for this destination wedding. And they were about 
ready to give up. And when she came and talked to us, she 
just said she felt really comfortable and just knew 
that we would make it special. And so we went 
all the way, you know, above and beyond what, how, however we could to make this day,
like amazing for them. And, um, 
it ended up being the best day. And the, I think it made me cry 
because the one thing that she said that I think we've coined, um, Since we started here's when she, she, 
said that when her and 
her sister were here and they 
toured they left and she said 
her sister looked, or she looked at her sister and said, you know, 
what do you think? And her sister was like, it's not what I 
think, it's what you want. It's what do you guys want [00:19:00] to do? And she said that all I 
want to do is 
have an intimate space where I can have all of my closest family and friends under one 
roof. Where I can hug 
them all at once
Michele: Oh 
Danielle: and that to
me was like the game changer.
I'm like, yeah, I know why we're here now. And so 
to create that 
memory afterwards and you know, and she gave us a raving 
video review. And 
to me, that 
was 
what was the sealed the deal. Like that's why we're doing what we're 
doing.
Janis: love that.
Michele: awesome.
Janis: So what was the most unexpected thing that 
ever happened in an event?
Danielle: Oh, 
Janis: Yeah. Okay. 
Danielle: that. You know, we had people sneak alcohol 
in and we had to address that. And 
there was some shenanigans going on out in the parking lot 
that we had to break up. I mean, I don't even [00:20:00] know if that would even be considered 
like surprising, but, Yeah, it was So nothing.
I mean, it's been pretty cool, calm and collective here. We've not 
had any major issues, you know, thankfully. Thank God. 
but yeah, I mean, I would just have to say that somebody tried to sneak it in and we kind of simmered that? down quickly.
Michele: Yeah. Now, can they have alcohol or is it alcohol free space? No, we, we do allow you to 
Danielle: bring your own alcohol in. the only thing that we do not 
allow 
Is, outside bartenders. So we have 
a specific company, two of them, actually, that we work with 
that are licensed, 
bonded, tip certified, and, uh, It's, you know, very well insured in the state of Ohio. just 
in reference to liability. so you can bring your own alcohol 
in. We just, it has to be 
served by one of our licensed vendors. So there's no like
uncle Tom, you know, is a 
bartender down the street at the local bar. We can't 
[00:21:00] allow him to come in. it's just too much 
risk. 
and we do not allow 
shots. , so beer, wine, signature cocktails are fine, 
but we do not allow like a hard liquor shots. Yeah. 
Michele: What marketing strategies have been most effective for you growing? 
Danielle: So, okay. So, 
analytically, again, I, I, this to me is astonishing. and just the power of, word of mouth and the relationships that 
you build, 
during, , building any business. So right now, According to a pie chart that we have put together,
Michele: Yes. 
Danielle: 50 
percent of our business comes from Facebook, really, to
be honest 
with you. 
people people that tag 
us. So 50 percent of that business comes from Facebook and just a little sliver of Instagram. and then the 
other 
50 percent that's broken
down. So 25 
percent is word of mouth from previous clients. And the 
other 25 
[00:22:00] percent is word of mouth from industry professionals.
So we literally have an even 50 50 
split of Facebook and word 
of mouth. And so 
for us, you know, it's like, why reinvent the wheel? Just 
keep, keep it moving and keep building those relationships 
and keep doing all the things.
Michele: No. I want to talk more about Facebook.
Danielle: Yeah.
Michele: there's this infamous group in our city called Pickerings and Peeps.
Danielle: Yes. 
Michele: do you pay for this, or do they let you post on it? And 
Danielle: it is a paid post 
page. , it has served. Pretty well for us. I, I do have to say, 
I'm 
still kind of, I, I'm old school. So like, I, hate to say that I loathe social media, but if I didn't 
have businesses, I 
probably wouldn't be on 
social media.
It's, a 
little unorthodox to come across something like 
that, but they've, 
I've, I also spoke to the, one of 
the people who are overseeing it and, [00:23:00] they've kind of 
explained to me over time how they've built the following, et cetera, et cetera. 
And I have some opinions 
on like how things are monitored and 
administered.
But for the most part, for me, it's cost comparison. it's a small 
price to pay, to kind of just get out there. 
Michele: how much if You don't mind me asking?
Danielle: 10 a post. So honestly, and I will 
say this, that, based on us doing like, we don't do a lot of boosted posts through Facebook. 
and those paid boosts don't always, you don't 
always 
see the fruits of that either. 
so for us, The Pickerington Pete's page is more organic drive 
than it 
is just Facebook, putting it out there 
everywhere.
Pickerington Pete's is in our backyard. 
That's who we want to start with. We want to work from inside and go out. So I would have to say, I do not feel, um, I feel like there is some value to it for sure.
Michele: I, I've been, [00:24:00] I messaged the moderator to get the information on how to do it. I just never called, You know, you 
hate, hate calling. 
Danielle: I know, I know. And I 
didn't know that it was moderated 
like that or 
that it was a paid until I tried to post 
something. And then they were like, denied. 
And I'm like, what? But, but 
the, the gentleman that I've been working with, he's super nice. He's been nothing but 
nice and not pressure 
Michele: okay, cool. 
Janis: you think that 10 goes? 
Danielle: Um, I think it's just for I think it's 
just for advertising and just for 
like the upkeep of, I mean, I 
can't 
imagine if you're on Pickerington Peeps a lot, there's, There's several 
businesses. Um, and I, I kind of watched it before I, you know, 
agreed to it, but I noticed that there was, um, 
several businesses that? had 
posted periodically, um, on a consistent basis.
So I'm like, yeah, 
it's definitely feels like there's some value to that. Uh, so I don't know 
[00:25:00] like the full breakdown, but I, I know that. not, there's no one really getting rich over on the other side of it.
Janis: Yeah. 
Well, 
Michele: It probably takes a heck of a lot of time to moderate that 
Danielle: It is. and there's why I think that's why there's 
more than I think there's more than one or two moderators. 
Janis: I think 
so. There's a handful of them, I 
believe.
Danielle, where do you see yourself in five years?
Danielle: Oh, well I'll 
be 44 
tomorrow. 
Janis: Happy 
birthday! 
Danielle: yeah, thank you. I'm hoping that by 
the time I'm 50, , my goal is 
to have. A semi exit strategy. , because you know, for 
me, it's important to, , try to 
enjoy life, , and not 
wait until I'm 75 to start like enjoying retirement. So our goal is to kind 
of 
keep the balance.
Best practices going, get the business model 
down. , eventually maybe, , franchise out, 
, , set that reputation and set that 
up to where we can help 
other budding entrepreneurs who want to get [00:26:00] into the 
industry and just don't know how to do it and just kind of help 
them and, make it lucrative for us, but 
also 
help, help them out as well. So the goal is 
to be successful. Semi retired, but I don't think I 
ever will because I'm I'm 
too creative. I just got to be doing something. So
Janis: So what advice would you give 
somebody that wanted to 
start, like, maybe a franchise of yours, 
if they wanted to start their own 
event 
center? 
Danielle: Uh, just just just start just do it and 
find people like myself 
who've done the things and have gone 
through the 
red tape and know what kind of fiery 
darts will come at you and roadblocks 
and stumbling blocks, and just get met, Get a mentor, 
get somebody who's walked it before you have, who's 
willing to not be a gatekeeper and, , be willing to share that 
information with you.
And yeah. 
And, , just, just don't be afraid to start 
, doing it and asking the 
questions, , up 
front. I know it's easier said than 
done, but , once you [00:27:00] do it, it's like, Oh, okay, well this is.
Janis: Why didn't they do this 
sooner?
Danielle: right,
Michele: Tell us some words of wisdom for 
creating a memorable event. 
Danielle: , just listen to your clients. 
, when I sit down with a client and I ask 
them to give me their 
like dream, , ideas of how they want to execute it, how they want it to 
look, how they want it to 
flow.
, 
oftentimes I'll ask them, , things that they don't like. So like you will tell me, clients will tell me, a lot 
more about 
things they don't like. , and I can, navigate that, but it's 
really just listening to 
them and, , bouncing ideas off, but not being so over, 
, over, , bearing to where You take over, you know, allow them to be the, , the captain of that 
event, but just have the mindset that you're there to just execute their vision and that
, we do have clients that are like, we trust 
you, we've seen your work, you, do you.
And that's 
amazing. And we love those clients, but we love, , when clients also take
charge and let us know 
and guide us on
[00:28:00] what they want to do as well. So just personalization 
and just, , bouncing ideas off of them, but just listening, really just, listening to
them.
Michele: So how do you think you'll scale that? You said you were 
thinking about multiple locations 
Danielle: so our goal is to, , we started off 
in 
Pickerington because that's closest to home and that's 
where we felt there was a need. , and 
then we'll 
just kind 
of expand. 
Um, I'm not going to give away where I'm going to go next, but, 
cause there are some things, there are some things, you gatekeep 
until after it's done. I don't even want to say gatekeep it's move in silence 
and then You know, publicize after I learned that
early on in, in my wedding business to not, You know, 
the excitement's there and it's great that you're charismatic and you 
want to share things, but sometimes sharing things kind of suppresses. So you just have to kind of, you know, wait, wait 
things out.
So our goal is to kind of pop these 
up in different spots, , and be strategic where we pop them 
up [00:29:00] because. you know, you 
everybody, it seems like now these days since COVID, everybody's popping up micro 
wedding or micro event spaces. Um, 
and I'm on a lot of forums on Facebook, , 
and chats and groups, , of people all 
over that are just, , just, throwing them up everywhere.
, but really 
it's, , just honing in on what makes us, what 
separates us from everyone else. So 
just like Olympic 
swimmers, staying in your 
lane and not looking on who's doing what to the left and to the right, 
stay focused. And at the end of the day, the right 
people, 
, that are meant to be, your clients will be your 
clients.
And just, , be a help to other 
people. That's 
big, , big, important thing to us. 
I'm
transparent 
about everything about our pricing, about our policies, everything. , and, , but yeah, 
just staying kind of staying focused and, 
you know, but we'll see where we'll see what the future holds.
Michele: So the dashing suites isn't your only 
job, right? You have a regular 
full time job, [00:30:00] too
Danielle: yes, yes. Um, but our clients will never know that. 
Michele: how do you get everything done? Do you have any 
tips on efficiency and organization?
Danielle: Yeah, 
, my sister and I both have had tenure at 
a 
local, , 
dealership here in 
Columbus. I've, we both have 
been with the 
company 
for 
about 13 years. We work different 
departments. 
, really it's just, 
You know, , we work, I work a nine to 
five basically Monday through Friday. So starting the wedding, , business early on, , 
about a decade ago was, 
, easy for me because it's a weekend business. Not 
easy in the city. And the extent that 
there's a lot of late 
nights in the evenings after I 
clock out. , 
but it's just 
managing the time and doing it 
well. And, , 
, there's things that go wrong and there's things, , where I 
have to be certain places, but just respecting 
the time 
that I am at the day job.
And, , I don't do business, during the 
day there. So I'm focused and I'm, , cause it's already a 
demanding job for [00:31:00] me there. 
, it's just, Setting 
boundaries and being okay with those and your clients understand, , if you're 
like, I don't take we don't 
take 
tours You 
know after or before 
530 we don't you know, do phone calls 
up to a certain time So we 
just and most of the 
time 
our clients 
understand and they work nine 
to fives too.
So it works out for us So 
yeah, 
Janis: Danielle, what have you enjoyed the most 
about starting The Dashing
Suite?
Danielle: Aside from anything, I think 
just the confidence
that I've seen, in myself, it's one thing ideas are, , a dime a dozen, but it's 
executing them 
and being consistent. 
That's the hardest part. And that's why I think a lot of businesses fail because 
they lack 
patience and they lack perseverance 
and they lack, , the discipline just to 
keep going. , and I, would be 
lying 
if I said there's not days that I just want to walk away. , and I
think any business owner would [00:32:00] probably be lying to themselves if, ,
they, , said, Oh, everything's 
great all the time. , there's, it's a 
rollercoaster of emotions, but I 
think 
patience and 
consistency is the key. and just honestly,
just Every time 
I, Every time I 
open the door, every 
time I turn 
the key and I come in here and after 
every event, I'm just like in 
awe. Like, I'm 
not even exactly sure how 
this even happened, but 
God 
and perseverance. So 
Michele: that's awesome 
Janis: Yeah. 
Michele: Okay, Danielle, it is time for our quick fire round. We're gonna ask you some quick questions and you just tell us the first thing that comes to your mind. 
Danielle: Okay.
Janis: Ready? 
Danielle: Yes. 
Janis: What 
is the book 
that you've most given as 
a gift 
or the book that made the biggest difference in your life?
Danielle: I would have to say built to lead by Chet Scott. , 
my boss,
, at the dealership, , 
he, , is a [00:33:00] big fan of 
the built to 
lead series 
and 
built to lead 
is
basically 365 
days or ways, I guess 
you 
could 
say of just mastering life and just, learning how to be in a leadership role.
Certain 
people are born with more leadership qualities, but.
, it can also be learned as another discipline. So, yeah, so I would have to say 
Built to Lead by Chet Scott.
Michele: Check that out. What purchase of 100 or less has 
most positively impacted you? 
Danielle: Oh, man. Maybe my earbuds, I guess, because I've never been, , like a, a headphone kind of
person.
, 
but for me, , I've been using them more and it's different 
when you're in your 
car and , you're by yourself. 
But when you're out and you
just are maybe going on a walk or something, 
it's like 
earbuds are great. Audiobooks are amazing. If you don't have time to 
read, read, um, audio 
books are great. So yeah, I would have [00:34:00] to say the earbuds.
Michele: Nice. 
What, , is your 
proudest accomplishment? 
Danielle: , 
I would have to say starting 
Dashing Designs and 
Juggling that with 
a full time job for the last 10 years and 
seeing the success, 
I started off 
with, , doing floral arrangements 
and I remember going to Hobby 
Lobby and 
just, pulling silk flowers and decor and just kind of 
doing little setups. Table design setups mock up tables at 
my dining room table in my 900 square foot 
apartment and Taking those 
and seeing all of the work that I've done now like up to this 
point and some of the weddings that 
I've you Know curated 
that I didn't think I could ever do in a million 
years
but if 
you 
, being in business kind of forced me to, to grow. And so just 
seeing the, how it
started versus how, how it's going has been like the 
[00:35:00] ultimate rush. 
Janis: I 
love it. What's your 
Danielle: and being recognized, I mean, I 
would have to say, , , 10 years ago, I never, dreamed that I would be published, you know, my work would 
be published in magazines or, or, anything and fast forward, you know, I've been 
published in several Midwest and Northeast, , wedding 
magazines and, voted, 
Best of things and 
, and just, it's just amazing. and, I 
think more than anything, Just, 
, Working really hard to have, 
to build a 
good reputation with 
people of integrity and, , built on, , honesty and to hear people call 
me and, , it's not, I'm not being on a 
soapbox, but hearing people call and say, yeah, so and so speaks so highly of 
you 
and said, you're definitely the person I need to talk to.
And so for me, that's more important than anything. It's more important 
than money.
It's more important 
than. Then anything really is just knowing that, what is that saying where they say, build a 
reputation of integrity so much 
so that 
if [00:36:00] the people that know 
you, if someone else 
talks about you 
bad, they won't 
believe it.
And so that's 
really 
the goal. that's 
the end game. 
Yeah. 
Janis: I love it. 
So do you have a current passion 
project? 
Danielle: Uh, yeah, I have a 
couple of them. 
So I, 
, I love doing styled photo shoots. , and I'm, I'm very rarely am I 
ever in front 
of the camera. I'm usually behind it behind the 
scenes. So I'm working 
on, , modeling and designing a dress 
and, , creating a whole styled photo 
shoot based on what I 
love. Um, and so I did 
that down at, 
OSU faculty club a few years ago.
And it's been about, it's been 
about six years and I'm like, I'm time, 
Do for it now. But to be able to, to take an idea that I 
have in a color palette and 
go off of that and just 
kind of 
curate the whole thing is, is great. Okay. In 
addition to that I'm also, , I 
haven't 
launched or soft launched [00:37:00] yet, 
but I've taking the 10 years of experience in the wedding and event industry that I have. 
And I've been 
mentoring a 
couple of people, , over the last year, , who 
wanted 
to start their own venue. 
, and I've, 
, Mentored and coached them , on what to do and,
past experiences and just kind of being an open book. and
so that has 
kind 
of, Like unfolded a more of, a coaching and consulting side of 
of my craft and my job.
So be on the lookout for that. , 
it'll be, 
catering more 
towards, , entry level entrepreneurs who 
want to get into the wedding and event industry 
specifically. So, yeah, So, 
I think it's about time 10 years into it. I think I know. a few things.
Janis: Yes.
Michele: What is one skill you would like to master? 
Danielle: , I'd like 
to be a better piano player. 
Michele: Oh. 
Danielle: I I'm musically [00:38:00] inclined and 
that's kind of my first love and passion, but I 
would love to be able to
master that. And I don't know 
I that there's so many, I 
can't, you know, 
I can't 
choose. Um, I think everybody wants to be better time managers.
So I'd 
like to be able to figure out 
some way
quantum 
you know, quantum math 
wise to come up with more time.
Janis: more than 24 hours in a 
day. 
Yeah.
Danielle, what was your 
first job? 
Danielle: Um, so I, so I started off 
pretty young, 
12 years old, I was babysitting. , but then I got, my first 
job was at 
Cedar point. I 
was 16 years 
old and I worked a summer there and, , 
, Then the next year I started working at the lodge at Sawmill Creek resort, which is now owned by, it was privately owned at the time, but I was a maid there.
I cleaned hotel rooms
Janis: Oh, 
Danielle: and then I
worked my way up to front desk and reservations. And 
then I kept that job for about five years, four or five [00:39:00] years until I moved down here to Columbus. And then 
it's kind of 
history, history, And now, now where I'm 
at now.
Janis: What is a song that you turn to, like 
a 
pump up song to get you going. 
Danielle: Well, right now
I'm obsessed 
with everything 
Bridgerton. So I love, I love classical music. So I would 
say up upbeat classical, to 
be honest with you. Yeah,
Michele: Since we are called Cosmos and Commerce, Cosmo being the drink, what is your drink of 
choice? 
Danielle: Everybody, everybody that knows me knows I love a really good 
margarita. 
Michele: Okay. I love a 
Danielle: So, and
my favorite, my favorite, 
drink 
is a 
jalapeno margarita 
actually. I like them, I 
like them pretty spicy. But then it would have to 
be, 
um, just like a mimosa. So, yeah.
Janis: Okay. Would you rather host 
an [00:40:00] extravagant themed mini 
wedding 
every 
weekend or organize a surprise baby 
shower for a 
celebrity once a month?
Danielle: Definitely the 
wedding.
Celebrities are too hard to work with.
Janis: Oh, 
Danielle: They want, they Don't they want 
everything for free. So 
it's like 
Janis: yeah.
Okay. All 
Danielle: And exposure does not pay the bills.
Michele: No, it doesn't. Yeah, 
Janis: True story.
Michele: we get a lot of that in our industry too.
Janis: Yeah, sure. Mine too. 
Danielle, where can our listeners find you?
Danielle: So we have a 
combined website right now, , as the dashing suites getting built out. 
But if they, if they go to the dashing suite. com, , they,
can check out our website, dashing designs 
and the dashing suite. So there's. you know, pictures and ways that you can inquire about the venue space and inquire about floral and event 
[00:41:00] design services.
Um, and then we're on social media. We're on Facebook and Instagram. So you can go to at the Dashing 
Suite Venue, um, or at Dashing Designs LLC on both Instagram and Facebook.
Michele: Awesome. Thank you so much for being a part of our show. 
Danielle: Thank you guys. 
It was
so much fun. Yeah. Next time we'll actually have a 
Michele: Drink. I know. Usually this hour we do. I 
don't know 
where mine is. Yeah, you know.
Janis: We have done that before. All I have is a list here right now.
Michele: It tends to go off the rails a little. 
Janis: All right. But Yeah.
thanks for being on our show 
and don't
forget. Listeners to subscribe 
and check out our past episodes on 
Cosmos and commerce.com.
Danielle: Yeah. And we will actually really quickly, we'll also 
have, um, we're planning, um, 
a one 
year anniversary
open
house.
So We'll have that posted on
our [00:42:00] website and on social media here pretty 
soon.
Michele: Awesome.
Danielle: Yeah.
Michele: We'll be there. We'll be there. 
Danielle: Thank you so 
much. Yes. I'll bring, I'll bring the cocktails. 
Michele: Looking forward to some 
margaritas while we're 
there.
Danielle: Yep. 
you 
got it.
Janis: I'm in
Michele: sounds good. Alright everyone, have a great day! 
Danielle: All right, ladies, you too.