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3 Keys for Your Journey
Business and Community Leaders sharing key principles.
3 Keys for Your Journey
Creativity, Resilience, and Entrepreneurial Elevation with Da'Onne Bolden
Uncover the transformative journey of Da'Onne Bolden, founder of Tru Elevated Events, as she turns the challenges of postpartum depression into a thriving, creative business. From her beginnings in Oklahoma to becoming a leader in the balloon decor industry, Da'Onne shares her inspiring story marked by creativity, resilience, and community-building. Tune in to explore how she crafted a successful business model that emphasizes memorable client experiences, strategic branding, and continuous learning. Da'Onne's approach is a blueprint for anyone looking to turn personal struggles into entrepreneurial triumphs while building a supportive network that values memorable moments.
Dive deep into the art of creating an unforgettable customer experience with Da'Onne as your guide. Learn how Tru Elevated Events goes beyond traditional customer service by ensuring a stress-free and seamless planning process for clients, all while nurturing trust and reliability. Da'Onne also reflects on the importance of self-care and mental health in achieving business success, and shares how these values are imparted to her children as part of their generational legacy. Discover the power of collaborations and the endless opportunities they bring, as Da'Onne’s story is filled with empowering strategies and personal insights from a true innovator in the event industry.
Thank you for listening! YouTube - @3KeysforYourJourney -Tune in for a new episode every Sunday. Connect with us at www.ocfo.info
Da'Onne Bolden, entrepreneur. Mom, I mean extraordinary. Next, on Three Keys for your Journey, we get a chance to take an in-depth look at True Elevated Events and the founder that started it all. Join us next.
Speaker 2:Are you ready to unlock your potential? Tune in to Three Keys for your Journey podcast, where business owners share invaluable insights and empowering strategies to guide you towards success. Based in Oklahoma City, our host, greg T Jones, will inspire and motivate you every week. Get ready to join our conversation as we build community together.
Greg Jones:All right, hello, Da'Onne Bolden, hello, hello. Oh man, this is a cool, cool, cool experience. Look at you just flowing and shining over there. You know, oh my gosh, how are you doing?
Da'Onne:today I'm doing great.
Greg Jones:Fantastic. Thank you so very much for being on our podcast. This is our inaugural season of episodes and I am extremely privileged that I have the opportunity to chop it up with you.
Da'Onne:Yes, and I'm honored to be here.
Greg Jones:Well, I tell you what. Let's just jump right in Now you know, Tru Elevated Events. You do balloon decor events, man, you've done classes where you've actually taught and spoke and your business continues to grow and I'm just excited. But our listening audience probably doesn't know you. And so what do you want our listening audience to know about Dayan?
Da'Onne:Okay, well, first off, I am born in Oklahoma, mother of five children, beautiful children ages 12, 6, 4, 3, and a newborn.
Greg Jones:Okay, hold on, you don't look that old.
Da'Onne:No, you say I'm not that old. I'm not that old. That's awesome.
Greg Jones:You've got a beautiful family, I do.
Da'Onne:Fantastic Soon to be husband.
Greg Jones:So you're engaged as well.
Da'Onne:We're speaking into existence, okay. It's in existence by the time this podcast airs, it will be in existence there we go.
Speaker 2:That is awesome, yes.
Greg Jones:Okay, so tell us about? Okay, that's a little bit about your family. What else do you want us to know?
Da'Onne:I'm a very hardworking woman. I put my best at everything that I do. I love what I do and I just honestly enjoy making memorable moments, being able to be creative and create with other people, bringing their visions to life and create with other people bringing their visions to life.
Greg Jones:I think it might be worth sharing. How did you get into this business and you started this business back in 22?
Da'Onne:I started my business in 2020, due to postpartum depression, I started doing my children's birthday parties and every event, almost everyone came up and asked you know, do I do this as a job? Do I have a way of booking me? And I was like, no. I think the last event that I had did was at an event space and the manager came up to me and asked me if he could book me for a service. And that's when I thought, okay, you know, if he's coming up asking not just family and friends, this could be something serious. So that's when I took the opportunity. I did book that event at a very low price and they loved it. And so, as a way of getting going through working through what I was going through as postpartum depression, of getting going through working through what I was going through as postpartum depression, I took the opportunity to start booking events, small events, and from that point forward, it was word of mouth and I grew like in a blink of eye.
Greg Jones:I think it's important to kind of point out, as you were going through that experience of postpartum depression, what was it about this business that really helped you navigate through it?
Da'Onne:I think being able to have that outlet, that artistic outlet that got me to express myself, got me to give me that opportunity to have some alone time but still be able to be creative and again just bringing someone else's vision to life, like letting them taking the stress off of someone else and kind of just running with it.
Greg Jones:You know, I think it's a special talent for people to be able to do that and, by the way, dan's business has done a few events where I've seen this in action and it really is an artistic arena to kind of give someone an idea of what I'm thinking about, what the event is, maybe some ideas of colors and schematics and for someone like you, to come in and bring it all to life, and not only bring it to life but make it a memorable experience.
Greg Jones:And I know down through the last number of years, you know I would. Everybody has their highs and lows, but I've seen you do some events where I'm like wow. And then I've seen other events that were more smaller and intimate because it was based on someone's party or special event or anniversary and it was also a very memorable experience or a special event or anniversary and it was also a very memorable experience. I know today our conversation is around keys, and so I know you have probably more than three, but can you talk a little bit about what are your keys? What do you want to pass on to other entrepreneurs out there that may be listening to this podcast as your keys that have really helped you along your journey?
Da'Onne:So that's a great question. I think, most importantly, my number one key is customer experience and relationships. It's really big to me to hit and build a relationship with my clients. That's really important to me Create an exceptional service, tailored designs and following up with them. The second thing would be branding and marketing. I know you know this by now and if you all follow me, I have a very strong online presence. I'm very in tune with content creating and being active on social media networking, partnering with vendors, photographers, especially with word-of-mouth referrals. That's very valuable to my business. That's how I started before I had a website or any social media platforms. And operations and quality, so efficient processing, and then continuous learning. From every event. I've learned something new that I can do better for my next event. It's learning.
Greg Jones:From every event. I've learned something new that I can do better for my next event. Okay, wow, that's. That's a power pack, three keys, so let's, let's break those down. Okay, um, where do you want to start? Which one do you want to start with? You pick, let's start with the social media.
Da'Onne:Okay, I just think the highlight of standing out services for me, you know, um being able to showcase my work, showcase what it looks like because it looks pretty, but they don't see the back end of what you have to do to create that masterpiece. I think staying consistent on social media, giving them the good and the bad, because it always looks pretty. But, as we all know, behind entrepreneurship there's bad days and bad things that add up. But what I take from that is you take the good out of the bad, and so I like to show the highs and the lows. So I just enjoy doing social media. I enjoy the engagement, I enjoy networking with people. It creates new opportunities. You never know who's going to see you on social media and gravitate to your page. I hear that all the time that I see you on TikTok or Instagram or Facebook and I have no idea who these people are, but they've seen me on social media. So my brand speaks louder than just a logo. You know it's who I am as an individual. I think establishing a brand is very important because it helps show who you are.
Da'Onne:I started branding my business before my business had a logo. I started with professional headshots. I started with just different ways to market my brand investing in T-shirts, investing in hoodies, like trying to find different ways to be seen and at that moment I never really realized how important it was to actually brand and building the business as I'm branding it, if that makes sense. So branding is very important just because when they see your brand, they see you. When they see what you're putting out there if it's high-quality photos, if it's high-quality videos they're going to see all of that, they see what you're investing in your business. I have a hot pink and light pink as my branding colors. Pink every woman loves, every girl loves pink. Pink is very it's a very popular color. When I see pink, I get happy. It brings out my happiness, and so anytime I put on my brand which I learned from you you put on your brand, and anytime I put on my brand, I get so many compliments on my hoodies, on my shirts. People want to know where they can purchase it, how they can support me. So it's just a different way of like a walking billboard, of how I can show them who I am outside of balloons. I think it also builds trust and credibility, staying consistent with your social media. Definitely a polished brand makes clients feel confident in your ability. It also sets me apart from my competitors. I'm very competitive. I like to be the best at everything that I do, so logos, colors, designs, tone of voice keeps it more recognizable and definitely highlights my unique services to my balloon garlands or ensuring my clients of their event. That is going to be top notch.
Da'Onne:So True Elevated Events actually is from. It comes from my third child that I had during COVID. His name is Zaheer True Sanders and so I took his middle name just because that was my baby during COVID, where I was going through the postpartum. That really helped me get that drive back, give me that motivation to get it going. I wanted to do something. I just didn't know what I wanted to do, and so I took his middle name and when I thought about the events that I was doing, I was like everything's elevating in my life. So I took the true elevated and then the events and then just ran with it.
Greg Jones:Wow, Boy, that just hits home, man, and you've been elevating ever since.
Da'Onne:Elevating ever since. It also helps me with attracting the right clients. I think that's very important with branding. I'm not looking to be for everyone, so it helps me be intentional with the branding, with my style and my values, and it helps also align the clients with my vision as well as their vision.
Greg Jones:All of that coalesced in, it feels like and I guess we'll get back to this at the end, man, you ought to teach a class on that.
Da'Onne:Absolutely, it's coming.
Greg Jones:Now people say customer experience versus customer service. Do you see? There's a difference between the two Absolutely. Tell me what customer experience means for True Elevated Events.
Da'Onne:Customer experience is definitely like responding promptly to inquiries, providing clear communication and going above and beyond for all their needs. Going above and beyond for my clients means providing them with whatever service they need from me, making it as less stressful as possible, whether that's going to the balloon store and picking out all your balloon colors. If you have an idea, I'll go ahead and search the idea on Pinterest or Google. I'm going to take that initiative to go do those things for you. Florals I'll go pick out the florals and send you pictures. Whatever it is that you're needing to be met for your event, I'm going to take the extra step and take whatever that responsibility is off your plate so that you don't have to worry about that. I think, honestly, it's just like my love and passion of like okay, you tell me you want this, I'm going to give you this and more and like. Every time that I give them more than what they're asking for, it might be more work for me, but in the end it's worth it. They are overly pleased at the balloon arch. That, to me, is like oh, it's not that bad, or it's not that big, but it's over the top for them, and they see that with the visuals.
Da'Onne:So efficient processing, scheduling the payment, making sure everything is organized. You don't have to ask me several questions about hey, did we get this taken care of? Absolutely, it's already been taken care of. I'll see you there. I just want you to show up for your event. You walk in and enjoy your event. You don't have to worry about. You know, is this taken care of? Has this person been here? Like operation manager is here. I'm here. I'm running everything, making it as easy and less stressful as possible.
Greg Jones:I? You know I'm taking a deep breath because when you say that, what I felt immediately was a sense of relief, like I don't have to worry about all of the X's and the O's. I can literally plan my event, know that I have somebody that is operationally going to help me execute it, cover all of the dot and the I's and the cross and the T's and make sure it's a wonderful event. Yes, for somebody listening out there, why is that so important?
Da'Onne:I feel like it's important because it lets your client know that you can trust me for doing the job. I think that things always don't go as planned and, as we know, things always happen, but having that security, having that trust in someone that you can trust, is going to get the job done. I come in and I make sure everything is set up correctly. You don't even have to tell me I'm going to make sure it's going to be that moment. This needs to go there. I'm going to be fixing things. You may not even ask me to do that, but I'm going to go over and above for you to make sure it's the perfect setup, the perfect moment for you.
Da'Onne:I feel like self-care impacts business and I'm really big on mental health. So taking that time to just make sure you're right, checking on your people, um, and making sure you take time to recharge, setting boundaries to maintain the creative, the creativity and focus for your work is important, and then also having those people to pour back into you when you're not, when your cup may be a little empty. You know you have your strongs and you have your weaknesses, so be able to identify your weaknesses and then make sure you're giving those off to the people that you can trust within your business to help you allow that help.
Greg Jones:What are some things that you do or you recommend in your given week, month or year to give yourself a mental break?
Da'Onne:That's a great question. I go to yoga and I stretch a lot. I also take my children on outings just to kind of heal that inner child for me. You know whether it's a library date, park date, ice cream date, we have a lot of dates.
Greg Jones:I love it, but it gives you a chance to step away.
Da'Onne:Absolutely Also reflect. It gives me time to reflect on what I could do better. How am I handling them? How am I handling myself during these times? You know, a lot of times we are so busy with our business that we have to remember. That's where that balance comes in for our family because you know, they're the ones who we're doing this for there's the one that mattered the most. So, as much time as I'm putting out, I got to make sure I'm putting that time back in.
Greg Jones:So, when you said that I have to ask this question, we're doing this for our family. What is the legacy?
Da'Onne:that you want to leave for your children.
Da'Onne:Generational wealth. I want them to see that mommy, no matter how heavy that load was, she never stopped going and she made sure during the time to make sure they were nurtured and cared for, but also that nothing's going to be given to you. You're going to work hard for everything that you have. I also want them to be little human beings that know how to survive on their own and also help people along the way. Don't just look to see if you're finishing the race. Make sure that you're doing everything that you can to help the next person too, because it's enough room for everybody around us to eat and be taken care of.
Da'Onne:Two things. The first thing is going to be don't be scared to ask with whatever opportunity comes your way. Don't be scared to ask a question if you want to know more, if you want to collaborate with someone, if you're looking to see how they're doing something that you like. Ask, I mean, what's the worst thing that can happen? I find that often that people are so scared to ask that question or ask someone something. Ask you never. Never know they might want to work with you just as much as you want to work with them, or they may be so willing to give you that information. So don't be ever, don't ever be, scared to ask love it okay.
Da'Onne:The second thing is is stop procrastinating. You don't need it on that vision board, you don't need it in your notes, you don't need it on hanging up on your wall, go do it. And if you need, if you need the resources to go, do it like find there's so many resources, that resources that we have available to us right now. Like you just said, you know our phones, the people we're talking to reach out to me like go do it, record that content, post that content, post that status. Stop waiting for the moment to be perfect for you to do it. Like step out on a leap of faith of God and do it. Stop holding back.
Greg Jones:So how does someone get in contact with you to potentially utilize your services?
Da'Onne:So the first thing you're going to do is go to my website, wwwtrueelevatedeventscom. The second thing you can do is find me on all social media platforms, mostly and mainly Facebook and Instagram, at true elevated eventscom or true elevated events, I'm sorry, notcom.
Greg Jones:Fantastic. So all social channels. She's on there, primarily Facebook and Instagram, and then she also has a website. We'll post all that information in the chat. Dan, thank you so much for being here. Um, I am very much excited to see this next chapter, where it takes you personally, with your family, as well as with your business.
Da'Onne:Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Thanks for joining Three Keys for your Journey. Tune in next time for another episode.
