Luann Nero and the joy of event-planning

By Gibron Rahim

0ENTREPRENEURSHIP is more often than not a risky undertaking. Individuals who decide to start their own business do so without a guarantee that their time, effort and money spent will pay off in the end.

Luann Nero is the owner of Aderita’s Creation – an event planning establishment which serves as a natural extension of and tribute to her family’s celebratory spirit. She told the Pepperpot Magazine that her family has always been very involved in planning and preparation when they host events at home.

She noted that both her immediate and extended family display that same love for hosting events. “We are all into event planning – coordination, preparation, everything,” Luann said. She related that observing the adults in the midst of preparations while she was growing up led to her developing a passion for event planning. Luann’s interest then grew from a hobby into a business. She explained that, before she began Aderita’s Creation, numerous persons would really appreciate her and her family’s work and would often call her to handle their events as well.

While Aderita’s Creation has been growing, Luann has also been maintaining her full-time career. She is currently employed as an Environmental Auditing Officer at the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). Luann said that it was only a few years ago that she decided to turn her love of event planning into an official business venture. She explained that she would already keep herself occupied with creating articles, especially paper florals, in the evening hours after she returned home from work. Her work, which she would post on social media, would be well received and she would often receive orders. “That made me get more actively involved,” said Luann.

Aderita’s Creation handles event planning for a variety of occasions. The businesswoman noted that they provide full catering and decorating services for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, among numerous others. “You just name it,” Luann said. This past Easter, she decorated hats and baskets for the occasion.

Under Luann’s direction, Aderita’s Creation aims to deliver quality service to its customers. She is currently in the midst of preparations for a wedding that Aderita’s will be covering on the Essequibo Coast at the end of the month. “Location is not a limitation for me,” said Luann. “I can go anywhere.”

Paper floral decorations and different kinds of background settings are among Luann’s specialities. She highlighted her use of upcycled bottles to create decorative pieces, explaining that she paints and applies glitter dust to design them. “I put them to good use,” she said, referring to elaborate wine bottles that would have otherwise been discarded. Luann also noted that she creates floral arrangements, bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages to make her clients’ weddings as memorable and magical as they want them to be.

Her decision to be more proactive in building her business required Luann to make some adjustments. Referring to her present schedule, she explained, “In the evening hours, when I come home from work, I minimise my rest time and chatting time.” She devotes her free time to make decorative pieces and other activities for Aderita’s Creation. “It took away some amount of leisure from me,” she said but affirmed, “I like what I’m doing.”

Luann’s full-time career also allows her a fair amount of flexibility. Luann explained that sometimes she needs to be out in the field while at others she needs to be in the office. She is sure to schedule appointments around her job and noted that she has not had any issues managing both so far. If it happens that Luann’s schedule does not allow her to be present at an event, there are persons in place to whom she can delegate responsibility. “I have my mother and my sister,” she said. “They make a great team.” The shared responsibility through collaborative effort makes Luann’s balancing of the two aspects of her life easier.

There are always moments that reaffirm Luann’s passion for the work she does through Aderita’s Creation. She admitted that sometimes, especially when the demand for her services is high, she considers working full-time in event planning but is then reminded of certain considerations. “I try to balance my activities,” she said. She noted that, so far, she has been able to manage all of her responsibilities.

While passion is important to owning and operating a business, Luann noted that commitment is also a key aspect. Once the drive is there to accomplish a goal, she said, all that is needed is continued commitment to see results. “If you put your all into it and you work towards it, you don’t even have to wait for people to compliment you,” she said. The inner satisfaction, and sometimes amazement, of a job well done is its own praise.

“You just have to commit yourself towards what you’re doing and you’ll get a love for it,” Luann emphasised. The same goes for her work as an environmental auditing officer. “I love my job, I love what I do,” she said emphatically.

Luann’s advice to anyone looking to start a business is to tell the truth. “Be honest with your clients,” she said. “You be clear [and] very precise with them.” She noted that it is important, even if the client has initial doubts, to try to work along with them. “Communication is the key,” she said and related that the situation will improve from those initial tentative steps. “Things will get better.”