From Layoff to LLC: One Planner's Leap to Successful Business Ownership
.A few years ago, COVID-19 gripped the United States, causing shutdowns, disrupting the economy, and triggering layoffs - including that of Emily Youngs from her association event planner role. During that time, many of us hunkered down, practicing safe distancing while mourning the resulting loss of the status quo and especially the loss of community. Facing the same life-altering situation as us all, Youngs - now out of a job but envisioning a future where we were all able to come together in community again - saw an opportunity, and she took it.
Starting her own event planning company during the height of the pandemic was a “totally sane idea,” she laughingly said when reflecting on the beginning days of her ownership journey. Yet, the rationale makes sense - being cooped up in the house gave her plenty of time to study for her CMP, a credential she wanted for herself to lend ongoing credibility to her work and one that she felt allowed her to immediately jump to a higher level of pricing.
Beyond the work of earning the CMP, Youngs had to define her clientele and get the business licensed and marketable - both of which she found to be surprising. Defining the clientele - harder than she expected. She found that, especially in the beginning, “it’s harder to state what you want versus what you don’t want, especially in terms of clients. I still can't say this, this, this and this is my ideal client, but I know better what isn’t my ideal client.” And while the clientele process took a bit of fine tuning, getting the business licensed and marketable was much easier than she expected: “specifically, in MN it doesn’t cost that much to start a business, especially an LLC. I knew I wanted business cards and a website, but beyond that it doesn’t cost that much to get off the ground.”
Once everything was set up and open for business, Youngs leaned into the MPI connections she had begun forging during her CMP studying days. Describing her relationship to MPI, Youngs shared, “I was told to jump in with both feet, so that’s kind of what I did - I joined and I’m like well let’s get on a committee - that’s pretty low level and if I don’t like it, I’m not married to it.” Youngs went on to be on the board, and still retains a volunteer position on a committee.
Jumping in with both feet, as she says, paid off, as her connections and reputation within the group led to good business opportunities: “My largest event of the year came through MPI, it was someone looking, and they asked the right person. Word of mouth is huge in general - having those connections in the hotels and all the places with people with their ear to the ground.”
While she’s built up her client base and faced great success, Youngs continues to have an eye to the future. On the days when balancing her business, her day job, her family, and all the other demands of life could be a drain on morale, instead she looks to her future goals: “I know I’m working toward this goal - not just working in the business, but on the business keeps the fire going.” Using a ten year, three year, and one year vision mapping tool, she finds inspiration in “taking a minute to look forward outside of individual events and toward the business. It’s outside of me, it’s more than just the day to day.”
For anyone considering following in her footsteps, Youngs shares her advice, drawn from her own experiences: “Don’t give up. Don’t get discouraged. You’ve got to go to a few MPI events, you have to invest, you have to stick it out. This is an instant gratification world - but this isn’t an instant gratification business. Make friends. It will be worth it.”
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Emily Youngs, CMP, is the owner of Events by Emily, LLC, a corporate meeting and event planning company based in Minnesota. She is a two-time EMPI award recipient, earning the Rising Star Award in 2021-2022 and the Outstanding Planner Member Award in 2023-2024.
The MPI MN feature articles cover the people and stories happening in Minnesota's events community. Have a story idea or know someone who should be featured? Send it to Ellie Hartmann at ehartmann@lmc.org.
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