Today we’d like to introduce you to Kylie Bohnert.
Kylie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a wedding planner and decorator in the southern Minnesota area and absolutely love what I do! I am currently 29 years old and started my business my senior year in college at the age of 21. Started working officially under this business name, ‘Memorable Moments by KW’ at 23.
I had always known what I wanted to do and actually started purchasing and storing decor in my parents basement as early as 10th grade in high school. Throughout high school I was provided a lot of leadership opportunities that helped set the ground work for my future. I never really cared to go to college but my parents thought it would still be a great resource for me moving forward in life and really pushed me to go. Come senior year – I was sick of waiting and decided to launch it while sitting in the back of one of my college classes senior year. (Don’t tell the professor…) From there it took off! I attended every bridal show I could, to get my name out there, worked at a discounted rate to build up experience/ my portfolio and just tried to learn as much as I could about the industry to help me succeed as I moved forward in the years to come.
Through college and for the first 3 years of my business I lived the small business owners life style I guess you could say! 4 jobs, roommates, all-nighters and the always fun…broke ramen noodles lifestyle. I was always told that typically a business needs to make it past the first 5 years before they will actually begin to turn a profit. And boy was that the truth…that’s actually what kept be going over the years because sometimes it really sucked…Every dollar I made went back into the business. To grow inventory, learn, market, operate legally, all business software’s and hopefully one day be able to expand beyond our 1 stall attached garage.
My part time jobs and college internships I always viewed as an opportunity to learn and grow as a person and business owner . Despite the job type – I could always take something away to further myself in life and business.
Serving/Bartending – helped refine my customer service, and confrontational skills. We all know how people are, and this was a very needed skill set.
Mankato Event Center – Helped give me knowledge into all sides of an event start to finish as a facility stand point. That’s a lot more moving parts then someone would think.
Perkins Hostess – Again, dealing with people. Keep in mind I do this on the daily now so VERY blessed for my opportunity variety on this front. Working with a team was a big one here as well. Fast paced environment and staying cool under pressure.
American Eagle (Night Floor sets and sales.) – The restock, organization, customer service again, policy/protocol, business softwares.
There were many more from then to now haha but I will spare you the details.
Starting out was a lot of learning and teaching myself through opportunities/experiences I could get on campus, through my part time jobs and online research. ALOT of online research haha. No one in my area was wanting to take on someone like myself without something along the lines of a non-compete signed. Since I was wanting to open my own business and not going to work for another company I would essentially be competition down the road. (And from this area -potentially sticking around. Who knew at the time, I was still pretty young.) Especially if someone were to teach me all they know and how to operate a business like this.
I specifically remember reaching out to businesses via email and even going as far as leaving phone messages to see if someone was willing to meet up and let me pick their brain a bit. (I did this for about 6 months to a year, thinking maybe they were busy and missed it. That happens.) I never got any sort of reply. I was pretty discouraged and embarrassed to say the least, it’s always hard when you put yourself out there and aren’t even given the time of day but eventually that disappointment and embarrassment just fueled me and my ambitions more. I for sure developed an ‘I’ll prove them wrong and do it on my own then’ complex. Maybe not the best mind set, but at the time it worked it kept my motivation and positivity high.
The one hard thing that is talked about by some but not all, is what you sometimes lose out on when starting a business. Especially when you are young. I think it can be true with both instances. When you really want something and go for it, there will be sacrifices on the way…I missed out on a lot of time with friends, family, concerts, trips, purchases you could say and so forth. Even knowing that one day it will pay off didn’t always make it easier. I was always working while others were enjoying. It was a choice I made and ultimately wanted for my future but it didn’t always make it easier. If I had the chance to go back I would do it all again. The same way. My path may not have worked for everyone but it really drove me as an individual to do more and ‘prove them wrong’ one could say. Show what I could do.
I now can say that I am making that profit, I am no longer indebted to my business the way I was during start up. I am still hustling but in very different ways. I now can focus solely on my business and not be pulled in a million directions. I’m not the best at relaxing and doing nothing…I will say that. Life is still chaos but a controlled chaos as I like to tell everyone in my life. Much more enjoyable 🙂
*I can always answer more on the now time later if you need.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
– Gaining knowledge and experience in the industry when no one would give me that opportunity.
– Finance was always a big one. The rate I wanted to grow at just had to wait sometimes. The money wasn’t there for certain purchases or investments for the business and that was hard. Because if it wasn’t there for that, it also wasn’t there for the personal endeavors.
– Employees and finding hands for the work is always an ongoing struggle. (Weddings are long day, late nights and weekends.)
– Trying to find a balance between jobs, my business, school, homework, friends my relationship. All very challenging. My days were always scheduled to the minute for probably 4 years straight.
– Sadly, I had a lot of health issues during my launch and growth as well. It for sure added some challenges and delays but I know what I was working towards and pushed through the best I could. I actually put on and ran my first bridal show 3 days after my first abdominal surgery and boy was that an experience! That event really helped to get me out there and connected with not only clients but other vendors within the industry as well. Mentally and Physically a very challenging experience but was one of the best moments of my life and in my career. It really got things rolling.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a wedding planner and decorator. We provide wedding planning (partial or full), day of coordination and decorating services, where we help with the style/design aspect, provide all the decor and do set up and clean up of all the decor day of.
We primarily specialize in weddings. However, we do/have done baby showers, bridal showers, birthdays, holiday parties, graduations and more. My goal is to help alleviate stress form someone’s day. However they see fit.
I feel like what set’s me apart from others is that I personalize the day and experience for each couple. Every person, every wedding – is different. And it should be treated as such. My clients are and always will be my number one priority. Going above and beyond for them is what I strive for each day.
The greatest service my team and I could provide to a client, is piece of mind on an important day in their life. I want to do the worrying so they don’t have to. I want them to enjoy their day, without worrying, delegating family members to bring your vision to light, without family disputes, or time crunches, I simply want them to relax and make memories that will stay with them forever.
I am very proud of the reputation I have built for myself within the industry and the relationship I form with my clients. If a client approaches me even 2 years later and starts discussing their day I can usually remember quite a bit of it. It may be one of my many weddings/events a month, yes. However, they are ALL important to me and will be treated as such.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Sadly, I’d say the most cookie cutter things, my reputation.
Word of mouth is a powerful thing. In good and bad scenarios. Nothing I ever do in life is out of ill intent or malicious action and to be viewed in a negative light by someone I’m working with or who is trusting me to help them in any way would be a hard thing face. Mainly because that is the exact opposite of what I am hoping to provide for them and I will always strive to maintain that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.memorablemomentsbykw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memorablemomentsbykw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MMbyKW/
- Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/memorable-moments-by-kw-mankato-mn-2037148
