As BB Events turns four, I’ve been reflecting on the past year – what worked, what challenged us as a team and what will change in the year ahead. This year, it’s all about teamwork, collaboration and inspiration.

BB Events Highlights

Our team is evolving! As BB Events has become an established event planning company in the San Francisco Bay Area, our team continues to evolve. Our newest Event Lead, Susan is taking on big responsibilities that allows me to be less hands-on with the day-to-day running of events and moves me into a more strategic role.

Seeing any team member take the reins in their role is one of my favorite things. We’ve made a strong team at BB Events; we all share core values of inclusion, diversity, sustainability, impact, equity and transparency. Hiring individuals aligned with these values means I can trust them as the face of BB Events and champions of my beliefs.

Career progression for my team is essential, so I check in regularly to see where their strengths and passions lie. Last year, Maria (a student attending the Unite SF Career Cohort 2022) approached me to ask how to get involved. Jump to the same event one year later and Maria was the Event Coordinator! She was instrumental in planning and executing Unite SF Career Cohort 2023 as well as one of our other signature projects, Hand to Hand Fundraiser Gala for Project Open Hand. Now, she’s been employed full-time by our client, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce!

More team members mean saying “yes” to more event opportunities and growing my client list. This year we started working with Justice Outside and continued our work with the ACLU of Northern California.

Part of this journey has been trusting my team and letting go. Through training and empowering people like Susan, I can step away with confidence. Embrace the ‘Delegate’!

*Susan is the 4th person left–>right

BB Events Team Photo

The extended BB Events team

New Learnings We’ve Experienced

Working with new clients on events comes with unknown territories. You go through a lot of experimenting and realigning throughout the process as you get to know what clients like and how they work.

It takes a lot of listening, learning communication styles, checking in and revisiting ways of doing things to see if it truly aligns with the client so that everyone can feel supported and move forward effectively. It becomes a mix of being a good leader, listener, coach and strategist.

Business owners will understand the challenge of juggling these roles while running the business day-to-day. In the past few years, the focus has been on building the BB Events name and gaining a solid foundation of clients, vendors and partners who come back season after season. In doing so, I’ve had the event planner treadmill set to sprint day after day. I’m taking the pace down to a gentle jog for the next year; read on to find out more!

Event Highlight

San Francisco Small Business Week

Photo by Drew Altizer

For many years, I’ve collaborated with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the dedicated nonprofits, companies and government departments on San Francisco Small Business Week. As a small business myself, it makes it even more meaningful to create spaces for entrepreneurs and small business owners to connect to resources and grow. Each year brings a host of workshops, small business marketplaces, networking events and the not-to-be-missed opening and closing parties.

Looking to the year ahead for BB Events.

This year is going to look very different for me. With Susan taking the lead on some big upcoming events, I’ll be able to invest time in my community, learning, networking and being inspired (And I’ve already begun!). I’ll focus on nurturing clients and vendors and building relationships – hello, coffee catch-ups and lunches – in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Part of this new journey has been stepping into my new Board of Director role as President-Elect of ILEA-NCC, another strategic role to expand my support to other event professionals.

I’ll also be attending more events as a guest because this is the best way to stay up-to-date on event trends and gather inspiration is by seeing what other event planners are doing well. It’s hard to innovate and think creatively when you’ve got your event planner blinkers on, so I’m hoping the change of pace will let my creativity run free, bringing a fresh approach to your next event!

I can’t wait to see what the next year has in store. Get in touch to be part of this exciting new chapter for BB Events.

Details — Full Planning

Highlights, Challenges and Learnings from 4 years of Owning an Event Company