Many entrepreneurs stay behind the screen. However, any business owner worth their salt would tell you that you need to get away from the screen and have to interact with your audience and supporters. One entrepreneur is making a business helping other entrepreneurs with this very issue: event planning.

A few weeks ago, Epifania talked to Kayla Rodriguez. Rodriguez was in the middle of planning her soft launch party, that was an invite-only event. Rodriguez business came to our attention through model and tv host, Jennifer Ramos. Rodriguez grew up in Woodland, near Sacramento, California surrounded by nature.

“I grew up raising sheep, I played a lot of sports, and got a scholarship to play basketball at Holy Names University,” shared Rodriguez.

Rodriguez graduated from Holy Names in 2013 and from there started to work in corporate America. However, like most graduates, she wasn’t sure what she would be doing for her career.

“It has been a journey. I wanted to launch something of my own. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, or how to start the process. I thought of going the food truck route, and begin researching that,” shared Rodriguez.

She first told her husband about the business; however, she was afraid to tell her parents and family that she wanted to go the entrepreneur route. However, at the end of it, she found out that her family was more supportive than she thought they would be. After two years of research, she finally started her own business. With the support of her husband, she began Ten Tables.

“I was trying to be creative with the name. Ten is my favorite number. It was my number in sports. Then I started to think about what does every event have; table. I then came up with ‘Ten Tables’ and sent it to my friends and family, and they loved it,” shared Rodriguez.

As she started her business, she came across three obstacles. The first obstacle she encounters was the finances.

“One was the financial aspect. I’m doing my business with my own money. I chose not to go the loan route,” shared Rodriguez.

The second encounter she faced was confidence. She admitted that she lacked confidence in her skill. As an entrepreneur, she has always chased perfection. There are some days she feels confident in her creativity and other days she doubts herself. The third obstacle she faced was the logistics. How should she launch her business? She decided to keep it simple and elegant.

“I went with a soft open and invited people that I thought would be interested in it. I decided to have it in my backyard,” shared Rodriguez.

The decision to have it in her backyard was not only to save money but to show her guests that regardless of their venue, she can transform the space. With the relationships she made with vendors at her day job, she was able to get the food, tables, drinks, decor, and gift bags. The night of the launch party came, and Ten Tables did not disappoint. There was an open bar with delicious local wines. Every table was decorated in spring tea party fashion. As the night continued, there was a raffle and desserts.

Kayla Rodriguez is helping business owners build relationships with their customers; one event at a time.

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