Today's Wednesday Wedding fave is a great entertainment agent who has some fab acts!!
When did you launch your business?
The business went into development in 2006 (i.e. the building and designing of the website and concept) and was fully operational at the beginning of 2007.
What inspired you to start your business?
My business partner and I had both worked in the entertainment industry for a number of years. I had been a musician in bands and previously worked for another entertainment company and my partner was a communications and marketing manager for local government, who’s role was to organise events etc. When we sat down to brainstorm what we wanted to next in our careers all roads led to here. We initially thought that the market was at saturation point with entertainment companies and people providing wedding entertainment. But, after looking through what was out there and speaking to many bands, musicians, performers and even attending wedding fayres and speaking to brides and grooms, it became clear that these other companies were in the majority not actually presenting the industry in a very good light. As we are both very customer focused and believe in providing a great service and offering customers the absolute best in both choice and price we wanted this to be something that translated into the company ethos. So, in short, we were inspired to start the business due to what we felt was a gap in the market in an area that we felt passionate about and had spent many years working in already.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
The most enjoyable part of the job is helping people create their dream weddings and events. There is nothing more rewarding than receiving the call, email or thank you letter after an event where the bride and groom or event organiser let us know that their day was perfect and we helped to play a part in that. To help create a lasting memory in other peoples lives is something we feel completely privileged to be a part of and something that we take with the utmost seriousness. Another enjoyable aspect of the job is that you never know what the day will bring. One minute we could be helping a customer secure the most fantastic band for their wedding or party and the next we could be booking a celebrity for a big corporate event! It makes for a very exciting work environment. One aspect that we believe is often overlooked is that of who we work with. The professional bands, musicians, caricaturists, magicians, fire performers and every other kind of entertainer that we speak to and meet with are of such a fantastic calibre and at the peak of their game, that we are often in awe of the time they have put into honing their craft. It inspires us to want to do our best for them.
What has been the best moment of your business?
There have been many great moments for us and as we have been firmly rooted in the day to day nuts and bolts of the business we have seen first-hand how it has grown and developed. Garnering relationships with management companies and working closely with them to develop exciting and exclusive live bands and entertainers has been one of the most exciting moments… and still is! In addition, having new staff join the team is always a fantastic moment as new people breed new ideas and help keep everything fresh and moving forward. Also, it feels very rewarding when we are involved in charity events and are able to provide assistance to some extremely worthy causes. So far we have helped with events for the NSPCC, Help for Heroes, Cancer Research and many more, and we feel proud to have helped out.
What are your plans for the future?
Our future plans involve the continual development of new acts, bands and performers to be added to the roster to ensure our customers have the best in choice and quality across all price ranges and for all budgets. Plus, we have an exciting re-brand and re-development of the entertainment agency website that has just occurred and we feel helps make us stand out and reflect the professional and friendly face of the company.
Can you give us a ‘Typical day in the life of an Entertainment Agent….’?
The day starts with arriving at the office at 7.30am. The early start gives everyone a chance to catch up on the overnight emails and correspondence before 9am comes around and the phone starts to ring. By 9am everyone is caught up and ready for the day ahead. Every day is always different in the life of an entertainment agent and could involve anything from dealing with new enquiries, following up customers about quotes they have been sent, speaking to acts, liaising with venues and even attending showcases or meetings. A pretty normal day would involve speaking to brides and grooms about the entertainment they wish to hire for their ceremony, meal or evening reception. Or, speaking to MDs or their PAs about entertainment for their corporate events. Once bookings are confirmed the agent’s role is to draw up booking contracts that legally secure the act for the customer and ensure that all details for the event are fine-tuned. Much of the agent’s work is dealing with post contracted work such as speaking to venues and co-ordinators. Their role is to take the stress out of booking entertainment for the customer and making it as straightforward as possible. The day finishes at 6pm… well, not quite. More often than not the team will work late to ensure all admin tasks are finished before they leave
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