I graduated in 2011 from The University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in Advertising and a minor in Sociology. Moving back to Houston (my hometown) in 2011, I quickly found a home in the marketing department for CultureMap. I was very drawn to the lifestyle brand (as well as it being a voice for a city so near to my heart) and was committed to working my way up. As such, I spent four years as the marketing manager. During that time, I produced several signature events for CultureMap year after year, including Tastemaker Awards, Stylemaker Awards, Pop-up Shop, The Big Texas Party and their quarterly initiative for young professionals, CultureMap Social, plus others. Eventually, I hit a point in my career when I realized I needed to take a step back and sort out a special niche for myself. I had a lot to offer, a lot of ideas, and I knew I loved event planning. But how could I give it a unique spin? That’s when the idea for Planned With came to fruition. My husband, a senior level consultant, my business partner and the CFO of Planned With, and I launched the company together to bring a fresh perspective to social and lifestyle events with a focus on creating personal, interactive, unique and beautiful experiences. Interesting Tidbits:1. I didn’t know I loved event planning until I stepped away from it for about 6 months. I quickly missed it and realized it was what I was needed to do. Sometimes we just need to take a step back from whatever it is we're doing, and inspire ourselves to try again.2. Running a business is definitely not always easy. As with anything in life, of course you face challenges. Some challenges are more difficult than others. There’s a quote by Winston Churchill that I love. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” There are daily struggles in pursuing your passion. The goal is staying the course and being persistent, but it might also mean deviating from the course, getting out of your comfort zone, shifting and making pivots when necessary. You just have to trust yourself and your instincts.3. For those of you wanting to start your own business, this is my advise for you. I am sure lots of you have gotten flack or heard backlash. But hell, I’d say, if you’ve got the vision, the passion and the determination, go for it. Ray Goforth says, “There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed."