Gabby Pinkerton is the CEO of 'Cause We Can Events, an event planning company that specializes in destination adventurous weddings in the middle of the desert, on dried lake beds, or in lush forests. Gabby and her team produce events all over the US, Canada, Europe, and South Africa! Fun fact: Gabby, her husband, and their 2 dogs lived on a boat in Los Angeles for many years and just recently relocated to Nashville. TN.  

Can you tell our readers about your background?  

I was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, and went to business school at the University of Ottawa. I was in my last year of University when my Marketing teacher asked for volunteers to help run our annual Marketing Gala. I raised my hand and was immediately thrown into the world of events. From invitations to selecting food options and collecting RSVPs, I didn’t eat or sleep for what felt like a month straight and I loved every minute of it! It was at that moment that I decided that Event Planning was going to be my career.

Being a dual citizen of both the US and Canada, I decided to move to California after college to live the beach life. That’s when I took a stab at wedding planning. I interned for free and eventually worked my way up to getting an event planning assistant job at a non profit. While I loved the mission of the non profit and the event job itself, I just kept feeling the need to branch out on my own. I loved the idea of being my own boss, having my own schedule and ultimately being the reason for both my successes and failures. Finally, in 2012 ‘Cause We Can Events was born.

What inspired you to start your business?

My parents were both very independent workers in their own careers and I grew up loving the idea of working at your own pace and on your own terms. More than just the freedom of time, I loved the concept of being able to create a successful business from a simple idea. Many people have ideas, but so few take the leap to actually start their dream business. Since I’ve always loved to do things my own way, I was excited at the idea of changing the way the wedding industry was run as well.  

‘Cause We Can Events truly became what it is today after a wedding we did in the Moab desert in 2016. It was a 3-day festival-style wedding that we called “Weddingchella”. With live bands, food trucks and our very own beer tap wall, the guests that attended that wedding still talk about it today. Something to “out there” had never been done and it was so unlike any wedding experience we had ever planned. I loved every moment of it and decided, in that moment, to do a full rebrand and specialize in these more unconventional weddings. 

Where is your business based?

In 2012 we launched our first team in Los Angeles but in April 2020 my husband and I moved to Nashville where we opened out 2nd location. We now also have a team in Maine! We do destination weddings all over the world so our clients know that we’re not limited to a geographical area.  

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

When I moved to Los Angeles in 2012, I googled “event planning companies in Los Angeles” to see if anyone would take me on as an unpaid intern. One company out of Pasadena did and I worked my butt off! I learned everything I could about the business of event and wedding planning. I asked questions, I volunteered for as many jobs as possible and I made connections when I could. 

While interning for other event planning companies, I also took note of tasks that I loved doing and tasks that I didn’t love or thought could be done better. That was really important when it came time for me to start my own business because I could shape it however I wanted it.  

Once I decided it was time to branch out on my own, I remember attending a local networking event and standing up on a stage as part of the introduction portion of the event and confidently told the whole room that I was an event planner who was accepting new clients!  

Little did they know I had not done a single event on my own at that time. But low and behold, a woman walked up to me after and said she was looking for a wedding planner for her Lake Arrowhead wedding. I was hired!

I quickly launched a very simple website, got business cards with a logo my cousin made and registered my DBA. It wasn’t until years later did I get proper event insurance, incorporate and understand what it actually took to run a business properly!

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

We proudly say that we do not pay for marketing. We’ve mostly been driving by referrals and Google searches! We work hard on our social media and our blogging content to drive traffic to our website.  

I always tell event planners who are just starting out that you want to make sure people who land on your website either LOVE it or HATE it. I mean that because it has to be very clear who your ideal client is and who you specialize in working with.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for us was growing our team and finding the right people. We get a lot of applications but have cycled through a good many team members before finding the right combo. Part of it is that I had no idea who I was looking for when it came to qualifications but I also felt like the generation of event planners coming into the industry were looking for a high level job right away.

What happened to interning and working your way up? That’s a lot harder to find these days. Like any company, we need people in more of a support role (admin, accounting, etc.) but people come to us wanting to be destination wedding planner right off the bat.  

How do you stay focused?

Staying focused is so hard! I’m an idea person so I am constantly throwing out new ideas to my team and no implementing many of them. I set myself monthly, weekly and daily goals. I use Google calendar for everything and our team used Asana to assign each other tasks which has helped a lot.

I also recently joined a mastermind because I felt like I was holding my team accountable for their tasks but no one was holding me accountable for mine. It’s important to surround yourself by people who are more experienced than you so you can continue to grow! 

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

The great thing about our business is that we are SO different than anything out there. We are for a very specific type of client and we know that we’re not going to attract the masses but those who do inquire with us have a high chance of booking our services.

My favorite way to describe our team is to tell potential clients “we can’t sew but we can start up generators!”. We are not for the fancy ballroom couples, we are for the rugged adventurous couples who don’t mind getting a little dirt on their wedding dress. 

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Honestly, blogging and Pinterest! We try to blog weekly and feature all of our past weddings on our blog. We then add those images to Pinterest and have had several of them “go viral” which will drive traffic to our website. We haven’t paid for ads anywhere and we plan to keep it that way.

Another great way to get new clients if from past client and vendor referrals. Our clients truly loved their experience with us and they have always recommended us to their friends who are a good fit. We often get whole friend groups as clients because they all have similar styles and enjoyed attending each others’ weddings that we planned.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Just start! Yes, a business plan will be important but so many people get stuck trying to make their idea perfect before starting. We rebranded 3 times before figuring out who our ideal target market was and we might rebrand again in a few years!  

Ask questions, intern, read, volunteer and try all sorts of different job positions to make sure you love the industry as a whole. Surround yourself with people who encourage you. Join Facebook groups like The Rising Tide Society to meet other entrepreneurs and brainstorm ideas with fellow owners. 

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

There’s a book I read a few years ago that really stuck with me. It’s called “The Power of Moments” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The concept is about creating memorable moments throughout your time working with a client or customer. It’s such a great book especially for us in the hospitality industry. It talks about how you can differentiate yourself from your competition simply by creating powerful moments for your clients.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

I always love sending entrepreneurs to The Rising Tide Society website or Facebook group. They are an organization whose concept is “a rising tide lifts all boats”. This means we are all in this entrepreneurial journey together and we’re meant to help each other out even if we are competitors. There are a ton of business resources, how to’s, free webinars and Facebook groups separated by city so that you can meet up in person and find a great community to chat with!

Who is your business role model? Why?

You know, I’m not sure! I think I’ve picked little nuggets of wisdom from so many great business owners and turned them into my own business model. 

How do you balance work and life?

Balance is and will forever be a struggle! It’s something that will never be perfect but always important to work on. I do my best to set boundaries with my team and clients ahead of time. We have set business hours and a strict no-texting rule!

I love working on my business that sometimes I can catch myself working on a project over the weekend. I don’t think that’s necessarily good or bad as long as I take a day off shortly after.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Horseback riding! I have a 21 year old mare and the second I turn onto the gravel driveway of the barn, I feel myself breathe deeper and my heart rate settles down. I love hitting the trails on horseback or even just geeking out about horses with my friends at the barn. There’s nothing better!

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Given that the event industry is still at a bit of a standstill with COVID restrictions, we aren’t too sure. We are still booking new clients and planning weddings in hopes that in 6 months we can go back to work. We’re also working on our own planning workflow, team growth and training and connecting with new vendors during this time. 

On a personal level, I laughed a new business where I teach fellow wedding pros how to get more leads from Pinterest. That’s been a really great way to connect with the events community and take our minds off not being able to work events and weddings at this time.

How can our readers connect with you?

We are most active on instagram @causewecanevents and update our blog weekly with wedding planning tips and features from some of our best weddings over at www.causewecanevents.com.