Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Russell.
Hi Heather, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I spent most of my twenties managing retail franchise stores, learning my professional strengths while running a community-based dance center. I had three children and found it challenging to care for myself and my responsibilities. I worked all the time. After my last child was born with special needs, I realized that I wanted to make some changes in the way I handled my life and career. I wanted to learn new ways of handling things and redefine what success meant to me. I left my stores and my dance studio to care for my daughter and to put more intentional thought into who I wanted to be.
In 2019, after six years of misc. project work and staying home with my daughter, I started Onward Endeavors LLC. This business concept was designed to help business owners grow their businesses while learning how to prioritize their health and relationships. I wanted to share with other similar people what I had learned and what had helped me change my life.
My very first client was a man with an online marketing business who was looking for help with operational structure and leadership skills. After working together successfully on multiple projects he came to me in 2023 with a partnership opportunity for Florida Event Decor. A leading decor provider for Orlando events since 2008, this business provided a unique way for Jacob and I to combine our talents and provide a higher level of value to the Orlando Events community.
Two years later I am the CEO of Florida Event Decor and we are thriving as we redefine the company’s reputation, scaling the quality of work that we produce, attracting Global brands and serving the beautiful community and industries of Orlando. My Onward Endeavors business has a wait list for new clients and what once was my weakest area is now my strength.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Of course not, no one that has ever accomplished anything would say it’s been a smooth road. That’s not how life works. I had to figure out how to take care of myself physically, financially and emotionally so that I could meet the needs of my daughter who was born with microcephaly. I had six hours Mon-Fri when she was at school to take care of all the life and house things and to build a business, lol. Nothing about that was easy and even when I started gaining traction and clients, she was sick a lot and I would have to cancel or reschedule, and I was terrified that I wasn’t doing enough for her or for my clients.
Then the opportunity at Florida Event Decor came up and my work reputation put me in a direct position for this but that meant traveling back and forth between New York and Florida. The idea of moving my special needs daughter after ten years of building up her network of care and support was daunting. To do this on top of the challenge of having a new business partner, being in a completely new industry and still following through on commitments to my other clients was alot to navigate. I also knew I needed to discipline myself so that I would set boundaries around caring for myself in a way that would allow me to sustain that level of performance.
Once I got to Florida Event Decor, I had the normal challenges of transitioning ownership and stabilizing a company that was struggling to hold onto it’s recent growth when it didn’t have the infrastructure to support that growth. I had to change the culture and mindset of the employees if we were going to change and advance the reputation in the local industry. This meant I had to quickly establish trust with the team so that together we could take stock of where we were really at before determining the best way forward.
We needed to overhaul the inventory, create standard operating procedures, define roles and responsibilities based on not just the current needs of the business but on the foundation that our growth would need. There was a general lack of technology, no automation and no real understanding of how business operations impact behavior. Everything in the business needed to be updated and we needed to do all of this while still serving clients. One of the hardest things to do is create change effectively and efficiently because there can be so much resistance to it even when the change will improve the quality of the work and the experience of delivering the work.
So- not a smooth road and yet a very satisfying one to pave as I go.
As you know, we’re big fans of Florida Event Decor. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We provide incredible decor experiences for events. Unlike other decor companies that have inventory items, we have a complete design and custom decor department that builds interactive and vibrant pieces for any theme or setting. Every person in every department is dedicated to helping you have the best event possible. I am most proud of our individuals, the employees that make up our team. They genuinely care about their work, about your event and about the vision we have as a company. They work together to support each other and help each other through the ups and downs of every day. We are a team that has fun and gets things done. We want to be the bright spot in your event planning; so you have fun and become Florida Event Decor Fans!!
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
At one point in my life, I wanted to be an actor but I couldn’t get any auditions. I had a modeling agent at the time and he said if you get some experience I will send you on auditions. I couldn’t figure out how to get experience without going on auditions, so I decided to produce my own shows. Then I could cast myself and get some experience. This was how I started in the event industry. 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.floridaeventdecor.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floridaeventdecor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridaeventdecor
- Twitter: https://x.com/FLEventDecor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FloridaEventDecor
