EPISODE OVERVIEW:

Ever wondered what it takes to create an unforgettable luxury event? Betty welcomes Jaala Sheldon, a sought-after luxury event planner who traded the fashion world for entrepreneurship, and never looked back. In this candid conversation, Jaala pulls back the curtain on the event planning industry, sharing hard-won wisdom on pricing your worth, managing client expectations, and setting boundaries that actually stick. From navigating complex, high-stakes projects to protecting your sanity in a business that never sleeps, she reveals what it really takes to thrive in this demanding field.

Whether you’re considering a career in event planning or looking to elevate your existing business, this episode delivers the real talk you need to succeed without burning out.

TIME STAMPS:

[12:19] Challenges of Business Ownership 

• Taking risks in business
• Transitioning to an entrepreneur

[18:18] Strengths vs.Skills

• Developing a creative focus
• Importance of intuition

[25:49] Event Planning Process 

• The design board process
• Vendor coordination

[53:29] Holiday Event Planning

• Approach to holiday events
• How to be a successful host

[57:09] Balance and Self-Care 

• Creating self-care routines
• Strategies for maintaining balance

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

• The stress of transitioning jobs – The realities of leaving corporate security behind to build your own event planning business
• How to create a business model – How to set rates that reflect your expertise and manage client expectations from day one
• The importance of collaboration – Working with clients as partners to bring their vision to life while protecting your creative boundaries
• Taking the time to reset – Why self-care isn’t optional when you’re running a demanding, high-touch business
• The value of storytelling – Creating personalized experiences that go beyond aesthetics to capture what truly matters to your clients

GUEST INFO: 

Jaala Sheldon, Event Planner and Designer, President of Jaala Co.

• Website
• Instagram Party Pantry 
• Instagram 

RESOURCES: 

• Join Betty in a free consultation call for your financial goals
• Subscribe to the Betty’s Smart Friends YouTube Channel
• Follow us on Instagram
• Visit my website for more info
• Follow us on LinkedIn

Betty Wang is an investment adviser representative of BW Financial LLC, a registered investment adviser registered in the State of Colorado. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The views and opinions expressed are as of the date of publication and are subject to change. The content is for informational or educational purposes only, and is not intended as individualized investment advice. This information should not be relied upon as the sole factor in an investment-making decision. You are encouraged to consult with a financial professional to address your specific needs and circumstances.

TRANSCRIPTION: 

Betty Wang 00:00:01 Welcome back to Betty’s smart friends. I’m so glad that you’re here. You know that friend who walks into a room and instantly makes everything feel more special? The one who remembers the tiny details that makes you feel seen. Today I’m introducing you to someone who does this for a living and does it extraordinarily well. Today, we’re talking about something that matters more than you might think. Celebration. Not the Instagram perfect kind, but the meaningful moments that mark who we are and how far we’ve come. I’m Betty Wang, host of Betty Smart Friends. I’m a certified financial planner who helps women feel supported and more empowered with their money. My guest today is Jayla Sheldon. Jayla is a luxury event planner known for bringing creativity and heartfelt meeting to every gathering for nearly 20 years. Jayla has helped clients create beautiful experiences, from milestone birthdays to intimate dinners that are every bit as meaningful as they are. Stunning. She’s mastered the art of designing stress free events filled with personal touches. With the holidays here, I wanted to bring Jayla on, to pull back the curtain on what goes on, and goes into creating these gorgeous celebrations that we see on Instagram.

Betty Wang 00:01:17 More importantly, I want to talk about how those of us who aren’t professional planners can throw gatherings that feel special without the overwhelm and perfection or perfectionism trap. Whether you’re hosting your first holiday dinner in years or you’re in the hostess cut, whether you’re hosting your first holiday dinner in years, or you’ve been in the family hostess business for decades and need a fresh okay, sorry. Whether you’re hosting your first holiday dinner in years or you’ve been the family hostess for decades and need fresh inspiration, this conversation is for you. So grab your coffee, get comfortable, and let’s dive in. Jayla, welcome to buddy smart friends. Thanks for being here with us.

Jaala Sheldon 00:02:04 Thank you.

Betty Wang 00:02:07 well, so let’s get started. I just want to know. Thank you for being a part of us. I’ve seen I’ve seen some of the beautiful pictures, in LinkedIn and not LinkedIn and on Instagram and some of the articles that have been written about you, you’ve put together these amazingly beautiful, curated events. How did you get started in all of this? How did you find find yourself in this world?

Jaala Sheldon 00:02:33 actually, it’s kind of funny because I went to school for fashion.

Jaala Sheldon 00:02:38 I got a I got a degree in design and merchandising, visual merchandising. And, I immediately left Colorado. I got a degree at Colorado State University, which is shockingly one of the highest, ranked fashion schools in the country. at the time, I think it was number three or number five. I don’t know what it is right now, but. Oh, no, I know. Who knew? so, so much so that they’ve got great connections with the, the industry. And at the time, they had a relationship with Patagonia. So I left, and did an internship and got hired on with Patagonia right out of college. in the design department. and then eventually worked my way into visual merchandising, which is really where I wanted to be. because I’ve always had, I don’t know, had an interest in making things pretty and entertaining. And, I’d even pretend like I was, I don’t know, I used to love B&Bs, not Airbnbs, but B&Bs. And I’d love how they would put out all the coffee and the the muffins in the morning, and so I would entertain my roommates at the time with a welcome breakfast that I know.

Jaala Sheldon 00:04:06 anyway, I’ve always I’ve just always loved entertaining. So, so went to California. Worked. Worked there for five years with Patagonia. that I’m. That was Southern California. Ventura. And then, came back to Colorado for a short stint again with Patagonia. And I would do the, the visual merchandising of the store, but then got involved with the buy and sales meeting product shows, my presentations, which were at the corporate office. So I kind of had the best of both worlds. living in Denver, but then traveling back to Ventura four times a year to work with this international, group, where I made lifelong friends. Still still friends to to till to to today. and, And then realized I wanted to be back in California, where the fashion industry is more of a thriving world. So I went back and I worked for a company called DirecTV’s West. it was a retail consulting firm where we would track the trends that were happening around the country and then relay that information to the retailers so they knew what to buy, when and where to hop on a trend.

Jaala Sheldon 00:05:24 and, and that was in LA. After a few years in LA, I realized it’s it was a lovely place to be. I loved the weather, but, it was it wasn’t my, the people, the people were great. I made lots of good friends again. Lifetime friends. But I felt like it was a little too superficial for me. a lot of surface conversations, and I wanted something deeper. And so, I moved up to Northern California and worked for Esprit, which our generation knows and loves. so, yeah, work for Esprit at the corporate office there. for a few years and and loved every minute of it. San Francisco was felt much more like home to me than than la. and then at that time, I had I still had these, these friendships from around the world, and I wanted to live in a foreign country. and so I did everything you need to do to. I had all my, all my shots updated, and, and I had a job with back with Patagonia in Argentina, and, and I had a one way ticket to Argentina and I had a layover when I was in Denver on my way, and I forget what was happening with the country at the time, but it was it was unsettling.

Jaala Sheldon 00:07:04 It was just it wasn’t a good time to be there. so ultimately, I last minute decided to stay in Denver and then realized that, there’s not much of an industry here. And so I, I dabbled in, I thought, you know, what else would be fun or what else could I use my my degree or how else could I use my degree? And, and so I looked into event planning, and I mentored under a gal who’s still a very close friend. I don’t know, she’s maybe 20 years older than me, but, I mentored under her for, I don’t know, maybe on and off for about a year or so. But then she got me a job back in the fashion industry. Not because I wasn’t doing well in the events, but because a great opportunity came along with a company called Tajima, who is a local company. They’re a golf brand. It was run by Nancy Haley, who, who was a partner with Clint Eastwood. So I worked for Clint Eastwood and Nancy Haley for a few years and in the design department, designing golf clothes.

Jaala Sheldon 00:08:19 And her big goal was to make golf more fashionable for women. and so, again, I was getting on a plane quite a bit with that job, traveling all around the world with, with this one, because, we had to go visit the factories and do fabric sourcing and trim sourcing. And so, yeah, I was in China and Japan, in South Korea. Peru. yeah. All over the world. And going to Carmel four times a year, doing the, creating the catalogs. And Clint Eastwood was our model and his wife at the time, Dina Eastwood. And so. And then we would they would typically tag on the sales meetings to those, to those photoshoots. So, yeah, got to work really closely with them. And it was, it was fun to be at a restaurant knowing Clint Eastwood was going to walk in and watch people’s reactions as, as he walked in. And of course, when you’re in Carmel, that’s the main person you want to see. so so yeah.

Jaala Sheldon 00:09:31 Got back into the fashion industry. I’m sorry, this is a long story. Oh. You’re fine.

Betty Wang 00:09:38 I mean, you’ve been everywhere, and it lends, I think it lends to how detail orientated and how you have a wide breadth of inspiration from all your world travels. Yeah, I feel like, yeah, the pictures that I’ve seen, you can see that it’s very thoughtful. And it’s not just it’s not just informed by the American culture. Yeah, it’s kind of eclectic.

Jaala Sheldon 00:10:07 Yeah, I yeah, I love that part. just bringing in my, my history and travels and fashion industry experience and, it’s it’s nice to bring it all together. But anyway, so I finished, I realized I wanted to start having kids and, and wanted to have a job where I could be more flexible. So I transitioned out of out of that job, and, and then I started doing, jewelry, making my own jewelry and selling it, with vintage beads and people pieces, repurposing them into, fashionable pieces you could wear, and that was a great job for me while my kids were young, because I could do it whenever, wherever.

Jaala Sheldon 00:10:52 make jewelry as they’re sleeping, for nap time. But then a company approached me and they wanted me to. It was kind of like a. Stella. Dot. It wasn’t Stella Dot, but it was. It was a similar, business model. And but the difference with this company is they wanted to really make the experience of in-home parties special and different and more of a draw to come and purchase them and look at the different pieces of jewelry and such. And so, so that was a combination of doing and creating events, really creative events. So I, I basically created a template for them and for their clients who were selling the, the product to, to entertain throughout the throughout the year. So each season kind of had a different template that they could reference. and then at that time, the, the event piece to cold more than the jewelry line. And so, I, I just started getting into doing more elaborate events and had moved on from the jewelry company and, and then it just kept growing and fine tuning itself, along the way.

Betty Wang 00:12:19 So now you’ve transitioned to working for corporate and then a, you know, kind of on your own with your jewelry line and now totally on your own. as an event planner, is there anything that surprised you about business ownership? I think a lot of women, I don’t know, our age ish, right? 40 plus. they’re thinking about career pivots or launching their own businesses. They’ve kind of done corporate for a while, and maybe their their home life is changing, like you said. You know, you need something a little more conducive to to being at home. what do you how did you. It’s not as easy as it sounds, right? Like, what would you tell these women? Right. How did you get through all those trying times? And it sounded like you experimented a lot, which a lot of women don’t allow. We don’t allow ourselves to do that. Right?

Jaala Sheldon 00:13:20 Yeah. I would say, well, first, first of all, I loved all of my corporate jobs.

Jaala Sheldon 00:13:27 And I even though I had a few Devil Wears Prada bosses, like, really like the real deal Devil Wears Prada bosses. but I loved my corporate jobs, and I miss that. A daily interaction that I don’t have now. but, I don’t know. I guess I just took the leap and, and went for it. And I have kept taking leaps, over the years, including being in this space right now, the party pantry. this was a huge leap I’d always won in my own little venue. that could be a blank canvas, that I could recreate into all sorts of looks and feels. And if you get on my Instagram, you can see, how it’s been transformed. My my party pantry Instagram is terrible. but my Jellicoe Instagram, it tells the story a little bit more. But you wouldn’t believe how how this place is transformable. but it was, I had looked for years for a space. I actually wanted to be in my bubble of like Bonnie Brae, Cherry Creek, And looked and looked and looked.

Jaala Sheldon 00:14:45 Never found anything. and then I, I was on Craigslist and I came upon this place, and it was in Reno.

Betty Wang 00:14:55 Yeah, I’ve been on Craigslist for for years.

Jaala Sheldon 00:14:58 I know, I’m so old school. I’m an.

Betty Wang 00:15:01 Old lady. I remember being obsessed. We all were obsessed with it for so long.

Jaala Sheldon 00:15:05 I was I just got so determined to find a space. And so I would look anywhere and everywhere. And I had hired, a, a real estate agent to help me. and I, I saw the pictures of this space, and I was like, so, is the whole space available for this price? And, because you could see, like, upstairs, you could see that in the picture. So it looked like it was almost maybe two, two units for this price. But the prices were so much better here somehow in Reno than they were in my little bubble. And, and it was still much more than I felt like I could handle. But I knew that I could transform it into a place that could pay for itself by renting it out and for events.

Jaala Sheldon 00:15:54 And I rent it to corporate, clients for offsite meetings. It’s great for photo shoots. I actually have a visitor coming later today who wants to do a podcast in here? and so, yeah, it’s great for video production. OtterBox was just in here recently. Lululemon has rented it, for their, their, what do they call it? It’s like a, I don’t know, they’ve got a program of, of trainees that, that they like to entertain, but, anyway, so that was a huge leap. It was terrifying. I had to I had to spend a lot of money to get it to where it is now. But but it’s working out. And every day. I, knock on wood and thank my lucky stars that I can pay for it. And and another big reason why I needed to take the sleep is I had three storage units full of stuff, that I had collected over the years that I pull into my events. I kind of call this space more of a hobby.

Jaala Sheldon 00:17:01 It’s not my real job. It’s like a hobby job that also happens to, house. All of my party pantry things that, that I do pull from. And I’ll do, I’ll rent stuff, as well from here, but, but I don’t want to be a rental company, so, anyway, yeah, that was that was a huge, terrifying leap because it involved a monthly lease payment that was more than my mortgage at home, so. Oh. So yeah. That was. But I did it and I’m here and and it’s working and I don’t know how it is, but it is. But I will say that, this might come of shock to a lot of people, but I am a terrible business person. That is not my strength. Somehow I make it work, but I I’m a terrible business person. I do not like numbers like we were talking about earlier. I don’t like data. I don’t like analyzing. I, I like the, ignorance is bliss. And, and when I have to, I will dive into the numbers and kind of see where I am.

Jaala Sheldon 00:18:18 But, but ultimately I am, I thrive, and I do well in the creative world and the, the output that I create, at my events. But I do not thrive on the back end of, of my world. But thankfully I have a great bookkeeper and, And yeah, I can keep budgets well and manage them well with a little help, but, But yeah, it’s funny. It’s not my my strong suit.

Betty Wang 00:18:47 Well, it sounds like you live more by your intuition and your gut, which I think a lot of us lot are fear. I mean, I know I mine was right. Just all the leaps that you’ve taken so far, you know, I think you’re just naturally, I don’t know, risk taking is the right word, but you you are very. And I think a lot of. I’m jealous. You listen to your intuition, and some of us don’t have that. Yeah.

Jaala Sheldon 00:19:20 I guess I am willing to pay for it.

Betty Wang 00:19:23 Yeah, yeah.

Jaala Sheldon 00:19:24 I’m willing to take risks.

Jaala Sheldon 00:19:25 But I’m a dreamer also. And I want. I don’t want to be a talker and not a doer. I want to do. And a lot of times I want to prove, prove that to people. and, and so I guess it’s, it’s a good trait, but it it could get me into trouble.

Betty Wang 00:19:45 Well, it sounds like it’s working out for you. It’s working. Yeah. I think if it’s they think you’re probably naturally a business person, you just don’t focus on it because it’s not that interesting to you.

Jaala Sheldon 00:19:59 Yeah, I could use some help. I know I need some back end coaching. Actually. I need someone like you to really look at my numbers and dive deep and, help me figure out what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong.

Betty Wang 00:20:15 But anytime.

Betty Wang 00:20:17 Well, tell us.

Betty Wang 00:20:18 A little bit about, you know, what it’s like to work with you. how do they what’s the journey like? I think not a lot of us have hired event planners maybe other than for our wedding, but what kind of celebrations may that’s helpful for people to know? Because you don’t do just, small shindig.

Betty Wang 00:20:40 You do. You create events. what that said, like, what does that mean?

Jaala Sheldon 00:20:50 well, I used to do small shindig, and I am of the generation where we work hard. and I will do anything, that needs to. that needs to be done to create a really great end result. whether it’s cleaning toilets here or, sweeping the floors at the end of the night after an 18 hour day. I think, no one is too good, to You really put their put their energy into all levels of of the job. And one of my favorite. one of my favorite thank you speeches is from Ashton Kutcher. It was at like, the Nickelodeon, I don’t know, it was directed to kids.

Betty Wang 00:21:43 What’s he getting? Slime.

Jaala Sheldon 00:21:44 Yeah, I think he was getting slimed, but he talked about what was what. Sexy. And, And it all comes down to sweeping floors of McDonald’s, you know, and working your way up and and staying humble and, and knowing that just when you think you’re all that, you realize that you’re not.

Jaala Sheldon 00:22:08 so if. Yeah, if anyone is listening to this, go Google. Ashton Kutcher, thank you. Speech and show it to your kids, to, to realize what truly is sexy. But, anyway, my point is, is anyone who works with me on my team. I just get the job done. I still get the job done. Of course, I do like to delegate some of the my less, favorite tasks. and, and but I still like to demonstrate that, we can we can do it all. But I started doing very small events. I used to do a lot of kids birthday parties. I used to help my friends, with events as as much as I can. And they. They wanted me to help. It was mutual. but it took me a long time to to grow my business to where it is today. so much so with to where I. I was kind of getting in the weeds and taking on too much and saying yes, too much and getting bogged down by lots of little stuff.

Jaala Sheldon 00:23:17 So I slowly had to increase my prices to weed out a lot of the little stuff. Off because I work my my butt off for every job, for every client I put my all into. And I was doing that for very small jobs and realizing it was just bogging me down. And I had to find a happy medium to where I could have balance with my family and my friends and, and my own self-care and, and spinning class and, and ultimately, balance became a priority for me. And the way that I had to do that was through starting minimum. So I think my, I don’t I think my first minimums for an event started at $3,000, and it was hard, but I had to tell my friends that, that’s that’s my starting point. And if it works for you, I’d love to keep talking and moving forward. And But I totally understand. If you know, if it doesn’t, I won’t be offended. There are lots of people out there, lots of great, entry level people or or, you know, it’s you.

Jaala Sheldon 00:24:36 I would, I would offer party plans and then I would, I would hand that off and then they could take it and run with it. but, yeah, ultimately I knew I wanted to grow and I wanted to do fewer events and more, substantial events, higher budgets, and really be able to, let my, my creative side shine. But a lot of times, people don’t realize how much those Instagram or Pinterest worthy photos. They don’t realize what it takes to make that happen. so so yeah, ultimately, my my minimums kept going up and up and up and, they’re currently at $10,000. and then, what how how that works is if, everyone. or clients and thankfully I, I all my business comes to me through word of mouth or an experience at an event. I haven’t really had to market. knock on wood, I did. I did start with marketing the space, when I first opened it, but, but yeah, thankfully I haven’t really had to do marketing.

Jaala Sheldon 00:25:49 So when a client reaches out and asks if, if I’m available and if I’d be able to work on this project, I always lead with what my minimums are, and or where my starting point is, and then, letting them know that it goes up from there. It all depends on what, what they want, what their ultimate goal is. And, and so how I start is once we’ve agreed to, to that pricing. I will go in and learn everything, anything and everything I can about the client, the guest of honor, whoever it may be, and and dive deep understanding the space that we’re working with and then the people that we’re working with and what they want out of the event. And then from there, I dive into a party plan or party design board. And ultimately what that is, is it’s broken down into all the pieces and parts of an event. and, and I go in and I flood the, the design boards with way more than anyone can or should do.

Jaala Sheldon 00:27:01 based on the conversations and what I think would make a really beautiful, cohesive event. and then we review that together and pick it apart. and that’s kind of where my fashion experience comes into play. I feel like a just the design piece of it. But then also, being able to welcome the answer. No, no, I don’t like that. No, that doesn’t work for the budget. The more clear my clients are, that of what they want and what they don’t want, the better outcome they get. but, yeah, we pick it apart, we dissect it. they let me know what they like and what they don’t like. And then what’s left ends up being the the roadmap for the event. and it’s kind of a working document throughout the process. and, at that point is when I can actually quote the project fully. So the, the starting rate is at 10,000. But then once I, once we’ve gone through that process and I have a better idea of what they want, then I can really figure out how many vendors are coming into play and how much time I think it’ll take.

Jaala Sheldon 00:28:14 And, the, the amount of team members I think I’ll need to bring on board to help me execute, and, and what their budget is. so from there, I can I can price it out a little bit more accurately, accurately. I currently, have a flat rate, that, that we agree upon and we move forward with that. But then, now I’m charging a percentage for, things we purchase. I do a lot of that because, to really fine tune the party and give it the depth of, of detail. A lot of times you have to buy things, whether it’s custom napkins or the right, stools. because sometimes it doesn’t make sense to rent things. It makes just as much sense to purchase. And that’s how I ended up with this party pantry here. but, so I charge a percentage to just to manage the the fulfillment of opening boxes and processing it. But then then we’ve I’ve I’ve also started. If we get to your budget of what what you would what it started at.

Jaala Sheldon 00:29:33 And if we go over that budget then I charge a percentage over anything that’s over, over that price. because it’s obviously entailing more work and, and management. So, yeah, that’s the gist. Did I, did I answer all the questions?

Betty Wang 00:29:53 First of all? Yeah. It’s amazing. I think those of us who are business owners charging what we’re worth is really difficult to figure out. I mean, I still struggle with it, right? Because of course we want to help our friends. We want to help everybody. Right? But there’s a certain level That we operate at that deserved higher compensation than what we were receiving. Right. Yeah. And it takes a long time to get there. And it takes confidence to know that, we’re worth the money. So I think it’s it’s pretty amazing that without any business experience, you’ve kind of come to these things on your own, raising your fees. Right? understanding that you want more balance. I mean, did. Was there a breaking point for that? Because, you know, some people just would have continued.

Betty Wang 00:30:51 Business is good. I’m busy. This is great. Like,

Jaala Sheldon 00:30:56 Yeah. For sure.

Betty Wang 00:30:57 That must have been. I don’t know if there is something where you’re like, I can’t do this anymore. Yeah. Or, you were just, you know, again, like, your intuition just said, something’s not right. I have to adjust.

Jaala Sheldon 00:31:10 I think it’s it was all of that. Definitely intuition. But then also, literally, yeah, a breaking point where you’re working so hard. Almost every event I do, the day of event, of the event, it’s almost always an 18 hour day. and but having too many 18 hour days back to back to back where I’ve, I’ve taken on more than I can handle and I can’t see straight. And I’m grumpy at my family and, not seeing them or my friends and, and, yeah, I just love life too much to not experience it fully, with all the things, and yeah, so there was a breaking point where and if you’re an event planner, you can relate to this probably more than more than anything because we work so hard and and there’s only so many weekends you can take on and take away from your family, and or friends.

Betty Wang 00:32:51 Yeah. No. That’s amazing. And the boundaries you put up, I think that’s something, that I’m certainly trying to learn as I, as I grow as a person and an entrepreneur, what are the things that are happening behind the scenes on the like? I think some people myself. What happens on the day of that? You’re working 18 hours because there’s so much that people that’s so much happens behind the scenes, right? That people don’t understand, you know, $10,000.

Betty Wang 00:33:22 Like, how is how the world could that be worth it? But it’s like you said, that’s that’s that’s only the one day of the event. That’s not all that work before that. Right. What happens on event day that that makes it 18 hours on a normal basis?

Jaala Sheldon 00:33:42 yeah. Well, it’s and it’s not just 18 hours that day. Most of my events right now are, are a two day set up. And you would you would be amazed how quickly things come down. a year of planning and a party can be disassembled within a day. It’s crazy.

Betty Wang 00:34:02 because of weather or something happening?

Jaala Sheldon 00:34:04 No. Disassembled meaning? Like we’ve got it all set up. We’ve taken a year to plan it. B then two days to set everything up and then. And then c to remove it all. So everything just like. Everything disappears. All the vendors come and they pick up their stuff and their the flowers are gone and the furniture is gone. And the room is a blank and empty canvas again.

Jaala Sheldon 00:34:30 but the 18 hour day is. Yeah, it all goes into transforming a space. and I love the transformations now. Yeah, we’re even covering a floor of a ballroom because there, if you can find a ballroom that has a good floor and attractive carpet or, or flooring, you know.

Betty Wang 00:34:49 That.

Jaala Sheldon 00:34:49 Is.

Betty Wang 00:34:49 Please tell me it’s there. They. Yeah. They all have the very old. Yes.

Jaala Sheldon 00:34:54 And everyone.

Betty Wang 00:34:55 Said.

Jaala Sheldon 00:34:55 Oh, it’s awful. It’s red or it’s like got an awful pattern.

Jaala Sheldon 00:35:01 so a lot of times now I just like to cover the floor. If, if it’s in the budget. and that makes all the difference in a room. So to plan an event, you have to really, at least at this level, you have to think through all of the pieces and parts that are going into it. It’s like the layers of an onion. if I’ve got to get the floor in first and then after that furniture, which could come from all sorts of different rental companies.

Jaala Sheldon 00:35:28 A lot of times I like to hang things from the ceiling to give it another feel. and then and then there’s the layers of the tables, beautiful tablecloths, beautiful table top and, places or place place settings. And then there’s the floral. I mean, it’s just layers and layers and layers and, so much so that you have to strategize the load ins because not everybody can be loading in at the same time or loading out at the same time. So, you got to make sure that the, the flooring people are coming first and that’s going to take several hours. And then, And then they have to be out of the way. And it’s just, Yeah, it’s just a a process. And then all the details that come into play and, the Devils are the the detail. What is it? The the devil is.

Jaala Sheldon 00:36:21 In the details.

Jaala Sheldon 00:36:22 Yeah. yeah. It’s my best and worst asset.

Jaala Sheldon 00:36:27 because.

Jaala Sheldon 00:36:27 I love to tell a client’s story in a deep and meaningful way for them in their, their guest to see and pick up on it, and and, Yeah, it’s all about how you make people feel.

Jaala Sheldon 00:36:43 so, yeah, it’s it’s it takes a lot of time. I tell my clients that, trust me, you do. You do not want me to cut count my hours. or or my. Well, I count my team’s hours, but, but yeah, I, I don’t I don’t you don’t want me to count hours and charge hourly, ever. but yeah, the it takes a lot. and then it all just is. It disappears in a flash. It’s so sad to see it all go away, but it always leaves my favorite pictures, actually. the messes at the end, where everything has been used and, and messy. And you can just think about all the different memories that were created to, to, make that mess.

Betty Wang 00:37:37 Can you give us, you know, maybe one of your favorite events, tell us a little bit about it or what made it special. And, just for again, for someone who’s more numbers orientated, I don’t know if I’ve ever been to event that makes me feel like that, right? I mean, weddings, sure, but.

Betty Wang 00:37:57 But you do milestone birthdays, then you do. I think you said you do bar mitzvahs and bar mitzvahs. do you have, like, one that sticks in your mind or a couple that. Tell us about a little special detail and why you did it. Right. Like, I think that’s really interesting because not everybody thinks like that, right?

Jaala Sheldon 00:38:20 Yeah, yeah. Honestly, I don’t know. I have so many favorite events. I don’t know if I could pick a favorite, but I can. I could pick a few. Gosh.

Betty Wang 00:38:40 Yeah, just, you know, one that where you’re like, wow, I totally got this, right. I should.

Jaala Sheldon 00:38:47 I know.

Betty Wang 00:38:47 I guess you feel like that a lot, but.

Jaala Sheldon 00:38:50 Well, there’s so much planning that goes into it. I, I, I feel thankful that my brain still works to remember and recreate all the details that were discussed along that yearlong process of of of planning. But gosh, I don’t know. There there are so many good events.

Jaala Sheldon 00:39:09 so let’s see. I do baby showers. I’ve had a few baby showers that were very, memorable. there was a fun circus. One in the in a tent. that was fun. even the place cards were a clown’s nose. it was like the clown nose you could put the clown nose on, but they were on on each play setting. and bringing in, like, a vintage, feel to it. The cracker I, the guest of honor, was southern and loved the pimento, their pimento cheese and crackers dip. so I got animal cracker boxes and put the the pimento cheese dip, and inside there with the crackers in there to dip in regular crackers. Not the animal crackers, but, Let’s see. another one was actually in Arkansas. I don’t travel that much for events, but I, I would like to, as the kids, leave home, I want to do some more destination work. once they’re gone. But, in Arkansas, we it was a LeMans, and Lions was the theme.

Jaala Sheldon 00:40:23 the mother talked about when they had first heard the heartbeat or something. It sounded like a lion. And so we, And she loved, she loves Beyonce. and so we wanted to incorporate lemon or lemonade. and so, yeah, I was like, what? How could you do? and so lemons and lions just sounded fun together. It’s they’re so different. but that one, we put, there, we brought in, entertainment, like a string quartet. who spin funny. They’re awesome. They. They all are. They all play strings, and they kind of play to a DJ with, like, modern music. and they, they work very well together. You’d have to see it in experience and in person. But I had, big, huge baby blocks made for them to stand on. They were each dressed up as an animal, so that one block was easy for zebra, and they were dressed as a zebra. The while playing there, they’re there awesomely because they’re open to, wearing any kind of costume within reason.

Jaala Sheldon 00:41:40 That’s that. And they choose them so they know what’s comfortable for them to continue to play, and sound good while wearing these costumes. But, yeah. So there were four different blocks and they were all playing. One was a lion, Alfred lion, and I don’t know. That was a fun one. We transformed the room in a big way. For that, we made the floor became white. it was an awful, patterned floor. The whole floor was white, and, the floor. The flowers were incredible. What else? yeah. One of my favorite.

Betty Wang 00:42:18 People must be so.

Jaala Sheldon 00:42:19 Oh, my gosh, so many vendors.

Betty Wang 00:42:21 A huge part of your job, right? Yeah, yeah, because it’s.

Jaala Sheldon 00:42:24 Not.

Betty Wang 00:42:24 Like you’re using somebody to play music every time.

Jaala Sheldon 00:42:30 Right, right. Yeah. It’s. Yeah, it takes a lot of vetting to find the best teams of people to work with. whether it’s photographers or florists or rental companies. Now, there are all these amazing rental companies that that rent beautiful furniture.

Jaala Sheldon 00:42:51 it’s not it’s not cheap, but, but it really elevates an event to another level. But yeah, there’s so many vendors involved. I mean, you could have up to 20 vendors at and at one event. but yeah, one of my favorite parties is, is the silliest one. it was a group that, not a group, a couple who moved from New York City, and they were still kind of unpacking their boxes, but they wanted to have a 40th birthday. And, and I was like, well, let’s embrace the boxes. And so the whole party was made of boxes, the table, the cocktail tables. We had foosball that were, that was made of cardboard. We had taxidermy on the walls made of cardboard. the bar, the whole bar was made of cardboard. And the back bar was this big, huge shelf. You have to see the pictures that I. I can’t give it justice. I had packing tape made that had the logo of the guy whose birthday it was, and he was turning 40.

Jaala Sheldon 00:44:01 So the zero was the shape of a box or just a square. But we used packing tape on everything to, to create these. yeah, it’s. But then we also incorporated a little bit of real furniture within it to. But you have to see the pictures of that one. It was, it was incredible. and yeah.

Betty Wang 00:44:22 Just all boxes to make. Yeah. To, to make taxidermy out of you.

Jaala Sheldon 00:44:28 Can it exists. There’s companies that have used the furniture was very sturdy and very cool. but, they think they were out of actually, it was really hard to find. I think they were out of Denmark. the foosball table and the table tennis or ping pong. yeah. And then I just got really big tall boxes about the same height as a cocktail table. And it was just just a box that was taped up. Yeah, with a flower centerpiece on top. that was a fun one. Yeah, that one always sticks in my mind. It was it was one of more my more creative feats.

Betty Wang 00:45:10 So it sounds like if somebody was planning an event with you, they should reach out to you. At least you’re ahead. Is that.

Jaala Sheldon 00:45:20 No. Not always. Some of my favorite calls are when it’s a month away. I don’t I don’t recommend that.

Betty Wang 00:45:27 Sure. Yeah, I.

Jaala Sheldon 00:45:29 Do well under pressure, and I, I like that I don’t have to think about it for a year. I like that I can just get her done. actually. So I’ve decided one of my new niches. I want to be, our second weddings. I do some first weddings. I don’t take on many, on purpose because I don’t want to be a wedding planner, but, but I, I have done a few recently, second weddings and they are they’re so fun because there’s fewer cooks in the kitchen. It’s usually the bride and groom who are paying, and, and it’s just thoughtful. And it’s just it all comes down to what matters. and, which is truly just the food and the drink, and the people like you don’t need me.

Jaala Sheldon 00:46:22 you can entertain with without all, all the, the Instagrammable, things that come into play because it just comes down to good people, good food and drink. But if you can elevate it in a, at another level and really bring that, that thoughtfulness to the couple and how they met and, kind of tell their story, it’s great, but, but yeah, I, I’ve decided second weddings come my way.

Betty Wang 00:46:54 That’s great. I mean, it’s again, you know, for our stage of life, it’s it happens more. It’s definitely second round time. Right? And it is different, right. It’s joyful because when they find each other for, you know, the, the person that they’re marrying for the second their second marriage is, you’re older, you’re more settled. You kind of know what you want. So I can see how that makes also planning for their wedding. I brought that up. Yeah.

Jaala Sheldon 00:47:28 Oh yeah I brought that up because, a couple called me two months ago who wanted to have a, like, a just a reception in their backyard.

Jaala Sheldon 00:47:38 They it wasn’t their second wedding, but they were an older couple. not that old, but, who got married and went off and did it on their own, but they they called me a month in advance and I was like, oh yes, please. I would love to make an app. And I’m not always available, but if I’m available, yeah, I don’t I don’t mind the last minute, the last minute calls.

Betty Wang 00:48:04 And so for those of us who aren’t. Your fee is not where we’re at right now. What what do you have advice on? I mean, I think you’ve said good food, good people. and that’s kind of all you really need. But if we wanted to do something to elevate our gathering, do you have, you know, everyday tips that you’ve seen that are kind of easy wins?

Jaala Sheldon 00:48:34 Yeah, yeah. You, like I said, anyone can entertain my. My friends are always hesitant to have me.

Betty Wang 00:48:43 At their event.

Betty Wang 00:48:44 I can say that as.

Betty Wang 00:48:45 A lot of pressure. Yeah, I know, but I, I, I don’t love.

Jaala Sheldon 00:48:51 It when, when they feel that way. Because ultimately, to be a guest at any event where you’ve been invited is an honor. and and to. Yeah, just be able to sit with the people that you enjoy and have real conversation and, that’s like I said, what it comes down to, if you have good food, good drink, good company, then everything else is, is icing on the cake. but if you do want to elevate your event, or small gathering, of course, there’s so many resources now, there’s so much out there, on Instagram and on Pinterest. And you can, you can get really creative with, with. Yeah, a table scape. just thinking about, I like to think about all five senses and how you can bring them into play, whether it’s good food that’s coming out of the oven or nice candles that are lit. obviously, flowers are always a good thing to, to bring into play.

Jaala Sheldon 00:50:03 and, setting a really pretty table. you can do this if you don’t have, the tabletop yourself, you can. Rental companies will rent the, like, some of the bigger rental companies who, who will rent you anything from tables and chairs and linens and, and glassware and and plates. They’ve got nice stuff. Now that you can rent 12 of, 12 of each thing. candles are always nice. having some nice music playing. and having an interactive, activity is, is always nice, even if it’s just like a little note card under each person’s plate that asks a probing question or something interesting or gets conversation started. but, yeah, ultimately it just comes down to the, the, the food and the the friends. And, a specialty cocktail is always a nice way to, to elevate. I love garnishes in a, in a drink. And that can be as something as simple as going to Whole Foods. And they have they have the, the clamshells that have fresh flowers in them and or mint or or an herb.

Jaala Sheldon 00:51:29 but yeah, just letting each guest know that they were, thought it thought about whether it’s a place card that says their name or a sweet something to send them home with. people love edible. Something to eat to take, whether it’s really pretty. Sugar cookies that have been decorated or I will say, a lot of people try and mix up who sits where and like to challenge conversation. I will say that friends like to be with friends in in their comfort zone and they want to sit next to people they, they enjoy talking to in their comfort level. So it doesn’t always work to, to mix up the, the, the table seatings. I say just put people with who they want to be with and, and everyone is more comfortable. They have more fun and laugh and, in conversation at this age at least, maybe when people are younger. it’s it’s a little bit more successful, but I feel like, don’t try and get tricky with the the play settings and.

Betty Wang 00:52:43 That’s really interesting.

Betty Wang 00:52:45 I mean, I think it’s our stage of life too. We’re so busy that we don’t see our friends. So when I’m at an event, that’s who I want to see.

Betty Wang 00:52:54 Right. Yeah.

Betty Wang 00:52:55 And I know that’s not. But that’s. Yeah. You’re right. When I’m young, when I was younger, meeting more people and talking about different things was always really interesting. But at this point, I feel like time is so constrained that I want to talk to one of my good friends who I haven’t seen and yeah, maybe a month, right, because our schedules haven’t lined up. Yeah. That’s interesting. Now do you do I mean, we’re in the holiday season. Do you do holiday planning for folks to or is that is that a super busy time of year for you?

Jaala Sheldon 00:53:29 I will not be able to see straight for the first 13 days of December. I have a thing that I started to. I mean, oh, maybe, maybe five years ago where I won’t take, Events after the 10th of December.

Jaala Sheldon 00:53:50 this year I have one on the 13th, which is pushing it, but, but I, Yeah, it’ll it’ll it’s close enough to the 10th, and it all depends on the weekend. So ideally you want to have the first two weekends available or I want to work the first two weekends of December and then and then have the last half of December. so yeah, I have more on my plate this December than, than I would prefer, but, they’re all great events and or repeat clients that I’ve worked with, for years. And, and yeah, we all worked together. Together. Well, I have a handful of clients who I’ve, I’ve worked with for many years. Repeat clients and, and I’ll do small things for them. It’s not like the $10,000 starting point, but we will work all year long on on small events. so I do I do have a few clients who are grandfathered in in that way. But I will say for, holiday events. they’re the easiest events to plan for anybody.

Jaala Sheldon 00:55:01 whether it’s me who’s, you know, trying to create an or transform a ballroom or, it’s Christmas is Christmas and or the holidays or, Hanukkah or whatever you celebrate. it’s it’s your decor. It’s it’s what you have anyway. Most people have all that decoration. And so that’s half the battle you’re going to decorate for the holiday anyway, so you might as well entertain. all you need are fresh flowers.

Betty Wang 00:55:33 You’re putting the tree out. You may as.

Betty Wang 00:55:34 Well. Yeah. I mean, you’re.

Jaala Sheldon 00:55:36 You have to clean your home up a little bit and, Yeah, order some fresh flowers and set a pretty table. But it’s the easiest time to entertain because you don’t have to think outside the box as much. You just kind of the all the decor right in front of you. I mean, even Hobby Lobby has, has good stuff. to set a pretty table scape. but yeah, it’s, I highly recommend if you are thinking about entertaining over the holidays, it’s a great excuse to get people together and you’ve already done half the work.

Jaala Sheldon 00:56:10 so you might as well share it with people.

Betty Wang 00:56:13 I mean, I think that’s a nice perspective because I think some folks are like, I’m not going to throw a party or a gathering during the holidays because so-and-so is doing one and their parties always. Or have you been to parties? Like, it is hard not to do that comparison because you want people to, or you want people to enjoy what? They’re the event that you’re hosting? Yeah. so I think that’s that’s that’s a nicer perspective, right? Because again, it’s it’s about bringing the people together and I think, we forget.

Betty Wang 00:56:48 That.

Betty Wang 00:56:51 yeah. What do you do to, you know, maintain your own balance and peace. It sounds like you’re really in tune with yourself. Are there like and you talked about self-care before. What what pieces of self-care do you do that that help you reach around?

Jaala Sheldon 00:57:09 I love to travel. we’re asking that for December or just in general.

Betty Wang 00:57:16 I guess you know both, right? Because most people feel a lot more stressed during the holidays, because they’re hosting an event or they’re going to events.

Betty Wang 00:57:29 and some of us who are more introverted, it’s a lot.

Betty Wang 00:57:33 Yeah.

Betty Wang 00:57:33 So there’s a lot of things. So I think, you know, balance and peace throughout the year. And then also during this busy part of the year. But it sounds like the last two weeks for you of December at least are quieter for you.

Betty Wang 00:57:46 Yeah. It’s still crazy.

Jaala Sheldon 00:57:48 but yeah. No, I, I, like I said, I, I don’t take events after a certain point. so then I can, be with my family. I typically have to do my holiday shopping at that point. I do try and get my Christmas cards out, but, like, or at least ordered before Thanksgiving. of course they end up going out last minute anyway. but yeah, if you can order your Christmas cards before Thanksgiving, at least have them. so then when you do have find a moment to get them out, you you can. And at least they’re there and in your hands. and then, Yeah.

Jaala Sheldon 00:58:30 Again with Christmas shopping too. If you can get anything earlier in November. Start, start that that shopping and then and then. Yeah, you just you have to say no. Unfortunately, there is so much happening over the holidays and, saying no, but yes to yes to what’s important to you and no to, things that don’t fill your cup. and, and then the rest of the year. I, I, I love to travel. I love to travel with my family. I love to travel with my friends, but I also love to have moments, to myself with travel. Like, I, I’m part of a few different, networking groups. and, so even going to that. But then you’ll have your own time in between, sessions or or the gatherings at these. I, I’m always inspired by other people in our industry. and so it’s, it’s good for me to, to see what’s out there, and experience it because so much of what we’re doing is creating experiences for other people.

Jaala Sheldon 00:59:52 So to be at a guest at a, a well curated event. amongst other industry people, is is great. I’m actually going to a floral retreat, which I’m not trying to be a florist. I, I just feel like I sometimes need to stretch my creative brain and, and challenge myself in different ways. So I’m going to a floral retreat in a few weeks and in Mexico. And, that will provide some quiet time for myself, but then also inspire me in other ways. And, Yeah. And then just having having some quiet time. and, Yeah, I don’t know, making sure that I have that balance with my with my family. and, and people who are close to me. throughout the year, I think, as it fills my cup and energizes me. but I do have to I do have to limit what I do at, now. just realizing that I’m a better person for everybody else. if I if I do care for myself and of course, I, I treat myself to, massages and facials on occasion.

Jaala Sheldon 01:01:16 Not nearly enough. but, yeah, that kind of self-care is always welcome. And then movement. just moving our body with, either our favorite spinning class, or, a walk. Especially right now with the fall.

Betty Wang 01:01:34 It’s so nice right now. Yeah.

Jaala Sheldon 01:01:36 Yeah.

Betty Wang 01:01:38 well, how should people how should listeners connect with you or find you to, to learn more or to, you know, to to hire you?

Jaala Sheldon 01:01:49 well, I have a website. It’s it’s out of date, so I need to update it. It’s not terrible, but it’s it’s definitely, needs a refresh, but feel free to go on my websites. It’s easy if you know how to spell my name. my, I’m JLA, which is tricky. And it’s pronounced Jayla, not Jayla. And, it’s just Jayla. Com. it’s my website. And then I, Yeah, I’m on Instagram at Jayla underscore Co and then, I, I also have the party pantry website or the party pantries on my website. but the I’ve got, the party pantry, on Instagram as well.

Jaala Sheldon 01:02:39 I don’t I’m not on LinkedIn. Going back to how I’m a terrible business person. I’m not on LinkedIn. I should be on LinkedIn.

Betty Wang 01:02:48 It sounds like you’re doing just fine without it.

Jaala Sheldon 01:02:51 There’s only so much social media that I can handle. yeah. So those are the best ways. And I love a call. there’s a way to submit a form on my website. my information is all on my website, and. Okay. yeah, I’m happy to entertain all sorts of, ideas projects. I love corporate jobs. people don’t realize how much I appreciate corporate work, but I love corporate and, Yeah. And no project is too small. But I will do design boards on occasion if I have time and then still pass that off. So that’s one way to get around my minimums, is if you just want some ideas and or a some more consulting rather than the full execution, then, yeah, I’m open to, to that kind of stuff when, when time permits.

Betty Wang 01:03:52 So.

Betty Wang 01:03:53 So for those of us who aren’t creative, what when you say boards, I kind of think of the Pinterest board.

Betty Wang 01:04:01 Does it or do you actually do one like like a vision board that is on, where you pin stuff like, like it’s, it’s an object.

Betty Wang 01:04:13 That.

Betty Wang 01:04:13 You hand over.

Betty Wang 01:04:14 To them.

Jaala Sheldon 01:04:15 yeah. So that’s a great question. So it is, it’s all, visual, mostly visual, but with. I’ll. I’ll pull in. Like, if I’m inspired by their name. And there’s fun ways to kind of play up on their name or a quote or something, but, there, there is text within it, but it’s mostly visual and it’s, it’s like your own curated visual, Pinterest board. like, if you like, put all your favorite pictures into a folder. it’s basically that, but then it’s broken down by like the bar, the, the florist, the lighting, draping food. I love, like, creative food presentation. drink presentation. There’s a whole page of what we can customize. it’s really, yeah, it’s really that but but curated just for you and kind of tells your life story.

Jaala Sheldon 01:05:20 yeah. but yeah, it’s very visual with, with helpful information throughout.

Betty Wang 01:05:29 Is there anything that I haven’t that we haven’t touched on that you think is important for listeners to know, whether it’s about what you do or about hosting their own, their own holiday or other celebration, that you want to share that we haven’t covered?

Jaala Sheldon 01:05:49 gosh, I don’t know. There’s we could talk for days.

Betty Wang 01:05:52 but.

Jaala Sheldon 01:05:54 I don’t think so, I don’t know. No, I don’t think so.

Betty Wang 01:05:57 I think.

Betty Wang 01:05:57 Now they know where.

Betty Wang 01:05:58 To find best.

Betty Wang 01:05:58 If they.

Betty Wang 01:05:59 Have one. Yeah. You you’ve asked great questions.

Jaala Sheldon 01:06:02 And, Yeah, I appreciate your thoughtfulness, in understanding enough of what I do to create conversation about it.

Betty Wang 01:06:12 Well, I actually feel like I don’t I don’t really know anything about what you do. So that’s why this was super. I have plenty of questions because I thought it was really enlightening. Well, Jayla, I wanted to thank you so much for being here today and sharing your wisdom and your stories and your heart with us.

Betty Wang 01:06:31 You’ve reminded us that celebration isn’t frivolous, right? It’s essential, and it’s how we honor our growth, mark our transitions, and give ourselves permission to take up space. You’ve reminded us that celebration doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. Although it sounds like your events are pretty perfect for the rest of us. Maybe not so much. It’s about connection and presence and giving ourselves a moment to enjoy, our friends and our life and how a blessed we all are. So to everyone listening, if you’ve been carrying the weight of hosting holidays for decades and you’re just tired, it’s okay to.

Betty Wang 01:07:17 just do it.

Betty Wang 01:07:18 Downshift! Yeah. Just do it. And if you’ve been waiting for the right time to celebrate yourself or start something new, this is your sign. And as Jayla said, you know your house is already decorated. You may as well have people over here.

Betty Wang 01:07:32 Yeah.

Betty Wang 01:07:33 So, you know, I think I read in one of the articles about you, Jayla, that it’s, you know, the Jayla touch, right? It’s the focusing on who you are at heart and letting go of the rest and trying to be present in the moment.

Betty Wang 01:07:47 So, just to the listeners, you’ll find all the links to connect you with Jayla and explore Jayla and company in the show notes. And if this episode resonated with you, we would love for you to share it with a friend who’d like to hear it. But until then, I think keep learning, keep growing, and remember that you are worth celebrating. And thank you for being here.

Jaala Sheldon 01:08:12 Yeah. Thank you, I appreciate it. It was fun to talk with you now.