My IG: elavalonz
FB: https://www.facebook.com/elalerzia
Page: https://m.facebook.com/ehlleelitememoirs/
Owners note
Owners note:
This is considered a long and unwrapped diary, my summarization of everything from start up-to now
Our business did not start in advertising our skills, it came to us as a call of a “client’s need”. For originally, me and my wife were just selling our bead-works in Riverside Market and online. As known by her friends in college she was fascinated to create accessories and playing on beads to have earrings, necklaces and more. Sounds truthful awkward for a man like me but I found it interesting too because you can profit by putting effort and create art. I’ve stopped from working as a call Center agent because I had to help her to produce as many as accessories she can make for one day to display on a stand that we use to rent in riverside market. That time we are just newlywed and expecting a baby. When our first born came out, we needed more sources of income. So her father, Mr. Glicerio Lapso Sr., let me work on his events too. Under her father’s company the “Sersan Events” which was established since 1970’s (name came from him as Serio and wife Susan). We had informally started our very first event last Feb 21, 2009 in Lilac Fairview to assist a customer on their grand opening of a grocery store. She ordered a mobile sounds and lighting system from us and after noticing that she hadn’t had decors and enhancement of the place since they were just starting (like us), We offered her some extra hands without being aware that we are actually doing business of event management. We had given her list of something to buy like some balloons to create pillar decorations on entrances and fabrics that will complement the motif of her store. And she just decided for me to do those things and she will just give me some tips by helping her. My wife, was hired to be an announcer, as long as I can remember we’ve some of her sentences recorded so that she would have some breaks for the whole day too. It goes like: “Welcome to the Centromart grocery store, where you can find fresh foods, goods and basic needs to provide in your home....” ...etch. Balloon decorations was the first training that I had. Twisted, inflated, oxygenated or whatever formations you name it, I’ve been there.
Thousands of balloon and my first greatest partner is my first compressor. We’ve posted it online and felt very happy in our first success. Having a little equipment to start on. Our friends have started renting out different colours of fabrics that we have used on the previous event and ordering so many different styling and skirting job for their gatherings. Stepping on the higher level, we have been called in some complicated flower styling and convention that requires us to decor a venue with hundreds that become thousand of attendees. We were required to hire our cousins, friends and other possible crew that will help us achieve our clients demands. We’ve been from high and low end. But the root and tips will always based on how the clients can fund the project. We’ve learned that in every decorations there are theme and motifs to follow. And the color wheel isn’t just the rainbow thing. During the first years I have heard some unique names like “celadon green and chartusse” (not sure with my spelling though this is what aliens me...). In here we started the catering business and followed with the supervision of my sister in law Yury and her husband Chef Robert, who had the skills and passion for culinary. Our services and offers for event styling grows from 2010 and until now.
We’ve had trusted crews and professionally trained staff which lessen my workloads and give ways for me to start a new chapter, the EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY. Being very amused with our first Chinese photographer (we’ve met way back feb 2010) Mr. Alvin Gacoco, to cover our first debut party package for Ms. Mafel Montenegro, a starry starry night party. He inspires me by showing his customise Canon DSLR and an art of strobe lighting at the getting-ready photo detailing. But then I didn’t start so fast that time knowing I cannot fund myself my own camera. I had to mention that I was first called to cover our events in the Videography team of my Father-In-Law because he had collections of handy media video camera from the biggest (heaviest) to smallest (light weight) which we used in recording the events. Not only one angle, but three angles on tripods or in hands most of the time. My wife, who had found her passion in her field, as an English teacher, studied program flows to host the events. And because they had courses in photography in her college, during the occasion that she is not hosting, she was the first to enter photography and uses an Fujifilm pinepix handy camera to cover more than 4 dozens of events. We had some events in tandem that we covered from corporate to social. I was still holding videography for almost two years.
When my wife got too consumed in hosting events, and me as a supervisor to the design team, we were hiring photographers and videographers for some of our corporate and social events. And there, we have high and lows because our family is growing too. I have had my first camera at 2011, a canon DSLR 350D. And had been very dedicated to improve my field, for some few lenses and new strobe set with triggers as a start. I went with my sister in law and our business financier in a tour / visit in Singapore to enter Universal studios and had my formal training for two months. My sister in law Yury were there to had her Skill training in air brush make up at Din Air. As I finished I was too excited to apply what I have learned in and art of photo shoot ready to uploading without the need of editing. I get back and been reading 6 books and applying techniques I’ve personally search on online to learn more. I’ve found a lot in reading the effects of “Catching shadows” filmography and photography book which I had just luckily spotted on and bought in book sale with my wife. It taught me to improve and enhance my photography effects in strobes and lighting. I’ve practiced a lot on my kids and during some of our prenuptial sessions and I had so much joy to see the actual Photos I’ve taken.
During the year 2012 raised One of our failure in one of delivery in a wedding event and there my wife stopped from accepting client since she was pregnant on our youngest child. If I had to be asked it’s the lowest situation of all. We are oblige to return the full amount of the package to the client which left us broke. She sells what she can and left none. Every incoming weddings had No’s from her and she offers none. She was left depressed and silent that she never want to talk to anyone. This was considered as our major failure in the field. Learning a lot in that one single mistake and taking so much things in charge to our experience. It took her 3 years to assemble her confidence as raising our youngest baby at the same time with two more kids, we live in a very humble way. She actually wanted to change her line of living and forget about everything we started on. And I can’t let that happen. I want to fight as I was the father of the family and because I know we can still get up. I never stepped out of the Photography and market our event styling which filled our stomach for the years when my wife wouldn’t want to work at all. She pursued the original career and try teaching again in 8th grades and had seminars of K-12. Her father, who is the most concern of all about her emotional unstableness, were giving her support and moral comforts that I cannot. Crying most of the time, we tried to regain her strength because the industry constantly call her. A lot of clients missed her and wanted to reach out again to inquire upcoming occasions. Her unconscious friends were asking rates and previous clients were updating about our next promos or packages. Through the help of our business partners, she continued marketing again. And created her name as Elite Memoirs.
Early months of 2014 when we have to move in a new address beside her mother’s new home and our first settlement of having our own house, she finally regained her self esteem to host and host more events. Because our kids will be entering their school, she was slightly forced to pursue the business. She again recreated the wedding packages, debut and kiddie parties. Formulated the new team and go on meeting clients and I was there to support her with full hands and heart. We were invited to host and serve for celebrity events and shooting which had made some name and impressions to our target customers. One of our partner and her father’s friend in business had shared some space to have us in wedding expo and exhibit on two of the following years 2015-2016 at PICC forum. It was considered a great start again, she had been very dedicated to market the low rates wedding package and our staffs and business partners are happy about it. Her father was always on our side to rebuilt her passion, 2017 was considered the peak of her marketing. Me, were also happy to evolve my Photography equipment into a better set.
However, There were still minor kinks, life is not really perfect. We faced unpaid weddings and shortage of client’s fund. (reasons to delay a lot of billings to us). We even have some minor problems on the day of weddings that we faced together and stretched out our pockets to resolve the lack of resources on how to pay our suppliers. And so I worked on to revised our contract to be more strict our mode of payment and terms. It took us 6 months to recover the delayed fund and payments from clients who weren’t able to pay on time. So it was on the year 2017 when I suggested to my wife to open up the Elite Wallet program to help couples to pay instalment process year/s before the wedding date so to avoid the previous problems. That made them extra ready for their finances long before the celebration will happen.
Every month taught us new things and new ways to improve. We are meeting with our staffs teaching them and evaluating what it has to be grateful for and what we have to improve more. On new year of 2018, was another emotional fall down to my wife and her family. My father in law passed away days after celebrating new year. Tragic way of welcoming the year, she suffered another depression which made her more workaholic as she wants to keep very busy every day to forget her mourning heart. They had decided to close and end all documents / cases of Sersan Events.
I officially inherited the company as my wife decided to put it on my name as the owner of Elite Memoirs instead of her. She wanted me to become like her father and I felt very much honored to continue what he had done. I had then have to be extra responsible to monitor the logistics most of the time. Delivery is my most concern of all. Managing all the supplies is not easy at all. Lots of sleepless nights and I missed my kids most of the time. I was left focused to manage the event rather than Photography. So I decided to trained up my regular and main photographers to never get out of my style of capturing special moments and elite memoirs.
Celebrating a decade of our services to all, I agreed to have this on publication not to boast but to inspire others who are planning to have their business of their own. On whatever field, the business life is not really a fine path, there were no smooth path and no comfort zones. But serving and seeing our customers happy will create happiness between people who work in one occasion. This handbook is made to answer lots of questions to our clients too and make them more prepared for everything. I have shared photography tips too to help people who wander and for those who seek enlightenment for making memories that will last long.
So in here, without ending our story. Continues the progress of my company. We are not yet on the peak of success because i was just started holding the name last year. But considering that we are in ten years of experience we are still discovering the event industry in the best of what we can. So in this year of 2019, we are saying cheers for new hope, new achievements and for more new years to come.
JHUNELL ABALONA
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