We had the good fortune of connecting with Robin Brown and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve been doing events since I was a young child. At 10, I planned my entire birthday party. Hand wrote the invitations and everything. Fast forward, I planned the work parties – baby showers, holidays, birthdays, and just because celebrtions. I did not think of it as a career until a friend mentioned it. I sat and realized I had been planning events forever – why not!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I thought I had to get a degree to be an event planner. I thought I needed a piece of paper that said I am certified. Nope. Life happened and a friend needed help with an event. I had no clue where to begin but I said yes. It wasn’t until 2 weeks in that she let me know that the event would be featured in Oprah’s O Magazine. That experience opened my eyes and it gave the confidence to keep saying yes. I’ve planned destination weddings without having an official site visit. I’ve said yes before I knew the hows. And what I realize is that I say yes because I believe that everyone should have at least one memorable event in their life where they are celebrated. I thought I was too old to start an event planning business. But I wan not and no one is too old to see a dream come to life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
NYC is a foodie’s dream. There’s a restaurant for every ethnicity. And there’s something for everyone when it comes to activities. A week is tough but let’s go:

Sunday – Church then Brunch. Brunch is always a must after church. Brunch is either BK9 or Peaches. Both in Brooklyn. Both amazing.
Monday – Harlem nights open mic night.
Tuesday – Harlem’s Farmers market during the day. at night, The Honey Well.. Old School bar that has speakeasy vibes for the bar menu
Wednesday – Day time: Bronx Zoo. It’s free. Evening – Beatstro. In the Bronx. Great happy Hour that’ll have you out long after its over.
Thursday – one of the museums – MOMA, The Met, and then the original Halal Truck.
Friday and Saturday – There’s always an event, party, or show, or for a laidback feel – a train ride out of the city to one of the vineyards.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My tribe deserves recognition! From being waiters at events to helping me transport balloon arches across state lines for an event, they have been amazingly supportive. And in those few moments doubt creeps in didn’t and I know whether to continue, one of them always have encouraging words to motivate me to keep going. And I know that it’s God sent because I don’t share all my discouraging thoughts.

Website: www.robinlauraevents.com

Instagram: @rlevents

Facebook: www.facebook.com/robinlauraevents

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