Meet Garrysa Caffey | Event & Travel Consultant, Tillman Davis Enterprises, LLC

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

Hi Garrysa, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve always been an organized person that enjoyed planning gatherings for friends and family. My maternal grandparents’ home in Savannah was always considered the “Mitchell Hotel” and I spent many summers in my youth assisting my grandmother with cooking, cleaning and entertaining family members and guests at their home.

After planning my wedding in 2006 we experienced some challenges with the wedding coordinator, the event planning bug officially hit me. By leveraging my degree in marketing, project management skills and event knowledge, I launched Tillman Davis Enterprises, LLC in 2008 as an independent consultant for a Chamber of Commerce. Since 2008, I had the opportunity to work with a variety of clients for personal, charity and business events throughout the United States and Caribbean. Planning and executing events has always been a passion of mine and often times, I can paint the vision of the final outcome before client can see it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Tillman Davis Enterprises, LLC (TDE) offers event planning services, specializing in luxury destination events that are fully managed from concept to execution. We offer full service event planning and travel consulting services to both our professional and personal clients.

When I started the business in 2008, it was in the height of the housing market crash and a recession. I wanted to be everything to everyone and often undercharged for my services. After many trials and errors as well as coaching from industry experts, I learned the power of niching down our services as well as charging what I am worth. Many times, especially in the travel industry, you will find “tire kickers” who will conduct price comparisons with online service providers. One of the differentiating with TDE is that you are actually working with a human that can advocate on your behalf, especially while you are traveling. I leveraged services such as the SBA and SCORE to learn marketing techniques and systems to effectively operate the business.

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.
I love Southern cooking and I would encourage everyone to visit This Is It BBQ! (Any of the locations), I normally visit the Camp Creek Parkway location for great rib tips and southern sides. For a location that service food and adult beverages, I would try D’Bo’s Daiquris Wings & Seafood you can always visit J.R. Crickets on Cascade Road as well.
If you are staying overnight, a staple hotel is the Marriott Marquis in Downtown Atlanta, but if you would like to stay closer to the Hartsfield -Jackson Airport, you can always visit the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway. There are so many things to do and see while you are in Atlanta, but as a history person, you can walk the concourses in the airport and read the history of Atlanta and the airport. I also love to visiting the World of Coca-Cola and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library as well.

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?
I want to shout out my parents, friends and family who have continuously encouraged me and spoke life over me throughout the years. I would also like to thank my husband and son for their support and for putting up with me as well (LOL). Thank you to my Toastmasters Club, The Morning Meetup & ACES family for pouring into me and stretching my business goals beyond my personal aspirations. I also would like to show my appreciation for my clients, business coaches and Sorority sisters throughout my entrepreneurial journey, because without them, I would not have grown to the leader I am today.

Website: https://www.tdetravels.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/GWCaffey4

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gwcaffey4/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TDETravels

Image Credits
Garrysa Caffey