Story of Young Philanthropy in A Changing Economic Landscape
Story of Young Philanthropy in A Changing Economic Landscape
Interview with female business owners Yanna Begelman. & Julia T. of
YaJu Events A Socially Responsible Company
1) Please introduce yourselves and tell us a bit about you and your company.
Y: My name is Yanna Begelman, I am a co-founder of YaJu Events. YaJu Events is an event planning company that plans, organizes, markets and delivers high profile events that include fashion shows, music video release parties, singles mixers, etc. The one thing that all of YaJu Events have in common is that they all benefit various charities, typically a charity related to the demographic of the eventâs target market. Our goal is to bring people together for a good time, and at the same time support a noble charitable cause.
My partner Julia Tyumentseva and I founded YaJu Events through the inspiration we got by volunteering at Tanger Hilllel organization for over seven years. We aquired a lot of skills necessary to take our volunteering experience to the next level and create a company that brings together skills, experience, and passion to help the needy. With our developed skills and experience that includes organizational skills, Public Relations, stage management, strategic partnerships with sponsors, and others, we strive to make this world a better place, one YaJu event at a time.
J: My name is Julia Tyumentseva, I am a co-owner of YaJu Events. Â YaJu Events is an event planning company, headquartered in NYC, inspired by charity and fashion that focuses on promoting local and international designers and entertainers while raising funds for worthy charities.The idea for YaJu came from mine and my partnerâs, Yanna, hobby back in college. Â We were a part of a successful endeavor which was praised by our local community. Â Together we organized vibrant annual fashion show fundraisers for a local non-profit organization. The fundraisers were so successful and rewarding that we came up with an idea to create a company doing exactly what we love - organize fabulous fashion shows for up and coming designers while giving back to the community and the world!
Although our company is mostly aimed at producing fashion shows, we are also versatile with the types of events we organize. Â We have recently done a music video release party for an up and coming singer, Kat Solar, whose video Snake Eyes premiered on Logo TV and highlighted on Logo.com as music video of the day as well as released on MTV.com. Â We have also done a singleâs party inspired by spring where we had Lori Zaslow of Bravo TVâs âProject Soulmateâ hosting our happy hour. Â All of our events bring young professionals together for a fun night out in NYC which are as rewarding as they are fun for they are focused on raising funds for worthy charities.
1) What excites you about being a social entrepreneur?
Y: Being a social entrepreneur doesnât just expand your bank account, it expands your heart and your soul and betters you as a human being. For me personally, that is more important than having a few extra bucks in my bank account while being a shitty human being. Â At the end of the day, when you die, your money doesnât go into the grave with you, your soul however, that can go a longgg way.
What excites me about being a social entrepreneur is the fact that I can do something I love, while helping someone less fortunate... to me, that is priceless..
J: I am excited by the fact that I am doing something for a living that is aimed at making this world a better place. Â I believe we all have to do our parts in helping those in need especially if our society gives us the means to live comfortably.
2) Why is being a socially responsible business important to you and your organisation?
Y: Being a socially responsible business is important to me because I love charity, and the idea that I can help someone, makes me sincerely happy.. That feeling is like no other that money CAN buy me. It is important to my company because my partner Julia and I feel the same way about charity, and since YaJu Events is our baby, it will inherit its parentâs values: to give back to the needy and the world :)
J: It is important to me because charity is important to me. Â I have learned that while in college when I used to organize fashion show fundraisers for a local non-profit. Â At first I joined this endeavor for fun which later turned to a value that I have come to cherish.
3) What is the most difficult or rewarding part of your job?
Y: There are definitely both, difficult and rewarding parts of owning a social enterprise. As far as difficult parts, it is very hard to please everyone when it comes to choosing a benefiting charity. While some support everyone, others are very particular to who they want to support, or in other words give to. For example, when it comes to religious charities, only those who follow that religion would give, while others would not even want to come enjoy the event. We recently had an event that benefited The Gay Center, and I know for a fact many didnât show because they donât support the LGBT community, or their religion is against it.
Another difficult part is finding sponsors that would support fundraisers, many simply donât care about the charities, nor care enough to give as little as a gift certificate. Another difficult part is actually making money to stay afloat. When it comes to giving back, as good as it feels to give, you need to become big to make enough to give and be comfortable. As with everything in life, every stick has two ends. The rewarding part is doing something great, feeling great about doing it, and having fun while doing it.
J: The most difficult part of my job is dealing with rejection. Â Many people, companies and organizations we approach to join our event and cause turn away when they hear the word charity. This saddens me while having successful businesses of their own they are not willing to share their success with the less fortunate. Â
4) What was the biggest challenge in starting up your business?
Y: The biggest challenge in starting up any business is taking that chance. Not knowing a lot of things about what it takes, what is needed, the investment needed to get started, all this was a challenge that we thankfully overcame. When you start on your own, and make something your own, your strategy, your idea, your way of doing things, what is the right way to do it, and is there such a thing as right, or is it all a matter of motivation, luck, and being at the right time in the right place? We are yet to see.. I think everything in life has an opportunity cost. If you are in place A, that means that you can not be in places B-Z at the same time. At the end of the day, if the reward with compensation sinks and makes you happy, its well worth it!
J: The biggest challenge, which I think most of the businesses have, is not knowing whether our business will survive. Â I guess this is more of a fear not a challenge - I consider it both. Â Another big challenge we encounter is branding and creating a following. Â As a company we have to clearly define our mission and role paired with our slogan and logo. Â This all takes lots of time and thought which can either make you or break you. Â
5) In your opinion, what are the key success factors necessary to be successful in this business?
Y: Success factors necessary to make it are as follows (they are not in a particular order):
- Belief in your own idea/ business model
- Be passionate about your idea and bring the sincerity to the table at all times
- Liquidity to stay afloat while the business is in its beginning phases
- Support system (from friends, family, etc.)
- Ability to move forward despite rejection
- Keep looking forward while learning from past mistakes
- Be realistic, logical, and follow your intuition when it comes to partnerships of any kind
J: Clarity, support and determination. Â Clarity in what it is your company stands for; Support from your business partner(s) and everyone involved in your company; and Determination to succeed in your companyâs goals.
http://www.yajuevents.com/
https://www.facebook.com/YaJuEvents?ref=hl
http://instagram.com/yajuevents
http://pinterest.com/yajuevents/
https://twitter.com/YaJuEvents
stormborns
2087
gracieabrams
romaincrisis