When Nina Storm, a trained musician and dancer, first moved to Los Angeles without a job, she was determined to leave a mark in the City of Angels one way or another. After working multiple gigs in the entertainment industry, she realized she wanted a change and landed a job running events for a nonprofit. Nina quickly became smitten with the world of event planning, and ultimately founded her own namesake company.
The event professional with almost a decade of experience under her belt has developed an impressive resume and a glowing client list of A-list artists, nationally recognized chefs, and nonprofits.
For this edition of Member Spotlight, a series where we showcase the entrepreneurs of emerging companies, we chatted with Nina to hear how she overcomes the struggles that come with being a sole founder and why she embraces challenges.
When I first moved to Los Angeles 15 years ago, I didn’t have a job. But I went right to work on long-term temp assignments at some of the big agencies such as CAA and William Morris before I landed my first gig at indie label Immortal Records. I’m originally from Anchorage, Alaska, growing up in a household that was passionate about music, the arts, food, and the outdoors.
I wound up having a career in events by accident. Eight years ago, I was looking to transition out of the entertainment industry, and I was offered a job managing the events for a national environment nonprofit, Global Green USA. I was pretty well suited to it because I’ve always been a visionary who always looked at the big picture, but was also obsessed with minute details. Being able to see things from both perspectives and having an intrinsic understanding of weaving different components together are key parts of event production. Ultimately, I value hospitality and making people happy and comfortable, which any good event experience should accomplish.
During the first few months after I started my business, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be out on my own. Once I embraced the creative challenges, I found it immensely rewarding and exciting. To me, being an entrepreneur means never giving up on your goals and vision. It also means that you look for numerous ways to accomplish things and aren’t afraid to try and fail until you find the right equation. Success looks different for every entrepreneur, which is one of the things I move most about being one.
I live a highly scheduled life. For me, running a business means putting in the regular hours and much more. I’m up around 6:30 or 7 a.m., and I spend the first hour of my day getting on top of emails and updating my to-do list. Most days include a challenging workout, which I often do in the mornings. Once I’m in the WeWork Hollywood office, I like to be very focused. I rarely take a lunch break, and I usually work until at 7 p.m. depending on my client’s demands. Evenings are a mix bag of attending events, exercise, or dinners. In the summer, I like to decompress with evenings walks outside. It’s incredibly meditative.
My biggest screw up hands down has been failing to anticipate necessary provisions with my contracts. I had a client radically increase their event budget three quarters of the way as we were planning the event. Another decided to change the venue three weeks before the event. Both resulted in considerably more work for me, as well as a lot of wasted hours. In both instances, I should’ve included language in my contract to ensure I was compensated for the additional work that was necessary as a result of client changes. What they say about hindsight is true, and the only way you learn is through trial and error.
I’m approaching my one-year mark, but I haven’t experienced burnout yet. I think the key will be finding a way to evolve my business model and market. My longer-term vision is to be involved in creating entertainment experiences and environments for restaurants, hotels, and bars. Ideally, I’d love to find a business partner to collaborate with who can bring things to the table that complement my business and my brand.
Photographs by Lauren Kallen