Chicago Stellar Events LLC | Application Preview
Chicago Stellar Events LLC is seeking funding to facilitate significant growth and expansion for its event services. The owner envisions using the grant to purchase a truck, which would replace the current practice of renting vehicles for four days a week. This investment is also aimed at potentially establishing a storefront where customers can design custom arrangements for their events.
The business plan emphasizes staff expansion to enhance service capabilities and provide affordable event space for creating memorable experiences. The owner shares a deeply personal journey, highlighting a history of resilience stemming from family hardships, which have shaped her entrepreneurial spirit. After moving away from a corporate job that did not fulfill her, she took a leap into the events industry, inspired by the desire to bring joy to others while being a dedicated mother.
Through hard work and perseverance, she built her business from the ground up, even amidst challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, her small team, which includes her husband, limits her capacity to take on more installations. The grant funding would enable her to grow, hire additional employees, and invest in a physical location, reinforcing her commitment to creating meaningful experiences for clients.
In terms of competition, she identifies other local businesses but maintains that her focus lies in personal growth and fostering relationships with clients rather than competing on volume. Her approach prioritizes quality service and lasting customer connections, which she believes is the key to her success.
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General Information
Business Registration Number: 08986398
Location: NILES, IL, United States
Length of Operation: 1-5
Number of Employees: 1-10 Employees
Annual Gross Income: Less than $100k
Annual Gross Expense: Less than $100k
Open to Loans: NO
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Funding Usage
Being awarded with this money I have the chance to do more, this grant would offer me the ability to grow in a way that I could not even imagine. I am now renting trucks 4 days week. This grant would allow me to buy my own truck and maybe open a store front. I can hire more staff to take on more installations. Right now I am limited because I am working with myself and my husband and another employee. I can invest in a place where people can come to walk in and pick a custom arrangements or design their next event. With this assistance I can exponentially grown and prove to myself and my family that this is what a modern mother can do. This is what opening your heart to something you love can accomplish.
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Business Plan
I plan on investing in growing my staff so can create more joy through my work for my customers and also hopefully have a store front that will over people the ability to walk in and walk away with beautiful arrangements for those they love. Also, be able to offer event space for people to make moments and memories affordable. Let me take your hand for a moment to give some insight on the road that led me to this point. The one paved with struggle, tears, sweat. The one that directed me to the world of entrepreneurship. From a little girl I was raised with the notion that working hard is a means to survival. My father lost his father in World War II. At the age of five had to take care of his entire family in Greece. Fast forward to his arrival in Chicago, he worked and built a successful life through entrepreneurship. The castle he once built through crumbled due to hardships. Even so, we never collapsed as a family. We worked endlessly to ensure we were always fed and safe. It’s here that I learned not just to survive but to thrive. My parents instilled the importance of family structure and an aggressive work ethic. When I lost my father to cancer in 2011, I felt as though I lost my other half. I kept the teaching he passed on to me as a way to overcome life’s obstacles. We can always move forward, we can never look back. He will always live on within me. My life today is proof of that. In this existence, I have survived abuse as a child. I promised to not just survive but thrive. To take ownership of my adult life and really create my own happiness. Working hard to pay for college I thought the desk job would be my ticket to stability and success. I landed a job that most people swooned over. Endless hours behind a desk, the monotonous routine, the stress of corporate life was not for me. I ended up with a miscarriage shortly after I got married to the man of my dream. It was here, I knew what I had to do. I left. With the support of my husband, I took a leap into the world of balloons and events in 2017. At this point I was a mother to a baby and pregnant with my second. I needed something that would allow me to be a mother and wife which is my most important job. There was a sense of need to do something that brought joy to others and myself. This was my number one motivator. Just like that Chicago Stellar Events was created. Learning the skills to create art and beauty was a dedicated task. It didn’t happen overnight. The days early on consisted of mom life, taking care of the house, kids cooking etc. Nights were reserved for balloons after kids went to put to bed. I pulled all-nighters to ensure my children never felt my absence. This was not easy and the toll of balancing everything was not an Stress-free. Chicago Stellar Events grew organically. As it blossomed, I fell more and more in love with the life I was building. How lucky was I? I was doing what I love and still have the family life I dreamed of. This was a dream come true. I became my own boss creating moments and memories for my people. Bringing joy to milestones and capturing it all through our creations. Escaping into a world of creative paradise, this was all worth it. When covid hit, and the work changed, outdoor installations were in high demand and the hours were endless. The work was hard, but it still gave me fulfillment. The hustle was always in full gear. I wanted my children to see their mom was working hard for them. The stress of overextending myself eventually took it’s toll though and I lost two babies in 2020. I decided to expand my labor and bring on folks to help. My husband jumped on board as well. Serving as a strong supporter in growing my small business. With growth came with more overhead. I learned quickly as the expenses grew, I needed to find a way to expand. Things settled and we were in full gear. Pregnant with my now rainbow baby Phillipos. Being awarded with this money I have the chance to do more, this grant would offer me the ability to grow in a way that I could not even imagine. I am now renting trucks 4 days week. This grant would allow me to buy my own truck and maybe open a store front. I can hire more staff to take on more installations. Right now I am limited because I am working with myself and my husband and another employee. I can invest in a place where people can come to walk in and pick a custom arrangements or design their next event. With this assistance I can exponentially grown and prove to myself and my family that this is what a modern mother can do. This is what opening your heart to something you love can accomplish.
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Self Identified Competition
luft, 99haus, balloons by tommy I dont focus on competitors I focus on personal growth and making my business meaningful for everyone. I want to leave this world knowing I brought joy to people. I don't just look at volume but quality and the focus is my own work. I have repeat business and loyal customers because for me it's a long term relationship
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Contact Applicant
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