For fifteen weeks, I interned at an event production company called Sassy City

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1 Michelle Graven Internship Recap For fifteen weeks, I interned at an event production company called Sassy City Chicks. The Sassy City Chicks brand offers shopping events geared towards a sophisticated cosmopolitan female audience of years in search of a girls night out experience through beauty, fashion and style. They have a minimum of a thousand women attend their events. At their events, they offer giveaways, spa services, cocktails, and of course shopping. The shopping events are in six different cities including Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, and Miami. Sassy City Chicks mission is to create a social and empowering shopping experience for every woman on any budget. Cece and Melinda took over Sassy City Chicks this past year. They also own Raymi Productions. I posted on Facebook that I was looking for an internship, and someone who I consider my mentor messaged me and told me she had a great internship. Ashley Lavore was the past president of Columbia s PRSSA chapter and I met her during orientation. She taught me so much and is a wonderful contact. She introduced me via and that is how I got my interview. I did not know much about Sassy City Chicks until I looked on their website and I knew that it seemed like a company I would love to work for. I thought I was interested in event planning, but I was not for sure if I would be cut out for the work.

2 Like I mentioned earlier, Ashley introduced me via to Melinda. I then ed my resume and cover letter to Melinda to see if I qualify for an interview. She ed me the next day to set up a phone interview. Melinda was very to the point and asked a lot of questions. She asked why I want to work in events, if I had any experience, and she then told me all about their business. The interview lasted about twenty minutes. I was uneasy during the whole interview because Melinda was not giving any clues! At the end of the conversation, she said that she would like to have me be an intern. I instantly called my mom to share the excitement. I finally felt that moving to Chicago was a great decision. When I went for my first day, I met everyone on the team. I met Melinda, Cece, and the only other worker named Natasha. Natasha is their only hired helped and she works part-time. I was so nervous to meet Melinda and Cece. I was very intimidated and felt that I did not have enough experience. To be honest, for the first couple of days, I felt less nervous around Melinda than Cece. Cece tells you exactly how she feels and Melinda is more laid back. After the first few days, I felt more comfortable. I admire how strong Cece is. She knows what she wants and she goes out there and gets it. Melinda is also a strong businesswoman and I was lucky to meet and work with both of them. As far as training, it was more learn as you go. I received a script on how to speak to the designers. Since we worked in their apartment, I worked closely with both 2

3 Cece and Melinda. They made sure I felt comfortable when calling the designers. They gave me lots of scenarios and offered help when needed. Every morning when I would arrive at their apartment, I would set up my laptop and research new clothing and jewelry stores in Los Angeles. At 11 am I would then start making calls to Los Angeles. I was calling designers to book a space at our show. I would make at least seventy calls a day to Los Angeles. As I was working on LA, everyone else was either working on Atlanta or Miami. Every day was the same except Wednesday s. On Wednesday mornings at 11 am, we would have chichat on Twitter. This is when we would discuss a different topic every week with other local businesses in Chicago. I was posting as Sassy City Chicks. It was great getting to interact with other business in Chicago. This routine changed a little bit when they added two more interns. I was responsible for the other two interns. I was to split up the call lists, help train them, and make sure they are completing goals and tasks. The other interns and I were only calling Los Angeles unless then need some emergency help with the other cities. I also had some side projects including creating spreadsheets for other trade shows. I learned a lot about Los Angeles designers. I learned that you have to create an elevator speech when you call because they always say they do not have enough time. A lot of the designers were rude! I even had one give me a lecture about how young I sounded on the phone. This gave me a lot of experience with customer service. It definitely tested my patience at times. I also had to deal with a lot of rejection. To be 3

4 successful in this internship you need to have customer service experience, patience, good communication skills, and be able to think on your feet. You are always on your phone and computer, so you need to have a strong background in Excel, Google Doc, and CRM. Sassy City Chicks is a team-orientated business. We all had our own lists and duties that we had to complete by a certain time. After every event we would go out for coffee and discuss what we did correct and what needs to be fixed. Most of the classes that I have taken so far have greatly prepared me for this internship. Collaborative Consumerism is one class that helped me bring a new insight to my work. I was able to use the resources that I learned from that class in my everyday internship work. Another class that I am currently in also helped me have a better understanding. That class is Special Events and Promotions. Seeing how Sassy City Chicks is an event production company, it helped me with the basics and I did not to ask as many questions. During this internship I decided that I wanted to add Fashion Business as my minor. I am planning on taking more fashion classes because I was able to research a lot of fashion related material and that sparked my interest. My past courses at Columbia gave me a solid foundation for this internship. I went into this internship thinking that I was going to be able to help with the planning and learn a lot more about the business. I learned a lot and was able behind the scenes. Cece and Melinda are very trusting and they made me feel needed. The most valuable part of the internship was when I helped with the day of Taste of Gold Coast. 4

5 Working behind scenes made me realize that I have a strong passion and love for events. I wish I was able to see the other events in person, especially the Los Angeles event, but that one event confirmed that I am going into the right field. I think that Cece and Melinda will continue to grow, so I do think that more Columbia students should consider interning here. They have a lot of projects that will be released soon, so they can use a lot of help. I gained experience in both sells and business at this internship. Cece and Melinda are successful determined business women and it was an honor to intern for them. 5