Five Years of Saving Grace Events: A reflection from our Founder, Rebecca Hartley

Our founder, Rebecca Hartley looks back over the last five years of Saving Grace Events to reflect on everything that’s happened, and what she’s learned from the journey. 

We can’t quite believe it’s been five years of Saving Grace Events already! Time has gone by so fast, and yet the team and I have learnt so much throughout these five years creating events for clients.

 

The biggest highlights

There’s no denying that we’ve worked on a lot of exciting projects, but a few, in particular, stand out as having made a big impact…

First is winning and delivering the Five Guys event, our first-ever three-day, overseas event. This project was a huge turning point for us, we’ve never delivered anything of that scale, and although we had an incredible time creating every detail, the true reward came from the client feedback. It was amazing to hear the leadership team and managers saying it was the best team event they’ve ever had. We’ve put out heart and soul into it.

The second stand out event has to be the Tatton Park Pop Up Festival. Looking back, I’m actually amazed at what we managed to pull off, and I can’t believe we’re doing it again in year two. The Tatton Park project lasted for over 10-weeks and included 40 different events, a huge scale event that required all hands on deck and everyone performing on top form to make sure everything went off without a hitch. Amazing!

 

Learnings and inspiration 

Running an events agency during a global pandemic has taught us a lot of lessons, as we’ve had to adapt to a whole new host of challenges and restrictions. Throughout this time, I’ve come to realise that, actually, I know a lot more than I thought I did. I’ve learnt that if you put one foot in front of another, you can do anything you want to do and achieve anything you want to achieve. Doing things at your own pace is so important too, as is not comparing yourself to others.

In difficult times, I’ve been held accountable by my biggest inspiration, my dad. He was such a considered, values-driven and emphatic person who will always have my admiration. In his final days, my dad said, “just make the business a success”. That drives me to build Saving Grace Events as a value-based company, and a place where people can feel empowered to work.

In terms of my biggest learnings, one of them is definitely not to focus on the end destination, but to just worry about the next stop and enjoy the journey. From divorce and breast cancer to losing both parents and my three siblings, everything I’ve been through has taught me that life can change in an instant. You could be holding out for that end goal which may or may not ever come, and missing everything that’s great in between and right now.

 

Motivation

Change and variety excite me. I’m motivated by the journey and how different every day can be. I am driven by the fact that people want to work with us and the endless opportunities that can bring.

I’ve always believed that rather than overwhelm yourself, particularly in business, you should just focus on the next step, then the next one, then the next one, and you will probably end up somewhere better than any goal you would ever set. You’ll end up where you’re meant to be anyway. Don’t underestimate yourself. Be confident. Just go for it!

 

The power of team

Even though Saving Grace Events has done some fantastic work over the last five years, I haven’t finished pushing the boundaries just yet! There have been a lot of changes within the events industry, and the team has grown a lot recently. There are definitely more distinct roles that have helped retain closeness and significantly boosted positive energy.

At the beginning of the pandemic, everyone was trying to do the same things. Everyone has since tried to pivot in their way, which has forced other agencies to distinguish their points of difference.

We’ve had to upskill and get onboard with technology for virtual and hybrid events, but that won’t go away. Some events will remain virtual, as they work better that way, partially when it comes to communicating company strategy.

 

Gratitude 

Now we’re moving out to the other side of the pandemic, we can start to look towards the next five years. I’ve been so grateful during this time to everyone who has been an integral part of the team.

I’m the most grateful for survival! That people continuously want to work with us and all the amazing opportunities that continue to come our way. I’m so relieved that we were able to get through the pandemic and come out stronger. We were agile.

 

The next five years

We’ve just moved to our new office in Knutsford, which is exciting! We also have a lot of fun, innovative, people-driven corporate clients to look forward to working with, plus a growing, strong team. Apart from that, I have no idea what the future holds, and that’s the great thing!

Want to find out even more about Saving Grace Events and what we offer? Have a read of our about page and get in touch to talk directly with our team.

 

 About Rebecca Hartley, Founder of Saving Grace Events

 

Rebecca Hartley is the founder/director of Saving Grace Events and Tatton Park Pop Up Festival. She is also a single mother, breast cancer survivor and passionate ambassador for Prevent Breast Cancer.

 

For press and interview opportunities with Rebecca, please get in touch with the team.