This episode features Raul Rodriguez, founder of 2R Creative and Lavish Event Rentals, who details his rise in the luxury event production market. He discusses the organic launch of Lavish and the decision to create a separate brand identity for the rentals side. Raul reveals the strategic advantage of focusing on the unique tableware niche and how he scaled the business by investing in high-quantity, designer inventory.

What’s in this episode:  

• Organic Launch of Lavish Event Rentals
• Strategic Creation of a Separate Brand Identity
• The Unique Tableware Niche
• Scaling Through High-Quantity, Designer Inventory
• Emphasis on Brand & In-House Fabrication for Differentiation

Quotations:

"I need to know what you're going to want before you know you want it." - Raul Rodriguez

"We want to rent it for an event. And I said, you heard wrong, but that's a great idea." - Raul Rodriguez

'We have a software that tells us every piece, how many times it goes out, how much money it generates. We know everything, what are our so-called greatest hits. And I'm always asking our staff, what are people asking for? What is renting the most?" - Raul Rodriguez

"Hey, if somebody had all the top line China, I'm talking Versace, Hermes, Baccarat, Christophe, would you guys rent it? And the response from everybody was a resounding yes, who has it? How can we get it?" - Raul Rodriguez

"People make decisions with feelings. So I wanted them to immediately open up the lavish web page or Instagram anything that they see, feel, touch. And they're like, I want to be a part of this world. These people get me and they understand me." - Raul Rodriguez

"I don't usually pay a lot of attention to what the other companies are doing. I don't like weigh myself down with like, oh my God, they have this, I need to get this, or they have that, and I'm like, no, I don't, there's plenty of space, you know, they're doing what they're doing and we're doing what we're and that's fine." - Raul Rodriguez

"I see things from one perspective, but I want to see things and hear about things from all the different perspectives, I talked to the caterers, what do you guys need? What's out there that doesn't exist?" - Raul Rodriguez

RESOURCES:

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Raul Rodriguez of Lavish Event Rentals

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