Today we’re sitting down with Jennifer Ederer of Modern Day Events & Floral in Grand Rapids, Michigan to discuss:

• the unconventional career path that ultimately led her to open a floral and event design business
• how she gained an insider’s perspective of the event industry
• what her Modern Day team means to her and how she fosters an atmosphere of grace and loyalty among team members
• why her clients tend to say, “I thought we were here to talk about flowers!’’
• how she gained the confidence and expertise to produce large scale luxury events

Personal informational tools Jenn loves:

• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
• The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown: She highly recommends the audible version of this book. Brene provides the narrative which is fabulous! Jenn also suggests taking 20 minutes to listen to Brene’s TedX talk on the Power of Vulnerability.
• EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey (practical business tools on how to create a team of entreleaders vs. employees) They offer a master series on-line group for a nominal fee where you can download videos on everything from hiring and firing to delegation, etc. All around good stuff!

Systems Jenn uses everyday for Modern Day:

• Ularas for contract and recipe writing
• Basecamp for project and communication management with clients and staff: $99.00 per month
• PartyCad for floor plans along with Sketch Up: one time licensing fee. Jenn is currently exploring another system.
• Apple TV for design meetings: $200 to purchase and worth every penny!
• Olioboard for two dimensional design documents: $8.99 per month
• Quickbooks online