The Trunk Show with RW Elephant

In this season finale, Allison Howell sits down with Melinda Perry, the visionary co-founder of M2 Exteriors. Starting her business at age 54 after a move from California to Tennessee, Melinda shares her unconventional journey from therapeutic gardening to managing multi-million dollar exterior design projects. This conversation explores the humility required to go back to school mid-career, the importance of treating staff with dignity, and the spiritual peace found in creating "places with a Capital P." What’s in this episode: The Healing Power of Nature: How a personal season of hardship led Melinda to find therapy and a new calling in the Tennessee soil. Lifelong Learning: Why Melinda chose to attend the College of Design in Oxford even after achieving business success. Staff as Family: The "non-negotiable" standard of respect for laborers and Melinda's plan to eventually pass her business to her lead worker. Setting Boundaries: Learning to identify "trouble clients" and the bravery required to fire a top contractor to protect the team's morale. Scaling vs. Designing: Recognizing the "headaches" of scaling and choosing to stay close to the creative process and the clients. A Spiritual Approach to Entrepreneurship: Moving from "putting down the sword" to "picking up the paintbrush" and learning to hold a business loosely. Quotes: "I just started working with my hands in the dirt. And I knew that it was somehow healing. And it was my therapy." — Melinda Perry "I realized how much I did not know and how expensive it was to pull everything up." — Melinda Perry "I just love to learn; I'm just a student at heart." — Melinda Perry "I'm not sure if the bottom line gets all that better... there were a lot more headaches with having more people." — Melinda Perry "My guys, they're so much smarter than me in what they do... they've been in the business 30 years and could run rings around people." — Melinda Perry "I like to live at the end of myself. I think when we come to the end of ourselves, that's when we see the magic happen, because we are no longer in control." — Melinda Perry "It's time to put down your sword and pick up your paintbrush." — Melinda Perry "The world is so hostile... if we can create spaces that are comfortable and easy for each other to communicate... the more we can set the stage for amazing conversations to happen." — Melinda Perry "I hold [the business] loosely because it's all a gift." — Melinda Perry RESOURCES: The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes! Learn what to do with an underperforming piece in your collection with RW’s Utilization & Liquidation Worksheet Learn what Melinda learned at our conference by grabbing your spot for Lend & Gather Online! Join the Lend & Gather mailing list to be the first to hear about our next conference for boutique event rental business owners. THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR: RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity! Website | Instagram AND OUR GUEST: Melinda Perry of M2 Exteriors Website | Instagram

In this episode, host Allison Howell speaks with two rental entrepreneurs, Anna Samodarov of Memorable Events Rentals and Erica Trombetti of La Affitto, about navigating the logistical and financial hurdles of the event industry. Anna discusses managing the extreme seasonality of the Sacramento and Bay Area markets through flexible staffing and proactive booking. Erica shares her transition from wedding planning to rentals, emphasizing the importance of quality control, damage policies, and the "buy-to-rent" trap that many growing businesses face. What’s in this episode: Navigating Seasonal Cashflow Flexible Staffing Models for Scheduling & Hiring The "Utilization" Test for Inventory Leveraging Industry Relationships Implementing Damage Waivers Strategic Saying Yes to New Inventory Quotes: "During the slow season [...], let's really make more appointment time slots available and focus on making those bookings." — Anna Samodarov "If these pieces aren't paying their rent, they don't get to stay here on the shelf." — Allison Howell “...that's how business works, it's always a risk, you have to make these decisions and be okay with whatever happens.” — Anna Samodarov “One inquiry does not equal cash in the bank, right? Even if someone asks about it, that doesn't mean they were actually going to book it.” — Allison Howell "You will not grow, you will burn out. You will hate what you're doing if you don't hire help, if you don't learn how to delegate." — Anna Samodarov "If you insist on being there with them, then you become the bottleneck for your growth." — Allison Howell "We didn't want to have what big box companies had. We wanted to be something completely different. So that was our focus." — Erica Trombetti "Being a smaller rental company, every cup counts, every plate counts." — Erica Trombetti “I also was a very ‘yes, yes, yes,’ and then I went into ‘no, no, no,’ and you feel bad for saying ‘no, no, no,’ then you're like, ‘oh no. No one's gonna wanna use you. You should go back to saying yes, yes, yes.” So I think that is just the cycle. Everyone kind of goes up and down in business and trying to feel what works best. — Erica Trombetti "What was happening was we were using all of our profits to buy all of our inventory. And we got to the point where like, okay, we just can't anymore." — Erica Trombetti The tricky part about it is if you just keep buying, then the things you currently own aren't going to rent, right? The hope is if you say no, that they actually rent something that you do own. But the risk is if they say no that they get what they want somewhere else. — Allison Howell RESOURCES: The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes! Learn what to do with an underperforming piece in your collection with RW’s Utilization & Liquidation Worksheet Learn what Erica learned at our conference by grabbing your spot for Lend & Gather Online! Join the Lend & Gather mailing list to be the first to hear about our next conference for boutique event rental business owners. THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR: RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity! Website | Instagram AND OUR GUESTS: Erica Trombetti of La Affitto Website | Instagram Anna Samodarov of Memorable Events Rentals Website | Instagram | Facebook

This episode features a conversation with Tammy Noel, the founder and lead curator of TableMade, a specialty tabletop rental company located right outside of Atlanta. Tammy discusses how her background in corporate product development influences her creative process, the calculated risks she takes with new collections, and the importance of using data to navigate business plateaus. Highlights: The Transition from Corporate to Creative: Leveraging product development experience to curate a unique collection. Data-Driven Decision Making: Using dollar and time utilization metrics to dictate inventory growth and pricing strategies. Leading vs. Following Trends: Recognizing the "bell curve" of client adoption and the patience required for fashion-forward items. Operational Innovation: The seven-month journey of creating custom, sustainable packaging to ship flatware nationwide. Maintaining Brand Standards: The bravery of walking away from "good enough" prototypes to protect brand identity. The Power of Community: Overcoming growth plateaus through styled shoots, networking, and industry collaboration. Quotes: "In the beginning... I just took a lot of trust in my own tastes because... I had no historical data to rely back on, but luckily it worked out." — Tammy Noel "I'd much rather be setting the trend versus following it." — Tammy Noel “When they want something unique, unexpected, unusual, those are the kind of validating words. I’m like, okay, we’re doing it the right way.” — Tammy Noel "If you have a piece that has really high time utilization, it's going out all the time, but it's not making you very much money, then you can say, oh, my rates are too low." — Allison Howell "There's honestly no amount of money that I can spend to put out a product we're not proud of." — Tammy Noel "If I had ego, TableMade would not be the business it is today." — Tammy Noel "It has to be more than a product. People have to enjoy working with us." — Tammy Noel "People first, style always... that is our mantra." — Tammy Noel "I realized we are only going to get out of our community what we pour into it." — Tammy Noel "It’s not so much just about the pictures or where is this getting published. It’s really about that opportunity for people... to see what it’s like to place an order with you, see what it's like to collaborate, see what it's like for you to deliver. It’s like a kind of a rehearsal." — Allison Howell "You can always find out, okay, how much did I pay for it? How much has it brought me in the last 12 months? How much is it going out in the future? So you can do that math on your own, but having that information can be so powerful in making those strategic decisions moving forward." — Allison Howell RESOURCES: The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes! Rental Utilization Explained + Two Goals How to Use the Collection Activity Metric RW’s Rental Inventory Utilization & Liquidation Worksheet Essential Pricing Strategies for Event Rental Businesses Webinar Getting More Out of What You’ve Already Got Five Ways to Squeeze More Money Outta That Piece THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR: RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity! Website | Instagram AND OUR GUEST: Tammy Noel of TableMade. Website | Instagram | Facebook

This episode discusses the importance of strategic growth, intentionality and operational efficiency with 2 different rental companies. First is Jenna Mackanich and Jillian Mackey, owners of Lilac and Lace Co. located just outside Philadelphia, PA. The second is with Courtney Inghram, founder of The Collection by Courtney Inghram which services Virginia and North Carolina. What’s in this episode: -Strategically Staying Small -Creating Operational Efficiencies -Defining Success Through Intentionality -The Power of Sisterly Partnership -Tricks for Managing Tabletop Rentals Quotations: "I think that that has become ingrained in a lot of us, the more options you offer people, that's positive... I have found that the less options I offer, but that are more geared towards a specific kind of client that has allowed me to find success in this small niche." — Courtney Inghram "We were hungry because this was our first couple years in business. So we just took on everything... but we were creating a lifestyle that really wasn't sustainable for our home life." — Jillian Mackey "I think we as women just want to make sure that we're talking to people in the right way and we don't want to offend anyone. You kind of almost shoot yourself in the foot a little bit... when you don't send those emails and make those calls and just put yourself out there." — Courtney Inghram "So we've really streamlined our processes... and that's really, really helped us this year to the point where, I don't know if it's okay to say this but we owe way too much in taxes now because we're too efficient." — Jenna Mackanich “The more instruction you can give people, the better. Because the person who rented it is almost certainly not the person who’s going to be packing it.” — Allison Howell "It's very fulfilling to see the finished product. This is creating memories. People are sitting around a table together, having this once in a lifetime moment. That makes me feel good and like what we're doing is important and it's not just all frivolous." — Courtney Inghram “Every year I feel like there’s a new challenge we have to overcome, but when you figure it out, it’s a really good feeling.” — Jenna Mackanich “If you’re the type of person who needs help right now, send an email to a handful of people, because it might be that they can’t get back to you today but they can get back to you in the future. It’s not personal sometimes when they don’t respond.” — Allison Howell “We have a very small space for storage, which has caused me to be very intentional both about the pieces that I buy and make an investment in and…sell off the pieces that aren’t doing their job anymore.” — Courtney Inghram Resources: Never overbook or doublebook any in your rental inventory ever again with RW Elephant. Organize your warehouse with: Item Labels for your Event Rental Warehouse 5S Event Rental Warehouse Guide Platescrape Dishwashing Kit for onsite scullery

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: The RW Elephant mailing list features more event industry resources and happenings—including announcements about new Trunk Show episodes! THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR: RW Elephant: Mighty inventory management software designed to help you conquer chaos and reclaim your creativity! Website | Instagram AND OUR GUEST: Raul Rodriguez of Lavish Event Rentals Website | Instagram | Facebook