We recently interviewed Nour Haidar, Founder and Head Wedding & Event Planner at Clover Seven. Besides possessing excellent communication skills, she has majored in Hospitality and Tourism Management. She plans every event with her creative and innovative ideas like never before. Nour ensures to put her best in any event she plans, whether for a business or wedding. Let’s learn more about Nour and her journey from this interview below.
The Start Of This Journey
We were interested in how Nour started her journey and reached her present position. We asked, “Which career path led you to where you are today?”
She shared, “Wedding and Event planning has always been a huge passion I knew I wanted to fulfill. I dabbled in event planning during my university days as a part-time hobby, and even though I have worked in a few other industries, such as marketing and advertising, I always saw those experiences as a roadmap to my destination rather than a future goal.”
Inspiration Behind Building Her Brand
Inspirations play a crucial role in being one of the significant kick-starters for establishing a successful business. We asked, “What inspired you to develop the idea for your company?”
Nour replied, “Weddings and events are very sentimental, which made me fall in love with this industry. When I first started Clover Seven, I had to think long and hard about the identity I wanted to portray and the clientele I wanted to target. This is much bigger than just business and financial gain for me. My choice to believe in the beauty of celebration, love, and luck are all main pillars in creating an identity that truly resembled me; hence the name: Clover Seven.”
Evolving Priorities
Priorities of businesses change over years of functioning in the industry. We asked, “How have your priorities in terms of business evolved since you first started?”
She shared, “Priorities for growth constantly change in a growing business, and so do strategies and plans. But the core priorities with us haven’t; client satisfaction and happiness have always been, and always will be, something we seek out first and foremost; the rest will follow simultaneously.”
Challenges And Key Points To Overcome Them
Every company faces ups and downs while progressing in its path. And the most crucial part is how they overcome all these challenges. We asked, “What are the most challenging situations your company overcomes?”
She replied, “Being a wedding and event planner in Lebanon has had its fair share of challenges; my team and I felt like we needed to rebuild from scratch at times, especially since covid coincided with the start of the rocky period that the country was, and still is enduring. But we can proudly and thankfully say we have overcome that and have learned to adapt and accommodate the changes.”
“What’s the key strength to overcome it?”
Nour replied, “The Ability to adapt to change. The willingness and ability to adapt to change is key to overcoming hardship. The road might get weary at times, but the outcome of it all is worth it.“
Unique Features
We were intrigued to learn more about the features of her brand that make it unique from others in the industry. So we asked, “What makes your company stand out from all the other businesses in your industry?”
She shared, “Compassion is key in this industry; being able to relate to a client that comes to you to plan a CELEBRATION is not something to be taken lightly. We at Clover Seven genuinely celebrate with them and are willing to accommodate whatever they need to make that celebration as happy, seamless, and memorable as possible.”
KPIs For Measuring Success
“What KPIs do you use to measure your business success?”
Nour shared, “Business talk aside, and not to risk sounding too cheesy, but our clients’ reviews, happiness, and memories taken from the events we plan are genuinely our biggest success indicators. On the other hand, internally, we also measure our success through our teams’ sincere dedication and joyful commitment to our clients and each other.”
Current Services
We wanted to glimpse the current services of Nour’s company. We asked, “Tell us something about your services. What are you working on now?”
She replied, “We orchestrate weddings and events from A to Z and offer full planning, coordination, and consultancy services from conceptualization to implementation and realization. We are currently working on expanding our services and eventually being present in major cities of the Middle East and Gulf peninsula.”
Building Strong Bonds With Employees
To build a strong business that’s successful and sustainable at the same time, Having a strong bond of trust with the employees is paramount. It encourages them to be more productive than ever. So we asked, “How do you build trust with your employees and boost productivity without causing burnout?”
She shared, “I don’t consider myself having employees, instead, everyone who works with me is a partner. It’s through combined effort that we pull our projects off seamlessly. So, this part comes naturally to us because we believe in what we do and why we do it. Understanding and acknowledging the efforts put in by partners rather than employees makes every one of those partners give their all.”
Adapting To the Latest Technologies
Technology has become one of the top-most priorities for succeeding in any industry. Besides that, a business must follow all the latest trends to ensure growth. We asked, “How do you stay on top of new technologies and trends in your industry?”
She replied, “We live in an ever-changing world of technology. Since technology can have the potential to robotize certain business aspects, our team is always keen to preserve and safeguard the personal approach, so we always seek the technological tools that could be of benefit to us, all the while preserving our brand image and the identity we want to portray.”
Advice To New Entrepreneurs
“What advice would you give to starting entrepreneurs?”
She shared her tips which are as follows:
- Before thinking of financial benefits, think of the why. Having a passion for what you do is very underrated these days.
If you’re looking for long-term sustainability, go into your business for the right reasons; these reasons will keep you motivated through rough patches and make you get back up whenever you stumble.
Your job is where you spend most of your life; make sure it’s happy and pleasant.
- Never give up when you face difficulties if you genuinely have a goal in mind. Despair can either break you or build you; your perspective and how badly you want to accomplish, decide that outcome.
- Not a single human on this earth knows everything. Stay hungry for knowledge but humble enough to reach out and ask for help if needed or lend a helping hand to those who require it for their growth journey.
- Inspect your competition for growth purposes and never consider them a threat. There’s room in this world for everyone, and if you’re in your business for the right reasons, you will attract your clientele.
Connect with Nour Haidar on LinkedIn.
Find Clover Seven on Facebook & Instagram.
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