Employee to Entrepreneur

Sony Alumni Start Events Production Company

Jaime Geffen and Brian Worley left their jobs at Sony to start an event production company, called YourBASH! They are located in Santa Monica, California but plan events both nationally and internationally.

When budgets get tight at big companies, some employees opt to transition into being their own bosses by starting or buying a company.

This was the case for Jaime Geffen, who was kind enough to tell her story to us.

Jaime, what type of firm were you working at prior to starting a company?

I was working at Sony Pictures Television in the Special Events department for 9 years. I was the head of the department. My partner, Brian Worley, was in the Special Events department at Fox Television.

We both left the studio due to financial cutbacks, thus, event cutbacks.

You've got your own company now, right? What is it and what do you do there?

We started a full service Event Production Company called YourBASH!

We are specializing in high end Weddings, Entertainment and Corporate Events. We are also taking a great interest in Green (eco-friendly) Events.

Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur instead of simply looking for another job?

With the tremendous amount of knowledge and relationships that we both have, it seemed like the most obvious next step, to go out on our own and do what we love to do....plan a BASH! Also, with Brian's show airing on E!, the timing was perfect! It is built in publicity.

Did you buy a business or start a business from scratch?

We did not buy a business, we started one from scratch.

We wanted to be involved with EVERY aspect from the name, the client list, the logo, website, etc. We take great pride in the details and first impressions are everything....we wanted to make a great first impression to the world!

How did you decide what kind of business to go into?

We are both specialists in the field and together have over two decades of experience. Our great passion shows through in each and every event we produce.

Owning a business is very different from working as an employee. What are some of the biggest differences you've noticed? What do you miss? What don't you miss?

We do not miss the corporate lifestyle. We enjoy being out there and having meetings, breakfasts and lunches and talking about what we do and selling our business.

We also enjoy being our own boss...this means we can manage our time the way that we feel is the best, not the way that "the man" feels is the best. We are the experts and we know what is best for us and our business.

What advice would you give to somebody who is leaving the life of working for a company to go out on their own?

Take the risk! You will be glad you did.

Great. Well, thanks for joining us for one of our entrepreneur interviews. We really appreciate it. Good luck with your business.

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