Friday, March 21, 2014

PHREAdom Leader: Garry S Bailey, Founder & CEO of The Royal Occasions

Garry Bailey
Courtesy of Facebook
What happens when the Queen City meets Garry Bailey? The Royal Occasions is born. Founder of the new high service event planning company was always fascinated with royalty and the history of Queen Charlotte, which is how the city in North Carolina received its name.
Bailey adopted the philosophies, concepts and history of Great Britain. His room is flourished with London's flag and memorabilia from the country. He knew his business needed to be regal like the golden history of Queen Elizabeth and Marie Antoinette. 
"I studied her (Queen Elizabeth)," Bailey said. "I want everyone to be treated like royalty when they use the service."
Since creating The Royal Occasions in January, he has hosted several events including a birthday celebration for his mother and a 50th birthday for Lynette Shelton. He also "supported Charlotte Seen with a variety events to grow experience and to learn the seniority of Charlotte."
Bailey said he learned how to communicate and interact with different social classes.
Despite how rosy and glamorous, Bailey's story appears. It was no cakewalk to get to where he is today. 
Growing up in South Carolina, Bailey was taught the necessity of obtaining an education by his late father, who was a pastor and Family Dollar Regional Vice President. The importance of education was instilled in his two siblings and himself as children and continued into their young adulthood. 
Following the advice of his father, Bailey went to Winthrop University to receive his bachelors of science in international business. His original plan was to become a fashion buyer in London, but he lost himself during the process. 
"I went astray and wasn't happy," he said.
Bailey left the Rock Hill university in 2009. He dabbled in different programs, but none were fulfilling to him and what he really wanted to do. 
He dreamed of owning a business called Bailey Enterprise, which featured various components including real estate, event planning, and others. Instead of taking steps to achieve it, he worked different jobs and stopped taking care of himself.
The South Carolina native developed a fascination for the fabulous life, the premier entrepreneur said. In the meantime, he lost sight of his dreams and Bailey Enterprise.
His father, who worked more than 30 years at his job, went from a cashier to a leadership position.
"He believed that things can be better if you have faith and put God first," Bailey said. "Determination, hard work and support will be added onto you."
Bailey carry those lessons of life from his late father. Those principles came full circle after life discussions with some of his close friends and drinks.
He explained that he was off work from his last job. His friends and him were out talking about goals and ambitions. The 26-year-old shared with them his passion for hosting and planning events, but he never looked at it as a career. However, he loved hearing the raving comments about an event.
"I feed off people's enjoyment of the things that I do," Bailey continued and he did it.
He quit his full-time position to focus on his passion. The Royal Occasions became official in November 2013.
Passion to Create
The entrepreneurial spirit male is passionate about creatively building his company. He strategically planned and executed his plans to start the business. He wanted everything to be right. 
Hope for Success
Similar to others, the Charlotte resident hopes to be successful. After taking a whelm to follow his dreams, he wants success with self to create a peace of mind.
Respect is Due
As royal as it may seem, Bailey believes that respect is due in a honorable way. 
"Everyone should be respected," he said. "by thoughts and actions."
However, it's not anything that is given. He explained that individuals must learn the concept of respect. 
Empowered to be More
Bailey receives his empowerment by wanting more for himself. When a great moment or achievement happens in his life, it moves him to keep pushing. He is empowered by the people that he associates himself with because of the overall positive and support for each other. 
Ambitious to Support Family
While Bailey's father worked, his mother stayed at home taking care of their three children. As an adult, his ambition is to give it all back to her. 
"I want to be able to support my family," Bailey said. "And to be the person that I am supposed to be."
Find Garry Bailey and The Royal Occasions visit the following:
Twitter: @AROEvents

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Have you heard the Good News? It's the Ides!

Happy Birthday Starkey!
Have you heard, it’s the Ides of March? The Ides of March and no I’m not referring to the death of Julius Caesar, but rather the celebration of my 29th birthday! The Ides of March is the day that I was born to Anna B. and Daniel. The Ides of March meaning the day that I reflect on all that I ha
ve accomplished and things that are still on my vision board.
This year’s birthday, I decided to do things a little different. I wanted to focus on the things that bring joy to my life-writing and serving the community. This memorable day is the perfect opportunity.
Opportunities happen all of the time. It can be a possibility to work on a project or to meet the next big thing. The beauty about it is the fact that they happen all of the time. For instance, I had a vision of creating a group for writers to congregate together to fellowship and write. I talked about for months, but no action. However, after my original birthday plans changed, I chose to actually implement it. I can’t believe it’s actually happening. My fellow Winthrop writing buddies are together typing on the keys and touching the screens making magic happen with words. Now this is an unbelievable opportunity because I haven’t seen some of these ladies in years, but our interest and purpose in writing brought us back together. Opportunities occur just that simple and easily! It doesn’t take a lot of effort because it just happens.

I also decided to give my time to the community in one way or another. My sorority hosted our annual youth symposium this morning. We had youth from different walks of life learning great information and participating in hands-on activities. I also requested handbags and unused toiletry donations for Endless Dreams Foundation’s DreamHER Campaign. This is a memorable and meaningful day! I am so thankful for everyone who took part in making it a great day!