A-mazing Events finds a new home for its offices

Chris Rugowski

Contributor

May 1, 2024

KIMBERLY – After 18 long months of searching, A-mazing Events has found a new home – now located at 740 Ford Street, Suite B in Kimberly.

The move, Owner Joey Reader said, came at a crucial period because the business was growing out of its existing space.

At the previous office – which was located on Stoney Brook Road, a short drive from the new space – Reader said they had a combined 4,500 square feet of warehouse and office space.

The lack of space, she said, had them renting out two storage units for additional warehouse space.

Even then, Reader said they were running out of room to add offices and store their growing inventory.

The new location, she said, expands A-mazing Events’ office space from 3,000 square feet to 5,200 square feet.

“From an office perspective, we have plenty of space to grow here,” she said.

The new offices, Reader said, provide ample space for staff to collaborate and meet with clients.

Reader said they kept the Stoney Brook Road office and have expanded it entirely into warehouse space.

A lengthy process
Reader said the search for space was daunting, especially with the length of time it took.

“We could not find warehouse space with office space, and I thought that’s what I needed,” she said. “Because that’s what we knew.”

When A-mazing Events added its 15th employee, Reader said she had to rethink the company’s needs.

“I didn’t have a place for him to go,” she said.

This, Reader said, prompted her to look at things differently – and instead of looking for a location that had an office and a
warehouse, she began looking for a new office space, with plans of transiting the Stoney Brook Road location into A-mazing
Events’ warehouse space.

A-mazing Events’ new office is located at 740 Ford St., Suite B in Kimberly. Chris Rugowski Photo

“This new space was four minutes from the current warehouse,” she said. “I thought, ‘you know‚ I think we can operate differently.’ So far, it’s been about two months, and it’s been working out great.”

Reader said one of the best parts of the new office is having the space to store office supplies and for assembly work.

“We assemble thousands of name tags and small signage,” she said. “In the old space, we did that in the conference room or break room, so every time we’d have to clean it all up for client meetings. Now, we have a dedicated room for doing that.”

Another benefit, Reader said, is everyone in the office is on the same floor.

The previous office space had team members on different floors, which she said naturally created division.

Getting everyone on the same floor, with the majority working out its collaboration center, Reader said allows for the team to collaborate more naturally on projects and events.

“It’s been great to see the managers and coordinators mixing more,” she said. “The collaboration and conversations throughout the day have been wonderful.”

Company culture
Reader said the move has boosted team morale and helped pave the way for a successful future of growth.

“We have an ‘A-mazing’ team,” she said. “And we’re a unique group. The fact that there are 15 of us, and the majority are women – we’re unique in that perspective. They’re constantly uplifting one other and have each other’s back.”

Reader said the A-mazing Events team went through DiSC¬Æ training (dominance, influence, steadiness and compliance) training, which helped them understand each other’s differences.

“We know what motivates and drives everyone, and we accept everybody for who they are and the strengths they bring to the table,” she said.

Small team makes big impact
Reader said A-mazing Events’ small but mighty team consists of herself (owner and project manager); two directors; a newly hired operations manager; three event managers; three event coordinators; a graphic designer and three support employees.

In addition, she said there is a pool of temporary staff brought in for events depending on need.

A-mazing Events, Reader said, works with a variety of companies mainly in the sectors of event management, trade show management, destination management, specialty linen and event rentals and organizational management.

“Event management is 75% of our business,” she said. “We do 100-150 events a year.”

Reader said the A-mazing Events team can spend anywhere from 100 hours to 700-plus hours on an event.

During 2023, Reader said the team coordinated and executed their largest event to date with more than 8,000 attendees, 1,600 hours invested, 67 suppliers and 120 volunteers.

Nineteen years of business
Reader said she started A-mazing Events in 2005 and weathered her fair share of hurdles – including two major economic downturns.

When many saw a decrease in business following the 2008 market crash hit, Reader said A-mazing was experiencing the opposite – something she credits to companies reaching out when their internal marketing departments were cut.

“They would outsource their event management needs to us which was great because it was early in our journey,” she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand, Reader said hit A-mazing Events hard – seeing a 46% drop in sales from 2019 to 2020.

When things began to pick back up following the shutdowns, she said the company rebounded nicely – experiencing a 290% increase in sales and expanding the six-person team to 15.

Here to help
Reader said the biggest challenge many businesses face is the lack of an event planner, so oftentimes it falls into the hands of HR, marketing or the executive assistant.

“When the leadership asks you to plan an open house or employee appreciation event, that’s where we can step in,” she said. “Those events can take anywhere from 75-175 hours to plan. And that’s for us who know who to contact and how to make it run.”

Reader said when someone who isn’t experienced in the arena of event planning is asked to spearhead the project, they likely don’t know – who to call for tents, how to efficiently manage registration or who the suppliers are to get specific items.

“Those are the areas where we can be beneficial,” she said. “We’ll work alongside the employee and make the planning process easy.”

The next step is event execution – which Reader said utilizes a different set of skills.

“We handle it from start to finish,” she said. “We bring a lot of efficiency. It’s 19 years of improved processes and procedures, supplier connections, professional experience and more we’re bringing to the table.”

Reader said the industry has seen many changes over the years – most prominently the ubiquitous use of technology, from virtual meetings to QR registrations.

“Before COVID, all our meetings were in person,” she said. “Nowadays, my team spends a good part of their day on virtual meetings. This has also provided efficiencies during our day cutting out travel time, which ultimately saves our clients money.”

Reader said the pandemic-prompted virtual events continue today as well, with the A-mazing Events team planning and producing events on Zoom and Teams regularly.

An event planner in the making
Though A-mazing Events has had 19-plus years of success, Reader said owning a business of her own wasn’t necessarily a dream of hers.

She said she learned a lot during her time working in human resources departments for a large global company and a local construction company.

“I experienced the dynamics of a smaller business,” she said. “Because (I was in) human resources, I was always planning events, whether employee appreciation events, trainings or United Way campaigns. I was always involved with the planning – I had a passion for it.”

Reader said it was fascinating for her to see people come together for a common reason – whether it was for a concert, a conference or a celebration.

“I don’t think I realized how big the event industry was when I first set out to do this,” she said. “When I started the business plan 21 years ago, I realized we don’t have a lot of corporate event planners. We created a niche for ourselves, and it’s been an exciting journey.”

All A-mazing Events staff members are located on the same floor at the new office, which Owner Joey Reader said allows for more team collaboration on projects and events. Submitted Photo

Reader said she realizes now that during her years in corporate HR, she only knew the people within the business realm of things.

“I didn’t realize the big world that was out there in our community,” she said. “We live in a special and vibrant community full of nonprofits and corporations.”

Reflecting, Reader said she can’t imagine a more fulfilling path in life.

Even with 19 years under her belt, Reader said the thrill of landing new business and working with new companies is rewarding – noting she can’t imagine a more fulfilling path in life.

“I can’t envision going back to the corporate world at this point,” she said. “I think A-mazing will take me through to retirement.”

Giving back to the community
As a business owner, Reader said it’s important to her to give back to the community.

During 2023, she said the A-mazing Events team contributed around $55,000 through donations, sponsorships and in-kind services to a variety of organizations – such as New North, Inc., Fox Valley Humane Association, REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, Boys and Girls Club of the Fox Valley, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Green Bay and Rotary Foundation of Green Bay.

What inspired her to give back was the early years, she said,

“As a growing business, when I would see those businesses giving back to their communities and how rewarding that was, it was always important to me,” she said. “In the beginning years, you can’t always give as much, but now that we’re in a better position, we can.”