Entering the tent rental and event industry

What advice would you give to a family member interested in joining the tent rental and event industry? Lara McCulloch of Regal Tent Productions Ltd., Stoney Creek, Ontario, is an expert on this topic, having joined the family business after a 12-year career in branding and marketing. She says:

“It was a tough decision to leave part of my identity behind to join an industry I knew very little about. But it has actually become one of the best decisions of my life. The temporary-structure industry is fast–paced, customer-service focused, demanding and highly competitive—but what industry isn’t these days? The reality is that when you’re a tent rental company, you’re in the business of ‘making it happen.’ … When you’re providing the venue or the protection for an event you have to pull out all the stops to make sure it goes up on time. If you’re not comfortable in a service industry, if you’re not comfortable working until all hours to get the job done—then your job should not be in this industry. In the end, what makes it all worthwhile is supporting world-class events and seeing the looks on the guests’ faces as they truly enjoy the event (totally oblivious to all of the hard work that went into making it happen).