Traci
Copywriter, Project Manager, Color Freak

When we bought our ski lodge-looking cedar home in November 2007, the first thing on my move-in agenda was paint. I needed color [and lots of it] to combat the rustic brown walls and ceilings and decks and surroundings. To our painter’s chagrin, I was fully satisfied 19 colors later. In August 2011, we moved once again to a larger abode with even more walls! The paint chips were flying like confetti.

At one time, I considered going to graphic design school, but a scholarship to Duquesne University resulted in a broader and better path. My undergrad degree in journalism/advertising [followed by a master’s in corporate communications] opened my eyes to the endless ways to express creativity. Over the past 24 years in agency, corporate and private business, I’ve written the words, produced the commercials, proofed at the press checks, designed the logos, developed the campaigns, bought the media and organized the AV. I have even sung the jingle demo [via a cassette tape that is locked away so as to never offend another human’s ears]. And in all of these instances, it has been about “the color.”

Color is emotion and balance. Color is fun and play … mixing and matching. It’s about finding the perfect combination of elements that makes the project complete. My kids think I’m an excellent artist — from Pokémon sketches and Halloween costumes, to birthday cakes and Christmas cards. I know the truth and, although my fine art skills are really just ok, my work allows me to be creative nearly every day.

I’m the person who saves swatches, files color chips and tears out references from the pages of magazines. I love watching shows like Project Runway and Top Chef because it’s about the colors, textures and presentation. And that love extends to finding the right words [and fonts to display those words!] in the right medium, and adding them to the right strategy to create a work of art.

Working with my clients on a new project or problem is just another excuse to bust out the virtual Crayolas and dream up a colorful solution.

Doug
Marketer, Sales Presentation Specialist, Mad Scientist

I once built an automatic dog feeder that would make Rube Goldberg proud, but I think it was the first time I fired up the homemade ski rope tow [after 50 hours of researching, designing and building] that I fully satisfied my inner passion. It had consumed me for an entire fall, that lovely little hill in our front yard we call Yoshi Mountain. [Caution is required when letting your kids name things … we also have a tractor and GPS named Yoshi.] Once I got the idea in my head, it was an unstoppable need … a problem to be solved. An itch in my brain that I could not scratch until, finally, Yoshi [the tractor] roared and the rope tow lurched to life. I laughed like a fool and did a happy dance.

I’m the same way with work. I love listening to people describe their business … where they want it to go, how they want it to grow, and wonder aloud the best way to get there. After two decades I still get the same feeling … like an electric current to my brain. Let’s figure this out.

Today, along with this amazing team, we tackle those challenges every day. We laugh a lot, sweat the details and end each day [whenever that day actually ends] having put in enormous effort solving our clients’ toughest marketing issues. We built an entire new arm of our business specializing in sales presentation design, because we delivered them so well for one client that we knew others needed to hear about them, too. Launching that business felt the same satisfying way as firing up the rope tow. It works!

I’ve held various positions at agencies, startups, consultancies and my own businesses. I’ve worked with Bayer, Calgon Carbon, Microsoft, Viacom, PNC Bank and countless smaller companies that face the same challenge: how to get more customers, keep the ones they have and grow their business. I love it.

I’ve been helping Traci build this business for more than five years. The challenges are always new, and ours to solve the way we do best. To me [and to all of us], clients are not our work. They’re part of our lives … our friends … they are that all-consuming itch in our brains that just has to be scratched.

Natalie
Event Strategist, Project Manager, Music Junkie

“I’ll take 80s Hair Bands for $1,000, Alex.” No, I haven’t been on Jeopardy, but if Name That Tune was still on the air, you’d be looking at a serious contender. I love music — in the crazy, obsessed, I-know-every-lyric-to-every-song kind of way. My internal music catalog dates back to my family’s annual road trips from Long Beach, Calif., all the way to San Antonio, Texas. Dad was into James Brown, Al Green and Marvin Gaye, definitely a solid foundation. My first live music concert was in September of 1981, just before my 13th birthday. It was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with none other than The Rolling Stones, George Thorogood, The J. Geils Band and some relatively unknown guy named Prince. I was sold.

My family thinks I’m a walking playlist that is constantly on shuffle, and Traci once said that my iPod gave her musical whiplash, but I make no apologies for The Velvet Underground, the Jackson 5 or … Air Supply.

So then there’s my other passion, event planning. What started out as a job organizing corporate training has led to everything from non-profit convention planning to orchestrating technology and healthcare events, hotel management, and even indulging my inner rock star by managing the sales and marketing department for Hard Rock Café. They say the devil is in the details — and I think that this is where I shine. It’s all about the rhythm of multi-tasking, adapting to constant change and thriving on the pressure. Anyone can throw a party, but what excites me the most is helping our clients understand all of the moving parts behind creative, cost-effective events that make an impact and achieve objectives. I love what I do. I love what we do even more.

Events are a lot like a live concert: the hard work it takes to get there, the adrenaline rush, giving the audience what they came for, and leaving them wanting an encore.

Check one, two — is this thing on?

Cathy
Project Manager, Speaker Whisperer, Movie Maniac

Scene 1. Lights. Camera. Action!

Setting: Early morning, quiet NYC street, yellow cab pulls up. Scene: She exits cab dressed in that iconic black dress with pearls and signature black sunglasses. She walks up to her favorite spot for breakfast …

I am a huge movie fan. From the story, the director and the choice of location, to the actors and their wardrobe and hair — it all sparks my interest. In those couple of hours, I get lost in the director’s vision. I get to laugh out loud, grab a box of tissues, or scream and hide my eyes. I’m also the one who buys her ticket two weeks in advance and enjoys the rush of seeing a movie at the midnight showing!

I see your event like a movie — your vision and the perfect setting [the script], the speakers [actors] and agenda [co-star] starring in your film. Also, with our team of directors, we can add “extras” that will keep them talking well after your event has come to a close. Both have the same end in mind: an audience left breathless and wanting more.

Here are a few of the roles I play:

• Speaker Whisperer: My specialty … I adore all my speakers — they make a conference breathe.

• Project Manager: I have yet to miss a deadline … and if one is approaching, get out of my way. If your project is time-sensitive, you want me on it!

• List Management Queen: I can help you get that list under control and get your message out to the masses.

• Agenda Wrangler: I work closely with your team to build a fantastic agenda that appeals to your attendees.

• Wife: Happily married July 31, 2010, in Las Vegas.

I love what I do! I love my Perfect PlanIt family and our awesome clients. So let’s make a movie. A blockbuster … something that knocks ‘em dead, just like that famous scene from my favorite movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Nikki
Project Manager, Bargain Shopper, Research Guru

I am the definition of a bargain shopper. I owe it to my mother for never letting me pay full price for just about anything. It’s true that I get a rush out of a bargain and am always looking for a better deal. It’s helped me personally, as well as in the workplace. Why pay full price for something when the same exact thing is available at a lower price, with just a little research required? I do the same for every client, whether it’s trade show booth giveaways, investigating print costs or finding that perfect conference tote bag … I’m your girl.

As the baby of the team, I do in fact have a lot of experience under my belt. I did the whole PR agency thing right out of college. I moved to Philadelphia and did event planning for a year and a half. Now here I am back in the city where I was born and raised, with a great team I just so happen to have interned with during my years at the University of Pittsburgh. My entry into the Perfect PlanIt world was an unforgettable baptism by fire. It was my junior year of college and Trac called me. Minutes later, my plane ticket was booked and off to Hollywood, Fla., I went. I served as onsite staff for a first-time, three-day conference working 16-hour days, doing everything and anything … except eating … [just kidding, Trac! … she knows well my love for food].

Obviously, researching comes along with the territory of any bargain shopper, so it’s no surprise that I have become proficient at that very task over the years. Just about anything that needs a deeper investigation — from locating a portable photo booth to uncovering where to get cookies iced with a logo — comes my way.

Did I mention that I’m 26 and love my job? Who says that? What else do I love? To-do lists and a good work out. I have a slight obsession with my dogs, Sidney and Ace, and love anything Pittsburgh-related. And as of late I am really enjoying this thing they call “married life,” with my hubby Nick.