11 Business Tips From Syrie Roman of Social Maven

| |

Syrie Roman, owner of Social Maven & Petite Soirée, Photo x Seek Axiom

Syrie Roman, owner of Social Maven & Petite Soirée, Photo x Seek Axiom

Syrie Roman is the owner of wedding and event planning companies Social Maven and Petite Soirée in Buffalo, NY

Eight years ago Syrie Roman was the Clubs & Catering Manager for the Buffalo Sabres and noticed an opportunity to plan weddings and events on her own, so she dove right in, applied for a more “9 to 5” job and worked weddings on the weekends.

Fast forward to present day and she is the owner of two businesses – Social Maven, a wedding and event planning company; and Petite Soirée, a wedding planning company focused on planning small or micro weddings of 10 – 50 people, a company launched largely in response to the pandemic. She leads a team of 9 people, produces an average of 30 weddings and events per year and just opened a design studio in Buffalo.

Design & Planning - Syrie Roman, Photography - Anomaly Photo, Florals - Fern Croft,
Design & Planning – Syrie Roman, Photography – Anomaly Photo, Florals – Fern Croft, Furniture Rentals – Quaint Rentals

Roman went to school for Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management and took a job as a cook while in school. After quickly realizing that she was better suited for the front of the house, she climbed the ladder as a server, assistant manager, restaurant manager, purchasing manager, catering director, and general manager. Roman’s professional background also includes food writing for a WNY online publication and magazine, Culinary Recruiter for Delaware North’s corporate office, and East Coast Regional Recruiter for the Michael Mina Restaurant Group from San Francisco.

“It was during that time (while traveling for Michael Mina Restaurant Group) that I started re-evaluating what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and realized that I wanted to try and work on Social Maven full time. It’s been 4 years since I made that decision and I have never looked back. It’s such a privilege to be able to create memories for others, it’s truly my favorite part of what I do,” explained Roman in a recent interview with Step Out Buffalo Business.

While Roman aimed to answer the demand she saw from word of mouth requests, her true motivation came from wanting to live life on her own terms and work for herself.

“My boyfriend jokes that my problem now is that I can’t have fun anymore because I turned all the things I used to do for fun into my work. He’s not wrong.”

#relatable

Syrie Roman, owner of Social Maven & Petite Soirée, Photo x Seek Axiom

Business Tips from Syrie Roman

1. What’s the best business advice you’ve ever been given?

“My first day of Culinary School, my Culinary Intro professor taught me the 5 P’s – Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. I literally apply this to everything in my life.”

2. What has been the most helpful tool for running your business? 

“Gosh, so many. But I’m ultimately an old school gal. I have to write things down, so I carry a planner. My book, all my friends know I have to look at my book before committing to anything. During wedding season I literally have to schedule when I’m washing my hair, that’s how busy I am.”

Design & Planning - Syrie Roman, Photography - Anomaly Photo, Florals - Wild blossom Hollow, Stationery - Purple Wagon Design, Venue - The Brickhall
Design & Planning – Syrie Roman, Photography – Anomaly Photo, Florals – Wild blossom Hollow, Stationery – Purple Wagon Design, Venue – The Brickhall
Design & Planning - Syrie Roman, Photography - Common Dove, Florals - Wild Blossom Hollow, Venue - Social Maven & Petite Soiree Design Studio
Design & Planning – Syrie Roman, Photography – Common Dove, Florals – Wild Blossom Hollow, Venue – Social Maven & Petite Soiree Design Studio

3. Where do you find motivation? 

“I listen to a lot of industry podcasts and business audiobooks while I’m driving. I also belong to a few planner communities from all over the nation and Canada and we meet twice a month to discuss all kinds of things, it’s so nice to speak with others who get you and understand what you’re going through. Regarding podcasts I love Brands that Book, She Creates Business, Wedding MBA Podcast, The Wedpreneur, Gather Geeks, Planning for Profit, and Talks with Reneé Dalo.”

4. What’s your marketing motto?

“Social Maven – Because at your event you should be carrying a drink, not a clipboard. “

5. What’s your sales motto? 

“Make friends first, make sales second, make love third. In no particular order.” – Michael Scott. If you want to make a sale you also have to make and maintain real connections with clients. The more genuine you are, the more willing people will be to do business with you.”

Design & Planning - Syrie Roman, Photography - Shaw Photography, Florals - Fern Croft, Furniture Rentals - Quaint Rentals, Venue - Knox Farm
Design & Planning – Syrie Roman, Photography – Shaw Photography, Florals – Fern Croft, Furniture Rentals – Quaint Rentals, Venue – Knox Farm
Design & Planning - Syrie Roman, Photography - Shaw Photography, Florals - Fern Croft, Furniture Rentals - Quaint Rentals, Venue - Knox Farm
Design & Planning – Syrie Roman, Photography – Shaw Photography, Florals – Fern Croft, Furniture Rentals – Quaint Rentals, Venue – Knox Farm

6. What’s your strategy for creating content on social media?

“I always make sure that the content is either informative, beautiful, personal, or funny. Or some sort of combination of those attributes.”

7. What’s your best advice for growing a business’s revenue?

“Know your operational costs. Have a solid cash flow spreadsheet. Spend money on an accountant and develop a pricing strategy.”

8. What’s the most beneficial form of advertising in your opinion?

“Word of mouth and social media.”

Photography - Moonshine Studio of Photography,
Photography – Moonshine Studio of Photography, Florals – Botan, Venue – Social Maven & Petite Soiree Design Studio

9. What advice do you have for hiring people?

“Surround yourself with people who are better than you at things your business needs in order to succeed, those people will help you get where you want to go.”

10. What’s one thing you can’t live without?

“Coffee!!”

11. Give us a business tip – any tip!

“Be honest & genuine, it will never be overrated. “

Subscribe to Our Blog

Stay up to date with the latest marketing and business tips in Buffalo & WNY from the Step Out Buffalo team and beyond.

Step Out Buffalo Business Newsletter

More Posts You'll Love

Step Out Buffalo Event Packages | Product Guide

Step Out Buffalo Event Packages | Product Guide

At Step Out Buffalo our mission is to help people love where they live by showcasing local businesses across Buffalo and Western New York. One of the ways we do this is through our Event Packages. Step Out Buffalo Event...

Step Out Buffalo Partner Packages | Product Guide

Step Out Buffalo Partner Packages | Product Guide

Photo courtesy of Step Out Buffalo client University at Buffalo At Step Out Buffalo our mission is to help people love where they live by showcasing local businesses across Buffalo and Western New York. One of the ways we do this is through our Partner Packages....

Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages | Product Guide

Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages | Product Guide

At Step Out Buffalo our mission is to help people love where they live by showcasing local businesses across Buffalo and Western New York. One of the ways we do this is through our Shop Local Packages. Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages are discounted...

Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages | Product Guide

Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages | Product Guide

At Step Out Buffalo our mission is to help people love where they live by showcasing local businesses across Buffalo and Western New York. One of the ways we do this is through our Shop Local Packages. Step Out Buffalo Shop Local Packages are discounted...

How to Create A Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Campaign That Works

How to Create A Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Campaign That Works

Word-Of-Mouth Marketing: What It Is & Why Does It Matter Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most powerful forms of marketing there is. Word-of-mouth marketing is a type of advertising that relies on people talking about a product or service to their friends,...

Advertising 101: The Basics Of Creating Effective Campaigns

Advertising 101: The Basics Of Creating Effective Campaigns

Have you ever sat down to build out an advertising campaign and felt overwhelmed before even getting started? If you’re in need of an Advertising 101 rundown or a refresher on the best ways to create a successful campaign in this day and age and the most important...

Influencer-Style Advertising: The Key to Growing Your Business

Influencer-Style Advertising: The Key to Growing Your Business

Featured image c/o BuffaloveBirds, a local WNY influencer duo When it comes to getting more customers, advertising can be a gamechanger for your business. But if you don’t want to waste money on ineffective efforts, you need to be strategic. Traditional media, like...

Leveraging Step Out Buffalo

2022 Step Out Buffalo Year In Review

2022 Step Out Buffalo Year In Review

A letter from our team - 2022 recapped. 2022 flew by and it was a great one. Over the past year we welcomed two new full time team members to our staff - one a previous intern, which was so exciting for us! We also added four new freelance content creators (again, one...