Exploring Life & Business with Kalie Zerbst of Eventus Detroit

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kalie Zerbst. 

Hi Kalie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My name is Kalie Zerbst, and I am the owner of Eventus Detroit, a venue management company for Detroit event spaces. I began my journey in the event industry in 2017 when I was hired as an executive assistant for a Detroit-based company during the summer before my junior year of college. This company operated out of a renovated warehouse and the building owner outfitted the entire space into a trendy, industrial-chic office which had a number of unused rooms. I was asked to throw a handful of events for the company at the building and we received great feedback about the space. We decided to transform the empty rooms into event space and began renting it out for corporate and private events. I was tasked with getting this new event venue off the ground and then running the space: everything from marketing to touring clients to booking/managing the events. The event space quickly took off and I found a passion in this new career as a venue manager that I didn’t even know existed. 

After about a year and a half, I ended up leaving the venue to finish my senior year of college and knew that I still wanted to run an event space. I came up with an idea to operate multiple event spaces, all with different styles, finishes, and sizes, but with the same management team behind them. That is when my company, Eventus Detroit, was created. After finishing school with this idea and a plan, I went around Detroit meeting different building owners with under-utilized, interesting spaces and pitched them on making those spaces into event venues. 

Today, I have two spaces under direct management and several other venues that can be booked through Eventus. My premier venue is The Riverside, and it is a 1920’s former cold storage warehouse built with about 8,000 square feet of rentable space. The venue features exposed brick, 12ft ceilings, Albert Kahn-style martini columns, an indoor/outdoor patio, and several original finishes. We host a range of events including weddings, corporate events, and private parties, and the venue can be easily scaled for more intimate events. I am also working to start up a 13,000-square-foot space in a high-rise in downtown Detroit. This space has refinished floors, exposed ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling windows with views of Downtown Detroit, the Detroit River, and the Ambassador Bridge. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It certainly has not been a smooth road to get to this point in the business. One obstacle that I encountered when I was first meeting with building owners was convincing them that I could run their spaces for them better than they could themselves or another event company could. I was 22 years old when I started pitching my business idea and I only had data from the one venue I had started. Most of the people I pitched thought I should go and work for an event company rather than starting my own at that age. 

COVID-19 was also a huge obstacle to work through. In the fall of 2019 (5 months after starting the business), I had my first venue under management, The Riverside, and I was working closely with the owner to get the space ready for event rentals. That spring, COVID-19 shut everything down and all the Eventus momentum was put on hold for over 18 months as we waited to see what would happen. That was a really difficult time for me personally as I was wondering what the event industry would look like post-lockdown and if people would even need event venues. Luckily, I was a team of just myself and I didn’t have to worry about supporting employees during this slow period or having to lay anyone off. 

Working in the business on my own has, however, been an obstacle of its own. It takes a lot of motivation to sit down every day and work on things without anyone holding you accountable. There were some days in the beginning that made it difficult to grow because I lost this motivation. I have since hired my first employee, which adds both accountability as well as the opportunity to grow my business faster. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Eventus Detroit?
Eventus is a third-party management company to manage non-traditional event spaces. Our goal is to bridge the gap between boutique event venues with little reach and clients looking for engaging event space. Over the last few years, clients have been transitioning from booking events in traditional banquet halls and board rooms to looking for more dynamic space for their events, and Eventus-branded venues help to connect those pieces. 

What sets Eventus apart from other event companies is that there aren’t many companies managing several venues at one time. We provide our venue owners with an all-encompassing management system, specialized marketing services, and a vast network of vendors & clients to get venues up and running with minimal effort from the building owners. For those booking events, we provide professionally run spaces with several different styles and finishes to meet the diverse needs of our clients. 

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
From a professional point of view, one thing that really makes me happy is helping to bring a client’s vision to life and seeing that carried out in one of my venues. I have had the pleasure of working with some amazing people in the past 5 years in this industry and the amount of creativity that comes from my clients and their event planners, caterers, designers, and other vendors never ceases to amaze me. I love seeing the way people transform the spaces and to see them and their guests enjoying themselves in our venues. 

On the personal side, I think one of my biggest joys comes from plants and gardening. I love watching things grow and I think it is so fun to take a handful of seeds and be able to grow it into a garden full of fruits and vegetables that can be enjoyed all summer. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.eventusdetroit.com
• Instagram: @eventusdetroit_
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kalie-zerbst 

Image Credits
Anthony Martinez
Musecinematics.com