Coming from the world of freelance and contract work, where spending months on the build-up of one event, into an event space where in the first month of my employment we had 18 events in one month, was like entering the 100-sprint race as a marathon runner, a shock to say the least.

Most of my event experience before starting my job at The Timber Yard was working on major events like the Australian Open, the state school spectacular and the MotorClassica.  Coming into a space wherein my first week we had a 1500 guest live music event, an intimate wedding and a large corporate industry launch was a learning curve I didn’t know I needed.

If there’s one thing that I have taken away from my fast paced first month, is that being on the venue side is addictive.  We all have that one common love for pressure which is a major reason so many of us work in events (that and us being maniacs). Getting that ‘hit’ on a weekly basis has been refreshing. The skills I’m already building when it comes to being a creative problem solver is something I’ve longed for in other roles, however in the freelance world, you don’t always feel you have a valid seat at the table. The team here considers everything when it comes to every. Single. Event. and they/we all brainstorm solutions on how to help a client elevate a guest experience – on the daily. You can’t buy or study a course to gain this level of professional work experience.

Freelancing does have its Pro’s, building this working relationship in such an exciting workplace in a short time frame and connecting so well with my colleagues, has come directly from my freelance background. Picking up a new brief with a new team is expected in that world, so I’ve enjoyed being able to fit right into this team.

At The Timber Yard we all come from an eclectic background of running events across many styles (The team here is SO diverse) so learning from my peer’s experiences and techniques on approaching each and every element of an event, is so beneficial for me. I haven’t been the only one learning, I think (hope) having a new team member who’s somewhat fresh into the industry, a little bit younger than the team (sorry guys) and let’s call it for what it is, the cool one of the office is refreshing for my team too. They let me have a seat and a voice at the table which tells me that they appreciate the perspective from a different demographic.

If I have learned the importance of stakeholder relationships, venue management, bar management and resourcing in just under a couple of months, then I can’t wait to see what the next few months have in store for me.

Neve Hill

Venue & Operations Coordinator