Before exploring entrepreneurship, Twyler worked as the merchandizing manager at Ebony magazine, creating added-value programs for its advertisers. Her responsibility was to extend the brand messaging of Ebony’s advertisers to the African American community through event creation. After a fulfilling two years at Ebony, Twyler returned to her small hometown in southern Indiana to care for her ill father. Her resignation from Johnson Publishing Company eventually led to the creation of her own business.
“A friend of mine got a contract with the city to do a conference, and she subcontracted some of that work to me to manage,” Twyler explains.
It was while working this conference that she was asked for a business card for a business that she did not have. Twyler took that opportunity to attend an entrepreneurship workshop. On March 16, 2001, Twyler formed Creative Events Solutions, which would eventually become Strategic Events Solutions, Inc.
“I never meant to start my own business,” she admits, although she says she is more than satisfied with how her business has thrived.
Strategic Events Solutions, Inc. focuses on the strategy of the meetings and conferences it produces, ensuring that clients’ goals and objectives are met while staying within their budgets. The company’s motto, “Be Informed, Be Assured, Be Confident,” reassures clients and potential clients that they will be involved throughout the process.
“I want you to be informed about what’s going on. I want you to be assured that everything that needs to be happening is happening. Be confident that the end result is going to be exactly what you want, if not a whole lot more,” she says.
Twyler Jenkins’s expertise has allowed her to work with prestigious institutions and corporations. In this year’s third quarter alone, Twyler has led Strategic Events to organize conferences and events for the Rainbow Push Coalition, WVON, the Ronald McDonald House Charities International Conference, the Chicago Association of Minority Recruiters Annual Scholarship Dinner and the University of Chicago Business Diversity Symposium.
She knows that her faith and the relationships that she has built over the years have allowed her to continue to thrive.
“My business is mostly through word of mouth,” she admits.
Twyler has developed relationships with clients across the city of Chicago and has truly set the standard for conference management and event planning in the community. A workaholic by nature, she averages nearly 14- to 16-hour work days, usually planning several events at a time.
When asked how she manages to maintain her sanity, she blurts out “sleep!” during her time between projects and remaining connected to her family’s morning prayer line. An extremely faithful woman, she begins every work day with prayer and devotion for an hour. As the youngest of eleven children from her parent’s union, she is very family-oriented and has an innate desire to help and serve others.
Twyler encourages aspiring entrepreneurs, “Nothing is impossible, but you have to have thick skin.” Although she believes that entrepreneurship is not for everyone, she encourages everyone to keep the faith.
“There are times when there are no checks in the mail [to me], and the faith is what gets me through and lets me know that it’s coming,” she adds.
Being prepared and being able to back it up is key. She notes that it’s about providing good service, saving money and using as many resources as you can.
Even after 20 years in this industry, with 10 years being in her own business, she still is unsure if this is the only thing that she is meant to do.
“I’ve always wanted to be a broadcast journalist,” she says.
But Twyler is happy with where she is now. Although she never imagined that things would work out the way that they have, she is thankful that they have.
“It’s so important to wake up every day with a spirit of gratitude,” she says.
Twyler is thankful for the support of her family, the trust that her clients have in her and the faith that things will continue to work in her favor.
