Meet Yinka Freeman: Owner, Triple Pocket Events

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yinka Freeman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yinka, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Starting my own event planning business had been in the back of my mind for years, but like so many others out there, fear always took over. People around me would always tell me to start my own business and that I would succeed but it was hard to fully listen. After many conversations with the people around me that I trust, I finally made the decision to take the leap of working for myself. Before making the final decision, I sat with myself, reflected on my past roles and really thought about the knowledge I had gained that would support my journey into entrepreneurship. With over 15 years of national and international industry experience, I was confident in my skill set and knew that I would have a strong network to support me. I wanted to build a company that aligned with my personal values and before coming up with a business name, I came up with the core values for my company and have been building Triple Pocket Events based on those values. Values such as, giving back to the community that supports my success, building relationships with industry connections and a commitment to customer service.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Triple Pocket Events is a full-service event planning company that specializes in private and corporate events. I can handle every aspect of an event, from concept to completion. I have worked many different roles within the hospitality and events industry from sales, to catering to event production, and I wanted to have a company where I could put to use all the good skills I had developed working for others. I have always shown a true passion for event planning, coordination and design form an early age. I have had some really great positions where I got to travel, put on amazing events and master my craft. There has been A LOT of early mornings, working out of airports, and troubleshooting on the spot in my events journey but all of these things have prepared me for where I am right now. 2020 has been the biggest learning curve in my entire career, it also solidified my passion for the events industry. I reinvented Triple Pocket to focus on virtual events, which meant, I sat through many webinars focused on virtual events and sat through countless demos of virtual event platforms, all so I can educate not only myself but my clients as well. I am so passionate about this industry that I knew I was not going to let myself or my clients sink.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Our first stop would be outside, whether that’s the beach or on a hike. Post hike/beach we would go get some tacos from one of my favorite neighborhood spots, Brothers Mexican, their al pastor is bomb! Their entire trip would revolve around eating and drinking. We would check out one of the many speakeasies in San Diego, Raised by Wolves, Prohibition or Noble Experiment. We’d definitely make a stop in Little Italy, King and Queen Cantina, Monello or Cafe Gratitude. I love Cafe Gratitude, as a carnivore, I think it has some of the best vegan food around. Hillcrest would also be on our list to hit several times, Gossip Grill, Urban Mo’s or insideOUT. For a change of pace and lots of fun, we’d finish off our night at SRO Lounge. Being in San Diego, you can’t miss the opportunity to hit a rooftop, some of my favorites include, The Nolen, Altitude and Fairweather.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Absolutely, my best friend of over 20 years, Shannon Stott Davis. Shannon has been my cheerleader since high school, there is nothing she doesn’t think I cannot do. When I was going back and forth on the decision to start Triple Pocket Events, Shannon reminded me of how I planned our high school prom and included elements of event planning I didn’t even know existed.

Website: www.triplepocketevents.com

Instagram: @triplepocketevents, @yinkagenevieve

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/yinka-freeman

Facebook: @triplepocketevents, @yinkagenevieve

Image Credits
Fiona Buckley Media