Today we’d like to introduce you to Nena Petricca.
Hi Nena , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It all started with my baby shower with my daughter in May 2021. After hosting many events of our own, we decided to purchase a few rectangle tables and folding chairs for 40 guests versus renting them. Our friends and family found out about our inventory, and asked if they could borrow them for their own events. They would question us, “How do you own all of this equipment and it’s just sitting in your garage?!”
Later that year, we hosted our family Thanksgiving and my brother in law was the one who encouraged us to start advertising and charging people to use our equipment. So in January 2022, we decided to start East County Party Rentals on Instagram. Not knowing where this side-gig would take us, we were surprisingly booked every weekend just 1 month after launching, and just kept going!
For our first year of business, we consistently booked about 4-6 events per month, primarily from client referrals and word of mouth. Growth can be scary, especially when we found out that we were becoming a family of four, but in Fall 2023, we decided to launch our website, www.EastCountyPartyRentals.com. With a newborn in one arm and our toddler in the other, we kept the momentum going and listed our small-family business on Google in Spring 2024, which we now have over 125 5-star reviews!
East County Party Rentals loves to support our community. From donating to local families who are affected by cancer (Faith for Kennedy and the PINC Foundation), to supporting local elementary and high schools for youth academics and athletics, as well as becoming active members for the East County Chamber of Commerce, the Lakeside Chamber of Commerce, and the Alpine Chamber of Commerce, where owner, Nena Petricca, served as a Board of Director from 2024-2025.
Over the past 4 years, our inventory has grown from just 5 tables, to now almost 150 tables! And from just 40 chairs, to now over 700 chairs! This business has introduced us to some amazing clients and awesome vendors – East County is truly an incredible community to be a part of and to be able serve! We love throwing our own parties and bringing people together, and now, we have expanded our inventory for others to create your own memories! From tables, chairs, linen, and décor, we have everything you need for your next event!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting a small business while raising a new baby had it’s challenges. We were learning how to be first-time parents while learning how to be business owners, and also while we were both still working at our full-time office jobs. Back then, it was just me and my husband loading tables and chairs in our truck bed, with our daughter in her car seat in the backseat while we drove around town doing deliveries on nights and weekends. Now, we have a branded enclosed trailer and a few staff members to help us execute deliveries to our client events!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about East County Party Rentals, LLC?
We focus on providing the essentials for events, which is tables and seating for guests. If clients want to enhance their set up, we offer linen and a variety of table decor. What sets us apart from others is our customer service, knowledge in events, and cleanliness of equipment. With a background of almost 15 years in the events and sales industry, we understand that while events can be fun to plan, they can also be stressful. We are communicative with clients and are flexible with order needs. Additionally, we can proudly say that we clean every single chair after every single event, so you are guaranteed clean equipment for your event!
Any big plans?
We started out by storing all of our equipment in our home garage, but we quickly grew out of that space to needing not just one, but multiple storage units at an off-site facility. Our next step is getting our own warehouse, which will permit us to continue to expand our inventory, and offer our services to even more clients! But our big goal? Our dream is to build a private event venue here in East County.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eastcountypartyrentals.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eastcountypartyrentals/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EastCountyPartyRentals
- Other: https://share.google/H9m06WdvjnHDvim8L
Image Credits
Jessica Beamon and Katie Wall
