In her own words: Camelot’s Kimberly Beck

Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Tell us about Camelot Party Rentals and the responsibilities of your position.

Kimberly Beck: We have been in the Reno-Sparks area for about 25 years and specialize in tenting, staging, tables, chairs and everything in between from linen and silverware to big festival tents seen around the area. I do a lot of the marketing and PR, social media, blogging, direct email, snail mail, bridal fairs, trade shows, promotional materials and all that good stuff.

NNBW: How did you get into this profession?

Beck: I met a gal that used to work here at a BizTalk Blender, and Camelot was transitioning to bringing someone on board for marketing because they were using an outside company and wanted someone in-house.

NNBW: What do you like most about your job?

Beck: It’s changing every day – there’s never the same wedding and everyone who comes in has a new event or party, which is great.

NNBW: What’s the most challenging aspect of your job?

Beck: Keeping up with the trends. It’s always changing and is a lot like the fashion industry where you never know when a pattern or color could change, and that translates into the wedding and events industry as well.

NNBW: What resources do you use to stay abreast of those changes?

Beck: Pinterest is huge — a lot of what’s “in” right now is on Pinterest. I also look at wedding, event and news blogs, and fashion Web sites are good too because what’s hot in fashion usually translates into the wedding and events industry.

NNBW: Do you have a favorite event that you’ve worked on?

Beck: We do a lot of the big summer events in town, and those are real fun. We just went to the Reno balloon races, and we have a balloon that we put on banner on, so that is always fun. Reno Rodeo is a big one too. Wedding season, you get a lot of the brides that send us their pictures of the final layout, and you get to see what it looks like, which is really exciting.

NNBW: Have any advice for other marketing professionals — what do you know now that you wish you knew when you took this job?

Beck: Keeping up with trends — it is really important to know what’s popular and what’s coming up with social media and marketing.

NNBW: As traditional marketing roles shift to incorporate heavy use of social media, how do you use those tools to promote Camelot?

Beck: We have a lot of different social media links that we use: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. We try to make sure we constantly stay ahead and we are in the face of our customers at all times and giving them stuff they want to look at. It’s all about making sure you have valuable content that they actually want to click on and read or look at.

NNBW: What was your first job?

Beck: I was a lifeguard at the Lovelock pool.

NNBW: What’s your dream job?

Beck: Probably traveling around the world for a living and being a food critic.

NNBW: What’s the best advice you’ve been given that really helps you succeed in your workday?

Beck: Planning and having a list. Write down a list of things you need to do and prioritize the most important.

NNBW: How do you spend your free time away from work?

Beck: I do a lot of outdoors activities: Hiking, paddleboarding, traveling when possible and the usual family/friends.

NNBW: What did you dream of becoming when you were a kid?

Beck: I wanted to be a teacher.

NNBW: If you had enough money to retire right now, would you? Why or why not?

Beck: No, I think I would get bored.

NNBW: What’s the last concert or sporting event you attended?

Beck: A Reno Aces game.

NNBW: What’s your idea of the perfect vacation?

Beck: The vacation I just went on was pretty perfect; I went to France, Switzerland and Italy.

NNBW: Now that you are back home, what do you wish you would have done differently on your grand European adventure?

Beck: We did some planning, but we kind of just winged it when we got there. I wish I would have tried a lot more food, took more pictures and bought more stuff.

NNBW: Why did you choose a career in northern Nevada? What do you like most about working/living here?

Beck: Northern Nevada is home for me, and it’s a great place. Working for a local company that’s well supported by the community is a great thing. There’s lots of new stuff coming to the community, and that’s great for our economy.

To suggest a candidate for NNBW’s weekly question and answer column, look at our editorial calendar (http://apps.nnbw.com/utils/pdfs/9683736R.pdf) and contact reporter Rob Sabo at rsabo@nnbw.biz or call 775-850-2146.