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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Utah chapter.

You may think that going to school during a pandemic is hard enough, but this week I interviewed two ladies who started a business! Meet Kim and Natalie. They are passionate young women who just barely graduated, and started a business together in January 2020. 

Kim Davison and Natalie Anderton created Life is a Party, a sustainable event-planning business, on January 1, 2020. Little did they know the struggles they were going to encounter was more than they bargained for. 

Their journey started less than a year ago. Kim and Natalie met when they both took jobs at Red Butte Garden in the event planning department a little more than a year ago. They immediately hit it off. A couple months later and they were agreeing to start a business together. “We made a big leap for not knowing each other very long,” says Natalie. 

They were both attracted to the events industry, but for very different reasons. Kim had enjoyed planning events for Her Campus Utah. Natalie was obsessed with weddings. It seemed natural that they would go into event planning together. Their business, Life is a Party, launched on the first day of the year, just a few short months before COVID struck the U.S. 

Kim and Natalie created Life is a Party because they want to help people celebrate in a sustainable way. They saw how wasteful the events industry is, and decided it was up to them  to make a difference. Their goal is lofty: to save the planet while helping people connect. 

COVID-19 decimated the events industry, but Life is a Party has persevered. From socially distanced picnics to decor rental, Natalie and Kim found ways to thrive in dark times. Natalie and Kim believe that it was harder for established businesses to adapt than it was for them. “We really had to adjust and be flexible. I think it actually has helped us,” says Kim.

COVID was just one surprise Kim and Natalie faced when starting a business — they also had to adjust their relationship from friends to business partners. “We’ve gotten to know each other’s strengths more,” said Natalie. Kim believes that they “fill in each other’s gaps.” One thing’s for certain: these two won’t let work get in the way of their friendship. As Natalie said, “we can do both in a healthy way.”

If Natalie and Kim could give college goers one piece of advice, it would be to start a business. “There’s never a good time to start a business,” says Natalie, but they believe that it was the right decision. They say that they didn’t see the perfect job for them in the market, so they created it. As young, environmentally-conscious entrepreneurs, Kim and Natalie are ready to take on the world. 

Life is a Party is split into three separate services. Party packages to help make celebrating special occasions easier, custom decor to help you have unique/memorable events, and decor rentals to help you throw a party in a more affordable/sustainable way. We offer all of these services in hope of being your go-to stop for all things celebrating. We believe that there are lots of things in life worth celebrating and want you to always remember that life truly is a party!

For more information, please visit https://www.lifeisapartyslc.com. 

Hello! I am a junior studying Peace & Conflict Studies and Strategic Communication at the University of Utah. I am also minoring in Political Science. I am passionate about advocacy, education, and Star Trek!
Ailish Harris is a Stage Management and Performing Arts Design transfer student at the University of Utah. She's originally from Salt Lake City, UT, but was lucky enough to attend Emerson College in Boston, MA for her first 3 semesters of college. She has written for both Her Campus Emerson and Her Campus Utah, and is the current Editor in Chief for Her Campus Utah! She is a student leader in many capacities, working as the Secretary for Stage Managers at the U and as the Historian for the Department of Theatre's Student Advisory Committee. She loves Halloween, cooking, theatre, documentaries, organization, fashion, her pet hedgehog Chester, true crime, and Her Campus!