By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran
It was in the pursuit of dreams that pushed Ryan Gaspay to leave his home city of Tacloban for the hustle and bustle of Manila. Ten years later, he himself would be involved in the business of dreams, along with his business partner, Ryan Joseph Dacillo, starting a venture which promises to take and transform the desired visions of its clients into “a celebration you, your family, and guests will remember forever”.
As an event planning business based in Mandaluyong City, The Party Project Manila works with clients to assemble their dream celebrations, primarily birthday parties for children, under a specific theme. “The aim is to help everyone to put things together, conceptualize, and articulate the desired vision into a celebration that everyone will remember forever through the help of our creative minds, “ Mr. Gaspay told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.
The business was his brainchild. Mr. Gaspay, as a little boy, had developed a deep passion for the arts and fashion. He went to Manila, believing that it was the best place to realize his dreams.
“The first and last company that he was involving himself with was the company that honed him to become what he is now: an event stylist,” Mr. Dacillo also said in an e-mail. “Holiday parties, birthday parties of his officemates and colleagues, company parties, these were the things that helped him to become a better and a very talented stylist.”
Soon, this talent for planning and arranging events manifested into an idea for an enterprise, and The Party Project was born. Through their combined passion, the two entrepreneurs left the corporate world, Mr. Gaspay helming the creative side of the company, while Mr. Dacillo took care of the business side.
It was not easy at first. The two owners soon found that their own knowledge and experiences were not enough to sustain the business. Over the course of establishing The Party Project, Mr. Gaspay, a graduate of BS Hotel and Restaurant Management, and Mr. Dacillo, bachelor of mathematics graduate, somehow had to become architects, engineers, interior designers, and even psychologists to learn and acquire the traits necessary for their line of work.
Eventually, the company found success. From an initial staff of three people, The Party Project grew to 17, and was quickly featured in local and international blogs, social media websites like Instagram, as well as magazines.
In addition to Mr. Gaspay and Mr. Dacillo’s leadership, The Party Project’s unique recruitment strategy also plays a role in how the company has grown. Not content with merely helping its clients fulfill their dream celebrations, The Party Project also extends its hands to out-of-school youth around Metro Manila, offering the most creative of them the chance to work with the company in the creation of props to be used for events.
“What we are very proud of is that The Party Project Manila is not only helping those people who want to have their dream themed party develop into a reality, but also helping out-of-school youth develop their creative thinking by joining the team,” Mr. Gaspay said.
“These youths are the ones behind the beautiful and amazing props that are being used by the company,” Mr. Dacillo said. “If it is not for these people, the ‘creative minds’ the company needs cannot be executed properly. That is why we love these youths and treat them as our very own family.”
Throughout its existence, The Party Project Manila has always maintained its principles and faith. This, as well as the determination to continually challenge themselves, is what Mr. Gaspay and Mr. Dacillo believe sets them apart from other event planning services.
“We always offer all our works to God Almighty Father. Without Him, The Party Project will not exist. Without Him, we won’t be able to help those out-of-school youth earn money through their own hands. Without Him, we won’t be where we are right now,” Mr. Gaspay said.
“We cannot say that this business is already successful. We think everyday how to become a successful leader in this industry. We challenge ourselves to think outside the box, and make ourselves different to all other stylists,” Mr. Dacillo added.
The Party Project Manila expects to grow further still, fueled by passion and dedication to their craft. Taking it upon themselves to act as the fulfillers of dreams, Mr. Gaspay and Mr. Dacillo are now currently working on taking their styling efforts across a broader range of services like weddings and corporate events.
“When you are very passionate with what you are doing, you are not after the price that people are paying for. It is all in the happiness in their eyes when you make their dreams a reality,” they said.
