by Mella Noir | Featured Contributor
Ever met an entrepreneur, who started as a scrappy 16 year old kid, got a side job in a restaurant and turned it into a lifelong career in the entertainment industry planning extravagant parties for every celebrity you can think of?
I have, and his name is Charlie Scola.
In the last 30 years, he has become one of the top party planners in and around Los Angeles, creating successful events for celebrities such as Dolly Parton, Elton John, James Cameron, Hugh Hefner, Brad Pitt, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Charlie Sheen, Angela Lansbury, Chris Farley, Natalie Cole, Bon Jovi, Aaron Spelling and soooooooo many more. He has planned events for past Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan. He has created soirees for events like the Oscars, TV shows, huge companies and even for heads of countries, like China & Japan!
Party Charlie started out as a a kid who was studying to be a welder. He was sidetracked into a restaurant job for extra cash and decided to excel at what he was doing, any way he could. He always put his best effort forth, and was rewarded by moving up the ladder. At the young age of 23, he had his own business and the world was his. Suddenly, tragedy struck. Several times. In his TEDx talk, he shares his story of adversity and triumph.
Since then, he rebuilt, recovered and soared! His events are legendary, and if you are anywhere in LA, everyone has heard of Party Charlie and has tremendous respect for him. Everyone wants to be involved with him, approved by him and recommended to work with him. How? Why? Because of his way of thinking and how he treats others, whether they are celebrities, dignitaries, employees or the local fast food worker.
I interviewed Party Charlie for my podcast, which is a one on one chat with entrepreneurs, where they share their inspiring story of how they found and followed their passion. It was one of the highest listened to shows on our network. Party Charlie just has that magic. He is a devout member of several charities and is always willing to help his special causes, such as Make a Wish Greater LA and Streetlights among several others and has received a proclamation from the City of Beverly Hills for his philanthropy. He is always willing to be a mentor. He speaks at the Cordon Bleu School to the students often, giving them his advice, free copies of his book “Party Planning Secrets“, and offers his expertise about entertaining — not just how to cook, but to treat guests to an entire experience they will remember fondly. His book is filled with vital information on everything from “creating the energy” via an exciting invitation, festive ambiance and fabulous food ideas – all the way through safety, discounts, and dealing with trash “it stinks, and how to deal with it!”…it’s filled with checklists, invoices and contact sheets and even has a napkin folding tutorial! Talk about fully informing your audience.
Today, we get together to share a few ideas, so simple to Party Charlie, but so enlightening to our ears, eyes and hearts.
Here are 10 important lessons this amazing man taught me, and you should learn too:
- Attitude is everything. Start your day by smiling, even if you have to fake it, soon it will become a part of you.
- Consider all your options before you act. Don’t be stubborn, work hard to understand opposing positions.
- People are your best resource, respect them, you’ll be amazed at the indirect gifts you’ll receive!
- Be fair, everyone wants to win…learn to share.
- Words mean something. Take a breath before you say what’s really on your mind…thinking it through will always pay off.
- It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Just remember the old saying: you get more with honey than you do with vinegar.
- Help others. You will soon learn helping others is one of the greatest feelings a human being can experience.
- Class Envy = just because someone has money doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings (everyone hurts).
- Get involved in a good cause. Start by doing what you love, then do it for a good cause.
- Always believe in yourself. Even when others don’t. Dream BIG and associate with people who dream big.
What I also learned from Party Charlie is that viewing the world through rose-colored glasses is a good thing. People want to be associated with positive people, and by being one, you will always bring more and more of the same type of good energy around you. Always keep your spirits up, a bad day is just a bad day, and there is a beautiful day ahead tomorrow. There is always time for fun! Throw a party, have a good time and make sure everyone around you is as well. You are in charge of what you choose to do with your life, so do something you love! And most importantly, as quoted on the back of his book: “Remember to love, because that’s how we got here and that’s how we will stay here!”
Thanks for the lessons, Party C!
Mella Noir – Entrepreneur Success Stories & Inspirational Profiles
Mella‘s great love of the English language began her adventures in journalism, with a side passion for sales and marketing. She segued into advertising, and her fascination for both people and Champagne propelled her flute first into event and party planning. Many soireés, fêtes, and galas later, she’s still popping corks, clinking and chatting her way through life. She was an original “Champagne Sister“, and hosted *Clink, Chat & Catch Up!*, where she profiled inspiring and passionate entrepreneurs and shared their story of finding and following their dreams. Along with her fellow international hosts, she created over 130 Bubbly Talk Radio Network podcasts, interviewing Kathy Ireland, Richard Simmons, Rex Pickett, Heather McDonald, Charles Stiles, Simon Majumdar, Nico Santucci and more. Mella produced “Inspire And Influence with Bri Seeley”, “The Flute Enthusiast”, “Life in the Lady C Lane”, and “Clink And Chat Real Housewives” and is proud to have been featured in the book “The Inspirational Woman Project”. Mella is a huge twitter advocate and besides curating entrepreneurs @BubblyTalkRadio, she shares social media content @ClinkAndChat and spreads bubbly love at @ChampagneChat. She enjoys travel and writes reviews for The Bespoke Black Book. For over a decade, she’s been trusted to run social media accounts including celebrities Winsor Harmon (Bold And The Beautiful), Peter Madrigal (Vanderpump Rules), and Eliza Roberts (Animal House) as well as many premium brands, restaurants and individuals. She’s well known on the red carpet circuit, live tweeting and interviewing celebrities like Ryan Gosling – and, most recently the Emmy award winning “The Bay” with publicist partner Jackie Lewis Media. Nowadays, Mella focuses on all aspects of PR as a digital media strategist…need help online? Send her an email: MellaNoirPR@gmail.com
