Alisha Norris - Events On Ridge

By Terry L. Watson

Photos Provided by Alisha Norris

Sufficient planning must occur to pull off a successful event such as a wedding reception, banquet, retirement party, or corporate gathering. Without it, the door is left open for any mishap to take place, potentially deflating the enthusiasm and cheer from any such occasion.

Every precaution is taken for event planner Alisha Norris to ensure no such surprise appears at her production. Now in her fifth year of being a serial entrepreneur, Alisha is the owner of Events On Ridge Event Center located in Parma, Ohio. She’s also the owner and operator of Creative Indulgence Party Designs and Co-creator of Westside W.R.A.P 216, a networking group for entrepreneurs. Her Real Estate License complements her skillsets; something she utilizes to help thriving business owners find the best location for commercial property.

Events On Ridge is a 1700 square foot intimate event space that accommodates social gatherings, micro weddings, and corporate meetings. “We specialize in offering the full event planning and decorating experience from start to finish. We love to serve smaller businesses with the opportunity to utilize our space for vendor events, continuing education courses, and community outreach programs,” Alisha shares.

Events On Ridge began as an event planning business in 2016. It quickly expanded into an event space in the fall of 2020. Alisha shares she opened her center after recognizing the need for an intimate event space in the city of Cleveland that offered updated amenities and quality staffing.

Alisha says the most valuable lesson she’s learned: understanding mediocrity is not an option for life. She explains, “As an entrepreneur, you have to be excellent intentionally every day to move that needle closer to greatness. Developing this mindset has impacted how I operate in my personal life and in business. One of my mentors, Neo Davis, always says, “It has to work or it has to work””.

Alisha considers herself to be an amazing wife to her business partner and husband, Eric Norris. Together, they share two children, Ajia and Ashton. She received her BA and MBA in Business Management from Capital University in Columbus, OH. She has served for nearly 15 years in hospitality and worked for multiple hotel chains. In these roles, she discovered her passion for event planning and logistics.

Alisha says she is an event planner at heart. “The ultimate joy comes from seeing a client’s face light up when we have executed their vision perfectly.” Like most businesses, Events On Ridge faced some new challenges with the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic. “We often questioned if this was the right decision. However, when you believe in your purpose and truly put things in God’s hands, nothing but good can form from it,” she says. Because they were faithful, Alisha says they are now experiencing great success and are in the process of opening their next venue.

For Alisha and Eric, the adage that “teamwork makes the dream work” proves to be true. “As I work tirelessly to build our brand, he continues to work in a high-level position at a local college. He never complains about working 40 hours in the office and giving an additional 20-30 hours per week at Events On Ridge. His drive inspires me daily to keep going so that I can one day tell him it’s time to put in your two weeks’ notice,” she says.

Her advice to anyone who may be considering entering into event planning is to be consistent.

“Consistency is key to operating successfully. Know your reason behind building your business because that will keep you motivated even when things aren’t looking great initially. Most importantly, do your research, understand your market, know your target demographic, set your price, and then add tax,” she says.

Alisha says her plans moving forward are to acquire multiple event spaces and related businesses throughout Ohio. She also hopes to continue to push fellow business owners to operate in the gifts. Ultimately her goal is to build generational wealth for her family and generations to come.

To learn more about Events On Ridge, please visit their website.