InTents December 2020/January 2021 - 19

A

ttracted by the opportunity
the rental industry provides
and wanting to capitalize on his
experience gained over the four years
he spent working in the sports and
entertainment industry, Darren Randle
opened his business this January.
" I was the contact who ordered
tents and rental items for those
events from the various providers
around town-which ultimately
led me to the industry, " he recalls.
" I wanted to be the one others
relied on for these rental needs. "
The opportunity to learn more
about this industry before diving in
with his own company came in 2015
when he joined a rental business in
the Houston area, overseeing many
complex, large installations for
sporting and corporate events, product
launches and festivals, among others.
" When people ask why I decided
to go this career route I explain how
much enjoyment I get out of helping
planners, organizations, sports teams
and schools host a successful event, " he
says. " The tent and rentals equipment
part of an event is important and
with that, I'm able to get creative and
use my marketing and operations
background to create a fun experience. "
Still, it was never his intention to
launch his own tent and event rental
operation from nothing-it's a tough

" WHEN PEOPLE ASK
WHY I DECIDED TO GO
THIS CAREER ROUTE I
EXPLAIN HOW MUCH
ENJOYMENT I GET OUT
OF HELPING PLANNERS,
ORGANIZATIONS,
SPORTS TEAMS AND
SCHOOLS HOST A
SUCCESSFUL EVENT. "
road to walk. Consequently, he advises
those hoping to break into this industry
to ϐind a family organization, working
hard with the idea of becoming a leader
or partner within that business.
IFAI is an important resource, says
Randle, connecting him to other young
industry professionals. And although
the pandemic has cut into the number
of events he's done this year, Randle
has still accumulated some memorable
moments, one being showing off
his newly opened warehouse to
his wife and young daughter.
" Watching my daughter run around
the warehouse ϐloor was worth all the
hard work and time away from them
over the last year to pull this off, " he
recalls. " Who knows, maybe she'll want
to run the Houston Tents & Events
business many years down the road. "

Darren Randle
Owner
Houston Tents & Events
Houston, Texas
www.houstontentsevents.com
Employs: Six with plans to
grow to nine

Q: What's the best
leadership lesson
you've learned?
A: An important one was
from Martin Luther King
Jr. He said, " The time is
always right to do what
is right. " Sometimes the
hardest thing to do as a
leader is the right thing.
It's easier not to place
importance on an employee or to undervalue
a customer that only
orders one small backyard part a year versus
that client you work with
every month. All should
be a priority. There are
many wrong ways to do
things in our industry, but
doing it right is what's
most important to me.

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11/19/20 3:18 PM
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InTents December 2020/January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of InTents December 2020/January 2021
