ANNOUNCING THE WOMAN OF THE MONTH

Meet April’s Fort Worth Woman! Meghan Jarrell is the owner of Moxxie Concepts Event Management and Consulting. She recognizes that her passion for the “event space” naturally grew from two things – a foundational love of people and a desire to “make a difference”. 

Growing up as an only child in the suburbs of Dickinson and Friendswood, Texas, Meghan’s family life changed at the early age of three. As a young child of divorce, her life shifted drastically but by 6^th grade, joy was found in her new “Bonus Family” because as her mom remarried, instead of being an only child, she now had three older siblings. She managed to continue to wield her baby-of-the-family status for as long as she could and has transitioned her power to now be the “fun aunt” to two nieces and four nephews.

As is the ‘norm’ in the South, Meghan grew up in church. She spent Kindergarten to Sixth Grade at Pine Drive Baptist School in Southeast Houston and when she moved to Friendswood in 1997, she became very involved in the Student Ministry at Friendswood Community Church. Young Life gatherings and working at Summer Camps in Colorado became the passion of her down time and these experiences also grew her curiosity for travel which later led her to studying Spanish in Costa Rica as well as Student Ministry trips to Washington, Nicaragua, and South Africa.

Upon graduation from Friendswood High School, Meghan attended community college and stayed home for the first year and a half, later moving to Texas State University in San Marcos. For three years, she worked with, and then led New Student Weekend, which involved maneuvering 4,500+ students simultaneously throughout campus, then culminated with the Opening Ceremony Welcome Program headlighting the University President, Deans, Cheerleaders and more, in Strahan Arena. Her talent for event planning had begun. She later graduated with a BA in Communication Studies and as is foreshadowing to her future career Meghan states, “I graduated on Sunday, 08/08/08 which was the same day as the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in China – so naturally my graduation party had a theme!”

For eight years Meghan spent time in Austin, “checking every box that a twenty-something does in ATX from volunteering, to dancing on bars, running along the trail, adopting two pets, dating, attending SXSW and ACL, running along Lake Austin trail, competing in a triathlon, and even losing her Texas State Class Ring in the bottom of Lake Travis (of which was lost in 2012 yet mailed back to her by a Good Samaritan scuba diver most recently in March of 2023). She began her work experience in every category: Omni Hotel front desk, Administrator and Office Event Coordinator at a commercial kitchen equipment company, Events Manager of the Austin Children’s Shelter, Welcome Event Manager for St. Edwards University, as well as the Events Manager for the Austin Humane Society.

The culmination of all of these experiences began her “itch”/idea to work for herself and make a change. Meghan describes, “I had been under this mindset that (as a woman) we need to be the martyr and work, work, work, and give, give, give. So I thought that it was ‘ok’ and ‘necessary’ to be overworked and underpaid because ‘I’m doing it for a good cause. It felt so wrong to think that I can/deserve to make decent money for myself.” Her first step was to buy her own home all on her own. Meghan states, “with my parents’ manual labor, my own blood, sweat, and tears, as well as pay professionals here and there, we flipped a 1941 bungalow and sold it two years later when it was time to make the move to Fort Worth. This investment and sale helped me afford jumping in to the entrepreneur world.”

We now arrive in 2016. Meghan decided to not only move to Fort Worth (after only visiting the city three times in the past) but she also opened her own event business. Initially, this first event business started with the partnership with a long-time friend but ended in a split. Meghan found herself on her own at Blue Sushi on West 7^th, staring eye to eye with her parents, asking the question every entrepreneur finds themself asking as one point or another, “Do you think I can do this?” Do you think I can start and run my own company?”. Despite their career paths being different from entrepreneurship, her parents gave a resounding “yes” as their answer and Meghan got to work founding Moxxie Concepts Event Management & Consulting.

Meghan is the kind of person who goes from 0 to 100 miles per hour. She became very involved with Ensemble CoWorking and set out to redefine the “status quo” of how things are done in the corporate and non-profit event market, combining her Communications degree with the best practices taken from each piece of her past career experience. In all honesty, she was sprinting but feeling every ounce of the weight of entrepreneurship. The beginning is never easy. Meghan describes, “I was working every odd-job that I could to keep the lights on. I took on/in roommates from the internet (0 stars – do not recommend), was working for Task Rabbit doing everything from cleaning bathrooms to packing houses to move, and got very creative with canned foods, sandwiches, and cooking in. There was a time where I had to contemplate calling the electric company to try to postpone my bill. Simultaneously, I was going to every free networking event around town in my hand-me-down pencil skirts and red lipstick while shaking hands and telling people about Moxxie Concepts.” She was hired for her first few events which included the Wonder Run, a few weddings, as well as an event for Presbyterian Night Shelter.

Fast forward to 2019 and you still find Meghan sprinting but this time with a mission in mind. She made the decision to go all in on her business and fight for her goals. She sold her house for a cash boost, got serious about the mission at hand, hired a “coach”, and began her fight for traction just as the pandemic hit. Meghan states that during this time, “my job/work/career/livelihood was literally illegal. It was illegal to gather people together.” Meghan pivoted, as the world demanded, to PlannerNet and started doing Pharma Meetings. Since then, as the world re-adjusted, she has taken the time to become a Certified Event Planner, received an ADHD/ASD diagnosis that she has used as a deeper understanding of herself to then fold in to her personal business practice, and has added three new team members. By 2022 Moxxie Concepts was more than off the ground and grossed more than six figures. Her traction had gained and she has yet to stop.

To-date, Moxxie Concepts has partnered with over 32 different organizations for their events and has been voted “Best of Fort Worth Event Planner” four years running (2020 through 2023). Meghan acknowledges this accolade with pride, while also recognizing it’s the culmination of many years of heart and hard work. She’s often heard reminding herself and others that “It takes a village!” Meghan credits the success of her business, in large part, to intentionally networking and surrounding herself with other vibrant, forward-thinking leaders, while also leaning into the support from her family and friends. 

What Meghan loves about Fort Worth is that is has something for everyone. She describes further, “there is the corporate downtown with business suits, pencil skirts, and Fort Worth Club to a fantastic university/college life, to museums and arts districts. Coming from Austin and being a small business owner, I found my home in the Near Southside. I love being able to walk down Magnolia Avenue and seeing a friendly face on any given day.” She has found her home.

When asked to describe her impact as a businesswoman on the city of Fort Worth Meghan used the world “involved”. She has marched for women’s rights, became an active member of multiple networking groups, volunteered her time, approached her new city as a local, and made her mark over the past few years by being trusted to plan some of Fort Worth’s top events. She’s all in, all hands on deck, and all over the place in the best way. Her involvement makes a difference.

To contact Meghan herself to plan your next event, feel free to call 817-900-6440 or e-mail hello@moxxieconcepts.com.