In Her Heels with erin Di Fiore of Be Athena
Photography provided by Yve Assad
From Blue Prints to Break Throughs, Erin and her Business partner are the business architects you need in your life.
Erin Di Fiore is Co-founder of BE Athena. BE Athena provides bespoke hospitality consultancy. Whether you are opening a new venue or hotel or are diversifying your current business, they can help you flourish. BE Athena take a customized and collaborative approach with every client, finding the right language and identity that fits each project. Every venue presents a unique set of opportunities & challenges — their job is to define the puzzle pieces and how they work together.
BE Athena is a collaboration between two friends — dynamic duo Erin Di Fiore and Brooke Morris Rasheed.
First introduced in a Women’s Studies class at the University of Georgia, it was in this environment of creative and intellectual growth that the seeds of our future partnership were sewn. In the years that ensued, our paths continued to intersect many times, from the Southeast to NYC and back again — dancing in the venues of the Lower East Side, attending each other’s weddings, planning a multitude of gatherings for our tight-knit group of friends — and finally, as colleagues at a boutique hospitality firm in Brooklyn, NY, where we oversaw the company’s sales, marketing, and business development divisions for close to a decade. With a deep desire to bring our families back to the South, we now operate out of our studios in Nashville and Atlanta, providing services to event businesses in the Southeast and beyond.
BE Athena was born out of our shared enthusiasm for bringing a space to life, from the first blueprints to the first walk down the aisle.
Join us today as we learn a little back story on Erin Di Fiore.
How did you enter into the hospitality industry?
It all happened rather quickly and organically once I committed to making a change in my professional path.10 years ago (holy smokes time flies when you're having fun!) after a decade in the fashion industry in New York City I felt like something was missing. I was working at what I had previously perceived as my dream job as an executive at Marc Jacobs but it just wasn't making me happy anymore. One of my best friends from college, now my business partner, had recently left her corporate job in marketing to open an event space in Brooklyn, The Green Building. After shadowing her for a few months and helping out with a few weddings at the venue I was hooked! A few months later, the owner of the venue hired me to launch a second event space, 501 Union. Soon after I was overseeing sales for the hospitality group and contributing to research and development for other new projects.
What brought you to Nashville?
I'm a Georgia girl and after 17 years of living in New York I was ready to return to my southern roots. Nashville felt like a great fit for our family as a smaller yet culturally abundant city with deep roots in music. My husband is a producer and engineer and we had visited Nashville a few times. We moved down about 3 years ago after taking a chance and buying a house sight unseen. Thanks to our incredibly patient realtor (and many Facetime home tours) we now live on a beautiful stretch of country road surrounded by pasture and horses while being 15 minutes to downtown Nashville. We couldn't be happier!
Where are we likely to find you on the weekends or when you aren't working?
I find myself outdoors most of the time when I am not in front of the computer. We built a nice big vegetable and flower garden on our property last year. If you had told my 25 year old self that I would one day have chickens I would have said NEVER! During the winter months I also really enjoy getting creative and making macramé wall hangings.
Name 3 things you cannot live without
My sweet family, sunshine and pizza.
What is the best advice you have received?
I was incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to work with, learn from and be mentored by some brilliant women during my time in the fashion industry that instilled confidence and shaped my perception of myself and what was possible. I remember one conversation in particular when I was taking the leap of faith and choosing to leave my career in fashion without a clear plan for "what's next". One of these brilliant women, Sallie, sat with me on my last day and in a very reassuring voice encouraged me to find happiness doing something I love.
What are you currently listening to? Podcast? Favorite song that motivates you?
I'm ALWAYS listening to music so the first version of this answer was a little lengthy, haha... Artists currently on heavy rotation are Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift.
What are some career highlights and biggest career accomplishments?
Of course traveling to Milan for Dolce & Gabbana runway shows and attending the Marc Jacobs collection show parties were incredibly fun highlights along my journey in my 20s... However, founding BE Athena with my best friend and yin to my yang has been such an incredible chapter in my career. Not only do we get to work with and support businesses that align with our values but it keeps us in each other's lives every day. Shortly after relocating to the south, we had the opportunity to work with the wonderfully savvy and dynamic team of female entrepreneurs who own Nashville venues The Cordelle and The Saint Elle. THAT experience was a breath of fresh air and ignited our passion for supporting and working with female owned businesses.
What would surprise us about yourself?
A few of my best friends and I have recently gotten into learning about crypto and have been kind of geeking out listening to podcasts and studying this new (to us) financial frontier. I don't know if it's necessarily a surprise considering my affinity for numbers and spreadsheets but I'm into it.
Contact information: Where can members connect with you?
Email: erin@be-athena.com
Insta: @_be_athena
www.be-athena.com
Brooke and Erin- Founders of BE Athena
Photography provided by Yve Assad
