Oct 24, 2022
Continue Reading...

The Queen's Birthday!!!

Oct 10, 2022

It's my birthday week!!!

When my kids were little we celebrated their birthday week.  Why a whole week?  I really wanted to make sure they knew how special they were.  Did it translate that way?  I don't know if they really consciously thought about it, I never asked them, writing this post does make me think I should do that. lol. But I guess that was the point.  I wanted it to be embedded in their subconscious mind, that they were special.

On the flip side, I never really cared about celebrating my birthday.  Not even a day let alone celebrate a whole week.  This year, I got to thinking, why not?  Many of us seldom take the time out to celebrate ourselves, our milestones and accomplishments, our big wins, and our small wins. 

We can become so focused on others that we can easily neglect ourselves. Which we all know is just going to show up in a negative way someplace unexpected and we all need to do what we can to avoid...

Continue Reading...

Kryptonite And Refocus

Oct 03, 2022

This will be short and sweet.

Sometimes we just need to regroup.  Pick your kryptonite.  Do you love kittens, puppies, babies?  What is it that will remind you what is important to you?  I mean really important.  Is it your family, your faith, or is it something else?  We all got in this business to make one of those better.  Sometimes, we get caught up in the "how" of life instead of the "why".  Take some time this week to refocus and remind yourself what is important to you and pick 1 thing that will help you get back to your why. 

 

Continue Reading...

Gearing Up For A Busy Season [Avoiding Burnout]

Sep 26, 2022

I was doing a little research on people's perspectives on burnout and came across this on indeed's blog, "Managing stress surrounding your work life is important for staying productive, motivated and positive at your job. If you manage your stress effectively, you are more likely to avoid burnout, which can affect your well-being and your ability to perform your job duties. It's important to learn how to avoid burnout so you can maintain your mental and physical health and have a successful career. In this article, we discuss what burnout is, what causes burnout, and how to avoid burnout at work." 

After I read that, I thought, well, that sounds nice but when we are working in this business, it sometimes is easier said than done. It is important to keep in mind that they say a wedding is one of the top 3 stresses in a person's life.  If this is true, and I believe it is, we have to keep in mind that it isn't just for the client.  This is a stressful business and we...

Continue Reading...

Is Branding For Everyone?

Sep 26, 2022

Often in business there tends to be key words, phrases, or ideas that start to trend and then many of us think, oh that worked for these major companies, I need to do it too. 

Seth Godin is what many will call a marketing Guru. He has written many books and tons of interviews on YouTube.  I recommend you check out some of his videos.  The way he says to know if you have a brand is if people pay more for your product or service than your competitor. 

So, using that analogy, what is a brand? A brand as described by  investopedia is an intangible marketing or business concept that helps people identify a company, product, or individual. People often confuse brands with things like logos, slogans, or other recognizable marks, which are marketing tools that help promote goods and services.

Now with that in mind, do you need to spend hours creating a brand and brand consistency or do you just need to put together a slogan, logo and eye...

Continue Reading...

Making it Long Term

Sep 19, 2022

One of the reasons we created Wedding State University is because there are so many people who want to be a Wedding Planner/Coordinator and they jump into the business, get clients, start planning, and quit after just a few weddings.  Why did they drop out so soon? Well they simply weren't prepared, they didn't have a mentor or guide, and they got burnt out too quickly.  

It was very sad to me that people didn't stay in a career that could have brought them so much pleasure, because they just didn't have the support and resources they needed to continue on.

Because you are reading this blog, I know that you have a leg up on them.  You have found a resource and support system that can help you stay in this business long term.  This can be your full term career, you can be a professional in the wedding industry.  

It can be frustration when you spend time, money, and hard work trying to create the perfect business and others just print out a business...

Continue Reading...

Are You Priced Too High?

Sep 12, 2022

If you are asking yourself if your pricing is too high, there are most likely 2 reasons for this, but they both are still because of the same reason. Let me explain. If you are new to the business, you may want to price your services low.  It is a great way to get business and gain experience at the same time. I stand behind this principle all the way. 

So, what if you have been in business for a while you raised your prices, but you just can't book as many clients as you would like?

This has happened to me often throughout my career.  When it happened, I did a few things, offered specials and discounts just to get the business.  It did indeed work. Then after a few months, I ended up regretting giving the discounts. I and my staff ended up working really hard, I still had to pay my staff and myself and did a high-quality job, but was disappointed that I got paid less than I should have.

Analyzing this, it is obvious that I placed the negative feelings on the...

Continue Reading...

Persona Principle

Sep 05, 2022

I know many planners/coordinators who put on a particular persona when they start their business.  I believe I may have even have fallen into this trap in the beginning.  I think I and many others may have thought a wedding planner needs to be a certain type of person. So, I acted that way and then got trapped in that character. So what is the Persona Principle? Personas are fictional characters, that we create based on our idea of an image that will represent what we feel will reflect an image we want to project. Then we will use that for our service, product, site, or brand in a similar way.

Creating a persona will help you to identify and understand your client's needs, experiences, behaviors, and goals.

However, if this isn't done carefully, this can cause problems in the future because it is hard to continually put on a fake image. Then this can send a mixed message.  I think it is important to do some self-reflection into who you are and...

Continue Reading...

Becoming a Destination Planner

Aug 29, 2022

If you love to travel, this could be an amazing way to see the world and get paid while you work.  I have done some destination weddings and for me, our company structure, and the client load we typically have, it didn't work well for me.  Don't get me wrong, we loved the travel, we got paid well and it was a great experience.  However, our local clients required more of my time at our base office. Had I created a different structure in the beginning I could probably take more destination weddings.

The best way to start this type of service, I would recommend focusing on a certain area 1st.  Pick a location or top 3 you may want to serve.  You could for example choose Yosemite or Hawaii or the place of your choice.  Then figure out the cost of travel for you and any staff you may need. You should for sure need to travel at least 1 time prior to the wedding to set up all the details.  Then incorporate this into your planning fee. 

If you can...

Continue Reading...

Expanding Your Services

Aug 22, 2022

Are you looking for ways to increase your income?  Considering expanding your services could be a great way to get more money without increasing the number of clients you take.  

When I first started out, I added a few simple items that I could rent to every client.  I started with renting votive candles.  I rented them for $1.00 each. Each wedding needed about 150 -200 candles, then I added chargers for $1.00 each. Then I added napkins. Before I knew it, I added an extra $1,000.00. 

Think of things that you can add that you may have talent in.  Can you make invitations, programs, favors, flowers, desserts, or even alterations?   It is really easy to add services because you already know the client and their taste or temperament, it will be easy to communicate with them about additions or changes. 

Today, our company includes floral, rentals, decor items, stationery, dessert stations, and some catering services. You can choose to...

Continue Reading...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Close