I have heard many people use this phrase and I really don't like it.  It seems to me like it encourages people to lie, which of course I discourage. If I were to turn the tables and look at myself honestly, I guess I could be guilty of this, depending on how you look at it. I hate to admit that.  I would really like to argue over semantics with the word lie.  I have told potential clients I could do something I have not experienced, fully believing I could figure it out. But I haven't told them I actually did something I had not done.  That I truly believe crosses the line. 

I don't post photos and say they are ours, I don't tell people we have planned events that we haven't and I don't think you should do those things either.

So, I know what you're thinking. If I am new to the business, "Then how do I get business I want, If I tell the truth?"  Easy, be honest. If you are just starting out, consider offering your services either...

We offer several types of internships in our business.  At the inception of our program, I started the program out of necessity.  I needed additional staff but couldn't afford it. So, I thought it would be beneficial if I were to offer an internship program. It is easy to see why I would want to offer an internship program, free labor right?

Internships can be career or even life-altering.  Offering internships helped my business take off to a new level and has been a valuable part of my business from the onset.  I continually make improvements to our program and have found them to be one of the biggest blessings in my business. 

How Do You Value Staff

It is a running thread through my company that I value people. I value our clients, our vendors, and our team.  Our team includes interns. With this in mind.  I did not want our interns to feel like they were free labor but wanted them to feel like they were learning valuable information....

Being in the Wedding Industry for several decades, I have found that the majority of people who enter the "world of weddings" just don't stay in it long.  Why?  Well if you have been in the industry very long  I am sure you know the answer to that.  There is no real training to prepare you for the reality of how unrealistic many couples' expectations are, how hard you actually work vs how much you get paid, and how often you may be underappreciated.

You Can Change Your Reality

As I look back I can honestly say that I have experienced wedding burnout typically 1-2 times every year- yes, every year! Okay, hang on, 99% of my clients are amazing.  Our amazing clients are found from our pretty in-depth system for onboarding that helps us screen the clients to find those that will fit us best, which will in turn help to reduce the frequency of "burnout".  That being said, we still have 1-2 clients each year that cause the feeling...

I am a natural introvert, socializing is not easy for me, and going to organizational groups for networking is not on the top of my priority list. I am definitely not a "Social Butterfly". So how can people like me still effectively find a Networking System that works? In this post, I will share the networking secrets that have helped me get the referrals I want. 

The Oxford online dictionary defines Networking as "the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts."

In theory, it sounds like a great idea.  Build connections and they will recommend you and you can recommend them and in many cases, it does work exactly like that. It can be ideal and an easy way to get business.

Not As Easy As It Sounds

I have found, for me, it doesn't work that way as easily as it sounds. Often there are many unspoken conditions that can be attached to this type of referral system.  

I always say...

Maximizing Your Bottom Line

Let's be real for a moment, everyone wants to make the most amount of money for the least amount of effort,  right? I am going to share my top tips of how I was able to maximize my bottom line, by taking less business and working smarter not harder. 

Taking Whatever Money Comes In

I think it is natural in any new business to just take whatever business comes our way. After all, we are in business to make money, so, when it comes our way, we are excited to take it. When a client books us it gives us a feeling of excitement, it is a compliment and a confirmation that we are worth the investment.  It is a really good feeling.

While we are in the process of building our business, we can get stuck by trying to perfect our marketing strategy and focus on getting business that we just get in a cycle of taking whatever comes our way.  This is where the problem comes in because we aren't choosy enough and take events that stress us out and make us...