First Seven Steps: Counting the Costs!

"What man builds a house without first counting the costs?"

This paraphrased question comes directly from the words of a very wise man. He influences and encourages many...I call him an expert!

These words came to mind just as I was starting to write this post. It makes perfect sense to me...how about you? I mean, how are you going to build anything without first figuring out what it is going to cost you? Especially if you're going to build it to last.

There's no need to start your wedding planning business without a financial plan...a budget. If you don't have one, you will fail. Plain and simple. I can't stress this enough.

Invested properly, the money you've set aside for starting your wedding planning business will serve you well. Mis-managing it or treating your business as a hobby will only frustrate you in the end. I can talk to you about this one fact all day long...been there, done that.

Here are some of the questions to consider when calculating your start up costs:

*Will you build your business on a part time basis or are you going for it full time?
*How will you pay for living expenses if your choice is full time?
*Will you work from a home office or will you rent space?
*How will you market your business?
*Will you hire employees?

The answers to these questions and others will help you to determine what your start up costs will be. Take some time to really think about them and what they may mean to your business.

Next month, I'll examine some of the possible answers to these questions; share some tips and examples on how to determine your start up costs and point you to some other excellent sources I've used over the years to help me in my business.

Until then...

Aspire to Plan!

First Seven Steps: Will You Niche Yourself or Offer a Speciality?

Question...

When you talk about your business will you target every bride out there? Or will you be different? To narrow your target market, you may decide to niche yourself and/or offer a specialty. It could make all the difference in your business if you do.

Consider the following scenario:

A bride and her fiancé are BIG on family. They want a wedding that celebrates both their families' traditions and one that really includes everyone in a big way. They both come from a strong family core and they want their reception to be just like a holiday get together, only more elegant than a backyard barbeque!

They have two wedding planners in mind for their big day. The marketing copy for one of them says, "We handle all the details so that you can enjoy your special day." The other one says, "We specialize in helping you plan a wedding that reflects and celebrates the importance of family!"

Which one do you think the couple will want to interview more?

Please don't get me wrong...there are several other considerations that this couple must take into account before they hire a planner...experience, personality and customer service to name a few. But the second planner has a much better shot at capturing this particular couples' attention because of how their marketing materials "speak" to them.

Niching is not a decision you make overnight. It will take time once you've done a few weddings and experienced several different types of bridal clients. Please...don't stress over it or feel as if you must figure it out now. It will come with time and experience and often, naturally.

Until then...

Aspire to Plan!

First Seven Steps: Determine What Services You'll Provide

As you begin the process of determining the "business" of your running your business, you need to decide what type of services you'll provide. Learning what the major components of wedding planning are is key. I like to put wedding planning services into three major categories:

Consulting
Planning and Design
Coordination

Even before you create your service list or "packages", decide how you will offer these things to your clients. It's important to know what they are and how they relate to wedding planning. While most wedding planners offer all of these and most weddings require them, not all of them will be done by a wedding planner.

Here are some "quick hits" on the major components of wedding planning:

Consulting = Advice about weddings in general, how to hire key vendors and putting together a budget for the wedding celebration

Planning and Design = Creation of the overall look and feel of the wedding celebration, creation of the plan to produce it as well as securing the vendors to pull it all together.

Coordination = Wedding Production...creating the time and space to execute, implement and produce the actual wedding day

Take some time to think about these things and what you need to learn in order to be the best at all three of these.

What questions do you have regarding the packaging of your services? Leave a comment below and I'm sure I can help!

Next up: Will you "niche" yourself or offer a specialty?

Until then...

Aspire to Plan!

First Seven Steps: Educate Yourself

Even if you THINK you know how to run a small business, there will inevitably be something you DON'T know...and WON'T know, until you're faced with a situation that requires that knowledge. *WHEW* Did you get that?

I have more than 10 large bookshelves in my home...three of them in my office alone. They are filled with all types of books but the majority of them are business and wedding related.

The business related books are useful to me in many ways. Mostly because although I went to school for accounting and business administration...and I've spent more than 20 years in corporate america living in the business world day-to-day, I still need to educate myself on the latest and greatest.

They are also useful because I can refer to them in my current day-to-day operations. In the course of a week, I may pull out several books from the shelf and read key sections for inspiration or direction. My wedding related books? They are eye candy for me! I love pouring over some of the most sought after event producers and designers books for inspiration and guidance. I also read them to study the techniques and creative talent of other planners...not to copy them but to learn from them.

Have you read about how Michelle Rago produces an event? Or how Diann Valentine coordinates an army of workers to produce her event masterpieces? Get their books...you may not want to produce weddings on the same scale as they do, but go beyond the "ohs and ahs" of the pictures in their books and read about how they approach event planning and design and learn from them.

Here are some of the business books I'm reading now:

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
by Michael E. Gerber

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
by Jim Collins - One my third go round with this one!

The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter and How They Can Help You
by Jack Covert

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
by Seth Godin - A nice, fast read!

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant
by W. Chan Kim

What's on your nightstand?

Aspire to Plan!

First Seven Steps to Start Your Planning Business

Over the last few months, as I've been building my coaching practice, I've spoken to many aspiring wedding planners as they begin to build their wedding planning businesses. Many of them are very talented and passionate about their ventures and it's been very fulfilling for me to help them realize their dreams.

While passion and drive is essential in any business, I've learned that many aspiring planners are starting their companies without doing some basic, much needed legwork. You can't just create a fancy name for your business, print up some business cards, create a website and then call yourself a wedding planner.

First and foremost, you are a business owner. Have you ever run a business before? If so, you are off to a great start. Even so, keep reading...

Secondly, you are a marketer. You have to sell your services in order to make money, right? And in order to sell your services, you have to know who you are selling to. If you try to sell to everyone, no one will hear your message. It will be too general and will be drowned out by all of the planners who have niched and branded themselves.

Lastly? You are a wedding planner. Once you've figured out what it takes to start and own a business and then how to market that business...I mean REALLY market it, then you'll need to learn how to be a wedding planner.

Here are the seven steps I take my private clients through when they hire me to coach them on how to start their wedding planning business. You must take some time to figure out what these things are for you and your business before you take on that first bride. Without these things, you more than likely, will not be successful:

1. Educate Yourself

2. Decide what types of services you'll provide

3. Determine if you will niche yourself and/or offer a specialty

4. Determine what your start up costs will be

5. Determine what your pricing and service structure will be; Will it support your business expenses and income goals?

6. Determine how you will market your business and then create a marketing schedule

7. Determine how you will operate your business

All of this needs to be figured out BEFORE you take on that first bride. Without these things and a solid plan to implement it all, you're just "playing house". Don't learn all of this at the expense of someones wedding day.

Over the next few days I'll spend some time getting into the details of these steps. I'm going to share lots of great information so until next time...

Aspire to Plan!