Having a wedding planner certificate or event planner degree can be an asset but it takes more than that to be successful as you will find out in my Q&A today.
Question
I am unemployed and really want to become a wedding planner. I have a wedding planner certificate but haven’t planned any weddings. I also don’t have any money. Can I start a wedding planning business now or do I need to find money and get some experience?
Answer
Congratulations on getting your wedding planner certificate!
It doesn’t take a lot of money to start a wedding planning business. You may already have a few of the items you need to set up a home office. You can certainly start with some free online marketing with a Facebook Page and business Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ accounts. You can even set up a free blog and start attracting brides with wedding planning tips. But you will need to invest some money to set yourself up as a business and start running it properly.
The biggest problem you may face is your lack of experience. Without experience, it could be difficult to start making money right away. Even with your wedding planner certificate, brides will want to see photos from weddings and other events you have done. And, they may want to speak to past clients before they hire you.
Also, it’s important that when you start a business, you aren’t practicing on brides. You want to have the experience of having planned weddings before you charge for your services.
Since you are currently unemployed, I feel the most important thing you should do now is find a way to start making money as soon as possible. For you that may mean working for someone else until you have the finances and experience to go out on your own as a wedding planner.
Since you obtained a certificate, contact the school and find out if they have any job placement programs for graduates. Ask if there are alumni with event businesses who are interested in hiring assistants. Also, reach out to wedding and event professionals in your local area and find out if they have any opportunities for you.
Talk to your family and friends and start offering to do wedding planning for free to get experience. When you do this, be clear about the amount of time and services you are offering the brides so no one is disappointed.
Don’t be discouraged that this might not be the best time for you to start a business. If you take the time to pick up the experience and skills you need, you have a better chance of having a successful business in the future.
Even if you don’t start your business immediately, consider starting a blog and posting wedding planning tips that you pick up as you gain experience. You can also write and comment about wedding trends. By the time you start your business, you could already have a following of faithful readers and brides who love your tips and want to hire you.
And if you want more help to become a top wedding planner, sign in to get my ezine “Wedding Planner Tips.”
