If you’re just starting you wedding planning business, here are 10 rules to follow that will help you to be successful:
1) Have a solid background of experience and education
If you’ve just begun considering starting your business, get experience by planning weddings for free or working for other planners or wedding vendors.
If you have some experience, increase your knowledge by doing self-study or taking classes in wedding planning or related areas such as floral design, catering, interior design, art and fashion.
You want to bring your best to every bride so the more experience and knowedge you have, the better.
2) Have a niche
Don’t try to be the right wedding planner for all brides. Focus on a specific target market and offer the wedding planning services and packages that will appeal to them.
3) Write a plan
Take the time to write down your goals; how much you want to make, who you want as clients and the services you want to offer, then create an action plan for meeting your goals.
4) Set a budget and stick to it
Keep track of you income and expenses and always know where you stand so you don’t spend more than you make.
5) Charge what you are worth
Many wedding planners spend years undercharging and wonder why they can’t seem to get ahead. Know what it takes to deliver your services to brides and charge accordingly.
6) Spend a lot of time marketing
Having a successful wedding planning business means you must do more than plan weddings. You must constantly be marketing you services, both online and in person, to the brides in your niche in order to get a steady stream to clients.
7) Develop strong relationships with wedding vendors
You need to be able to work well with your fellow wedding vendors in order to help your brides have the weddings they want.
Also, the wedding and event community is relatively small, your fellow vendors can either help you with referrals or discourage others from using you if you don’t act professionally.
8) Hire help when you need it
Don’t try to do everything yourself, especially when planning extremely detailed weddings and events. Hire assistants to help you carry out some of your administrative tasks in the office and lend you a hand onsite.
9) Respect everyone
Treat everyone, whether they’re a bride, fellow wedding vendor or a member of your team, with respect. This means always being on time for appointments, meeting the commitments you make, showing gratitude by writing “thank you” notes when appropriate and never gossiping about anyone.
10) Don’t expect overnight fame and fortune
Being a wedding planner isn’t a quick way to riches so be prepared to invest the time and effort it takes to achieve the success you want.
And if you want more help to become a top wedding planner, sign in to get my ezine “Wedding Planner Tips.”
