Recently, after mentoring a new wedding planner, I began to think back to the beginnings of my own business and the mistakes that I made. Here are the 5 mistakes that cost me the most time, energy and money and the lessons you can learn from them:
Mistake #1 – I valued the advice of people who didn’t know anything about this business
When I started, I had never had my own business and didn’t have much confidence in myself. So I asked other people, none of whom were in the wedding business, and some of whom didn’t even have their own businesses, how to market my services and run my business. I followed their advice believing that they knew better than I did, of course, they didn’t.
Lesson – Everyone will be happy to give you their advice but listen only to the ones who have had similar experience then decide if it right for you before you follow it.
Mistake #2 – I gave away services
I planned events for free and I gave free consultations to anyone who called looking for a wedding and event planner. Not only that, because I have a background in marketing communications, I also wrote website and brochure copy and didn’t charge people. I did these things thinking the exposure would bring me clients, it didn’t.
Lesson – There may be times when you offer services for free to gain experience or support a charity but chose wisely.
Mistake #3 – I didn’t expand my network quickly
I kept attending the same business groups thinking the longer I stayed, the more referrals I would get, this wasn’t the case.
Lesson – If a group you attend doesn’t have people who understand what you do or doesn’t have the connections you need in order to exchange referrals, expand your circle and find another that does.
Mistake #4 – I marketed my services to everyone
I started out telling people I was a wedding and event planner and would plan any type of events. It took me a while to figure out that it was actually easier to talk about my business and get referrals and clients when I specialized in a niche.
Lesson – All successful wedding and event planners say the same thing. They were suffering until they did some research, found a niche and started marketing to that niche.
Mistake #5 – I was afraid to charge what I was worth
I would quote my already low rates and offer discounts, always believing that people wouldn’t pay what I really wanted to charge or that by charging very little I would get lots of referrals. The reality is I didn’t start getting a lot of business and great referrals until I was confident enough to charge what I was worth.
Lesson – Have the confidence to charge what you deserve and you’ll attract high-quality clients who are willing to pay you for your excellent services.
And you can learn more about starting and running your wedding planning business in my Free Special Report “7 Steps to Becoming a Top Wedding Planner.” You can get it here.