Dipo Olowookere
Introduction
Wedding planning can be a thrilling field, especially if you have an undying passion for the beauty of romance and luxurious weddings.
Who knows, you might even have planned your wedding! However, a solid business plan is crucial if you plan on venturing out into the wedding planning field and want your ordeal to blossom into a successful business.
Following are a few steps that you can follow to make your business dream turn into reality:
Learn the art of the business
Learning the mechanisms of the business while you are working under someone else can be a great manner of getting started in the wedding industry. Of course, you are free to jump right in and start your own business. However, event coordination with various caterers and venues enables you to gain experience in a stable work environment.
Snatch the opportunity of getting to work with professional wedding vendors, ranging from cake bakers, photographers to a folding chair manufacturer. Make connections with each one of them since these connections will help out when you have your startup.
Weddings involve certain traditions and protocols. Perform those essential tasks such as managing the vendor teams and creating event timelines.
Join an educational program
Certain professional associations offer educational courses and accreditation in the wedding planning industry. Even though accreditation alone cannot guarantee your success, these educational courses help students in learning more aspects about running their businesses independently and successfully.
Apart from joining educational institutions, consider getting first-hand experience by yourself. This can be achieved by approaching close friends and family members who are willing to let you handle their events and wedding planning. If you manage to secure such events, you can easily include them in your resume to enhance your portfolio.
Develop a company image
Just as any other company or business venture, your business should have its distinctive style. You should decide on your niche. Since brides and grooms are trusting you to make their wedding their most memorable event for a lifetime, you need to let them feel that their trust is in good hands. Wedding planning needs to be done in style. Develop a company image, come up with a logo and determine a colour palette that is to be used in your marketing. You should pay attention to details while developing these styles.
Contact graphic designers who can bring your ideas to life. Set up distinctive themes for your venues and contact manufacturing agents accordingly. Consider getting hold of an LED bulb wholesale supplier to have all your electrical demands met.
Keep check of your financial goals
As a wedding planner, you know where you want to go. Now all you have to do is conduct successful wedding events until you reach that goal. You need to make sure that you have sufficient cash supply to cover startup costs. This is because no project sees profits on its initial days of operation so you need to brace yourself for a certain amount of initial investment.
Under around $2,500 you can expect to build a successful wedding planning business. All you will need are office supplies, a computer, and virtual software. This way you can properly market and network your new business virtually at a minimal cost.
Create a marketing strategy
Wedding vendors tend to get great results advertising on online websites such as WeddingWire to get hold of potential brides and secure an event planning deal.
Suppose your business is serving a particular niche i.e. “indie” brides, or ethnic weddings, or perhaps eco-conscious brides, you should consider targeting your advertising investments to sites and blogs that cater to that clientele.
Most importantly, create a business plan. What is a business plan you ask? A business plan is a thorough analytical chart that lists potential competitors, scopes of income, and profits and sketches out a proper business strategy that you will adhere to in the future. This competitive analysis and market plan helps you to know your industry and work sufficiently.
Make your business official
Consulting an attorney is a great idea when you are starting a business ordeal. An attorney provides you with invaluable advice when it comes to determining the correct business structure for you- whether it is an LLC or a sole proprietorship. In any case, make sure to register your business name with your state.
Build relationships
Investing your time and energy into developing a network with wedding professionals in your locality can be helpful. This way, you are bound to get an understanding of which vendors are reputable and professional and who all are not worth referring to your clients.
Consider joining local sub-stations of the International Special Events Society or the National Association of Catering Executives. These organizations can put you in direct contact with caterers, videographers, photographers, venues, florists, officiants, mfd box manufacturers, and more.
Conclusion
As a wedding planner, you will be a visionary, an artist, a juggler, and a referee. Even though it is extremely hard work, you will be rewarded for many years to come if you start your business upon thorough research and operate it well.
