Business Development Archives - No Worries Event Planning

March 17, 2020

Your Event and Wedding Planning Business during CoronaVirus: Crisis Management

By noworries_admin | Business Consulting, Business Consulting for Creatives, Business Development, COVID 19, Recession | No Comments

I started my wedding and event planning business during the aftermath of the 2008 recession, the worst economic crash since the Great Depression. This oncoming recession, triggered by the Corona Virus, will likely not be as bad, though it never hurts to prepare for the worst. And, it’s already been devastating to the meeting and hospitality industry, given the number one way to transmit the disease is by person to person contact, and large groups are forbidden or recommended against by federal and local governments.

Here are some tips to manage the crisis if you have a meeting and event planning business.

1. Rip off the bandaid and embrace the reality

False hope is dangerous at this time. Your business may be in a standstill as long as there are self-isolation measures in place. Immediately start to look at other skills you have in the work force and opportunities for freelancing. Start thinking about low-season type pricing for the clients who do need to have meetings or social events (likely small), or hourly pricing.

2. Prepare for long term effects and restructure your event planning offerings accordingly

It was quite some time before I could make a steep increase in my pricing – 2012 was the pivot point for me. Prior to then, I was charging a moderate amount, and raised my pricing the busier I got, but in 2012 I raised my pricing by about 20% across the board. After this recession, we may have a quick rebound, but don’t count on it. Wedding clients may not want to hire a coordinator or planner; consider new packages, such as “DIY Assistance” that may be hourly consultation on helping clients do most of the work themselves, or Month of Coordination, or even Week of Coordination. (Not that I like that idea – but have the option ready in your arsenal, just in case.)

Bride and Father Walking down Aisle at Outdoor wedding

Whatever happens, weddings will still be occurring, and the first type of event to rebound from the dry spell. Photo by Karina Pires Photography.

3. Be smart with your expenditures

Everyone in my family is really cold at home now because I don’t want to get huge utility bills while we all work from home! I know, I’m a miser. But now is the time to make lattes at home, cut down on large expenses, and postponing big purchases.

4. Be ready for clients’ event planning questions as they pertain to COVID 19

Do your research, share advice and brainstorming virtually with tele-meetings with your colleagues, and share this intel with your clients. Talk about adjustments to make at events in regards to social distancing (such as friendly signage to encourage as such); serving drinks straight out of the bottle to discourage any spread of germs (and arrange for recycling from the site); and brush up on re-booking policies with venues and hotels. The more knowledgeable you are, the more people will be likely to book with you, in a much more competitive market.

5. Don’t panic.

We’ll get through this – this too shall pass. We’ve been through the Great Recession, 9/11, and so many other difficult times. But, be realistic – maybe consider part time work outside the industry as positions come available to steady the road to recovery. And hang in there – we will survive, and be stronger for it.

May 23, 2019

Advice for the New or Prospective Real Estate Investor

By noworries_admin | Business Builders, Business Consulting, Business Development, Financial Planning, Passive Income, Real Estate Investment, Revenue Streams | No Comments

I know this site is all about weddings – business stips for wedding pros, and planning tips for engaged couples. But a big part of my life is being a “mini” real estate investor – one of those many landlords of one or two small pieces of property as a side source of revenue or retirement investment. It served to offset taxes (somewhat) while I built my business, and also allowed me to miss a few years of retirement savings while I built my business (since you’re not exactly making a killing the first 2-4 years). So, having my condo really helped provide stability during my business, and I thought this post would assist small business owners and also, for engaged couples planning their long term finances. THus 0 this post! I hope you enjoy it and please ask me any questions – dee@noworriesep.com

How I bought my first property

First of all, I’m only just now onto my SECOND piece of property – a house that we are moving into shortly, as a family. In 2005, I bought a condo, lived in it until 2009, and since then have rented it and officially became a real estate investor. The housing market was insane at that time; cash investors were swooping in and multiple (like 10..15…20) offers were coming in on houses hot and heavy, as people were taking advantage of the downswing of the economy. Given I was pregnant and wanting to have the option to work part time, start a business (natch :) ) or stay home with the baby for about a year, we figured best to rent. And that was a good call. (It’s not always a good time to buy – don’t be hard on yourself if you rent. Buying and owning is expensive in many markets, like ours here in L.A.)

So, now that you know the backstory, my first purchase in 2005 was way too easy. It was during the housing boom. My FICO score was very good, and I got a ‘stated income’ loan where I literally didn’t have to provide any proof of income. And I only had to put down a 3% deposit. The condo was $240k for a grand total of 842 square feet. (By the way, the value soared in 6 months to a peak of $300kI! Yeah, those were crazy days.) I wanted very badly to have real estate investment, and even considered buying cheaper property out of state to add to our portfolio, as a long term piece of side revenue and side hustle.

A Real Estate Investor for The Long Term

In this specific market – the housing bubble of 2004-2008 – you had to carefully play the market to flip a house for 6 figures overnight. If you were an everyday “Jane” like me, you had to be patient, and make it a long game. It wasn’t until recently that I could raise the rent to pay for the mortgage – I basically put the amount of a proper down payment into the condo after the fact, in small bits, month by month. In this case, the cost was wildly overinflated, and at odds with the current low rent I could charge.

But, I refinanced 2 more times to a nice low interest rate, looked at increasing rent once the market increased, finally found a property manager, and now the condo will pay for itself. Also, interest is a write off, as you probably already know (though beware of the new tax reform that has limited how much can be written off for some homeowners). And while you’re onto the topic of taxes, this thorough article by the Tax Crisis Institute is a huge help come tax time.

Passive Rental Income During Retirement

When it’s paid off, right before my husband and I retire, we will likely earn $30k-45k a year, depending on rents, how often it’s vacant, and maintenance. (Basically, our ‘backup fund’ in case our investments go haywire, have high medical copays, etc. Of course we are diligently saving as much as we can to retirement and long term investment accounts. it isn’t always easy, but we do our best. CVS Coupons add up, haha!) We strive to charge middle-market rent – we want to be fair, find responsible tenants, and have enhancements throughout – granite countertops, hardwood floors, neutral paint, and consistently updated appliances.

Advice for Working With Tenants

Before I bought the condo, I met with a real estate attorney, and it was the best thing I could have done. Laws vary from state to state, and the attorney was able prepare me for the best and worst case scenarios. This advice helped manage my expectations and allow me to make excellent decisions during tough situations.

Overall, I’m so glad I invested in the condo, and I recommend it for those with a strong stomach for calculated risk and mild stress (i.e., wedding planners!). And again – any questions, shoot me a note anytime at dee@noworriesep.com!

May 4, 2019

Increase SEO: How to Make Blogging A Regular Habit

By noworries_admin | Blogging for Wedding Planners, Blogging Tips, Business Consulting for Creatives, Business Development, Finding Time to Blog, Wedding Consultant, Wedding Coordinator | No Comments

How many times have you been told to calendar your marketing activities, just as if they were client appointments? “Then THAT way I’ll actually blog/social post/network on a regular basis, like I’m supposed to!”, you keep thinking. Well, as someone who worked in the events industry, thus with a mutable, ever-changing schedule, this just wasn’t working. What did work? Making it a habit. I didn’t set a perfect schedule – but still managed to blog every 7 to 10 days for the majority of my business, creating a valuable niche audience and consistent engagement and SEO. Read below to find out how I made blogging a regular part of my business, with a minimum of effort.

Make blogging a weekly habit

There’s a difference between scheduled activities and habitual activities. For example, I now workout about 5 times a week. In my head, I know that I will probably not workout 1x over the weekend due to famliy activities, and probably 1x during the week depending on what networking event or other work-related activities may pop up. I simply then workout the other evenings when I’m free. I started this routine for 2-3 weeks, and now, it’s like clockwork. Every night that I arrive home and don’t have somewhere else to go to, I simply change into my workout gear, and once my son is done with his homework and dinner, I … work out. I don’t calendar it, I just do it. I have a WEEKLY quota – i.e., “Workout regularly” is my weekly task, not a daily one.

The same has to happen for your blogging. Make a note at the beginning of every week: “Write one blog post.” Every time you sit down to your computer, think, “Do I have time to work on my blog?” Take 5 minutes if you can to add to your list of ideas, to shoot an email to a photographer to get photos of your latest wedding, or to log into the backend of your website to draft the first few words of your blog. If that’s all you can handle, no problem. Next time you sit down to your computer, ask yourself again if you have time to work on the blog. Even better, stick a post it on your computer that always says, “Blog!” and you’ll find yourself tackling your posts once you’re done with the main business of the day.

The reason why I suggest this for event planners, is because if we try to calendar in these regular marketing tasks, these appointments with ourselves nearly ALWAYS get kicked of the calendar by a last minute errand for a client, a meeting that FINALLY came together for a site inspection, etc. etc. Our work is not desk-based- we’re running around all over the place, so it’s harder to lock in times and dates for this type of computer-based work since we’re not always sitting at a laptop. These tasks have to surround our other work, and slot into our schedule once we find we have a free moment.

For me, the best time was always late afternoon or early evening, when everything was done for the day. I would find myself with about 20 minutes left to work on social media or blogging. After awhile, it became such a habit, that I automatically would start to work on blogging once my day was complete – I didn’t have to look at a checklist to remind myself. It became…a habit.

Paris wedding destination planner Blogging

Blogging about my first Paris wedding led to other online inquiries, and, you guessed it, more Paris weddings! Photo by Yann Audic of Lifestories Wedding, dress by Vera Wang.

Small tasks lead to big momentum

It’s proven that starting small on an initiative leads to larger tasks being completed. So, say you have a stolen 5 minutes as you wait for a client to arrive for a meeting – that’s a great time to add blog ideas to your Notes app on your phone. Or, you find yourself done with a timeline draft earlier than you thought, and have a few minutes before tackling your next to-do of the day. Take that stolen 20 minutes and upload some photos to your website for a ‘real wedding’ inspiration post. By the end of the week, you will likely have a completed blog post. Using these small slots in your day for mini-tasks, pays off in a big way.

Ask for help, if needed, to maintain your blogging calendar

There are also people who just don’t enjoy writing, unlike me (I liked it better than the actual wedding planning, believe it or not!) – and there are so many resources on the web for assisting your blog creation. Search Instagram, sites like Fiverr, Facebook, and other portals to find cost effective bloggers to assist you in pulling photos, drafting posts, even writing entire posts. Interns and assistants can also make big progress for you behind the scenes, so you feel a sense of momentum without the struggle of putting pen to paper (or rather, finger to key).

Is blogging really that important these days?

Yes! It is. Google is still a hungry beast for keywords (learn more about a key shift in their algorithms here, and the latest update here), and if you feed the beast, your SEO will increase, and you’ll start getting inquiries and collaboration requests from related brands that will even further increase your visibility. Due to my solid SEO, I was able to branch out into corporate events, for example, as well as draw in wedding inquiries. And, aside from a small investment into freelancers or your assistant, should you go that route, it’s a very low cost enterprise – with rich returns.

With this advice, you’ll be well on your way to making blogging a regular part of your work week.

Need any more tips or insight into your social media strategy? Email me at dee@noworriesep.com and I’ll be happy to help!

March 2, 2019

Keep Those Clients Coming: How To Build Your Referral Business

By noworries_admin | Business Builders, Business Consulting for Creatives, Business Development, Getting More Clients, Networking, Oscar Party Tips | No Comments

After I wound down my wedding planning company, I started working in venue sales. When I interviewed with prospective employers, they always asked me what my approach would be to selling. All I had to say was, when I first started my company, I had to start from nothing, and at first, nearly every single piece of business, every client, I earned was from an outbound lead. It was all about attracting clients in any way possible – a huge hustle.

In other words, unlike a big, well known company or name brand – like Four Seasons, say, or The Gap – I had no brand awareness, not even many contacts, in either the wedding industry or the world at large. I had to hustle. But, it worked; my first year, I booked 16 weddings, and by year 3, I had a fully booked calendar, almost purely from referral (the small percentage that weren’t, were booked off my website). Here are a few tips on how I did it.

Be a Diplomat – and Venues will Refer You To Clients

A major problem venues run into with their wedding planner colleagues are how biased they can be towards their clients. Now, of course, your client comes first. But, clients are always right. Yet, some event planners will take their clients’ completely unrealistic and unfair requests to the hotel or venue and make foolish and rude demands on their behalf. Instead, the planner should lovingly and calmly educate their clients on how to modulate their request to be reasonable and realistic. Wedding planners who do this not only have clients who appreciate their expertise and credibility, but they immediately rise to the top of most venues’ lists for referrals. The majority of my referral business came from venues.

It’s all about your network! For this wedding, the hotel (Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach) referred me to the couple; then I referred them to the tent vendor (LM Productions), the DJ (Vox DJs), and the florist (Lotus and Lily). Photo by Nicole Caldwell Photography.

How do you promote your wedding planning business?

Good question – it’s different for everyone. AND – for every region. I’m just gonna come out and say it, but here in L.A., using web platforms to advertise businesses really don’t seem to work enough for vendors out here, enough to achieve a meaningful ROI, anyways. But, in other regions, these web platforms may work like gangbusters. In my experience, clients here are investing a lot of money in we vendors (because we live in a big, expensive city, so we have to charge more, natch), and they don’t just want to grab a few names on line – they want someone they can trust. Perhaps a DJ or even a caterer can be found online, but a wedding planner? That person is holding the keys to your entire event, and they know a lot of personal and financial information about you. And you can ‘fake’ your portfolio – or at least embellish it- pretty easily. Crazily enough, some wedding vendors and planners out here don’t even have websites. (Obviously that’s not best practice, but it shows you how powerful word of mouth is out here.)

That said, there are a lot of free websites and online portals where you can advertise for free – and you never know. All you invest with these outlets is time, so it’s worth a try. But tread carefully, ask lots of questions, and secure case studies from your niche and region before paying big bucks to advertise your wedding planning business.

Tie Up Those Loose Ends

Clients are more likely to refer you if you have no loose ends left with them after their event. Sometimes, clients will have lots of questions or issues with the end of their event unless you pre-empt the situation. For example, always point out to multiple people, not just the couple, where their gift cards are in person to them before you leave, and take photos of where they are safely stored (I learned to do this after a 2am phone call from a mother of the bride who panicked because the bride and groom didn’t show them where they were when they gave them all their gifts at the end of the night). If a vendor showed up late or you had an issue with timing due to circumstances beyond your control, be sure to calmly alert them in a friendly follow up email. If they feel you did a thorough job with concise follow-up, they’ll be more likely to refer you.

Network, Network, Network!

Go to as many networking events in and out of your industry as possible. The fun of being a wedding planner means lots of wining, dining, and schmoozing. Strike friendly and warm conversations; followup the next day or two with an email, and follow your new connections on social channels. Often an event will clash with another one (they always seem to be on the same night!) so strategize wisely to stop by as many as you can. Forming bonds and supportive connections means more referrals – and most of all, those connections mean warm friendships and support in an often demanding industry.

Have any questions? Email me anytime at dee@noworriesep.com!

December 18, 2018

The Low Wedding Budget: Just Say No

By noworries_admin | Budget Los Angeles Wedding, Budget Weddings, Business Consulting, Business Development, Wedding Budget, Wedding Consultant, Wedding Cost, Wedding Decor | No Comments

I’m sure this title is controversial – and I’m sure it’ll anger some brides and grooms reading this. And trust me, I get very miffed when I see just how much it costs to have a wedding. But I also know how much it costs to run a business, pay for labor, and provide goods and services (at least, in dense, pricey cities like my home of L.A.). Couples see a lot of DIY blogs online and think they can beat the system – and sometimes, a lower wedding budget can work, if thoughtful, methodical choices are made (I.e. food truck instead of 4 course dinner; rent a city park versus a luxury hotel). But I have ran into potential clients that want to pay an unrealistically low amount for a super lavish wedding; and the dots just don’t connect.

And when you as a wedding vendor sit down with a potential client and they want to have a bargain basement budget, it’s best to politely decline if the following occur:

An avoidance of reality: “I can make my wedding budget work – even if you say I can’t!”

Some clients listen, and agree that they need to re-calibrate their budgets. Others refuse to listen to reality. “But my cousin can provide the tequila and our best friend can bartend!” If there’s an insistence a first class wedding can happen on a bargain basement budget, you will never be able to convince them otherwise, and there will be too much time taken out of your schedule to try to convince them.

Smogshoppe wedding decor flamingo decor runners table wedding budget

Choosing a venue that has a unique look, like SmogShoppe here, can reduce the need for significant amount of decor. Photo by Jenna Rose Photography.

Cutting YOUR corners.

“You can use our extra speakers!” No, a DJ should use his/her own. “My housekeeper can wash your dishes!” No, a caterer should bring enough staff to do EVERYTHING. “Our groomsmen can set up the decor for you!” No, a planner should always have their own staff. A client that wants you to understaff or under-prepare beyond best and standard practices, so they can cut their budget, is penny wise, pound foolish. Just say no.

In summary…

Being honest and kind in your discussion with couples is valuable in that you can bow out gracefully, and also help guide them to a successful event, regardless if you are involved. Just remember that when you cut corners just to book that next job, it may cost you more mentally, and even financially, than it’s worth.

Questions? Email me anytime at dee@noworriesep.com, and meantime, happy planning!

December 7, 2018

Profit First | Tips for a Profitable Wedding Planning Business

By noworries_admin | Blush and Pink Wedding, Blush Wedding, Business Builders, Business Consulting, Business Development, Profitable Wedding Planning Business | No Comments

It can be tricky to build a profitable wedding planning business. Too often, I find wedding planners focusing on volume. The more events they book a year, the better. While you do need to market yourself in such a way that once you fill your calendar comfortable, you are turning down potential new business, what’s more important is what you’re profiting per event – not how many events.

Also, there are a lot of hidden costs to running an event planning business – the last minute additional staffing needs when a wedding becomes a bit more complex than originally planned, or your bookkeeper needs to untangle a few unique expenses and bill you more money.

Here are two tips to built a profitable wedding planning business:

Strategize the Right Mix of Events

Loading up on coordination jobs makes you less money than booking a few less in number of full planning, for example. Look ahead and decide how many coordination, partial planning, and full you want to book in the coming year, and then develop marketing strategies to do just that. Write the goals down and check in weekly.

White Lilac large wedding Persian wedding blush Terranea wedding Large ballroom profitable wedding planning business

Large weddings like this one at Terranea, featuring over 500 guests, require lots of staffing; I factored this into my proposal from the beginning. Photo by John Solano, design and florals by White Lilac.

Protect Against Last Minute Costs

Client needs you to pick up their alcohol at the last minute – 1 hour from your office? Oops! Cousin Freddy invited his 50 friends, and the guest count shot up? Then the client has to pay more money in your direction. Have ‘change in scope’ and ‘additional services and fee menu’ sections in your contract. Mileage and staffing are hard costs and must be covered; also, your time is potentially a soft cost, but VALUABLE. These ‘little’ fees add up hugely, and can kill your profit or keep you from building a profitable wedding planning business till it’s too late.

I’m here to help you build a profitable wedding planning business!

Don’t hesitate to email me to share your thoughts, or pick my brain – I mean it! I offer a 20 minute consultation “discovery” call with anyone needing some insight or curious about consultation services – or just to chat! Absolutely no obligation. I’ve learned things the hard way and eager to share my hard knocks to help other entrepreneurs succeed.

Best wishes for a profitable enterprise. Happy planning!

September 28, 2018

Bookkeeping for Event Planners: 3 Tips

By noworries_admin | Bookkeeping for Event Planners, Business Builders, Business Consulting, Business Consulting for Creatives, Business Development, How do I hire a Bookkeeper | No Comments

We all know as business owners that keeping track of expenses, saving for taxes, and making sure your books are balanced is so important. But bookkeeping for event planners is not an easy thing at first, because of the unpredictable schedule of being a planner – working in the service industry means a lot of time on the road, in the field, and away from your administrative, desk-based tasks. Here’s how I tackled tightening up my bookkeeping processes.

Hire a bookkeeper!

Hire a pro! They do not need to be full time. I hired a bookkeeper for an initial analysis and software recommendations; quarterly checkins; and end of year profit-and-loss and tax prep. It did not cost a fortune and truly worth every penny.

Invoice online.

If you can’t afford taking credit cards – and if your revenue is unsteady or you are in the first 2-3 years of your business, that’s a smart call – see if there are any cloud-based, bookkeeping and invoicing systems that use ACH deposits to take from your clients. Try to find something that schedules invoicing so you don’t have to think about it – clients get regular invoices on time, so that they are well aware of when their next payment is due. Then as the cash comes in, the software keeps track of it, and balancing the books just got a lot easier.

Automate your tax savings.

This can be a super tough aspect of bookkeeping for event planners (I speak from experience!). What helped me was having my CPA give me tax projections in Q1 of every year. Then, I could set aside – or at least manage expectations – of what my taxes would be. I got quite accurate at planning ahead and it saved me a lot of stress and sleepless nights. Schedule quarterly or monthly allocations to a separate bank account for taxes, and plot reminders in your calendar throughout the year to send your payments to the IRS. Or you can also ask your bookkeeper consultant to do this, and they can remind you.

***

Don’t be afraid to hire a pro to help you manage this process – a little professional guidance means big time savings in stress, and possibly business fees and tax penalties. Being organized = peak efficiency in all levels of your business! And, I can’t recommend enough this book: Accounting for the Numberphobic. It has outstanding small business advice and is actually pretty fun to read, too. Find it here – and happy planning!

September 20, 2018

Setting your Employees Up for Success

By noworries_admin | Business Builders, Business Consulting, Business Development, Employee, Employee Tips for Event Planners, Independent Contractors | No Comments

I have had the experience of not only overseeing my own employees, but being a new employee at a couple different corporate settings in the past year or so. I’ve learned a lot from both sides (the corporate on-boarding experience has certainly changed a lot, I’ll say that). A bad start can have ripple affects that can hurt your business. These key tips will make your new contractor or employee feel secure, so they can start kicking butt for you – and have fun doing it!

Give your employees the basics.

At a 5-star hotel I worked at recently, I was personally introduced to the entire corporate staff and as much of the banquet staff as possible. It was incredible – sure, I couldn’t recommend everyone’s name right away, but it gave me a solid sense of how the company worked, and also made me feel less shy when I saw new people in the hallways. I was also shown every single common area, bathroom, and other important spaces. No wonder people stay at that property for years! The culture left a lasting impression on me.

Don’t feel you are pandering to someone or wasting time by methodically showing them around to all relevant colleagues in your organization, and showing them every nook and cranny of the space that they will be using. They will feel like a stranger in a strange land, otherwise, and struggle to interact with people at first. It also makes them feel ignored or cast aside. Not a good start.

Ritz Carlton Ocean View wedding OrangeCounty Dana Point Employee

Photo by Studio Purdy. I was based in L.A.; this event in Dana Point required me to work with Orange-County based contractors that I found via my network of high quality fellow event planners. Making sure I sent these new contractors my manual ensured consistent service to my clients, despite the fact I hadn’t worked with them frequently before.

Have collaborative docs ready to go.

Be sure to do your homework and set up collaborative docs and systems before they arrive (google docs, Aisle Planner, etc). It takes some time to delegate – if it’s your first-ever associate, you need to do the hard work of which assignments to give them, and how you two will use your shared systems. But it only takes a couple days to get someone indoctrinated into most online project managers and documents – once you’re in, it’ll flow. But you absolutely have to do the carving up of assignments and adjustments of your systems before they arrive – otherwise, they may not have enough to do at first, and start off with confusion. This could lead to mistakes and wasted time – things no business can afford.

Write an employee manual.

If you work with ICs, this can be a contractor manual. Your payroll company or lawyer can advise on exactly how to work on this – but it’s super important for all employees to read and sign off on this. For event planners in particular, you need to lay down some ground rules, such as: No chewing gum, no social media sharing of events during event (or after, if client does not give permission), dress code, etc.

About to hire your first employee or contractor? Need advice? I’m here to help! Email me at dee@noworriesep.com!

April 13, 2018

Should you add new services to your business?

By noworries_admin | Business Builders, Business Consulting, Business Development, Consultant, Corporate Event Coordinator, Wedding Consultant, Wedding Coordinator | No Comments

A few years ago, I realized that clients constantly needed basic tabletop offerings – candle votives, lanterns, and the like. Due to the expense of sourcing and storing these items, not all florists had robust quantities of them. I sourced a few different types of votives and frequently rented them out to clients, making some additional pocket change and saving them time, and over-investing in these items. What would be hard about adding new services to my boutique event planning business?

I thought, maybe something’s there. I could start a table top rental business! It fills a need, I had storage in my garage, and I had plenty of contacts in the event world.

Then I started thinking: How would I deliver these items to everyone, along with my day to day business, which if I wasn’t careful, could be all consuming? Wouldn’t delivery cost as much as the item rental fees, due to labor costs? Also, what if they came back broken? What inventory tracker should I use?

Lanterns add new services to your business bud vases floral linen wedding long table reception decor event design

Photo by Jillian Rose Photography

I realized, it just wasn’t worth doing – better to stay with what I was doing, continue to refine my event planning business, and coast along with that.

It’s so easy to be distracted, to see another opportunity and try to strike out in a new direction. Before you do, check in with yourself:

Run Scenarios.

Think through a typical transaction of your new business. How much time and money would it cost you? Would you be able to charge enough to cover your cost?

Evaluate your resources – do you have enough to add a new service?

Do you need additional capital? How much would it cost to source raw materials (if any)?

Does someone else already do it well?

When photobooths were the new thing, there were just a handful or competitors for each region. Now, there are so many! Is it worth entering a saturated market?

Take time to review all your options and the ripple effects to your business. If you think it’s a good idea, go for it! Otherwise, nothing wrong with regrouping and making your current business even stronger.

January 5, 2018

Charging Enough? Wedding Planner Pricing

By noworries_admin | Business Builders, Business Consulting, Business Development, Wedding Planner Price, Wedding Planner Pricing | No Comments

I stopped actively planning weddings a few months ago (Bad knees + missing family time on weekends made the decision for me), and I now consult with other industry-related businesses. As a wedding planner pricing was key to the success as of my business; recently, as part of my work, I happened upon a planner’s website with startlingly low prices. These were prices I charged about 6-7 years ago.

Charging too little is a high stakes decision that drastically affects your well-being, your ability to provide for you and your family, and your long term earnings. You will create a referral base that’s lower budget and never break through to a high-earning, high quality book of business. When I amped up my pricing to truly reflect my workload and expertise, I had a lull in bookings for 2-3 months, but then I recouped any missing revenue and had much better long term earnings. It was a game changer.

Photo by True Photography; venue, Calamigos Ranch; Florals, McCann Florist

Wedding Planner Pricing Tips

1. Set limits on your services. I capped my ‘day of’ coordination to 40 hours total, and partial planning meetings were capped at 90 minutes long, for example. Sometimes we give an inch, and our clients (usually without any ill will), take a mile, but it eats up your profit and earnings per hour.

2. Ask around. Find your tribe of honest and supportive wedding and event planners in your community and share your pricing models. Become referral partners. If your pricing is apples to apples to each other (at least approximately), you build a web of high quality, well-priced services that will gain ground with potential clients and set a standard of pricing.

3. Consider hourly pricing. I’ve been a big proponent of this lately, and if I were to continue my business, I’d revert to this model.

Part of my consulting services is to help planners formulate concise, data-supported pricing models for optimal profit. I offer a 20-minute no-obligation call to anyone interested in my services, which is a great way to have a professional, safe space to vent, discuss pressing issues, and gain insight on thriving in the challenging business of event planning. To learn more, click here, email me at dee@noworriesep.com, or call 310-562-3306. Happy planning!

Category Archives: Business Development