The planning of weddings is a complex process and involves many factors. The best wedding planners have experience in this field and specialize in one thing: planning weddings. They know exactly what their clients want, and they make sure that the bride, groom and guests are happy with the results. Before starting your own career as a wedding planner, there are several things you should consider first!
What is your competition doing?
If you want to be a competitive wedding planner, it's important to know what your competition is doing.
To do this, you need to understand your competitors' strengths and weaknesses. You also need to understand what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong. This will help you see how you can differentiate yourself from them when attracting clients.
Which services do you want to offer?
The services you decide to offer will be the backbone of your business, and they should reflect your strengths. If you're great at helping people plan their weddings, but not so good at managing finances or booking vendors, then it's best not to offer those services in addition. The more services you offer, the more time and energy it will take for you as a planner (and for your clients). This can lead to burnout and frustration on both sides.
The flip side of this is that if all of your experience has been working with couples who have already planned their weddings (or some part of them), then offering other wedding planning services may be an opportunity for growth in terms of gaining new experiences. If this is something that interests you, start by researching which areas interest you most—perhaps there are parts of planning that aren't covered by an existing vendor? Or maybe there are ways in which technology can help make things easier!
Do you have the right experience for that?
When you’re deciding what kind of experience to look for in a wedding planner, ask yourself these questions:
Do I have the right experience for that?
How can I get the experience I need?
How can I get the experience I want?
What are your key strengths?
The next step in the process is to identify your key strengths and weaknesses. You can do so by asking yourself:
What are my strengths?
What are my weaknesses?
How will I use my strengths to my advantage, and how will I overcome my weaknesses?
Who will be the ideal client for you?
The first step to becoming a wedding planner is to find the ideal client for you. This is the person who will hire you because they like your style. Take some time to think about what kind of bride would be drawn to your approach and how you can control how much time and money they spend on their wedding.
Doing this research now will help when it comes time for marketing, as well as keep things fun when you start planning!
What is your pricing strategy?
Your pricing strategy is the most important aspect of your business. It will shape how you position yourself in the market, and it will determine how much money you make. The first thing to do is figure out what kind of profit you need to make. What’s a realistic amount that can cover expenses and provide some income at the end of each month? Once you know this, decide on an hourly rate that covers those costs while still providing a decent wage for yourself.
Next, think about your target market: Are they willing and able to pay what you need them to pay? If not, then look at other ways in which they can contribute toward covering costs (such as by doing some work themselves). If so, great! Hire an accountant who can help set up a business plan and figure out all the tax requirements for running a wedding planner business.
Where do you want to work from and when to start?
Location: Where do you want to work from and when?
You will need a space where clients can visit you for consultations, for example, an office in a building or a room in your home. You also have to consider how much time each day will be spent traveling between the office and client locations. If there is no way around it, then your travel costs will become part of your overall business expenses.
Cost of Rent & Utilities: How much does it cost per month?
If you are working from home, remember that this could affect the price point of wedding planning services as well as how much time is spent on administrative work (i.e., paperwork). It may be worth considering renting an office rather than working out of your home entirely so that clients feel more comfortable there (and vice versa).
Take time at the beginning of your career to plan thoroughly.
Your wedding planning career will be a great success if you take the time to plan thoroughly. This means setting goals, creating a timeline for those goals, and making sure you stay on track. It's important to measure your progress along the way so you can see how far you've come and make adjustments when needed. Here are some tips for setting up an effective plan:
Set goals that are realistic and measurable. If you want to increase revenue by 15%, that's something specific that can be measured (and compared) over time.
Write down all of your goals in one place so they're accessible when needed—this might be in an email or Google Docs file; it could also be on an app like Evernote or Trello in case this is something you need access to while traveling or away from home base (your computer).
Create timelines that include deadlines for each step required to complete each goal, whether this is finding vendors or booking venues and photographers—make sure these deadlines fall within reasonable windows of time!
Wedding planning is a very exciting and lucrative career. You can make money while doing something that you love. However, if you want to be a successful wedding planner, it’s important to start planning your business right from the beginning.
And dont forget, the next Wedding Planner Academy starts on Tuesday, November 1 so enroll today!
