As a wedding planner, it can be tough to balance the needs of your clients and business with the needs of yourself. It's important to remember that there's always going to be something more you could be doing or something more you could be earning if you were willing to sacrifice some of your personal time. That said, there are certain things you should do in order to keep yourself sane while running a business—and one of those things is keeping work hours separate from home life as much as possible.
Here are five tips for how I manage my calendar so that I'm able to stay on top of everything:
Find a great mentor.
Finding a mentor is an excellent way to get started. A mentor can help guide you through the business planning process, help you with your marketing efforts, teach you how to manage finances and create systems and processes for your business.
A good mentor will also be able to provide guidance on time management as well as how to balance work and family life. It’s important that they have industry experience so they can give real-life examples of what works—and what doesn’t!
Create a marketing plan.
The first step to creating a marketing plan is to know your audience. Who are they? What do they want? What do they need? How can you deliver that to them in a way that’s memorable and engaging?
Once you have a better idea of who your customers are and what their needs are, it’s time to create an effective marketing strategy. A good place to start is by creating social media platforms for yourself, especially if those platforms are already used by the people you want to reach out to. If not, try different ones until one works for you—and keep experimenting with different formats until something sticks!
You should also make sure that your business has a website where potential clients can learn more about what makes it special or unique—or even just find contact information so people can get in touch with you directly! Finally, consider creating an email newsletter that will allow people interested in working with wedding planners like yourself (but perhaps don't have time) stay updated on news related specifically towards the industry as well as any upcoming events where there might be opportunities available such as workshops/conferences etc...
Get your finances in order.
Understand what expenses you will have.
If you're planning a wedding as a side hustle, it's important to understand how much money is going into the project. This will enable you to set a realistic budget for yourself and make sure that everything is paid on time. If there are any extra costs that come up, such as travel expenses or unexpected repairs, be prepared with funds in reserve so as not to get caught off guard by them later on in the process. You might also want to consider setting up an account specifically for this business—this will help keep all of your financial transactions organized and easily accessible should the need arise at some point during the planning process (and trust me: there will always be some kind of need).
Set up a business bank account right away! It’s crucial that all income goes into this account (or at least into an account designated specifically for wedding planning) so that there are no surprises when it comes time to pay bills. There are many different ways one can go about doing this: they could open up their own checking account under their name and then transfer funds from their personal checking account into theirs; they could use an online service like PayPal; or they could use something even simpler like Venmo or Google Wallet (which allows users send payments directly between each other via email address). Regardless of which method suits everyone best here though, remember not only does having separate accounts help keep things organized but also helps protect against identity theft/fraud down the road too!
Once these steps are taken care off properly though there’s still more work needed before starting any projects such as prepping fabrics/materials beforehand etcetera which I'll cover later
Have a clear vision of your business.
I'm sure you've heard the old adage, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." The same is true for your business. Before you begin developing a strategy or making any big decisions, it's important to have a clear vision of what success looks like and what your business will be known for.
This is especially true if your goal is to eventually transition into full-time wedding planning. If this is something that interests you and aligns with who you are as a person (and not just because it seems like an easy way to make money), take some time now to think about how things might play out after leaving the 9-to-5 grind behind. Will the shift affect other aspects of your life? What kind of work hours and schedule will work best for everyone involved? Are there any additional skills that need honing before taking on such an endeavor?
Create systems and processes to keep you on track.
Create a schedule.
Create a budget.
Create a workflow.
Create systems for communication with your clients, team, and yourself (think: Google Calendar, Slack, email). Follow it religiously!
Keep track of your finances: where every penny goes, how much money you're making each month, etc. This will help you make sure that you're not overspending on things like business cards or office supplies when there are other important things to pay for first (like paying yourself). It can also give you an idea of what kind of revenue stream you'll have after taxes by month so that when tax time comes around again next year it doesn't feel like such a shocker!
Take time for yourself.
As a wedding planner, it’s important to take time for yourself and your family. This is the only way that you can continue to be the best planner you can be. Don't let work become your whole life and make sure that there are things in place outside of work that give you fulfillment and happiness. If you don't have any outside interests or passions, it's easy for work to take over everything in your life; this will cause burnout which will negatively impact both your personal and professional lives!
Your business will always be there, but your sanity and well-being are important too.
Wedding planners are often entrepreneurs who work for themselves and their clients. The job of a wedding planner is to help others plan their weddings, which involves being creative and organized, but also problem-solving and providing solutions.
You may have heard about the importance of taking time off at work, so that you can recharge your batteries, take care of yourself health-wise, etc. You might have heard about how sleep deprivation can lead to serious health problems like heart disease or depression.
So it's important to take breaks from planning weddings (maybe even schedule them!) in order to maintain your sanity as well as your physical health!
Remember that there’s no one way to do this. It’s going to take some trial and error, but with these tips you’ll be well on your way to making it work for you!
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Lori Losee is a former Seattle Wedding Planner with over 17 years of experience. To help aspiring and seasoned wedding planners she created The Wedding Planner Academy which provides a forum for wedding planners to learn from people who have been there before—and have learned a lot the hard way. To provide planners with tips, resources, and templates to aid in the development of their best planning process. To assist wedding planners in connecting with one another and learning from other professionals, all while working together to improve the wedding industry's future!
