REVIVE PASSION

Are you ready for a fairytale? Okay, here goes…

 

Once upon a time there lived a wedding planner who became so dissatisfied with her work that day after day she thought about just giving it all up and getting a “real job”.

She grew exhausted with the constant demands of her clients, the endless tasks that she had to complete, weekend after weekend of weddings, and bridezilllas and groomzillas alike!

It seemed there was no end in sight.

She was so distressed that she began to despise her clients and lash out in frustration at her sweet children children and delightful husband.

Yep, I know I’m not fooling you. That girl was me!

 

What Caused The Dissatisfaction?

But it wasn’t always like this. When I first started in the wedding industry as a caterer it felt like a dream come true. I was the owner of a pretty successful business and I really liked what I did. Eventually, I traded that dream in for another and that’s how our event planning company began. And I could not have been more thrilled! I loved helping our clients find the perfect wedding vendor for them, putting together detailed timelines of their wedding day, and helping them with all the different decorations for their weddings.

I went to dress fittings, I attended bridal luncheons,

I helped them reduce their list of “favorite” photographers down from 100 (nope, not kidding – actually happened) to the final 10, then 5, then 3, then 2, then 1.

And then somewhere around a couple years in, all of that started being not so much fun anymore. All of the little “extras” I had always done for clients started feeling like a really long list of to-do’s and a really big chore. You see, I had done all of these things in the past because they were fun.

But somewhere at the end of the fun, it becomes a business.

(And I’m not saying you can’t have any fun – I’m now back to having fun every day!) But I went from having a lot of fun to feeling really burnt out.

 

How We Changed Our Business

And so Shea and I sat down and made a list.

We made a list of all of the qualifications that a potential client would have to have to be able to work with us.

You see, for some reason I had never considered that I could say no, you are not the right client for me and you don’t get to work with me.

I felt like I had to take every client that called me and everyone that wanted a contract. And because of this thinking, I started to really despise some of my clients. But it wasn’t their fault! It was totally mine.

Because at that time I really didn’t even understand who my ideal client was so I just took whoever came through my door.

And some people I loved and some people I didn’t. But I just thought that was the way it was in business – You just take what comes your way.

Once I started saying “no, thank you” to those people that didn’t fit my qualifications list, our business transformed. We changed everything about our marketing to speak to only our true ideal clients and if somehow someone that wasn’t our true ideal client sneaked past and caused our phone to ring, I knew that if they did not match my qualifications I had to refer them to another planner.

 

What Happened Then?

A few things happened when we did all of this –

1.)    We were able to raise our prices – significantly.

2.)    We were able to reduce the amount of events that we booked each year.

3.)    We made it a point to become a more valuable asset to other planners in our area. This means that we gave 100% honest and truthful advice, helped other planners out whenever they needed it, even helping them with their own websites and marketing.

4.)    We found that we had a revived passion and excitement for the wedding industry as a whole!

I truly feel that it’s very difficult to stay in this industry once you’ve lost your passion for it.

Your clients just know.

You don’t have the excitement you once had, you’re not as eager to please as you once were, and people can tell when it’s no longer genuine.

We are an industry of creatives and we need that desire and that passion to keep us continually innovating and offering new and exciting things to our clients.

 

How To Revive Your Passion

Whenever I feel like I’m starting to lose some of my passion for this business, I know exactly what I need to do.

I immediately reevaluate the type of clients I am working with.

Maybe something has changed? Maybe my business has shifted so that my true ideal client is and who it was a year ago. I look at the quantity of business I’m doing. Do I need to take less? Am I pushing myself to do too much? And then I look to my fellow wedding business owners – sometimes that’s the other wedding and event planners in my area and sometimes it’s a wedding DJ five states away.

But I just think – what can I do for them? Have I spent enough time helping other wedding business owner? This is the one that especially brings me back! Because when I start to help another wedding business owners I start to get excited again.

It reminds me that the advice I’m giving them is the advice I should take and apply every single day.

I hope that you’re not in a place in your business life where you’ve started to become frustrated and want to walk away. But if you’re there, just know that you’re not alone. A lot of us have experienced this. It’s normal. But you can turn it around – you can experience this revived passion and enthusiasm for your business.

There are some steps that you can take to help you come out the other side a lot stronger and with a lot healthier business.

We would love for our website and our blog to be a help and a comfort to you. If you feel like you’re at that point in your business, we would really encourage you to e-mail us and just let us know what has led you to this place.

We often use our blog to answer questions that people have about their business and were happy to help you in this way.

Business ownership is often a lonely place and there is no reason at all for you to lose your excitement for what you do. This industry is so much fun!

We want to help you revive your passion for it!

Is It Time To Revive The Passion You Once Had For Your Wedding Business?

If you’re feeling run down, frustrated and not having fun in your business anymore, then now is the time to take action. Click the button below and let’s get started reviving your passion!