I put imaginary pressure on myself that I need to follow the lead of what other businesses are doing. The keyword there is “imaginary”.
It doesn’t feel imaginary though. It feels very real. It feels like hustling my a$$ off constantly is the only option as a wedding business owner.
There are two main thoughts that create pressure as a wedding business owner:
1) My main goal should be striving to increase profits
I have to remind myself that I am the only person responsible for what happens in my business. I don’t have investors or shareholders. I am not a public company. There is no reason I need to follow the lead of what I see on the news and in media that constantly increasing profit is the main goal.
When I think about the responsibility of my own business, profit definitely matters, but it’s not all that matters.
One of the biggest reasons I work for myself is to have the freedom and flexibility to run my business exactly how I want.
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2) I should spend as much time as possible working
As wedding season rolls into full swing, we especially need to remember that we should NOT be spending as much time as humanly possible on our planning business. It’s not sustainable and it’s not healthy.
We can take time off, set expectations with our clients on how and when we work, and set boundaries for ourselves.
If you are already overcommitted for the wedding season, you may need to rethink those commitments. That could mean rescheduling any non-priority meetings to later in the year, skipping a few networking events, or referring a new lead to another planner. Missing a few industry events and referring out a few wedding leads is not going to make or break your planning business.
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If you simply booked too many events and feel overwhelmed, look at your cash flow and determine if you can hire a part-time virtual assistant, a bookkeeper to keep your finances updated during wedding season, or an extra person to come to your office a few hours a day during the week of each event.
As an entrepreneur, time off isn’t going to magically happen without intentional planning. This is non-negotiable if you are feeling overwhelmed or starting to feel burned out.
Many of us want (and need) time off to rest, relax, rejuvenate, and be mentally ready for the rest of the wedding season. This is the only way we can give our clients the best of our talents and expertise. We can’t be on our “A” game for the eleventh wedding weekend if we just worked the past ten weekends in a row without taking regular breaks to recover and relax.
You may think that your business will fall apart if you take time off during the wedding season (or anytime). I know exactly how you feel! After working in the wedding industry for 15+ years, I promise that your business will be BETTER after you take time off.
If you can plan a long weekend away, great. If not, here are a few options:
- Plan a stay-cation to relax. Check out that new breakfast spot in town, browse your favorite shop, go see the views from a park you haven’t been to yet.
- Treat yourself to a massage or pedicure.
- Schedule lunch, coffee, or happy hour with a friend you haven’t seen in a while.
- Spend an uninterrupted day with your significant other or family (turn off your email and social media notifications for the day).
- Schedule an afternoon off to binge-watch as much Netflix as you can handle.
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Only YOU can remove the imaginary pressure that you need to always be working and increasing profit and growth. Your business will survive if you take time off, say no, cancel commitments you previously made, set expectations with clients, or put off major business projects (new website, a photoshoot, branding overhaul, moving to a new location, etc.) until later in the year.
Not sure how to price your services and what to offer in your wedding planning packages?
Pricing With Confidence: Secrets to Profitable Pricing & Services for Professional Wedding Planners is a comprehensive guide with templates and worksheets that give you the tools and information needed to confidently offer profitable and sustainable wedding planning packages and pricing.
This guide is ideal for both new and experienced wedding planners who want to understand pricing methods and techniques. This guidebook is also perfect for wedding planners who want to save time by having ready-to-use templates for planning packages, examples of website wording, and a professional spreadsheet to rely on for calculating prices for weddings and events.
The post How to Manage the Stress of Running a Wedding Planning Business first appeared on Planner's Lounge - Become a Wedding Planner, Wedding Planner Resources, Wedding Planning Careers. Via Event Planning Essentials http://www.rssmix.com/
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