There is plenty of success to go around in the events industry. One person’s success does not mean less opportunity for you. In fact, their success can be yours too if you help them get there.
Compete less, encourage more.
How to Get Unstuck in Life and Business
February 27, 2012 by 2 Comments
What happens when you are stuck in a rut or not motivated at all? First, realize that you are not alone. Everyone has experienced this at some point including me. Here are seven tips to help you power through this phase and get moving.
1. Be honest. Acknowledge how you feel and give yourself permission to feel the way you do without judgment. Instead of hiding your true feelings, share them with your friends and family. It’s okay to say you are going through a rough patch. Make peace with where you are at and realize it’s just a phase. Maybe you can schedule a weekly lunch date, phone call or Skype with a pal to talk through your plans, ideas and goals.
2. Get social. Get out and spend time with other people. Hibernating in your house definitely won’t help with motivation. Make plans with friends, go to a networking event, schedule a date night with your significant other and set a coffee date with a vendor you have been wanting to meet.
3. Take action. Any action. Even if a task doesn’t seem relevant to your goals, do something. Hire a coach, read a business book, take a personal development workshop, see a therapist, see a doctor for a complete checkup if you are feeling depressed, clean out your desk, organize your office, sign up for that class you have been wanting to take.
4. Forget about motivation. Happy productive people just get stuff done and don’t wait for motivation. Successful people do what they have to do whether they feel like it or not. To get a jump start, do a task that you can complete quickly so that you have instant gratification.
5. Ask why. Why are you doing what you are doing or trying to do what you are doing? If you don’t know the answer, it might be time to move in a different direction. The main reason you are stuck could be from lack of passion for what you are trying to accomplish.
6. Have gratitude. Take time to be thankful for the good things happening in your life right now. Write them down, send an email to one person thanking them for being in your life, write in a journal or call an old friend to catch up. Acknowledging the positive things in your life can help you get unstuck.
7. Take a break. You may just need time off and time away from everything to clear your head. Take a week or even a weekend away from everything including email and all social media. Refocus, relax, reflect and regroup.
Once you start getting unstuck, you may be surprised at how quickly things start to happen. Sometimes a small break through can lead to big success. Have you ever felt “stuck”? If so, what did you do to get past it?
Great, Average, Small
January 20, 2012 by 2 Comments
I saw a sign in an office recently that said, “Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about other people.” I have heard this quote before but don’t recall who originally said it.
What are the characteristics of small people? They talk about … other people. The comments made tend to be about other people and are negative: criticism, gossip, judgment and other detrimental words. This can be damaging to our self esteem if we become fixated on comparing ourselves to others.
Average people talk about things that are important to them. Things like possessions, the house, the car, the money in the bank, the gadgets. The reference tends to be that bigger is better. This is the person who will go on about the 55 countries they have visited, the five peaks they have climbed and the number of events they have booked. There is nothing wrong with going to 55 countries, climbing five peaks or booking 10 events in the same day. It is only harmful for those who consider themselves superior for having these experiences or things.
Finally, we have great people. Great people talk about ideas. They love meaning, they love freedom and creativity. They are open to change because talking about ideas can really engage them with other people and shed light on new ideas. Ideas energize us, motivate us, excite us and open us to possibilities we never knew existed.
Of course there is nothing wrong with talking occasionally about other people or things. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t. The main lesson is that we make sure we spend enough time talking about ideas and sharing our time with other people who love to talk about ideas. If you find yourself talking mostly about gossip, other people and your accomplishments, it may be time to rethink who you are spending time with and how you can make more time to talk with great people about ideas.
What do you spend most of your time talking about?
End of Year Review
December 29, 2011 by 4 Comments
Whether you have your own business or not, take time to evaluate what worked and what didn’t work for you in the past year. This includes your professional career successes (and not-so-successful-ventures) along with your achievements in education, relationships, personal growth, health and finances. If you are an entrepreneur, this is especially important. It’s easy to get so busy working IN your business and with clients that we forget to work ON our business and on ourselves.
In the past, I’ve set goals and made decisions at the end of each year but never did a formal review for myself. Today and tomorrow, I am working through my first official annual review. Some of the accomplishments I am most proud of include launching Planner’s Lounge, teaching a class on how to become a wedding planner, producing two particularly amazing weddings, growing StudioWed Denver for the second year, building my relationship with my staff and their relationships with each other and reading eight business books based on what I needed to learn most.
What are the best decisions you made in 2011? What are three things you need to do less of in 2012? You can download the Annual Review Template and evaluate yourself. When my review is done, I am going to post it next to my desk and share it with my team. I invite you to share your review with your business partner, friend or a peer.
The Competition
December 20, 2011 by 4 Comments
After settling into my event planning business the past few years and figuring out how to be different than my competition (instead of trying to be better), I’ve discovered that I am actually pleased when other planners (a.k.a.competition) succeed and do well in their business. If my peers are working hard, being ethical and doing great work for their clients, I admire them. They make me feel inspired and I am truly happy instead of feeling jealous. I’ve learned that when my company is authentic and different, there is not real competition. Our ideal clients find us and we are happy to refer the not-quite-perfect clients to other planning companies. Your fellow planners can be your biggest source of support and referrals when you realize there truly is enough business to go around.
Danielle Laporte posted my favorite conversation about the topic of competition and respecting your natural abilities on White Hot Truth. What are your natural abilities and can your potential clients see those on your website and in your marketing materials? If not, your ideal clients may not be finding you.
7 Strategies to Recover from Burn Out
December 7, 2011 by 8 Comments
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands of your career and personal life. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.
Burnout reduces your productivity and zaps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. I’ve witnessed many event professionals who have become burned out at some point in their career including myself.
Here are seven strategies to recover from career burnout:
1. Time heals all wounds. There was a time when I was so burned out from my wedding planning career, that I seriously thought about quitting. I had a few incredibly difficult clients along with working on a few more weddings than I should have. After a short vacation and a 3-4 weeks of easy office work, I found that I started feeling less overwhelmed and was actually enjoying my job again. I also took this time to set boundaries for the future so that I didn’t end up in the same situation again. I decided never to work with anyone who gives me a headache or stomachache. Life is just too short for that.
2. Analyze what you love and hate about your business then get rid of your dirty work. Hire someone to do the work that bores you, whether it be paper work or number crunching. It’s likely you can find someone who’s thrilled by the work that makes you want to rip your hair out. No money to hire someone? Perhaps you can delegate it to someone on your team or to an intern. Find ways to spend your time doing the work that excites and challenges you.
3. Look for a new challenge. There are always new design ideas, new markets to enter, new planning software to explore, new industry friends to make, new revenue streams to analyze and new services to offer. While there is enough to do just maintaining the day-to-day operations and handling administrative tasks, keep your eyes on what’s next and beyond for your event planning business.
4. Get educated on something new. Attend a wedding industry conference, take a floral design class, learn cake decorating, take an online class about interior design or order the latest marketing book. Get yourself a breathe of fresh air and learn new skills that will get you excited about your business again.
5. Promote your work. Burnout can stem as much from a lack of appreciation as it does from dealing with ever-changing budgets and crazy clients. A potential remedy for this situation is to promote your work. Wedding and event planners can suffer from a lack of appreciation because so many brides and clients don’t understand how hard we work and how much emotional connection we have to our work. We have to work hard to make our talent known and show what we can do. Some ideas you can do include updating your blog with your latest work, add new photos to your Facebook page, submit your best wedding to a popular wedding blog, submit an event for an award and update your portfolio.
6. Remember why you wanted to become a wedding planner. Recalling why you embarked on an event planning career may give you perspective on why you love the field so much and why it is worth putting up with the daily grind. When I was feeling burned out, I had to remind myself that I loved the relationships I had with my good clients, thrived on running a successful planning business and loved the lifestyle of a wedding planner. You may have to dig deep if you have been in business a long time.
7. Take care of yourself. When we are accustomed to putting other people’s needs first, we often neglect ourselves. Start adopting healthier eating habits, make time for regular exercise and get to bed earlier. When you eat right, exercise and get enough sleep, you have the energy and resilience to deal with life’s hassles and demands. Other ways to relieve stress and recover from burnout include taking yoga, writing daily in a journal, reading inspirational books and meditating.
If these strategies for dealing with burnout don’t improve your feelings about your event planning career, it may be time for a vacation or, if possible, a longer sabbatical. It might also be time for a new job or even a new career. Have you ever felt burned out by your business or career? Share you story in the comments!
Saying No
November 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Learning how to say “no” to requests on your time is one of the most empowering tools you can learn. If you find this difficult, remind yourself that saying “no” allows you to say “yes” to the things that you truly want to do. Afraid to say no? Check out one of my very favorite articles from ZenHabits on 7 Simple Ways to Say No. This is especially helpful for event planners who have been in business awhile and get a large number of requests to meet new vendors and want-to-be event planners. Once I started saying no (in a nice way), I gained more time for myself, more time for my family and more time for the tasks that help me reach my current goals (such as building and launching this site).
Authenticity
November 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Attempting to copy what works for another business is the surest path to mediocrity. Authenticity is easy. It’s who you really are and what you believe. There is no hiding what you stand for. Are you being truly authentic in your business and in your life?
15 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started
November 3, 2011 by 13 Comments
1. How important SEO {search engine optimization} is. Seriously. If you don’t understand it, there are many tutorials online and people who can help you. Elance is a good place to get professional SEO help if you don’t want to learn it yourself.
2. That I would love business as much as I like planning weddings. Sometimes I love the creativity of building a business more than the creativity of event design.
3. That some of my closest friends would be other wedding professionals.
4. How many different types of table linens you can rent. No, really. I had no idea that I could spend hours looking for just the right shade of aubergine. Actually, I didn’t know what aubergine was before I worked in the wedding industry.
5. How hard I would be willing to work to make my company a success. Having a career I am really passionate about makes a big difference.
6. That the sizes of rental tables and linens would be ingrained in my head. 120″ round, 90×156, 108″, 90×132, etc…it’s like learning multiplication tables in grade school then you never forget.
7. Working the actual wedding day would be the hardest physical work I have ever done. Fifteen hours on my feet is A LOT even if I’m working out on a regular basis.
8. Having my clients hug me and thank me for producing an incredible wedding would be the most rewarding part of my job.
9. Having a disrespectful client who treated me like a servant was my worst wedding season. It still makes me cringe that I let them take advantage of my time and services. Lesson learned.
10. That I would form close relationships and lasting friendships with my clients.
11. That I was a good designer. When I started, I knew I was good at logistics and being organized but it wasn’t until my fourth year of business when I realized I had an eye for design.
12. That I would ever want to do anything other than plan weddings. I still like planning weddings but have also opened StudioWed Denver and launched the Planner’s Lounge.
13. That I love to lead people but I don’t like to manage. When I worked in the corporate world, I thought I would be a great manager. By having my own business for almost seven years, I know that I am a big picture person who loves to lead and teach but hates to manage or even worse, micro-manage.
14. That I can handle an extremely large amount of responsibility and tasks without being stressed. This doesn’t always apply to my personal and family life but on the wedding day, I am on my “A” game and can handle anything that happens without getting stressed.
15. How much I would grow as a person. Having a wedding planning business is like taking multiple personal growth seminars in a very short amount of time. Not only have I learned an immense amount about myself, I have grown more than I ever would have imagined.
What do you wish you would have known when you first started your event planning business?
