Fabul-Us

Business Ethics Also Count for Competition

Sorry to interrupt my usual light-hearted posts, but this is a topic that needs to be addressed. Within a week, I was contacted by three wedding planners in my area posing as brides in order to get my pricing information and/or see how I communicate with potential clients.

I can't speak for anyone else (although I know I do when I say)… THIS IS AN UNETHICAL PRACTICE and those doing it need to be blasted for it. However, I am not giving them free advertising by mentioning their names on my blog.

So for all of you newbies who think you should pretend to be a bride in order to conduct your market research, you had better think twice about it. In the age of the Internet, it is very easy to catch you in the act. I will admit that this is probably the hardest piece of information to obtain, but it is not impossible to get if you are upfront and honest.

In the Philadelphia/South Jersey area, there are organizations such as ISES and ABC that can help with your startup. Go to their networking meetings and meet some of the other wedding planners in your immediate area. Become a member and you will gain access to the statistical data they compile on a regular basis for this purpose.

Ask brides in your target market how much they would be willing to pay for the services you offer.

Read industry-related information on the internet.

I had to do a lot of work to establish my business. To quote my colleague, Saundra at planning…forever events, "I have fought, struggled, and worked my manicured fingers to the bone to gain what I have achieved. It takes a lot of courage to own a business. Courage to be rejected. Courage to not be scared when your phone is not ringing with new clients. Courage to do the right thing in all facets of your business." (I don't mind giving free plugs to the good guys.)

Although there are a lot of wedding planners popping up every day, it takes an awful lot of hard work and money to establish yourself as a reputable player in the industry. Being unscrupulous will get your name out there too, but it will be on a black ball list to all of the wedding professionals within a 50 mile radius.

The moral of the story… Don't start your business by being sneaky and underhanded. It will come back to bite you in the end.

I will now step down from my soap box. Feel free to comment.

Remember the Titans

The wedding planning industry has been called "catty" and "cut throat" by many, but this has not been my experience at all. Perhaps it is because of my warm and loving personality (wink). Maybe it is because I am not seen as a threat to the more established planners in my field. Who knows?

I want to take a moment to thank those who have personally inspired, supported, and guided me along my professional journey so far.

Sheryl Garman (Perfect Weddings)

Karen Pecora (Karen Pecora Events)

Mark Kingsdorf (Queen of Hearts)

Deidre Gray (Always A Positive Image)

Debbie Wallace (Elegant Affairs by Dee)

Sheila Corbett (Elegant Events)

Mattie Johnson ( Look No Further Events)

Crystal Thomas-Smaller (Mahagony Rose Weddings & Special Events)

Linnyette Richardson-Hall (Premiere Event Management)

My iWED family (http://www.i-wed.org/)

Networking with Colleagues

It is so easy to network with other wedding professionals who are not in direct competition with me: photographers, videographers, florists, etc. So why is it so difficult to get other wedding planners together to talk about our field?

A little less than a year ago, I met someone who really made me want to develop a local network specifically targeting ethnic wedding/event planners. She found a location for us to meet and I found the planners to meet with us monthly. Because we only had a handful of planners attending our monthly meetings, I needed to find a way to expand our network.

By pure chance, I stumbled upon Meetup.com, an online forum for finding people who share the same interests. After joining a few groups, I decided to put our wedding planning group online. In 3 months, our group has grown from 5 members to 42 members.

I have found that there are a lot of people trying to get into this business. Attending networking events like ours is one of the best ways to get started. Established planners need to be more open to helping the "newbies" recognize the high standard they will be expected to live up to, but also tell them how to achieve this goal.

For more information about the R&M Wedding/Event Planning Network, please visit our meetup site.

Don't Quit Your Day Job

I don't mean this in the negative sense of the phrase. I mean it literally. For anyone starting their own businesses, be it wedding planning or homemade pies, consider the financial benefits of keeping your full-time jobs for as long as reasonably possible.

In general, new businesses do not begin to make a profit for several years. This being the case, how will you pay your rent/mortgage? Can you afford health insurance outside of your current employer's group plan? Can you support your Minolo Blahnik habit without the income from your full-time job? (Hmmm that just may be more important than the mortgage for some.)

Think before you leap.

Have a FABULOUS day!
Randi