Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Wedding Business Part 1

Oh, you bet I learned so much all these years in my wedding career, especially in the early years. When I look back, there are so many things I wish I knew and didn’t have to learn the hard way. I know how it is to start a business, it’s tough, and I want to share some of my hard-learned lessons with you.

1. Write Everything Down

Always write everything down. And I mean everything. Do you often know that you will remember something for sure? Yup, I think that all the time but I don’t remember when I need to! Here are some things I always write down:

Checklists – to-do’s, packing list, order list, processes
Flower recipes – so you don’t need to build it from scratch everytime
Personal things I learn about the clients – they appreicate you for remembering next time you bring it up
Meeting notes – so you remember what you discussed and what you promised
BONUS: Send the notes back to the client so you’re sure you didn’t get anything wrong or your client will email back to let you know otherwise.

2. I Do Not Want to Work With All Couples

When I first started in the wedding industry, I wanted every client who reached out to me. I thought I want all of them to book! But the truth is that some of them are just not my ideal clients. Don’t get me wrong, not because they’re bad people. Not everyone who is getting married is who we want to work with.

The couple might have different styles
The couple might be asking for things that are out of our comfort zone, which will cause us time and money
The location and timing might not be right
At the end, it might not be worth our time, business is business!

3. I Can Say No

I don’t need to say yes to everything! Things that aren’t profitable, things that take up too much of my time, things that don’t help my business grow (i.e. sponsorships and free gigs for exposure). As business owners, we need to do things that help move our business forward and not spend too much time on things that don’t.

4. I Don’t Need to Reply to Clients Instantly

I need to set boundaries and expectations from the get-go! I’ve always been glued to my phone because I thought I need to reply to emails right away. This is something you shouldn’t be doing.

You need to set boundaries for yourself and your family
You need to let clients know you are not there to answer them right away
It’s actually less efficient if you’re just replying to emails as they come in
You need to create a healthy work habit for yourself so that you can be sustainable

5. Never Rely on Help From Clients

When I first started, couples offered to send their “so-and-so” to help me on the morning of the wedding to avoid the cost of hiring another professional staff. Never . Believe . Them ! If they don’t show up, you’re screwed. That happened to me before, more than once. I had multiple weddings on that day and I was thrown off my schedule. Luckily everything worked out in the end, but can you imagine if it didn’t work out?

Another reason you should not rely on external help is that you will actually waste more time explaining to them what to do and how to do things because they’re not your experienced staff.

If clients don’t want to pay for extra staff to set things up properly, they’re not your ideal clients for you.

6. Never Rely on Photographer to Give You Photos

Always take photos of your work after your setup. Never think that the photographer will give them to you. Here are the reasons why:

Some photographers won’t share their images unless you pay for them
Sometimes the photographer doesn’t have time to take detailed shots
The photographers aren’t florists, sometimes they don’t take shots that reflect the best of your work. If you take them, you can control what images you have.

If any of these things happen, you’re left with nothing. No images of your hard work. As a wedding floral designer, images of your work is crucial!

There are so many other lessons and mistakes I learned and wished I knew in my early years in business. This is not everything, stay tuned for Part 2 next week! Are there things you wish you would have known earlier? Share with us in the comments!

Cheering you on!

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Got a new wedding floral design business or one you’ve been running for a few years and still struggling to make a profit? I know how you feel! I’ve ran a non-profitable wedding business for a long time and wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars before I finally took the right steps to build a profitable & sustainable business. And executed 5-figure weddings even in the midst of a pandemic. You can do it too and I’m here to lay it all out for you, step-by-step!

I’ve put together a 5-step Profitable Business Blueprint so you can start implementing today! Download the actionable guide now.