WeddingIQ Retrospective - It's Not the Economy, It's You, Revisited
(Editor's Note: Throughout the month of April, we're continuing our look back at the most controversial, highly-visited and deeply personal posts ever written on WeddingIQ. On the hot seat today is Jen's post from April 2012, "It's Not the Economy, It's You.")
It's no secret that, in its early days, WeddingIQ could be a pretty rancorous place at times. (Okay, occasionally it still is.) I wrote my posts with a lot of passion, and often with a very black-and-white view of how things "should" be.
It's funny to look back now and see how vehemently I believed in the statements I made on the blog. Of course, I still believe in them today; my commitment to professional integrity and to supporting small businesses is something that will never change. I guess what has me feeling nostalgic is the idea that, just by pointing out some of the insanely ineffective, and sometimes unethical, practices in our industry, those practices would screech to a halt. Yeah...not so much. I'm loud, but I'm not that loud.
Still, I definitely think there's value in speaking our minds, especially when it comes to topics and issues we care about; for me, the wedding industry falls right into that category. I wrote my post "It's Not the Economy, It's You" because I was frustrated by the constant complaining on social media, at networking groups and in private conversations about how damn hard it is to run a business.
It frustrated me not that these business owners were struggling - I, and pretty much everyone else if they're being honest, struggle every day - but that they seemed to take zero personal responsibility for the success (or failure) of their business. Instead, they wanted to complain endlessly about the economic climate, about the cheapness of their clients, about how the wedding industry has gone so far downhill since they started.
Any of these complaints may very well have been a factor for them. But they weren't everything. When I could follow a complaining vendor's social media post back to his bio, and to his website, and to his reviews, and see major shortcomings at every part of the marketing and communication process, it was clear he - and others like him - had a much bigger problem going on than the ones he was describing.
And that's what inspired me to write a very direct piece reminding wedding professionals about all the things that are within their control, all the things that can and should be examined before turning the blame outward. See, embracing self-improvement is empowering; succumbing to defeat is devastating. I know where I'd rather put my focus.
So, take a look back at my original post, and let me know what you think - what should wedding business owners be prioritizing as they improve their business and adapt to external influences like client attitudes and the economy? Where do we begin to get better?
It's Not the Economy, It's You
