Meet the Winners of Our (Re)Launch Week Contests!
What a week it's been! We're so grateful for the support of our amazing readers as we rolled out the new WeddingIQ! We're looking forward to creating some great business content for you going forward!
Congratulations to the winners of our (re)launch week giveaways:
Travis Curry Photography
Ottawa Events
Pixilated Photobooth
OFD Consulting
Sage Wedding Pros
If you're one of these companies, email us to claim your prize! Thanks again for all the launch love!
Allow me to kick off this post with a bit of truth: I've written, deleted, and re-written it over and over, trying to make it perfect, or at least worthy of a "farewell." Unfortunately, those perfect words haven't come yet, so I figured I'd just do what I do in my personal conversations: just come out with it.
I'm very happy to announce that I'm passing the WeddingIQ torch to a trusted colleague whose contributions to this blog, and to the wedding industry, are well-known; someone whose star is definitely on the rise when it comes to speaking to, consulting with and educating event business owners...
How often do you feel afraid as you run your business?
Maybe it's that you feel you project a level of success or expertise that you haven't quite earned, and that makes you feel like a fraud. Or maybe you feel like you're hiding behind a professional image that's too traditionally businesslike, feminine/masculine, conservative or "high-end" and you don't truly identify with it. Or, maybe you're scared shitless of the enormity of running a business, knowing what's at stake for you, your dependents, the clients who hire you and the colleagues who refer you.
I'd venture to guess we've all had those fearful feelings at some point or another. I certainly have; in fact, I have them pretty much on the regular.
Okay, I won't actually judge you for spending a holiday working on your wedding business, especially given that I, during one of my rare child-free weekends as a single mom, am using this time to do some digging on my own goals and plans.
However you're spending your Memorial Day, we hope it's a great one, and we can't wait to be back Wednesday to roll out our new content theme for June: event-day management! Throughout the month, we'll be sharing posts and resources that are all about making your weddings easier and better. We've also got some great guest posts scheduled, so be sure to check back later this week!
It's here, it's here!
A few months back, Kyle and I began working on a refresh of the WeddingIQ website. Honestly, our initial motivation was to have a site that was easier for us to update. Once we got started, though, our goal quickly expanded to become a complete transformation, not only of how WeddingIQ would look, but also how it would help to support small business owners within the wedding industry.
The month of April is almost through, which means we're just three days away from launching the next phase of WeddingIQ! Kyle and I have been working diligently on an entirely new website and multiple new offerings that will help us continue our mission of supporting small businesses and raising the bar for professionalism in the wedding industry.
I remember when I first had the idea for what would become WeddingIQ. It was very early in 2012. I'd been running my DJ company for about 10 years, mainly overseeing the customer service and administrative side of things. My then-husband and business partner had stepped back from the day-to-day operations of the company to pursue other things, leaving me at the helm. Even with the added responsibility, I just felt like something was missing. Part of it was that I wasn't feeling particularly challenged anymore - I'm definitely someone who likes to take on new things - and part of it was that I knew I wasn't doing everything I was capable of doing in this industry, one that I'd been part of since I was 21 years old.
Plus, because I'd largely systematized the DJ business so that, with the help of a great assistant, it functioned pretty smoothly without my constant supervision, I had time on my hands and my wheels always seemed to be turning. (Basically, every rant you've ever read on WeddingIQ began as a monologue inside my very chaotic brain.) And, increasingly, I wanted to give my thoughts a voice, a platform. I found myself feeling called to do two things: to help other business owners to become more effective and successful, and also to dissect some of the bullshit I observed in the wedding industry on a regular basis. If I'm being completely honest, I think I probably also believed I had it all figured out. At least most things. (Oh, if only I knew the humble pie I'd be eating later.)
It's here, it's here! I know I'm not alone in being glad to put 2015 behind me, and to prepare for a fantastic year for my business and my life in 2016.
We're taking the day off from blogging today, but we'll be back on Monday with our first post on our January content theme: marketing your wedding business! We're so excited to bring you lots of great resources to support you in creating a successful, sustainable wedding business that you love.
