All in Wedding Industry

Independent Contractors vs. Employees: What Wedding Pros Need to Know

Independent Contractors vs. Employees: What Wedding Pros Need to Know

Guest Contributor
Legal, Wedding Industry, Guest Posts

(Editor's note: We're thrilled to kick off our March content theme of all the operational "stuff" you need to manage in order to maintain a successful business - contracts, bookkeeping, client and team member management, and more. Today we welcome guest contributor Annette Stepanian, an attorney who's generously provided some fantastic advice for wedding business owners and other creative professionals. Take it away, Annette!)

You’ve decided to hire some extra help for your wedding business. Perhaps you’re now sending all of your graphic design needs to a local graphic designer or maybe you’ve hired an assistant to help with the day of work for an upcoming event.
 
Before hiring your next worker, it’s important to understand the distinction between what makes a worker an independent contractor versus an employee and what that means for you, the business owner. Improperly classifying a worker as an independent contractor can be quite costly for your business.

Managing Client Expectations and Families

Managing Client Expectations and Families

Guest Contributor
Marketing, Clients, Wedding Industry, Guest Posts

(Editor's note: Today's post comes courtesy of guest contributor Jennifer Taylor of Taylor'd Events. Read more about Jennifer at the end of the post!)

When working with clients, setting expectations is of utmost importance. Not only does it prevent any boundaries from being crossed, but it is also a way to determine if you’re meeting (or exceeding) standards. While some may feel pressure from expectations, the truth of the matter is that no one can be happy without them – you’ll get stretched too far and clients will not be satisfied if you can’t meet unrealistic expectations.

Friday Five: 5 Things to Know Before You Meet With a Client

Friday Five: 5 Things to Know Before You Meet With a Client

Guest Contributor
Clients, Marketing, Sales, Wedding Industry

As wedding professionals, haven't we all been burned by wasting time on meeting the wrong clients? Perhaps they weren't serious about potentially buying from us, or they were woefully unprepared, or we weren't going to be able to serve their needs regardless of how well we did in the meeting. Whatever the reason, none of us has time to spare on client meetings that aren't going anywhere.

So, in today's fun Friday Five post, here are 5 things to know prior to agreeing to meet with a client.

Scoring Sales Without Losing Your Sanity: The "More is More" Trick That May Surprise You

Scoring Sales Without Losing Your Sanity: The "More is More" Trick That May Surprise You

Guest Contributor
Clients, Marketing, Sales, Wedding Industry

The wedding industry is an interesting one in that many business owners came from vastly different fields. I personally know many wedding vendors who previously worked in law, finance, real estate, education, and more. That career diversity, combined with the fact that there aren't a ton of business-focused resources specifically created for the wedding industry (hence my starting WeddingIQ), means that many wedding pros rely on more general business advice - advice which may not be particularly applicable to what we do.

One of the biggest differences between wedding services/products and the services/products in other industries is how we go about effectively selling them. By nature, everything wedding-related is a luxury expense (some more so than others), and the event that's being celebrated is uniquely emotional and incredibly important to our clients, their families and their friends. As such, a lot of traditional "sales" advice just doesn't work.

Friday Five: 5 Last-Minute Tweaks to Make Before Marketing Month Ends

Friday Five: 5 Last-Minute Tweaks to Make Before Marketing Month Ends

Guest Contributor
Marketing, Wedding Industry

WeddingIQ's month-long marketing focus is about to end, and next week brings a transition to a new content theme. Before we wrap up Marketing Month, however, we thought we'd share a few last little things to check before you shift your attention to another area of your business.

Obviously, your marketing strategies are something that are constantly evolving - staying stuck in a campaign that's underperforming is pointless - but we can't be in "marketing mode" every moment. So, here are five things to double-check (and tweak, if necessary) before January ends.

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