May 20

May 20 Putting a Wholesale Program to Work in Your Wedding Business

Editor's Note: We're delighted to welcome a new guest contributor to WeddingIQ today, Audrey Isaac of 100Candles.com! Read more about Audrey at the end of the post!)

Creating a relationship with a wholesaler is one of the best things you can do for your business – not only do you get to provide couples with additional products that they’ll need (hello, happy clients!), but you’ll also make an extra buck while you’re at it. Talk about a win-win situation! While it’s not a difficult process, you’ll see the best results if you keep organized and stay on top of what you need to be doing.

May 18

May 18 How to Get Things Done When Outsourcing Isn't an Option

Guest Contributor

Productivity

Outsourcing: it's a wonderful thing. Every business guru, coach and speaker will tell you that the sure path to success is to outsource as much as possible, freeing your time to run your company, plan for the future and create your ideal life by design.

Unfortunately, that's one of those things that's easier said than done. Outsourcing costs money, right? What if you’re just starting out? What if you’ve hit a rough patch? What if you need the money for personal reasons and can’t invest it back into your company at this time? (I discussed this very real possibility in one of my former posts, "Sailing Through Crisis and Taking My Own Advice.") These are all factors that must be considered when deciding what, if anything, should be outsourced in your business.

May 16

May 16 The Myth of Multi-Tasking and Taming the Time Suckers: Productivity for Wedding Pros

Guest Contributor

Guest Posts, Productivity

(Editor's Note: One of our favorite guest contributors, Jennifer Taylor of Taylor'd Events, is back today to share her productivity wisdom with our readers! Learn more about Jennifer at the end of the post!)

When it seems that there are a million and one things to do, it can be easy to get discouraged – especially if you don’t organize your time well. Many event professionals are challenged by a constant barrage of emails, site visits, meetings, and the like – in fact, you’d be hard put to find someone who wouldn’t admit that they could be more productive. Even the most industrious ones are still looking for ways to shave a few minutes off their daily tasks because, as we all know, every second counts!

May 13

May 13 How to Create a Company Manual for Your Wedding Business

Guest Contributor

Planning

Earlier this week, we outlined how to create systems and workflows for your wedding business, and how to write job descriptions for yourself and everyone else on your team (including people you'll hire in the future). In today's post, we'll put together those things with some other important information to create your own company manual.

I know: "company manual" sounds pretty impersonal, doesn't it? Whether you call it that, or a handbook, or a field guide, or a bible, it's an important part of running a successful business of any kind. You probably received one in many of the 9-5 jobs you had before diving into the wedding industry, and it can benefit your business in many of the same ways it benefits the corporate giants.

May 11

May 11 How Job Descriptions Will Transform Your Wedding Team (Even If It Doesn't Exist Yet)

Guest Contributor

Planning

When it comes to operating our business, we're all guilty of "making it up as we go along" - as a matter of fact, as creative entrepreneurs, this is where we excel.

We're the thinkers and dreamers, always striving to discover the "next big thing." We're also generally an idealistic bunch, as it takes a lot of optimism to risk starting your own business. It’s exciting to design a logo or choose colors for your fledgling company, and to brainstorm all the ways you can help clients create the event of their dreams. You may imagine sitting in your office or working on site, basking in the pride of having finished a job and the kudos that may pour in. These dreams are what propel us forward and motivate us to do this work every day, even when we don't know exactly what we're doing.

Pretty quickly, however, we become immersed in the very real, practical aspects of owning a business. There are never-ending items to be accomplished, deadlines loom ever closer, and don’t forget the "big picture thinking" necessary to help a company grow and prosper.