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s I travel from conference to conference, event to event, I often hear wedding pros talking about different speakers and well-known industry people. They often debate the success of that person; but, hang on – who are we to debate someone else’s success? Success, as with beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Each of us gets to define our success. For some, it’s a monetary value. For others, it’s quality time with family.
Choose your own benchmark
The key is that no one can really tell you if you’re successful, or not. Only you can determine that, using your own benchmark. A problem I see, all-too-often, is when I see someone trying to achieve what they perceive to be someone else’s success. It may be trying to do a certain number of weddings or events, or reaching a certain dollar value of sales. Read More
I’m just getting back from another successful Wedding MBA conference, and I was reflecting on the many, many conversations I had with wedding pros, like you. A common theme was that it would be so much easier if brides and grooms would just get on the phone with you. Many wedding pros were reminiscing of the days when your phones were ringing off the hook with inquiring couples – and that’s when I popped your nostalgia bubble. In the digitally connected world we live in, while there is an occasional phone inquiry, most of your initial contact comes via email, text or a contact form.
If you’re like many wedding and event pros, it was your creativity that brought you into the industry, not your business acumen. To have a successful business, you need both. There are lots of hobbyists who are very creative. Once you decide to sell your products or services, you need to develop your business skills and an understanding of the many ways to measure your success. 
a brain stimulant and meditation for me. When I’m doing a puzzle my mind is focused, not wandering or multi-tasking. What’s your diversion? For some of you it’s Sudoku, or maybe a game on your phone or tablet. For others it may be yoga, or reading a book.
I’m a happily married man. So, when something goes wrong, it’s always my fault. That may sound like a joke, but accepting responsibility when there’s a problem is a major step towards getting past it. Rather than trying to find blame, we try to find solutions. Chapter 15 of 
to add a new service or product to someone’s offerings. Of course, the answer will be different for each business, but we’re very fortunate to be in the wedding and event business. Why, you ask? It’s because of the lead time between when they book versus when the wedding or event will happen. Rather than investing in the new product or service, especially one that’s capital-intensive (code for significant financial investment), why not try a different approach?
online ad profiles. It still amazes me at how many wedding and event pros are using the wrong images to promote their businesses. For years, I’ve been saying to use, what I call, Aspirational Images; images that show your prospective clients what the result of doing business with you looks like. When possible, make them so beautiful and emotional, that someone viewing it would want to jump into that photo and be a part of the fun, excitement, and emotion of that event.
The battery on my iPhone dies faster when I wear my Apple watch. That’s a classic example of a “first-world problem”. If you’ve never heard the expression, a “first-world problem” is something that a person in a third-world (developing world) country would never say, and probably wouldn’t understand. People who are wondering if they’re going to eat today aren’t worried about having “nothing good to watch on TV tonight”.