by Danielle Andrews, BA, WPICC, DWC, President of The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada Inc.
In my opinion, there has been a strange phenomena in the Wedding Industry lately. I have seen a few people trying to sell their “Wedding Pro Courses” or “Coaching Services” by claiming they were self-taught, which is:
- one, not something to boast about,
- two, terrifying,
- three, hurting them more than giving clout, and,
- four, blatantly false (we signed their certificate, lol).
Like every other professional in the world, they gained experience on the job, and that is a very important part of becoming a professional, but before gaining experience, theory and knowledge are essential. If theory wasn’t important, they wouldn’t be selling it in their course 😉
How many professions do you know of that you finish your course and you can start a business and not have to learn more on the job? Do Doctors finish school and start performing independent surgeries, or do they intern? Do lawyers finish school and start practicing, or do they article? How much faith would you have in a self-taught, non-licensed electrician?
Claiming to be uneducated is a deterrent to today’s generation:
70% of Wedding clients are Millennials. 68% of Millennials have a Post-Secondary Degree. Soon our clients are going to be the Gen Zers, the most educated generation in history! Your potential clients not only respect education, they expect it, so claiming to be self-taught is actually a deterrent.
Credentials, training and experience are what couples are looking for. So shout your credentials from the rooftop!
Attend a Workshop? Post some photos. Take a webinar, blog about it. Go to a conference, post, post, post. Investing in yourself and your continued education and knowledge is attractive to potential clients, so showcase it as much as possible, don’t hide it.
Yes, you learn a lot from actually working on weddings. Everyone has to gain hands-on experience. But you learn theory, best-practices, laws and legalities and gain other priceless knowledge in class, and that is something that can not be replaced or skipped.
Here is a link to the courses offered to wedding professionals through WPIC.
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