How You May be Hurting Your Business

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

Okay people, I’m going to be blunt here…

Those in the wedding industry face a lot of challenges.  Our clients can be fickle, our competitors jealous and trends change as quickly as the seasons, but sometimes the biggest challenge to your business, is you.

Ways you may be hurting your business:

Ego
The wedding industry is a creative business, people’s egos can often get in the way of their success.  One thing I’ve noticed though, the more a person brags or acts like they have an ego, the less successful they actually are.  I like the saying, “The larger a person’s head, the easier it is to fill their shoes.”  When people are confident in their work and in themselves, they don’t need to brag or to have an ego.  It’s the people who feel they need to prove themselves that are the most insecure and anyone who has tasted success knows this to be true.  So the next time you start bragging, remember the only one you are fooling, is yourself.

Saying “I’m too busy!” 
Posting about how busy you are, how many emails you have or how you have absolutely no time for anything on your Facebook or Twitter feeds, hurts you in a number of ways.

1. People think you are bragging (because you are).
2. People think you are lying.
3. It makes you seem overwhelmed and that you can’t handle your work.  Other vendors will stop referring you for fear you won’t provide proper customer service.
4. It makes potential clients think you won’t have time for them.
5. It makes you seem out of touch with just how busy the rest of the world is.

So the long and short of it is, you think you are making yourself seem successful, but really, you are making yourself look bad.  Really bad. If you have more work than you can manage, hire an employee, learn to say no or simplify the way you do business. Otherwise you aren’t that successful, you have a time management problem, just sayin’.

Here are some tips about learning to say no and managing your time.

Gossiping
This is something we have addressed time and again.  Quit bashing your peers, it just makes you look envious.  Time you spend talking about others, is time you should be spending on your clients or on your business.  Don’t you remember how busy you are??

Not Networking
It is impossible to survive in the Wedding Industry while living in a bubble.  You need to get out to industry events and meet other industry people.  You will be amazed at how many connections you can make, new ideas and trends you will get to hear about and experience and how many people will send you business from these networking opportunities.  Click for Tips about how to network.

Thinking Your Education is Finished
The Wedding Industry changes daily.  There are always new ideas, new players and news ways of doing business.  If you do not keep up with the industry through event and wedding conferences, wedding education, social media, print publications, Blogs, industry events, etc., the industry could pass you by.

Being Complacent
Never get comfortable. How many versions of iPads and iPhones have been released in the last two years?  BlackBerry didn’t update themselves and  they lost their market.  BlockBuster refused to digitize until it was too late and they went bankrupt.  You need to constantly be updating your website, Blog, Social Media, and Marketing to stay relevant.

Forgetting Your Brand or Not Having One
Your clients need to know who you are and that needs to stay consistent.  From your website, to your Social Media, to your marketing, to your customer service, to your office, to how you dress.  You need to be showing the world the same image everywhere.

Undercutting, Offering Sales, or a Group-pricing Discount
If you do not value the service you provide, why would anyone else?  If Hermes decided to sell their un-sold Kelly bags on eBay for $150, would you still hold them in the same esteem?  Then why are you offering a Groupon for a $2500 service for $400?  Why would or should anyone pay you full price again?  You are telling people that you feel you usually charge too much, you don’t have confidence in your abilities, or you are going to offer shoddy service to those who pay less.

When you discount and undervalue your services you not only hurt your business, you hurt the industry as a whole.

Giving it Away for Free
Sponsoring your service or product at an industry event is a great way to advertise to those in the events industry, but it’s costing you money.  It may be your service or product but it is still costing you money in time, material, labour, etc.  Likewise with giving advice or consulting with friends.  You get paid for your ideas and suggestions and they need to respect that.  Sponsor one time or give one piece of advice and then expect payment the next time.

Not Minding Your Finances
You can be the best wedding vendor in the world and have clients coming out your ears, but if you don’t manage your finances and pay your taxes, you could be up the river, fast.  I’m going to do a Blog post on just this topic, but I wanted to mention it here.  Make sure you are watching your income, your expenses and recording everything.  Set aside funds for income taxes, or set yourself up as an employee and submit your tax remittance each month.