Starting a new business and building it from the ground up can seem like an impossible task. Even with no direct experience, you can successfully start a brand-new business. You’ll need patience, investments or other funding, and talent to start a wedding planning business. The best wedding planners are well-organized, pay attention to details, and keep their client’s best interests at heart. If you’ve got a passion for the industry and the determination to make it happen, check out this guide on how to start a wedding planning business.
Gain some experience
Whether this means planning your own or a close friend’s wedding, or even apprenticing under an established wedding planner, getting a wedding or two under your belt can help build your career’s momentum. Many brides-to-be will be hesitant to hire a wedding planner that has never planned a wedding before, so getting as much (most likely unpaid) experience as you can before launching your own business could really make a big difference in the growing pains stage of your business.
Build your brand
Even before you officially launch your business, begin to build a brand for it. You need a website that is well-built, easy to navigate, and that reflects the type of wedding planner you are. Couples are trusting you with one of the biggest events of their lives and will want to do the proper online deep dive to ensure that your business is trustworthy. A sketchy website or the lack of one can seriously hurt your business. At this stage you should also begin to develop a social media presence and find creative ways to market your business. These tactics are sure to get your name out there and help you build brand recognition within the industry.
Figure out funding
Starting any business takes a bit of seed money. Luckily, a wedding planning business doesn’t require a brick and mortar shop, so you can forego the real estate costs and focus on branding, marketing, and building a network of trustworthy vendors. Many people choose to take out a loan, while others focus their efforts in finding investors. However you decide to fund your business, be realistic with the numbers. Figure out how much you need to get started and then go from there.
Find your first few customers
Finding your first customers is the biggest roadblock for many new wedding planners. Couples are wary of taking a risk on a fresh planner and are often going to need a push to take a chance on you. Consider offering hefty discounts to friends of friends and local couples until you have a few weddings under your belt and in your portfolio. Word of mouth is one of your most valuable networking tools.
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