Jessica Unfiltered: Part Two
Hey, y’all! Welcome to more questions for Jess! If you haven’t read my FAQ’s from a few weeks ago, make sure to check out Part I of this post here. To read more business questions and my unfiltered answers (yes, I’m getting real with you all) keep reading!
What would you say to people who want to start an event planning business? What’s the key to success?
To anyone who is looking to get a foot in the door in the wedding industry, I would recommend freelancing and working for someone else first. You need to be sure that you really want to own your own business, not just do event planning work. I’ve had someone go through my course, The Business Behind the Blooms, and realize she didn’t actually want to own her own business at all, she just wanted to freelance for other designers. I also had another Bloomer decide not to continue with her own business. She is now happier and makes more money! Before you commit to owning your own business, make sure you’re committed to the business aspect, and not just what you think the event planning work will look like.If you want ALL my secrets to success, you have to check out my tell-all business course, The Business Behind the Blooms. I share literally everything that I did to create a successful floral design and event planning business.
I’ve been hearing a lot about honeybook? Is this a service you use/recommend?
I know a lot of people who use and love honeybook! I personally do not. We’ve created our own systems that work for us. I want our proposals, invoices, and documents to be completely personal to our brand, and with so many people using and loving honeybook, I feel like we can maintain some of that individuality by creating our own templates and systems.
Do you like living in Arkansas? I sometimes struggle with living in a small town because I don’t feel like I can dream as big.
Why should where you live have any influence on what you dream or even what dreams you turn into reality? Very few people in my small town have any idea what I really do day-to-day. They don’t need to! Your neighbors don’t need to understand what you do in order for you to be successful.
If where you live is genuinely impacting your ability to run a profitable business, then that’s a different question.
I think the real question here is this: Are you using ‘dreaming’ and your small town atmosphere as an excuse for why you haven’t taken steps to make your dreams a reality?
I’m about to qualify as a florist in June. Would you have any advice for me?
I’m not positive what it means to “qualify as a florist,” so I’m just going to answer this as best I can! I’m going to assume it means that you’ve completed a floral education or training program. If so, congratulations! That’s so exciting!
The first thing I would do is freelance for other designers. That way, you can gain real wedding experience and discern which aspects of wedding work you enjoy. I think a big mistake would be to assume you should open your own floral design studio right off the bat. Just because you love floral design doesn’t mean you’ll love owning your own business! If you want a deeper look at what owning a floral design business looks like, check out my business course, The Business Behind the Blooms. Not only will this give you a great foundation if you do decide to open your own studio, but it can show you how to find a thriving business when you’re looking for freelance jobs.
How did you come up with your event design/planning pricing?
I don’t want to get into this too much, because this is information that I keep pretty exclusive to those who take my course. But, I will say, you can’t price based on what people around you are charging, or what anyone has told you to charge.
When I first acquired an event rentals business, I charged what the owner before me had always charged. Until I realized we were losing buckets of money! If you’re not pricing for profits, what’s the point?
I think as creative business owners, we can sometimes feel apologetic about charging people and making money. But why? I don’t have to feel embarrassed that the money I make from my business pays for my studio, or allows me to purchase the goods needed to execute a wedding, or funds my paycheck. And that my paycheck feeds my family or clothes my children or pays for my mortgage. Those are normal byproducts of any functioning business, and creative businesses are no different!
I’ve loved having the extra space to answer your questions. Sometimes we all just need a safe place to ask questions and get (hopefully) helpful answers! Did these FAQ’s spark a question in you? Drop it below! I’d love to answer more questions in the future.