Check out the recent Instagram Live I recorded below. I’m stressing why it is so important to keep your personal and business financials separate. Click play to find out why!
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Isn't it much more interesting when things don't all perfectly match? I believe this to be true in vessels, floral arrangements, candles, bouquets, and boutonnières. I remember the first time I told a mother of the bride that the boutonnières wouldn’t all be the same, but yet a collection of different flowers that complimented each other.
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Zimmerman Events featured on American Express: Employee Retention: 7 Signs of Employees at Risk for Quitting
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Before Brian and I had kids, we took a month off and backpacked Europe. I remember someone telling us, "Enjoy this while you can because once you have kids there will be no more of this."
I've never been particularly good at listening to people like this, people who live their lives with such limitations.
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What if I told you that five minutes a day, five days a week for the next six months could fill your calendar with brides ready to book for the next three years?
Let me tell you a story.
In 2011, two seemingly unrelated yet significant things happened. First, I bought a business that primarily served the wedding industry. Second, Pinterest launched and the wedding business changed forever.
I. Hated. Pinterest.
The economic downturn of 2008 caused tighter budgets, which forced many brides to consider DIYing their own weddings. Pinterest taught them how.
I know I lost a bunch of weddings in the early 2010’s thanks to Pinterest. I bet y’all did too. When I saw an empty bank account, I looked for someone to blame. I found Pinterest.
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“I”m not really a sales person. I love my work, but I hate the sales process.”
Can you relate to that feeling? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that same refrain from mentees, friends, and fellow floral designers.
In my experience, it seems that women, creatives, and especially female creatives have a harder time feeling confident making a sale. They tend to feel apologetic, hesitant, and uncomfortable when asking clients to pay them what they’re worth.
Here’s the truth: if you can’t make the sale, you’re not a business owner, you’re a hobbyist. And you have a VERY expensive hobby. So what can you do to change those limiting mindsets, and confidently make the sale every time?
Here’s what works for me.
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This is our exact planning client contract for 2018. I ask myself after every wedding we do, “What did I like and what didn’t I like?”
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It was 2014, I was working sixteen hour days, I had a sweet baby girl who barely recognized me, and my dream of owning my own business was quickly turning into a nightmare.
When I acquired an event rental business that sometimes did florals, I was thrilled to finally own my own business. It was a dream come true. In my mind, owning my own business gave me the freedom I wanted to make my own schedule, be a present parent, and have something that was all my own.
It there anything more frustrating than when dreams don’t match up with reality?
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Savannah, Georgia was a perfect and stunning location for this bridal photoshoot! Read more and see more pictures of this photoshoot here.
“We featured Bailey's beautiful Arkansas wedding to James earlier in the week, and today we're back with these gorgeous bridals, again by Arkansas wedding photographer ERIN WILSON,
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All my life, I knew I wanted to own my own business. To me, entrepreneurship meant…
Creating my own schedule
Working for myself
Being a present parent
Summer vacations
Instead, a few years into owning a wedding rental business, and I felt…
Tired
Broke
Unknown by my daughter
Disappointed in myself
And I knew something had to change. So I invested one year and $10,000 into educating myself on how to run a profitable business. Not only did that year revive my business, allow me to shift my focus to floral design, and create a seven figure business, but it awakened in me a passion for education.
I know that a lot of you have had a hard time with bookings this year.
You're frustrated by the types of clients you're attracting, you're tired of getting price shopped and ghosted, or you just can't get anyone interested in what you're offering. First I want to say, you're not crazy. Some of the biggest names in the wedding industry are right where you are. I know because they've told me.
This year is just a WEIRD year.
I wish I could hug your neck and sit down with each of you and let you vent. And then I'd tell you exactly what to do to get out of this rut. Since I can't, I'll first just tell you here and now that you're not alone. And secondly, I'll tell you about an online training I created to help you solve this problem.
One of my favorite things about floral design is that every designer has a signature style. When a bride sends me an inspiration image, I can usually immediately guess who designed the arrangement.
While I think it’s so important to stay true to your individual aesthetic, it’s also so essential to learn from industry experts! You don’t want to imitate their style, but you might learn some tips and tricks that you can add to your designer toolbox and help you hone in on your own signature style.
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