As we all know, the wedding industry is one of the most competitive industries out there. Whether you’re a seasoned wedding professional or a wedding professional-to-be, chances are you already know how difficult it can be to stand out from the crowd!

That’s why, as an entrepreneur, you need to be intentional about your growth. There are certain tactics you can put into place to keep growing your business and establishing yourself in your market, no matter how saturated the industry may seem. With these tactics in place, you can make smart decisions and create a solid foundation for growth.

Here are four essential tips I have for doing exactly that!

Tip 1: Increase your visibility on social media

Gone are the days when you could open your business and reserve an ad spot in a local or national publication to gain awareness about your business. Though some people might think, “ah yes, those were the good ol’ days,” I would argue that social media is a benefit for us wedding professionals.

Though I can understand the appeal of not thinking about content creation, we’ve eliminated the middle man with social media. Becoming visible to audiences as a professional wedding planner is easier than ever because we can talk directly to our ideal clients, create rapport with them, a genuine connection, and immediately establish our authority in our space!

The only trickier part is that you have to make your ideal clients aware that you exist. With the right strategy in place, this won’t be as challenging as you might think! If you want to learn how to create a strategy that will attract your ideal clients, read this blog post where I talk about my 2022 Instagram strategy and why you need to think about your Instagram as a funnel.

Tip 2: Build relationships with vendors

Believe it or not, social media isn’t the only way to earn success as a wedding professional. You also need to leverage your network! Vendor relationships are the lifeblood of a long-time successful business. While you may not love networking events, they are a necessary piece of the puzzle for building your brand and reputation.

Here are some tips on how to make the most out of your time at a networking event:

• Know who you’re trying to meet when you’re at the event
• Use the power of connection by asking a mutual friend to introduce you to someone you want to meet
• Follow-up after the networking event

I know networking can be challenging at first, but the more you practice and get yourself out there, I promise the more comfortable you’ll become! Head over to this podcast episode to learn more about my best tips for networking like a boss!

Tip 3: Price your services fairly

If I could single out the number one reason why wedding pros burn out, it would be they aren’t charging enough for their services. And this happens for a few reasons, with these three being the main ones:

• They feel they’ve become known for a certain type of clientele and are nervous to change their prices because of that
• They’re at the beginning of their business and need all the clients they can get
• They want to stay competitive

However, this leads to wedding professionals doing too much work for too little money. The consequence? They end up having to close shop because they can’t keep up with the demand while also trying to grow their business.

Don’t let this be you!

Price your packages to reflect the amount of work and time you put into each of your products, the hard costs, and your personal expertise. This will ensure your business is around for years to come! And just as importantly, you’ll have a healthier work-life balance.

Tip 4: Delegate your tasks to team members

As your wedding business starts to grow (yay!), the next step is to find tasks and projects that can be delegated to a team.

At first, this might be a contractor like a virtual assistant or social media manager, but as your business grows more, you’ll want to build a team that can walk with you. This will help you grow your brand, fill in necessary roles, and step back from the day-to-day!

The key for any great leader is to train well, set clear expectations, trust your people, correct them when needed, and then let them fly!

Final thoughts about growing your wedding business

If you’re feeling motivated to get started on these four tips to grow your wedding business, I invite you to check out the resources I offer on the CEO Learning Hub! In the hub, you’ll find templates, self-paced courses, 1:1 business strategy sessions, and opportunities to form a community to help point you in the right direction!