Ok, I’m not gonna lie, 2010 was an odd year for me.  Lots of highs and lows, both in my personal life and in business.  Nothing majorly bad happened, in fact I think the year ended with much promise for 2011.  But the process of getting through the year…ugh!  I feel like I worked harder than I ever have.  Ultimately, I think I needed to go through this time of “famine” so that I would know what I really wanted my business to be like during a “feast”.

First, a little backstory…I almost closed my business half way through 2009, when I was alerted by my son’s teacher that he seemed to have learning disabilities, possibly even dyslexia.  I immediately took time off to look into this and how we could manage the disabilities, initially thinking to close up shop and be a stay at home mom again.  A few months into my research, I realized things were not as bad as they seemed and I opted to simply not book anymore weddings for the year.  As a result of this temporary closing and the decline in the economy, I started 2010 with only one wedding booked.  It would have been a stunning event, in one of my favorite Southern cities – Charleston, S.C.  However, in early March, my client wrote to say they had just paid for an unexpected major home repair and would need to cancel.  I still had no client prospects on the horizon, and with no income, my options for attracting clients were limited.  It was around this time that I emailed a desperate plea for a scholarship opportunity to a high end wedding conference.  It was pretty pathetic, an all time low for me, and a downer I’m sure for those who read and chose the scholarship recipients.

William Aiken House in Charleston, S.C. Photo taken on a venue search for my client in October, 2009.

So, I did the only thing I could think of to do.  I decided to press on, give it another six months and see where things go.  I began working on all those projects that you wish you had time for when you are busy with clients.  You know, tweaking my website content and design, working on my marketing materials, checking my listing on wedding and bridal sites, catching up on filing, etc.  And I put a lot of work and heart into The Stylish Planner.  It paid off, as hard work usually does.

In April, I attended Eventology for the second time.  It was great to catch up with those I had met the previous year and to make new connections.  The positive feedback I received for The Stylish Planner encouraged me so much and fueled me to work harder and continue providing great content.

Eventology 2010

As soon as I returned from Indianapolis, I dove into a photo shoot I was planning for a private farm in North Georgia.  The owners were looking to open to the public and I had been working with them since December 2009, offering advice and sharing ideas on pricing and marketing.  The photos from the shoot would be used on the website, marketing materials and advertising.  It was a great opportunity to spread my wings on a styled shoot and I had assembled an amazing group of vendors to partner with.  Here are a couple of my favorite photos of our work:

Photo by Ben Vigil Photographers

Photo by Ben Vigil Photographers

The shoot turned out to be a wonderful success and I really enjoyed the process.  If you’d like to see more, Ami of Elizabeth Anne Designs was kind enough to feature the shoot back in November, 2010 – check it out here.   My wonderful friend and the talented photographer responsible for the images, Ben Vigil recently posted some of his favorite photos from the shoot here.

Finally, as April came to a close, I had a couple of consultations.  I booked a month of consulting client for a June wedding.  May turned out to be a promising and fun month, starting out with the Grace Ormonde book signing party in Atlanta at the St. Regis Hotel.  The very same week, I had the pleasure of seeing Grace again as I attended a FAM trip in Vero Beach, Florida with other wedding planners from around the country.  Again, this time with other professionals served to encourage me and I was relieved to hear that others were experiencing challenges as well.

Jeannine with Grace Ormonde in Vero Beach

Also in May, I saw that my friend, Kelly McWilliams (another connection made at the first annual Eventology conference) was planning a wedding conference in SW Florida called WeWed and that she was looking for speakers.  I had been in the process of developing material for a one day workshop on style and image, so I decided to put my name in the hat for a speaker opportunity.  While I was waiting to hear back from Kelly, I booked two full service Georgia destination weddings for 2011.  Things were definitely looking up!

After almost a year of things being relatively calm, June proved to be hectic.  I presented The Style Plan for the first time at WeWed in SW FLorida to a fantastic group of passionate wedding vendors.  Bonus: I got to hang out with fellow speakers, Elisa Delgardio and Saundra Hadley.  Kelly McWilliams, the conference producer, organized a bridal panel that we were able to ask all kinds of questions from and receive their honest feedback – so genius.  Thanks so much, Kelly, for taking a chance on me and providing me with my first wedding industry speaking opportunity!

Speakers at WeWed 2010. Photo by Ashley Brockinton.com

I returned from Florida with just a couple of days to prepare for my first wedding of the year – yes, in June.  Natalya was such a sweet young lady and her wedding was beautiful.  I am so grateful to have been a part of it.

Natalya & Jerry - Wedding at The Greystone

Just a few weeks after the Greystone wedding, StudioWed Atlanta hosted the first official Style Plan workshop.  This was definitely a great day spent with my local area vendors.  Thanks so much to my friend, Michelle Gainey for hosting the event.  Here is a great photo of our day shot by Janet Howard.

The Style Plan - Atlanta

In July, I traveled to the Nashville StudioWed location to present The Style Plan.  It was such a full day that I forgot to take a photo or ask any of the photographers that attended to take one.  I definitely regret that now!

One of the best social events for the wedding industry took place in July.  The Say Yes To The Dress Premiere Party was a great success, held at the newly opened 200 Peachtree building, that was formerly the Macy’s store in downtown Atlanta.  I really had a great time at this event!

Jeannine with Lisa Zachary of Papered Wonders

Summer turned to Fall and in September I was really thrilled when Katasha Butler asked me to be a guest speaker at Eventology 2011.  Seriously, this made my year!  I can’t tell you how excited I am to present The Style Plan (with lots of new content) in April this year.  Are you going to Eventology 2011?  There’s a reason this conference has sold out the last two years, so sign up now!

September continued to be great because I also booked a couple of month of consulting clients.  One for the small wedding of a family friend the weekend after Thanksgiving.  The other for a January, 2011 wedding at Atlanta History Center, one of my favorite Atlanta venues.  Luisa & Morgan’s wedding was so beautiful.  I need to blog it on the FAVOR Events blog, but here’s a peek:

Luisa & Morgan's Wedding at Atlanta History Center

October came with some disappointment.  The private farm venue I had been working with decided not to open to the public.  I had put a lot of work and heart into helping open this venue, not to mention, the loss of potential income.  I hardly blame the owners for not opening, though.  The property is a real gem and I’m not sure I would feel completely comfortable sharing it if it were mine.  Fortunately, October also brought with it a new client, whose wedding I just found out will be filmed for television!  Keep your fingers crossed that it makes the cut – it will be a very unique wedding and it would be great PR for myself and the other vendors.

November continued to look up.  I spoke at the first annual Social Media Atlanta conference on Social Media Reputation Management.  You can view my slideshow here if you are interested.  I really enjoyed presenting this content, and it was great to be speaking to people both in and outside of the wedding industry.

Jeannine presenting at Social Media Atlanta 2010

A couple of weeks after presenting at Social Media Atlanta, I was really honored to be asked to speak at the membership meeting of the Atlanta Chapter of Association of Bridal Consultants.  I spoke on image and how it directly relates to financial and professional success.  I enjoyed attending this meeting so much that I am now in the application process to become an ABC member.

I was glad to end November with a bang.  I had a blast being the coordinator for my first wedding reception held in a bar!  A childhood friend of mine finally tied the knot.  James (I call him Bubba) married Angel in a lovely church in Cartersville, Georgia and their reception was held in a historic building in the downtown area called City Cellar & Loft.  We basically took over the loft and created a really fun evening for them (and us!).

Angel and James Wedding at City Cellar Loft

December was quiet, and I honestly am thankful for that.  My husband, son, and I all got the flu the week before Christmas and it really had us down for the count!  Just before the bug hit, however, I was fortunate enough to attend the first LAVISH conference hosted by Shameeka Ayers, aka The Broke Socialite.  LAVISH was a really fantastic conference, I especially enjoyed that most of the attendees were not in the wedding industry.  This really allowed me to look at blogging with fresh eyes.  My favorite presenter was Grace Bonney of Design Sponge.  I walked away from her session knowing what I need to do to take The Stylish Planner to the next level.

I somehow managed to avoid having any photos taken of me, except for this one.  Of course there is food involved!

My love affair with cupcakes does not cease, even for the LAVISH Conference!

I ended 2010 with five clients for 2011, most of which are full service contracts.  I hope to book 2 or 3 more, but a part of me is already thinking of projects to work on in case I don’t.  Having a second means of revenue beyond weddings has been such a blessing for me, not to mention, a great way to fuel my passion.  I really encourage you to think outside the box and explore other income opportunities, either in or outside of the wedding industry.

Many of you participated in the Stylish Planner survey at the end of December, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  The honest feedback resulted in major changes that you will begin to see this month.  I will post a formal announcement of the changes on Monday, February 7, so watch your Google Reader for those details.

Believe it or not, there is a moral to this terribly long story.  The biggest lesson to come out of 2010 for me?

If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.

I was shown in 2010 that my place in this world is not to be the most well known or most successful planner in Atlanta.  I once thought that was what I wanted, but honestly, the price is too high – and I’m not talking about money here.  I do not really desire to do the most number of weddings, work with the largest budgets, produce the biggest event, be #1 on the Knot.com, have the most weddings published, etc.  Because while I am trying to achieve those things, life is passing me by.  My son is growing and learning.  My husband is achieving career successes or undergoing career woes, just like me, and I am too self-involved to notice and be supportive.   I want the time and freedom to explore other ideas and pursue other interests.  As far as weddings go, I just want to produce a manageable number of great weddings for really warm and wonderful people, regardless of their budget or guest count.  I recently set a goal to retire at age 50, so I have some time left in this industry.  There is still time for me to grow my business, but it isn’t now.  In addition to learning what I really want my business to be, I ended 2010 with several smaller lessons too:

1)  Persevere.  Work your business everyday, even if the contracts run out.

2)  This too shall pass, and there is a lesson to be learned from “this”.  Don’t miss it.

3)  Hard work does pay off.  Just trust me on this one, but you’ll begin to see that as you persevere.  I know that some of you needed to hear that right now!

4)  You win some, you lose some.  Move on.  I was reminded that I am not “the golden child” – sometimes bad things happen – get over it.  But most importantly, what “good” can I glean from that negative experience?

5)  Being debt free opens doors you cannot otherwise imagine.  If I did need to close my business today, it would break my heart, of course, but I would not owe a penny.  There is so much freedom in that.

Grace and peace,

Jeannine

On thing I love about meeting fellow planners is the passion we have for what we do.  I have yet to meet a planner who is not excited about her work.  I also love that every planner has a particular area of focus or an additional “project” that she is working on in addition to planning and coordination.  I believe we are that way because we are constantly fueled by using our creative brain.  I really get excited to hear what another planner is doing in their city.  Planners are some of the most creative business women, and are incredibly resourceful.

I shared last night and I don’t mind sharing here that my business is not what I had hoped for this year.  In fact, I started 2010 with only one wedding on the calendar that by February was cancelled.  I felt like a complete failure.  It seemed everyone around me had clients out the wazoo.  I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong, or how some people have more business than they can handle while others are acting desperately to get new business.  I’ve done a lot of soul searching this year and one thing I finally realized is that I CANNOT compare myself to others.  So what if ABC Weddings has 27 clients for 2010?  I don’t even want that many clients, so why do I feel jealous that they do?  It’s ridiculous, really, and it was bringing me down.

I’m happy to say things are picking up.  More than I’d imagine that they would, in fact – and it’s happening very quickly.  There is no rhyme or reason to the sudden activity, as far as I can tell.  I didn’t cut my prices, didn’t increase my blog activity, in fact I didn’t do anything except keep plugging along.  I resolved to still be here, to still be standing when the economy takes a turn for the better, and I resolved to “outlive” the newbie’s on the scene.  My recent clients came to me from different avenues, one from a caterer, one through a soon to be summer intern, one from a past wedding, etc.  This literally happened over the course of a couple of days.  I told my husband I felt as though it was raining blessings directly down on me – finally.  I can only attribute it to answered prayers and the fact that I consistently worked by business, even when there were no clients to work on.

During the soul searching process, I did a lot of thinking.  I reflected back on the early stages of my business.  I wanted to grow, grow, grow.  How many weddings could I feasibly do in one year?  Every day I was calculating new figures for possible income goals.  I made a lot of mistakes, including targeting the wrong market, taking out advertising I couldn’t really afford in order to reach the wrong market (it didn’t work), hiring staff to work with clients so that I could pursue new business, etc.  The recession has made me see things very differently, and I’m honestly very grateful for it.  I now have very clear ideas of what success means to me.  I’m a better business woman for having to work through this difficult time.  It has made me more intentional.

Today, success to me does not have a hard and fast dollar amount associated with it.  Success for me is doing about 10 weddings a year, with a good mix of month of and full service planning and coordination options.  Success to me means there is time in my day to be a good mom and prepare a meal for my family on most nights.  Success means that I take the time to call a friend and catch up because wow, I really miss her and I want her to know it – and besides, I actually have a half an hour to spare!  Success to me means taking off the month of July to spend time with my son and taking December off to savor and enjoy the Christmas Holiday and really connect with the people that I love.  Success to me means having time to pursue my other projects such as writing for The Stylish Planner and consulting with venues on how to better generate wedding business.  I actually feel more successful now than I did when the calendar was full – I was chasing unrealistic goals.

I think we could all benefit from defining our own success instead of comparing ourselves to others.  Don’t allow the goals of others define your business goals.  Success is different to every person and just because your goals may seem smaller than the next planner’s goals, it doesn’t mean you aren’t successful.  Are you fulfilled?  Are you passionate about what you do?  Then you’re successful. Don’t forget that.

Tell me what success means to you.  I’d love to hear about your business!

1)  I always ask what time of day is best for the client and then determine a suitable location from their response.  If they say morning or mid-afternoon is best, meeting for coffee is the obvious choice.  I often suggest coffee shops other than Starbuck’s, so checkout your local independent coffee shops via Yelp for something a little more interesting .  Because coffee shops can get ridiculously crowded and noisy, I suggest arriving 15 minutes early to scope out a couple of good seats.  If you prefer Starbuck’s, they definitely have a couple of things going for them…1) they’re everywhere and 2) you can download a free iPhone app from iTunes to search for the nearest mutual location for you and your client.

Octane Coffee – Atlanta

2)  A second option for client meeting locations is a wedding/event studio.  Many cities have one or more independent studios, but you are probably most familiar with Bridal Bar and StudioWed.  Studios are incredibly convenient for both the bride and the vendor.  As an exclusive vendor of a studio, (meaning you have contracted with the studio and pay monthly fees) you have access to the studio, other vendors, use of mailing address, are included in the advertising and website and so much more.  When you need to schedule a meeting, you can call in or login online to reserve a meeting space for your date and time.  The bride/client has vendors from all categories at her fingertips.  Not a member of a wedding studio?  That’s ok too – in some cases, studios will allow you to meet with clients in the space, as long as you refer your client to the exclusive vendors.  For additional details of studio membership, please check out the Bridal Bar and Studio Wed websites.

Studio Wed Atlanta

3)  Another option to consider is a professional meeting center, executive suites or virtual office.  While there are several companies in most cities, offering a variety of services, perhaps the most popular company is Regus Business Centers.  Regus offers a virtual office service starting at $99 per month, depending on your city and location chosen.  Benefits include:  Professional business address to use as your own; a dedicated local phone number and receptionist to answer in your company name; mail collection and handling; two days of private office access each month in your home center; discounts on products and services, plus unlimited access to 1000 business lounges and cafés worldwide.

Regus: Atlantic Station – 17th Street in Midtown

4)  If sharing a meal seems like the way to go, a great option is to meet in your favorite restaurant.  Choose a place that has wonderful food, great service, and make a reservation in advance.  If you have your favorite waiter or waitress, feel free to ask to be seated in their area.  Also, choose a location that is easily accessible, and has nearby, secure, complimentary parking.  Unless your client has a flexible work schedule, lunch should be ruled out, especially for a first meeting.  I feel strongly that one hour is not enough time to get to know one another, connect, discuss details for the event and enjoy your meal.  If lunch will not work, dinner is a great way to go, if this works within your budget and circumstances.  For instance, I only accept a limited number of weddings each year, and I carefully pre-screen potential clients to determine if they will be a good fit for FAVOR Events, so I don’t mind springing for lunch or dinner at a nice restaurant in order to win a client.  I should also add that currently, my overhead is low – no rent, minimal advertising, etc. so I can afford to do this occasionally.  If you’ve found a great restaurant that you like, especially if it meets the criteria I mentioned above, also consider the restaurant bar as a possible after hours meeting spot.  You’ll get the same great service and amenities for a fraction of the price of dinner.  

My favorite – Dogwood Restaurant in Atlanta

5)  The best possible scenario (in my opinion) is to be invited to a client (or potential client’s) home.  This option is wonderful because the client will be relaxed, there should be very little distraction, and in general you can make a great connection this way.  Meeting in a client’s home will give you a sense of their favorite colors and fabrics.  This can be extremely helpful to you in designing their wedding or event.  I always make a point to bring a bottle of wine, flowers, or chocolates as a token of gratitude for their hospitality.

6)  Don’t forget your vendor/venue relationships.  Many photographers, caterers, bakeries, etc. have their own space and would welcome you with open arms in exchange for an introduction to your client.  If you know in advance the venue the client has chosen or is interested in seeing, call to set up a site visit and ask if there is a space you and the client could meet in before or after.  Whether or not the client books the vendor whose space you are meeting in, the vendor will really appreciate your thinking of them and will most likely reciprocate with a future referral to you.

What is your favorite location to meet with a client?  I’d love to hear any unique ideas you have!