Are you a person who can always find opportunities around yourself? I am and I always love dreaming about how to bring these opportunities to life. Inspirations, ideas, whatever you choose to call them – they are the driving force that gives life to entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams. I think people do have unlimited creativity, it is just a matter of tapping into it. It all goes down to proper planning and strategy so that you also know what to do with this abundance of creativity.
Do you usually set a cap on your working hours or meetings with clients? If you come from a CPA background like me, deadline is deadline. Setting a cap on working hours will just like turn off the thinking engine. We get used to meeting each tax deadline, the Annual General Meeting deadline, month end closing deadline etc. And in wedding planning, our deadline is “the wedding day”, and no matter what has been left unfinished or unchecked, it will be our job to get it completed. The show must go on. The couples, their families, and the guests might not see what happens behind the stage (and often you don’t want them to), but they will be the ones enjoying their big day without having to worry (we do all the worrying for them).
And that’s also the reason I love keep dreaming and throw out my ideas for sharing. Tapping into our creativity is one of the essential elements of brainstorming ideas with my colleague. After having spent the first two years getting into the nitty-gritty side of things in terms of running the business, and for me, also juggling raising a child at home; it was time we introduced something new and refreshing. We felt it was time for a change and we needed a new revenue source that would not lead to burn-out. So we asked ourselves: “How can we generate extra revenue that will enable us to work shorter hours?” This led to us thinking about what actually troubles wedding couples the most. The answer: They don’t even know how to get started with the planning of their weddings.
Although there were (and still are) plenty of wedding blogs, magazines, and forums to choose from, couples still found it difficult because this led to information overflow. Readers can find all this information overwhelming and confusing. Because we had the necessary knowledge to plan a wedding and access to a vendor’s network, we understood that not every couple would want to hire a wedding planner to take advantage of these resources. So, in order to create the extra revenue stream, we created our own wedding blog to build our email list by offering a step-by-step wedding planning guide. For those couples opting to do the D.I.Y. route, they could follow our guide book and ask us if they needed any assistance, giving us the opportunity to step in if required.
As a result, we altered our business strategy from wedding planning to an online provider of wedding media that thrives on sponsorship and marketing.
Do you have your own business idea? If so, congratulations! Go for it with passion and let it inspire you. If not, don’t put pressure on yourself. We are not all like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates; each of us has a unique set of values to offer and we are destined to discover them in time. Think of something that really tickles you and makes you smile, something that your talents can meet and your skills can meet; perhaps even giving you a competitive advantage. When you have the answer to this, you would have met with the inspiration necessary to follow your dream of starting a business.
Wedding couples come to us for help is because they need the wedding inspirations; they need ideas and the support of our network. When it comes to planning a wedding, there could be numerous ideas going through your mind and it is hard to decide and compromise, especially when it is your own wedding and there are emotional ties to each decision. After all, bride and groom come from two different families, so it is not uncommon to have different expectations and requirements from the families.
Our business is a challenge, but it is also a way to demonstrate our own capability in managing the clients’ expectation, and to deliver using objectivity, but based on their values. Any business you start will be challenging, but you will learn and it will all be worth it. Just keep inspired.
“Do stuff, be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration’s shove or society’s kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It’s all about paying attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. stay eager.” ― Susan Sontag
Do you love to be inspired? Ready to plan your next big thing? Let’s do this!
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