Transcript: Hey, Sarah here! Thank you for coming back to my channel and checking out what I’ve got for you today. This video is all about your business mindset.
As you’re going into your wedding business, as you’re getting started, or maybe you’re established, and you just feel stuck, and you want to redo a couple of things in your brain– this is the ‘reset’ video for you. So today, we are talking all about your mindset, your mindset when it comes to money, your mindset when it comes to the wedding industry, and your mindset when it comes to serving your couples. And this is a really important video because your mindset around your business kind of sets the pace for your entire business, your success, the way that you’re interacting with clients, and the elevation of the wedding industry as a whole. So, it’s really important that you consume this content and really sit with yourself and sit with your thoughts and decide what’s going to be the best course of action for you. So, let’s get into it:
As you’re starting your wedding business, you’re probably starting it for a variety of reasons. One of the most common things that I see is, you’re a new parent, and you want to spend time at home with your children, you’ve gotten laid off from a job, or maybe the pandemic has laid you off from your job and now you want to pursue a career in something that is creative and fulfilling. There are lots of other reasons why you might be starting your business and they are all valid and totally fine. But those are just some of the most common ones that I see. And no matter what your reasoning behind starting your business is, your mindset behind why you’re doing it is going to be really important, it’s going to be a driver for you, it’s going to motivate you, and it’s going to be what pushes you through when things get really difficult.
So, a couple of things about the wedding industry: There’s a lot of educators and coaches out there who are going to tell you, you’re just gonna start in this industry and make a ton of money. And, look, I’m not trying to be the bad guy. I’m not your average business coach, I’m a cool business coach. So I want to tell you the truth, you’re probably not going to make a lot of money in the wedding industry [in the beginning anyway].
From my research, the top 2% are the people who are going to be making six figures– and they’re making six figures in their business as a whole. They’re not necessarily showing you what are they spending on marketing. How much money are they spending on taxes, how much money are they spending on equipment– in reality, their actual take-home pay is probably going to be a lot less than that. So, I want to set your expectations that yes, it’s possible, but it’s not the norm. So, if you think it’s going to be easy to get there, I’m going to challenge you on that mindset a little bit, because that’s probably not going to be your journey. It’s not most people’s journey. So sorry to be the bad guy. But I want to manage these expectations.
On the flip side, the wedding industry is an amazing industry, you get to be a part of someone’s most special day you get to preserve their memories forever help craft their memories. And it’s really cool. It’s a really unique industry to be in. With that, if you need money– don’t become a wedding vendor, don’t start a business– get a job. If you need money, get a job, get something guaranteed. Get something you’re not going to have to put a lot of money up for to get started in, get a job, that can be a full-time job, it can be a part-time job. It can be something until you know for a certainty that your wedding business is going to be bringing in a specific amount of money that you’re going to need to pay your bills. Let your wedding business be a side business, let it be a passion, let it be a business, your business. Just let it be what it is. Don’t force it to be something that it’s not. “If you need money, get a job.” That is a direct quote from one of my favorite business coaches, Dielle Charon.
If you need money, get a job. If you have a passion, start a business. With that said, I know you probably didn’t like that because it’s not what everyone else is telling you. It’s not trendy. That’s not the sexy words that you want to hear coming out of my mouth. As someone who’s been in this industry for a really long time, it’s important to be realistic because the wedding industry is about your couples. It’s about the bride and the groom, and it’s about making their day the best day. So, if your money mindset coming into the wedding industry is, “I need to make a ton of money,” are you going to be acting in the best interest of your clients? And listen, the wedding industry has a lot of bad actors but we need good people in this industry. We need people who really care about their clients. We need people who are okay with this being a side gig. We need people who, if they’re going to take it full time, they’re going to be doing a really good job and they’re going to be going above and beyond for these couples. And if that isn’t somewhere you can be right now, let that be okay– let it be okay.
So, moving on to your money mindset, the way that you price yourself to the wedding industry can be very tricky. The wedding industry has such an array of prices, and the information that is out there about pricing your services isn’t super accurate. So, at the end of the day, you do need to make sure that you’re being fairly compensated for your time. You need to know how long it’s taking you to perform a wedding, how long it’s taking you to edit a wedding. If you’re in an industry where you’re editing lots of things, it takes a lot of time to be in this industry, and you should be shooting for at least taking a home minimum wage for your work. So, that is the money mindset you should start working in is, you’re brand new to this industry, you are entry-level, which means you’re probably going to be working for entry-level pay. And to do right by your clients, you shouldn’t be charging them more than that– and that’s also an unpopular idea. But let’s be honest, as a bride and a groom, trying to shop for a wedding vendor, you don’t know what you’re doing. And it is not integrity, you lack integrity, if you’re charging somebody more than you should be, is what I’m trying to say. And I know the money mindset around the wedding industry is really difficult because you come into it thinking you’re going to make a lot of money. Because if you’ve gotten married, you’ve probably paid a lot of money. But that’s not the way this industry works. So while you may not be raking in hundreds of 1000s of dollars, there is good money to be made in the wedding industry. But no matter what that money has to be made with integrity, and it has to be made by providing the best services you are capable of at the right and fair price for the couple.
So, as you’re pricing your services, and as you’re thinking about your business, I just want you to keep those things in mind. I want you to think about, okay, if I’m brand new to this industry, what is a fair price that I should be charging, you’re not going to start out in this industry charging $10,000 like the luxury vendors. You’re probably going to start out charging a couple $100, maybe a couple of $1000 eventually, and growing from there. It takes a long time and that’s totally okay. There’s a lot of pressure to do this full time in the industry, there’s a lot of people saying that they’re doing it full time when they’re actually not.
It’s… it’s a little sketchy, you’re gonna see as you dive more into the industry, but in your heart, you need to be okay with this being a part-time job for a while. And then you need to be okay with it being a low-paying full-time job. And then you need to be okay with charging couples a lot of money once you have a lot of skills, and you’re providing a really good service. It’s building blocks, it takes a long time, but it is so worth it. If this is your passion, you want to put the time in.
Another money mindset that you need to have is an abundance mindset. Because listen, millions of people get married every single weekend, and you will have so much work, you just have to find it and you have to be able to sell yourself. So we’re not going to work in a scarcity mindset, we’re entering the wedding industry, because that will make you make bad decisions. It will make you charge clients more than you should be charging them, it will make you get selfish and raise your rates when you should not be raising your rates. Or on the flip side, it’ll make you undersell yourself and not charge enough to compensate yourself for your time. So, there’s plenty of work to go around and there are people who will pay you for your skills. Just believe that. It’s really hard but believe it, you are going to be competing with other people in similar spaces in their business. So, if you’re just starting out, you’re going to be competing with a lot of people who are also just starting out. When you’re in the middle, you’re competing with people who are also in the middle of their careers. When you’re full-time or a luxury vendor, you’re going to be competing with other people who are full-time and luxury vendors. And it’s gonna feel like there’s not enough work to go around like everyone else has taken up all of the work and there’s no work left for you. And that’s not true. It’s not true. There’s plenty of work to go around.
But you have to do the work. You have to get out there and market yourself and find your clients. And there’s plenty of work to go around, I promise you. And those people that you’re competing with, they’re also your community. They’re not your competition. They’re your community. Work with them, get to be really good friends with people, and they’re going to send you work when they’re booked out. They’re going to bring you in on their projects to assist them. You’re going to create these really deep and valuable friendships and that’s really important in the wedding industry. So, try not to look at them as competition. Yes, they are. This is a business, whatever. But there’s no need to be rude to them and there’s no need for them to be rude to you. If someone’s rude to you, move on. It’s not worth your time. They’re working in a scarcity mindset, they are viewing you as the competition. They’re not viewing you as their community. They are not running a successful business at that point. They don’t deserve your community. They don’t deserve the clients that they’re getting if they’re not being kind, and they’re not elevating the industry as a whole. But you, as a newer vendor, or someone who’s earlier along in your career, I want you to view the competition as your friends. This is your community. Community over competition, you’re gonna hear that phrase a lot. And it’s true, these people are your friends. They want to see you succeed as much as they want to succeed themselves. So, build out those relationships. And with that mindset, you’re probably not going to enter this as a millionaire.
It’s going to take a while to build your business and you need to do it slowly. You need to do it properly, and you need to do it, acting in the best interest of your clients, and viewing the wedding community as your friends, and viewing your service as something that is here solely to benefit your couples. This business is not here for you to make a ton of money. This business is here for you to benefit couples. With those mindsets you are going to do so good in this industry, you are going to thrive you’re going to make lots of friends and it’s going to be amazing. So, my channel of course is here to keep you guys informed. I want to share everything I know. So, the next video I’d recommend for you to check out if you’re new to the wedding industry is getting your business set up legally. It’s going to help you figure out what are all the steps you need to have, what are the basics, what are people going to expect so that you can get started booking clients today.