….. You are not alone.

….. No one is good at everything.

….. Identify your weaknesses and ask others for help.

….. Use your colleagues as a resource for information.

….. Search the web for tools and resources.

….. Hire and contract people to build your business where you cannot.

….. Hire experts in key areas that support your business: legal, tax, accounting, finance, branding.

No successful business is built by one person single-handedly.  The best entrepreneurs know when to enlist the help of others and ask for help in achieving their goals and plans.

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.

In the book Built to Last, Authors Jim Collins and Jerry Porras compare 18 incredibly successful companies with 18 moderately successful companies.  One of the characteristics that these 18 companies possess is that they all set “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” (BHAG).  They are called “big” and “hairy” and “audacious” because they are ridiculous goals that seem impossible.  Yet, these companies have achieved them.  Why and how did they get accomplished?  Well, the first step was to set the goal.  The second step was to craft a plan to achieve it.  The third step was to whole-heartedly believe in the company’s BHAG.  Pretty simple, really.

Zig Ziglar says, “You can’t get a bulls-eye, if you don’t know where the target is.”

I love this.  This may just be the most straightforward explanation of why setting goals is important.  If you don’t set a goal, you aren’t going to achieve what you want.  If you don’t map out your destination, you’ll be driving around aimlessly.

We’ve given some guidance on goal setting here over the last couple years.  Find a system that works for you.  My goal setting is simple:

• Set no more than 5 goals to accomplish in the next 1-3 years.
• Give myself deadlines for each.
• Break down the goals into 3 month milestones.
• Make a note of anyone that may help me achieve that milestone.

I sat down to re-do this last week.  It had been too long.  For some time, I didn’t feel like I could commit the time and energy to setting goals.  I also felt that I couldn’t focus on it given other demands for my attention.  But, you know what?  I brainstormed for 1 hour and asked myself the question, “What is it that I really want?”  Afterward, I felt refreshed and refocused.  And, my work has a much stronger direction now.

What is that you really want?

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.

A core ideology can be a mission statement, or a longer statement of ideals to which the company aspires.  This is a unifying message or belief that describes the purpose of your business, the SOUL of your business.  And, it should stand the test of time.  It should describe not what you make or what you do, but how you plan to conduct yourself with your clients, your employees, and your community.  It should describe what you believe in and what you stand for.

In the book Built to Last, authors James Collins and Jerry Porras describe the attributes of visionary companies.  They researched 18 companies to determine what are the factors that make a long-lasting visionary company successful.  One of the factors that organizations like Nordstrom, Disney, GE, Sony, and Hewlett-Packard possess is a CORE IDEOLOGY from which they have never strayed.  These companies have progressed in the products and services they offer, but their CORE remains the same.  During times of trial and tribulation, this ideology was a foundation for them to stand upon.  It unifies the people who work at these companies and acts as a message to the outside world.

What is your CORE IDEOLOGY?

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.

My husband works from home also.  So for me, he is my “office mate”.  But, when he travels, there are days where the only other adult humans I see are my daughter’s preschool teachers.  Not only can this get lonely, but also it can be unhealthy.

One mind is not good enough for our business.  We need to have other people we can count on.  If you don’t already have a “business support structure” – people that you can regularly share thoughts, ideas, frustrations, challenges, wins, questions, answers – then I recommend you build one.  I recommend you build your wedding industry network, find a mentor, and/or hire a coach.  It is extremely valuable for you to  have people at which you can bounce ideas.  Otherwise, you’re just bouncing them at yourself.  And, we aren’t always our most sound critics.  We tend to hold ourselves back.

Another thing I find valuable is making sure that I have time with that person (or group of people) periodically.  I have a colleague who started a “brainstorming group”.  They meet monthly and just brainstorm ideas on how each of them can independently grow their businesses.  They are able to share ideas with others, get immediate feedback, and feel supported.  It’s a win-win-win!

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.

There is an urgency these days.  And, I blame technology.  Technology has made us able to get everything quickly.  But, it has also made us impatient and antsy.  Technology has made us believe that we can get everything fast.  And, we are greatly disappointed when this is not the case.  When our businesses take time to grow, we search everywhere for fixes and answers.  We become disappointed in ourselves.  Why can’t we achieve greatness NOW?  And, we blame ourselves.

We must be patient… with ourselves… with our businesses.  Work hard, yes… but, let time do it’s work.  Some things require a little time… a little aging… a little marinating.

Be Patient.

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.

BE FLEXIBLE.

Being flexible may seem contrary to my usual stance on PLANNING for your business.  I think you need BOTH.  You need a plan.  A plan will ground you and keep you focused on your goals.  Flexibility will allow you the freedom and understanding to stray from the plan… and trust me, you will stray from your plan… and that is A-OK. Your business plans will evolve.  Flexibility will allow your plans to morph over time.

Remember: your business plan is your roadmap.  Being flexible allows you to change course when the road you are on gets bumpy.

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.

When you work for someone else, discipline is monitored.  You may not like completing a weekly report for your supervisor.  But, you do it because you have to.  There is little need for self-discipline because your freedom of will is controlled by defined job requirements.  Medium and large sized companies run like this.  Things must be done in order for a company to run efficiently, effectively, and profitably.

Be Disciplined

In creating a business plan, we analyze and set plans for the “four corners” of a business: the overall company, the marketing plan, the operational plan, the financial plan.  This forces us to be disciplined with all elements of our business.  In our monthly review, we stop to work ON our business, not just IN the business.  These are a few of the ways we can create a disciplined approach to business ownership.

Without Discipline, Your Business Will Fall Short

Because we naturally will gravitate to things we WANT to do, and things we LIKE to do, we will avoid the things we DON’T WANT to do. This will create weaknesses and shortfalls in your business.

Create a system by which you instill discipline into your business.  This is the equivalent of having that supervisor ask you for the weekly report.  This system can be in the form of a monthly review, a weekly check-in, a systematic checklist.  Find something that works for you… something that improves your discipline.

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.

Do you have that first step in your head? Good!  Now – do it!

Take a risk!

Business ownership is all about taking risks.  You take that first leap to launch your business, but those leaps never end.  You continue to take risks.  Try something new.  If it doesn’t work, try something else.  Just keep taking risks, trying things, testing things out.  Some things will work and some won’t.  When things work you can’t imagine life being any other way.  When things don’t work, you take a huge gulp, and you move on… you work around it and become better.

Sometimes, the first step is telling someone about your dream.  It makes it real.  There is no choice but to act on it.

What is that one thing that is weighing on you?  You know – the one thing you REALLLLLLY want to do?
Go do it!  Take a RISK!

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.

A lot of what we teach here on Sage Wedding Pros and at The Simple Plan is to understand your place in the market.  By better understanding your business and how it fits into the market, you are better able to sell yourself.  By understanding your niche, your “sweet spot”, you are better able to have a unique selling proposition.  You must study the competition in order to know how to differentiate yourself.  You must understand the market, not in order to imitate, but in order to DO YOUR OWN THING.

Who are you?

What are your personality traits?

What are your values?

What are your philosophies?

What is your business all about?

Who is your customer?

Where does customer person shop? eat? socialize?

In a room of 1000 people in your trade, why would someone choose to do business with you?

WORK on these QUESTIONS until you can answer them with confidence.
ONLY THEN will you be DOING YOUR OWN THING.

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.

To be in business, you must be making money.  You must be profitable in order to have a sustainable business.

How do you plan to create a sustainable business?  What is your plan for profitability?

If you don’t know or are not sure, you need to figure it out or you won’t be in business long.

You MUST be profitable.

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.