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.

This is the story of Dina Eisenberg, a Bridal Coach and Owner of Positively Wed in Boston…

I wanted an entrepreneurial life ever since I was a girl listening to my dad daydream about how to turn his part-time floor cleaning business into a hot dog truck.  I craved the creation and problem-solving that comes with striking out on your own. However, I became a lawyer and didn’t have my first brush with owning a business until I was a newly divorced mom who needed to care for two kids under five.  As my mediation business and children flourished over the years I was glad, but knew I wasn’t entirely fulfilled.

My ‘aha’ moment came last year after I retired from being a corporate Ombudsman, helping employees navigate challenging work lives.  I realized I still loved teaching, an earlier part of my patchwork career path, and wanted to share what I know ( and love) about conflict management.  A mashup of my passion for helping people talk with my obsession for weddings.  That’s how Positively Wed was born.

My challenge after owning several businesses is how to launch in a completely new market: the wedding industry.  Each day I’m excited to learn more, meet new people but most importantly, teach people how to be happier and deepen their relationships.  I’m quite blessed to have a business that can change so many lives for the better and I’m determined to build something special and lasting.

Thanks Dina!

If you want to submit your soul story, you still can.  The contest has passed… but we always love a good story!  Submit here.

This is the story of Betsy diFrancesca, Hair and Makeup Artist based in Los Angeles...

I moved to Los Angeles from NYC in 1986.  With my small portfolio, I signed with  the Zenobia Agency.  I started out by assisting artists who were more established, doing commercials, music videos and photo shoots. Eventually, the Agency began sending me out for jobs I could do on my own.  Most of the work I was getting was in the commercial world, which I really enjoyed. I had a few steady production companies and everything was going quite well.  Then, around the mid 90′s, things started to change. Production companies were splitting up, directors were coming from music videos. The “Dot Com” era  seemed to encourage a certain bravado among the advertising agencies which created an ugly feeling on the set. I wasn’t having fun anymore.  Then 9/11 happened.

I guess that was my “aha” moment. I just felt like life was too short to be unhappy at my job. I needed to get my priorities straight. I didn’t want to stop doing hair & makeup, I just wanted to be happy at work. I always liked doing weddings. I  dabbled in them when the commercial work was slow. Plus, the internet seemed to be a great way to start a new business.  I wouldn’t have to give up the work I loved ; I could do weddings but put more of my own “brand”  on it.  So, I told my agent that I wouldn’t be accepting any more commercial work. I got a web address  and began building a new aspect of my business. And, I love it!  Every day I learn something new .  I love what I can bring to it that isn’t just about hair and makeup.  I love that  it’s really important to create an atmosphere that’s calm and serene; that it’s important to listen and anticipate what the bride might need . It’s the most important day of her life and I feel honored to be a part of it.

Thanks Betsy!

If you want to submit your soul story, you still can.  The contest has passed… but we always love a good story!  Submit here.

This is the story of Bernadette Smith, Owner of 14 Stories (previously named It’s About Time, at the time of her submission) based in Boston...

Nearly six years ago, on November 18, 2003, I was in my car driving towards the subway stop, listening to NPR. There was a news bulletin about a forthcoming ruling later that day on the Goodridge v. the Massachusetts Department of Public Health case to remove the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

I went to the office and glued myself to Boston.com and GLAD.org, waiting for the verdict to come. Sometime around 11am, in my cramped little office with a view of a brick wall, I heard the news that the state may not “deny the protections, benefits and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry.” The verdict indicated that these marriages could take effect in six months, on May 18, 2004.

My job (that I mostly disliked) in downtown Boston was a few blocks from the State House. There were almost daily rallies in support of or opposed to gay marriage because, within that six month period, those who opposed gay marriage tried in vain to preemptively ban it through a Constitutional amendment. I would frequently take long “lunches” to attend these rallies, listening to moving stories from former Senator Dianne Wilkerson, Rep. Byron Rushing and other leaders, standing alongside couples together twenty or thirty years, hoping they can one day marry.

I was inspired. And I didn’t like my job. And I knew I was good at event planning, frequently called “calm.” Somehow I had the bright idea that I should start a gay wedding planning firm. It was honestly a “light bulb” moment. And those who know me well know that when I get fixated on an idea, I make it happen.

So, I recruited a business partner who knew a thing or two about weddings, bought an ebook on how to plan a wedding, did lots of online research on venues and questions to ask vendors. My business partner got us a logo. I got us a website and immediately set up Google Adwords, and miraculously, by March or so, I was the co-owner of a business called It’s About Time.

Editorial Note: Since Bernadette submitted her story, It’s About Time has become 14 stories. Why the name change?  14 is a powerful number in the history of civil rights.  It was the number of individual plaintiffs who were a part of the case that first legalized gay marriage in Massachusetts.  14 is the U.S. Constitutional Amendment that was used to dismantle segregation and end the ban on interracial marriage.

Thanks Bernadette!

If you want to submit your soul story, you still can.  The contest has passed… but we always love a good story!  Submit here.

This is the story of Kathryn Kalabokes, Owner of Dream A Little Dream Events based in San Francisco...

This business is something that had been calling my name for years. I would wake up in the middle of the night and jot down ideas and what I thought were simply pipe dreams. I finally took the plunge to start my business after graduating from college. No, I wasn’t 22 and fresh out of college, I had just turned 30 and had gone back to school at 27 after raising my son in my early twenties as a single parent. Through the last three months of college I became drastically ill with a severe parasite infection and barely made it to my goal. When I pushed through with all the hurdles I faced, I was so proud and felt invincible and decided to take the the next step in my life.

I had changed majors three times during college, so I crossed through Business, Psychology and ended with Humanities, all which ironically have come in very handy in this business. I think back almost daily to how this “pipe dream” became my reality and how grateful I am every day to have taken the leap of faith. I’m confident, but also very humble, and know that every day and every client is a blessing. It is a lot of hard work, and I take pride in not only my work, but how I run my business.

Thanks Kathryn!

If you want to submit your soul story, you still can.  The contest has passed… but we always love a good story!  Submit here.

This is the story of Charity Plaster, Owner of A Charmed Event based in Florida…

I can’t ever remember NOT wanting to be a wedding planner. Seriously! I look back through the journals I kept in high school {not that it was THAT long ago! *lol* } and they are full of wedding ideas…not wedding dresses, but centerpieces, linens, photos & bios of established industry professionals {Sylvia Weinstock for example}. I wasn’t using the journals to plan my wedding – I was using them to plan my life…my profession…my passion.

Without any real training, other than the information I gathered from books, magazines & tv, I started working in the wedding industry right after high school. Yeah, it was shaky in the beginning…no business plan, no staff, no money, no clear cut plan at ALL…but again, I couldn’t NOT do it. I was called to this industry and I just followed my heart!

My “aha” moment wasn’t until 2006. I had The World’s Best Bride, Ashlee, and honestly, there wasn’t one particular moment of working with her that moved me…it was every moment of working with her. Ashlee and her family brought a joy to my life that I had never had before. It seemed, to me, that this was the first wedding I had ever done that I was more than just hired help. I truly was part of Ashlee’s life and of her family. We laughed together, we cried, we kvetched, she let me into a part of her life, a part of her spirit that to this day, makes me pause with reflection and smile.

The past year or so I’ve had some unforgettable clients – in the negative way. For a while, I took down my website and seriously considered leaving the industry…but I can’t.

I spent time talking with God, and with my family…should I get a “real” job or should I pursue my dream? We’re in a recession, what’s going to happen to our income? In our area of Florida there are “newly professional” planners popping out of the woodwork everyday – they’re going to undercut me and steal my business, maybe I should just throw in the towel and work a 9-5 job?

The truth is…I can’t.

I love what I do. Being the type of wedding planner I am allows me interact with people on such an intimate level. Brides tell me their fears, their hopes, their dreams…and I give myself over to riding on the emotional roller coaster right along with them! If I have to live a less than glamorous monetary lifestyle, I’m totally okay with that. If I can’t buy the new purse I’ve had my eyes on, or have to forgo because I didn’t succumb to the pressure of getting a “real” job…that’s okay too. I wake up every morning with joy in my heart, excitingly anticipating that day’s workload.

To me, wedding planning is so much more than linens and bouquets. It is a woman that is embarking on the most important {you might say defining} journey of her life…and she invited me to go along with her. I will do everything I can to protect her, to guide her, to encourage her and to help her have the happily ever after she so desires.

Even if it’s just for one day.

Thanks Charity!

If you want to submit your soul story, you still can.  The contest has passed… but we always love a good story!  Submit here.

This is the story of Julianne Smith, Owner of Julianne Smith Wedding Garters, based in Washington DC…

Is it possible to not have “a” moment? But, rather a series of events? A happening over time? An evolution, if you will?

After an internship on Capitol Hill, I graduated college thinking that I was going to take the political world by storm. I was determined to live the typical D.C. political lifestyle of work hard, play hard. And, I did. It was awesome. I loved every minute of my 12-hour work days (on a good day) and the pit in my stomach every time my cell phone rang. I was “that girl” taking the Metro home every night, bleary eyed and beaten down with a huge stack of papers to read, engrossed in her Blackberry. (For the record, what I didn’t do was conform to the D.C. boring, conservative dress code. That I most certainly did not do!)

I loved my life. I loved the issues. I loved the people. I loved the events. I loved the trips. I loved the drama. I loved the media. But, there was always something more. Something missing. If I just had the time, I knew I could take my creativity to another level. And, then I got pregnant. My whole life turned upside down. Once I had my daughter and determined that there was no possible way that I could go back to politics, I decided to go all-in with my creative business. I sat down at the kitchen table with my sister. I picked out the wedding garters that I wanted to carry in my collection, I designed a logo, I redid my website and I started marketing myself as the stylish wedding garter maker determined to bring the tradition back with a little style. I turned my just-do-it-for-fun little side thing into to a full-fledged, big-girl business.

What’s next? For right now, I going to work on actually living my “soul story.” I mean *really* living it. Really being it. We’ll see what the future brings…

Thanks Julianne!

If you want to submit your soul story, you still can.  The contest has passed… but we always love a good story!  Submit here.

This is the story of Sharise Williams, Owner of Urban Engagements, based out of Washington DC…

I believe my story started a long time ago. As a kid I knew I wanted to be an architect, then I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer. I would draw and design dresses all the time. I knew how to sew and would make my own outfits. I preferred to look like me, not dress just like everybody else. My dream was to move to NYC and go to FIT, become a fabulous dress designer and millionaire.

Well… life happened and soon after high school I found myself lost in the rat race to my 9-5 office job with a 1 1/2 hour commute, EACH WAY! I never let go of my desire to design and be creative. I knew at some point I would be able to use my talents and a desire to help others – and make my dream come true.

Fast-forward a few years… It’s 2008 and I’m very happily engaged to the love of my life. I feel like the moment I was waiting for has come. Not the wedding, the time for me to start doing something.

In planning my own wedding I realized where I could apply the natural  skills that I have. Being a wedding planner is more than what is glamourized on television. As a planner you are helping a client realize a dream of their own and being there for them.  [You help them] to relax and enjoy the wedding.  It is a great privilege. I am still in the early stages of my business but my dream is with in reach. I may not be a millionaire when I get there but I will be happy and hope all my clients will as well.

Thanks Sharise!

If you want to submit your soul story, you still can.  The contest has passed… but we always love a good story!  Submit here.

This is the story of Melinda Morris, an Invitation Specialist & Owner of Lion in the Sun, based in Brooklyn, New York…

I say on my Blog that I was born with a Mrs. Grossman sticker in my mouth.

In 1981 (I was 10) my mother opened a business specializing in custom invitations,  paper and party decor. as a child I would be dragged to do bat mitzvah balloon archways at 6am on sat. mornings( it was after all the 80′s) So all through High School and College I worked in the family business advising clients on wedding invitations and announcements and event planning.

While I loved the special event industry probably not surprisingly my initial career choice was not to stay in the same industry but to forge my path. But after a pursing a master degree in sociology on way to a PhD, I realized that I missed being connected to real people and real events.

So I combined my passions to do Fundraising and Special Event management for social service non-profits, specifically social service organizations. The perfect marriage, I got to use all my event planning expertise and do it for a good cause. However after 10 years as special events director in the charity sector I was stressed out and burnt out and owned more black cocktail dresses than one women should. As cliché as it sounds the combination of turning 30 and 9/11 (which happened in the same week) really shocked me into pursuing what I realized I really wanted. I realized that my parents business ( still going strong) was a great model and I remembered what I had always loved about the biz is you get to work with people celebrating happy things and lend meaningful experience to their important events.!

Most importantly, I realized that the neighborhood where I lived had nothing like it and was brimming with young couples new babies and growing families and nowhere to buy beautiful paper.

So within 6 months I had quit my well paying job, had begun renovations and was sourcing vendors for my own paperie. The story is still long from there. I was blessed to have my family business behind me and a already established reputation in the field. But even more nearly 8 years later and much growth and lessons under my belt it is still a struggle. But it is a constant journey, you can never just sit back, i am always trying to be better, we expanded twice and moved to a better location, my husband has joined the business but we are still trying to figure out how to make it work the best for us for our staff and for our clients.

The most important thing is that I am constantly reminded why I am lucky to do. just about every day we get to hear happy stories of love and new babies and family celebrations and we get to help guide them through the process that can be scary, and stressful and expensive. It is rewarding to see them come out happy on the other-side…. My Favorite and seemingly most helpful thing we tell all our clients is ” Relax its just a party”!!

Thanks Melinda!

If you want to submit your soul story, you still can.  The contest has passed… but we always love a good story!  Submit here.

This is the story of Catie Ronquillo, Wedding Photographer, based in Dallas, TX…

About two years ago, before I even knew that I wanted to be a wedding photographer, I said it to my cousin. We were driving past blueberry fields somewhere through Massachusetts and I turned to her and said, “One day I’m going to be a wedding photographer.” I hardly even knew where I got that idea. But it seemed like a good idea. She smiled, laughed, and said, “Awesome!” with her innate enthusiasm.

When I look back at that memory, I always think about why I said what I did. I didn’t have to. It kind of came from nowhere. But I have this firm belief that in order to achieve the things you want, you MUST verbalize them. In some shape or form, you have to get your dream out, before it ever has a chance to come true. I mean, I know it’s all good to pray little prayers and dream little dreams, but if there’s something in the world that you know you should be doing and have the desire to do, you should shout it from the rooftops. Let it be known! And a dream can materialize into reality with hard work and dedication.

After college, in an effort to “delay the Real World”, I decided to go intern at Disney World through the Disney College Program. It was a great four months. Going to the parks at our leisure. Riding the Rockin’ Roller Coaster four times in a row without any lines. Trying the different foods at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. Not to mention meeting my better half. The work part was hardly fabulous, but it did teach me very quickly that never again would I work retail. No thanks.

When I moved back home at the beginning of 2006, I set out to find a “real” job. Like one in a cubicle, or something. I had earned my degree in Communication with a minor in Psychology from UC San Diego, and I had better put my degree to good use. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? By early February, I had learned the ins and outs of job interviews. I mentally reviewed my strengths, weaknesses, and items to ask the organization. I had been shot down by Google, citing my lack of enthusiasm to review AdWords (seriously, could you blame me?) and found myself in an awkward conversation with a hiring manager for a media buyer job, when I had zero idea what a media buyer even did.

Thankfully by March of 2006, my period of unemployment ended and I started a position as a marketing assistant for a textbook publishing company. While the job was simple, I realized something. I was not meant to work in a cubicle. I enjoyed my coworkers who kept me going, but when I took a closer look at all that I was doing, I often found myself asking, “Why?” I’m hardly the type to accept things without questioning a little bit. That job taught me that I would never want to be married to my job as my manager was. She was often cranky, testy, and impatient. She was very particular about everything and figured out that since she had nothing else to focus on, she zoned in on her job. ALL. THE. TIME. She was unhappy. I didn’t like that.

I knew that my life couldn’t be defined by cubicle walls. I knew that my life had something much bigger in store. Life is for making things happen, and not much happens in a cubicle. I wanted to like my job. I wanted my job to excite me. I wanted me job to mean something to me.

So I bought my first DSLR and started taking pictures. They weren’t very good, but I knew that with time and practice, I could make them better. I discovered that I loved shooting photos of people. Capturing their candid expressions and real emotions. There’s just something about a smile that lights me up. Then I knew, taking pretty pictures made me happy. It made my subjects happy. It was a win-win. It caught a moment in time to remember and be cherished. It was fun.

A few months later I had the conversation with my cousin. I simply said, “I’m going to be a wedding photographer.”

And now, I am.

I still feel like I have a long way to go, but I’m living the life I want. I’m calling my own shots. I’m figuring it out. I’m stumbling. But that’s what life is for, right? Learning along the way and loving every second.

Thanks Catie!

If you want to submit your soul story, you still can.  The contest has passed… but we always love a good story!  Submit here.