Here are all the details:

The Simple Plan
February 7-8, 2012
9:30am-4:30pm (each day)

The Ritz Carlton
160 East Pearson Street
at Water Tower Place
Chicago, Illinois 60611
(hotel rates are available; see BELOW)

The Simple Plan workshop is about collaboration. Join us for a simple approach to writing your business plan. In two days, we will work with you to:

• Write a mission statement for your business
• Set short and long term goals
• Refine your target market and your niche
• Determine how many weddings you need to do to be profitable
• Examine your advertising and whether it’s working for your business.
• Identify how to grow your business: when to hire people, how to do so, and how to train them
• Make a sales plan
• Make an expense budget
• Learn how to understand if you’re financial successful
• Network with other business savvy wedding professionals

COST: $499 includes all workshop materials including The Simple Plan ™ workbook. Lunch will be provided for you on both days. (The early bird rate is $449 thru January 20.)

Guarantee: We are confident that you walk away with a business plan, a stronger business perspective, and an all-encompassing strategy. If you don’t finish the workshop feeling that you’ve gained value for your business, we will fully refund you.

A VERY BIG THANK YOU to The Ritz Carlton for hosting us!

And a big thank you to our Thursday Therapy Chicago hosts Joan Cinquegrani of Five Grain Events and Kelly Marie Uss of Fleur Inc. for helping us coordinate this workshop.

Need more info?

Visit The Simple Plan website here.
SEE what past graduates have to say.
SEE FAQs here.

Wanna buy tickets?

Visit Eventbrite for ticketing here.

Wanna split this into 2 payments?  Click the google shopping cart by January 10th to make your first payment of $224.50.  An invoice will be sent to you on February 1st for the second payment.

Hotel Rates and Reservations

The Ritz Carlton has extended a rate to our group of $195/night.  Please make the reservation directly thru:
Shannon Moore, Catering Sales Manager
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Chicago (A Four Seasons Hotel)
160 E. Pearson, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
voice:    312.573.5027
email:    shannon.moore@fourseasons.com

Etcetera…

Please email me if you have any questions: michelle-at-sageweddingpros.com

We will be setting 1-2 more dates/cities for 2012.  We take our interest survey into strong consideration when determining our workshop cities… so let us know where we should go.

Image: Creative Commons License

Kelly and I have been busy putting together our list of cities for upcoming The Simple Plan workshops. We are happy to announce that we’ll be squeezing in one more Dallas workshop this December!  This is great timing with the New Year just a couple months away.  We hope you can join us.

Here are the details:

The Simple Plan
December 13-14, 2011
9:30am-4:30pm (each day)
Edison’s Dallas
1724 COCKRELL STREET
Dallas, TX 75215

The Simple Plan workshop is about collaboration. Join us for a simple approach to writing your business plan. In two days, we will work with you to:

• Write a mission statement for your business
• Set short and long term goals
• Refine your target market and your niche
• Determine how many weddings you need to do to be profitable
• Examine your advertising and whether it’s working for your business.
• Identify how to grow your business: when to hire people, how to do so, and how to train them
• Make a sales plan
• Make an expense budget
• Learn how to understand if you’re financial successful
• Network with other business savvy wedding professionals

COST: $499 includes all workshop materials including The Simple Plan ™ workbook. Lunch will be provided for you on both days. (The early bird rate is $449 thru November 30.)

Guarantee: We are confident that you walk away with a business plan, a stronger business perspective, and an all-encompassing strategy. If you don’t finish the workshop feeling that you’ve gained value for your business, we will fully refund you.

A BIG thank you to Edison’s for hosting us!

Need more info?

Visit The Simple Plan website here.
SEE what past graduates have to say.
SEE FAQs here.

Wanna buy tickets?

Visit Eventbrite for ticketing here.

Wanna split this into 2 payments?  Click the google shopping cart by November 18th to make your first payment of $224.50.  An invoice will be sent to you on December 7th for the second payment.

Etcetera…

Please email me if you have any questions: michelle-at-sageweddingpros.com

We will be setting 2-3 more dates for 2012.  While we cannot make any certain confirmations yet, Chicago looks to be a frontrunner.  We take our interest survey into strong consideration when determining our workshop cities… so let us know where we should go.

I’m excited to share all of my know-how on accounting and finance for the wedding planning firm. Numbers are knowledge and knowledge is power!

Learn more about registration here.  Hope to see you there!

We will be heading to LA this June 14-15 with The Simple Plan and are excited to work with another group of diversified wedding professionals on their individual business plans.  We are starting to plan our workshops for Fall 2011 and 2012.  But… we need your help!

Where should we go?!

If you have not yet attended The Simple Plan but are interested… let us know where we should do our next workshop.  In 2011, we based all our workshop cities on the feedback we got from these surveys… so your opinion matters A LOT.

The survey takes 5 minutes to complete and by filling it out, you will receive a $50 discount to attend the workshop in any city.

Thank you kindly for your time!

The Simple Plan – Tell us where you want us…

Southwest States SURVEY
Northwest & Mountain States SURVEY
Midwest States SURVEY
South and East States SURVEY
Northeast States SURVEY

And… we haven’t forgotten about those many requests for us to take The Simple Plan to foreign locales… we are considering overseas workshops if logistically and financially viable.  Let us know what you have in mind!

POSH was created to connect female filmmakers from around the world with a unique event that was not only focused on education but also on building a strong network of women. In a male dominated industry, the goal is to help develop and encourage more women to become leaders in the event film world.

Founders Jennifer Moon of Northernlight Filmworks and Reagan Zugelter of Studio Z Films have organized an incredible opportunity for women filmmakers to share in each other’s learning experiences.  What makes POSH different is not only the intimate setting with such a small group, but also the relationships the women build with each other.  Prior attendees have become friends and support each other with questions, advice and tips to better themselves.

It is an HONOR to be speaking at POSH.  I will be speaking on the Mystery of Pricing.  Pricing can be tricky. You may be unsure if you’re priced to high or – worse – priced to low. It’s all a big mystery! But, it doesn’t have to be. I’ll walk attendees through some easy-peasy pricing formulas to help you understand the strategy of pricing. I ’ll also teach participants how to look at their place in the market to better understand the factors one should consider when pricing services.

Other presenters at POSH include:

• Karen Abad would be presenting the The Cinematography of Feel
• Julie Hill of Elysium Productions presenting How to Market Yourself as a Can’t Live Without Option
• Kristin of Bliss Video Productions

POSH 2011 is taking place at the Beach Palace in Cancun, Mexico November 6-9. This super modern & chic all-inclusive resort is located right on the beach.  Early bird investment is $1,195 for double occupancy and $1,695 for single occupancy. The all-inclusive investment includes 2 days of educational seminars by leading women in the industry, accommodations for 4 nights, all your food & beverages including alcoholic drinks, welcome cocktail party, wifi, unlimited calls to the US and plenty of time for networking. Registration opens on Monday, March 15.

Register by clicking HERE. Tickets are limited to 50 women and they’re flying quickly!

Hope to see you there!

Image: Creative Commons License

We are heading to Big D with The Simple Plan!  (Well, actually, Kelly already lives there – so technically it’s me that’s heading to Big D!)  In the last couple months, there has been A LOT of chatter from the state of Texas regarding our business planning workshop for wedding pros.  So, we want to get in there and help y’all build your businesses.  We are inviting ALL wedding pros in the South as this will be the only workshop we do in this region for 2011. So come one, come all!

Here are the details:

The Simple Plan
March 22-23, 2011
9:30am-4:30pm
at
Holiday Inn Express – Galleria
6055 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, TX 75240

Tickets:

Tickets can be purchased thru Eventbrite.  (We only have Early Bird rates thru March 4, so get in there!)

Hotels:

Holiday Inn Express – Galleria – rates for $102/nt
Westin Galleria – rates for $250/nt

More Info:

Find out more here: www.thesimpleplan.biz
SEE what past graduates have to say.
SEE FAQs here.

Image: Creative Commons License

New York is one of my favorite cities in the world.  Kelly and I are thrilled to head there this May to share The Simple Plan, our business planning workshop, with wedding pros.  We are excited to work with several professionals in the Northeast who’ve been championing for us to do our workshop there.

Here are the details:

The Simple Plan
May 10-11, 2011
9:30am-4:30pm
at
Jason Groupp Studio
Chelsea Arts Building
526 West 26th Street #305
New York, NY 10001

Come one!  Come all!  We are inviting everyone from DC and north all the way to Maine.  This will be our only workshop in the Northeast in 2011.  If you live elsewhere in the country, join us also.  New York is beautiful in May!

Tickets

2 ways to purchase:

1. Get your tickets at eventbrite here.
   OR
2. If you would like to pay in 2 installments of $174.50 make your first payment here:

There’s only one rule:
You must make the first payment before March 15th. An invoice will be sent to you on April 15th for the 2nd installment.

Hotels

Holiday Inn Express – NYC Madison Square Garden – $250/nt
The Gem Hotel – Chelsea – $250/nt
We found a gazillion other hotels in the area, so check out google.  We are also big fans of naming your price on Priceline.

More Info:

Find out more here: www.thesimpleplan.biz
SEE what past graduates have to say.
SEE FAQs here.

Guarantee:  We are confident that you walk away with a business plan, a stronger business perspective, and an all-encompassing strategy.  If you don’t finish the workshop feeling that you’ve gained value for your business, we will fully refund you.

* Cost includes all workshop materials including The Simple Plan ™ workbook.  Lunch will be provided for you on both days. Refund Policy: Unfortunately we are not able to refund payment for this workshop should you decide to cancel after your purchase.  We only allocate a certain number of seats for participants so your payment reserves your seat.  You may however, find a replacement who can take your place if you are unable to attend.

Please email me if you have any questions: michelle-at-sageweddingpros.com

About Eventology:

Eventology is an intimate, collaborative and intensive business conference designed especially for wedding plrofessionals brought to you by K Sherrie and Company Planning Atelier. This conference will bring you real-life, applicable marketing and business information to use to enhance your wedding business.

Learn the science behind running a successful wedding business, as the reality is if you’re not running a profitable business, it’s just one big expensive hobby.  We’re packing more valuable information into the next conference!  The following topics will be presented by SIX dynamic and cutting edge, international wedding professionals at this unique conference:

• Fearless Negotiation Skills – presented by Saundra Hadley, Get Real Sales Coach
• LawGLOSS:  Contracts and Agreements – presented by Nashara Mitchell, LawGLOSS
• Make It Personal:  Cultivating and Maximizing Vendor Relationships – presented by Ali Phillips, Engaging Events by Ali
• The Style Plan:  Your Image and Your Collateral – presented by Jeannine Kennedy, The Stylish Planner
• Accounting for Creatives {Not Creative Accounting!} – presented by Michelle Loretta, Sage Wedding Pros
• CONFIDENCE:  How to Get What You Want and What You Need in the Wedding Industry – presented by Linyette Richardson Hall aka The Wedding Diva

Join us!

For info, visit the Eventology website.  For tickets, visit Eventbrite.

We want to make it easier for you to get to The Simple Plan in Chicago!  For 2 payments of $174.50 you can join us in planning to take your business to the next level.

Make your first payment here:

There’s only one rule:
You must make the first payment before December 31st. An invoice will be sent to you in the last week of January for your second payment.

Here’s a bonus:
We will honor the early-bird pricing for both payments.

Here are the workshop details:
February 7-8, 2011
9:00am-4:30pm
at
Oak Brook Bath & Tennis Club
800 Oak Brook Road
Oak Brook, IL 60523-4601

Find out more here: www.thesimpleplan.biz
SEE what past graduates have to say.
SEE FAQs here.

Guarantee:  We are confident that you walk away with a business plan, a stronger business perspective, and an all-encompassing strategy.  If you don’t finish the workshop feeling that you’ve gained value for your business, we will fully refund you.

* Cost includes all workshop materials including The Simple Plan ™ workbook.  Lunch will be provided for you on both days. Refund Policy: Unfortunately we are not able to refund payment for this workshop should you decide to cancel after your purchase.  We only allocate a certain number of seats for participants so your payment reserves your seat.  You may however, find a replacement who can take your place if you are unable to attend.

Please email me if you have any questions: michelle-at-sageweddingpros.com

Here are the details:

February 7-8, 2011
9:00am-4:30pm
at
Oak Brook Bath & Tennis Club
800 Oak Brook Road
Oak Brook, IL 60523-4601

Get your tickets here: EVENTBRITE (get in on those early bird rates!)

Come one, Come all!

We are inviting people from the surrounding Midwestern states to join us at the workshop.  Here are our recommended hotels, though there are many more in the area:

Hyatt Place – $98/night – 13 minutes from venue
Hyatt Lodge Oak – $159/night – 6 minutes from venue

Our Hosts:

Our sponsors, Oak Brook Bath & Tennis Club and Calihan Catering are sure to impress as they host us over those two days.  And, we want to send a special thank you to Joan Cinquegrani from Five Grain Events who has been instrumental in bringing us to this market.  THANK YOU JOAN!

More Info:

Find out more here: www.thesimpleplan.biz
SEE what past graduates have to say.
SEE FAQs here.