A Wedding Business Podcast - Tips and tricks to, grow and sustain a amazingly successful wedding business in a way that's is fun and gives you tons of freedom.
Hi everyone. I'm Nicole and I've got a wealth of knowledge in building, scaling, and growing businesses in the wedding industry. With over a decade of experience, I've built multiple businesses to surpass 6 figures a year, all in a way that allow luxurious amounts of time and freedom. I'm here to show you how to build a wedding business that does the same. You can have your dream life with a wedding business too.
Nicole:This is The Wedding Pro Academy Podcast. Hi everyone. Today we're gonna talk about the reason why some wedding businesses are super successful and others aren't. And I'm gonna break down 4 common mistakes that repel brides. I'm hoping this doesn't go right over your head because I know when I was first building my wedding business, a lot of these concepts were just like, I I didn't even think about them.
Nicole:I was so focused on doing, doing, doing. I didn't often take the time to really think about why some wedding businesses were booked out solid making lots of money and why mine wasn't. I thought if brides could find me and I could offer more than my competitors and for cheaper, then they'd book me. Now, I know it's so much more than that. I can't just offer more or do it cheaper.
Nicole:There's a whole bunch of other parts that I was completely missing. Parts I couldn't even see back then. Now that I'm over the hurdle and past the 6 figure mark with my wedding business for several years now, it seems obvious. There was some foundational stuff I just hadn't established yet. There were beliefs that were holding me back and I hadn't honed in on my expertise or learned how to sell to brides.
Nicole:I wish I had a coach or mentor or anyone at that point who could guide me and teach me these things. But back then, there just wasn't much of that out there. I'm hoping I can fix that and help some of you guys who are currently where I was struggling to get a steady flow of couples in, struggling to find my place in the wedding industry, struggling to make enough money to keep me afloat and actually stick with this business. Struggling to just make it. That's really the purpose of this episode.
Nicole:The purpose of wedding pro academy and the purpose of this podcast to help anyone who is building a wedding business and especially women because I just I just love to see women succeed. I want more of us to be to have this kind of success. I want to help people in the wedding business see real success in it, create a steady stream of income that really allows you to have and build a dream life. So, this particular episode is not going to be so much of a quick fix type episode, but more of a, let's try to think about things differently, maybe shift some beliefs, maybe structure our messaging or our marketing a little differently, so we can attract more of our ideal clients and book more weddings. In later episodes, I'll get more into actual action steps you can take.
Nicole:But for this episode, I thought it was important to lay down some bigger concepts and ideas that would help you understand why couples buy, why brides buy, how they spend money, and become aware of some maybe subtle mistakes that you could be making. I know I was making all of these mistakes when I was first building my wedding business. We'll discuss 4 common mistakes that repel brides and what to do instead to attract your ideal weddings. But first, I wanna make sure you understand the bigger picture. So here's the big picture.
Nicole:Couples need to trust you before they're going to be willing to pay you any money. Are you a reliable, trustworthy, high quality vendor? Have other couples used you before and loved working with you? Do you have amazing reviews and testimonials? Does your website look legit?
Nicole:Do you show proof of your value and professionalism? Couples need to see you as an authority in the wedding industry. This is how you become an authority, by establishing trust ahead of time. So here are a few ways. Being connected to other wedding vendors.
Nicole:Couples have heard of you before. Other vendors know who you are and have great things to say about you. Couples can find you in multiple places online. They can also find you on recommended vendors lists. They the more that they see your business pop up, then over and over and over again, the more you become an authority.
Nicole:But being an authority is also how you present yourself, how you present yourself online, through your website, through your social posts, and in person. Couples need to perceive your services or product as valuable. Brides and grooms are not paying money for something that is not valuable. Sure, they have money to spend, but you'd better show them what's in it for them. Is it an expertise solving a problem they have, capturing a moment, and sharing their days perfect?
Nicole:Value is compensated with money. The more value you can provide, the more you can charge. But you also need to know how to communicate that value. You need to fully believe in your value or service or product. If you don't believe in your value, you're not convincing anyone else of it.
Nicole:So you'll need to get behind whatever it is you're selling. You need to know that you're over delivering and worth whatever it is you're pricing your services at, plus some. You need to show them how valuable you are, how valuable your services are. And this goes back to communicating your values. Successful wedding businesses have become masters at communicating their value.
Nicole:They know what they can charge, what they do, and they stand behind it with conviction. Your price will reflect this value. The more value you provide, the better you get at communicating it, the more you can charge. Period. So, let's recap.
Nicole:Couples need to trust you. They need to see you as an authority and you need to get really really good at communicating and believing in your value. This is what makes some wedding businesses super successful and allows them to have booked out calendars. Now, let's break down 4 common mistakes you could be making that repel brides. And the reason why I know these mistakes so well is because I was making all of them.
Nicole:So, hopefully, you can learn from my mistakes. I know I don't make these mistakes anymore, but these were stuff that I just didn't know when I was first getting started and very subtle shifts that could easily unblock you and make you seem so much more valuable to a bride and book more weddings. So I'm hoping these common mistakes help you out. K. Mistake number 1, you need to offer more than your competition.
Nicole:If I offer more stuff, more time, more add ons, etcetera, then the bride and groom will see me as more valuable and choose me over my competition. You guys, I totally believe this for years, and my services page on my website was, like, a list of all the stuff that I included in my packages. I thought I needed to include everything if I wanted to get booked, but that couldn't be further from the truth, which is you need to see yourself and establish yourself as valuable before the couple will choose you. It's an inside job. I, in the beginning, didn't see myself as valuable.
Nicole:I just didn't really believe it because I didn't have the, you know, the proof, but I didn't need the proof to believe it. I could've just believed it. I could plan a wedding. I knew I was good at that. I just was looking for outside validation, but here's the truth.
Nicole:You need to see yourself and establish yourself as valuable before a bride and groom will ever pick you as their vendor or pay you any money. So work on building that validation within yourself first. Okay. Mistake number 2, lowering prices. If I'm cheaper, they'll see me as more valuable and choose me over the competition.
Nicole:This is another big mistake that I was making. I would look I would look at everybody else's websites and see what they were charging. That's how I figured out my prices in the beginning. And then I would price my own services just slightly below or sometimes significantly below what the other guys were charging. And, I thought if I am cheaper and I'm offering more stuff, like of course they're gonna pick me.
Nicole:That I know now is just not true. Couples aren't stupid, they know that cheaper isn't always better. More often than not, a higher quality product and experience costs more money and they're willing to pay more for this if they believe and trust it to be true. So, I wouldn't slash my prices anymore ever. I don't even offer discounts.
Nicole:Be for that reason, I need to establish that value within myself, and that's how I figure out my prices. I don't lower prices to get couples. Cup I overdeliver on my packages instead. Mistake number 3, giving brides and grooms everything they want so that they'll book you. And, if you're doing this or have done this, don't feel bad.
Nicole:We've all done it and here's the thought process behind it. If I give them everything they want, they can't not book me. An example would be the couple wants a 6 hour package, but they only have the budget for a 4 hour package, and so you think, oh, just this once, I will book this couple and slash my prices or whatever so that they work with me. But here's the problem. Then they're gonna ask for a free engagement shoot and this and that, and they're they they know that you aren't standing in your value, and you are willing to negotiate your pricing at any point.
Nicole:So it's already becoming really hard to make them happy. You don't wanna give them everything at that they want because that isn't necessarily what they need. And here's the truth. Couples don't know what they want. It's your job to educate them in what they need and in your value.
Nicole:You need to be able to clearly communicate your offer and your expertise based around what their vision is. If you can do this plus clearly address their worries, stresses, and fears, then the cost becomes secondary. So think about that again. You need to be able to clearly communicate your offer and your professional expertise based around their specific vision. Plus, figure out what their specific worries and stresses and fears are.
Nicole:And if you can address all of those things, you can charge whatever you think your value is worth. They will pay for your services if you can address all of those things and they won't question your price if you can confidently stand in that value. Mistake number 4. I need to work more and work harder. This was a big one, I believed for, like, ever.
Nicole:If I do more, if I work harder for them, if I work harder and harder and harder, then they'll see this and wanna book me over the other guy. If I work harder, I'll make more money. Here's the truth. Couples don't care about how hard you work or if you work more or do more. What they care about is what's in it for them.
Nicole:All they care about is what's in it for them. What are you going to give them? Is it a better experience? Better quality product? Can you take away some of the stress and worries that they have right now?
Nicole:Can you a 100% guarantee that their wedding day will be amazing and confidently communicate that? So, it's not really about doing more, working harder, offering a better price. You need to get better at communicating what's in it for them. Why you're the best fit and why they need you. And in addition, you need to be really clear about your messaging and offer, and be able to build authority and trust ahead of time.
Nicole:So, let's recap here. Couples need to trust you before they'll ever pay you money. They need to see you as an authority in the wedding industry. They need to perceive your services or product as valuable. You need to fully believe in your value.
Nicole:You need to show them how valuable you are. You need to show them your expertise. Your price then can reflect this value and you can increase pricing by increasing your value and being really good at communicating this value. This is what makes wedding businesses super successful. What allows them to make lots of money and have booked out calendars.
Nicole:And if you don't have these elements in place, you could be held back by 1 or more of these common beliefs. Thinking that you need to offer more than the other guy, more options, more hours, more add ons. Thinking that you need to lower prices. If my prices are lower, then they'll pick me. Thinking that you need to give couples everything they want.
Nicole:Sky's the limit. If you want it, I'll do it. Believing that if you work more or harder, they'll choose you. I'll do more. I'll work more.
Nicole:Of course, that's better. None of those beliefs are serving you. Here's why. You need to establish yourself as valuable before the couple will choose you. Couples know cheaper isn't always better and they're willing to pay more for a quality product and experience.
Nicole:You don't need to give them everything they want. You just need to get really clear on your expertise and offer and you need to learn how to educate couples on what they need and get really good at communicating your value. Making more money isn't about how hard you work. You don't need to work more to make more. You just need to get better at communicating what's in it for them.
Nicole:That was a lot and I hope it didn't fly over your head. But I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about what makes some businesses successful and why others struggle. And what's interesting about this is it's not so much about working hard or putting in more time doing things for cheaper. And if you're thinking this way, don't feel bad because we all think this way coming out of the corporate world working for a company and bosses. You gotta work hard to make more money.
Nicole:Right? Well, it doesn't work that way when you have your own business. It's totally different. You need to become a different person. You need to think differently.
Nicole:You need to grow in ways you never thought or considered. It's gonna push you so much that you'll feel uncomfortable all the freaking time, but that's a good thing. It's how you know you're on the right path. You essentially need to become a whole new person, thinking a new way to become successful. And this is why starting a business is so cool.
Nicole:You become a bigger version of yourself at every level. It's like expansion in the craziest best ways. And if you're gonna have a successful wedding business, you need to learn that it's not so much about what you need to do or prove or be. You'll need to step outside of you and see it from the bride's and groom's eyes. What does she believe to be true?
Nicole:What does she believe to be valuable? What does she need to hear, feel, or believe before she can trust you enough to pay you money? Just let these ideas sit for a little bit and marinate. You don't even necessarily need to do anything with them. I really just want you to start thinking about your business a little differently.
Nicole:It's like planting a seed that will slowly start to grow and flourish. And that's kinda what I wanna do for you. I'm so excited about this teaching you guys all the little things that took me decades to learn. Hopefully speeding up your learning process and getting you to a place of establishing a wedding business that makes money and gives you lots of freedom. Because I know mine does that and I want that for you guys too.
Nicole:So, if you got something out of this episode or you have questions or you wanna hear more or you have a specific thing that you'd love for me to talk about, please let me know. I'd I'd really love to hear from you. You can send me a message at nicoleat the wedding pro academy.com or drop me a dm at on Instagram at wedding dot pro dot academy. And follow me because I give lots of good tips on Instagram too. And don't forget to subscribe because I'm gonna put a new episode out every week and I can't wait to catch up with you guys again next week.
Nicole:So, bye for now.