When you know better, you do better. Having a business plan for your wedding coordinator business is “knowing better.” As you learn how to become a wedding planner, planing the business side of the equation your business is the first foundation step.
Statistics show that entrepreneurs who plan their business are more likely to succeed.
Since your business is planning (for weddings), you should prove your mettle with an effective business plan to help you scale your wedding coordination business.
Just like you would plan each individual wedding for your clients, a business plan takes care of the nitty-gritty for your consultancy.
6 Benefits of Having a Wedding Coordinator Business Plan in 2022
Benjamin Franklin famously said that “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
As a wedding planner and coordinator, you are in the planning business. By not planning your business, you are leaving room for unknown factors that may ruin your business.
The benefits of having a plan for your wedding coordinator business is even more far-reaching than a business plan for the average consultancy.
Consider that planning your business path has these six benefits:
1. Raise Funds and Attract Investors
Nobody will give you money without some well-laid plans. Simply knowing you want to make a living from coordinating weddings is not enough.
You need to create a life plan for your business that will prove you have the goods to be financially successful in the long-term.
A comprehensive business plan helps you attract the right investors (should you choose to go this route).
2. Prove Your Business Smarts
Being business smart is not just about calculating finances. You need to be able to handle issues, resolve challenges, and manage all the resources at your disposal.
By being smart, you ensure your investors find value.
3. Spot Issues Before They Appear
If you can see the edge before you fall, you can avoid weakness. Generate industry insights by consulting with people in your field and people who have used planners in the past. What issues to they experience? What mistakes do they think should be addressed? Learn from others, so that you don’t make this same mistake.
4. Become an Effective Communicator
With your business plan, you can show investors precisely what you want to achieve, and you can explain clearly what you want from them.
You can use it as proof to convince people to work with you, securing supplier credit and attracting new customers.
5. Gain New Insights
A business plan isn’t set in stone once it is written. Instead, see it as a living document that helps you think creatively about how to start and grow a wedding planning business.
If you come across a challenge, use this opportunity to update your plan. Keep adding and subtracting as you iron our services, firm up mission statements, and pivot target audience.
6. Business to Action Plan
With a business plan, your wedding planning business can schedule action items, future steps, and forthcoming activities to show you where you need to focus and expand.
Create an outline, fleshing it out as you learn about wedding planning and ask the right questions.
The Elements of Wedding Planner Business Plan
The wedding coordinator business plan is where you gather all your thoughts, ideas, and future budget so you can plan how you will address issues and reach goals.
The aspects of a comprehensive business plan are:
The Structure of Your Wedding Planning Business
As part of your strategy on how to become a wedding planner, you should look at the legal aspects of your business, such as the legal name of the consultancy and whether you will be operating as a sole proprietor or even enter into a partnership with a fellow coordinator.
You can also include all the relevant contact information and a brief professional bio for each of you. Valuable should you seek investors, or for adopting as a part of your website.
Your Mission and Goals
Your business should strive to become a recognizable brand in your local wedding industry. To do this, you need to stand apart from the flock.
You should evaluate the economic trends and patterns of expansion in the wedding industry. Use these insights to craft a mission statement, and set specific goals you wish to accomplish. You missio statement should be powerful and dialled in. “Planning weddings for couples” is not good enough.
The Services You Provide
Not all wedding planners provide a full-stack service. You can choose to be a one-stop-shop for your clients or specialize in offering partial wedding planning packages.
Full wedding planning includes coordinating everything from concept design up until the wedding event (and even the honeymoon).
Partial wedding planning involves helping the happy couple with their wedding timeline. You may also be asked to manage the wedding day and ensure everything flows smoothly.
Then there are also wedding consultation services. If you choose to offer this service, you are only responsible for providing recommendations to the bride- and groom-to-be.
Suppliers, Vendors, and Contractors Your Business Will Use
By identifying contractors and future suppliers you will regularly use, you will build a reference list to help you make estimates for services, fees, and contracts.
Turnaround Times and Delivery Methods for Each Wedding
Often, your investors will be actual clients too, and by having methods to plan the turnaround times for each project, you can explain how you intend to meet deadlines, schedule deliveries, and set milestones for your clients and investors.
Your Target Market
Every business needs to know their target market.
While you should consider the profile of your bride and groom, and whether you want to help all couples or those in a certain income bracket, you should also check out your competitors.
Knowing what your competitors are doing well and where there are gaps can help you set your wedding planning business apart.
Your Marketing Strategy
Identify what methods you will use to find clients. This is your marketing approach.
Investigate different marketing verticals such as traditional advertisements and digital alternatives like social media and search engine marketing.
With the right keywords in your website or blog, you can attract clients through Google search.
Be sure to have the information ready to answer client questions. A price list, commission rates, and a list of services will come in handy. Lead the industry with blogs that predict wedding trends and showcase your work.
Generate social oomph with resources such as Pinterest, TikTok, and Twitter. Attend conventions as a vendor or speaker and be noticed.
Financial Aspects of Your Business
Become financially responsible, balancing your bank statements, accurately reporting your expenses and income, and showing you can manage your cash flow effectively.
These all boost investor confidence and help clients trust you to manage their wedding budgets too.
The Executive Summary
With a business plan, just like with a wedding, presentation is everything.
The executive summary is the icing on the wedding business cake. This is where you draw everything together, presenting a succinct and coherent business statement, vision, goals, and mission statement.
You need to prove you know exactly what you want for your wedding coordination business and that you know how to overcome challenges to get there.
Entirely based on your executive summary, investors may decide to invest or not, and this is often the first impression your business plan will make.
An executive summary is also a great way for you to touch base with your original business intentions, keep yourself on track, and keep pushing for success.
Final Thoughts on How to Become a Wedding Planner
Your wedding coordinator business plan is one important aspect in your journey of how to become a wedding planner.
Use the document as a roadmap to show you where you are and where you want to be, with detailed planning, issue spotting, and solution finding.
