Hi Friends! I’m back again to talk about more super useful information from the course! I feel like I say this every time, but I was VERY excited to go dive into these modules. This week is focused around business tools and pricing your business. Today, I’m going to focus mostly on pricing! Personally, this is one of my biggest hurdles when it comes to starting out as a new wedding planner. I have often felt like I didn’t know where to start because I didn’t want to charge too much for my minimal experience but at the same time I wanted to charge my worth.
Wedding Planner Pricing Strategy
I know that even though I don’t have a ton of experience as a planner on paper, that I am 110% capable of providing amazing services to my clients. Going through the Engaged Wedding Planner – Launch your Wedding Planner Biz Masterclass has given me clarity and guidance on how to move forward and tackle my pricing hurdles! I am so much more confident about how to move forward with launching my biz!
How to Avoid Being “Cheap”
In the module, Valerie talks about how important pricing is for your brand and services. Even though you may feel tempted to lowball yourself in the beginning, this lends to your reputation. For example, are you the “cheap” planner or the one who provides an amazing value and events? There are many things to take into consideration when pricing your services besides experience. For example, tasks and hours of service. Which leads to a bigger point – know exactly how long you spend with a client! When you track your hours spent working for a client you can accurately charge your client for services provided. This will also help you analyze where you may be spending too much time or have some time to spare on specific tasks.
Know what’s tasks are inside your services
When I first approached pricing my services I ran into some hurdles. One of these hurdles was actually figuring out what my services would be and the tasks that they will include. From here, I was able to estimate how much time each task should take then add those hours up for the complete time a package or service would take and put a cost to it. The module gave a helpful starting point by giving great examples of how long common wedding management tasks take! Using this breakdown, I came up with what I’m comfortable charging in my first year as a wedding planner without feeling like I’m too expensive or low balling myself.
Learning how to invoice for services
Another hurdle I faced was knowing how to invoice professionally. This was touched on briefly in the business tools module as well as the pricing section of the course. I feel like one of the most important steps is to choose business tools that will serve you most efficiently. This means making sure they include timeline management, workflow, questionnaires and, yes you guessed it, invoicing! Being able to send and receive digital invoices and online payments make it easier and quicker for clients to pay for their package and add any additional services. This is a win-win, ease of payment for your clients, a greater chance of adding services (and money) to your client’s package and easy tracking when it comes to tax season!
Know what your startup costs are
And my last hurdle, and probably the biggest, is knowing what the start-up costs would be and if I could even afford to start my business. Good news, it’s completely possible to start a wedding planning business on a low budget! In the Business Tools module, there is an entire section on business accounting, which to me sounded mildly intimidating. Me and math are NOT friends (anyone else?) Valerie includes a very comprehensive and simple explanation of terms and processes that detail start-up costs and invoicing. You can use this to create your own wedding planner pricing strategy. Once I understood the basics, I took a look at the included Biz Expense Sheet. This broke down start-up costs like website and domain, legal and insurance. While there is a small investment to start your business it’s important to include all of these elements. These combined will help you gain the trust of future clients because you look professional, organized and you are legally sound.
Make sure your branding and pricing mesh
To bring this full circle and back to my last post, pricing your services appropriately ties right back into your company’s brand and reputation! It’s important for you to have an efficient workflow and well thought out pricing, not only for yourself but for your clients and the attraction of future clients! Take a moment to think about your client and how you want them to think of your business in terms of quality, pricing and professionalism! If you’re wanting to get a handle on your pricing, check out the Launch Your Wedding Planner Biz Masterclass.
KEEP FOLLOWING MY JOURNEY
Starting a Wedding Planning Business
The Best Wedding Planners Have Event Planner Goal Objectives
Why You Need to Care About Your Wedding Planner Brand
How to Create a Wedding Planner Pricing Strategy In Minutes
Get Your Stunning Wedding Website Back on Track with Expert Advice
How to Take Control of Your Wedding Marketing
Hi, I’m is Sam! I’m 26-years-old and I live in Northern Virginia with my fiance Matt and our (pretty fat) black cat Storm. I have decided to take the leap and set out to become a wedding planner! If this is you too, follow me and my experience has I go through the Launch Your Wedding Planner Biz Masterclass.
