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What do you Value?

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What do you value in your wedding business? I’m not sure if we ask ourselves often enough: Is this “worth it”?

Worth it to advertise? Worth it collaborate? Worth it to tweet or attend an event?  Worth it to discount your services? Worth it to speak at a workshop at no charge? Sometimes we are too quick to say YES, and other times I am shocked when I see vendors who have no problem saying NO before they really weigh out why.

So let me ask you…what is important to you? What do you value?

I value people. Those who have showed generosity, loyalty and gratitude have my support. The way a person makes you feel will either bring you closer to long lasting relationships in our industry or end them very quickly. When you say no to opportunities such as: buying an ad, collaborating on a photoshoot, or attending someone’s event you have to be ok with the door that’s going to close. Saying no affects relationships and it could make someone feel like you don’t value them. At the same time, we can’t say Yes to it all either. We have to pick and choose what we value and what is most important to us.

Next week I’m going to share some points I weigh out to help determine what I value in my business, but in the mean time take a few moments over the next week to start thinking about what you value most. It’s necessary to have a clear idea of what’s important to you so you can build your business from that foundation and align yourself with other creatives who believe in similar principles.

Photo by Elizabeth Messina

38 responses to “What do you Value?”

  2. I constantly ask myself this question! There are so many opportunities to develop your business these days and it becomes hard to focus and so easy to get lost. Sometimes I feel that I’m at Wall Mart and I want to go to Trader Joes – to only have a few but good options to choose from. Can’t wait to hear your opinion on business values!

  4. It is for sure so easy to get lost on so many things happening at the same time. Sometimes we really have to stop everything we are doing and ask ourselves which direction we want our business to move to…very hard…and very hard to say no. I look forward to read next week’s post!

  8. I agree with your points in the article about valuing relationships. Loyalty is so high in my book so if you’ve been a loyal friend, business partner, colleague, etc., I will forever help you in any way I can. Sometimes, I have to say no but you’ll know that I’ll be there to help/collaborate when I can.

  19. In my experience you have to be extremely selective about who you choose to advertise with. I’ve taken many college business class and something to think about when giving discounts is how it makes your business look. Are you trying to communicate your brand as being high end? If so high end doesn’t = discount. I have found that the kind of brides who are my target audience have no problem paying what I charge. Sure a few people end up passing but to me it’s worth it not to take every client to have the kind of exclusive/high end brand that I want.

  20. Sometimes it’s hard to strike a balance between what you give of yourself and your talents. Collaborating and making connections is usually done for free, but it has the potential to bring paying clients your way, and also shows that you really do love your craft and are generous.

  23. Thanks for this post, girl! The biggest challenge for me personally and professionally is fnding that balance and not saying YES to everything! I definitely think you have to be pushed past your breaking point to be able to truly and honestly evaluate where you want to invest. I just wish it was possible to invest everywhere I want!

  31. Great post! When we started we advertised in places we thought we should. Now we keep our ad budget small and only target key places that draw the same clients we love. Most importantly we go with our instincts and choose to surround ourselves with the wedding business vendors we respect and admire. We’ve made great friends and have built relationships that benefit our clients. We collaborate on projects and write blog posts that are helpfull to our clients and highlight our work with other vendors.

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