When I started my wedding planning business back in 2005, I had HUGE dreams. I wanted an empire. I wanted a financially successful planning company with associate planners. I wanted to be a speaker in the industry. I wanted to expand my business to include a studio space. I wanted to do big weddings with great budgets. I wanted to eventually help others grow their business through what I learned. I wanted my own empire.

In the 10 years of owning my wedding and event planning business, I built my version of the empire. I worked hard, attended numerous conferences, read more than 50 business books, took online classes, hired coaches, built a team, won numerous awards, was published online and in print more than 30 times, opened a co-working wedding studio, and was featured regularly on local news stations sharing my expertise. I made my version of success. For a long time, I didn’t understand why other planners did not have that same drive. Why wouldn’t you want an empire?

Now that I have had time to reflect back on those years, remember the feeling of burn-out I had at times, and work with many event planners through my business coaching practice, I get it. We all have our definition of what success is and what we want from being a wedding and event planner. I know many wedding and event planners who also want the empire. They are working hard to achieve the success they desire.

On the other hand, I also know many planners who only want to do a handful of weddings a year with no desire to attend industry conferences or grow their business. There are also a number of event planners who enjoy keeping their planning business as a side gig with no plans to make it their full-time job. They prefer having a boutique business.

Whatever it is you want out of this career, it’s yours for the taking. If you want the empire, put in the work, commitment, and time to make it happen. If you want to keep your business boutique and small, own that plan and do exactly what you want with your business.

Whether you want the empire or the boutique, take the time to appreciate the success you have right now. We get so focused on getting to the next level of success that we forget to celebrate and acknowledge the success we have.

Are you building an empire or a boutique business? Share your thoughts in the comments!