Many wedding planners start their businesses while they are still working full-time jobs. While this is the norm, it can be the most challenging time in the entrepreneurial process.

Here are some of our best tips for balancing a growing wedding planning business with the responsibilities of a regular job. 

Create Structure

Creating structure will be the most important thing you can do when running a business and working a career. When you have two jobs, you want to ensure that you are doing both well, so structure and boundaries allow you to be your best in each role. Create a schedule for your business that gives you designated time to focus on your planning business and ensure that your clients adhere to those hours. For example, if you can only take client calls and meetings during your lunch break, evening, and weekends, don’t make any exceptions. If you start blending the lines between your time at your career and your wedding planning business, clients will not respect those boundaries. 

It can be tempting to send a quick email during work hours or return a text or call to a client, but that takes your brain out of your career job mode and puts you into planner mode. If you are trying to do both simultaneously, you will not be performing at your best, so create those pockets of time where you can be 100% focused on your wedding planning clients. You will get me done and be focused on their needs.

Managing your time will become crucial to your career and planning business, and it does not come naturally to everyone. These tips from 11 business owners about time management hacks can help get you started.  

Work Smart

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, and when you are juggling a new business and a job, those hours become stretched to the limit. If you want to have any free time in your life, you will need to work smart. That means creating automation and having a streamlined process.

Creating a streamlined process and automating your planning business will save you time and help ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. A planning process is how you work with every client, and automation could be creating auto-sent emails to gather information during specific process points. An excellent resource for creating a process and workflow is with the Wedding Planners Toolbox. 

Take Care of Yourself

When you are juggling a career and a business, you will be using all of your available time to meet your responsibilities. Make sure to set time aside for relaxation, time with family and friends, and self-care. Wedding planning is a high-stress job and has a high burnout rate, so even if it is just one day a month or a few hours here and there, make sure you take time to take a breath and have some fun. 

Build A Referral Network

Running a wedding planning business is all about relationship marketing. You can do all the social media and paid advertising you want, but the fastest way to book clients is through referrals. Having other wedding vendors and wedding venues recommending you to their clients will drive business faster than any other form of marketing.

When your time to grow your company is limited, focus on creating relationships with other wedding professionals. These may be coffee dates, collaborations, and networking events. Long-term relationships will serve your business for years to come, so make it a priority. 

Related post: How to Build Relationships with Venues

Set Business Goals

Whether you plan to transition to a full-time business owner or continue your career and have a wedding planning business on the side, setting goals will be critical to your ongoing success. If you aim to move into a full-time business over time, that will take some dedicated and specific goals. Set aside time weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly to set goals and break them down into small tasks so that you can move your business forward. 

If you have the vision of being a full-time wedding planner, there are a lot of steps to be taken to make preparations for that transition. To learn more about moving from part-time to full time check out these helpful blog posts.

Related post: How to Transition From Your Day Job to Your Wedding Business

Related post: What to Consider Before you Leave Your Day Job

You should also consider if leaving your full-time job is right for you and your family. Some wedding planners never leave their full-time job, and that is 100% ok! Some planners love their careers, love wedding planning, and want to do both. For others, they need the stability of their job to allow for wedding planning as a hobby.

Whatever your wedding planning business journey, having a full-time job and running a wedding planning business will be a challenge. If you create boundaries, systemize your business and protect your time, you can excel in your career and have fun working with your planning clients! 

This is a guest post from Amber Peterson. Amber is the owner of Pinwheel Strategic Marketing. She has a Masters Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications and consults with wedding professionals about their marketing and business challenges. Amber is also the co-founder of the Skagit Wedding Society.

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