Jamie Wolfer answers wedding planners' questions about getting licensed, switching to Honeybook for contracts and client management, and booking clients during engagement season. Bridal expos in January and February bring the most leads. Styled shoots require mostly floral costs, with vendors often donating their services.
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Hi, and welcome to Union Podcast.
My name is Jamie Wolfer, and I'm.
A wedding planner who absolutely loves to.
Share how I got started and scale my business to above six figures in this amazing and occasionally extremely competitive industry. In this podcast, I share the tech, tactics, mindset, and mistakes that got me to where I am today. No gatekeeping, no cloak and dagger, just full disclosure and a little humor along the way. So whether you're a planner or a solopreneur, my goal is for you to be a better business person than I ever could have been and support you on this journey. I let's dive into this week's episode. Today's episode is one of my favorite things in the entire world, and that is a live Q and A from one of our union mastermind calls.
I know you're going to love it.
Take a listen.
All right. Miranda said, can't turn on my mic because I'm in the car.
Yeah, good. On the way to fourth of July vacation.
But I'm so overwhelmed and stressed out when getting a business license, I don't understand what I'm doing or what anything means. I just need some encouragement. So a business license is so easy. So easy. I was very scared by the terminology of this, too. When I was getting started, I literally just went onto my city's website and signed up for a business. And because I was a sole proprietor, I didn't need to sign up for doing business as a DBA or an llc. I was just Jamie Wolf for coordination. There we go. Boom. Done. So I didn't need to jump through any hoops. It's probably a lot easier than you think. And in fact, you could probably call up your city and be like, hey, how do I do this? Could you tell me? And they will help you out tremendously. It is very, very simple. I know it seems and sounds and feels overwhelming, but if you start off as a sole proprietor, it's really not that complicated. So just go on your city's website and if there's a search option, do that. If there's a phone option, do that.
I'm only mildly embarrassed to admit that in the beginning, I printed out every single piece of paper, every single contract. I took handwritten notes and created a binder for every single one of my wedding planning clients. Now, in theory, that sounds really cool.
And I thought I would look really.
Cool showing up to these meetings with these binders that are full of all of these contracts with handwritten notes. But let me tell you, the chaos that ensued when I tried to Stay organized on my own and got over five events at a time. It was a nightmare. Enter Honeybook. I am telling you guys, Honeybook was literally exactly how my brain was processing wedding planning, but just in digital form. It's so easy to go in there and make any sort of customizations that you want. From adjusting your contracts to adjusting your packages, maintaining conversations back and forth that not only pop up in the app on the website, but also in your inbox as well. It's a great way to stay organized. So get out of the paper and get onto the Digital. Head to wolfraunco.com HB and use code Union at checkout to get the best deal. We interrupt this podcast because there is something extremely special that I want to.
Share with you guys.
I don't know about you, but for the last who knows how many years I have been using a frankensteined, googled, copied and pasted contract. And while that is extremely embarrassing to admit to all of our listeners, I know that there are people out there.
Who feel the same as I do.
And there were a couple things that kept me from actually getting an attorney drafted contract. Actually no, there was one thing and it was so expensive and it seemed so out of reach. That's when I learned about Legally Set. You see, Coon Bee with Legally Set has created industry specific contracts for people like you and me working in the wedding industry. They're easy to customize, they're drafted by an actual attorney and not googled. Can you imagine that? And last but not least, they are so extremely affordable. So if you were like me and maybe using a less than appropriate and or legal contract, it's time to step up your game. You have no more excuses. Head over to theunionpodcast.com legally set to check them out.
Use code union for 20% off your contracts.
Okay, one question I have that came up after seeing a post in my local wedding group today. Someone asked if a local bridal expo was worthwhile and from the course of podcast I know how important that is. A comment from a vendor caught my attention because she said she has been to this one a couple of times and the first in the fall she left with no clients but did one in January. Came with five or six clients, contacts and clients. Does the time of year does the time of year you do an expo help with business? That took me a second. Yes, I personally think so. So let's see the one that she didn't fall. There wasn't really anything but in January there was so engagement season. This Is perfect. Engagement season is Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day. Don't believe me? Google it. A majority of engagements happen between Thanksgiving Day and Valentine's Day. That's Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve and then we'll kind of see the last little remnants of that happening during Valentine's Day. So yeah, you're going to see a heck ton more potential clients in, in January or in, you know, late winter than you would in fall. Now I think that there's still a good, I think it's still a good idea to go to them as long as you can afford it and as long as it's not super, super expensive. Because I have got clients all year round at expos.
However, ours was also a very populated.
Expo at one of the biggest cities.
In California, San Diego. So a bunch of people would come in from all around the area to come to this expo, which was fantastic. Right. So I never walked away with zero clients. So I wonder if this is more remote or smaller. But if you are going to do and you want to prioritize, maybe just doing one expo a year, I would prioritize. In the middle of winter, which basically is January and or February. How do you initiate a styled shoot with other vendors and what kind of out of pocket expenses should I expect? Do vendors typically donate their services like florals, et cetera, or should I expect to pay for those? This, there is not a set rule when it comes to this.
If you have some buddies that you're.
Working with, yes, they'll pitch in, but for the most part it's probably coming out of your pocket here. I've seen it structured a few different ways. I've paid for a venue, but I haven't paid for. Let's see, I paid for a venue, I paid for decor items.
Um, hey, with the styled shoot that.
We did at you and yours distillery.
Did we split the cost of the florals?
Rebecca?
I don't remember.
Sometimes people split the cost of the.
Florals because that is literally the only hard cost that you're probably going to.
Have to have if you're doing a styled shoot, like a proper styled shoot. So I've seen photographers where they. I helped you with the cost. See, I need you to help me with the brain.
That's literally the only hard cost that.
You could probably expect. You, you can usually get a sample dress for free. As long as you return it clean. There might be a small cleaning fee added onto that. You don't have to pay for a venue, you don't have to buy extra decor stuff, but usually the other vendors just donate their time and their skill set. So they don't necessarily. Bakers will donate their stuff. I haven't had to pay for baker stuff. I don't think so. It's all about conversation with them. That's kind of the biggest thing. But the biggest cost is going to be florals, specifically because you have to order so many bunches to be able to make that work.
That's all we have for this week's episode, guys. If you enjoyed it, do me a favor, screenshot that episode and share it on socials.
Tag me in it.
I would love to see Wolfer and Co. On Instagram.
Let me know if you're enjoying it. You can also let me know if.
You didn't enjoy it, but I'm probably.
Not gonna reassure that one.
I hope you guys enjoy this week's episode and we'll see you in the next one.
