Most wedding businesses are doomed.
Jake worked for a communications company for years, and he hated it. He’d always been really good with video, so he started a wedding videography business on the side to pursue his passion.
He worked REALLY hard. Not only on his baby video business, but at his day job, too. He was raking in the money and life was good.
Except…he had no time to spend with his family. He was exhausted all the time. Going in to that 9-5 job just got harder and harder, until one day he took the leap and QUIT.
Jake went off on his own and absolutely poured himself into that videography business. He was working 14 hour days, shooting videos, editing them, meeting with clients. This guy was talented and his customers loved him.
Except…he had no time to spend with his family. He was so exhausted that he began to hate the video work he’d once loved to do. He started dreaming about the days of punching a time clock because at least he had “off hours” back then.
Eventually, he closed up his videography business and took a job working for another company, breaking his back for them instead of himself.
Predictions for the Future of Your Wedding Business
Statistics say…
- By the end of the first year, 40% of small businesses will go out of business. Department of Commerce
- Within five years, more than 80% will FAIL. Department of Commerce
- More than 600,000 US small businesses close their doors every year. Small Business Administration
The odds of succeeding are stacked against us from the start. But we’re going to be Wedding Business Superheroes and prove them all wrong. Of course, we are. We wouldn’t be in this if we thought we were going to fail, would we?
So what happened to Jake? Why didn’t his business make it?
Jake wanted to create more money, freedom and time in his life. He thought that running his own business and being “the boss” would make that happen.
Jake had talent, drive, and nobody worked harder. Unfortunately, he forgot something that will keep you from achieving what you want every single time. While he changed his work, his career and his responsibilities…he didn’t change himself.
You CAN build a successful wedding business, and it all hinges on one critical thing…
“If your business is to change–as it must continuously change to thrive–you must change first. If you are unwilling to change, your business will never be capable of giving you want you want.” – Michael E. Gerber, The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
Change is one of the scariest things out there. We desperately want change on the outside, then we do everything we can to fight against changing ourselves.
If you want different results, you have to change what you’re doing. In order to change what you do, you have to change who you are.
So often we think that getting a new job or starting a business is going to change the results we get in life. But it won’t. Not unless we change ourselves first.
Jake switched jobs, but he didn’t change himself. He continued to work long hours, refused to delegate or outsource, and took on everything himself. As a result, he recreated the exact same miserable, stuck situation he started out with.
As I’m reading The E-Myth…highly recommended reading for ANY wedding business entrepreneur…I’m evaluating my own stuck areas and realizing that if I want the outside to change, I have no choice but to change the inside.
Take stock of yourself for a moment and answer these questions:
Where are you stuck with your wedding business?
Are you willing to start the change necessary to bring about the success you’re longing for?
You might not know everything you need to do to make that change happen, but you know the first step. It’s usually something you’ve been putting off.
Take a small step towards that change today. The fate of your wedding business depends on it.
What do YOU think?