I’ve been mulling over this topic for a few days now and want to open the blog up to discussion. Over the years I’ve read blog posts, articles, and tweets from industry professionals (mostly planners, designers and photographers) educating clients on why they should hire specific vendors. Event Planners vs. Venue Planners, what experience means in the industry, why a wedding planner is valuable to begin with, what to look for...

Ask yourself— are you part of a creative group? Some of you might be surprised to find that you are indeed part of a cosmic creative entity responsible for making so many of your ideas happen. Because, let’s face it, most ideas don’t happen from start to finish with just one person. The lone genius is rare. Claude Monet (admittedly my least favorite painter) was the founder of Impressionism, but the movement itself arose from a...

I started my business like most of you— on my living room couch, in between family guy and and two and a half men, on the drive to “work” at my corporate job, and during every waking hour on the weekends and weeknights. It started off as a one employee business: me. Yep, little ole me as the head of operations, “president,” book keeper, business manager, event planner, designer, brand creator, website developer, IT guy, blogger,...

Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go. 2010 was the year of travel for me. I traveled more this past year than any other year before. Taking a look at this map is humbling to me— and...

A few months ago we added a notation to our employee handbook regarding facebook. Whether you love it, hate it, or just don’t care about it— facebook is not going to go away. It’s use by over 400 million people and growing. For those of you with interns and staff out of college— I’m 99% certain they have a facebook page. Have you ever considered how their facebook page will represent your business? I know it seems like an...

I’m really excited to share with you a workshop put together by my talented and extremely smart friend, Saundra Hadley, an event professional who has been in the business of selling for many years. Saundra has put together a smart workshop to teach professionals like us how to sell our services to potential clients. The power of selling is something that we’re all trying to perfect. When I get into this business I...

photography by carla ten eyck In a conversation with my assistant we were discussing how a client’s attitude toward cost can affect their overall experience. In a consultation, when a client says to me, “you’re expensive,” or “you’re more than we budgeted for,” my response is, “Well, yes, we are certainly not the least expensive option you’ll consider.” I think that resonates with clients, and most of them then...