Wedding Planners: What are you struggling with when it comes to being a professional wedding planner and/or running a wedding planning business:

During today’s episode get the answers to questions like:

• What tools, equipment and software are essential for wedding planner’s  home office?
• Should I provide clients with a letter to give to their wedding party stating they have hired our company to assist them with their wedding date?
• Should I expect my clients to pay half of my wedding planning fee, upfront?
• …and more.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Client Consent Letter – this is a great way to let your client’s wedding vendors and bridal party know that you are now their professional wedding planner/coordinator.  You can download a sample Client Consent Letter at the Wedding Business Guide
• Wedding Business Guide – an online resource to help you start your wedding planning business.  Learn more about Wedding Business Guide, here.
• Wedding MBA – The Wedding Merchant Business Academy is an annual event dedicated to the business side of the wedding, well, business. Learn more about WeddingMBA, here.

Your Wedding Planner’s Home Office

• MyWeddingWorkbookPro – this is an affordable online solution for managing your weddings.  Learn more about MyWeddingWorkBookPro, here.
• TryFreedomVOICE – This is a  fantastic tool that I use to manage all of my incoming (and outgoing) wedding business-related telephone calls.  There are other virtual telephone services out there, but I’ve used FreedomVOICE for several years now, and love it!  Try FreedomVOICE free by clicking, here.
• iDo by Elm Software – Check out this comprehensive professional wedding planning software package designed for event professionals. Learn more about iDO for Pros, here.
• Grasshopper – Another virtual telephone system.  Learn more about Grasshopper, here.
• RingCentral – One more virtual telephone system to look into.  Learn more about RingCentral, here.
• Google Voice – No surprise to know that in addition to offering a truckload of other features, Google also has an online telephone service (imagine that!).   Learn more about Google Voice, here.
• magicJack – Although my initial firsthand experience with the magicJack wasn’t so great (I received a faulty unit), this is yet another way to accept/make telephone calls.  The device plugs into the USB port of whatever computer you’re using allowing you to make unlimited calls to the USA and Canada. A great solution if your wedding business is based outside of the US but you make/receive frequent calls from clients and vendors who are.  Learn more about magicJack, here.