While they can be done tastefully, balloons just aren't my thing. Unless it's for a kid's party.
A few years ago, in 2008, I had a consultation with a bride. Everything was going fairly well until she mentioned that she loved balloons and really wanted to find a way to include them in her wedding. My heart sunk and I had a pit in my stomach. Balloons may be for the wedding planner down the street, but I knew that I just don't do balloons. Unfortunately, I took the wedding anyways.
Fast forward to the actual wedding, and while I had been able to contribute my own style and spin to the event, there were still balloon bunches in clusters around the dance floor. The bride was happy, which is what counts, but the wedding isn't in my portfolio nor was it the best experience.
It just goes to show that you (we, me) have to do yourself (ourselves, myself) the favor of recognizing what's right and what's not. While I may have given the bride a spectacular wedding, looking back, I can guarantee that she would have had a better experience with someone else, and I would have enjoyed my work. The pit in my stomach never went away, and I can honestly say I dreaded the minutes leading up to the day. In the end it wasn't just the balloons..they were just the first sign that me and that bride weren't a good match in many areas. And what do I have to show for it? I never even asked the photographer for professional photos..I just wanted to move on.
Learning how to say no is one of the toughest lessons I'm still learning in business. But at least I've learned to recognize how good I feel when I'm working with the right client. I'd love to hear how you're dealing with that recognition, because I know it will always be a work in progress.
**As we get nearer to our new brand launch, this is a new series that I've wanted to start for a while. I believe sharing thoughts, experiences, good things, and bad things in business, especially in the wedding business is paramount for growth. I hope you'll chime in from time to time!**
2 comments:
This has been one of the hardest lessons to learn. We are such people-pleasers that we'll try to make everyone happy, but sacrifice our happiness and our business in the process. Becoming more selective has saved our sanity--and made both the clients we take and those we refer elsewhere happier!
So true, Jennifer! I was once told that people that are in the wedding business are usually life-long people pleasers. We just love to love and to make people happy :) But it really has only been since we've been saying "no" that we realize just how nice it is pleasing the clients that please us!
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