Wed Altered Issue 1
The Business of Bridal Done Differently - building up and connecting the independent business owners of the bridal fashion world!
The Business of Bridal Done Differently - building up and connecting the independent business owners of the bridal fashion world!
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ISSUE 01<br />
find your voice<br />
The Business of Bridal Done Differently.<br />
EMPLOYEES<br />
Pull them into your<br />
brand and big vision<br />
HOW TO CREATE<br />
A COMPELLING BRAND<br />
that showcases your<br />
in-store experience<br />
5 Reasons Why<br />
Encore Brides Have it Good<br />
MARCH 2018
TABLE OF<br />
CONTENTS<br />
3<br />
5<br />
13<br />
17<br />
21<br />
29<br />
33<br />
35<br />
37<br />
41<br />
43<br />
Letter from the Editor<br />
Sound of the Silent Voice<br />
Meet Erin - Owner of Luna Boutique in PA<br />
TRENDS REPORT: The New Vintage<br />
How to Create a Compelling Brand that Showcases Your In-store Experience<br />
5 Reasons hy Encore Brides Have it Good<br />
Employees - Pull Them into Your Brand And Big Vision<br />
TRENDS REPORT: Embroider and Embellish<br />
Meet Alyson - Designer of Alyson Nicole<br />
Let’s Talk: Serving and Styling Plus Size Brides<br />
Out of the Office - Block Time to Step Away and Work on Big Thinking Projects<br />
On The Cover...<br />
Dress by Pure Magnolia
EDITOR<br />
Christen Schneider<br />
CONTRIBUTORS AND FEATURES<br />
Wendy Rivera<br />
Erin Szymanski<br />
Sophie Newman<br />
Natalie Harris<br />
Alyson Melhus<br />
Keneshia Raymond<br />
Dress by Suzanne Anderson Couture
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR<br />
Welcome to <strong>Wed</strong> <strong>Altered</strong> Magazine!<br />
We're all about bringing the focus to the amazing individuals and companies and building a<br />
genuine community. It's really the only way to do business in our book. This is our first issue, but<br />
we've been on the move in the industry since 2013...bringing together independent designers and<br />
stores who take a stand for their vision and dreams.<br />
I believe (I know) that the industry has seen an unbelievable amount of change in the last 5 to 10<br />
years. I'm also very sure that we're just getting started. Things are shifting faster than ever and<br />
retailers are feeling the push and pull. But it's all what you make of it and we're ready to do the work<br />
to keep the industry strong, welcoming, creative, and fun. It's all about being true to your brides and<br />
your brand.<br />
I spend my day watching small business owners do amazing things, take leaps, and create the<br />
reality they are dreaming of...I'm beyond lucky. You have something pretty amazing to offer your<br />
ideal brides. Which is great, because no one can or should serve everyone. It's a recipe for disaster<br />
and just general blah-ness in your daily work. But if you can nail down your soul match clients and<br />
find a team of designers, staff, and community that will help you serve them like never before, you<br />
will be amazed at what's ahead.<br />
When you know who you're meant to serve and what you believe in, you can be crystal clear in your<br />
message. That means you have the kind of authentic marketing and service that creates raving fans<br />
and work days that fill you up instead of running you down.<br />
You're just speaking your truth. And you are happy because you're allowing your vision to shine and<br />
trusting that it's going to take you and your business where you want to go.<br />
We talk all the time about couples looking for connection to their wedding day, their choices, and<br />
their loved ones. Your brides want the same with you. Many of the pieces in this issue are about<br />
checking in on that message that you put out there and really making sure it delivers that<br />
meaningful connection with your perfect client.<br />
The path of our group and the industry over the last 5 years has been a wild, joyful, fantastic one and<br />
this magazine has been a dream for a while now. Since I've been hearing more and more from<br />
buyers about how they know they need to make changes, it felt like the time to launch it had finally<br />
arrived. I'm so excited that you're here with us and I'm looking forward to what's ahead.<br />
To the unique you that you are and the special light only you can shine in life and in business. We<br />
are all the better for it.<br />
Christen<br />
www.wedaltered.com
Wendy’s pic<br />
Sound of the<br />
Silent Voice<br />
by Wendy Rivera
A<br />
ll over the world, there is a<br />
sound I hear when I speak<br />
with bridal boutique owners.<br />
Whether I am in Detroit,<br />
Atlanta, Las Vegas, or London, the<br />
same sound fills my ears as I listen to<br />
many of these passionate, powerful<br />
women (mostly) who own bridal<br />
businesses. We talk about<br />
important issues like booking more<br />
appointments, closing more sales,<br />
handling objections and customer<br />
service issues, etc. But for all of the<br />
prescriptions I could give to help a<br />
bridal boutique better its business,<br />
there is one piece of advice above all<br />
that is difficult for owners to receive.<br />
Ironically, it is probably the most<br />
important piece of advice I could<br />
ever give as well.<br />
My advice is this: find your voice, let<br />
it be heard in your community, and<br />
build your brand based on all that<br />
you are. When you do this, you will<br />
not only be identifiable, but<br />
unshakable in your market. That is<br />
when I hear it — the sound of the<br />
silent voice. I hear replies to my<br />
advice that outline in spectacular<br />
form all the reasons why the voice of<br />
this intelligent, accomplished<br />
woman standing in front of me<br />
should not be heard. She should<br />
not share her story with the world<br />
around her, because she is<br />
uninteresting or undeserving, and<br />
after all, it’s not about her anyway. I<br />
hear the voice that no one else will<br />
get to hear, because the woman<br />
who possesses it has convinced<br />
herself to stay silent. For a thousand<br />
different reasons, these people with<br />
compelling stories and engaging<br />
personalities decide they are more<br />
valuable to themselves as muted<br />
bystanders to the success they hope<br />
to somehow manufacture.<br />
By some process or principle, there<br />
is a significant contingent of<br />
retailers out there that have come to<br />
see themselves as an insignificant<br />
part of their potential success. They<br />
can only contribute via their desk<br />
behind the office door. That may<br />
have been true at some point in the<br />
past, but the message I want to<br />
sound throughout the bridal<br />
industry is that retailers are their<br />
own best representatives. Yes, you<br />
should carry strong designers, but<br />
there is a difference between<br />
partnering with quality designers<br />
and relying on them for the<br />
marketing and branding we ought<br />
to be doing ourselves as retailers.<br />
My store is called, Ava Laurénne<br />
Bride, after my daughter, who was<br />
only 2 years old when we opened.<br />
She heard us say the store name so<br />
much in the first few years of her life<br />
that she thought her name was Ava<br />
Laurénne Bride, and we had to<br />
convince her that she was actually<br />
named, Ava Laurénne Rivera. From<br />
our very beginning, we wanted our<br />
brand to mean something in our<br />
community. It was so personal. Our<br />
daughter’s name should mean<br />
www.wedaltered.com 6
something special for girls who find<br />
a special piece of their family history<br />
with us. Our shoppe is the point at<br />
which their family meets our’s, so<br />
we determined to define what it<br />
would mean for a newly engaged<br />
girl to walk into our store and<br />
become an Ava Laurénne Bride.<br />
My husband and I have a shared<br />
background in dramatic<br />
production, and our bridal shoppe is<br />
in an old theater, opened in 1929, so<br />
for us, it was all about events. We<br />
threw parties, fashion shows, and<br />
exclusive vendor showcases for our<br />
brides. “Your dress is your ticket,”<br />
was our tag line. If you bought your<br />
dress at Ava Laurénne Bride, you<br />
became a part of a special sorority<br />
in our town. You got to do things<br />
that other<br />
brides didn’t<br />
get to do,<br />
which made<br />
you even more<br />
celebrated<br />
than you had<br />
been before.<br />
On any<br />
Saturday of the<br />
year, whenever<br />
a girl finds her<br />
dress at our<br />
shoppe, we sit<br />
her down with<br />
her family, and<br />
I share a special message with them<br />
— nothing less than the secret to<br />
having the perfect wedding day.<br />
The secret is that their wedding day<br />
is already perfect, because after that<br />
day, this bride and her love will<br />
spend the rest of their lives<br />
together. That fact is what makes<br />
their day perfect, so if the napkins<br />
are wrong and the cake falls, it’s all a<br />
part of an already perfect day that<br />
nothing could ever ruin. After this<br />
short word to the bride, my<br />
husband and I stand on the spiral<br />
staircase overlooking the main floor<br />
and celebrate this moment by<br />
singing, “The Prayer,” to the bride<br />
and her family.<br />
We have created a brand that<br />
means something to the brides in<br />
our area, before they ever step foot<br />
in our boutique. When you’re<br />
working so hard to build something<br />
intangible, like a brand, it can be<br />
difficult from within the project, to<br />
detect if all of this work is<br />
amounting to everything you hope<br />
it will. So, it is extremely helpful<br />
when a bit of feedback makes its<br />
way back to you to let you know all<br />
has not been in vain.<br />
About two and a half years after we<br />
opened, I was on Facebook and<br />
noticed a post with a photo of a girl<br />
and her<br />
boyfriend in<br />
front of our<br />
boutique.<br />
H o w e v e r ,<br />
something was<br />
strange about it.<br />
It was dark in the<br />
photo, and the<br />
store was closed.<br />
They had<br />
stopped and taken a photo in front<br />
of our shoppe at night. Finally,<br />
when I read her post, I realized what<br />
had happened. She said, “my<br />
boyfriend wasn’t sure what to do to<br />
propose to me, but he knew I<br />
wanted to be an Ava Laurénne<br />
Bride. So, as we were walking<br />
downtown tonight, he stopped in<br />
front of Ava Laurénne and<br />
proposed!” This newly engaged girl<br />
told us volumes about what our<br />
branding had accomplished in our<br />
community. She had such a clearly<br />
defined idea of what it would mean<br />
to become an Ava Laurénne Bride,<br />
that she had told everyone<br />
including her fiancé that this was a<br />
goal of hers. So strong was the<br />
impression she made on her fiancé<br />
when relaying her desire, that he<br />
thought his best course of action in<br />
proposing would be to surprise her<br />
in front of our little shoppe. How<br />
unbelievable! We were absolutely<br />
blown away by this story!<br />
What does all of this mean? That<br />
when we put ourselves out there, let<br />
our voices be heard, and make<br />
ourselves a little vulnerable (it feels<br />
very vulnerable to get up and sing<br />
to 4 brides who just found their<br />
wedding dresses!), our vulnerability<br />
is met by people wanting to share<br />
more than a transaction<br />
with us.<br />
In upstate New York, I<br />
visited the store of a very<br />
dear woman who had come<br />
across a bridal expert<br />
whose advice to bridal<br />
shoppe owners was if what<br />
they were spending their<br />
time on was not<br />
contributing to the success<br />
of their business, they<br />
should drop it from their<br />
lives. This was undoubtedly<br />
an austere approach to<br />
bridal, but Sarah, the owner,<br />
took it to heart. Her hobby<br />
happened to be needlepoint, and it<br />
was her grandmother who had<br />
taught her this craft when she was<br />
just a girl sitting on the arm of a<br />
www.wedaltered.com
chair next to her grandmother,<br />
watching and learning. In fact, it<br />
was the inspiration of the<br />
needlepoint work she learned from<br />
her grandmother that led her to<br />
want to open a bridal store in the<br />
first place. Yet, as a result of the<br />
advice of this so-called expert, she<br />
gave up needlepoint entirely and<br />
had not picked it up for six years.<br />
Her voice fell silent.<br />
During my visit I encouraged her to<br />
consider picking up again this<br />
hobby that had so inspired her to<br />
dream big things for herself. We<br />
also worked together on the layout<br />
of her store, tweaking things to<br />
tailor the store’s look to support the<br />
impression we hoped to create with<br />
brides as they walked into the<br />
boutique. As we were arranging<br />
furniture, there was one piece I<br />
noticed that didn’t seem to be in<br />
quite the same style as the others.<br />
It was a chair that seemed more<br />
intended for a home than a<br />
boutique setting, and I was having<br />
trouble envisioning exactly where it<br />
would fit into the finished picture.<br />
Finally, I asked Sarah about the<br />
chair and where she thought it<br />
might fit the best, and she said,<br />
“this is the chair where my<br />
grandmother taught me<br />
needlepoint when I was a little girl.”<br />
And, it all finally made sense. This<br />
chair was present, not because the<br />
style was a great fit with the other<br />
furniture, but because without this<br />
chair, Sarah would never have<br />
opened a bridal<br />
boutique in the first<br />
place. So, I asked her<br />
if she had a picture of<br />
her grandmother, and<br />
we put together a<br />
beautiful, framed<br />
tribute to Sarah’s<br />
grandmother. It<br />
hangs on the wall,<br />
and under the tribute<br />
sits the chair. Now,<br />
when a bride finds<br />
her dress at Sarah’s<br />
shoppe, she has her<br />
picture taken as she<br />
sits in this special<br />
chair. The story that<br />
she had been told to<br />
keep quiet, began to<br />
stir, and the voice that<br />
had so long been<br />
silent, began to make<br />
a sound.<br />
There is nothing more<br />
beautiful than the<br />
sound of a voice no<br />
longer silent — a voice<br />
now audible for every<br />
bride to hear!<br />
Let your voice be heard.<br />
WENDY RIVERA<br />
Wendy Rivera is a Nationally Recognized Expert in the<br />
Bridal Industry, and has exploded onto the scene with Do<br />
You Speak Bride! Wendy is a powerful communicator<br />
both on stage and off, and has a passion for helping<br />
shoppes learn the very nuanced language of “Bride”.<br />
Wendy is a writer, director, coach, speaker, counselor,<br />
mom and bridal shoppe owner, and is passionate about<br />
helping bridal boutiques all over the world to increase<br />
every part of their business — and become THE<br />
destination in Bride Country!!<br />
www.doyouspeakbride.com<br />
8
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VOW in Atlanta in April and at the<br />
<strong>Wed</strong> <strong>Altered</strong> show during New York<br />
Bridal Fashion Week in October!<br />
Dresses by Nora Sarman<br />
Dresses by Anya Dionne<br />
Subscribe to get all the info!
Erin pic<br />
MEET ERIN<br />
Owner of Luna Boutique in PA<br />
Photos by Alexandra Ribar and Mandy Holesh
I<br />
‘ve admired Erin’s spirit and the<br />
reputation she’s built with<br />
brides in the midwest since she<br />
opened 5 years ago, so I was<br />
excited we got to hear all about the<br />
big moves she’s been making to<br />
grow recently! She also gave us a<br />
peek at the beautiful new space her<br />
store(s) call home...<br />
You're based in Pittsburgh. Tell me<br />
a little about what sets your city<br />
apart?<br />
Pittsburgh is a vibrant city with a<br />
strong history of industry and<br />
innovation. We're also quite friendly<br />
and hard-working. All of those<br />
things combined create<br />
communities that appreciate and<br />
actively support creatives, small<br />
businesses, and the arts.<br />
What led to you opening your<br />
store?<br />
As my friends started getting<br />
married, I would go shopping with<br />
them and look around at the<br />
traditional wedding gowns<br />
thinking, "If this was me, I wouldn't<br />
want to wear any of these!" I was<br />
also pretty turned off by the<br />
salespeople that would assume and<br />
assert that a bride would have to<br />
do/say/wear certain things, just<br />
because she was a woman getting<br />
married. I felt so strongly that I<br />
decided there was no way I was the<br />
only person who felt that way. I then<br />
found that there were small,<br />
independent designers that were<br />
creating unique and more relaxed<br />
wedding dresses, and I knew that I<br />
had to crack the industry traditions<br />
wide open and share those dresses<br />
with like-minded people, through a<br />
more laid-back and accepting<br />
shopping experience.<br />
What's your biggest piece of<br />
advice for other store owners?<br />
Now that there are so many more<br />
non-traditional designers and<br />
stores, you have to work harder to<br />
stand out. Don't just look to what<br />
everyone similar to you is doing.;<br />
keep an eye out for what resonates<br />
with you personally, and listen to<br />
what your clients are asking for.<br />
Why do you love<br />
what you do?<br />
The most<br />
rewarding thing to<br />
me is when a client<br />
walks in, sees our<br />
selection, and just<br />
knows that her<br />
dress is here.<br />
Finding that<br />
perfect fit - both in<br />
style options and<br />
environment - can<br />
mean so much;<br />
taking the anxiety<br />
and nervousness out of the<br />
shopping process, and letting them<br />
know that there's a place where<br />
they can embrace and celebrate<br />
their individuality.<br />
Quick Details:<br />
Price range - $2,000-$8,000<br />
Number of fitting rooms - 1 for<br />
private bridal appointments, 4 total<br />
Staff/team? - It’s myself and two<br />
amazing stylists.<br />
3 words to describe your store vibe -<br />
Sophisticated, relaxed, inspiring<br />
3 words to describe your bride -<br />
Free-spirited, confident, original<br />
Bridal only or other departments? -<br />
Bridal as well as special occasion;<br />
fashion-forward cocktail and<br />
evening dresses<br />
How do you spread the work<br />
around when things get really<br />
busy? Do you have a team, an<br />
intern, outsource social media? Do<br />
it all yourself?<br />
Ha, I feel like things are always<br />
really busy! We have a great team of<br />
three: myself and two incredible<br />
stylists that perfectly embody the<br />
vibe of the Luna brand. We rotate<br />
leading bridal appointments, but<br />
most of the behind the scenes<br />
business work is all on me. I am<br />
constantly trying new things to<br />
streamline all of that. I'm working<br />
on becoming the entrepreneur who<br />
checks email only at specific times<br />
of day, and - again - I use<br />
spreadsheets and checklists to keep<br />
tasks organized. My accounting<br />
background also really helps when<br />
it comes to bookkeeping; I'm the<br />
rare business owner who can do<br />
and enjoys doing my own<br />
bookkeeping! I use Later to plan out<br />
Instagram posts (when I can), and<br />
our stylists also contribute to our IG<br />
stories.<br />
What's a struggle you've faced and<br />
how did it help you and your<br />
business grow?<br />
When I opened Glitter & Grit five<br />
years ago, the space I fell in love<br />
with was very small - less than 750<br />
square feet! It created limitations on<br />
how many brides we could see in a<br />
day, and in what we could carry in<br />
the store. I really wanted to expand<br />
our offerings with more<br />
fashion-forward bridal options, as<br />
well as other special occasion<br />
dresses. Last fall, we opened our<br />
sister store, Luna, to do just that. It<br />
quickly became clear that<br />
www.wedaltered.com<br />
14
Pittsburgh brides wanted to explore<br />
the options at both stores, which led<br />
to the decision of merging them<br />
together (just this month!) rather<br />
than waste everyone's tie between<br />
the two locations. I had thought that<br />
might happen someday, but I hadn't<br />
expected it to be so quickly. It was<br />
hard to say goodbye to Glitter & Grit;<br />
the location, the intimacy of the<br />
small space, and five years of<br />
memories with brides... but I'm so<br />
excited to continue to grow and see<br />
where the next five years lead!<br />
How do you plug into your local<br />
community?<br />
Pittsburgh is a smaller city, which<br />
allows for more tight-knit<br />
communities. How I love to connect<br />
with industry friends is one-on-one,<br />
or in small groups, over coffee or a<br />
glass of wine. I feel that the<br />
connection is so much stronger<br />
when you're able to do that. I always<br />
love flexing creative muscles<br />
through styled shoots together, but<br />
we don't usually get to talk much<br />
during the planning and executing<br />
of those. Networking is always a<br />
good way to find new people to get<br />
to know better over drinks!<br />
What's your best behind the scene<br />
process or tool could you not live<br />
without? What inspired you to find<br />
it/come up with it?<br />
Regardless of the official systems I<br />
have in place, I can't live without<br />
Excel spreadsheets. My main one for<br />
brides tracks all of their personal<br />
info, the status of their orders, and<br />
alerts me to upcoming weddings so<br />
that I can send out a little something<br />
congratulatory. I mastered Excel in<br />
my "former life" as an accountant,<br />
and depend on it for organizing<br />
information - I even make<br />
spreadsheets for vacation planning!<br />
What's your favorite way to do<br />
something special for brides?<br />
Because our final interaction with<br />
brides is usually a few months out<br />
from their wedding, I like to send a<br />
little gift in the mail around the time<br />
of their wedding, to let them know<br />
that we're thinking of them and<br />
wishing them the best.<br />
www.luna-boutique.co
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color and fit, OM<br />
Design Studio’s<br />
gown still has that<br />
60’s feel.<br />
the new<br />
cape<br />
You really can’t find an<br />
era that doesn’t have<br />
capes, but pairing this<br />
Pure Magnolia style<br />
with a crop top and slit<br />
bring it into its own.<br />
What happens when yo<br />
mix a cape with off the<br />
shoulder sleeves? This<br />
Bo & Luca beauty.<br />
pearls<br />
Naturae Design gives<br />
the nontraditional<br />
bride a chance to wear<br />
pearls with this<br />
dramatic wrap earring.<br />
This soft fi<br />
style by M<br />
Maids is up<br />
with a soft
A dramatic fringe<br />
makes Alyson<br />
Nicole’s veil<br />
anything but<br />
traditional.<br />
details<br />
Steven Birnbaum<br />
takes the ruffle we<br />
all love and gives it<br />
new lines on this<br />
piece.<br />
Edith Élan’s gown<br />
has a beaded<br />
geometric twist on<br />
the classic illusion<br />
with buttons.<br />
u<br />
Kate McDonald gives<br />
modern brides a new<br />
perspective on the<br />
everyday Jacquard<br />
fabric with this<br />
metallic touch.<br />
tted<br />
ink<br />
dated<br />
pink.<br />
color
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Come join the conversation on Facebook!
“If you work<br />
really hard and<br />
are kind, amazing<br />
things will<br />
happen.”<br />
~ Conan O’Brien<br />
Don’t forget to<br />
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future issues!<br />
Couture Bridal Vancouver<br />
www.om-designstudio.com
How to create a<br />
compelling brand<br />
that showcases your<br />
in-store experience<br />
Sophie’s pic<br />
by Sophie Newman<br />
Dress by Renegade Bridal
T<br />
hink of your brand as the<br />
packaging that entices<br />
someone to open your offer.<br />
With time and consideration,<br />
your business is beautifully<br />
wrapped and captivating for your<br />
ideal customer. However, there are<br />
many aspects that go into<br />
developing your strong, detailed,<br />
and compelling presence. And your<br />
in-store experience is only part of it.<br />
A strong brand is developed by<br />
considering the entire experience of<br />
engaging with your business. This<br />
includes interactions a customer<br />
may have with your brand: from<br />
your website to a networking event,<br />
your social media, and more.<br />
Strong brands are required for<br />
creating a lasting business because<br />
customers are more likely to<br />
remember, trust, and buy from<br />
businesses they recognize. As<br />
people begin to recognize the<br />
brand, they begin to trust and like it.<br />
These brands command a higher<br />
price point, increased sales, and a<br />
higher number of loyal customers.<br />
Your brand should be bold,<br />
genuine, and compelling to be<br />
effective. It should be clear about<br />
what it stands for and what it offers<br />
to its customers. It should be<br />
authentic to ensure people have an<br />
experience consistent with their<br />
perception. It should be compelling<br />
to draw people in and make them<br />
want to act.<br />
Give the same time and<br />
consideration to your full presence.<br />
Your in-store experience is only part<br />
of your brand. Spending time<br />
considering how you're perceived in<br />
every place you connect with<br />
customers is how you develop a<br />
consistent experience.<br />
The average revenue increase<br />
attributed to always presenting the<br />
brand consistently is 23%. -<br />
Lucidpress<br />
Consistency across your presence is<br />
key. It allows people to understand<br />
what you stand for and what it<br />
would be like to engage with you,<br />
no matter where they come across<br />
your business. You want your<br />
presence to be just as amazing as<br />
your in-store experience, whether<br />
it's on your website, social media, or<br />
tradeshow.<br />
Don't shortchange yourself online.<br />
If you've taken the time to develop<br />
your in-store experience to the most<br />
minute detail, then you need to<br />
spend the same time and<br />
consideration on your online<br />
presence. For example, for your<br />
in-store experience, you know how<br />
your potential customers should be<br />
greeted, how they are guided<br />
through shopping with you, and<br />
how your packaging is perfectly tied<br />
together.<br />
When it comes to Millennials, 62<br />
percent believe that online content<br />
drives their loyalty to a brand.<br />
Furthermore, if you want to gain<br />
brand loyalty from Millennials, it’s<br />
vital to share that content social<br />
media. - NewsCred Insights<br />
We're in the digital age. People, and<br />
especially millennials, want to see<br />
your online presence and interact<br />
with your social media channels. A<br />
genuine connection using digital<br />
channels can go a long way to<br />
establishing loyalty and credibility.<br />
Invest in yourself and your<br />
presence.<br />
80% of consumers said<br />
“authenticity of content” is the most<br />
influential factor in their decision to<br />
become a follower of a brand. - NJIT<br />
Your presence in-person or in-store<br />
should be just as captivating as your<br />
online presence, and vice versa. You<br />
want people who are arriving at<br />
your location or referring you new<br />
customers to have a good<br />
representation of your brand to<br />
share.<br />
Without an accurate representation<br />
of yourself, and what people can<br />
expect by working with you, you are<br />
showing people that you have not<br />
invested in your own presence. So,<br />
how can you expect your customers<br />
to invest in you if you don't?<br />
How do you know if your brand is<br />
living up to your in-store<br />
experience?<br />
Think about how you would<br />
describe your store's shopping<br />
experience...<br />
What adjectives would you use to<br />
www.wedaltered.com<br />
22
describe your store?<br />
Are those the adjectives you want to<br />
use to describe your store?<br />
What do you wish people said when<br />
they walk in?<br />
Then ask yourself: If someone<br />
encounters your website, social<br />
media channels, tradeshow events,<br />
email, digital books, stationery,<br />
digital advertising, packaging,<br />
signage, or brand photos - Do your<br />
answers to the above questions<br />
change?<br />
If they do change, then it's time to<br />
consider how your brand may be<br />
falling short or not fully<br />
representing what you offer. If your<br />
answers don't change, then you<br />
should ask - How can you live up the<br />
brand you want to create even<br />
more?<br />
To get even more effective at<br />
showcasing your in-store<br />
experience, here are my top tips:<br />
- Evaluate all of your channels and<br />
see if any are not consistent,<br />
genuine, or compelling.<br />
- Ask yourself for each channel:<br />
Would my ideal customer be<br />
interested in what I offer after<br />
seeing this?<br />
- Talk to your actual customers and<br />
gather their impressions of your<br />
brand.<br />
- Discuss ways you can add more<br />
value to each of the places that<br />
individuals interact with your<br />
business.<br />
- Ask yourself if you are committed<br />
and can add value to the place your<br />
brand is being seen. If you aren't<br />
committed or can't add<br />
value, then eliminate that<br />
point of engagement.<br />
Some tools to improve the<br />
expression of your in-store<br />
experience include:<br />
Brand photography can be<br />
a vital part of expressing<br />
your brand and conveying<br />
your in-store experience.<br />
Use it to show people<br />
exactly what they can<br />
expect when they arrive to<br />
your location and how<br />
amazing your experience is.<br />
Your website shows what<br />
you do and social media<br />
proves that you do it.<br />
Developing an online presence that<br />
accurately shows what you offer<br />
and how you deliver it is essential.<br />
Out of date products, broken links,<br />
or unclear photos all hurt people’s<br />
initial impression of you.<br />
Your brand messaging helps people<br />
understand what they will get<br />
when they walk through your door.<br />
It tells them what you’re about and<br />
why you do what you do, so they’re<br />
sold on you before you meet.<br />
When it comes to making all of<br />
these decisions, remember:<br />
Earrings by Kata Banko<br />
Dress by Galia Lahav<br />
It's better to find focus and deliver<br />
quality interactions. You don't need<br />
to be everywhere all the time. You<br />
can focus on what works for you<br />
and your business so you deliver<br />
quality content and engagement.<br />
It's better to consider the entire<br />
brand than just a few pieces.<br />
Knocking it out of the park is great,<br />
just make sure you're doing it across<br />
the board so people always know<br />
how awesome your brand is.<br />
Always be authentic in what you do.<br />
Be clear about who you are and<br />
what you can do for people, so they<br />
feel like they get to know you and<br />
your business before they even walk<br />
through the door.<br />
SOPHIE NEWMAN<br />
Sophie Newman, founder of Florida Winter Marketing, is<br />
a branding and marketing consultant who tells bold,<br />
genuine, and captivating stories. Her goal is to tell your<br />
story so it attracts your ideal audience, just like Florida<br />
winters. She and her team create a presence for entrepreneurs<br />
and events that thrive in the digital age. She<br />
enjoys teaching yoga, blogging marketing, and reading<br />
fantasy novels.<br />
www.floridawintermarketing.com
work<br />
with our<br />
designer<br />
Customizations upon<br />
request - patterns, beading,<br />
color changes,<br />
and more.<br />
Mix<br />
and<br />
match<br />
Separates close<br />
more brides<br />
Build looks like this<br />
jumpsuit + overskirt!<br />
quirk.<br />
whimsy.<br />
Be the destination<br />
for unique<br />
selection.<br />
RENEGADE<br />
713-364-4628<br />
design@renegadebridal.com<br />
SHOP THE COLLECTION<br />
renegadebridal.com<br />
bigger<br />
tickets<br />
Our brides love<br />
choosing TWO<br />
skirts!
If you want to go quickly, go alone.<br />
If you wan
t to go far,<br />
go together<br />
~ African proverb
Stephanie ad
Gown by Ysa Makino<br />
Styling by Henris<br />
Georgina Vaughn Photography<br />
Coming April 2018<br />
VOW | AmericasMart<br />
12-E107 - Building 3<br />
StefanieSomers.com<br />
Sales@StefanieSomers.com | 800.400.4312
y Natalie Harris<br />
Nat pic<br />
encore brides<br />
5 REASONS WHY<br />
HAVE IT GOOD
1.<br />
3.<br />
Encore Brides understand priorities.<br />
So many of the most common budget planning<br />
mistakes and post-nuptial regrets are<br />
more easily avoided by couples with more<br />
life experience. Maybe the first time around<br />
they were left questioning why they cared<br />
about wedding favors. Maybe the catering<br />
was only so-so last time and they know to<br />
choose a more creative chef for this celebration.<br />
They understand that this is a "no<br />
regrets" project and they have their own<br />
past to look to, not just hearsay.<br />
2.<br />
Encore Brides know themselves.<br />
Encore Brides have their lifelong friends<br />
nailed down.<br />
College or early adult life is probably behind<br />
them. They’ve done the moving and job<br />
hunting. Their social circle is more settled.<br />
The people they have around them have<br />
done this before. They are excited and ready<br />
to celebrate this union for the uniqueness<br />
that it is (just like every other couple and<br />
wedding!). After all, they know the bride’s<br />
flavor of fun and understand how the couple<br />
works together.<br />
When we're 25, we're just different women<br />
than when we're 35, 55, or 75. It's actually<br />
pretty cool to craft a celebration of your<br />
relationship when you have embraced your<br />
full spectrum of what’s shaped your life so<br />
far. Sure, there are brides who know who<br />
they are at any age, but Encore Brides have<br />
a little more experience living it. Plus, they<br />
usually know that no grown woman has to<br />
ask permission to own her own flavor of<br />
self-expression.<br />
www.wedaltered.com 30
4.<br />
Encore Brides Have More Time and Freedom to Save<br />
Ok, everybody has bills, but it's a rare 20-year-old that has equity,<br />
an advanced degree, or an enviable career. Of course, some may<br />
have all three. I'm just saying, chances are good that if couple’s<br />
are DIYing a lot, it's by choice rather than necessity. Encore<br />
Brides might be able to splurge a little bit on the vendors that<br />
excite them. Rent that Rolls Royce. Upgrade to silk. (It feels so<br />
soft.) They've often had time to work hard and made good<br />
choices so they can afford a few things that are really<br />
meaningful, even if it ends up being a little more expensive than<br />
it was in their first wedding.<br />
5. married. I had never had a need for a family<br />
Encore Brides have a better eye for quality than<br />
the last time.<br />
If you're anything like me, I had no idea what<br />
good photography looked like when I was newly<br />
photographer nor an event photographer. Even<br />
though I found some vendors I loved, in the<br />
years since I have diffrerent preferences about<br />
style and quality. Experience brings<br />
discernment, and Encore Brides can weed out<br />
the amateurs more quickly because they’ve<br />
seen what works for them and what they would<br />
do differenty.<br />
Dress by Renegade Bridal<br />
NATALIE HARRIS<br />
Natalie Harris is the Owner and Creative Director of<br />
Renegade Bridal. Her design studio is based out of<br />
Houston, but she works with brides all of the world to<br />
keep what makes them who they are part of their<br />
wedding. With both streamlined production and plenty<br />
of opportunity for customization, her Renegade line<br />
gives lots of style and personality in a streamlined<br />
process.<br />
She prefers to color outside the lines and encouraging<br />
renegade brides to forego tradition for the sake of itself<br />
in favor of meaningful details.<br />
www.renegadebridal.com
A
Employees:<br />
Pull them into your<br />
brand and big vision<br />
by Christen Schneider
W<br />
hen you start to invest a<br />
lot of time, money, and<br />
brain power in really<br />
nailing your vision for your<br />
company and the big picture<br />
message you want to share with the<br />
world, you'll likely start to worry<br />
about how to get that outlook to<br />
become the default with your<br />
whole team. After all, we talk about<br />
how consistency in presentation is<br />
key. Even harder, we know we need<br />
it to be authentic...so it's not just<br />
about getting your employees to<br />
check the boxes on certain to dos,<br />
it's about building a culture with<br />
people who really connect with and<br />
believe in what you're doing. Not<br />
simple. But the good news is that<br />
lots of people avoid things as soon<br />
as they get even just a little<br />
complicated, so you can really set<br />
your business apart when you get<br />
this right!<br />
Here are some key things to start<br />
doing now:<br />
1) Take time to learn - You expect<br />
your employees to improve and<br />
learn. We all know the excitement<br />
that comes with seeing someone<br />
who is genuinely interested in their<br />
work and actively looks for their<br />
own opportunities to grow and do<br />
better. It inspires us and the other<br />
people around them and it pays off<br />
in happiness and cash flow in the<br />
work setting.<br />
So make sure to be one of those<br />
people! Find inspiring and detailed<br />
videos and books on how to<br />
effectively dream, teach, and guide.<br />
Whether you want to admit it or<br />
not, your job description is "leader".<br />
It's in your best interest (and in the<br />
best interest of your clients,<br />
employees, and business) to hone<br />
your craft. Check out Start With<br />
Why by Simon Sinek, Radical<br />
Candor by Kim Scott, Tribes by Seth<br />
Godin, How to Win Friends and<br />
Influence People by Dale Carnegie,<br />
or The Confidence Code: The<br />
Science and Art of Self-Assurance —<br />
What Women Should Know by<br />
Katty Kay and Claire Shipman.<br />
2) Take time to make it personal -<br />
When it comes to goal setting,<br />
teaching, monitoring, or motivating<br />
staff, find what fits them and their<br />
strengths. Two employees may be<br />
struggling with closing, or being<br />
late, or anything else for two very<br />
different reasons. If you try to apply<br />
the same course of correction and<br />
instruction to them both, at least<br />
one of them won't be getting what<br />
they need to really make a<br />
difference.<br />
Incentives work the same way.<br />
Goals need to be structured to fit<br />
what that person values, or you lose<br />
most of their motivational benefit<br />
and impact. It's also so much more<br />
effective if the person who has to<br />
work on the goal has a hand in<br />
creating the goal. It gives a much<br />
stronger belief and sense of<br />
possibility.<br />
3) Take time to train - This kind of<br />
seems like a no brainer, but people<br />
don't bother to go as in depth and<br />
they need to to teach effectively.<br />
They make a checklist, turn on a<br />
tutorial, and wish them luck. And<br />
those are amazingly effective tools!<br />
But it's surface stuff. You need to<br />
teach the WHY, not just the what.<br />
Teach your employees about your<br />
vision before you ever get to the<br />
systems or how to close a sale. Show<br />
them all about your ideal client,<br />
your store's sense of style, and the<br />
impact you want to create. Then as<br />
you start to move onto the<br />
checklists and tasks, you'll have a<br />
base of emotion and deeper<br />
understanding to help them form<br />
long term skills that they buy into<br />
because they know why that follow<br />
up email actually matters.<br />
Don't just assume the same<br />
instruction methods will work for<br />
every employee, either. Go back to<br />
point number two and remember<br />
that when you take the extra 10<br />
minutes to adjust how you present<br />
something, it saves everyone<br />
months of frustration. And make<br />
sure to have a final step during<br />
training where they apply what<br />
they're learning before you send<br />
them out there on their own.<br />
Application is one of the biggest<br />
tools you can use to make sure<br />
people get it.<br />
4) Take time to make it simple - Yes,<br />
I know that sounds like the opposite<br />
of what I've been saying. But if you<br />
have a particular style you want to<br />
present in your team's workwear,<br />
you have 3 options:<br />
- Spend time explaining everything,<br />
play police when people interpret<br />
what you said differently than you<br />
wanted, and get your vision...but<br />
have a very frustrated you and team<br />
as well.<br />
- Go over everything enough, but<br />
not so much that too much time<br />
gets eaten up...then quietly (or not<br />
so quietly) complain that people<br />
aren't really getting it and your<br />
vision is lost<br />
- Treat your staff to a few key pieces<br />
as a "uniform", with easy mix and<br />
match ways to personalize it. You<br />
have more control, the visions'<br />
totally clear, and everyone wins.<br />
Now, your simple solutions may<br />
look different than mine. Every<br />
group has it's own struggles and<br />
things they get down perfectly with<br />
no worries. But if there's a problem<br />
spot, try to find the way to bypass it,<br />
not blast through it with pure<br />
stubbornness.<br />
5) Take time to have fun and<br />
connect - If you want your team to<br />
care, they need to feel like you do.<br />
Keep a position of leadership, but<br />
encourage team-like experiences<br />
and relationships regularly. Build in<br />
celebration of not just big work or<br />
business accomplishments but also<br />
life and everything else. When it<br />
comes to serving and guiding in<br />
your community, your own team<br />
who is helping you do what you do<br />
and live out your mission is the<br />
perfect place to start.<br />
www.wedaltered.com 34
Embroider and embellish<br />
2<br />
1<br />
3<br />
1 - Laser cut details on a floaty sheer overlay by Nuorikko<br />
2 - Embroidery paired with a plunging neckline and sleeves by Edith Élan<br />
3 - Embroidered 3D lace and a nude lining by OM Design Studio
TRENDS REPORT<br />
4<br />
5 6<br />
4 - A pop of color and regional flavor (see the longhorn hiding in there?) by Renegade Bridal<br />
5 - Big dramatic polka dots embellish a soft and romantic style by Nadia Manzato<br />
6 - Celestial details in a Kata Banko crown complement the modern take on pearls for this Rue de Seine gown
MEET ALYSON<br />
Designer of Alyson Nicole
A<br />
s a New York designer, I know<br />
I can always count on Alyson<br />
for great talk about fashion,<br />
marketing, and all things<br />
bridal Her line debuted during<br />
October Bridal Week at The London<br />
last year and she’s been growing<br />
steadily ever since. She took the<br />
time to answer our interview<br />
questions for us.<br />
You're based in Brooklyn, NY, tell<br />
me a little about what sets your<br />
city apart?<br />
Being based in Brooklyn has many<br />
perks. Because it is so close to<br />
Manhattan, sourcing new materials<br />
is extremely easy. There are so many<br />
suppliers in Brooklyn too, which<br />
gives me more options than if I lived<br />
back home in Pennsylvania.<br />
Another perk I love is that there’s a<br />
ton of resources that help expand<br />
my business- for example, there are<br />
unlimited options for classes (such<br />
as jewelry making/metalsmithing -<br />
which is something I’m looking<br />
into!). In my opinion, Brooklyn has a<br />
lot more heart than Manhattan<br />
when dealing with independent<br />
designers and artists. There is a<br />
huge supportive<br />
community in<br />
Brooklyn that really<br />
helps to expand<br />
growth<br />
and<br />
knowledge of the<br />
industry itself in many<br />
different aspects. Plus<br />
Brooklyn doesn’t have<br />
that stuck up/closed off<br />
vibe that Manhattan<br />
can have and it really<br />
helps open up your<br />
creativity.<br />
What led to you<br />
starting your line?<br />
What's your bridal<br />
origin story?<br />
What originally started<br />
my line was my sister<br />
getting married and<br />
my mother telling me I<br />
should make veils for a<br />
living (while I was still in college). I<br />
made my sister a beautiful feather<br />
bird cage veil and created a full line<br />
of bird cage veils and traditional<br />
veils around that. After graduation<br />
and moving to NYC for my first<br />
fashion 9-5, I decided that I didn’t<br />
want to get “stuck” at a job that was<br />
making meaningless items. It was<br />
at that moment I relaunched my<br />
bridal line to create heirlooms, both<br />
bespoke and in for my own<br />
collection.<br />
What's the inspiration behind your<br />
most recent collection?<br />
My 2018 collection was mainly<br />
inspired by my own wedding. The<br />
theme was an “industrial secret<br />
garden” which I translated into my<br />
collection by using natural<br />
elements (both organic and<br />
manmade) mixed with various<br />
metal geometric components.<br />
Why do you love what you do?<br />
I absolutely love knowing that what<br />
I create is going to be worn on one<br />
of the most important days of their<br />
life. It’s such a great feeling to make<br />
something so special that is also an<br />
heirloom that can be passed down.<br />
Quick Details:<br />
Price range - WS $25-$350 , Retail at<br />
2.2 mark up $55-$770<br />
Production/quality details -<br />
Production takes 90-120 days from<br />
order date. Each component is<br />
hand picked and inspected to make<br />
sure the quality is top-notch both<br />
before and after the product is<br />
assembled.<br />
Staff/team? - One woman team<br />
with occasional office help<br />
3 words to describe your brand vibe<br />
- Unconventional, Bohemian, Bold<br />
3 words to describe your bride -<br />
Daring, Unique, alternative<br />
Bridal only or other kinds of lines-<br />
Mainly bridal BUT I strongly believe<br />
a lot of my products can be worn<br />
long after the wedding day.<br />
How do you spread the work<br />
around when things<br />
get really busy? Do<br />
you have a team, an<br />
intern, outsource<br />
social media? Do it all<br />
yourself?<br />
When things get<br />
REALLY busy, I start by<br />
prioritizing what needs<br />
to be done first, then I<br />
create a loose schedule<br />
to plan out what days<br />
will handle certain<br />
tasks. I usually do<br />
everything myself but<br />
recently I hired an<br />
intern (and will<br />
continue to do so) to<br />
help with website<br />
content, social media,<br />
and other “secretarial”<br />
tasks. It has helped A<br />
LOT and it lets me<br />
concentrate on what’s<br />
www.wedaltered.com<br />
38
most important such as creating<br />
products, filling orders, and<br />
answering emails.<br />
What does "community over<br />
competition mean for you and your<br />
business?<br />
I strongly feel that in this industry as<br />
an independent designer it’s<br />
extremely important to support one<br />
another- as designers, boutique<br />
owners, and other wedding<br />
professionals. I don’t believe that just<br />
because someone else makes<br />
accessories that they are a threat to<br />
my business or that I am better than<br />
them. I have my own aesthetic that<br />
attracts a certain type of bride, as do<br />
they. If we all close each other out,<br />
then we really cannot learn or grow.<br />
Its so important to learn from other<br />
peoples’ experiences and to help<br />
someone out when you can. You<br />
never know when you’ll need help<br />
and its so much better to have a<br />
community that you can turn to.<br />
What's the best style you've ever<br />
made? What made it special?<br />
My Raeghan Quartz earrings. Ever<br />
since I posted them on IG, they have<br />
been getting more views than any<br />
other item I’ve made. They also were<br />
such a favorite at the October bridal<br />
week and are constantly being<br />
requested for styled shoots. I think<br />
the reason why they are so special is<br />
because they mix the classic glam<br />
look with bohemian vibes to create a<br />
timeless pair of earrings that really<br />
can be worn for any occasion,<br />
especially on a bride’s wedding day!<br />
What's your best behind the scene<br />
process or tool could you not live<br />
without? What inspired you to find<br />
it/come up with it?<br />
Mine is pretty basic but I can’t create<br />
new products or fill orders without<br />
it... I need to have a “to-do” list (either<br />
written or in thumbnail sketches)<br />
that I can mark off as they are<br />
completed. It keeps me motivated<br />
to see what needs to be done, it<br />
relieves stress to know that its not<br />
forgotten, and it also makes me feel<br />
really accomplished when I can<br />
mark something off! Yes, it can get<br />
overwhelming but it sure is a great<br />
feeling to see things getting done!<br />
What's the most unique or<br />
inspiring story you have about<br />
working with a bride or store?<br />
I had this amazing couple come to<br />
me and ask me to reuse both their<br />
mothers’ wedding dresses in her<br />
bespoke wedding dress and both of<br />
their accessories. They also wanted<br />
me to creat gifts out of the gowns to<br />
give to their moms. It was such a<br />
sweet and memorable thing to be a<br />
part of and so much fun to figure<br />
out how to incorporate the dresses<br />
into each piece.
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12
y Keneshia Raymond<br />
Let’s talk...<br />
Keneshia’s pic<br />
Serving and Styling Plus Size Brides<br />
L<br />
et’s take a moment to talk about plus size wedding gowns, my friends. Being a designer for<br />
plus size brides has really opened my eyes to the way the bride thinks. After years of being a<br />
wedding planner / designer, I never thought about how hard it may be for curvy brides to<br />
find their dream wedding dress, even as a curvy person myself!<br />
As I’ve done research and spoke with brides, I learned that most plus size brides feel uncomfortable<br />
coming in bridal stores and trying on dresses. I know you’ve heard the same thing. Many<br />
feel that they will stand out or fear that there may not be a dress in their size. It doesn’t help that<br />
plus size is under represented in photos and in magazines, which makes it hard for the bride to<br />
even picture exactly what they want.<br />
When a plus size bride comes in the store, they are often worried about their insecurities. This is<br />
the time we have to help them feel comfortable about the experience that is to come, but helping<br />
plus size brides feel more confident in choosing their dress starts with us changing the way<br />
we think. As store owners and designers we must understand that plus is no different. It<br />
shouldn’t be presented as a burden!
Let’s start with really getting to<br />
know them. Listen to their stories,<br />
ask them not only what styles they<br />
are looking for but what are their<br />
concerns, what would they like to<br />
accentuate. Although every bride<br />
has their own insecurities, this is so<br />
important for your curvy brides.<br />
They just want to feel heard. Like<br />
any bride, they want to look sexy<br />
and beautiful on their wedding day.<br />
We have to learn to speak the plus<br />
brides language and anticipate<br />
what they want before they walk in<br />
the door. Designers and store<br />
owners, we can change the way<br />
plus size brides think about buying<br />
their wedding dress! It is up to us to<br />
give our brides an experience that<br />
they will never have anywhere else,<br />
an experience that is magical. We<br />
need to help them to understand<br />
the magic in finding their wedding<br />
dress in person so they don’t need<br />
to just settle for what they find on<br />
Amazon or Ebay. No bride wants to<br />
settle!<br />
Most curvy brides will go straight to<br />
a ball gown, which they believe will<br />
hide everything. We’ve all seen that<br />
in some cases a ball gown will make<br />
them look bigger, though. Understanding<br />
curvy silhouettes and<br />
what works for each body shape is<br />
our specialty, so encouraging them<br />
to try on different silhouettes that<br />
will accentuate their curves and<br />
make them look beautiful is one of<br />
the best things we can do.<br />
Getting a plus size bride to trust you<br />
to do that requires having many<br />
options for her to explore.<br />
Plus size brides today choose their<br />
dream dress with a ton of alterations.<br />
As an industry, we can and<br />
should design for the curvy bride<br />
who loves the dress just the way it<br />
is. Imagine if the brides could all<br />
find their dream dress without<br />
having to add sleeves and more<br />
material! That’s why we focus on<br />
designing a variety of different<br />
silhouettes so that curvy brides<br />
have all the options they need to<br />
make a choice and find a dress they<br />
love.<br />
Nothing is going to change in our<br />
industry unless we make the<br />
change. We have to step up if we<br />
want to see these important shifts.<br />
Two million women that get married<br />
every year are a size 14 and<br />
above and we are not making sure<br />
we can cater to theses brides. We<br />
are missing out on a huge opportunity!<br />
Remember that word of<br />
mouth spreads like wildfire and<br />
once a curvy bride falls in love with<br />
your shop she will send over her<br />
friends.<br />
Plus size brides just want to feel<br />
accepted and not like a burden.<br />
They want to look great and to be<br />
able to fit in your sample size<br />
dresses. We all do so much to serve<br />
our customers! This is the perfect<br />
place to keep that going.<br />
KENESHIA RAYMOND<br />
Keneshia Raymond is the founder of Curvy Unicorn, an<br />
online <strong>Wed</strong>tech based plus size wedding dress<br />
company that celebrates curvy brides. Keneshia has<br />
been active in the wedding community for over 10 years<br />
as a planner & wedding designer and the VP of <strong>Wed</strong><br />
Tech Summit. She also founded Enchanted: The<br />
<strong>Wed</strong>ding Event & Blissful Creatives: an online education<br />
resource and creative strategy agency focusing on<br />
helping creatives launch, grow and strategy for<br />
wedding businesses. Kay is a speaker & educator. When<br />
she is not working you can find her dancing, surfing,<br />
reading or enjoying some time with family.<br />
www.curvy-unicorn.com<br />
42
The secret of<br />
change is to focus<br />
all of your energy,<br />
not on fighting the<br />
old, but on building<br />
the new.<br />
~ Socrates
Parting shot...<br />
by Christen Schneider<br />
Out of the Office:<br />
Block time to step away and work on big thinking projects.<br />
Do you block your schedule? You know the advice you hear in every business blog post...answer<br />
email once a day, take a walk, lay out your action items, etc. And it's a huge impact when you<br />
implement things that streamline and deal with the little bits that can quickly suck up a whole<br />
day with busyness but without much progress! But it does more to save your sanity than move<br />
you toward your big time dreams...<br />
That's why before we’re done with this issue on doing business differently, I also want to focus<br />
building in times to work on yourbusiness. Taking a few hours a week (or even a month) and<br />
sitting down to tackle something that often gets pushed back. Things that are important with a<br />
capital I, but not necessarily urgent. Everyone's 90 day and 1 year goals are different so this varies,<br />
but it's usually something like goal setting, project planning, year long scheduling, blog posts, creative<br />
projects, inventory development, big picture marketing, lead system development, and personal<br />
or professional development.<br />
I’m writing this really more as a challenge than a lesson or a big answer to an industry question.<br />
So I'm challenging you to try this. Block out 4+ hours at least once this month and really dive into<br />
something you know would push you forward that you may never get to devote that much time<br />
and energy to otherwise.<br />
Plan out your vision and then reverse engineer some “can do this now” goals. Then make a story<br />
or vision board of the big stuff that’s a little farther in the future. Plan your year’s content calendar,<br />
create a training manual to be able to delegate, review your numbers and inventory, or write yourself<br />
a story of what your days and business would look like if you could wave a magic mand and<br />
make it exactly what you wanted.<br />
Even if you have a separate office space in your store, I would encourage you to try this. Putting<br />
yourself in an environment you enjoy, that's novel to you, and hidden to other people and the<br />
usual distractions will give you a boost. Make a playlist, get a drink, and get to work. Enjoy!<br />
44
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