Finding Time

Stuck and Staring.

Same Page. Different Day.

The image I chose for this blog accurately reflects my dining room table the past few weeks. I have an open notebook (sometimes a blank page) sitting in front of my computer. Add a cup of coffee (or two) and you get a glimpse of my mornings.

Recently I have been writing less blogs in a week. Now that I am in the final stages of launching this business, it's becoming less apparent of doing things all in one sitting knocking out the to-do list and more of finalizing ideas and forms throughout an extended period of time. With running around and traveling a lot the past several months, I find myself staring at the same page I was on the time before and to be honest I haven't made much progress. I have started a list of the forms I need to accomplish by launch day but I haven't been able to finish one form in its entirety. I begin working on one form but then I'm intrigued to start another. #thestruggle

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Backspace.

As I have been editing the forms, the backspace key has been my new best friend. I'll type something up, re-read it, "nope not good enough" or "no, this sounds better" and I'll backspace and start again. A few times I have reformatted the forms entirely after I go back to review them days later. I haven't been confident on my forms and I don't want to just settle. I know these are important aspects to my business and I want to have a solid contract and form structure in place by launch day.

Being a recent bride, I can relate to the point of view of a client. I started putting myself in the clients shoes and seeing their perspective as I create my forms as well. I look back and think "what would've been helpful during the planning process"- I have a few forms that I had already created during my own planning process that I want to utilize for my business and so I have been adding my logo and reformatting those forms. Backspace seems to be the realm of my formatting but I know the more I backspace, the more I am growing as a business owner.

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Revolving Door.

My goal as a planner is to make the planning process as stress free as possible for clients and I want them to feel like a guest at their own event. Side note - that saying seems to be my motto for this business. Currently, I have two business card designs that I am trying to decide on but being the indecisive person I am I continue to glance at the designs but haven't pursued the "order now" button on either. My husband Jeremy has been a huge help and my second brain throughout this process and I know he will help be the deciding factor on the design.

My website is complete however I am trying to set up a scheduling page in which clients will be able to book their consultations online once they send me an initial "I'm interested" email. This decision seems to be a revolving door as I have attempted to use a few different templates such as Square and Wix but nothing seems to be fitting with my vision. With Wix I would have to upgrade my website further which I don't wait to pursue at this time but Square scheduling I think could work. Square has an app in which I would get notifications of the booked appointments and it also sends appointment reminders automatically to clients which is nice and ideal as a business owner. I feel that I may start with Square and see how that goes.

Another page I am trying to finalize is a payment option for clients. Square offers a payment system but they charge a percentage per transaction. I haven't attempted yet but I may try Paypal. They don't charge a percentage and it is an easy to use option for clients (looking back on my own experiences with Paypal). Hopefully this week I will have time (or make time) to sit down and establish my Paypal account and utilize this through my website.

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The Goal.

I have one last travel trip Monday and Tuesday for a training next week but after that there is no more traveling for me until the first of February. I have the mentality of focusing on The Bridal Binder up until mid-January (at least for now). My goal is to have a soft opening for friends and family mid-December for them to get a sneak peak prior to public launch day which I'm hoping will be the first of January.

I listened to a sermon the other day, Million Dollar Dreams but One Hundred Dollar Work Ethic. This title really questioned my perspective. I have this "dream" of an event planning business but recently (mainly due to time) I haven't been fully focused on the business. With having such a big dream, I have to be willing to put in the hard work in order to be successful.

I am thankful for the love and support thus far from my best friends and family who have been with me through this journey up until now. I cannot wait to launch and knowing that I am so close to launch day is an amazing feeling. I am starting to feel accomplished but I won't be content until everything is finalized.

Stay tuned...