Poor wedding photos! What can you do?
January 18, 2017
The Wedding Entrepreneur’s Business Plan – 5 Tips
January 24, 2017
The UK wedding industry is worth over £10 billion a year and it is encouraging to see so many independent start-ups being established along side the larger more established businesses. Every year, wedding exhibitions provide a platform for new businesses looking to exhibit the goods and services.
The wedding industry is becoming more competitive but there is scope for new businesses, particularly those businesses which are creative or looking to provide a common service in a more personal way. We believe competition in the wedding industry is healthy as it assists in raising the standard of service provided to consumers.
Therefore, if you have an idea, here is our six-step guide to becoming a wedding industry entrepreneur.
Step 1 – What is your big idea?
What are your key skills or services that you can offer to the wedding industry?
It is particularly important to think about this if you are planning on bringing a new service to the wedding industry rather than buying into a franchise or buying an existing wedding business. The clearer you are about what your offering is, the easier it will be to explain to potential investors and consumers.
Put together an ‘offering statement’ or ‘elevator pitch’ about your offering. This will encourage you to think about your business idea in a concise and effective way.
Step 2 – Market Research
More and more businesses enter the wedding industry every year. It is interesting to see how many businesses enter the industry without fully completing their market research. Consider the following questions:
- Who are your potential competitors?
- What is the geographical remit of your potential competitors?
- Can you offer something different from your competitors?
- What do you consider as your Unique Selling Point?
- Why would a consumer or investor want show interest in you rather than your competitor?
- Why would a consumer hire you for their wedding day?
Step 3 – Creating a business plan
Getting a business plan done early on will allow you to think realistically and objectively about your business, encourage you to set out your objectives, gain an understanding of the income and expenditure and assist you in checking whether you can run a profitable business.
A business plan doesn’t have to be overly complicated but should sufficiently convey the market research, financials and operations of the business that you are looking to set up.
Step 4 – Creating synergy
The wedding industry is full of suppliers and this means there may scope for your business to partner up with either a similar business or complementary business. Therefore, networking with other wedding related businesses with the view of partnering up could assist you in cross referral of services and access to a wider customer base.
Step 5 – Know the law
Before your start trading, ensure you obtain professional advice to ensure you conduct your business affairs in a legally compliant manner. In particular, you may wish to obtain advice on the following: tax, trademarks, patents, liability, VAT, business formation, employment rights and drafting of business terms. Read this blog for more information about engaging a wedding industry lawyer.
Step 6 – Test your product or service
You may think you have a wonderful business idea but good business ideas are not enough. The aim to turn your ideas into income. Testing your business over a limited amount of time will allow you to determine the consumer demand. If you are selling goods, you may wish to try selling them on an online market place. If you are providing a service, you may wish to publicise your services (e.g. through social media) before investing in any equipment or major overheads to see how the consumer responds. Be open to making changes if necessary to operate your business as effectively as possible.
Good luck in starting up your business.
Should you require any further information or guidance contact info@theweddinglawyer.co.uk
