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The always-insightful Seth Godin recently wrote about NOT accepting limits.  His idea is that we often write others off because we look at where they are at, not at what they could become.  This post made me look internally: how often to I limit myself?  It’s usually subconsciously out of fear. And, this post made me look externally: how many times do we limit those in the wedding industry?  We place judgment on the little we know about their abilities.

Limiting Ourselves – Internally

Last week, I watched tweets among Liene Stevens of Think Splendid and others that talked about people placing limitations on themselves.  She tweeted, “The line ‘that won’t work in my market’ is usually just an excuse to not try something outside of one’s comfort zone.”  Ah yes!  I’ve heard this time and time again.  I had a chat last year with a planner in the northwest who wanted to focus on luxury design as her specialty.  Yes, the northwest does typically have more casual and low-key weddings with smaller budgets.  But, that’s not everyone.  There are very few wedding pros who focus specifically on design in that market.  My thought: “You are not challenged by geography.  This is an opportunity for you to do something huge in the Northwest.  You have an opportunity to educate and inspire consumers in the market!  You can create this in the Northwest.”

We all do this to ourselves.  I’ve done it time and time again in my own business.  I look back and see things that could have happened much faster if I would have acted without limiting myself so much.  Our limitations are created by a lack of confidence.  Be confident in your ability.  The possibilities are ENDLESS!

Limiting Others – Externally

There has been so much talk about the “newbie” wedding planner these days.  (And, if you’re a photographer, you’re talking about the “novice” photog… if you’re an invite designer, the “etsy” stationer… and so on.)  This post on SpecialEvents.com introduced a good perspective on the effects of “newbies” to the industry.

In a weak economy, it’s natural that people are going to start new businesses as a means for survival.  Either they have become unemployed or need additional income to cover their massive re-adjusted mortgages.  With technology, there is very little barrier to entry in almost any field.  All you need is a good computer, a desk, a phone.  If you’re a photographer, all you need is a camera.  If you’re invite designer, all you need is a website, design software and a printer.  (Once we’ve been in biz a while, we know you need a LOT more… but these are the initial start-up needs.)

But Seth’s post introduced an interesting perspective on something very relevant to the wedding industry.  It made me wonder… Why are we limiting the “new” people?  We know nothing of their ability, their experience, their insight, and their potential. I think we make a big mistake in placing these limitations.  For one, we under-estimate the impact that new people can make on creating trends in the industry.  If we don’t watch out, we could be left in the wind.  We risk becoming complacent.  Also, having come from the “corporate world”, I’ve observed what “new blood” does to a company.  The same can be said of our industry.  New people can introduce a fresh perspective and new talents that can help improve our industry.  Lastly, there are poor business practices in our industry that are being done by experienced pros as often as they are done by new ones.  Poor business models exist at all levels of experience.

Oh sure, they’ll make all the “new business” mistakes we all did.  Hey, I priced too low.  I paid for ads that didn’t yield anything.  I promised customers the world for $0.01/hour pay.  Back in the olden time of 2004, thank god I didn’t have twitter to tell me every day that my sad little invite company was going to make it because I didn’t have any training in art.  I only had my internal chatter with which to contend.

Bringing down the walls…

So, what do we do?  First, we need to stop limiting ourselves and others.  We all hold great potential.  We need to maximize it and find the opportunity.

Those of use with experience HAVE to TEACH.  And those of us that are new, HAVE to LEARN.  (And, vice versa.  The “old” can learn from the “new” also.  God knows I had know idea what tokbox was, until Kate Miller introduced me to it!)  There is only one way that people are going to learn how to price their services appropriately: EDUCATION.  There is only one way to elevate the industry and it’s to create sustainable business.  I firmly believe that businesses are subjected to Darwin’s theory: only the fittest will survive.

There are so many great educational opportunities in our industry!  If you are new, take advantage of some of these great resources:

If you are experienced, find someone in your area to mentor.

There are no limits.  Stop living your life and running your business as if there are.