Four years ago, when Michelle started the blog, she reached out to give me a heads up that she had quickly gained a lot of interest via Twitter and that there seemed to be a really great need for business education for the wedding industry – not *just* business theory – but actual tools and applications of business. I was 8 months pregnant with my son, Carson, at the time.  I had recently moved to Dallas from Seattle, and was still working on expanding my event planning business, Sweet Pea Events, into this new market.  She mentioned that there could definitely be a way for us to partner together since my background prior to the wedding industry was in Business, specifically Human Resources.  So, I told her that once Carson was born and I got my feet wet being a new momma, that I would let her know if/when I was ready.

“I have a newborn… this is a GREAT time to start another business!”  (HA!)

photo credit: Lightbox Photography

Well…I think I lasted *maybe* 2 months on my leave, and told her I was ready to dive in and join her in this new venture! I had started my business in Seattle and moved to Dallas with plan to open a 2nd office in that market. Even though I had been hitting the pavement like crazy in Dallas and networking with tons of wedding pros, it took A LOT longer to grow my Dallas office than I had anticipated.  This was the perfect time for me to work on developing Sage Wedding Pros with Michelle, while I also continued to build the Sweet Pea brand in Dallas.

The beginning of something wonderful…

Michelle and I created The Simple Plan curriculum – FROM SCRATCH.  This is not something you just whip up in a few days, or a week.  We spent MONTHS making sure it was a solid, sustainable educational product. (To this day, we *still* tweak the presentation for each market and have rewritten the curriculum 5 times.)  My background in human resources, combined with Michelle’s finance background, paired for the perfect combo for us to develop our business planning workshop, The Simple PlanI love all things people, she loves all things numbers.  Perfect pair.

Long story short, our first workshop of The Simple Plan was held in Seattle in November 2009. Even tho we launched our businesses there and had a support network, we were NERVOUS. We were taking a risk, our colleagues were taking a risk on us, and it was a first. AND – we had had people travel from other cities (non-Seattle colleagues!) for the workshop also.

Nerves + Excitement + Thrill + Rain

I remember when Michelle and I drove up to Hotel Andra it was pouring rain (surprise, surprise) and our hair was a hot mess when we got inside after being in the rain for 2.3 seconds.  Not a great way to start the morning.  We were nervous, excited, thrilled, honored, and humbled…to be pursuing something we had dreamed about and it finally was coming to life.

When the room started to be FILLED with 25 wedding pros all of my nerves and fears washed away as I knew we were on the right path. We were ready to make an impact.

I am so grateful to those first people who trusted us with their businesses. You put your business in our hands. We will never forget this about you. (You know who you are). 😉

Gratitude & Humility

This was the first of so many workshops that we have now offered around the country – and the beginning of other educational and industry resources that we offer. Looking back, I am honestly humbled. I am so grateful to be here.

I see a lot of people who have been in the industry for even a few years start to get a chip on their shoulder, like they are owed somethng, have an ego, etc.  I hope and pray that I will never be like that…and instead, that I will reflect on where I came from…humble beginnings.

One workshop where we had bad hair (lol) led to so many more, and to so many 1-to-1 consulting relationships. I am honored to be  a part of this.  I have loved watching the wedding pros I work with soar. I’ve seen them quit their “day jobs” to pursue what they truly love.  I’ve seen others expand their business into another market and helped them created processes and systems to do so.  This is possible because I have a similar past… I quit my “day job”… I expanded into another market. It wasn’t always easy.  And, now I know why I went through all of those challenging days…so that I could help other wedding pros do the same.

So as we embark on this 4th year in business, I am asking myself to STAY humble – no matter how many clients we have, states we’ve traveled to, or products we’ve created…that we stay the course, remember our mission, and serve our clients in the best possible way that we can.

Be Grateful. Be Honored.  Be Humbled.

Think about your past and how far you’ve come…pat yourself on the back, for sure!!  But I ask you also to stay humble and remember where you came from. Help out other wedding pros and you will reap the rewards.  I promise!

PS – We’re posting things on Instagram and Twitter that we’ve learned from Sage Wedding Pros this week! Share in our celebration by sharing something that you’ve learned and/or has inspired you with the tag #FourSageYears. YAY!