Welcome back, friends!

Okay. So now I quit everything else I was doing to go full time into my bridal hair business. I decided to invest in WeddingWire (a wedding planning website) for the year, and it was about $1200 for the whole year. This felt like a HUGE risk to take, but I borrowed money from our family savings and hoped that it would work.

Well guess what?? It did! My business doubled the first year, and more than tripled the second year. I made my money back right away!

The other big investment I made that first year was taking an advanced updo course. I had been self taught before going to Aveda, and then learned some new skills at Aveda, but was really hoping to hone in my skills so I would feel ready to take on brides every week. I flew out to TonI and Guy Academy in California to take an advanced updo course, and it was SO MUCH FUN. Aside from being fun though, I realized that I did know what I was doing. Everyone around me was really struggling with the basics and didn't have a lot of previous updo experience. I looked around and realized that I actually was gifted in updos, and I did know what I was doing! (This isn't to say there isn't always more to learn! I just found that I did already have the skills to start the job I had dreamed of.) Being in that class gave me the confidence I needed to go back to my city and jump in with two feet into the wedding industry.

Everything changed from then on. I was able to use some of the money I made the first year to reinvest in more advertising, therefore getting more weddings the following year. I partnered with a makeup artist to provide that as a service as well. (More details on partnering with other freelancers and growing a team next month!!) I was able to stay busy every weekend with weddings, and my updo skills got better and better because I was doing exponentially more updos than I had ever done!

Here's the thing, not only was I LOVING doing weddings every weekend, but I also started to experience FREEDOM in my work life. I no longer was tied a schedule, to a commission structure, to selling products....and I actually had time to do other things I loved as well.

It is a beautiful gift to be able to wake up in the morning and actually be excited to go do your job. I love waking up early, going to my favorite coffee shop, and then driving in the sunrise to a wedding venue to to updos all morning-and then I get paid! That is crazy to me. How do I get to do what I love and get paid and have work/life balance??? It is such a gift, and every single day I am thankful.

Here was the challenge-I found it to be hard to find community and hard to get my questions answered. That's why I created this space-so I can share relevant information in growing and building a bridal business. There are so many things to think about-from websites to SEO to advertising to pricing to taxes....the list goes on.

Stay with me and I promise to give you all of the valuable information you need, and please reach out with topic ideas and questions you struggle with!

If you are already have a bridal biz, stick around for a great community and lots of support and resources! And as always, I'd love to hear your story too! Hit reply and share your journey with me!!

Thanks for being here,

Heidi :)