Every December, we are reminded that another year has been completed and a new one is beginning. For those of us in the wedding industry, it is also an odd combination of holiday busyness, mini-vacations and trying to hurry up and rest before the new year of wedding craziness starts.
It’s also a time for planning out the new year – thinking about what we want to achieve, goals to work towards and how to make the year better than the last. All that said, many of us end up having the same goals (or variations of them) every year.
Why is that?
There are a few reasons why we don’t necessarily move the needle in our business and personal lives the way we want. And by recognizing the “why” we don’t, we can hopefully work on moving those obstacles out of the way to clear the path for achieving the goals and life we want.
In the book “Atomic Habits,” James Clear suggests that people often fail to achieve their goals due to a focus on the goals themselves rather than the systems and processes needed to achieve them. Clear argues that the problem isn’t the goals we set but how we go about achieving them.
Here are 6 key reasons he identifies:
Overemphasis on Goals Over Systems: Clear emphasizes that goals are good for setting direction, but it’s the systems – the daily habits and routines – that make the real difference. If you focus only on the goal without building the right system to achieve it, you’re less likely to succeed.
In the wedding industry, where unpredictability is the only constant, having robust systems means you’re always prepared, whether it’s for client management, vendor coordination, or event execution. Systems ensure you’re not just hitting targets but also building a sustainable business model.
Think about the goals you have for next year and then think about what things have to happen every quarter, month, week and day to make that happen.
There are lots of online tools like Trello, Notion, or Monday that allow you to visually organize and collaborate to make a clear system easy to follow.
Neglecting Small Improvements: People often look for quick, radical changes and overlook the significant impact of making small, incremental improvements. In his book, Clear highlights the power of small, 1% improvements made consistently over time.
In the busy world of weddings, the key to long-term success lies in the small, daily improvements you make. It’s about refining the minute details — whether it’s enhancing your communication skills with clients, staying abreast of the latest wedding trends, or streamlining your workflow. The philosophy here is simple yet profound: a 1% improvement every day leads to a 37-fold improvement over a year.
If you enjoy gamifying tasks, using Habitica, a unique app that turns your daily tasks and goals into a fun, role-playing game, could be helpful for you. By gamifying your daily improvements, you’re more likely to stay committed and enjoy the process of growth.
Inconsistent Habits: We’ve all been there. We set (what we think are very attainable goals) new goals for the year, but in reality, when looking at our past year’s behaviors, are way out of our league. It is easy to fail to establish consistent habits that lead to the achievement of their goals. Actually building and maintaining consistent habits is more crucial than the goal itself.
This is because the systems you put in place that lead you to achieve those goals. It’s like dominos. You set them up in the direction and pattern you want them to go. Once you tip over the first one, the second one tips over, then then third and so on. This is what it means to set up systems. Each domino is a habit or action that gets triggered by the one before it.
In the wedding industry, where unpredictability is the only constant, having robust systems means you’re always prepared, whether it’s for client management, vendor coordination, or event execution. Systems ensure you’re not just hitting targets but also building a sustainable business model.
Lack of a Clear Plan: Without a clear plan to overcome distractions and setbacks, it’s easy to veer off course. Clear advocates for creating obvious cues for your habits and making them attractive, easy, and satisfying to stick to.
The habits that are most visible and appealing are the ones that stick. As an entrepreneur who usually works from home, this could mean setting up a dedicated workspace that inspires creativity or scheduling regular networking events that you genuinely enjoy or renting out a space for an office to go to. When good habits are both obvious and attractive, they become a natural part of your routine and reinforce the goals you’ve set.
And while you may not want to “spend” money on these things and think of ways to DIY, the uphill battle you have to fight is too steep to get over the habits required to still achieve the goals with your DIY methods.
This is why we created Streamline Social. Because almost every wedding professional said they could DIY their social media and yet waffle between actually doing it and not doing it because of the time, frustration and education required to do it well. Most other social media management options are expensive for what they give you and certainly don’t do more than just make it done. We created Streamline Social to help wedding pros spend time being the boss of their business instead of the overwhelmed social media manager.
Failure to Understand Habit Formation: James Clear explains the four-step pattern of cue, craving, response, and reward as the backbone of habit formation. Not understanding or utilizing this pattern can lead to failed attempts at changing habits.
Conversely, reducing exposure to negative habits can have a profound impact on your productivity and service quality. This means making bad habits invisible and unattractive. For instance, if social media tends to distract you during work hours, making these platforms less accessible can significantly boost your focus.
You can turn off notifications or use an app like Freedom. It allows you to block distracting websites and apps during your most productive hours, ensuring that you stay focused on what matters most.
Lack of Identity Change: Clear believes that true behavior change starts with a change in identity. People often try to achieve goals that are not aligned with their self-image. For lasting change, one must adopt habits that resonate with the person they wish to become.
You don’t just want to lose weight, you want to be a healthy person or a runner. You don’t just want to make lots of money, you want to be a successful business owner. The shift of identity changes the focus to being someone different.
A runner runs consistently. As a byproduct, the runner’s cardiovascular health is improved and generally there is some weight loss or body composition change.
A successful business owner knows where their time is best spent and focuses on long-term ideas and goals, creating new opportunities, relationships and systems to best service their target audience.
Each of these habits, rooted in the principles from “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, can help build a successful, adaptable, and thriving business. Remember, it’s the small changes that lead to big results. Specifically in the wedding industry, what works today might not work tomorrow. You got leads from a certain website before. You did a certain type of post on Instagram and got great engagement. But now? Crickets.
That’s why it’s crucial to focus on continuous learning and improvement. Whether it’s enhancing your design skills, learning about new technologies, or building stronger relationships with vendors, a commitment to continuous improvement ensures that you’re always at the top of your game. What worked yesterday is not going to work forever – even if it works for this very moment. Everything is changing so quickly and if you aren’t nimble enough, you will get left behind.
The most important investment in your business is investing in your professional development and education. Learning about new techniques, new ideas, meeting new friendors – these are mindset shifts and can become habits that will lead to achieving your new year’s goals.
This is why we created the State of the Wedding Industry Mastermind Forums. It is an open, inclusive and welcoming safe space for wedding business owners to connect on a deeper level than just exchanging business cards. We talk about goals, habits, resources and struggles and then crowd-source solutions, connect and relate to each other without pretense or judgement.
Our first cities are below (more to come for July/August!) and it is free to attend. (You do need to register though because fire codes and capacity limits are a thing.)
2024 US Dates/Locations
miami 1/8
dallas 1/10
atlanta 1/11
nashville 1/16
raleigh 1/18
brooklyn 1/22
la 3/11
sf 3/12
chicago 3/14
boston 4/8
philly 4/9
cincinnati 4/11Â
cleveland 4/29
minneapolis 5/2
If you don’t see your city, let us know and we’ll try to add it to the list.
If you want to be a part of the featured pro team for your city’s event, please let us know: hello@thebridalmasterclass.com.
I hope to see you there!
P.S. As always, if this seems confusing or just too time-consuming, just send me an email and we can set up a time to discuss it all: hello@thebridalmasterclass.com.
