Being Unique & Standing out from the Crowd | Entrepreneur Education

One thing I’ve learned as an entrepreneur is to be humble and stay true to yourself and what you believe in. As there are always things going on in the back end of business that hardly anyone else knows about, you’ve got to hold your own and stand up for yourself. Business-ing is hard sometimes and it can be hard not to break (or take a break for that matter). But, with many encouraging people, so much positivity can come from having supportive friends & family who believe in you. This blog is all about being unique & standing out from the crowd & what I’ve learned over the past 10 years to be a successful industry peer.

Be Involved in the Industry

Network – don’t be afraid to get out there and shake some hands and start conversations, that’s how you get started! Join some local Facebook groups to find some wedding industry luncheons, dinners, meetings, and meet & greets to get going. The Rising Tide Society/Tuesdays Together is a great spot to begin. Ask other local vendors what their favorites are & see if they can get you plugged into the best ones.

Create relationships – Seek out only about 2 new relationships to start at any networking event. It’s best to create quality relationships over the quantity of relationships.

Remember people’s names – remember who you talked to (getting their card is one of the first things to do). Then later that day or the following day, email/message them saying hello & that it was great to meet them!

Be Kind

Ask to help – Try and find out what other vendors in the industry need & see what you can do for them. Always smile – This is usually a given, but you’d be surprised as to how often this doesn’t happen.

Give – Especially when you are new to the industry or area, try to say “yes” to as many vendors as you can if they ask for your services. For example, when getting into a networking group and they have featured vendors every month, ask to be on the next month to be able to show off your services & gain rapport in the industry.

When things aren’t going as (you) planned, try to stay true to yourself and learn from your encounters (good or bad)! – Say you’re photographing a styled shoot & the planner isn’t around to do what she’s entitled to do. Do you say, forget it, I’m not participating? No, you just suck it up, put on a smile (even though you cringe inside), and do your best to make the shoot a successful & beautiful one.

Be Available & Accommodating

Offer your service (for free or trade) – If you’re a photographer and you see that a florist could use an updated headshot, take initiative and ask if they would like to schedule a time to get to know each other and ask them to dress up for a complimentary headshot. Or if you can do a trade for service, an example would be:  a headshot for a floral arrangement for Mother’s day. They will most likely be more than happy to meet with you or do a trade. In turn, this will not only give you a new relationship, but recognition in the industry & potential new clients!

Get involved in volunteering for networking events – like I mentioned before, being a featured vendor can truly help you get recognition and be more known in the industry.

Create or be a part of styled shoots – when you get started, you’ll obviously need some type of portfolio. Especially with today’s level of online presents: curated Instagram feeds are what brides see & want to visualize for their wedding. Getting involved in styled shoots, whether it be at a new venue you want to shoot at, or if you have friends who would be fantastic bride & groom models, take initiative and reach out to planners you’d love to work with on this type of project. Most people are totally down for styled shoots because it’s detail focused, without the hustle & bustle of a wedding day.

I hope these tips carry you through the next big step for you or get you more comfortable with networking! If these tips helped you, I would love to know what your favorite tip was in the comments below! Or if you have more suggestions for another blog post like this, let me know too! 🙂

<3 Maggie

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