Do you have a plan for the best case scenario?  Many of us are so good at our jobs in the wedding and event industry as planners because we can anticipate glitches and mishaps, the worst case scenarios.  

Now that we have been in pandemic times for months now, we’re realizing that “normal” or life as we knew it might not be back for a while still. But this worst case scenario we’re living?  We all keep moving, somehow some way.    

Because here’s the reality.  Each of us knows that we will get through this crisis, and at some point going to a coffee shop sans mask or group gatherings will once again be a reality.  Events and gatherings will again be a part of our lives and livelihoods.  We all know in a fuzzy corner of our thinking that we will get through this. But have you started to plan for it?  This best case scenario.  

So (I’m asking myself as much as you), have you planned for the day that our reality actually shifts?  If this day is all of a sudden upon us and it’s business “as usual” will we be ready for it?  

I think for me the best way I can prepare for the ideal situation and ideal clients that will come our way again is to… 

Act as if. 

I’m not talking about foolishly pretending, but rather, when we are in the midst of regular production event mode, how do we act?  How do you motivate yourself?  I’ve noticed myself slipping into a lot of mind tricks, and some mental sludge. That that blog idea you have isn’t going to make a difference. Or those marketing collatoral you’ve been planning to create is not that important to tackle today.  I think these times call for some “jedi mind tricking”~ that these tasks do matter! And that we need to act as if our ideal clients are still very much in the rotations and amazing inquiries are coming in. 

Anticipate & Vision Cast

When regular event season resumes, what do we think it might look like?  I think we can all agree that after this pandemic life will not quite be the same.  This crisis will change us all, hopefully strengthening us. At the same time, people re-adapt to old ways startlingly fast. People WILL be still planning weddings and special occasions (we’ve seen this already happening).  These times have revealed healthy areas of my business and unhealthy ones.  Some revenue streams have completely dried up, and others have saved me.  Where do you anticipate your business to grow in 2021? What do you need to let go? 

Many options of how to pivot. 

The thing I’ve learned about pivoting is you’re never quite sure which direction will gain traction. Some ideas are met with enthusiasm, and others perhaps some interest but no action. Do you find that sometimes the idea you thought the most powerful never gets quite the attention you thought it would?  Or conversely, that blog post you recently shared that felt only a little jazzed about created quite a conversation?  I don’t think people talk enough about this idea.  Pivoting is essential — but a pivot also requires diversification. 

Are you poised for action?  

Have you ever had an awesome conversation in a bar with a perfect stranger and you don’t have a card? Yeah clearly not during COVID. Bad example. 😉 I love the quote “Luck favors the prepared”. Because it really is true.  It’s like when Oprah featured spanx and that was the catalyst for this now mega company being on the map.  Taking advantage of an opportunity means being ready for it and poised for action.   

To share a little context, this blog idea came to me at the conclusion of one of my earliest weddings of my business.  This was a celebration that I was frankly nervous about the logistics.  With the way the timeline was mapped out, it didn’t look promising that we would run on time — more likely that the transition times allotted would be too short and we’d rushed and behind.  But an amazing thing happened.  Nature and human behavior conspired with us and we were somehow ahead of schedule.  Now here’s the thing that happens when you’re ahead of schedule: while it’s amazing, it can create it’s own set of logistics if not anticipated:  to caterers not being ready to serve the first course, to photographers not ready for a special moment and the list goes on.  While everything proceeded smoothly, I realized that I’d spent so much time anticipating the delays and mishaps, that I hadn’t fully put the time into exploring what the ideal flow looked like and being ready for that option.

So what does the best case scenario look like for you in this time and after? If you were able to create a best case scenario for right now, what would those outcomes be?  If you were to anticipate how couples will act a month from now or two, what can you estimate will happen?  

That might be:  I expect 10 inquiries for each month, and X number of discovery calls and proposals.  I really would like to spend the time working on my sales process because I’ve been meaning to tweak my proposal and haven’t done it yet.  

What’s your ideal?

I don’t know what your ideal is ~ and in this time, maybe you don’t know what to expect.  But I think we can all agree that we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about worse case scenarios.  But that early wedding taught me that if we don’t think about the best case scenario, then we won’t be ready for it when it comes.