When I first started my business, I was shocked by the flood of emails that came my way! knew I needed a system to make sure my brides always felt well-taken care of, and even though I have shared my goals to disconnect from the technology overload, staying on top of email is still SO important! I conduct so much of my business over email, and sometimes an email might be a client’s first impression of your business, so having the proper “email etiquette” is essential to keep in contact with my brides! Here are my 3 best tips to blow your clients away with your speedy and effective communication- enjoy!

Creating financial systems that work for you and your business is a crucial part of running a successful, sustainable business! For me, I knew it couldn’t go at it alone, and I have outsourced a majority of financial management to professionals, which has been an investment that is worth its weight in gold! That being said, here are 5 financial management tips, things that I have personally implemented into my small business, that I have found extremely helpful!! Cheers to doing business better friends! 🙂

Confession: I manage SO many aspects of my business right from my iPhone! Obviously technology has totally revolutionized the way small businesses get stuff done, and I am a total believer in going “paperless”! Using apps on my phone helps me stay connected (and productive) while I’m on the go. I thought today I would share some of the apps that keep me working and help me check tasks off my to-do list without ever opening my computer! And as a disclaimer, this post is not sponsored by any of these companies- I just truly enjoy using each of these apps! Enjoy!

Advertising for your small business can be overwhelming and intimidating. Where do you start? If you are in the wedding industry, you could spend money on Facebook ads, open a paid Wedding Wire account, or even participate in a bridal expo or run a giveaway! If you sell a product, you may be thinking that you need to pay for Google AdWords credits or send your product to influencers and hope they help you promote it. Those things are all great, and will definitely be effective, but since you are paying for it, you will need to weigh the cost of the advertising vs. the outcome (are you finding/booking clients?) Lately, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my business sustainability, marketing, and how to attract brides that I really connect with! I kept going back to Instagram- I find some of the sweetest brides on Instagram that I just immediately love once we talk! More often than not, by the end of their consultation, I feel like we are old friends, and I (at least partially) attribute that to Instagram! By the time they send in their inquiries, the brides that find me on Instagram are connected to my business, familiar with the CIE brand, and know a little bit about my personal life too! I have never paid for business advertising (other than boosting a few Facebook posts), because I truly believe in taking advantage of one of the best FREE marketing tools out there right now: Instagram! I have booked over half of my weddings this year through brides finding me on Instagram, and because I’m such a believer in its effectiveness, I wanted to share a few tips on how to use this form of social media to reach your ideal client and advertise for your business!

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, I’ve been reflecting on my business and how it has changed and grown more in 2016. It’s natural to look back and notice things that I should’ve done differently and mistakes I’ve made along the way, but I’ve also realized that I have made several important investments in things that helped CIE continue to grow. I wanted to share a few things that I have used to propel my business forward, that I am certain will help your business grow more too!

I have never paid for “traditional” business advertising, such as print ads, paid wedding accounts, bridal expos etc. Social media is such a powerful, FREE form of advertisement, that so far, has worked well for my business! For reaching new potential brides, I love to use Facebook, Instagram, local wedding blogs, styled shoots, and Pinterest!! Every time I post a blog, I upload it directly to Pinterest, so I can reach brides on that platform as well. Pinterest is one of the largest and fastest growing social media sites, and brides are on it A LOT, browsing wedding ideas. It’s one of the best places to share a wedding bouquet you created, that gorgeous bride and groom portrait you shot from a vineyard wedding last week, or that beautiful custom invitation suite! Today I’m sharing the simple way that you can pin your blog posts straight to Pinterest, so you can start promoting your content on there as well!