In my last blog post, I shared 10 Tips to Opening a Successful Creative Business, and one of the tips I touched on was participating in styled shoots! They are an excellent way to grow your business, network with other like-minded vendors, and receive professional photos of your work in exchange for your time, products, and/or services! For the next several weeks, I am going to walk you through a styled shoot, and share some information on how they can be successful for your business, and why I think they are worthwhile!

Recently, I have received more and more questions about my business from people who are curious as to how I started a sustainable and thriving creative venture. I certainly don’t attribute all my business growth to my own deeds- the creative community around me is so strong and supportive, and I am SO thankful for all the wisdom, advice and learning I have gleaned from my creative friends! In the past year and a half, CIE has grown from a little dream in my wedding-obsessed head, to a full-scale floral and wedding design and planning boutique. How did it happen, you ask? Here are 10 tips that I embraced to help me open my creative small business! 

Grab a cup of coffee and let me tell you about my business BFF- Honeybook. It is the best tool that I have in running my small business, BY FAR. I love how it was created for creative entrepreneurs, because it really does meet virtually all of my needs for a software system that manages contracts, invoicing, questionnaires, reminders and more! As a small business owner, branding is so important, and I love how everything that is sent from Honeybook is perfectly aligned with the Courtney Inghram Events brand. Their platform continues to update, and I love how they are always improving the site and making it more and more intuitive! Since Honeybook has just recently rolled out some new updates, I wanted to share a few tips and ideas on how to best utilize Honeybook for your small business!

Hi everyone- I hope you’re having a great week thus far! I have been on a little mini-trip with my husband this week, touring some gorgeous sights in Charleston, SC, and we have been having a lovely time 🙂 I have been thinking throughout our trip, that I haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time! Lately, all I’ve felt is that I’m “always hustling.” This is not necessarily a negative attitude to have; hard work is a virtue! But, when hard work starts to invade your life, that’s when hustle turns negative. I have had to put limits on my time, (and I am NO expert), but I have quickly realized that hustle can lead to a quick burnout. Burnout can be deadly for your business, causing you to lose inspiration, motivation and to be blunt, lose clients and profits! 

For today’s blog post I want to share another business time-saving secret! In my opinion, one of the biggest challenges facing a small business owner is lack of time, am I right?! When I first began CIE I don’t think I even fully realized how much time goes into keeping up a small business, and when I sat down to complete a task, I found myself getting side tracked and scrolling Instagram instead!! Before this year even began, I knew that I wanted to have a planner that supported my lifestyle and my needs. I had heard of the Simplified Planner before, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to purchase a $50 planner.  When they had their annual Black Friday sale though, I couldn’t resist, and bought one. And it has been a LIFESAVER. Just as a disclaimer, I wasn’t paid to promote or blog about the Simplified Planner; I just love it so much I had to share!!

Well the first CIE wedding of the season was this past weekend, and it was a STUNNER!! Raise the Ruth Events did a fabulous job creating a gorgeous reception and curating lovely details to transform a church gymnasium into a gorgeous, classy space!!! I was honored to be able to design the flowers for Sarah, and Chelsea Anderson Photography captured all the beautiful details.