When I came to New York 4-1/2 years ago and started my business, I knew two people. And, unfortunately, neither of them had any connection to the industry I was looking to build my business. I needed to know business people, as my company is Business-to-Business.
That is when I decided to start my mission of knowing personally at least 1000 people in my first year. I thought that the only way my business could thrive was by building relationships… something I have spent years developing to be quite good at and something I enjoy.
Well... it worked! Within my first year, I definitely met over 1000 business contacts through my commitment of attending at least 2 networking events a week and countless coffee, dinners, lunches, and virtual meetings (yes, even then I was doing virtual meetings.. not too surprising, as we have always been a virtual company).
To this day, I honor networking as my number one source of business growth and the key to building the relationships that bring and maintain our clientele.
STILL... I never thought that my networking efforts would eventually lead to the source of my WEDDING PLANNING!
That’s right... Business Networking turned into Wedding Planning. This is how it happened!
STEP 1: Ask Everyone -- You Never Know Who Will Be Your Resource!
My fiancé Ashado and I got engaged on April 4, 2021. We decided we want to get married very quickly... mostly because I am of mature age (lol), and we want to try to have a baby. For us, that meant the wedding needed to be by the end of the summer.
Getting our floral arrangements booked was a no-brainer. My client and friend Elise Bernhardt of Fleur Elise Brooklyn was my first choice and was elated when when she accepted both the booking and an invite to the wedding!
We spent the next 6 weeks looking for a wedding venue. We wanted to rent a house where we could have a very casual garden wedding/pool party. It seemed impossible; we couldn't find anything.
My idea... Start asking everyone I know if they knew of a place where we could hold our wedding... including my business network!
Then, one day I was talking to one of our client and who is now a friend... Jason Frazell of Jason Frazell Coaching. On the phone call, he mentioned that (1) he had the perfect house we were looking for... if only his family weren't now living there full time due to COVID, and (2) they were signing on a beach house the following Monday.
Yes... a green light appeared in my head! After discussing with my fiancé, we decided to send an offer over to use Jason’s house for the weekend of our upcoming wedding.
Happy Ending... Right? YES!... and it continues!
STEP 2: Keep Asking!
We have a venue, but it is really difficult for us to find a catering supplier. Apparently, there are not a lot of those in Narrowsburg, NY. I went back to my network and back to Jason to see if they had any recommendations.
It turned out that Ron, our wine guy (referred to us by Jason), of Narrowsburg Fine Wines and Spirits knew of a local caterer with whom he then connected us. We were able to book our caterer, Amy Miller, the Owner of Early Bird Cookery. Based on our tasting last weekend, we are going to have some very good food at our wedding!
STEP 3: Enjoy the Relationship!
Probably one of my favorite parts of this process so far is the wonderful afternoon, my family and Jason’s family had together last Saturday. We went to see the house, enjoyed the swimming pool, and spent hours chatting and getting to know each other. It was so enjoyable!
RESULT: We Are Super Excited About Our Wedding... August 14th!
Whether it is for business or pleasure, it is all about relationships. Relationships have always been the key to building Assistants 4 Hire with clients we truly love, and they have now been transformed into creating one of the most important days of my life!
Thank you again to Elise Bernhardt, Jason Frazell, Ron, and Amy Miller!
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Written by MerriLyn Gibbs