About six or seven years ago, I interviewed a Wedding Planner who told me that her wedding business started as a side hustle.  I was a little surprised by this. At the time she had been around for about 3 years and was successful – booked out successful.  I couldn’t imagine how she grew her wedding business side hustle to the level it was at now, whilst working a demanding fulltime job.  But she did.  

Her reasons for starting a wedding business side hustle initially, were part finances and part not being sure she wanted to leave a job she enjoyed to pursue something she thought she might enjoy.  So instead of choosing one, she chose both. Over time this Wedding Planner became certain that Wedding Planning was what she wanted to do more of, so she made the transition into her wedding business fulltime.

My Own Wedding Business Side Hustle Story

That interview was what inspired me to start the I Do Crew (my wedding business).  At the time of launching the I Do Crew, I had a demanding contract job in Wedding & Event education.  A job I enjoyed. But I had an idea for a wedding business that just wouldn’t go away.  So, I started the I Do Crew and found a way to do both my job and my wedding business as a side hustle .  Like the Wedding Planner I interviewed, over time, the I Do Crew became something I spent more time on.  But it happened quite organically and without it needing to be a BIG decision I had to make.  This helped me to really enjoy the process of growing my wedding business. 

Can a Wedding Business Side Hustle Be Successful?

Google side hustle and you’ll come across a host of stories of how people have successfully turned side hustles into fulltime careers or, worked at both a day job and side hustle over the longer term.  When it comes to business there is no right or wrong way.  That’s the great thing about starting your own business – you get to decide whether it’s fulltime, part-time or something else. And you get to decide the measure of success for your business regardless of how many hours you spend on it and what else you do alongside it.

But having two ‘jobs’ does take some juggling and I’ve seen a lot of Wedding Pros burn out trying to grow a wedding business side hustle whilst holding down a job.  But I’ve also seen people succeed at doing both.  So today, I have some tips to help you; whether you plan to keep your wedding business a side hustle, or want to grow it to the point where you can confidently leave your other job to pursue your passion.

Calculate How Much Time You Can Actually Commit to your wedding business side hustle

This is a biggie!!  Not being honest about how much free time you have is something I see when people sign up for wedding courses too.  If you don’t determine how much time you can realistically commit to your wedding business side hustle, it’s hard to make any other decisions in your business and it’s almost impossible to plan or prioritize tasks.  And notice I said, realistically commit to your business.  Be honest with yourself!!  There is no point saying you will work on your wedding business every Thursday night, if deep down you know you’re not giving up what you currently do.

Focus on one goal at a time & keep your to do list short

One goal is more than enough for most people to focus on in a 90-day period.  If your wedding business is a side hustle, you may need more than a quarter for your big goals. But regardless of how much time you have, trying to do ‘all the things’ and work a job can lead to you just spinning your wheels and getting nothing done.  In quarterly goal setting I show you how to break goals down so you can create actionable to do lists.  And like I said, it doesn’t matter if you need a quarter or half a year to tick off your to do’s – the key is planning for how you will complete the tasks and focusing on one thing at a time.

Keep your weekly to do list short

Ticking off goals is something most of us enjoy the feeling of.  We feel motivated and inspired to keep going when we experience success at achieving things.  A long to do list, that never gets completely ticked off can lead to you feeling deflated and unmotivated.  And here’s the thing, if you have a short to do list, that you tick everything off on by Wednesday, you can always choose to do something else. 

Break up with perfectionism

We can be so hard on ourselves!!  Launching and running a wedding business is hard.  It’s harder still when you’re running it as a side hustle and have other commitments.  You need discipline and time to achieve the goals you have for your wedding business. This means that other things in your life have to take a back seat for a while, or may not be done ‘perfectly’ every time.  Be kind to yourself and clear about what you’re trying to achieve and what matters most in this moment.  If that means buying a birthday cake for your son rather than making one, do that.  If it means, not carrying out your annual spring clean, it’s ok!

Don’t compare yourself to others

This is another biggie!! None of us in business should be measuring our success by any one else’s terms. And that goes double for side hustlers; especially when the business you’re holding yourself up against is one being run by someone who has more time to devote to than you.  Set your own benchmark for success and stay in your own lane.  It’s fine to look up to other people and use their success to inspire you, but the comparison game does no one any good. 

Invest in support and tools

A little bit of help can go a long way! As your wedding business side hustle grows consider investing in someone who can help you; for example a Virtual Assistant or Wedding Day Assistant. And look for tools and resources that you can use in your business to save time.