Wednesday 13 July 2011

Top Tips for planning your Wedding Day

I was recently asked to present at Ice the Cake's Wedding Fayre in Thame as to what my top tips were for starting to plan your Wedding Day. So I thought I would share them on here...

1. Spirit of the day
Together you need to think about the feel and spirit you want for the day. Build a movie of it in your mind, what can you see, hear and feel. This will help you be clear about what you want in the day and what you don’t want.

When you know this then you can start to talk to your wedding planner and suppliers and they can get a clear vision of the day as well

2. Know your budget
Be really clear about how much you have to spend and what the main areas are you want to spend it on. Have a 10% contingency for those unknown ‘must haves’
Remember to include the cost of your Stag and Hen do’s.
If other people are putting money in be clear about how much and let them know what it’s specifically going towards.

3. Relationship with Suppliers
Take time to build your relationship with your suppliers – give them the vision of your day so they can deliver it. Become their favourite client

4. Sticking Points
If you have a sticking point ask yourself and each other ‘What’s important about having/not having that?’ Keep in mind your vision and spirit of the day – does it add to it or take away from it.

5. Your decisions
Everyone’s got an opinion – listen to it, say thank you and then decide what you want to do. If you’ve got someone that can’t leave it alone then it can help to give them a specific job to do.

6. What skills are in the bag
Look at the resources you have available to you – not just money, what skills do friends and family have that you can utilise – what are your skills – Table decorations, dress making

7. Big Stuff First
Plan the big stuff first – no point in worrying about what colour nail polish to have if you’ve not sorted out the venue!

8. The Team
Have a team around you of family, friends and suppliers that want to deliver the day you want and will support you.

9. Wedding Free time
Have time out with each other that has nothing to do with planning, organising or even thinking about the wedding.

10. Remember 1
Stay strong as the day approaches, emotions can start to run high and you may start to second guess yourself - keep in mind your vision of the day and let that guide you.


How could a coach help?

A coach will help you with all of the above and how you start the planning and being really clear about your day. There are also many techniques you can use to help you manage family and friends as everyone wants to play their part in your day. A coach can help with preparing the people that are writing and delivering the speeches and help the bridal party be at their best and relaxed in order to have an amazing and enjoyable day.

Friday 8 July 2011

The Essentii Club launch

Well what a week it's been. After months of work in getting the strategy right, planning and writing the website, setting up the members only areas and testing it all launch day finally came!

I had chosen the 4th July - mostly because I would have been back from holiday for a week and it seemed like a good start day. I already have some clients who had signed up early and are already benefiting from being part of the club.

So why set up a new part of the business.... I wanted to focus on whole health - mind, body and spirit, not just one aspect or area of someone's life. I felt this was missing, people might think about their fitness or the eating habits or wonder why they feel fed up often and I wanted to offer a way of taking all that we do (or don't do) into account. The focus is about finding balance in all aspects of our lives and not about being perfect. It is about learning from what we do and understanding how we do it, in order to keep what does work and change what doesn't work.

Within this I thought of 3 main areas were this could be most beneficial.

Business Owners - Having happy healthy employees provides positive benefits to the company - less sickness, less stress, less time off = more productivity and employees benefit in their health and fitness both physically and mentally.

Sports Groups and Sporting Individuals - From team work to individual coaching, help getting to the next level in their sport and perform at their best more regularly - learn techniques used by top athletes in all areas of sport.

Individuals - Be in control of their weight management and fitness levels. Find the focus they need to achieve your outcomes.

This then brings together all my passions around enjoying life, getting fit and having fun! This first week has been great and winning Highly Commended for Business Strategy 2011 before officially launching was the icing on the cake and I'm looking forward to a great year!

Wednesday 6 July 2011

Essentii wins first Business Award!!

Highly Commended for Business Strategy Award 2011.

I am delighted that Essentii has received it's first Business Award.

I had put the business forward for the Business Beacon Business Strategy Award 2011 for the strategy in setting up a new arm of the business - The Essentii Club (launched on 4th July 2011). I knew I had been short listed and attended the awards ceremony on the 30th June and I was so pleased to receive Highly Commended for Business Strategy Award 2011.

Made all the work over the last few months very worth it!