The Importance of Self-Care for Wedding Professionals

[00:00:00] Thank you for tuning in to WedPro Business Solutions. I'm your host, Kristina Stubblefield. If you've listened to past episodes, you know I love talking about all things solutions, whether it be systems and processes, software marketing strategies and tips, all things business. With this episode, I really want to take the time to share something with you all, that I think some of you can relate with, and this is something that I have struggled with over the years. When you're in the event industry, you share so many great moments with clients and you probably live for that and we pour our hearts and souls into our work.

I say we because I do as well. You may not realize I was once a wedding vendor and I understand the event industry all around. I think that is a big factor in the entire puzzle that comes together. [00:01:00] Why I can truly help wedding professionals no matter where they're at in their business, no matter where they're at and where they want to go, because I've experienced it, but I've also experienced other types of businesses and bringing all of that expertise together with my experience.

That's what I'm able to get great results for clients, but what I want to focus on is it's so crucial to remember that we need to take care of ourselves too. I know you may be thinking, when is there time to do that? Trust me when I say, I've thought the same thing for a long time. we get invested in our clients as if it's our own business, we care. Our clients are more than just a face or name to us, and you pour everything you have into coaching, consulting, providing services, helping them reach their goals. That's what it comes down to. And for wedding [00:02:00] professionals, you are creating these magical moments. No matter what part of the industry you are in, you play a role in that and there's so much pressure and stress that comes along with it.

me too. I get it. I get it. And I think that's what makes having downtime so much more important for everyone, but for wedding professionals, any type of event, industry person, because you've got so much invested in that wedding corporate event, party, expo, whatever it is. But if you are not your best, if you don't take care of yourself.

How can you take care of others? As I'm saying this here and recording this podcast like I'm wanting this to bounce off and come back into me because I am a work in progress about this and I've tried to always be transparent with this podcast, [00:03:00] share with you my own pain points, things that I am working through or my team is working through. 

I know what you can be thinking right now, but my clients rely on me Kristina. How can I possibly take time for myself without letting them down? And then let me share this with you. I used to think self-care was a luxury. oh, people go and get massages and pedicures and manicures and go sit in a salt cave.

 It's not a luxury, it's a necessity. I feel like I'm saying that so strongly right now, but I'm also saying it to myself because I'm the first one to blow off scheduling some kind of self-care. I do it a lot and prioritizing our own wellbeings can actually enhance our ability to serve our clients, but also to be more present for our family, our friends.

And that to me is [00:04:00] what brings it full circle. What I want to share with you, I am far from an expert in this field. I'm happy to admit it, I'm not, and I've really had to work with others to help peel back these layers, and a lot of it comes down to a mindset. So one of the things that I want to focus on going forward with this podcast, in addition to bringing you marketing strategies and business solutions, also, I want to bring on experts about self-care. I get it, you're probably going to have to hear it a few times and just really listen and start to think. Not think, start to take action towards putting yourself first. And that used to sound so far fetched to me. Like, no. Mm, nope. We have these projects, we have these clients. They're counting on us and I've learned a lot and what brought this up for me [00:05:00] was a couple days ago as we're going into a holiday a couple days ago, it was well, we're going to have a little bit of downtime, meaning our clients are going to be taking a couple days off, or it won't be as busy.

We could really get a lot accomplished in these days. Like the phone won't be ringing as much, there won't be as many emails.

And then it hit me right there, that I was not allowing myself the time to spend with my family, but also the time to take a mental break, a physical break, to have that space. To just be better at what I do for our clients. And. For the longest time, I can look back and tell you how many Saturdays and Sundays me and my husband have been at it, and the weather's been beautiful and our family's enjoying pool days and our friends are inviting us to this or [00:06:00] that.

There's so much rolled into this because truthfully what it all circles back around to is boundaries. Being more productive during certain hours or certain days of the week. There isn't just one single thing to pinpoint, oh, you're not blocking out your calendar and taking time to for yourself.

That's not it there. There's many things to it. So just a couple things I want to share with you today is things that I have started to utilize to help me. Let me be very clear. I'm not, I feel like I'm making very slow progress in this, but any forward step is better than staying where you are. So for me, a couple of the things is number one, out of office, alert on your email.

I talk about this a lot of times with boundaries, having a clear statement on your email signature these are the days that you're in the office, that you're not in the office on these days because of events, [00:07:00] having that clear communication in your emails, but maybe it's a weekend that you don't have an event and you are going to be spending time with your family, your friends.

That doesn't mean you have to be out of town. That is simply, you are going to be away from your email. And as I say this, it is such a struggle for me because on the weekends I am one that I had to turn off. I had to turn off my email notifications on my phone. Why? Because it goes off all the time.

All the time. Now, that's a whole separate episode about my inbox, but I had turned off my notifications, so in my mind I'm like, oh, I wouldn't have gotten notification if I've got an email. But I've learned email is not instant access. It's not as long as you set that upfront with your clients. If it is urgent situation, call, here's the office number, here's the list of extensions, here's the steps to take to get in contact with someone.

And I think over the years we have just adapted that [00:08:00] email is like, well, I expect a response right this second. People seem shocked that I have my email notifications turned off, but I do. So one of the things that you can do is turn on your out of office. They call it vacation in Google or Gmail, which is funny, but even if it's going to be a weekend that you're going to be away and Saturday and Sunday, you can schedule that out of office so people know you won't be back checking your email until Monday, but if you need something, here's the steps to take. And that's up to you how you set your boundaries. But that out of office doesn't have to be that you're taking a 10 day vacation or that you're going to be on a long weekend. it doesn't have to be a special event to do that.

It can be over a holiday. It can be just a weekend that you're spending at home with your family. So that out of office, that is a great way for people to understand. They have received my email, and t his is when I can [00:09:00] expect a response. I've talked about this a little bit on a previous episode, but not from a standpoint of setting a boundary to take time for yourself.

The other thing that I would share with you is your voicemail message. You can change your voicemail, a lot of people use their cell phones as their office phone, so you can change your voicemail to say if it is such and such dates. Please leave a message and expect a call back on Monday, for example.

There are ways that you can distance yourself from being so easily accessible on the weekends. On a holiday just that day. And as I said, that's what brought this up as I had to really think through. Sure, we could get ahead and put in this many hours and get this work done and it'd be ahead of schedule, or I could take this time for myself and spend with my family.

So many times people think that, oh, but that's a [00:10:00] setback with what you have to do. But honestly, it's not because without the downtime, without allowing yourself the space in constantly staying consumed with events and sorting out people's problems, it wears on you. It really wears on you. And so many times people say to me, oh, that feels selfish to take time for myself.

Well be selfish then. Be selfish because think about this. What if you were not able to do what you do? What if something happened and you couldn't do what you do? Then your clients wouldn't be taken care of. And that's a whole nother story with a backup plan and all of that stuff. But, If we don't start allowing time for ourself, it's going to catch up with us.

It is going to catch up with us. So one of the other things that I want to talk to you about is

I have found that a allowing. [00:11:00] A small amount of time in my schedule during the week to take care of personal things has been a big help as well. Meaning it doesn't constantly get put off because the next thing you know, it's after hours. The place aren't, isn't open that I've got a call to ask a question about, or I need to message this person, or I need to this, but it's eight o'clock at night.

So those small pockets of time that you allow, To pay bills, to call people to this, to that. If you set that time in your schedule, then you don't have to try to do it on an off weekend, so to speak. So setting small chunks of time in your schedule can also be very beneficial. Here's the thing, it comes down to balance, finding balance that's best for you. And this doesn't start overnight. It's [00:12:00] taken you a long time to get set in your way or in this rut of the way that you work. And I don't say rut in a bad way, but change is not always easy. And when you start talking about self-care and taking time for yourself, ooh.

You start to feel guilty, you start to feel that you're being selfish. There's all of these emotions that go into this, but that's when you can start to reframe your mindset and recognize that self-care is an investment in your overall wellbeing.

It benefits your family, it benefits your friends, and it benefits your clients. And because I was going through this, I felt like this was a great topic to share with you all. love sharing with people my own experiences. I'm [00:13:00] far from perfect. I have worked on a lot of shit over the past several years.

It's not been the easiest, but when I look back, what are my takeaways from it? Are this, not only has it helped improve myself, my husband, my team, But it's also helped me with the work that we do for clients. It's helped my entire team with the work we do for our clients. So I speak from experience when I say this truly has a ripple effect.

So I encourage you, take the time to recharge, reflect. So many wedding professionals I talk to you just go from event to event to event pat yourselves on the back, putting together any type of event. Especially a wedding is no small feat. So make sure that you realize that's going to be hard to get to right away.

Make sure you at least think about the impact you [00:14:00] have on others, your clients, other vendors you work with, but also your family and friends. I know this was different than any of the episodes I've done before, and as I've mentioned, I have plans already in place to bring on others to talk about this every so often because.

I have found how big of a role this plays in our entire business, and I'm happy to share with you. I have somehow found a way to go sit in a salt cave for 45 minutes, literally doing nothing, the little light music playing in the background in my thoughts, just soaking it in, and I have to tell you.

It was a lot different for me just to kind of slow the pace down, but it's something that I find I am scheduling those appointments, and that's just a small thing. I also tried to make sure that I do other appointments for self-care on a regular basis. Again, I said it's not an immediate change. It's not a magic wand.

But[00:15:00] small steps forward is so much better than staying where you are. I know. I cannot wait. I hope you've enjoyed what I've shared with you, and if you haven't already joined my free Facebook group, I encourage you to do so. I would love for you to join, post your feedback about this episode. What do you do for self-care?

I'd love to hear it. You can find it on Facebook. WedPro Business Community. If you are looking for someone to help you in your business to strategize or simplify, give you that 10,000 foot view. You know that you can always go to wedprosolutions.com and schedule a consultation with me to see how I can help you in your business.

Where are you now and where are you wanting to go, and what is that middle ground that needs to be addressed to help you reach those goals? It's a free consultation, and until next time, take care and make sure you take [00:16:00] time for yourself.