Wedding Consultant Entrepreneur 

Wedding Consultant Entrepreneur

410 Hours/12 Months/Instructor Supported

Course Overview:

It's the most important day in many couples' lives and everything needs to be perfect. With weddings becoming larger, costlier and more complex, more than two thirds of engaged couples are turning to professional wedding consultants for help. Learn how to combine your creative vision with their individual preferences to create the wedding of their dreams. Discover the newest wedding trends and find out how to be the first to adopt these new trends.

Drawing on wedding traditions and customs from around the world, this course includes real-world information on:

• Vows, from the traditional to the creative
• Rituals, former variety of traditions
• Toasts, from the classic to advice on writing your own
• Readings, spanning various customs and heritages
• Music, from classical to popular

This program includes a "Start Your Own Business" course that will help you create the business you want. Throughout this course you will be working on your business plan and creating a quick comprehensive overview of the elements you want in your new business.

Have you ever eaten a Mrs. Fields cookie? Used an Apple computer? Listened to a hip-hop CD? Entrepreneurs brought these products to your world. People that start their own businesses and work for themselves are called entrepreneurs. For an entrepreneur the sky is the limit as far as earnings are concerned. An entrepreneur is someone who's recognized an opportunity to start a business that other people may not have noticed -- and jumps at it a skillfully. Entrepreneur can shape and create an opportunity where others see little or nothing -- or see it too early or too late.

The Wedding Consultant Entrepreneur program includes 2 courses:

• Wedding Consultant
• Start Your Own Business

Course Outline:

Wedding Consultant

Wedding Consultant Module 1
The Ceremony Planner

• Setting the Tone for the Wedding
• Taking Charge of the Wedding
• Choosing an Officiant
• Deciding Who will Participate
• Planning the Ceremony Location
• The Wedding Program
• The Wedding Rehearsal
• The Ceremony Text
• Incorporating Personal Beliefs
• Checklists and Worksheets

Wedding Consultant Module 2
Wedding Vows and Traditions

• Traditional Religious Vows
• Interfaith and Nondenominational Vows
• Civil Vows
• Writing Your Own Vows
• Traditional & Nontraditional Readings
• Exchanging Ring Ceremonies
• Unifying Rituals
• Programs and Quotes
• Selecting the Music
• Speeches and Toasts

Wedding Consultant Module 3
The Wedding Consultant Business

• Characteristics of a Successful Bridal Consultant
• The Role of the Consultant
• Wedding Day Duties
• Consulting Services and Fees
• Developing Your Market
• Writing a Mission Statement
• Building the Foundations of Your Business
• Writing a Business Plan
• Legal Issues
• The Cost of Doing Business
• Developing a Vendor Network
• Marketing Your Business
• Using the Internet
• Tracking Your Finances

Wedding Consultant Module 4
The Portable Wedding Consultant

• Accessories, Attendants, Attire
• The Ceremony Itself
• Divorced parents
• Finances, Flowers, Guest Lists
• Invitations, Honeymoon
• Kids at Weddings
• Music and Photography
• Hair and Makeup
• Rehearsals, Gifts, the Reception
• Showers, Rings, Thank You Notes
• Traditions, Transportation
• Tuxedos, Wedding Gowns
• Videography
• Wedding Cakes
• Start Your Own Business

Start Your Own Business Module 1
What Business Do You Want to Start?

• What Is an Entrepreneur?
• Why be an Entrepreneur?
• Costs and Benefits of Becoming an Entrepreneur
• Entrepreneurship Options
• An Idea Is Not Necessarily an Opportunity
• Paths to Small Business Ownership
• Making the Business Work on Your Terms
• The Business Plan: Road Map to Success
• Why Do You Need a Business Plan?
• Business Plan Components
• Business Plan Suggestions
• Creating Business from Opportunity
• Your Competitive Advantage
• Feasibility: The "Economics of One Unit"

Start Your Own Business Module 2
Who Are Your Customers?

• Exploring Your Market
• Market Research Prepares You for Success
• Know Your Customer
• How Customers Decide to Buy
• Which Segment of the Market Will You Target?
• Market Positioning
• Developing the Right Marketing Mix
• The Four Marketing Factors
• Product: What Are You Selling?
• Price: What It Says About Your Product
• Place: Location, Location, Location!
• Promotion: Advertising + Publicity
• Marketing as a Fixed Cost
• Smart Selling and Effective Customer Service
• The Sales Call
• Successful Businesses Need Customers Who Return
• Customer Service IS Marketing

Start Your Own Business Module 3
Show Me the Money!: Finding, Securing and Managing It

• What Does It Cost to Operate a Business?
• Start-Up Investment
• Fixed and Variable Costs: Essential Building Blocks
• Calculating Critical Costs
• Creating Financial Statements for the Journal
• Three Rules for Managing Your Cash
• Using Financial Statements to Guide a Business
• Income Statements
• Balance Sheets
• Financial Ratio Analysis
• Cash Flow: The Lifeblood of a Business
• The Value of Money Changes Over Time
• Taxes
• Financing Strategy: Debt, Equity or Both?
• What Is the Best Type of Financing for Your Business?
• Gifts and Grants
• Debt Financing
• Equity Financing
• Accessing Sources through Online Networking
• Investors Want Their Money to Grow

Start Your Own Business Module 4
Operating a Small Business Effectively

• Business Legal Structures
• Contracts: The Building Blocks of Business
• Protecting What You Have: Intellectual Property
• Risk Management
• Licenses, Permits and Certificates
• Operating for Success
• The Production-Distribution Chain
• Supply Chain Management
• The Idea-to-Product Process
• Job Shops
• Manufacturing Tips
• Defining Quality
• Organization Wide Quality Initiatives
• Using Technology to Your Advantage
• Setting the Tone for the Company
• Leadership Comes from Self-Esteem
• Adding Employees to Your Business
• Corporate Management: Team Building
• Ethical leadership
• Human Resources Fundamentals
• What Do You Want from Your Business?
• Growth Through Licensing and Franchising
• Harvesting and Exiting Options
• Creating Wealth by Selling a Profitable Business
• Exit Strategy Options
• 100 Business Ideas

Materials Included:

• The Wedding Ceremony Planner: The Essential Guide to the Most Important Part of Your Wedding Day by Judith Johnson
• The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions: Readings, Rituals, Music, Dances, and Toasts by Carley Roney and Editors Of The Knot
• Start Your Own Wedding Consultant Business by Entrepreneur Press
• Entrepreneurship: Starting and Operating a Small Business by Steve Mariotti and Caroline Glackin

System Requirements:

Internet Access

• Broadband or high-speed internet access is required. Broadband includes DSL, cable, and wireless connections.
• Dial-Up internet connections will result in a diminished online experience. Moodle pages may load slowly and viewing large audio and video files may not be possible.

Hardware

• Windows hardware configurations and processors are acceptable.
• Mac computers MUST have Microsoft Window Operating Systems over Bootcamp (Bootcamp is a free download from Apple's website).
• 1 GB RAM recommended
• Software
• Operating Systems
• Windows XP or Vista and Mac OS X 10 and higher with Windows
• Web Browsers
• Google Chrome
• Safari, Internet Explorer & FireFox are not currently recommended as they cannot display certain Moodle editing menus for both students and instructors
• Adobe PDF Reader
• Media Plug-ins (These may be required depending on your course media-click on the links below to download the latest versions)
• Adobe Flash Player
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Apple Quicktime
• Windows Media Player
• Real Player
• PowerPoint Viewer (use this if you don't have PowerPoint)