Entrepreneur will get paid to be your bridesmaid

Earlier than you could have marriage ceremony meltdown quantity — properly, bajillion — name on Jen Glantz, the 34-year-old founding father of Bridesmaid for Rent. She’s standing by in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to assist brides and grooms throughout the nation.

Since leaving her gig as a copywriter at a tech startup in 2014, Glantz has been a full-time entrepreneur, and he or she’s actually picked up some beneficial profession recommendation alongside the best way.

Along with launching the world’s first service the place strangers can rent an expert bridesmaid, Glantz can also be an writer, together with “All the time a Bridesmaid (For Rent)” (Simon & Schuster) in addition to the podcast host for “You’re Not Getting Any Youthful” and content material creator for JenGlantz.com.

So how’d she strike on the gold of making a professional bridesmaid service?

“I used to be a bridesmaid for each good friend I ever had in my early 20s. When distant pals began asking me to tackle the function, my roommate on the time nicknamed me ‘The Skilled Bridesmaid,’” Glantz stated.

Then, a breakthrough in 2014.

“That’s once I took the thought to Craigslist, posted an advert providing my companies as a employed bridesmaid for strangers. I acquired over 300 responses, constructed an internet site and booked my first consumer (Ashley from Maple Grove, Minnesota) all in 48 hours.”

So what does an expert bridesmaid do? Principally, Glantz and her workforce do all of the issues any bridesmaid would do, from strolling down the aisle in a bridesmaid gown to giving toasts and making a last-minute run to the drug retailer for eyelash glue.

“Plus, we’re a help system for you earlier than the marriage begins,” she stated. “Typically, shoppers wish to rent us and hold it a secret. That’s once we placed on a disguise, have a faux title and backstory, and actually immerse ourselves in your life.”

The corporate additionally affords packages for {couples}, maids of honor and marriage ceremony day coordination. In whole, Glantz has labored over 125 weddings. She’s additionally labored with dozens of freelance bridesmaids and has had greater than 100,000 individuals apply for the function.

Glantz says what they do may be very completely different from what a marriage planner does.

“We work with the couple (or simply the bride or the groom) as their help system in the course of the marriage ceremony journey. We’re the most effective good friend you at all times wished you had while you wanted that good friend essentially the most,” she stated, noting that she and her workforce have carried out every little thing from catching a marriage cake midair to breaking apart heated arguments.

Writing vows, gown purchasing, squashing drama — you title it, Glantz has carried out it. Bridesmaid for Rent even affords marriage ceremony vent classes for $200 for those who want a one-hour name to only get all of it on the market.

“As well as, if we’re there in your massive day, our primary aim is to be sure you and your visitors, are stress-free,” she stated. “Hand us over your to-do listing and your worries. We’re prepared for all of it!”

Glantz’s distinctive gig normally begins with Zoom calls with a bride-to-be to reply any questions, apply their backstory and tackle any anticipated challenges. She might strive on bridesmaid clothes, write maid of honor speeches and movie TikTok movies to assist with viewers engagement.

Come showtime, Glantz has an early morning wake-up earlier than she greets the bride, does a espresso run, then helps handle the opposite bridesmaids, offers with points as they come up, takes photographs with the bridal social gathering, dances on the reception, runs errands for the bride, offers the maid of honor speech and the like.

“Contemplate us your private assistant, on-call therapist, social director — and peacekeeper,” she stated.

All this fairy work will price you, in fact, however given the worth of weddings, what’s one other $2,499 — the beginning worth of her marriage ceremony helper package deal, which incorporates six prewedding telephone classes, digital marriage ceremony instruments, coordination with distributors, day-of timeline, six hours of wedding-day help and e mail help.

If leaping into entrepreneurial life sounds engaging to you, Glantz believes that all the expertise you’re buying at your present job, previous odd jobs and even aspect hustles can serve you properly.

“After I graduated school with a level in English, I had no concept what to do subsequent, so I simply did…something. I labored as a touring marketing consultant for a sorority, as {a magazine} assistant, as a p.r. affiliate and as a copywriter,” she recalled. “Once I began Bridesmaid for Rent, I noticed I used to be pulling expertise from all of those jobs.”

Alongside the best way, Glantz has additionally discovered the significance of rejection firsthand. “Rejection is a step ahead. Relatively than take rejection personally, I at all times requested myself a collection of questions: What can I repair about my ‘ask’ now, what can I begin doing now to get higher sooner or later, and with what can I follow-up to the ‘no response?’” she defined.

For these seeking to break into the marriage business, Glantz has some useful pointers.

Match your expertise

“There are such a lot of transferable expertise you may pull into beginning a enterprise within the marriage ceremony business,” Glantz stated. As soon as your High 10 expertise, strengths or character traits, you can begin to see what worth you deliver, and how one can differentiate what you are promoting and companies.

Discover your aggressive edge

“The world doesn’t want one other marriage ceremony enterprise, but it surely wants one other marriage ceremony enterprise that does one thing completely different, higher and extra trendy,” she added. “Seek for a handful of opponents on the market and do an evaluation of what they do properly, what worth they supply and how one can revamp their whole marketing strategy.”

Get good at social media

Among the best free advertising and marketing instruments in 2022 is the ability of social media, particularly Instagram and TikTok. “Spend money on studying tips on how to use these platforms and interact your viewers on these platforms,” stated Glantz. “It may possibly enable you generate free enterprise.”