Whenever I tell someone I own a venue, I get one of two replies. The first reply is almost entirely from people outside of the industry and they say - “Oh my gosh - that must be so much fun!” The other is mostly from people inside the industry - ”I never want to own a venue, it looks so hard!”
Both of these statements are true. It IS so much fun, and it IS so unbelievably hard. I am glad that I went in blindly to venue ownership because I am not sure I would have had the nerve to open it if I knew what was in store for me.
A bit of background - my sister Courtney and I owned a wedding planning company prior to opening a venue, The Bradford NC. We also help other event pros through our consulting business, Hustle + Gather (with a podcast to boot).
We were planners for seven years before we started the venue, so we thought it would be easy. All you have to do is host events, you aren’t planning them. Friends - I feel like this is the point where I need to let you know that I was 100% delusional. Owning a venue is not just hosting an event. And I was wholly unprepared.
It took years of floundering, and some epic fails that got us finally on solid footing. I wish that we could have gotten there faster. I would have taken any class, or read any article that would have helped me navigate the enormity of owning a venue. Instead - we just had to figure it out. This is why I love being able to give anyone a peek behind the curtain and share the things I wish I knew in those first few years.
Here are the 4 Top Tips we can share that has been crucial to our venue's success, as we aim to help others in the industry achieve their business goals.
Workflows Are Your Saving Grace.
You may have just rolled your eyes and thought duh- of course they are!
Well, I knew workflows were important - I just did not know how to utilize them to the fullest. Every single part of the process should have a workflow. Starting with when the lead comes in. We have a few different workflows for the different types of leads. Is it someone that is curious? Is it someone ready to tour? Or is it someone who wants to tour but can’t for a few months? All 3 of those leads require a different type of nurturing.
Workflows allow you to target information in an effective way. In a world where we are inundated with information - we need to figure out how to break through the noise and workflows help us do just that.
What should have a workflow? Lead Phase, Touring Phase, Booking Phase, Planning Phase, Event Day, Post Event
Client Experience Is Just As Important As Marketing
I used to look at marketing as social media and advertising. But marketing is so much bigger than that and the one part that we underutilized for so long was our client experience. We looked at it as 2 separate things. We kept the experience insular, and just assumed if people liked us, they would give us a glowing 5 star review. And while that is sometimes the case, most people need a bit of a nudge.
What gets us those 5 star reviews unprompted is our client experience. Sure, the venue is pretty, the drinks were amazing, and the staff was excellent. But how did we make them feel? What was their experience like? That is the best marketing any business can ask for, when you are so awesome they can't stop talking about you!
Where should we have client experience touchpoints? Lead Phase, Touring Phase, Booking Phase, Planning Phase, Event Day, Post Event
Did you feel like you just read that same list above? That's because you did. Can you guess what we have in our workflows? That’s right - client experience touchpoints.
Processes Are Crucial
If you think workflows and processes are the same - don’t worry, you're not alone. It is the biggest mistake I see venues make. If it is in workflow, it's easy to assume there is a process and that is just not true.
Processes or SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are the quickest way to create a uniform experience. They allow you - as the owner or manager - to create a systematic way to complete a task. An SOP can be as simple as how to schedule the cleaners. This seems easy, but do you know how many times the cleaner didn’t show up because there was a miscommunication? Once. Because after that - there was a SOP in place to ensure it doesn't happen again. SOPs tell you how to do the items on your workflow so that every client gets the same level and standard of service. Do you know what that affects? That’s right- our client experience.
I can’t list all our SOPs - we would be reading forever and truly my needs for processes in certain areas may not match yours. So, what I tell venues we work with is to use this criteria to know when an SOP is needed:
- You get the same question more than once
- It is a job that requires a specific outcome (i.e. the venue needs to be clean)
- It is an action that leads to client satisfaction or dissatisfaction
- It is a job that has a measurable outcome that you need to track (i.e. sales, or reviews)
- Last, it is something that you care deeply about and want to be sure it is done right
You Will Have To Pivot - Often
I know - the word pivot is so overused! But it is truly the one part of owning a venue I had no idea was going to play such a large role in my life. I now joke that if you aren’t changing or growing, you are stagnant. You become irrelevant - and there is nothing worse in the industry.
Cue the dramatic music.
In all seriousness - you have to be ok with change and pivoting. It is inevitable. Not only will your type of client change - but things that make no sense will change. For instance - water. I never thought I would be so concerned with water. Water is so damaging and it seems that when we fix one area to divert rain water - within 6 months a new area pops up. And then when you think you have it all figured out - 3 years later a place that has never once had an issue is suddenly flooding your ballroom. If that isn’t the most true picture of venue ownership - I am not sure what is.
So what are the top 5 things we pay attention to in order to see if we need to pivot?
- Marketing - is our client changing? Is our market changing?
- The Team - does the way we are structured still make sense? Are we overstaffed or understaffed?
- Landscaping and Maintenance - how is the water flowing on the property? Do we need to add screenings? Do we need more storage?
- Sales - is our sales process still getting us to our numbers? Do we see some trends that we need to pay attention to?
- Strategic partnerships - do we need to add or remove people from the list? How can we give our vendors the best experience?
All of these things may seem elementary - but I promise when you are in the middle of construction and booking like your life depends on it, these small things fall to the wayside because it doesn’t seem crucial in the moment. But it is crucial and is honestly how we finally started seeing success.
We are coming up on a slow season for some, so take the time to lay out these new processes, workflows, and touchpoints. It will create an amazing 2025 for you!
If you need some inspiration, motivation, and maybe just overall help - come to The Venue Masterclass January 6-8 where we will tackle all of these things and more! Use the code "AISLE2025" for 10% off registration.
