STAY IN YOUR LANE. OR NOT.
The idea of staying in your lane is an interesting one. What exactly does it mean to stay in your lane? And should you?
When I opened my wedding planning business in 2011 my goal was to redefine what it meant to get married in Las Vegas. I wanted to establish the city as a viable option for couples that wanted a high-end, luxurious experience. For nearly five years, that was my sole focus. It was a labor of love, and I learned a tremendous amount. So much so, that I was invited to teach others how I transformed my market. My scope of work began to include more requests for speaking, and I was suddenly moving between wedding planning and education. Surprisingly, I found that I loved teaching and had this huge desire to help transform the industry, so I launched online courses. I wrote a book. Then I wrote another one. My lane expanded from a one-way street to a four-lane highway.
Five years later, I found that my interests and influences were expanding once again. The relationships I have with my clients are deeply intimate and unique. It became hard to separate when the wedding was over, and couples began inviting me into their homes to create micro-environments that evoked the look and feel of their wedding. My personal style is very specific, and many brides would ask me to take them shopping for jewelry, shoes, or accessories. Grooms have asked me to help them purchase specialty pieces of jewelry. My role in people’s lives has moved beyond the singular wedding experience. I am now charged with helping people live more beautifully in all areas of their lives. My books and courses lead to new opportunities to help other people grow their businesses. My husband, who has always been my partner in business and in life, took on a greater role to assist venue owners that needed assistance. Together, we launched a hospitality consulting company. Once again moving in and out of various lanes, but always moving in the same direction towards making the world a move beautiful place
Some people worry that this expansion dilutes the experience, but I cannot for the life of me see how. Dilution would be to say that I offered something to everyone, which I don’t. I don’t offer wedding planning services to couples seeking a straightforward experience. I do not specialize in intimate elopements. I cannot help those who want to play it safe, or walk down the middle - it is simply is not what I specialize in.
Expanding and off-loading clients to associates could be considered diluting, as the value of a client’s experience comes from the fact that the connection I have with my clients is absolute. There is no barrier between myself and my couples or clients - we have a direct line to one another at all times. Selling different products and different experiences to people who care about something other than what I do would be an issue, as I would be playing in a space that I don’t fully embrace or understand. I can only do what I do, the way that I do it. And it only works if I am doing it for and with people who share my worldview.
And what if you do aspire to the work that I do, but we simply cannot work together due to availability, logistics, or budget? I still seek to be of service to you by sharing inspiration and education here on the blog, on Youtube, or via social media.
What I want more than anything is to create beauty in a world that is very often ugly. I want to bend the world to my will to tell stories that matter. I want to surprise and delight, inspiring people to look at the world in a new way.
When I opened Andrea Eppolito Events in 2011 I wrote a tagline that said, “Celebrating life, luxury, and above all else….Love.”
That has never been truer than it is today, and I am so grateful to have you with me as I continue to weave in and out of lanes, forever moving closer to the ultimate destination of making the world a more beautiful place.
Always…a
