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rezzy
05-06-2009, 11:58 AM
My soon-to-be wife, is interested in starting a business. She wants to do wedding stuff.

Ex) centerpieces, and other things that you need to run a wedding.

Right now, shes gathering information and looking at marketing, etc.

First she needs a name.... I got a recommendation to use Party Mio (my party), in spanish. But I think this segments the business. ideas?

I told her to join, but she hasnt crossed that hump yet.

vangogh
05-06-2009, 12:22 PM
First congrats on the soon to be wedding.

Gathering info is a good place to start. Tell her to look for things that can differentiate her from others. If you can find forums or other places where wedding customers are talking about how their big day went that would be a great place to do research. Listen for their complaints. (The centerpieces were too... that kind of thing) Then she can offer something that isn't too...

I think Party Mio is fine, though maybe it should be Our Party (What's our in Spanish?) I think most people will understand it close enough. If the business will specifically be for weddings maybe getting the word wedding in their would be good, though probably not absolutely necessary.

I'm guessing there will be a website so maybe check on availability of domain names too when thinking about the company name.

And yes tell your soon-to-be-wife she needs to join. The only way to have a successful business is to become a member of this forum :)

rezzy
05-06-2009, 12:34 PM
I'm guessing there will be a website so maybe check on availability of domain names too when thinking about the company name.

She has already declared, I am making it. I guess I have no choice in that matter.



And yes tell your soon-to-be-wife she needs to join. The only way to have a successful business is to become a member of this forum :)

I read her alot of the posts we have going back and forth. She feels like shes part of the forum, now she just needs to join. :)

The idea was from one of her friends, and didnt care to much for it.

The friend, wants to do more parties and my wife wants to do more weddings. I think thats part of the segmentation and where the name is headed.

nighthawk
05-06-2009, 04:02 PM
The idea was from one of her friends, and didnt care to much for it.

The friend, wants to do more parties and my wife wants to do more weddings. I think thats part of the segmentation and where the name is headed.

It may be worth teaming up and forming a combined business that offers everything, Im sure there are many skills that overlap - your wife can handle the ceremony and the rest of the days formalities, while the partner can advise on booking bands and venues.

If however she decides to go it alone, then it may be worth working on a freelance basis as an independent wedding planner, rather than as a company. "Mrs Rezzy (to be) - Wedding Planner". I think that has a much more personal appeal, and might work better in that line of work.

vangogh
05-06-2009, 04:24 PM
That's a pretty good idea. I've never actually gone out looking for a wedding planner having never had a wedding, but I would think a personal brand would go a long way in that business. Having her name in the company name might be the best way to go.

huggytree
05-06-2009, 08:32 PM
will you be high, medium, or low end? (i think you should do a main focus on 1 & a minor focus on the rest...possibly skip the low end)


i wouldnt choose a name in spanish unless you plan on going after mainly spanish business....your name should reflect whats unique about you...high/medium/low end will matter here....budget wedding supplies or royalty wedding supplies....name can be important...make a mistake on name and it will effect your business.

networking....its especially important for wedding stuff....get to know florists, photographers, wedding dessses, dj's, etc....start a mini networking group...networking will probably be one of your main sources of income.....

is she doing a store front or at home?

rezzy
05-07-2009, 11:07 AM
For the time being its going to be run from home.

I think to allow the business time to grow and if it does moving to a store front, maybe.

@nighthawk, Im not sure how she feels about being a wedding planner, because that requires a different level of commitment. Doing essentially the decorations requires hard work, time, but being available for level of commitment is another.

Although, I will "pitch" it to her. See what she thinks about it.

As for names, Ill tell her that too.

Ill tell yall if she takes the plunge and joins.

vangogh
05-07-2009, 12:12 PM
Bryan if she wants to keep the business limited to creating the decorations then I'd suggest getting to know wedding planners very well. Those are going to be the people that will be choosing or rather offering the choices to the bride and groom. Seems like a big slice of her market is going to be wedding planners.

Could you get the word centerpiece into the company name? Maybe something similar?

billbenson
05-07-2009, 12:20 PM
Just on the name: Party isn't a spanish word. Fiesta mia would be my party. Boda mia would be my wedding. Nuestra boda would be our wedding.

It's ok to mix the languages as a lot of people here speak Spanglish. I'd also like to get a keyword or two in the URL, so from that standpoint party is a better choice. More people are going to search for party or wedding than fiesta or boda.

KristineS
05-07-2009, 12:41 PM
I would agree with Vangogh, if she is looking to do the decorations, get to know the wedding planners. Also florists and wedding cake creators. She should probably also start building a stable of wedding blogs that she reads and comments on frequently. There are probably also forums for DIY weddings as well. Those would be great sources of information and potential customers.

Is she looking to do this sort of work locally, or could she create decorations which could be sent via the mail? If she can do that, then there should definitely be a web site. She might also want to look at organizations like Etsy or Artfire. There are a lot of artists doing wedding stuff on those sites, and she might be able to make some good connections.

Remipub
05-08-2009, 05:07 AM
At the risk of sounding negative, I'd dump "party mio" - for several reasons which have been touched on. In fact I honestly cringed when I first read it - being a formerly fluent Spanish speaker. Also, since we've concluded that event and wedding planners really would be a primary source of business, making the name so generalized would probably turn them off.

That being said, the romantisicm of a foreign language is pretty commonly, and effectively used. Something like "Bella Designs" - still pretty broad, but it puts more focus on the creative aspect which is what she really intends to do. I imagine Bella Designs is taken - not suggesting that specifically, just the concept. Could even expand it out to something like "Belleza Designs" (belleza = beauty)

rezzy
05-08-2009, 09:33 AM
I really like the different angle there Remipub.

I think your name suggestion add a level of refinement and makes it more elegant.

KristineS
05-10-2009, 10:21 AM
Belleza Designs is a cool name. It has kind of a elegant sound to it, which is something that a lot of people would react to when looking for wedding decorations. Plus that could be expanded in whatever direction seems like a useful one. The name is specific enough to be useful, but broad enough to go in many directions if necessary.

rezzy
05-10-2009, 01:35 PM
Thanks all. Belleza Designs it is. At least for now. Site To Come (http://bellezadesigns.net/)

Remipub
05-12-2009, 04:34 PM
Cool ... the bill is in the mail. (kidding) I hope it proves to be a successful endeavor!

rezzy
05-12-2009, 04:42 PM
She saw the name and right away ran to buy the domain.

KristineS
05-12-2009, 06:24 PM
Can't wait to see what Belleza Designs becomes. How exciting to be in on the beginning of something new.

vangogh
05-12-2009, 06:33 PM
Bryan I assume you're both excited. I didn't weigh in, but I like the name Belleza designs. It fits well with the business and I think it's memorable.

rezzy
05-12-2009, 07:09 PM
Thanks Steven. Now that the preliminaries are out of the way, I can go back to focusing on ME! ;) Just dont tell her I said that.

Patrysha
05-12-2009, 07:13 PM
I have a list of wedding industry statistics that can be quite helpful in projecting the mindset, location and trends of the target market which can help in making sales projections and planning promotions.

Let me know if you'd like me to dig that up for her.