June 2023: coming out of hibernation
My musings…
I am back! You may have noticed that I did not send out a newsletter last month, and then I missed last week, which was the first Thursday of June.
This was in part due to us transitioning our website to a whole new platform with a new design. It’s not quite done yet, but I will be doing a grand reveal soon. In transferring the website host, we had to fix other operational hiccups, as well, including our email, which went dark for about two days, and our newsletter services.
A previous version of me would have stressed that I didn’t meet my (self-imposed) deadlines. Consistency is so important when it comes to building trust and making connections in the small business world. However, to that point, as a small business owner where Mike and I are the sole operators (with the help of a lot of third parties, of course), we just can’t always accomplish everything we set out to do when we want to do it. And I’m learning to be okay with that.
With that said, since I last wrote, we hosted another six events in the venue and wrapped up the end of the 2022-2023 busy season in Miami. We launched a special date-night and engagement package for the venue for people looking to have an unique experience outside of their normal big-city haunts. We also finally finished revamping our preferred vendor list + resources page, which will hopefully make planning weddings and events easier for our clients.
It’s hard to put into words how special, challenging, overwhelming, and fruitful our first full wedding and events season was. From the incredible couples and party hosts to the talented vendors, I’m grateful we have a full year under our belt and can continue putting one foot in front of the other to reach new heights in business and in our community here at #theGoWM.
Although our “off-peak” season is upon us, we are not slowing down! While we do have a couple of events to look forward to this summer, we have a long to-do list that we are eagerly looking to tackle. From finishing our Tribute Library (more on this later!) and the bar to streamlining some administrative tasks and completing the inventory page for our rentals package, our summer plans are full of projects. Not to mention, we have a lot of summer activities with the kids, and I will be finally (hopefully) launching my own financial planning practice in the next couple of weeks!
Summer will be a time to replenish our cups and get ahead before next season starts. With that, let’s get into the updates around the venue.
Updates for TheGoWM…
This month, we plan to:
- Raise our prices (ahh!) on our one-year anniversary since our Grand Opening, which is June 16!
- Continue to work on some of the projects we have around the venue, such as the Live Oak Bar and the Woods Tribute Library, both of which are almost done
- Officially launch our new website along with some amazing resources and materials for party hosts and engaged couples
- Create an inventory of the décor and rentals items available to booked clients who use our in-house rentals
- Brainstorm ideas for hosting more community events in 2023 + 2024
- Do some much needed landscaping maintenance around the venue
- Add in a pavilion at the entrance for our valet services
- Add in a storage unit in the back to hold more of our rentals
- Share more tips and advice on our Instagram page
- Get our Pinterest page back up and running
Our Asks…
This wouldn’t be a community space without the help from, well, our community! If you can assist us with any of the following, we’d greatly appreciate it.
- If you have been to our venue and enjoyed your experience, a review for us would go a very long way! If you feel inclined, these are the sites on which we get the most traffic: Google, Wedding Wire, and TheKnot.
- Please follow us on our social media pages: Instagram (@thegardenswm) and Facebook.
- Please engage (share, like, comment, save) with our posts on social media. Let us know if there is any content you’d like to see more of from us!
- Help us brainstorm events we can host in our space outside of private parties (e.g., wellness events, art galleries, concerts, gaming events, etc.).
- Book a tour if you’re in the area and would like to see our space!
Thanks for tuning in this month!
-Emily, Co-Founder, The Gardens of Weber Manor
