Tips when buying a Wedding Business For Sale

Considering buying a Wedding Business For Sale?

It is estimated that the Australian wedding industry generates over $2 billion dollars a year, with an average 116,000 weddings taking place. With many weddings costing an excess of $15,000 there is a lot of money invested into bridal wedding businesses. When looking at a Wedding Business For Sale there are a few different styles of businesses, there are the Wedding Planners - who organise every aspect of the wedding and ceremony, Wedding Decorators - Who handle the decor and layout of the ceremony and reception, Wedding Event Businesses - Which plan the location and set up of the wedding, they tend to handle venues and decor. There are also a number of other businesses associated with Weddings such as dressmakers for bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses, Suits and Taylors, Florists, Photograhers, Function Centres, Caterers, Accomodation and so on. A wedding can be a simple affair or a 5 day celebration, it all depends on the families involved and of course the Bride and Groom!

What to conisder when buying a Wedding Business For Sale:

• Reputation - Does the Wedding Business have a good reputation? Brides talk. If the business has managed a terrible wedding, forgot important details, failed to organise something, then the bride and groom will remember (not to mention the rest of the wedding party) and it will spread by word of mouth. Especially if you are buying a wedding business in a small town, it can be hard to change that reputation. Ask to speak with a previous bridal party that the business has dealt with, just to see how they viewed the business. You can also try doing review searches online.
• Relationships - A wedding can be a big operation that involves a number of teams working together. Does the Wedding Business have good relationships with other businesses that may need to be involved, such as photographers, florists, decorators, celebrants, musicians.
• Established - How long has the wedding business been established for? Can you view photos from previous weddings to see the style of wedding they put together.
• Confimed Bookings- Weddings are normally booked for and planned months to years in advance. Does the business you are buying already have confirmed bookings? If not, this is a bad sign. If they have months/years worth of business booked in, then you know it is a reputable business with a good name, that you can build upon.

Selling a Wedding Business

If you are a well established Wedding Business with good clientelle and confirmed bookings the last thing you want is to SCARE your BRIDES! So when it comes to selling your business, keep everything private. Dont advertise your business name or use photos which could be associated with your business, set up a new email address and use a phone not linked to the business. The wedding day is stressful enough for brides and the last thing they need is to think their wedding planner is going to leave them at the 11th hour. Be sure to screen every applicant before you provide details. If you are good at what you do, people will want to steal information and review your financial. Proceed with caution. Even going through a broker, you need to be sure they are 110% aware of your desire for secrecy. They could easily let it 'slip' who the owner of the business is.

Check out this amazing Wedding and Events Business For Sale in Melbourne VIC 1/11/2011, established 16 years with confirmed business for 2 years - there are some great wedding business opportunities out there!

Have you ever owned a Wedding Business? Do you have any tips for someone looking to buy a wedding business for sale?