I remember starting The Heart Bandits, my marriage proposal planning company. I started it back in 2010 and every time I would tell someone that I was a Proposal Planner, they would laugh or roll their eyes. “A PROPOSAL Planner?” they would ask in a mocking tone, “People actually PAY you for that?”. My husband and I would be interviewed by media and people would leave mean comments about how Proposal Planning was a joke and that no one in their right mind would pay for such a service.
Fast forward 10 years later and hiring a Proposal Planner is now a social norm and the industry is growing faster than I can believe. Daily, I receive emails from lovers of love asking me how to become a Proposal Planner. They contact me from around the world telling me that they want to start a Proposal Planning company in Colombia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc. and they want me to teach them how to do it.
But WHY is the industry growing so fast and why should you claim your stake in it now? Here are the 3 reasons the industry is blowing up!
1) Social Media Influence
Before social media, if someone proposed to their partner, only their closest friends would know how that person proposed. Let me tell you, things have absolutely changed! Now, when you propose, getting a photo of the moment is expected. Having a videographer shoot it is even better. And that photo or video will make its way to Instagram, Youtube, or Facebook, where it can be viewed by thousands or even millions of people. How has this contributed to the rise of Proposal Planners? Well, now there are thousands of examples on social media showing how people have proposed. The would be “proposer” sees how his peers are proposing and it puts pressure on him to make sure his proposal is equally as good or better. The would be “proposee” is also on social media and she is seeing how her peers are getting engaged. Her expectations of her own proposal increase and again, more pressure is put on the proposer. He wonders, “How will I come up with a better idea?” “Do I have the resources to pull off something that epic?” He starts researching how to pull this all off and that leads him to….you guessed it….a Proposal Planner!
2) Acceptance of Proposal Planning
Another hurdle I had to face when I first started my company was that men were worried how their partner would feel if they hired a Proposal Planner. They were worried that they would be perceived as “not creative enough” or “not romantic” when that couldn’t be the furthest thing from the truth. In fact, they were creative and romantic enough to try to find a resource to make sure their proposal was impactful and memorable. With the rise of social media and grand marriage proposals becoming commonplace, it has now become accepted that for someone to pull off an epic proposal, they are going to need some assistance. And truthfully, many of my clients hear about me FROM their partners. Because hiring a Proposal Planner is an accepted norm, the demand for Proposal Planners is rising and the industry is on fire!
3) Media Attention of Proposal Planners
Several times a year I am contacted by major media outlets to collaborate with them about Proposal Planning articles and stories. And every single time a Proposal Planning article is featured in the media, I notice 2 things. One, I get a TON of new inquiries from potential clients that saw my article in the media and want to find out how I can help them propose. Two, I get several inquiries from people that want to find out how they can become a marriage proposal planner and if I can assist them. This is yet another contributing factor to the growth of the industry.
Now that you know the reasons the industry is growing so quickly, why should you start offering Proposal Planning services right away? I think the question is, why would you NOT? The industry is new enough that you could get started now and become a MAJOR player, but it is also seasoned enough that you don’t have to climb the uphill battle that I did to get noticed.
If starting a career in Proposal Planning intrigues you, then I encourage you to head over to www.theheartbanditsacademy.com and grab one of our FREE DOWNLOADS. In them, we discusses the Top 3 Reasons You Should Start Offering Proposal Planning NOW and 5 Reasons That Proposal Planning and Wedding Planning is the perfect marriage. This will help you find out if adding Proposal Planning to your Wedding Planning business could be right for you. I hope to see you there!