Counting My Blessings

As I gear up for a big week ahead, with our inaugural Academy for Planners + Designers, I finally had time to sit down today to write my 'speeches'. As co-founder of Wedding 360, LLC. I will be doing a welcoming speech at our kick-off party on Sunday, an introductory speech before the first class begins on Monday, and then a thank you speech after the last class concludes on Tuesday.

As I wrote down my thoughts, I realized that this has been one of the most amazing journeys of my life. It's hard to believe that it was just one year ago that Wedding 360, LLC was formed, and we began planning for The Academy. So much has happened in one short year. We have learned a great deal, made a ton of new friends, and planned the biggest event we've ever planned.

During this past year, I worked harder than I ever had, and I was already somewhat of a workaholic before all of this! So many days, nights, and weekends were spent planning all of the intricate details of this 3 day event, from getting some of the best experts around the country to come teach, to working out the design elements with the fabulous Gloria Wong, to thinking 'big picture' for Wedding 360 with my business partner Jean.

As with any new business venture, there were frustrations, road blocks, and costly mistakes. It sure is easy to get swept into all of that and spiral downward. But the passion that I had for this business kept me going. It is so important to have a vision and a passion, because without that, it is too easy to throw in the towel and call it quits.

I really need to count my blessings, because so many amazing people have helped me through this incredible journey. I'm not going to list all of them here yet, because I want to save it for my speeches at The Academy, but there is one person I really want to acknowledge on my blog right now, and that is my husband Alan.

I am so grateful to have the most supportive husband in the world. He is always patiently listening to my crazy ideas (and I have lots of them!), and he willingly supports me in all my ventures. He always tells me he believes in me, and that gives me a lot of strength to get through all the hardships of being an entrepreneur. For the past year, he has shown his immense support by taking over the parental duties when I am not around, so that I can focus on building my new business. Some people tell me I am a superwoman because I can juggle two businesses and a 3 year old, but I think my husband is the true superman because he masters an intense career, handles a workaholic wife with patience and grace, and manages to spend a lot of quality time with our daughter, who simply adores him (just like I do)!

After The Academy is over, my biggest goal is to create a more balanced life, so that I can be around for my family. It's the hardest thing to do when you're an entrepreneur, because you feel like you have to work all the time, but I am determined to do it!

Can't wait to see everything come together for The Academy! Follow us on twitter for updates!