Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erica Gensky. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Erica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I love being a business owner. It has forced me into a visionary mindset and finding a certain amount of comfortability with risk, but being in full control of my income, vision and mission is worth every bit.

Overwhelm and burn out can contribute to that, “Is this really worth it?” feeling. By the end of 2021 I was sitting in this space mentally. But when I boiled down to what “worth it” meant, it was clear to me that the end goal was being able to find work/life balance as a full-time mom and full-time business owner. So, yes, the busy whirlwind of business development was worth flexibility for my kids and family.

Once I boiled this key thought down, I attributed the feeling to overwhelm and burnout and worked to simplify my processes, both in systemizing and setting boundaries. Since then, keeping a clear vision of the mission of my entrepreneurship and systemizing as needed has helped me keep the burn out at bay.

Erica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My education is in journalism, specifically strategic communication. I worked as a director of marketing for an events company upon graduating college, and that’s where I fell in love with the events world. After working closely with the business owners, I was also intrigued by their role and decided to try my hand a business ownership in the wedding industry.

At Erica Jordan Weddings we offer both wedding planning and wedding coordination. We believe our clients deserve a planning experience that’s exactly what they’re looking for. That’s why we go a step further than “partial wedding planning” for our couples. We love getting to know our potential couples and curating the perfect wedding planning experience that includes everything they need.

I am most proud of our commitment to hospitality. It’s important to us that we provide wedding coordination to the fullest extent – you’ll find us wherever we’re needed on wedding day, whether that’s directing traffic or cutting wedding cake.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

When I started Erica Jordan Weddings I was working part time in retail to provide the financial support our family needed. I finally realized that it was going to take a leap of faith to get from part time to full-time business ownership. I started investing all of my time into business development and hit the ground running in marketing and sales. One of the best lessons I learned is that you work the hardest to find success when you have nothing else to fall back on!

After a little over a year, I realized I had completely swung to the other side of the pendulum and was completely overworked and overwhelmed. I decided to bring on a few contracted coordinators to free me up to get back to my family and make my business work for me. That was the best decision I ever made.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Taking care of my contractors is a top priority, because they are so important to smooth-running wedding days. For me, my primary goal is to make sure that this job is always fun for them. While we handle high-stress situations, as the lead planner, I strive to carry the weight of wedding pressure on wedding day so that they can endure mentally and physically.

We have an annual get together to celebrate our successes, learn from our shortfalls and develop deeper relationships. This is my biggest piece of advice – getting together outside of work and providing a space to form meaningful relationships is so important.

It’s also important to lead by example. Every task I delegate to my coordinators is one that I have done and will do by their side if they need me. Humility in leadership is the best way to inspire.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ericajordanweddings.com
• Instagram: @ericajordanweddings
• Facebook: @ericajordanweddingsllc

Image Credits
Bailey Pianalto Photography Black Coffee Photo