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Brides needed someone to help handle wedding drama.
- Jen Glantz is the founder and CEO of Bridesmaid for Hire, a boutique services company that offers professional bridesmaids who "take care of all your wedding dirty work."
- She started the company after noticing a gap in the wedding industry and wanting to fill it - something she said is key when starting a new business unlike any other.
- Glantz said it's vital to pinpoint your audience, research market viability, connect with fellow entrepreneurs in the industry, and experiment by putting your idea in motion.
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After going to close to 20 weddings in my early 20s, I realized there was a major gap in the $72 billion wedding industry. There was no vendor or service provider you could hire for the people taking part in the wedding adventure, like the bride or members of her bridal party. Wedding planners mainly deal with vendors and manage to-do lists.
Who was supposed to handle the wedding drama, the questions from bridesmaids, and the last minute personal tasks that the bride ran out of time for and just couldn't handle?
That's where my business came in. I started Bridesmaid for Hire five years ago as a way for brides to hire an actual bridesmaid to be there as a personal assistant, a social director, a voice of reason, and a peacekeeper. And yes, also as a literal bridesmaid (wearing the dress, walking down the aisle, giving the speech, and more).
When the business went viral, some people wondered if it was a late April Fool's Day joke, since I started the business in June. Everyone called me crazy. From friends to family members to the press, people labeled the idea I had as something laughable. But what they didn't see was my inbox, flooded with hundreds of emails from potential customers, and my Google Analytics that showed over 10,000 people a day visiting the website. The business idea seemed out there, but it was in fact much-needed. Five years later, we've serviced close to 200 customers, offer custom packages for maids of honor, and have had over 40,000 people apply to work for us (we've hired and fired over the years).
If I had listened to the people criticizing my idea, none of the above would have happened. But how do you know if your business idea is worth pursuing, and investing your time and money in? Here are three ways to test out a business idea to determine if it may actually be profitable.