Organization is key when you’re in the bridal industry! From the start of communication with a bride to her dress being picked up and even to her wedding day, you need systems.

Bucci’s had a great software program that many bridal shops use today, because really, the others I came across didn’t compare. It’s called BridalLive and was the core of everything in the store. It is a robust CRM (client/customer relationship management) that allows you to do everything from booking appointments online, having an individual file for each bridal, requesting reviews, to tracking sales goals and managing orders.

It was such a life saver because even if I wasn’t at the store, I could still access BridalLive from anywhere because it’s cloud based. If one of my employees was off or not at the store any longer, anyone else could access a bride’s notes.

We were SO detailed. Every text message, phone call and email needed to be documented. I didn’t want to waste time searching through phones or emails to find information. Plus, having accurate information is key. You never want to sound confused or lost when someone called to ask a question or pop into the store without an appointment.

When you order a wedding dress, it’s not a quick process. Often, dresses were a custom order or had options to choose from. Making sure your sizing, colors and lengths were correct are crucial. A dress normally can take anywhere from 3-6 months, even more with today’s current conditions.

On top of having a great program, we would have hard copies of all orders in a filing cabinet. It would be organized by orders to be placed (from over the weekend), pending orders and orders waiting to be picked up and already received.

I wouldn’t count on designers to always be perfect, there have been mistakes that were made and sometimes it went either way. Keeping on top of shipping dates were important, especially if there is a tight timeline.

My team and I had a great system down. We would highlight items in a order when received, initial purchase orders so we know who worked on what and check BridalLive to see who needed a phone call or text reminder to pick up their dress (yes, we had to do this a lot!).

One of my favorite days was coming in after a busy weekend. Placing or calling in orders was a check mark off the list. Receiving giant boxes from FedEx and UPS was almost list Christmas, especially when receiving a very custom order or a brand new sample to show off.

The most important part about having systems in place is knowing anyone can jump in and see what’s going on. While I was the leader, if I was out for whatever reason, my team could work together and keep that place running just as smoothly. Coming from a very Type A personality, it was always hard to let go of a reigns.

When you start a business, you have all these great big picture ideas and dreams you want to fulfill. However, without the foundation, a business won’t succeed long term. You have to balance that creative with logistics or hire the right people to do it for you.