Joining our series of interviews with entrepreneurs today is Alan Katz, owner of one in all the biggest wedding services firms in Southern California and possibly within the USA
Key Statistics:
Income: $750,000 per yr
Founder: 1
Employees: 5
Independent contractors: 37
Began: 2003
Meet Alan Katz
I grew up in So Cal in a pleasant middle class family. I had a traditional upbringing, in keeping with traditional norms: go to highschool, get a job, get married and lead a completely happy life.
Growing up, I knew I used to be a bit different from others. I used to be silly, outrageous, nerdy, and never fit into the norms of normal life.
I made my television debut on the age of 16, doing comedy on the Gong Show. I had hoped that my life would go on this direction, but unfortunately it went back to “normal”.
I at all times knew there was something there, I just couldn’t find it. I got married, divorced two children after which my life modified.
I dreamed of a life where I could make people laugh. I began singing telegrams, impersonating stars, being Santa Claus and doing extra film work.
I did great at it and truly made a living for some time. To complement my income, I drove a limousine. Every little thing was going well. Then, during a visit to the doctor, they found that I had thyroid cancer. I made a decision I might fight it and win, and I did.
But that just got me pondering. Why am I here? I desired to make a difference on this world. I just didn’t wish to be one in all those nameless individuals who faded out of existence. So I began formulating a plan, but it surely had no direction.
Until at some point my best friend asked me to be the officiant at his wedding. This will likely be the day that modified my life eternally. With the words we got here up with together, I gave the ceremony my very own Alan vibe, stepped as much as the mic and rocked it.
After the ceremony, many guests got here as much as me and said it was the perfect wedding ceremony that they had ever been to. My friends told me that I needed to quit my job and pursue it full-time because I had found my calling.
So I listened. I began a web site where I speak about changing the narrative of boring weddings to make them fun and romantic. It began to catch on. I began booking weddings. Some were great, some were failures, but all along I used to be learning what makes couples completely happy.
I got to the purpose where I had to determine to quit my limo job and deal with this business. I watched the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and the leap of religion scene.
I noticed that I might never achieve my goals if I didn’t take that leap. So I got off the ledge. 20 years later… I run the biggest, hottest and most amazing wedding planning company, producing almost 2,000 weddings a yr.
Are you able to describe your enterprise related to official wedding services?
Great Officials is the biggest company of its type in So Cal, if not the US. I even have over 30 officers, including ministers, priests, rabbis, bilingual officers, non-denominational officers, and cosplay officers.
I’ve created a spot that wedding planners, venues and other wedding service providers can trust when asked, “do you already know a superb officiant? They could say, “I do know an excellent official.” The corporate is multi-faceted.
Along with trips to locations (hotel, backyard, golf course, etc.), I expanded my business. I opened a boutique with 30 seats inside and outdoors Wedding Chapelcreated Beach wedding design an organization organizing and performing weddings on beaches in So Cal.
We’ve grow to be authorized agents of the county clerk’s office to issue marriage licenses to our couples to avoid the county clerk’s office. We created escape division for a fast and simple wedding. For memorials/funerals we created Celebrators of memory.
I still do it singing telegrams and I do not earn anywhere near as much money as I like doing it. And recently we created our cruise line division where we perform ceremonies on cruise ships in port before they exit to sea.
We stand out within the industry because we’ve broken the norms of what a ceremony ought to be. We showed that a marriage doesn’t should be boring and you possibly can make it fun and romantic.
I put it on the market continually on social media, at networking events, and thru extensive (and expensive) promoting. When I’m going to industry events, I dress very colorfully to face out from the gang.
While I’ve never read the Purple Cow book, its concept of “secure” ideas is anything but secure – it’s boring and will likely be ignored like normal-colored cows.
Reasonably, it’s dangerous and exaggerated ideas that will likely be noticed and have a probability to survive. I’m the “purple cow” of the marriage industry.
As my company grew and I hired more clerks, my source of income modified. I didn’t just generate income from the ceremonies I conducted, but I made money by gathering helpers to book classes for other officials.
For lack of higher words, I became the “official booking agency.” I get the booking in order that the clerks get the balance and work directly with the couple once they’re booked.
How has your organization developed – from single ceremonies to serving hundreds of individuals a yr with a team?
Once I began getting greater, I could not deal with the amount of business, so I began in search of others to take over my excess.
I began my first real company, So Cal Officiant. It was blooming. I added increasingly more officials and it was great. I attended wedding industry seminars and learned from top professionals run a successful wedding business.
I took information from each seminar and put it into practice. I also learned to “be an authority,” so I began being a speaker and teaching about success. This gave me incredible credibility within the industry.
I even have now grow to be an “Expert” and other people within the industry trust me and my wedding concepts. I used to be getting greater and higher. But then I had a fight with my good friend who was one in all my clerks and I removed him from the corporate.
He got a lawyer who falsely claimed to own half of the corporate. Although this was a false claim, it led to my personal downfall.
I hired a lawyer, fought it, and we realized the perfect method to fight it was to file for bankruptcy.
Little did I do know that this one act freed my soul and allowed me to rebrand, eliminate debt and free my life from this threat eternally. I became Grand Officer.
As the corporate grew, so did my profits after which my prices. I discovered the proper place where I used to be neither the most cost effective nor the costliest. I generate income by collecting officiant booking fees and beach wedding design fees.
Because the variety of bookings increased, my income also increased. I moved from my first chapel/office constructing to a much nicer and bigger facility with more offices, higher parking, and an excellent neighborhood.
This raised my status much more. Regardless that we’re price top dollar within the industry, I still needed to give you the option to maintain bookings flowing in, and if we priced ourselves too high, we’d lose market share. That is why we selected volume over higher fees to maintain a flow of repeat customers.
For my official contractors, it’s easier for them that we do all of the work by getting them within the door and so they deliver the products. They’re amazing at it. The business end is the toughest part. The ceremony is the perfect part and we’re the celebrities of the event.
My biggest competition will not be other firms, but a Friend or Uncle who has never organized a marriage before and who the couple can get at no cost.
The old saying that you simply get what you pay for isn’t more true than on this scenario. More often than not, they suck and might destroy a marriage (even when it began that way).
That is why it is also my job to coach industry professionals and couples concerning the insanity of this feature. One of the essential elements of success is reviews.
I’m referred to as the “King of Reviews”. I even have more reviews than every other official within the industry, and I get more of them every week.
It’s snowballing, more weddings, more reviews. I tell my team to conduct their ceremonies as if the YELP owner was standing there watching and reviewing you (I realize it doesn’t work that way, but you get the purpose).
What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs just starting out?
Newbies should do their research before starting. My success story is an anomaly.
At first I had no idea what I used to be doing. I should never have succeeded. But I used to be motivated to make it work in any respect costs.
So I learned from the experts. I read books like “The Best Salesman within the World: Og Mandino. And that showed me the way in which.
I made a decision to do it otherwise than everyone else, but based on working concepts which have helped others succeed.
Once you’re ready, take that leap of religion.
What are the vital components to begin this business and the estimated initial investment?
To start out any business, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the legal part of beginning a business in your region. Check with a lawyer and accountant to dive into all of the legal and financial elements to start, similar to corporation vs. LLC vs. sole proprietorship.
Will you make money working from home or rent space? Website creation and promoting. Making a social media presence will evolve as your enterprise grows. Learn be an authority. But don’t conform to the identical standards that others have.
Create your individual world around you. Through your authentic self, but additionally create a brand new, developed personality that may make others see and respect you.
This would possibly not occur overnight. It took me 20 years to realize this level of success. I still should exit every single day and do it day after day to keep up my image.
The moment I stop, others will likely be there to repel my thunder.
In case your gut is telling you something, you need to hearken to it. Go where you’re appreciated and appreciated and you possibly can make a difference.
Know your value and earn from it.
How have your public speaking and industry awards impacted your organization?
Presenting myself as an authority sets me aside from the competition. As I said, it’s allowed me to go to people for advice and expertise, and it is also given me the “fame” that makes me desirable.
I also became something of a TV star. I’m wanted for appearances on TV shows and news. Due to my influence within the industry, my next goal is promoting on news and entertainment web sites.
W=I used to be the host of essentially the most famous 90 Day Fiance reality show called Spouse House, guesting on the Kelly Clarkson Show because she was obsessive about me.
We’ve been chosen to officiate many celebrity weddings similar to Brittany Spears. I’m currently participating in a brand new HULU show called The Prank Panel (Episode 1). This and way more might be seen at my website As seen on TV.