English Version
Simone is a mommy of 2, a wedding speaker and also a coach. Together with her family she lives in her house in Kloten. For her couples she travels all over Switzerland and is responsible for the most important part of a wedding: the ceremony. Simone is open, warm, funny and you immediately feel in good hands with her. She also supports newcomers who would like to become wedding speakers. We think it’s just great when people in the industry support each other and can and may learn from each other. In 2022, Simone is already booked up and told us her hacks for daily business, with which you can balance self-employment, family life and business and still remain so radiant and relaxed.
QUESTIONS:
How and why does one become a wedding speaker?
For me, it all started with my own wedding. Almost 10 years ago, I went looking for a speaker for our wedding ceremony and couldn’t find anyone who would have been a good match. After the ceremony – by the way, our best man took over the ceremony management – I couldn’t get rid of the thought to just try it myself. The rest was a few right decisions, a bit of courage, luck and good timing.
What does one need to bring to be a good wedding speaker?
I never went through any specific wedding speaker training, but I originally studied journalism and communications at one point. At my first wedding ceremony, I had over 10 years of copywriting experience under my belt, so that certainly helped. But in my opinion, curiosity, the joy of working with people, flexibility, a feeling for moods, a flair for storytelling and the willingness to forego lots of barbecues with friends because summer weekends are reserved for weddings are much more important.
You offer coaching & training to become a wedding speaker, travel with your couples all over Switzerland for your wedding speeches, have 2 kids, a husband and a big house with a garden – what is your biggest challenge here in terms of organization, planning and timing?
The biggest challenge is the constant coordination and balancing act between work and family. I spend hours puzzling together appointments of myself, my kids or us as a family. A small calculation example: Each wedding means three appointments in the calendar: the meeting of the couple, the preparation meeting and the wedding itself. With 30 weddings a year, that’s already 90 appointments that I have to accommodate. Not a word has been written yet. What suits me very well is the long lead time. Sometimes the dates are already one and a half years before in my calendar. That definitely helps with the organization.
Your top 3 tips to organize your everyday life?
I don’t like searching, in my eyes that’s the most tedious of all time wasters. That’s why it’s usually pretty tidy in my house – and if it’s not, tidying up is quick because everything has its place. Then, every week my husband and I do a calendar sync for the next two weeks and organize any scheduling conflicts or caregiver bottlenecks – luckily we have an extreme amount of support from our families. And third, I’m a fan of to-do lists, menu plans, and all sorts of digital apps and tools that take the pressure off my brain – what I put down I can safely forget.
What does a typical day at Gori look like? If there is such a thing.
Typical days are indeed rare. But there are three categories: My work days, where I try to get as much done as possible, where I need absolute concentration. Then there are the days with the kids, when I try to find a good mix between keeping them occupied and running along with them on everyday errands, for example. And the weekends, when I’m either working and my husband is on childcare duty, or we all do something together.
What is the best thing about being self-employed for you? What is the most difficult thing?
The most beautiful thing is this infinite freedom and flexibility. I can choose my clients, tasks and partners myself, go to the swimming pool on a Monday or spontaneously accept a text assignment if I feel like it. I no longer live from weekend to weekend, but find all days of the week equally exciting, which is incredibly valuable. Flexibility is also the most difficult thing. Precisely because I’m constantly organizing and coordinating, because my clients and tasks are always changing.
How does our Simple and More Agenda 2022 support you?
My calendar is digital because my husband also needs to have access to it. But I still really like to keep lists or make notes by hand, and they’re all in the same place now thanks to the agenda. There’s just no better feeling than crossing off a task thickly, is there?
How do you plan with the agenda and is there anything that supports you that you haven’t done before?
Every day I write down three specific tasks I want to get done. Before, that liked to happen on three different post-its, now it’s all in the same place. Besides, it’s pretty and pretty things just make me happy.
What goes into a top-notch wedding speech? Do you write everything down by hand or do you prefer digital?
I really like to write by hand, especially with the beautiful fountain pen I got from my husband last Christmas. But I do the wedding speeches on my PC just for security reasons. That way I can save them in the cloud and have access to them from anywhere.
Your best tip for anyone who wants to start their own business?
Done is better than perfect. I know so many talented people – especially women – who spend endless hours tweaking the ideal idea or perfect implementation and then just never get off the ground. Starting and tweaking along the way is the best strategy, in my opinion.
What are you grateful for?
I write down three things I’m thankful for almost every day, so it adds up. First of all, for my family and their great support. For having the courage to take the step into self-employment. And for the great people I get to meet along the way.
Bilder: Livia Bass Photography
