Jen Glantz is a professional bridesmaid. That’s right, you can hire out the role traditionally held by best friends or sisters or cousins or old roommates. But this career STARTED with a craigslist ad going viral. After a long wedding season of being a traditional bridesmaid for friends near and far, one night Jen Glantz threw up a craigslist ad touting her experience and usefulness wearing taffeta on a wedding day.
By the next morning, her Craigslist ad had spread to major media outlets like Buzzfeed and the Huffington Post, and she was fending off offers to be on the national morning talk shows. Before long, Jen had parlayed that Craigslist ad into a successful business. You can book her as bridesmaid OR she can teach you how to start your own professional bridesmaid business.
Always a Bridesmaid (For Hire) by Jen Glantz
It’s a unique story, and fun to read about in her thoughtful book about the adventure called Always A Bridesmaid (For Hire). There are two things about Jen’s story that I thought were really interesting and pertinent to this series. First, she has managed to make something good and successful come out of a viral event. Not everyone can capitalize on viral success, even though many try. It can be so fleeting if you don’t catch it in the right way.
Secondly, it highlights how significantly relationships have evolved using the internet. Even just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable to have a stranger play such an important role in your wedding day. It makes me think about my own online relationships, people I’ve met through blogging and podcasting, people I actually feel really close to, even though we’ve never met in person. For better or worse, the internet has redefined relationship.
Jen's pick for books that have made a great impact:
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster
Self-Help by Lorrie Moore
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
You can follow Jen Glantz on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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