Just DIY It? What You Should Know Before Taking the DIY Challenge
This article is Part 5 of 6 of
How to DIY: Your Total Guide for DIY Directions that Really Work
DIY Services
Careful and sensible “shopping” goes beyond materials procurement in Do-It-Yourself projects. The same discipline applies to DIY services for projects like fixing or troubleshooting things, making a simple floor plan or blueprint for a room, creating a menu for a special occasion or mounting an event. Even a royal wedding nowadays had a touch of DIY, with the Duchess of Cambridge doing her own makeup
Remember that a DIY service can also include small DIY projects. For instance, free events planning or coordination services is becoming a popular DIY wedding gift idea for a friend or a relative. If this idea appeals to you, it is likely that you and your “associates” will also be making the bridal bouquets, church and reception decors and wedding cake, among others. Hence, the same tips on getting your materials and supplies also apply.
An emerging trend in DIY is events planning among friends, like weddings and reunions
I myself am thinking of having my friends take charge of some parts of planning and coordination for my own wedding. Aside from relieving me some of the stress and worries, their offers will save me and my fiancé some $2,000. The goodwill was even more tempting after we attended a nice little wedding and learned that the coordination details are DIY, courtesy of some well-meaning friends of the bride too. At that moment, I felt sure we can pull off the same job. Anyway, what’s with just calling the baker, the hotel, the florist and the band and drawing the seating arrangements and place cards. But on second thoughts, we cannot just rely on our friends’ generous offers, no matter how much they care.
For one, all of my friends have full time jobs and kids, and while some of them are gifted with the most creative minds and some are detail freaks like me, it might be good to consider hiring a professional as partner of our planned DIY group. After all, despite their selfless offers, we cannot make demands on their time, focus and energy. Doing so would abuse their generosity, and it is probable there will be little misgivings among these sweet ladies, and including me, along the way when something does not go as planned. I never dreamed of becoming a bridezilla, blaming anyone for any wedding day glitch.
With that, the more we think about it, the more our part DIY, part hired service seemed the more practical plan. This way, we can still enjoy some neat savings while my girls join in the fun, relax and feel gorgeous in their cocktail dresses. That would be priceless.
Truth is, the DIY horror book is replete with many DIY services gone wrong. A “voice of experience” shares a good lesson below.
Major events and big celebrations are better left to the pros unless you can rely on a trusted DIY coordinator
38-year-old Lyn’s supposed to be nostalgic 20-year high school reunion turned out to be a shoddy get-together, to the disappointment of class members, some of which had to fly from overseas like her, just to see old friends and classmates after 20 years. Most of them were able to make it good, like Lyn who is a nurse at Kaiser, and gave large contributions to make the event special for everyone.
“Our Facebook reunion page looked fine and it seemed everything is ready with more than enough budget, but we were not aware that our former batchmate who volunteered to set everything up DIY-style decided to outsource coordination details to some of his friends who have some free time on their hands but with no perceptive abilities on what would make a high school reunion special,” Lyn shares.
Come the big day, Lyn and her former classmates found themselves in a cramped country club house (a modest and affordable hotel function room would have been preferred) which was also booked on the same day by some families on a swimming outing! The buffet service proved too casual and the food was far from appetizing. What’s more, a 2-hour limit was imposed on the event, hence, much-missed friends and classmates were not able to have real catching up with each other. Needless to say, there were many disappointed faces and feelings.
“What we most felt mad about was the absence of our high school teachers in the event, simply because the “coordinator” wasn’t able to follow-up on their invitations, and we found out that some of our mentors were completely forgotten from the guest list!”
Tips for Successful DIY Services
Our tips for a successful Do-It-Yourself service are based from Lyn’s experience. The moral of her story? A DIY service indeed guarantees huge savings, and it could be a good choice for any occasion but only if the person handling it is knowledgeable and more importantly, responsible. This is true for any DIY events one is planning to go for.
If you are doing the service yourself, our checklist under Planning Your DIY Project is a good guide to assess the success of your planned project.
If you are relying on someone (or a group of people) to do the job, think twice. Never entrust an important troubleshooting job on the hands of the inexperienced and the amateur (remember what happened to our friend Carlos?). This is even more important if it involves big and significant projects like a program, events or celebrations.
Here are questions to ask when an “outsourced” DIY service (an individual or a team) will be involved:
Can you rely on your DIY team?
- Do they have the skills?
- Do they have the experience?
- What about track record? Ask around (discreetly of course) for any feedbacks on “projects” which your free DIY service “angel” did before. Was it good? Was it the opposite? What happened?
- Does the free offer cover only the actual service, or everything associated with it (like gas money, meals and miscellaneous expenses incurred in the process of doing their tasks?) If yes, well and good. If not, how do you pay them and based on what?
- Finally, can they really live up to what they commit to you that they will do?
The answer to the last question is very important to know, yet it is an awkward situation to make people sign a contract that they will not screw up. It’s a free service in the first place. This is now where trust, confidence and support in real friendship (or blood affinity) would come in. Only you can make the decision to go ahead or push the red button, or make a good compromise like half professional service, half DIY team.
Raring to kickstart your DIY idea?
Read DIY Guide Part 4: How to Get Ahead with your DIY Project
If your first failed attempts at DIY are making you down, don’t lose hope!
Read DIY Guide Part 6: How to Get and Stay Motivated: Keeping the DIY Spirit High
Got a DIY lesson or experience that you would like to add up to our learning bank? Feel free to share them!
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