Design Your Business | Empowering Creative Women Business Owners

“My clients aren’t hanging out on Pinterest.” “Only DIYers go on Pinterest for their weddings.” In this episode, Julianne Smith is breaking down these myths and talking about why you need to be on Pinterest as a wedding business owner.  If you’re feeling burnt out by social media and you need more inquiries and more business, Pinterest is your solution. Find out how to get started (or restarted) o...

Do wedding professionals need marketing funnels? That’s the question Adrienna McDermott is helping us answer in this episode. She’s explaining what a marketing funnel actually is and how it compares to a sales funnel and is busting some of the misconceptions you might have heard about them. She’s also taking us step-by-step through what a marketing funnel looks like, so if you’ve ever had a questi...

Are you tired of throwing random marketing ideas at the wall to see what sticks? It might be time for a more strategic plan.  This episode is about how to create an effective marketing plan to save you from overwhelm and avoid shiny object syndrome, and our guest (and fellow wedding industry mentor), Heidi Thompson, is the perfect person to take us through it.  Heidi is sharing the five steps to c...

How are your marketing efforts going in your business?  If you could use some guidance and you’re interested in learning more about marketing, you’re going to enjoy the next few episodes of the podcast.  I’m teaching you how to get started with marketing, put yourself out there, and get more eyes on your business. Sometimes marketing looks a little different for wedding businesses than it does for...

Let’s talk about money.  If you’re someone who avoids conversations about money at all costs, stick with me. I know it can be an uncomfortable or boring topic for many, but let’s face it, as women in business, we have to deal with money.  I thought I’d make your life easier and bring a financial advisor right to you, so Stephanie Jones is here to bring you all the answers to your money questions....

Have you ever felt like a sleazy salesperson? It’s the worst, right? In this episode, we’re talking about how to make sales non-sleazy with Annie P. Ruggles. This episode is an absolute must-listen, as Annie P. is sharing some priceless tips on how to prepare for, execute, and follow up on your sales calls. She’s teaching you the language she uses to have great sales conversations every single tim...

Have you ever used a cash flow plan in your business? If not, this episode is about to change the game for you. I know you might not be a numbers person, but I promise the simple financial knowledge and skills in this episode will go a long way for your business.  In this episode, I’m joined by Michelle Loretta to talk about cash flow reports, financial strategies, and why you need them in your we...

We need to talk about cash flow.  What is it? Cash flow is all the money that’s moving into and out of your business. For starters, do you know exactly what money is entering and leaving your accounts? Where is your money going and are you putting it to the best use? These are great questions and important ones to be asking yourself.  In this episode of the Design Your Wedding Business podcast, I’...

After reading the title of this episode, you might be asking yourself, “Why do I need to get out of the urgent?” Well, do you want a life outside your business? Do you want time to spend on yourself, your family, and your friends?  If you’re still here, I’m guessing your answer is probably “yes,” so let’s make it happen.  As your wedding business coach, I’m sharing the roadmap to getting out of th...

What really goes into business operations?  In this episode, we’re tackling the final CEO of your business: operations. Most of us have heard of business operations, but do we really know what it means? We’ve talked about all the other CEOs in previous episodes, but operations hold it all together. I’m covering everything you need to know to get started as the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of you...

Are your employees your company’s biggest fans? In this episode, we’re talking about how to create a brand ambassador for your wedding business. We’re covering what their role is in your company, what you need to do to create one, and how they will make your business more successful.  There are four main things for you to consider when you’re creating a brand ambassador: key values, hiring the rig...

We’re celebrating one year of the Design Your Wedding Business podcast! Can you believe it’s been a year already? Maybe you’ve been here since the beginning or maybe you’re tuning in for the first time. Either way, thanks for joining me on this journey. I’ve had a great time over the last year making new connections, learning new skills, and connecting with you.  I know that alongside the wedding...

What’s the difference between an employee and an independent contractor? You might think you know the answer, but the line between the two can get a little blurry, especially in the wedding industry. On this podcast, I help you create your wedding industry business plan, and in this episode, we’re tackling employees vs. independent contractors. We’re talking about how to know which you should hire...

How do you feel about onboarding new employees? My goal with this episode of Design Your Wedding Business is to create some ease around the onboarding process because it tends to cause a lot of anxiety.  We’re going through everything you need to cover in your onboarding process start to finish, item by item. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a complete plan to create your onboarding process...

Let’s talk about teams. When should you add to your team? How many employees should you bring on? What happens when you have a slow season? Dana and Courtney from Hustle + Gather are here to answer your questions. They are total pros when it comes to building a dream team in the wedding industry and they’re here to share their insider knowledge with you.  Hustle + Gather is a training and consulti...

Do you have an HR management plan in place? In this episode of Design Your Wedding Business, we are talking about another one of the 8 CEOs: teams!   Yep, you are your own Chief of Staff/HR Department! If you have a team already, this means you serve as a leader to all of your employees whether they are on payroll or contractors. You are responsible for ensuring they have everything they need to p...

Why is it so important to develop a brand strategy? A strong brand is critical for building connections with your customers. A successful brand strategy can help improve loyalty, drive brand awareness, create repeat customers, and inspire word-of-mouth marketing and referrals. Jordan Kentris is joining me in this episode to teach you how to create a brand strategy for the wedding business you want...

Are you using short-form video to grow your business? This episode of Design Your Wedding Business is all about why you should be using TikTok and Reels for your business content and how to get started. I’m joined by Meagan Culkin who is the queen of short-form video strategy and the perfect person to teach us all about it.  If you’ve been avoiding creating your own TikToks and Reels because it se...

Are you ready to be the wedding professional that everyone is talking about? In this episode, I’m joined by wedding-professional mentor Carin Hunt to talk about how to become the wedding pro on everyone's lips.  Getting the word out about your business goes beyond pretty logos and websites. There’s only so much you can do before you actually have to start putting yourself in front of people,...

You’ve probably heard of auditing, but have you ever heard of a marketing audit? In this episode of Design Your Wedding Business, Amanda Zack is joining us to teach us all about what a marketing audit is, how to do one, and why they are important for you as a wedding business professional.  You know that I’m always rooting for the success of your business, which is why I’ve brought Amanda on for t...

Do you get overwhelmed trying to create content for all the platforms? If you do, are you repurposing the content you already have? In this episode of Design Your Wedding Business, Amy Leisner and I are teaching you how to show up more for your audience without burning out trying to create new content. You’ll learn how to take the content you already have and use it in multiple areas of your busin...

What are you doing to create visibility for your wedding business? In this episode of Design Your Wedding Business, we’re covering one of the 8 CEOs in your business: the Chief Marketing Officer.  As your wedding industry mentor, I’m here to tell you that visibility and marketing are critical to the success of your business. At the end of the day, your offers won’t sell if people don’t know about...

Have you ever had a job that was a miserable experience because you were trying to meet completely unrealistic expectations? Setting client expectations is part of the job when you’re in the wedding planning business or really any client-facing business. No matter what service or product you provide, it's important to set client expectations and maintain them from the start to the finish of y...

What’s a business without happy clients? In this episode of Design Your Wedding Business, we’re talking all about the client experience and your role as the chief experience officer (CXO) of your wedding business. What does a CXO do? I’m covering everything from onboarding and offboarding to email sequences and software in this bite-sized episode, so even if you’ve never heard the term “client exp...

Do you find sales a bit of a scary topic? Your sales skills will get better and better with practice, so let’s talk about how to get that practice and close those sales. This episode of Design Your Wedding Business is all about how to get a “heck yes” on your sales calls.  I’m sitting down with Carissa Woo to talk about everything you need to know about the sales process for wedding professionals....