For Real: Life, Leadership, & Unlearning

What are some of the challenges you're running into when marketing your business? For many of the wedding pros I talk to, it’s that there are just so many different places that you could spend your time and money - is it in social media? Which platforms? Is it in networking? Is it paid media like Google ads? Is it redesigning your website? Is it Clubhouse? Maybe you want to think about who your id...

We have been podcasting for over 3 years now! Crazy but true, we dropped our first 5 episodes on April 4th, 2018. Over the years, we get asked a lot of questions around podcasting, all related to how can someone leverage their business by using podcasting. Well, Jason and I have a lot of lessons to share! Earfluence | Website | Instagram | Linkedin This episode is also brought to you by The Planne...

Take a moment to reflect on your business - are you working a job that pays your bills? Or are you building a company? Either answer is ok, but for those of you who want to scale your company to one day have the option to sell it or have someone else be the face of your business, we have some actionable tips from Donald Thompson - angel investor, mentor, CEO...and someone who has sold companies be...

We all have different sales styles - what works for one wedding pro might be different than what works best for you. And it’s those different selling styles that we need to lean into so we can turn our baseline personalities into our selling superpowers.  But look out, each selling style has a blindspot as well that we need to be aware of.  Wonder what your style is? Sam Jacobson, Ideaction Consul...

You all know the reasons why to focus on Pinterest - it’s great to generate traffic to your website, it’s another platform to get in front of potential couples, and it’s a way to network with other vendors when you’re engaging with or sharing their work.  While Pinterest can be amazing, it can also be confusing. Enter Pinterest expert Gabby Pinkerton . Gabby's Pinterest e-course for wedding pro s....

Over the past year, with the wedding industry in shambles, Don Mamone has come up with a new outlook on his professional life - People First, Then Profit. Today on the show, Don talks about what relationship marketing means to him and why they're on a mission to #StopTheDoubleTap. People First, Then Profit Weekly Zoom This episode is also brought to you by The Planner's Vault , my online membershi...

Today we're sharing a few minutes of a new podcast, Hustle + Gather, with my friends Courtney Hopper and Dana Kadwell. It’s about the realness of running a business - how no one understands you except other entrepreneurs, tension between partners (in marriage and in business), doing all the non-glamorous things at all hours, paying yourself the least of your employees...it’s not all sunshine and r...

Sarah Miller and Nichole Holmes are the hosts of Netflix's new show, Marriage or Mortgage , where couples have to choose whether they want to spend their budget on a down payment on a house or a big wedding.  They have a hard decision to make, and today, we’re sharing both sides of the debate with Sarah and Nichole! Sarah's company is Southern Vine & Co , and you can follow her on instagram @S...

We all want to know - how can I have better rankings on Google so more couples come visit my website?  The answer of course is a little SEO (search engine optimization), but that seems complicated - unless Sara Dunn from Sara Does SEO is explaining it.  And today, Sara shares her 3 Step SEO Checklist specifically for wedding pros. Sara's SEO Bootcamp , March 22nd through 25th.   This episode is al...

Have you ever woken up to find your website gone?  Every other site on the web works except for yours, and then you realize - you have absolutely no idea how to fix it or who to call. It's the stuff business nightmares are made of, and Brenda Cadman is on the show today to tell you how to avoid this - and other potential disasters with your website.   Brenda is the owner of Bon Accord Creative and...

Kinsey Roberts ( She Creates Business Podcast ) and I first heard about community over competition from Natalie Franke of the Rising Tide Society. In theory, it makes a lot of sense. if we can all help each other - in support, in education, in successes and failures - a rising tide lifts all boats.  But is that the reality in the wedding industry?  Are we really supposed to be rooting for our comp...

Wedding venue coordinators are likely to be your number one source for referral business.  So why aren't they referring you right now?  Megan asked venue coordinators throughout the country why they refer planners (or not) - and shares the inside information.   This episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault , my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hu...

As an industry in 2020, we had some pretty major legal issues. With events being delayed, we all had to look back at our contracts and wonder: Are we able  to keep all of the deposits? What other money are we entitled to? Can we charge more for postponing the weddings?  How do we protect ourselves from this in the future? It was chaos, and we don’t want it to happen again. Girija Patel tells us ho...

Any wedding planner - including your competition - can put together an amazing event if they have enough budget to work with. So what sets you apart? What makes you special?  Today, Megan gives 6 potential superpowers and discusses how you can lean into yours.   This episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault , my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to h...

2020 was a year like none other, but there were many silver linings and hidden blessings throughout the chaos.  Today, Megan and Jason Gillikin talk about wins, fails, and goals for 2021.   This episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault , my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there...

You know that competitor in your market you just can't stand? The one that you're always up against, and you take business away from each other? What if you decided to collaborate with them to build an elite superstar team?  Would you ever do that?  Well today you'll hear from James x Schulze , two photographers who combined their talents to grow both professionally and creatively, and they’re tal...

What are your daily habits?  Do you wake up early? Do you read? Do you journal? Unless you pressed the wrong button, I’m guessing you might listen to podcasts? Well, I’m trying to improve myself every day, and daily habits are something I’m working on. I’m nowhere near where I want to be, but I’m thriving off of being a work in progress.  Today we're joined by Kim Montoya from Twenty 156 Events ,...

Do you have a circle of trust?  A proverbial board of advisors?  I do and it’s made up of a diverse group of people from my life who each know me in a different way and who I trust and respect their voice as someone I want to hear their insight on when it comes to decisions within my business. Their input throughout my career and my professional growth has been invaluable, and I encourage you to f...

Do you suffer from squirrel brain?  Symptoms include not being able to get $h!t done because your mind is wandering off in so many different directions on calls you need to make or emails you need to send or big picture ideas or whatever else that’s on your mind and all of a sudden you’ve wasted your time not getting anything done at all.  I suffer from squirrel brain, and if you’re running a busi...

Today we're talking to Braden Drake, who describes himself as "your gay best friend, but also an attorney who's going to help you with your taxes." Braden somehow manages to make a boring (yet super-important) topic actually interesting, and gives us 3 mistakes we're probably making with our cash flow and taxes. On the show, you'll hear about Braden's upcoming masterclass, "SETTING UP YOUR CASH FL...

Join me on this solo episode where I give you 8 quick and easy (yet important and impactful) tips to audit your website, just in time for engagement season.   This episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault , my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there are guest experts on many topic...

Today we’re talking all about inclusive language - what to say and what not to say in what has historically been a very bride centric, straight, thin, pretty, white, and rich industry. As Taylor Griffith from Lemon Tree Editorial points out, that’s not what the world looks like, so it’s time to make some changes - on our websites, on our social media, in our contracts, and even in our speech. On t...

Today we’re talking to Sam Jacobson from Ideaction Consulting about the sales process, how to empathize with your clients right now and what you should NOT be doing when it comes to the initial consultation….and Sam’s going to be sharing some easy actionable shifts you can make ASAP.  If you remember, Sam was on the podcast back in 2019 for one of the fan favorites, Episode 73, The Four Buying Typ...

Join me on this solo episode where I give you 7 tips for balancing it all - life, business, family, personal pursuits. We're all works in progress, and no one has figured it out, but I have some ideas that can help.   This episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault , my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and edu...

Today we're sharing an episode previously published on the She Creates Business Podcast with Kinsey Roberts. From SCB: I'm honored to welcome back to the podcast, my friend and fellow podcaster, Megan Gillikin. Megan and I have recently had many, hard, and truthful conversations about what owning a business and being entrepreneurs have cost us. What we want to do differently in the years ahead and...