Own Your Business

Selling to BTS Decision-Makers with Amrit Dhillon‑Bains Selling and managing luxury weddings is hard enough. Add multiple decision makers, deep cultural traditions, and high emotional stakes — and it becomes a true test of your sales and client service skills. In this episode, Sam sits down with Amrit Dhillon‑Bains , founder of Anaïs Events, a Northern California–based planning and design firm spe...

Welcome back to the podcast! This time of year, so many wedding pros are deep in the ramp-up for busy season juggling timelines, emails, client meetings, vendor questions, and still trying to execute this weekend’s wedding on top of it all. It’s exciting, but it’s also exhausting. And if you’re not careful, it’s easy to say yes to everything… and end up with nothing left in the tank when it really...

In this episode, I’m joined by negotiation expert Alex Carter and executive presence coach Anne Marie Nest for a conversation about what it really means to lead with presence. We talk about the myths around confidence, how to interrupt negative self-talk, and why executive presence isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something you can learn and practice. Alex and Anne-Marie share personal storie...

If you’ve ever felt stuck in your pricing, messaging, or marketing — this episode is for you. We’re digging into the real difference between confidence and competence, and why clarity is the missing link for so many creative entrepreneurs. You’ll hear why “fake it till you make it” rarely works in the long run, how competence builds true confidence, and what to focus on if you want better inquirie...

What happens when a luxury brand scales without losing its heart? In today’s episode, I’m sitting down with Eleanor Scola and Pablo Oliveira from Nuage Designs to explore exactly that.  You’ll hear how a hospitality setback led to the founding of one of the most beloved names in high-end event rentals—and how trust, humility, and shared values have shaped a thriving leadership dynamic. This one’s...

Success doesn't happen by accident. It’s done on purpose, when someone decides what they want with clarity and then maps out a plan to make it happen. Today's guest, Twah Dougherty, started her career as a wedding photographer with a very specific intention. If you asked her, she would say it was her vision - and a big part of it relied on building expertise in a few key areas for her busi...

Social media strategy is more than just posting pretty pictures. At least that's what we say at Duet Social Media, the new agency, Abby Jiu and I cofounded during the winter. I had Abby on a few months ago to discuss 2025 social media trends, and we had an outstanding response from the audience. On today's episode, we talk about how to create a strategy for mid and long-term success based on more...

Everyone in the wedding industry wants to level up their business. So it's not a matter of if, it’s more how.  How do you pick the right kind of client? How do you align yourself with the right kind of professional in your network? How do you prioritize all the different tasks that need to be done as the boss? How do you allocate your time, money, energy, and resources to get from where you are to...

Many business owners in the wedding industry got their start accidentally. Others found their way here because of a passion for creativity or art, and wanted to express it as a profession. But there are a handful of others who had a dream of being an entrepreneur, and found the wedding space as fertile ground for planning the seeds of their business ideas. Today's guest, Brittany Lo, founder and o...

Who wants more time back for personal life? Or maybe you want to spend more time doing things you love with your business rather than things you don't or things that are difficult? The key to making these things happen is freeing up room in your calendar by getting other people to do work for you.  One of the best ways to bring in somebody to help take care of miscellaneous tasks that are unde...

When I ask clients: What does success look like to you? I get a variety of responses. The two most popular are, 1) I want to move into the luxury market, and 2) I want to scale my business to include a team. We spend a lot of time on the podcast talking about how to move into the luxury market, but not nearly as much time exploring what it looks like to scale your business with the team. This week...

Many of you work directly with your spouse - and if you do, you know it’s not always easy.  Today, I chat with Jessica and Michael Masi, who co-lead Masi Events, one of the top wedding planners by Over the Moon. We explore: Why they decided to partner in business, not just life How they divide client-facing and BTS work What they learned about themselves over the years to make it better to work to...

The recent and current market conditions are tough to navigate. I wish things were different for the wedding industry right now, but they are not. I always provided advice on how to market and sell your services to book more ideal clients at higher prices, and I know many listeners benefit from the tactics that we talk about. It’s not “business as usual” right now - and so I’m taking a break from...

Wouldn’t it be great to get inside the mind of couples doing research for their wedding plans? Until that happens, monitoring their online behavior is the best we can do.  Today, I bring in co-founder and CEO of PartySlate, Julie Novack, to share insights and data based on millions of visitors to their site. She shares: What kind of content to share in the early stages of the buyer’s journey What...

Today's wedding client is not interested in yesterday's celebrations - and today's wedding business owner should adapt accordingly. But how do you change things up? What areas do you focus on? How do you know if it will work? Well, there's not one simple answer for any or all businesses to these questions. It depends very much on a number of different factors, but they all start wi...

Too many wedding pros spend their time trying to fake it till they make it. Not only is it a slow way to success, it’s stressful - what if “they” find out? One problem - and I mean only one of the many many many problems with “winging it” as a business owner - is that you end up guessing your way through important situations.  How do you raise your prices? When and how do you rebrand? When and how...

People don’t want information, they want transformation. And the best way to do that is to share a story with a beginning, middle and end that follows a narrative arc. It hooks them, draws them in even more, and then builds desire to learn the outcome. In today’s attention economy, stories are a very successful way to communicate with potential customers. To market and sell your services. In this...

Last week I sat down with Rock Paper Coin for a conversation about pricing. We covered a range of topics, including how to talk about budget with potential clients. It reminded me how hard it can be to talk about the topic of money - from both sides of the conversation: couples and vendors. Money matters are hard for most people. So today I thought it would be a good idea to bring back this oldie,...

Katy and I want to take a minute to provide a PSA to business owners, copywriters, and VAs. Don’t steal other people’s stuff. In our world as copywriters, that means intellectual property. Art. Writing.  We see businesses crib our clients’ website copy all the time, which is baffling. It’s like taking someone’s photo and passing it off as your own in a portfolio. Who does that? You’d be surprised....

Sway Mastermind Alumni Panel

What’s holding you back from reaching your full potential as a business owner?  From getting more inquiries? From booking better clients? From charging more for your services? From success at the next level of luxury? In today’s episode, Katy and I talk about what is NOT holding you back - and what is really at the root of the issue for most wedding business owners. Quick note before we begin, Feb...

One of my favorite parts of being a business coach is hearing success stories from our clients. No journey is the same as another, but they tend to follow a similar arc. Feel the call of something more in your professional life Boot strap to get the business started DIY it until you hit a ceiling or find the courage to invest in your business Bring in an expert to guide you through the tough stuff...

I’ve obsessed about marketing and selling weddings for over 18 years now. Here’s one thing I’ve learned: Your pitch is important.  Unfortunately, most wedding professionals don’t offer a proper proposal for their services. The most common approach is a menu of services, like a McDonald’s ordering kiosk. Many others use a brochure - basically a bunch of information. But couples and the BTS decision...

I’ve coached hundreds of wedding pros over the years, and the #1 area for improvement is always always always the discovery call.  Why? It’s so difficult to do well. So many moving parts. So much pressure for both people. So many ways it can go wrong. Here are five ways to know if your discovery call needs improvement: You think of it as a “sales call” You share your screen or talk through a broch...

We started the year with a simple road map for success based on five milestones. Do the activities in key areas to make it easy for couples to travel the buyer’s journey. We’ve focused on knowing, understanding and messaging to your ideal client Created a content strategy and putting it up on IG with Abby Jiu Today we talk about website fixes you can make in key areas Next week I’ll share discover...