Own Your Business

Is it just me, or does the 2024 booking season feel a little different than other years?  I’ve been in this industry for 17 years now. I’ve seen the Wedding Boom, the pandemic, the Golden Age,  and the Great Recession. But this year feels…flat. I’m not saying it’s a bad start to the year. Oh no! In fact, many of our clients are having record bookings these past few months. But many others aren’t d...

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a magic button you could push and all your dreams would come true? Or at least some of them?  I was reading Arnold Scharzenegger’s recent memoir, Be Useful, and in it he says: “If there is one unavoidable truth in this world, it’s that there is no substitute for putting in the work. People have tried to cut corners and skip steps in this process for as long as har...

Last week, I shared insights on why couples aren’t booking vendors at higher price points. It’s largely due to an imbalanced value proposition. Price is higher than the value offered by the vendor. It’s one of the biggest obstacles that wedding pros run into when trying to make the move into premium and luxury markets. But it’s not the only thing getting in the way of you charging higher prices. T...

The single biggest reason wedding pros struggle to convert couples at higher prices is because you’re not justifying the extra expense compared to someone who’s cheaper. Let’s be honest, most of you offer packages with features that are nearly identical to others in your field. You want to know how to stand out in a crowded marketplace? And get clients to gladly pay more for what you’re offering?...

Most wedding pros I know are trying to charge more for their services. Is this one of your goals? If so, keep listening to the Own Your Business podcast, because it’s about booking more of your ideal clients at higher price points. But strategies and tactics for sales, pricing and copywriting are only a few of the skills you’ll need to pick up if you want to break into the premium and luxury marke...

Before we get the main episode underway, a quick announcement for those listening before Jan. 15.  I’m co-hosting a free workshop on how to build a luxury personal brand in the wedding industry. I’ll be joined by my friend, luxury planner and certified protocol officer, Julian Leaver to talk about what it takes to present yourself and communicate in a way wealthy clientele trust and respect. Trust...

What a year! It wasn’t as crazy as the past three, but that didn’t make it any less interesting. No pandemic, but we sure felt the ripple effects, even if it was more about getting back to normal after riding the boom wave for 18 months. It’s tempting to wrap up 2023 without looking back on it, because we’re so eager for what the future holds. But most successful planning involves a few moments re...

The single most difficult sales skill to develop is the discovery call.  It’s also the most important. It’s when you qualify the client. And connect with them. And it’s where you set yourself up for an easy close. If you’re getting ghosted after you share pricing it’s because you blew it earlier on in the discovery call. I’m not perfect at them either. I get ghosted too! But not as much after I st...

PSA: You’re not perfect. You’re going to make mistakes. The question is: Will you learn from them? If so, how will you learn from them? People tend to improve what you pay attention to in their business. So how do you know what needs to be improved - especially if you’re not deconstructing what went well and what didn’t. In today’s episode of Own Your Business, I talk about: - Why post-mortems are...

Katy and I cut this episode right after we returned from our Shift Retreat in Costa Rica a couple weeks ago. Ironically, when this episode goes to air on Dec. 4, we’ll be in the middle of a second retreat helping business owners clarify what success looks like, and then create action plan to get there. Spending a solid week with clients to dig into what’s going on and how to help them revealed som...

What goes into a successful website? A beautiful design? Yes, of course. A stunning visual brand? For sure. But what else? Yes, copywriting is important too. But before that, before the branding, before the design, you’ve got to build the site on a solid foundation if you want it to last. In today’s episode of Own Your Business, Katy and I talk about the six components of a successful site. And gi...

It’s Thanksgiving week in the US, so I thought it would be fun to do an episode on gratitude. But this isn’t a week off from the science of growing your business. Oh no! We’re pulling back the curtain on what seems like woo-woo, so you can see how: - Our negativity bias creates a pressure cooker for everyday life - Where you might be setting yourself up for failure the harder you try for success -...

Want to know what I’ve learned looking at hundreds of wedding pros’ offerings and pricing? Most people are doing it wrong. And unfortunately, it’s costing you business - both in clients lost and money left on the table. Here’s the good news: I’ve got insights to share with you today that will help convert more couples and get them to feel comfortable paying higher prices for your services. In toda...

Let me ask a question that most wedding pros I know can’t answer: What’s your exit strategy?  Here’s another one:  What’s your growth strategy? And let’s be clear: Charging more is NOT a growth strategy. Yes, getting couples to pay higher prices is part of success. But at some point you’ll hit a ceiling with how much people are willing to pay. Real growth - and most exit plans - are built on your...

We all want more ideal clients. But how do you get more of them to land in your inbox? It’s not magic. But it’s also not as simple as cold-DMing planners and upgrading your branding. In this episode Katy and I talk about: - What goes into an ideal client avatar - How you can communicate messages to trigger ideal clients - Why some messages connect and others don’t Stay tuned. You won’t want to mis...

Scarcity is a powerful persuasive tool. But it’s also a dangerous one, because when used too often or with too heavy of a hand it can backfire - and kill a deal faster than you can say, actually there’s not really an expiration on the proposal I sent you. In today’s episode, I’ll share with you: - Ways you might be using scarcity without even knowing it - How it impacts buyers positively and negat...

Do you ever feel like you have 28 hours of things to do every day? Yeah, me too.  In fact, I recently read about a mindset called “time poor,” which I suffer very badly from. It’s awful. I never feel like I have enough time.  And to top it all off, I still feel guilty for not putting enough time into the things that matter to me. Just the other day, I started work at 700am and felt awful, like I w...

No one spends more time with couples getting married than full-service wedding planners. They’re in the mix of it all, including: - Budget conversations between couples and with their parents - Mulling over how to pick what vendors - What are their priorities for the wedding - How they feel about each aspect of the experience And so. much. more. Which means if you want to know what’s going on in t...

People ask me all the time what to expect for the upcoming season. Will inquiries be up? Down? Should I plan for it to be slower or busier?  The short answer is unless we face another pandemic, the new normal is likely to be business as usual. Here’s what I mean by that: Go back to what you were dealing with in 2018 and 2019. THAT is what it will be like for the rest of 2023 and throughout 2024. B...

Katy and I may get a lot of the spotlight when it comes to our company, but it’s not just us doing the Good Work of helping business professionals reach their goals. Oh no, we’ve got an entire team working behind the scenes and directly with clients to make the magic happen. We’re currently at seven full-time team members, and we’re looking to bring back our eighth this fall.  I thought it’d be fu...

Do you remember that app Clubhouse? The one that had that brief two or three months in the spotlight over the 2021 winter? I loved that app. Maybe you did too, and it might be the reason you’re listening to this podcast in the first place. It certainly was my inspiration. One of the best things that came from my time on Clubhouse was a long-lasting relationship with John Bunn and Nick Miller, two...

It’s hard to get it all done as a business owner. We often spend too much time as an employee of our company rather than the CEO. This weekend’s wedding is filled with fires you have to put out, but it takes away your opportunity to plan out next year’s success. In this episode of Own Your Business, I’ll walk you through: - Four different areas of your business that require months of work before y...

Over 1,000 people have watched or listened to the State of the Industry panel I hosted a couple weeks ago. We’ve had a ton of good feedback from wedding pros.  - Everyone said how refreshing it was to hear us talking about real numbers, rather than just what’s going on with a few businesses.  - Many of you shared how comforting it was to know that you’re not the only one feeling a slowdown.  - Som...

Last week I hosted a panel with three wedding market experts to discuss the state of the industry. - Where have we been - Where are we now - Where are we going We tackled big-picture topics like declining engagement rates, lower guest counts, and what to do as a business owner in our volatile market over the next 6-12 months. Hundreds of people attended the panel, but the conversation was too good...

We all know how important it is to get referrals from clients and colleagues if you want to level up your business. Couples who come in on recommendations from others usually convert at 4-6x the normal percentages of people who inquire after finding you on social media, Google, or a listing site. But it’s not just about expanding your network. It’s also about strengthening it. Cultivating it. Deep...