OVERVIEW
You might not know this, but it was never my dream growing up to be an entrepreneur or small business owner. It also wasn’t my dream to be a photographer. Owning a small business has been an adventure more exciting and fulfilling than I ever could have dreamed!

On this week's episode, I'm sharing 5 things this year that I'm thankful for in owning my business. I hope this episode encourages you to be thankful for the elements of your business that bring you joy and fulfillment - because for me, gratitude is an essential part of feeling fulfilled within my own work. I hope it can be that for you, too.

FREE GUIDEBOOK: The 10 Pitfalls of Growing a Creative Team

OVERVIEW
This episode focuses on my top insights on how to protect your business, plan for the future, and handle unexpected events, especially if you're a one-person team.

As small business owners, time and resources are often sparse. Without a reliable team, stepping back from your business could lead to a significant loss of income and potentially tarnish your brand's reputation. This reality comes to life as we discuss the personal anecdote of a photographer who unexpectedly fell pregnant during a busy season. We dive into the repercussions of this incident and how it impacted her brand's reputation. Real-life stories like these highlight the importance of creating a supportive business structure for women looking to start families while maintaining their careers.

Finally, we turn the spotlight on the benefits and downfalls of being a solo business owner. How do you ensure your business thrives when you're steering the ship alone? We answer this by exploring practical steps and sharing resources to help build the right team for your business. Whether you're contemplating maternity leave, or just pondering ways to safeguard your business for the future, this episode promises to equip you with the right tools to build a secure and stable business. Tune in and fortify your business strategy.

RESOURCES:
BELAY: my top recommendation for virtual assistants
Schedule a call with Anna and mention Hannah Bjorndal for $300 off the implementation fee
Vision Casting Workbook: Download for Free
SIGN UP NOW: Dream Team Accelerator Waitlist
Join the Insiders Group: Team Building for Creative Entrepreneurs

FREE GUIDEBOOK: The 10 Pitfalls of Growing a Creative Team

Description
Ever feel like there's just not enough hours in the day to get everything done? You're not alone! This episode is all about my personal journey of overcoming that feeling of overwhelm by hiring a virtual assistant (VA). I know the idea of hiring a VA can be daunting, but getting started is actually so much easier than you might think.

Let's face it - emails are the bane of our existence! But what if I told you there's an efficient way to manage them with the help of your VA? Yes, it's possible! We get into the nitty-gritty of creating an effective email management system for your VA, including how to train them to respond to your emails and keep your inbox organized. We even discuss the types of emails you can immediately delegate, so you can start reclaiming your time.

We also discuss how better time management and creating an ideal work week can significantly boost your productivity. Incorporating this system has been a game changer for my productivity and overall well-being. So, let's dive in and get you back in control of your time!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
BELAY: my top recommendation for virtual assistants
Schedule a call with Anna and mention Hannah Bjorndal for $300 off the implementation fee
Episode 82: Exactly How I Organize My Inbox to Save Hours of Time Each Week

OTHER RESOURCES
Vision Casting Workbook: Download for Free
SIGN UP NOW: Dream Team Accelerator Waitlist
Join the Insiders Group: Team Building for Creative Entrepreneurs

FREE GUIDEBOOK: The 10 Pitfalls of Growing a Creative Team

OVERVIEW
We only have so many hours in a day, and one of the most important things we can do for our businesses and our lives is decide to use those hours wisely. That's the theme behind what we’re talking about today: working smarter, not harder.

This the final week of the 5-part series I’ve been sharing with you on how I doubled my annual revenue in 2 years. If you haven't already listened to the previous 4 episodes, check those out first!

Here they are:
Step 1: Prioritize Working “On” Not “In” the Business
Step 2: Get Clear on the Long-Term Plan
Step 3: Hire the Right People
Step 4: Know When to Pivot

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
When by Daniel Pink
Episode 18: 5 Stats You Need to Start Measuring TODAY to Grow Your Business

OTHER RESOURCES
Vision Casting Workbook: Download for Free
SIGN UP NOW: Dream Team Accelerator Waitlist
Join the Insiders Group: Team Building for Creative Entrepreneurs

FREE GUIDEBOOK: The 10 Pitfalls of Growing a Creative Team

OVERVIEW
When was the last time something did not go according to plan with your business? You had a plan or an idea of what you were hoping for or working towards, and then something happened - many times, something that was totally out of your control, and the plans were ruined?

Have you had to do this before? If you’ve been in business a while, I know this has happened to you. It happens to everyone!

For me (and probably you, too!), 2020 started out as a year of ruined or cancelled plans for our businesses. 2020 was supposed to be the year of really putting my team members “on the map” - I wanted to build them up as a part of my brand, increase their influence in the wedding industry, and ensure that their portfolios were gorgeous and full by the end of the year. They had both been shooting as lead photographers for less than a year with me, so this was a huge priority. And with the weddings they had booked, we were all super excited to dig in and make it happen.

But when the pandemic hit and the majority of our 2020 clients either rescheduled or majorly scaled down their weddings, the plan was pushed back. I spent a few weeks stuck in my overly optimistic mindset. However, by the beginning of April, I had a choice to make: was I going to keep living in the dreamworld of “this will pass soon” or did I get real, get serious, and make a plan for how we were going to weather the storm

Thankfully, I chose the latter, and I'm sharing exactly how that impacted my business on today's episode!

RESOURCES
Vision Casting Workbook: Download for Free
SIGN UP NOW: Dream Team Accelerator Waitlist
Join the Insiders Group: Team Building for Creative Entrepreneurs

FREE GUIDEBOOK: The 10 Pitfalls of Growing a Creative Team

RESOURCES
Vision Casting Workbook: Download for Free
SIGN UP NOW: Dream Team Accelerator Waitlist
Join the Insiders Group: Team Building for Creative Entrepreneurs

OVERVIEW
In this episode, I share why hiring the right people led to rapid growth for my company. This is week 3 in a 5 part series about how I doubled my income in 2 years.

First, I'm sharing how hiring, in general, was the right choice for me and allowed me to grow really rapidly (and also be sustained during the craziness of the Pandemic). After that, I'm sharing the importance of the right people - finding people who fit and actually allow that growth to happen.

Listen to learn about how both impacted my business!

RESOURCES
Vision Casting Workbook: Download for Free
SIGN UP NOW: Dream Team Accelerator Waitlist
Join the Insiders Group: Team Building for Creative Entrepreneurs

OVERVIEW
We are currently in the middle of a 5-part series on the steps I took to double my business income in 2 years. If you missed the last episode - Step 1 - go back and listen to that before jumping in to this week. It’s a helpful starting point and will make this episode all the more useful to you!

If you listened in to Part 1 of this series you already know the backstory - that from the end of 2019 to the end of 2021 I doubled my business’s total revenue. It was a crazy two years in just about every way imaginable.

And, you might have found yourself wondering - “did the pandemic actually create more free time in my calendar, which in turn allowed me to spend lots more time working “on” instead of “in” - well, yes and no!

Last week’s Step 1 - that step was actually taken starting in 2019. Most of the initial time and habits I developed to start structuring my work days for working “on” the business more were established before (but only right before) my business started to grow rapidly.

And truthfully, if I had waited to start prioritizing working ON my business until the pandemic hit - I think the results would have been dramatically different, and I wouldn’t have had the mental or emotional capacity to learn new skills or habits.

So, yes, I did have more time in 2020 than I anticipated to work on the business, but the wheels of change had already been turning for about 6 months, and that is where the real change happened which planted to seeds of rapid growth.

And on that note, we continue on our journey and tackle Step 2.

RESOURCES
Vision Casting Workbook: Download for Free
SIGN UP NOW: Dream Team Accelerator Waitlist
Join the Insiders Group: Team Building for Creative Entrepreneurs

OVERVIEW
At the beginning of 2020, I fully expected, like most wedding vendors, that the pandemic would hit our business very hard financially and might even put us out of business. But then, something very different happened. In 2020 and then 2021, we were growing, not shrinking. Our profits increased. And within two years, my company doubled it’s annual total income.

It’s a bit of a sensitive thing for me to share this story, because I know that this is not reflective of what most businesses experienced during that time. I also am definitely not sharing this to suggest that somehow a worldwide pandemic helped my business grow. Far from it!

I share this story with you because I want to share with you how my business not only survived, but grew exponentially (again, with all things considered) despite it being a very dark time in our wedding industry and world. My hope is that you can adopt the steps I took to protect my business and grow in the face of challenges so that YOU can do the same. Because while we hopefully won’t have another pandemic, there will be challenges in your business. Knowing the steps to take to grow and thrive despite challenges is how you create a business that stands the test of time and helps fuel your best and most fulfilled life.

In this 5-week series, I’m going to share exactly what steps I took, both before and during 2020, to secure my business and promote massive growth so that you can do the same (without the added challenge of a global state of emergency!).

Here's a preview of the 5 steps:
1. Prioritize Working “On” not “In” the Business
2. Get Clear on the Long-Term Plan
3. Hire the Right People
4. Know When to Pivot
5. Work Smarter, Not Harder

In today's episode, I’m sharing all about step one.

RESOURCES
BELAY: my top recommendation for virtual assistants
Schedule a call with Anna and mention Hannah Bjorndal for $300 off the implementation fee

SIGN UP NOW: Dream Team Accelerator Waitlist
Join the Insiders Group: Team Building for Creative Entrepreneurs

OVERVIEW
An absolutely essential, core part of building your team is the hiring process:  choosing the right people for your team. And the number one way to determine if someone is right? Interviewing them!

I have now been through the interview process for team members many times - from photographers, to seconds, to virtual assistants . . . and even several interns! Each situation has been different, and I also really believe that each time I go through this process, I get better at it and learn something new.

I’m sharing my biggest takeaways with you in this episode so that I can save you some time and research and help you plan for successful interviews that help you hire the right people.

RESOURCES
BELAY: my top recommendation for virtual assistants
Schedule a call with Anna and mention Hannah Bjorndal for $300 off the implementation fee

SIGN UP NOW: Dream Team Accelerator Waitlist
Join the Insiders Group: Team Building for Creative Entrepreneurs

OVERVIEW
As you’ve probably noticed, I recently renamed this podcast to Team Building for Wedding Pros, and the reason I did that was because this new name highlights the specific subject within the wedding industry which is my area of expertise - it’s what I am most passionate about when it comes to being a small business owner, it’s what I get the most questions about from other business owners, it’s what I enjoy helping others with the most, and it’s what I had begun to share more and more about on this podcast. So, after taking a little hiatus from recording, I decided to give the podcast a new name to reflect the specific subject matter that I plan on sharing the most about moving forward.

But, you might at some point have asked yourself the question: what does “team building” even really mean? What is a team, and what does it mean to build one?

In the most basic way, “team building” just means adding other people to your business. It includes recruiting, hiring, training, mentoring, maintaining, and sustaining a business with multiple people working inside of it. Maybe that was already pretty obvious to you, maybe not. But what I mean when I say “team building” is literally building a team of people to work within your business - from the ground up - and doing it the right way - the way that leads to a successful, sustainable, fulfilling and profitable business.

I’m sharing more about that today, and specifically, I am going to break down the 4 different types of team members you may add as you are building your team, how these titles might overlap, and finally, how to know whether or not it’s a good idea for you to have that type of team member on your team.