How to Scale Your Wedding Business with Hannah Bjorndal

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!

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All 5 steps can be found here:
✅ 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
✅ Step 5: Work Smarter, Not Harder

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 Vision Casting Workbook: Download for Free

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥  Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club

How to Hire Your First Associate: Online Course

Enroll Now

Learn More

RESOURCES


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.

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All 5 steps can be found here:
✅ 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
✅ Step 5: Work Smarter, Not Harder

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 Vision Casting Workbook: Download for Free

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥  Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club

How to Hire Your First Associate: Online Course

Enroll Now

Learn More

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.

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All 5 steps can be found here:
✅ 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
✅ Step 5: Work Smarter, Not Harder

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 When by Daniel Pink
👉 Episode 18: 5 Stats You Need to Start Measuring TODAY to Grow Your Business

How to Hire Your First Associate: Online Course

Enroll Now

Learn More

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.

🔥 FREE Resource:
Download (for free!) my Associate Profit Plan Guide + Calculator to plug in your numbers and see exactly how profitable an associate team could be!

Download Now

🛠️ Resources & Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 How to Hire Your First Associate Online Course: Learn More
👉 How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free Guide)
👉 BELAY: my top recommendation for virtual assistants
Schedule a call with Anna and mention Hannah Bjorndal for $300 off the implementation fee

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥 Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club

How to Hire Your First Associate: Online Course

Enroll Now

Learn More

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.

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 How to Hire Your First Associate Online Course: Learn More
👉 How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free Guide)
👉 Listen to: 5 Things You Can Delegate Today

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥 Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club

How to Hire Your First Associate: Online Course

Enroll Now

Learn More

OVERVIEW
I remember the first time I realized that there were wedding photographers out there that had more than one person in their company. They had multiple photographers who could shoot multiple weddings on any given day and I thought, “that is genius . . . and I can’t even FATHOM how to make that happen.”

From the outside, running a team seems like a complete enigma - but then I realized that starting a business felt really similar - a total mystery, something I thought I could never do. But then I just . . . did it. I figured it out.

That’s kind of how I set out to grow a team - at least, that was my attitude. “I’m going to just figure this out, one step at a time.” And luckily for you, with nearly 6 years of team-building experience under my belt, I now have some key steps that I can share with you so that you don’t have to wander in the wilderness, not even sure where to start.

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥 Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club

How to Hire Your First Associate: Online Course

Enroll Now

Learn More

OVERVIEW
Last December, about a week before Christmas, I sat with tears in my eyes - happy tears - surrounded by 3 of my dearest friends and our spouses. We were enjoying festive cocktails, champagne and the most amazing French food in the private wine cellar of Cafe Colline in Arlington and sharing stories about the past year and also, sharing all the ways we were proud of each other in 2022.

Those three friends also happen to be team, and that dinner was our annual Christmas party.

As we were headed home that night, I told Evan that this night was a highlight of my year, and possibly the culmination of everything I had worked for so far in my business. I think it may be the proudest I have ever felt in my life.

Building a team is an absolutely incredible adventure - filled with so many unexpected moments of joy, of excitement, of frustration, of bonding and, as cheesy as it sounds . . . of memories.

While it’s definitely a big commitment, my journey of team building isn’t something I would trade for the world. It’s one of the best things I’ve experienced in my work, and, as I mentioned before, it’s also one of the things I’m most proud of.

As I’ve recalibrated this podcast to specifically focus on team building, I think it’s really important to start off with talking about WHY. Why should you even consider this massive commitment? That’s what I’m sharing today! 

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Other Key Links:
👉 How to Hire Your First Associate Online Course: Learn More
👉 How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free Guide)
👉 BELAY: my top recommendation for virtual assistants
Schedule a call with Anna and mention Hannah Bjorndal for $300 off the implementation fee

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥 Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club

How to Hire Your First Associate: Online Course

Enroll Now

Learn More

How to Hire Your First Associate: Online Course

Enroll Now

Learn More

Overview:
In the creative business world today, being present online is really important. You already know this, right? Having a website and a strong social media presence are a huge part of our daily work - clients find us here, we connect with fellow business owners here. We showcase our work and who we are online.

And yet, there is a big opportunity for online visibility that I think a lot of us are missing. Thankfully, I have an incredible guest today who is an expert on getting noticed all over the internet and growing your following and business as a result. 

In this episode, I'm talking with Lisa Simone Richards about how to get more clients by leveraging your online presence via publications.  Click play!

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 Lisa Simone Richards' Website
👉 How to Get Visibility: THE QUIZ
👉 Follow Lisa Simone Richards on Instagram

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥 Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club

How to Hire Your First Associate: Online Course

Enroll Now

Learn More

Overview:
In this episode, we discuss how to diversify your income by creating multiple streams of income. We take a deep-dive into one photographer's journey into photo editing and how she stabilized her business by building an editing company.

Klaire Sabbagh, this episode's guest, is owner of Klaire Dixius Photography. Klaire is a wedding photographer serving the DC area, and also offers Photo Editing services for other wedding photographers with a small but mighty team of 6 editors. She also is a new Mom navigating what it means to be a Mompreneaur. Through it all, she's passionate about helping people get back to who they love and what they love the most.

Recommended Books:
Living Forward by Michael Hyatt
Traction by Gino Wickman

🛠️ Other Key Links:
👉 How to Hire Your First Associate Online Course: Learn More
👉 How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free Guide)
👉 Klaire's Client Workflow Spreadsheet
👉 Join Klaire's Editing Team
👉 Inquire About Klaire's Editing Services
👉 Connect with Klaire on Instagram

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥 Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club

How to Hire Your First Associate: Online Course

Enroll Now

Learn More