Own Your Business

What’s the difference between simple and easy?

It’s pretty nuanced, but the distinction is important. 

Here’s what a quick search turned up on Google:

While simple and easy can sometimes be used interchangeably, simple refers to something that is not complicated or complex in its structure, while easy refers to something that requires minimal effort to accomplish.

Let me say that again, because, as I said, the distinction is essential.

Simple refers to something that is not complicated or complex in its structure, while easy refers to something that requires minimal effort to accomplish.

It’s the new year, so we’ve all got goals on our minds. One of mine is improving my health, which can be a rabbit hole of information and approaches. But most experts agree: 

If you eat real food in modest amounts, cut booze from your diet, move your body for an hour a day, sleep well, and spend time around people you love you’ll be in pretty darn good mental and physical health. 

Simple, right?

But is that easy? Right?

It’s the same thing with your business. If you want to get it in shape, you can choose to go the complex, convoluted approach - or you can use the KISS method. Keep. It. Simple.

Today’s episode follows the new year, new you theme with what you need to DO in order to reach your goals. As you’ll see, I’ll keep it simple for you.

Welcome to part two of my top 10 Engage takeaways.

The first five aired last week, so if you haven’t listened to them yet, you should go back and start with that episode. I provide useful context to the conversation, and it’s all done in my most gravelly, shot out, baritone voice in 173 episodes. 

Here’s a quick summary of the first set of takeaways:

Today, I’m going to dig into the remaining five big insights I took away from the summit.

I hope you get some inspiration as you plan out your 2025 business strategies.

11 years ago I attended my first Engage. It was like a roller coaster. At first I was scared to got, but then once I was on it was the time of my life. And when I was done, I wanted to jump in line and go again.

Engage has been a big part of my life since that first one in Scottsdale, Arizona. I met my wife, Katy, at my 3rd Engage, in Grand Cayman. I got a job running Todd Fiscus’s companies at that same one in Grand Cayman. Katy and I got engaged on a birthday trip we piggybacked on to an Engage in 2017. And later that year I spoke at a breakout session for the first time.

Engage Amelia Island was my 17th Engage and 6th time speaking. My topic was about how to educate your clients the right way.

Earlier this year, I hosted my annual State of the Industry panel, where we discussed what’s happening in the industry and what business owners should be focused on for success.

This year’s theme was “educating” your clients. Everyone talked about it multiple times. In fact, I ran a 14-second clip at Engage showing all the times one of the panelists said “education.” 

But what does it mean to “educate” your clients? How do you do it well? And when in the buyer’s journey? And what’s the best way to do it?

These were the questions I answered in my talk last week, and I’ll share some highlights with you on my podcast today.

But I’ll also include what I picked up from others who shared the stage over the week, because there was so much to think about based on the content I heard. 

I’ve done this Engage wrap-up after every one I’ve attended since 2017. I hope you get as many takeaways from this summary as I did from the summit itself.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth.

The wedding industry pushes an unrealistic version of what it means to work in “luxury.”

Million-dollar budgets? Amangiri and the Amalfi Coast for every wedding? Couples who look like models in every photo?

Sorry, but that’s not the luxury wedding market. That’s ultra-luxe. The top 1%, not 10%. 

And that pie-in-the-sky version of “luxury” is a lot harder to achieve than most industry leaders let on. 

The simple fact is you have to make it to the next level of luxury before you can rise to the top.

How do you do that in a way that feels true to you? How do you do that working with clients you love, not neurotic, narcissistic monsters?

Tune into today’s episode.

We’ve all heard of “growth mindsets,” but what does it really mean? Here’s a definition:

A belief that intelligence, abilities, and talents can be developed through effort, hard work and guidance from others.

I first heard about it in the book Mindset by Carol Dweck, a Stanford professor who coined the term back in 2006. In her research, she found the growth mindset was the #1 predictor of long-term success.

Now you might think, well duh, of course people believe they can improve themselves. Ahhh, but that’s actually NOT the case.

Many people believe for many different reasons, they can’t improve.

Look at the current conditions in the wedding industry. It’s tough out there, and will be for a while.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the down market is an explanation for why it’s harder to fill your calendar, but it’s not an excuse.

Someone with a growth mindset sees the challenge in today’s industry and wonders, how will I adapt to the new environment in order to achieve my goals. 

The opposite is a fixed mindset. They see the exact same scenario, and think, well crap, I hope things get better soon so I can fill my calendar or raise my prices.

Today, I bring on to the podcast one of my dearest friends in the wedding world, Anja Winikka, former right hand to the founder of The Knot, industry innovator, and CEO of Freeda, a new kind of community for established wedding pros who want genuine community with other wedding pros. 

I always feel better about the world when I hear what Anja has to say about things. I know you will too.

We all know it’s a crowded marketplace out there right now. I’ve never believed there’s enough business for everyone who wants it (well, maybe in 2022). But now, more than ever, wedding pros are feeling the pinch of not enough business to go around.

Even if you are filling your calendar, it’s harder than it’s been in a long time. Not counting the early days of the pandemic, I’ve not seen times this tough since 2008-2010 during the Great Recession - and it was BAD back then.

So what can you do to stand out in this competitive market?

One thing is for sure: Couples want to know the person they pick to produce a certain part of their wedding is the absolute best they can get for the money they’re spending. 

Yes, of course, everyone wants the best. But unless you can afford the absolute best, you have to settle for the most you can get with the money you’re willing to spend.

This means every wedding pro at every price point needs to do all you can to convince buyers not just that you’re worth it, or to like you, but to TRUST you. 

And one of the best ways to do that is show yourself to be an expert in whatever it is you do.

The measure of your unhappiness is the distance between where you are and where you want to be.

For many right now, that’s a big gap.

You should work smarter and harder to close the gap - but don’t fixate on how far you’ve got to go. 

When times get tough, it’s more motivating to look at how far you’ve come.

At my family for Thanksgiving, we did that cheesy thing where you hold hands and say what you’re most grateful for.

2024 was a hard year for many in the industry. It’s easy to look at what you don’t have on the books, instead of what you do have that will help feed your business through lean times.

Today, I talk about overreaching, overambition, and its negative effect on not just the journey, but also the likelihood of making it to your destination. In business, and in life.

One of the things we’re seeing with couples is their lack of decisiveness. It’s taking a lot longer to make a decision. 

I see lots of reasons for this, including overscheduled lives, multiple decision-makers, a noisy marketplace, and general concern about the economy.

As a business owner, you can’t control ANY of these things. Sorry, I wish it was different - but it’s not.

Instead, I want you to focus on the things you can impact. 

One of those is called “purchase intent.” How much does someone want to buy your services. You have to create desire with messaging, and tap into momentum in the buyer’s journey.

Unfortunately, most wedding professionals aren’t doing these things well. Either of them. 

Marketing and sales messages aren’t clear or communicated frequently enough. 

And too much friction is injected into the sales process, which makes it harder, not easier, to buy.

Today, Katy and I will show you how to talk about the right aspects of your business so you can increase the desire for your services.

If you like buyer psychology, get ready to geek out!

www.ideactionconsulting.com/

Today’s episode is focused on tips and tricks to DIY a website. But it’s also a big day for Katy and me, and our entire team, because we’re opening up our Showit template shop. 

Of course, everyone who owns their business would gladly have an expert take care of their website if it was as easy as, say, emailing the marketing department of the company you work for and saying, “Hey, we need a new site! Make one, please.” 

But it doesn’t work that way when you’re not only the Creative Director for your company, but also the Marketing Dept. Which means you’re the one who’s in charge of the website.

But the CFO for your company - also YOU - knows that money doesn’t grow on trees, and you (probably) don’t have a pile of cash laying around to give to an outside expert to do the work for you.

All this means that, yup, you’re right, YOU have to step up and do your website. Ugh.

DIYing isn’t the ideal way to create anything in your business except the product and services you give your clients. THOSE are YOUR area of expertise. That’s what you’re good at. 

Building websites is not a skill you can “fake it till you make it.” It’s complicated, with lots of moving parts surrounding design, layout, copy, messaging, image selection and a ton more. 

It’s also time consuming. We spend between 60-80 hours working on a site when we’re hired to do copywriting and design. But that doesn’t count the 15-20 hours our clients spend selecting images, making edits, and collecting other necessary information for the site to be successful.

If professionals spend that much time on a project, you can bet that amateur DIYers will spend significantly more time through trial and error, struggling with the hook (even our seasoned copywriters run into writer’s block, and trying to get design right, especially on mobile.

This is exactly why we created our new templates, which we call Compass Website Templates, because not only are they gorgeous Showit designs, but we actually provide you with real direction on how to fill in the template with incredibly effective copy and images that trigger your ideal client’s biggest desires. 

How do we do that? We offer what other template providers don’t:

-Our conversion copywriting formulas for each and every section of the site

-Ideal client avatar workup so you know you’re creating a site that’ll attract the right kind of buyer

-Image selection guide to choose the best images based on buyer motivations and emotions

-A hefty copywriting workbook to help you create messages designed to trigger your ideal client’s needs

-3+ hours of video tutorials with Katy (and a little of me) teaching you section by section, page by page what goes where, how, and why

-Regular ask-me-anything office hours (not a lame FB group) with a copywriting expert and website designer answering live questions

-Finally, you get a website review from us to tell you what can be done to make the site even better

If you plan on DIYing your site, our templates are your place to begin. Because we do it WITH you rather than you doing it alone.

And if you want step-by-step, page-by-page tutorials, office hours, workbooks and guides to help make your new website incredibly effective, check the show notes or visit www.ideactionconsulting.com.

We’re running special bonuses for everyone who buys a template between November 12-19. Don’t miss these extra perks!

On today’s podcast, Katy and I will share a few tips and tricks with you on how to improve your current website, or DIY your next one. 

If you are DIYing it. If the inner CFO in you is telling the Creative Director that the Marketing Dept. is on leave, and you’re the only one left to do the hard work of making your new website, well, listen up.

Katy and I are going to spill 5 of the most impactful tips from our Compass Website Templates tutorials live, right now.

Enjoy the episode. 

I hear a lot of talk about ideal clients in the wedding industry, including us. 

We put out content on the regular to share information about who and how and why and what for those perfect buyers you want on your calendar.

And we’ll talk about it on today’s episode too.

But we’ll also dive into what it means to be an ideal service provider, because very few people are talking about that - and it’s incredibly important.

In fact, that’s exactly what your clients are searching for when they head to Google, scroll social media, or ask a friend for a recommendation.

Think about it from the couples’ perspective. They want the perfect provider for their wedding, and they’re searching for signals in all the noise as to who that might be.

Today, Katy and I talk about the concept of being an ideal service provider, and, more importantly, how to communicate that at different stages in the buyer’s journey.