Own Your Business

Zoom is one of those artifacts from the pandemic that’s not going away. People got used to talking with each other remotely with this app, and the behavior stuck.

Here’s the thing: I’m okay with it. In fact, I kinda like it.

When done well, Zoom allows us to connect in a richer, more helpful way than phone calls do. It can also add to your swag by boosting the brand of your business in the same way a nice office does - or did.

But it can also hurt your chances of booking new clients if your Zoom skills are subpar. 

The bad news is most people I chat with on Zoom offer a below average Zoom experience. That’s the #1 reason I’m doing this episode. I feel obligated to help, because it’s gotten worse over the years.

The good news is all the terrible Zoomers out there mean it’s easier to stand out, to be effective, and to build trust with potential buyers.

So listen up for my Top 14 Zoom no-nos - and what to do instead.

Today I chat with top photographer, Joseph Rogero Mills, a client I first met back in 2023. I remember getting the inquiry and looking him up online. By all accounts, he was very successful:

- Lots of IG followers

- Published plenty of times

- Brides Top Photographer

- Stunning portfolio

- Gorgeous website

I was curious why he reached out.

When I did the discovery call to find out, I was even more confused. He was knowledgeable, articulate, friendly, and believed in his company, abilities and product. 

So what was up? Why did he need my help?

As we’ll talk about in the conversation, it was a minor tweak or two at critical points in the sales process. That was all. A little acupuncture needle at the right pressure point to change the entire buying experience.

You see, Joseph knows what he does well. How he helps his clients. Why those that book him absolutely adore their images. He has more conviction about what he calls his “ethos” than most wedding pros I know.

And that’s led to his success. I simply helped him translate it differently to different couples when they inquired.

Listen in on our conversation to hear more about Joseph’s journey as a business owner, which has proven to be an intense experience of self-reflection and personal discovery. 

Couples are overwhelmed by all the noise in today’s wedding marketplace. It’s crowded. It’s loud. It all sounds and looks the same to the untrained buyer simply hoping to book vendors for a pretty, fun celebration with family and friends.

So how do you compete in this situation? How do you fill your calendar? With the right kinds of couples? Who pay higher prices you deserve for your amazing work?

That’s exactly what I’m talking about today with Katy Taylor Jacobson, my wife and our Head Copywriter, who’s spent more than 50,000 hours - yes, that’s correct - thinking about and practicing how to get wedding couples to buy services from her, her team, or clients she’s guiding the way for.

When you live and breathe wedding sales and marketing over a quarter century you learn a thing or two about how to stand out, and that’s what we’ll explore in today’s conversation.

Get your notepad out, and enjoy the discussion!

The pandemic might be over, but we’re still feeling the ripple effects. 

Anyone with kids who were supposed to be in school for the second half of 2020 and most of 2021 know what I’m talking about. I’m reading a book called “The Stolen Year” because it’s so terrible for our educational system as a whole.

The economy is…confused. Some signs point good, others not so good. Even the decision-makers aren’t sure what the hell is going on, which means their uncertainty creates unpredictability in the markets. Never a good thing for businesses.

In the wedding industry, specifically, one of the ripple effects is couples taking longer to make decisions. Some of this is related to the horror stories their friends shared or family members went through with their own weddings between 2020 and 2022. 

I have a family member who just got back from Mexico celebrating her friend’s 40th birthday. Why Mexico? Because the friend had put a deposit down on a venue at a resort, but they didn’t end up doing the wedding there and the resort wouldn’t refund (only credit) the couple. So the friends grouped together to do the vacation there, used her credit, and then venmoed her their share with actual money so she could get the cash back.

So if you think couples are “over” the pandemic, you’re not seeing things from their perspective. It lives on, like a recurring nightmare we’re all trudging through. 

But how else are post-pandemic ripple effects impacting our industry and your business? Listen in today for some explanations and insights - as well as what to do about certain buyer behavior that makes it hard (and now hardER) to make decisions.

My brother owns a talent company in Los Angeles, and I once asked him what he did for his clients. He thought for a while, then said, “I manage their expectations.” 

He went on to explain that a lot of writers and directors - the types of clients he represented at the time - go to Hollywood with big dreams. They have talent, ideas, and are willing to work hard to get where they want to go.

Unfortunately, so do thousands of others - and studios only have so many shows they’ll produce each year, which means the spots at the top of success are few and far between. It takes time to earn one. In my brother’s line of work, that means years, maybe even decades of putting in your dues before you get the rewards you want.

That’s a tough sell, because Americans love an overnight success story. We think it happens all the time (which it doesn’t). Most people worked their way up the ladder for years before getting any recognition. Years.

Just because you (or some journalist or influencer) found out about them only recently doesn’t mean they started recently. 

I see this all the time in the wedding industry. The need for immediate gratification. Short-term thinking. A general lack of patience. I get it: We all want to win with our businesses. But this is an infinite game that takes years to even learn the rules.

I remember hearing Bryan Rafanelli on the main stage at my first Engage back in 2013. He said he took every opportunity that came his way for the first 10 years, till he was full. Ten years. That’s how long it took him to fill his calendar with a steady stream of clients at luxury levels.

For the record, I was listening to him 17 years after he started his company. 17 years.

When I first heard Bryan talk in 2013, he was three years past his biggest break, which was planning the wedding of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky. You know who else worked with him on that wedding? Today’s guest for my podcast, Gigi de Manio. 

For the record, she had been photographing for 20 years - 14 of those in the wedding industry - before she became a household name. 

Today, Gigi and I talk about hitting singles instead of home runs with your business. Swing for the fences every time and you’ll end up striking out. Success in the wedding industry is a long game, one that takes time to develop talent and hone your skills and put yourself in a position to win big when it matters most.

I hope you find as much inspiration and information on how to build a career in the wedding industry as I did in this conversation with Gigi.

Last week I sent out a newsletter about a “correction” in the wedding market last year, and the impact we’re feeling in our businesses this year - and likely next year too.

It made quite a bit of noise on IG, which is great. Thank you Reagan Events for amplifying the ideas I shared and adding in a planner’s perspective on a speculative market in downstream vendors.

Ironically, I’d just cut this episode with Lindsay Landman the day before all this happened. Instead of airing it in June, as planned, I want it to come out today. 

Lindsay is one of the top planners in the world, and one of the savviest minds in our industry. When she says something, I listen. And so should you.

Today we talk about 

- Market correction after a 2022 boom

- How to value your services in the current market

- What couples think about vendor prices

- Top ways to sabotage your relationships with planners

Enjoy the show. This is a good one.

I remember my first day on the job working in a restaurant in 1994 at the age of 16. I’d eaten at them while growing up, but I’d never known how it all went together behind the scenes, behind the swing door going into the kitchen - and I was transfixed when that first day in the back-of-house watching it all go down. 

Same thing happened when I worked my first wedding 17 years ago. I’d attended two weddings  in my life up until that point, but even so I was blown away by how much work went in behind the scenes to make it happen. So many moving pieces all coming together. 

When I started doing ultra-luxury weddings with Todd Events in 2015 it was another eye-popping experience.

Now, I spend my time not working directly with couples putting together their wedding, but with wedding professionals to create a successful company. A big part of anyone’s business is their website - and I’ve seen a lot of them come together over the years. 

Our company has been a part of over 350 in the past 4+ years, which is like 10-15 years experience in design years. Remember, we currently have seven people working full-time to create brand strategies, design sites, and write copy. 

Today, I’m bringing my wife and business partner, Katy Taylor Jacobson, on the podcast to talk about what goes into building a new site, and offer tips to take when you decide to undertake an overhaul or refresh, whether or not you choose us to bring the site together.

Enjoy the conversation!

In the intro to the podcast you hear me say it’s hard to own your own business. Especially if it’s a business of one.

Why? Because you’ve got to do ALL the things - even if you’re not good at them or love doing them. When you’re starting out or struggling, or too stubborn to hire out important work to experts, you end up doing all of it by yourself.

And it’s tiring. You only get so much energy to devote to important things every day. Your brain can only do so many things with its logical, rational way of thinking - your System 2 mind. After a while, it switches over to System 1, where it makes decisions largely on autopilot using your emotional mind.

For those of you with ADHD, it’s even tougher, because executive functioning skills like focus, attention and memory don’t come naturally like they do to many others. 

Here’s something for you: Did you know that people with ADHD are 3-4x more likely to start and operate their own business than the regular population. Some estimates are that 1 in 5 entrepreneurs have ADHD, which means that hundreds of you who listen to this podcast regularly are going to get much-needed insight from my friend, colleague Megan Gillikin.

Megan was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago, after struggling with certain parts of her life but constantly being told, “No, it’s not ADHD.” Finally, after advocating for herself and finding the right people, she got the information, insights, and resources she needed to overcome obstacles, and enjoy daily work more regularly.

If you have ADHD, listen in, because Megan will share ideas for you to follow.

If you think you might have undiagnosed ADHD, she’ll tell you how she went from curious about a diagnosis to determined to succeed with one.

And if you’re just a regular solopreneur struggling to find ways to focus on your most important work, tune in as well, because you’ll hear new ways to make the most of your time in the office.

Want to know why you’re not attracting the right kinds of couples to your inbox? 

First place to look is your website. But don’t look at it like a filter, or a screen. Think of it like a magnet.

Are you putting out content that triggers interest in ideal clients? 

We look at literally thousands of websites and galleries every year, and I can assure you that most people are putting out images that do NOT appeal to their ideal clients. 

Yes, they tell a story of the wedding day. 

Yes, they reflect your style. 

But they don’t connect with what matters most to people when they’re considering a purchase:

What motivates them in life.

If you want to get more interest from your favorite kinds of couples, you’re going to enjoy this episode.

Are you pitching your packages and pricing on discovery calls?

If so, listen up.

You might be booking couples with your current approach. But are you booking as many as you could if you chose to delay your pitch…

Until they were at the right stage in the buyer’s journey?

Until you’d built enough trust and respect with the couple?

Until they were eager to hear that kind of information?

Until all the decision-makers were paying attention?

In today's episode, I’ll share a story about how a salesperson recently struck out on a major sale with me, why it happened, and how it’s - unfortunately - very similar to the sales approach many wedding professionals take with their inquiries.