What’s holding you back from reaching your full potential as a business owner? 

From getting more inquiries?

From booking better clients?

From charging more for your services?

From success at the next level of luxury?

In today’s episode, Katy and I talk about what is NOT holding you back - and what is really at the root of the issue for most wedding business owners.

Quick note before we begin, February 24, 2025 is the opening day for enrollment in Sway, our 12-month mastermind that walks you through every aspect of your sales and marketing so you can elevate your business to the next level of luxury - whatever that looks like to you.
Check out more at www.ideactionconsulting.com, or hit me up on IG in the DMs.

One of my favorite parts of being a business coach is hearing success stories from our clients. No journey is the same as another, but they tend to follow a similar arc.

• Feel the call of something more in your professional life

• Boot strap to get the business started

• DIY it until you hit a ceiling or find the courage to invest in your business

• Bring in an expert to guide you through the tough stuff

• Gain confidence in yourself and competence with your skills

• See success and feel satisfied

Today, I bring on Erika Aileen, one of our Sway Mastermind members to share her journey over the past several years - not just with us, but as a business owner searching for the right direction and guidance. 

If you feel like you’re on the verge of something - whatever that is for you - and you want to feel inspired, and even get a few strategies to try out, well, tune in. This is one of my favorite client case studies I’ve done for the podcast.

I’ve obsessed about marketing and selling weddings for over 18 years now. Here’s one thing I’ve learned:

Your pitch is important. 

Unfortunately, most wedding professionals don’t offer a proper proposal for their services. The most common approach is a menu of services, like a McDonald’s ordering kiosk. Many others use a brochure - basically a bunch of information.

But couples and the BTS decision-makers don’t want information, they want transformation. They want to know how you’re going to get them from where they are now (wanting something for their wedding) and where they want to be (basking in the benefits you offer to get that need met). 

The best way to tell that story is with a short-form sales page approach to a custom proposal.

Today, I bring on one of my long-time coaching clients who was one one of our first proposal template users back in 2021. Tune in to hear how she’s leveraged the power of a compelling proposal to help triple her prices in 4 years.

I’ve coached hundreds of wedding pros over the years, and the #1 area for improvement is always always always the discovery call. 

Why?

It’s so difficult to do well. So many moving parts. So much pressure for both people. So many ways it can go wrong.

Here are five ways to know if your discovery call needs improvement:

If this sounds like you, keep listening.

If you’re not doing these things, I’ve got solid info in the next 20 minutes to help you level up your game too!

We started the year with a simple road map for success based on five milestones.

Do the activities in key areas to make it easy for couples to travel the buyer’s journey.

These are the 5 areas I’d like you to focus on for the first couple months of the year, because I think they give the most results for time (and money) spent to attract and book better clients.

Today we dive into the website. Listen in for tips you can put into practice in very little time with almost no technical or creative skills.

Most wedding pros I talk to have a love-hate relationship with social media. You love scrolling your own feed, but hate posting on your own account. Kidding. But not really.

Social media is hard. What do you post? How do you write the caption? What cards do you drop in your Story? What images look good in this Carousel? Do you put your face on the screen? If so, what do you talk about? How much of your personal life do you include? How often do you go through this cycle of pain and misery every week with posts?

And yet, it’s a crucial part of your future success. Instagram is a place to be found for the first time, but it’s also an important layover on the way to your website when you get a referral from a vendor or client. 

Today, I sit down with Abby Jiu, my long-time client and now-business partner with Duet Social Media. We discuss

A few weeks ago I did an episode about how wedding business owners are being sold a single version of luxury and told it’s the only version available. It struck a chord with many of my clients and others who reached out, because I busted this myth that if you want to find success you have to do it a certain way - usually represented the way the people on top have done it themselves. 

I think that road to success is well-paved and well-travelled by people who want the same kind of success. Million-dollar budgets, Lake Como and the Amalfi Coast every weekend, clients who all look like models. 

But I’ve talked with thousands of wedding professionals who have a different version of what success can look like, of what it means to build a business they’re proud of, one that gets them what they want in life.

And their ideal clients look different too. Just like there’s more than one version of success, and more than one version of luxury, there’s also more than one version of an ideal client. Sure, we all want couples who pay higher prices - but what else should we look for?

And how do we speak to them in our marketing and in our sales process?

Today I bring in Katy, my wife and business partner - and ideal client expert - to talk shop about ICAs.

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.