Join me on this solo episode where I give you 7 tips for balancing it all - life, business, family, personal pursuits. We're all works in progress, and no one has figured it out, but I have some ideas that can help. This episode is brought to you by , my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there are guest experts on many topics relevant to growing and cultivating a successful event planning business with new content added consistently, plus all of my templates that I have built out over the years, like How to Get on Preferred Vendor Lists, The Client Experience, and more. The mission with the vault is to elevate the industry (along with some amazing experts and fellow entrepreneurs) and I want it to be affordable so it's possible to stay invested in the community and yourself for the long haul.

I'm honored to welcome back to the podcast, my friend and fellow podcaster, Megan Gillikin.Megan and I have recently had many, hard, and truthful conversations about what owning a business and being entrepreneurs have cost us.What we want to do differently in the years ahead and what is REALLY important to us and how we'd like to be remembered. (hint: we don't want to be remembered as the best planner and venue owner ever). It's a conversation that I don't feel is had often enough. We start businesses and "grind it out" for years and many seasons before we take the time to look around at where we are and oftentimes, it's not where we WANT to be. In this episode, we're going to talk about the big "Myths of Entrepreneurship," what is actually true and what is not.We share personal experiences from our lives running businesses in the wedding industry and what our choices have cost us. 

It’s August 2020, five months removed from our two-week pause that we were supposed to have in March.  That’s about half of your year that has probably gone up in flames, and let’s be honest, you’re probably not going to meet your goals for 2020.  So what are you doing about it? What’s your pivot? What are some new ways that you’re growing your business? Dixie Bagley from Rome Georgia has 8 businesses, all in the hospitality industry, and we’re going to talk about what you can do to diversify through this pandemic.

Megan and Jason Gillikin celebrate the 10-year anniversary of A Southern Soiree, and Megan shares her top ten lessons learned over the past decade - lessons she's now bringing into The Planner's Vault. Weddings for Real is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest experts on many topics relevant to growing and cultivating a successful event planning business with new content added consistently, plus all of my templates that I have built out over the years like How to Get on Preferred Vendor Lists, The Client Experience, and more. The mission with the vault is to elevate the industry (along with some amazing experts and fellow entrepreneurs) and I want it to be affordable so it's possible to stay invested in the community and yourself for the long haul. 

This pandemic has caused delays, cancellations, stress, tears, more delays, unanswerable questions, confusion...it really sucks to be in the wedding industry right now. But here's what it can't change - couples getting engaged and booking wedding vendors. So in this solo episode, here are 3 things you can change right now for more bookings. Weddings for Real is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest experts on many topics relevant to growing and cultivating a successful event planning business with new content added consistently, plus all of my templates that I have built out over the years like How to Get on Preferred Vendor Lists, The Client Experience, and more. The mission with the vault is to elevate the industry (along with some amazing experts and fellow entrepreneurs) and I want it to be affordable so it's possible to stay invested in the community and yourself for the long haul. 

In 2012, Julie Bunkley had run Invision Events in Birmingham Alabama for 7 years, and the business was doing...fine. But it wasn't growing. She knew that to grow, she had to find a true #2, not just someone to help out at weddings.  She was lucky enough to hire Courtney Wolf, and the two of them have been a dynamic duo ever since. On the show today, they talk about hiring for your #2, and keeping them engaged and happy. In addition to Invision, Julie and Courtney also run the Educate | Empower | Encourage Community Weddings for Real is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest experts on many topics relevant to growing and cultivating a successful event planning business with new content added consistently, plus all of my templates that I have built out over the years like How to Get on Preferred Vendor Lists, The Client Experience, and more. The mission with the vault is to elevate the industry (along with some amazing experts and fellow entrepreneurs) and I want it to be affordable so it's possible to stay invested in the community and yourself for the long haul. 

How can you network and build vendor relationships when there are no weddings and no networking events?  Megan gives her top three tips that you can take action on RIGHT NOW. Weddings for Real is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest experts on many topics relevant to growing and cultivating a successful event planning business with new content added consistently, plus all of my templates that I have built out over the years like How to Get on Preferred Vendor Lists, The Client Experience, and more. The mission with the vault is to elevate the industry (along with some amazing experts and fellow entrepreneurs) and I want it to be affordable so it's possible to stay invested in the community and yourself for the long haul. 

Aaron Shook has been in the hospitality industry for 30+ years in restaurants, catering, and now in wedding planning at Perfect Storm Moments. Through it all, he's seen a lot of weddings - and a lot of waste. And his personal mission is to raise awareness and show wedding vendors how we can save the planet. Weddings for Real is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest experts on many topics relevant to growing and cultivating a successful event planning business with new content added consistently, plus all of my templates that I have built out over the years like How to Get on Preferred Vendor Lists, The Client Experience, and more. The mission with the vault is to elevate the industry (along with some amazing experts and fellow entrepreneurs) and I want it to be affordable so it's possible to stay invested in the community and yourself for the long haul.