Recently I was a guest on The Women’s Social Club Podcast, a women supporting women community and membership with 15 locations including New York City, Chicago, and Washington DC. Some of you have heard my journey before, but one thing I noticed when listening to this episode is that I have the tendency to keep myself small, and I consider this one of my biggest challenges I’ll continue to tackle day by day - but it’s those voices of support in my life that push me to reach my potential.

Now I have the opportunity and privilege to be the support system and cheerleader for so many in our community - and I don’t take that for granted. I believe that there are far too many amazing entrepreneurs out there who show up, serve so many, make a difference, and yet they continue to play it small.

I hope this interview inspires you to stop getting in your own way. Great success is waiting on the other side.

When analyzing your own website, you want to ask yourself:

• Does it pass the caveman test where the user knows in 5 seconds what you do, how it will make their life better, and how they can take the next step?

• Are the images attractive, interesting, and a reflection of my brand?

• When the prospect reads the copy, does it give them all the feels? Or is it essentially the same content that they've read from every other vendor?

That copy part is a huge challenge, and today we're learning from Can Do Content's Nadine Nethery on how to create stand-out copy without being too braggy.

On episode 211, we interviewed couples to find out what they REALLY are looking for in the vendor vetting process. And one common theme we heard is that couples are looking for reviews - in The Knot, on Google, on Wedding Wire, in social media, everywhere.

So reviews need to be a major initiative for all wedding pros. But how do we get our clients to write reviews?

Let's find out from our guest today - Desiree Dent, wedding planner at Dejanae Events in Chicago.

I say this with love...

Today we’re talking about Engage, the luxury wedding business summit that happens twice a year in breathtaking locations around the globe. I’ve been a couple times, and they are definitely an experience like no other. The swag and gifting experience by itself are stellar and the over-the-top wow factor of each meal, each breakout, and each painstaking design detail are unmatched.

I’ve always wondered how it all comes together. How do you put on event that wows people who put on ultra-luxury events for a living?

Let's find out from Tara Fay, Dublin-based wedding planner who has led the vision for two recent Engage Summits.

What happens when couples inquire (we get the inquiries!), but we’re not booking as many weddings as we want? Or what if couples are only wanting to book our smallest packages?

Today we're talking to Ideaction Consulting's Sam Jacobson, who gives us 4 reasons our inquiries are NOT converting into clients.

A couple weeks ago, we went to The Merrimon Wynne Winter Wedding Showcase. The Merrimon Wynne is a historic home in downtown Raleigh that’s been converted into a gorgeous wedding venue. Inside the house and in the carriage house outside, engaged couples were walking around looking for the right wedding vendors for their big day. And if they looked like they might be willing to answer some questions about their wedding vendor search, we asked them to come on the show.

As much as we all love the events industry, one major challenge is that we’re service based. We need to physically be doing something to make money. Planning the wedding, DJ’ing the bat mitzvah, taking the headshots. And when every event is over, we need to keep moving on to the next one. In the service industry, there’s no real way to make money while you sleep. Or is there?