“I’m not outgoing enough to be a great leader.”
“Leadership something you’re born with, not something you can learn.”
“I want to grow my business, but I’m not up for leading a team.”

If you’ve ever had thoughts like these, this week’s Wedding Industry Insider is for you. Because we are striking down these myths and proving anyone can be a great leader. 

Even introverts.
Even someone who isn’t a natural-born leader.
Even entrepreneurs who don’t feel like leadership is right for them.
Even you!

This week, we are rebroadcasting a fantastic interview with Ashley Ebert, founder of The Abundance Group, a coaching and mastermind program for wedding pros scaling over $100k in sales. Not only has Ashley created this astounding leadership program, she also built a thriving wedding planning business with over 30 planners across 6 locations. 

And she’s got great news: leadership can be learned. It’s not a talent or innate trait that is standing between you and your dreams. 

How do you get there? This week’s throwback podcast is a great place to start! Here is some of what you can look forward to in our interview with Ashley:

• How Ashley and her father studied 8 leadership models and found the method that works best – AND how you can apply it to your business today!
• The 4 principles of leadership that helped Ashley find so much success as a wedding pro and an entrepreneur. 
• How leadership will lead to abundance in your career and personal life
• And… Ashley’s #1 advice for wedding pros. 

To hear Ashley’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

We want to say a special thank you to Ashley for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Get 1:1 coaching from Ashley’s Abundance Group Team here!
• Learn more about John Maxwell’s teachings here.
• Questions? Get in touch with Ashley or Eddie
• Want to take your wedding planning business to the next level? See how Timeline Genius can help you thrive!

The post WII 154 – How to be an All-Star Leader with Ashley Ebert [Rebroadcast] appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.

Here at Timeline Genius, we’re dedicated to helping planners like you avoid burnout and stay in the business for as long as possible. 

So you might be surprised by this week’s Wedding Industry Insider guest. Candice Coppola is a former wedding planner who left her job because she was overworked, stressed, and burnt out. And she’s telling us how to avoid her mistakes and have an enduring (and fulfilling!) career in the industry. 

Candice sold her luxury wedding planning company and now enjoys success as a coach and educator. She helps pros like you build a thriving wedding business – just like the one she built from scratch in 2012. It took Candice two years to go from zero to six figures, and she’s revealing how she got there (and the lessons she learned throughout her career!). 

Want to see the kind of growth Candice experienced, without the burnout? Here is some of what you can gain from this fantastic episode of Wedding Industry Insider:

• Five things Candice wishes she had done differently as she built her business (and the #1 mistake she sees planners make)
• How to build relationships so that you feel supported and find success
• The key to defining your core mission and building your brand around it
• Gaining the confidence to sell by seeing it as an act of service
• And… Candice’s #1 advice for wedding pros

To hear Candice’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

We want to say a special thank you to Candice for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Ready to build a business based on Candice’s experience and success? Access her mentorship and resources here!
• Listen to Candice’s 2017 interview with Eddie here
• Questions? Get in touch with Candice or Eddie
• Be sure to DM Candice on Instagram and let her know you loved today’s episode!
• Take the time to nurture your business — see how Timeline Genius can help you thrive!

The post WII 153 – Learn From Candice Coppola’s Biggest Mistakes and Successes appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.

Burnt out from a busy wedding season? Dreaming of a career that offers work/life balance and financial freedom?

You’ve heard the advice “work smarter, not harder” so much that it’s lost its meaning. But this is the ultimate mantra for wedding pros, and we’ve got a fantastic episode of Wedding Industry Insider that will have you adopting it into your business right away. 

This week, we’re joined by Terrica, a master wedding planner who now serves as a business coach and educator through Hustlequarters. She is showing us how to make more money by doing less – with concrete advice that will resonate with overworked planners. 

You’ll love Terrica’s approach to package listings, automation, and sales because it is the gateway to lighter workloads and more profits. Here is some of what you can look forward to in this fantastic episode:

• How to become more valuable by offering fewer services in your package
• Selling vs. sharing (spoiler alert: they’re the same thing!)
• The top things to consider when you create your pricing – and what you shouldn’t consider!
• And… Terrica’s #1 advice for wedding planners!

To hear Terrica’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

We want to say a special thank you to Terrica for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Want to learn more from Terrica? Enroll in Wedding Pro University here
• Be sure to follow Terrica on IG
• Questions? Get in touch with Terrica or Eddie
• Invest in your business — see how Timeline Genius can help you thrive!

The post WII 152 – Terrica Tells Us How To Make More Money By Doing Less appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.

How often do you feel overwhelmed as a wedding planner? Each stressor you face as a planner and entrepreneur affects your mental health. But you don’t have to go through it alone. 

This week on Wedding Industry Insider, we have a pro who has merged seemingly unique career tracks in order to feed her passions and help planners just like us. 

Charessa Sawyer is a certified wedding planner and a licensed social worker with an extensive background in therapy. Now, she’s the founder and CEO of SC Visionary Planning and Production Services, curator of Event Therapy Network, and publisher of Event Therapy Magazine. 

As someone who works in both mental health and event planning, Charessa has a unique insight into the unique needs and struggles of wedding planners. And she also has fantastic tips and solutions to the many stressors we face.

Here’s just some of what you can look forward to in this great episode:

• The importance of recognizing panic attacks so you can best manage them
• The many ways your career can suffer if you don’t care for your mental health
• Warning signs that you’re nearing burnout as a wedding planner
• How a therapist can help, and alternatives to working with a therapist
• And… Charessa’s #1 advice for wedding planners

To hear Charessa’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

We want to say a special thank you to Charessa for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Nourish your mental health with Event Therapy Network
• Questions? Get in touch with Charessa or Eddie
• Charessa says to include yourself in your event timelines — See how Timeline Genius can help!

The post WII 151 – Charessa Sawyer’s Mental Health Tips for Event Planners appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.

It’s time to create a team! This is such a great milestone as your business grows, but it’s also one of the most nerve-racking leaps you’ll take. 

Emily McMahon has been there, and on this week’s episode of Wedding Industry Insider, she’s sharing the lessons she learned and how she found success as the owner of a team-based wedding planning company. 

Emily owns Soirée, a wedding planning company that serves Iowa City and beyond. Today, Soirée is a thriving business with a team of talented planners and assistants. But there were some growing pains getting there. 

In this great interview, Emily talks about her early days rejecting events she couldn’t do herself and how she eventually learned how to hire, train, and maintain wonderful employees. 

Even if you’re not at the point in your business where you need a team of employees, you’ll still gain a lot from this episode! Here are some of our favorite highlights from this episode:

• How to lay the foundation now if you hope to one day hire employees
• Emily’s secret for finding great local employees (and paying her interns!)
• How an HR company helped her become an employer with less stress and less liability
• Emily’s authentic way to connect with other vendors so she can best serve her clients
• And… her #1 advice for wedding pros!

To hear Emily’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

We want to say a special thank you to Emily for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Follow Soiree on Instagram here!
• Questions? Get in touch with Emily or Eddie
• See what Timeline Genius can do for you!

The post WII 150 – Emily McMahon Shares The Secrets to Building a Team appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.

Are you exactly where you want to be with your wedding planning business? Sure, you might be reaching some of your goals, but things still might be off. Maybe you have no time for yourself, or you’re not seeing the kind of income you hoped for. 

On this week’s Wedding Industry Insider, we’re joined by Marley Majcher, who will help you get on track with one simple question: How are you spending your time? 

Marley Majcher is the CEO of The Party Goddess, a full-service catering and event-planning company that’s created celebrations for high-profile celebrities and corporations. She’s also a speaker and educator for wedding pros and entrepreneurs, and the author of the book But Are You Making Any Money?

We’re so glad we got this hour with Marley because she is sharing so much advice and insight on creating a profitable business that doesn’t wear you out and make you feel unbearably busy. And it all comes down to her one key question: How Are You Spending Your Time?

Here’s some of what you can look forward to in this week’s episode:

• How to audit your time and analyze the ROI on your tasks.
• Exactly what to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed in your business.
• The mistakes Marley made early in her career, and how you can avoid them.
• And… her #1 advice for wedding planners

To hear Marley’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

We want to say a special thank you to Marley for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Follow Marley Majcher on Instagram here!
• Get great resources from Marley and buy her book here.
• Questions? Get in touch with Marley or Eddie
• Spending too much time on timelines? See what Timeline Genius can do for you!

The post WII 149 – The Ultimate Time Audit With Marley Majcher appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.

You feel busy, but you’re not seeing the profits you want. Or maybe you’re moving a lot, but not moving toward your goals. 

If that sounds like you, you’re not alone. And you also aren’t stuck.  

No matter where you’re at in your entrepreneur journey, our latest episode of Wedding Industry Insider is for you. This week, we’ve got Brandee Gaar on the show, and she’s outlining the four pillars of business success –  and how wedding pros can start working toward each pillar right now. 

Brandee is the founder and owner of Blush by Brandee Gaar, and she’s also a business coach who helps wedding pros scale their business and maximize profits without getting burnt out or overwhelmed. 

In this fantastic episode, Brandee lays out the foundation for a more profitable and fulfilling career. The secret? Think more like a business-savvy entrepreneur (and less like a service-minded wedding planner). 

If that seems nerve-wracking, don’t worry – Brandee’s breaking it all down into a 4-pillar process that is totally doable (while staying true to yourself). Here’s what you can look forward to in this interview:

• How to put in the hard work now so that in a year, you’ve got more free time and a more profitable business
• Why you need a solid understanding of marketing, even if you’re outsourcing it
• Top mistakes wedding pros make when selling to potential clients (and what you should do instead!)
• Great ways that Brandee helps wedding planners get out of the “messy middle” of entrepreneurship
• An invitation to Brandee’s free live training on August 20!
• And… her #1 advice for wedding pros!

To hear Brandee’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

And be sure to sign up for Brandee’s FREE live training on August 20. It’s a great way to dive even deeper into everything we discussed on today’s podcast!

We want to say a special thank you to Brandee for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Get even more great resources from Brandee here!
• Follow Brandee Gaar on Instagram
• This week’s book recommendations are $100M Offers and $100M Leads by Alex Hormozi
• Questions? Get in touch with Brandee or Eddie
• Spend time working toward your goals — not on your timelines. See what Timeline Genius can do for you!

The post WII 148 – Mastering The 4 Pillars of Success with Brandee Gaar appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.

Do you ever wish someone would give you a magic formula for planning your business finances? Do you dream of that sweet spot where you’re taking on a reasonable amount of weddings and reaching your financial goals? 

If so, our latest episode of Wedding Industry Insider is perfect for you! We’re joined by Katelyn Magnuson, founder of The Freelance CFO, a full-service accounting firm for creative small businesses. 

Katelyn has an easy-to-follow formula to help you set and reach your income goals. Plus, she’s providing real examples with real numbers so you can apply it to your own business. 

You’ll want to grab a pen and paper to take notes and get the most out of this fantastic episode. In addition to Katelyn’s money-making formula, you’ll get great insight into the following: 

• The benefits of installment payments (it may be a win-win for you and your clients!).
• How to increase pricing, automate your finances, and strategize based on your tax situation.
• Income ideas when you need to get through the off-season or simply want to increase profits.
• The many ways that companies like The Freelance CFO can help planners, no matter where you are in your business.
• And… Katelyn’s #1 advice for wedding pros!

To hear Katelyn’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

We want to say a special thank you to Katelyn for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Get more advice from Katelyn at The Freelance CFO website here.
• Follow The Freelance CFO on Instagram!
• Questions? Get in touch with Katelyn or Eddie
• Don’t wait to get the help you need – See how Timeline Genius can help your business thrive!

The post WII 147 – Katelyn Magnuson’s Formula for Pricing & Profit appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.

Were you a wedding planner before everything was online? If not, it’s hard to imagine how you’d make connections, care for clients, and pull off show-stopping events without today’s tools. 

That’s why we’re so excited for this week’s episode of Wedding Industry Insider! We’re welcoming Thomas Bui to the show to discuss his 23 years of wedding planning experience, and how he still includes some old-school practices to create elegant, modern weddings. 

Thomas is the founder of Thomas Bui Lifestyle, a luxury event planning and production firm based in San Diego and San Francisco. During his conversation with Eddie, he shares the steps he took to become successful in the luxury market, from working at events for free to leaping into a higher price point.

We are still soaking up all the wisdom Thomas shares, and here are some of our favorite highlights from the interview:

• How Thomas builds relationships to reach his business goals.
• Advice for changing to a percentage-based pricing model 
• Thomas’s top book recommendations for entrepreneurs (check them out in our show notes below!)
• Being confident in your worth, and explaining your charges to clients
• How Thomas finds inspiration for his design and production work. 
• And… his number #1 advice for wedding pros!

To hear Thomas’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

We want to say a special thank you to Thomas for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Here are some of Thomas’s top book recommendations:
  • “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss 
  • “Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek
  • “The Gold Standard” by Colin Cowie (and listen to our interview with Colin Cowie here!)
• Learn more about percentage-based pricing by listening to our interview with Brooke Keegan here.
• Questions? Get in touch with Thomas or Eddie
• Want more time for better designs, real connections, and lucrative pricing? See how Timeline Genius can help! 

The post WII 146 – Thomas Bui’s Time-Tested Approach to Luxury Weddings appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.

What if you could work less and make more money? It’s any wedding planner’s dream, but for Tara Guérard, it’s her reality. And she’s sharing her journey and hard-learned lessons for getting here.

This week on Wedding Industry Insider, we are looking back on our fantastic interview with Tara, who is the owner and creative director of Tara Guérard Soirée. If you were a listener when we aired our 100th episode with Tara, then this is a great chance to revisit her incredible insight. And newer listeners are in for a real treat this week!

These days, Tara exclusively works with lavish, six-figure weddings, but she talks about business finances in a way anyone can relate to. After all, she once booked 40 weddings a year and is thriving while only taking on eight weddings per year.

Here are some of our favorite highlights from this unforgettable interview:

• • How Tara set strict boundaries and expanded her services to increase profits and decrease her workload. 
  • The importance of kindness and treating everyone the same, from the high-paying client to the most underappreciated team member. 
  • Cash flow management tips to make sure you can get through slow seasons, pay vendors on time, and build a great reputation.
  • Tara’s top 3 lessons for success.
  • The relatable fears Tara has about pricing, competition, and growth.
  • And… her #1 piece of advice for wedding planners.

Both Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar named Tara a top wedding planner, and her work has been featured in Southern Living, Traditional Home, Town & Country Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Brides. She’s also appeared on The Martha Stewart Show, The Nate Berkus Show, and the Style Network. Tara is also a speaker, author, and owner of multiple businesses. 

To hear Tara’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

We want to say a special thank you to Tara for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Follow Tara on Instagram here.
• Learn more about Soeur Events here.
• Questions? Get in touch with Tara or Eddie
• Save time and offer elevated service to clients with Timeline Genius!

The post WII 145 – How Tara Guérard Thrives With 8 Weddings Per Year [Rebroadcast] appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.

You know that it’s best to bring your most authentic self to your wedding planning business, but you also have to present yourself in a way that will attract your ideal clients. 

So, be truly yourself… but also who your clients want you to be. If that sounds jumbled and complicated, this week’s Wedding Industry Insider is perfect for you. 

We’ve got Wedding Business Strategist Heidi Thompson from Evolve Your Wedding Business with us, and she’s sharing the best ways to strike a balance between authenticity and alluring marketing. Soon, you’ll be highlighting your most genuine (and most unique!) skills that will stand out to wedding clients. 

Heidi has fantastic advice for standing out to the best clients without getting bogged down by comparisons, complicated analytics, and inauthentic marketing strategies. Don’t worry, you still get to be yourself, but in a way that shows you’re exactly who wedding clients need!

Here are some of our favorite lessons from this interview:

• Why watching “Legally Blonde” can help you balance authenticity and marketing
• How to create your own category for yourself so that you don’t become a victim of comparison and competition
• Step-by-step instructions for interviewing past clients so you can get more great bookings 
• Key ways you need to shift your marketing strategy over time
• And, Heidi’s #1 piece of advice for wedding professionals

To hear Heidi’s interview, you can press the play button above. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

We want to say a special thank you to Heidi for sharing these insights with our Timeline Genius community.

Please take this information, act on it, and carry on the journey toward fulfilling your dreams!

Show Notes:

• Take Heidi’s Standing Out challenge here!
• Learn more about Evolve Your Wedding Business on their site here.
• Questions? Get in touch with Heidi or Eddie
• Want to free up more time for authentic, alluring marketing? Get your planning systems running smoothly with Timeline Genius!

The post WII 144 – Stop Comparing and Start Standing Out with Heidi Thompson appeared first on Timeline Genius Blog.