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. 

About Terrica:

With over fourteen years in the wedding industry, award winning wedding planner and designer Terrica Skaggs has been creating exquisite weddings and events in the Golden Isles. As the Chief Wedding Planner and Designer of Cocktails & Details®, she leads a team of talented wedding planners and event managers in creating unforgettable destination Southern weddings. She also launched The White Lounge, an intimate wedding planning studio in Historic Downtown Brunswick that brings couples and wedding professionals together. Maintaining a deep connection to her peers under the premise of “each one, teach one”, she created the largest and most diverse online community for wedding planners and designers– bringing together the best and brightest from every corner of the globe for collaboration and connection. She is extremely passionate about elevating and encouraging female entrepreneurs. A featured expert for many TV, print and digital publications, she is known for keeping her finger on the pulse of all wedding and business trends. Traveling across the States and internationally, shares her breadth of knowledge at both national and regional wedding industry conferences and groups, with this year being named a 2019 Knot Pro Educator. Her speaking engagements are always highly anticipated as she is known for her humorous, yet blunt down-to-earth approach. Terrica uses her experience and knowledge of the wedding industry to translate real-life concepts into workable business models.

Julie Painter (aka Dallas Girl Friday) is a virtual assistant who specializes in the wedding industry, and today she gives the inside scoop on what a VA does, when you should think about hiring a VA, and how to work best together. 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. 

Have you ever felt the pressure of keeping up with what looks "elegant" or "luxurious" on Instagram? Why? Why do we care about matching what we see on the cover of The Knot or Martha Stewart Weddings? Isn’t it more important that our clients are happy and we’re and we’re running a profitable business? Isn’t that why we all got into this?  The Flower Guy Bron  had this exact realization a few years ago and is on a mission to let wedding vendors know that winning Instagram shouldn’t be your goal. And as we move into a post-COVID-19 world where we’ll probably be experiencing more intimate weddings, that message will become more important.  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. 

Ok, so raise your hand if you feel like you are setting firm boundaries with your clients, and you almost always stick to those boundaries while working with them. No hands? It's a struggle for everyone, but we all need to be better at setting boundaries because it’s not fair to our teams, our families, and ourselves. So on today's episode, we brought on an executive coach Kathleen O'Grady to help.

Raleigh Coaching Academy

Authenticity is Contagious Podcast

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. 

Today we’re talking all about how to get your clients, your vendors, and your team on board with the digital age. Sometimes it’s super frustrating when clients can’t figure out how to sign a contract, or a vendor is ridiculously slow to respond, or a team member doesn’t respond the way you want them to. Well our guest today, Nora Shiels from Rock Paper Coin and Bridal Bliss Wedding Planning in Portland Oregon, gives some great tips on how we can all get on the same page. If you're interested in checking out Rock Paper Coin, subscriptions are free right now while it's in beta if you use the code "WED20" at checkout. 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.