Anya Stevens

Brian Lawrence – My site has enhanced accessibility to visitors with disabilities, does yours?

A while back I had someone on to talk about ADA compatibility for websites, and then… I didn’t do anything about it. Can you relate? So, I asked my friend and website expert, Brian Lawrence, to make my site more accessible. I couldn’t believe how easy it was (for me, since I didn’t have to do it), and how many different features there are, making my site more accessible to people not only with visual impairments but also those with ADHD, epilepsy, and more. So, I asked Brian to come back on to talk about what he did to my site to make it compatible, and how you can get yours checked, for free.

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When should you ask about their budget? 

This is another listener suggestion, this time from Marylee in Connecticut. When should you ask the customer, couple or client about their budget. It’s not an easy answer, as it will be different for different price points, different services (some are easier to explain) and frankly, for each of us. You’ve probably heard me say that since all budgets are made up (credit to Phil. M. Jones for that), they can all be changed.

Listen to this new 9-minute episode for some ideas on how and when to talk about budgets, no matter where you are on the price spectrum.

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Kendra Ramirez – AI for Wedding Pros

I met Kendra at the WedProCon conference where she was speaking about AI – Artificial Intelligence, and how wedding pros can use it… and I just had to have her on the podcast to talk to you. Of course, we discuss ChatGPT, but also some other cool tools that you can use to help you with content creation, images, video editing and much more.

Listen to our conversation and get some ideas on how you might use AI in your wedding/event business. I know I got some ideas that I’m already using!

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Have you resolved to stop making resolutions? 

Now that it’s February (when this first aired), have you made and broken your New Year’s resolutions already? Did you make any? I don’t, because I don’t wait for the beginning of the year to commit to what I want/need to do. Do you need a milestone date to get started? Or, do you just need accountability to what you want to achieve?

Listen to this new 7-minute episode for a little perspective on resolutions and how they relate to your getting to the things that you want to do.

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Is your email signature helping or hurting?

This episode was prompted by paying attention to some of the many email signatures I see every day. Sometimes we don’t pay any attention to them (especially if it’s someone we already know). There were a few times, just this week, where I wanted to know more about the person sending the email (either to do research, or add them to my CRM, etc.) and I found it to be a lot harder than it should have been. Adding unnecessary friction is a good way to alienate your customers.

Listen to this new 7-minute episode to get some ideas on what to add, delete and look for in yours and other people’s email signatures, to make them more useful and professional.

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Should we care what the color of the year is?

I just saw the big announcement… the Pantone color of the year is Peach Fuzz! <cue the sound of crickets> Does that matter to your business and should you care? If you’re in the color business – flowers, linens, fashion, invitations, lighting, décor… then yes. Should the rest of us care? Maybe.

Listen to this new 6-minute episode for more some thoughts on the color of the year and what you might want to focus on next year and beyond.

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Alan Katz – Scaling from 1 wedding to thousands!

I’ve known Alan Katz for years and I love the story of how he got started doing a friend’s wedding, and has parlayed that to a company that does almost 2,000 ceremonies each year! You’ll also hear how he’s deepened his niche with other related services and how he’s been able to get thousands of reviews. Oh, and Alan Katz is the one who told me to end every email with a question… something that I credit him in my book “Why don’t they call me?”

Listen to our conversation for some inspiration on how you can expand your niche, become more useful and invaluable in your market, and the go-to when someone needs what you do.

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What’s a Fake Lead?

I’ve been having quite a few one-on-one conversations with clients and folks in the industry about fake leads. I also see many social posts about this and I’m often tagged and pulled into the conversation. And since you can’t hear my one-on-one conversations, I thought I’d address it here, as most of those conversations are very similar.

Listen to this new 10-minute episode for a different perspective on what is and isn’t a fake lead, and what you can do to improve your conversion, and outlook.

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Don’t punish the masses for the ills of a few

I’ve used this phrase before on the podcast “Don’t punish the masses for the ills of a few”. Just recently I saw another wedding/event pro coming up with what felt like punitive rules, so I decided it was time to devote an episode to this. How many things are you telling your couples and customers they can’t do? Is your “no” list bigger than your “yes” list?

Listen to this new 7-minute episode for more a little introspection and ideas on how you can be more “yes” focused, while still having the rules and policies you really need. Read More

Could your wedding/event business use a Virtual Assistant?

Do you love doing weddings and events but hate all of the business minutiae? There’s so much more to running a successful business than just doing the events. There’s the administration, project management, following up on leads, and following up with couples and customers after the sale and before the event. With staffing being so difficult these days, many businesses, including mine, have looked to using Virtual Assistants to fill the void. For me, it meant not sitting with my laptop while watching TV with my wife. It meant having someone to post on social media for me, edit my videos and podcasts, schedule email blasts and more.

For this new episode I invited my friend Ryan Angott, from Strategic Assistant Staffing (SAS) to talk about how wedding and event businesses, large and small (I’m a solopreneur and I use a VA) can benefit from using virtual assistants.

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