Podcast Transcripts & Articles

Janelle Barlow – A complaint is a gift!

When is a complaint a gift? Actually, almost every time. I’m so happy to have Dr. Janelle Barlow on to discuss this topic that’s so relevant to our industry and the world we live in. It’s not just about customer complaints, it’s also internal from our staff. We had a great discussion about reviews and other forms of feedback. Janelle shares ideas from her book “A Complaint Is A Gift”, which is in its 3^rd printing, and available in over 25 languages! Read More

Mark Chapman – Are TikTok Ads Right for Your Business?

I hear a lot of talk about whether TikTok ads are something that you should be using. So, I reached out to my go-to expert, Mark Chapman, from The I Do Society, to break this down for us. So, in this new episode we talk about TikTok, TikTok ads and how they’re different than Instagram or Facebook ads, and whether you might want to consider them for your business. Read More

Do the same problems come up over and over?

Are there some problems that just keep cropping up? Whether it’s with your customers, your couples, and even with your staff or industry partners, if there are some things that seem to come up often, the problem just might lie in an unexpected place.

Listen to this new, 5-minute episode to see if the problem really is your customers, or maybe it’s in the mirror. Read More

How accessible should you be?

This is another listener suggestion. Valerie wrote to me on Facebook messenger and posed this question. So, how accessible should you be? Do you have to reply to every email, text and WhatsApp message, regardless of the time of day or night? Or, is it OK to set boundaries and regular business hours?

Listen to this new, 8-minute episode for some ideas on how to set your boundaries. Read More

Trip Wheeler – Is inflation eating your catering profits?

Inflation has taken a bite out of the profits of every wedding and event business. It’s not just food and supplies, it’s gas, shipping, supply chain disruptions and more. I invited Trip Wheeler back on to talk about what the future might bring, and to share his expertise, since his business is all about saving caterers on your food and supplies. He has some tips and thoughts, no matter what your line of work. Read More

Do they need more choices or just the perception of choice?

When we’re trying to help our couples and customers make decisions, do they really need more choices, or just the perception that they have choices? That’s the paradox of choice. When we’re the customer, we want to know we have choices. However, when we see the myriad choices out there, we can’t decide. So, what do your customers need – more choices, or just to know that they have choices.

Listen to this new, 7-minute episode for some ideas on how to balance giving your customers choice and making it easy for them to choose you. Read More

I used to be competitive

When I was younger, I was very competitive. Whether it’s maturity, or just getting older (and wiser?), but now I look at being competitive very differently. While life has some zero-sum games (sports has winners and losers), most of our efforts are happening in abundant places, where someone getting more doesn’t really affect the rest of us. Read More

Brian Lawrence – Making Your Business More Visible Online

When it comes to increasing your visibility online, my go-to guy is Brian Lawrence. So, I asked Brian to come back on to discuss the Google Business Profile and much more. We talked about the change from Google My Business and what you can do to help your business and website show up more online. Listen to this new episode for some tips you can use, right now, to improve your online visibility. Read More

What’s your next big idea?

Are you just going through doing the same things, year after year? Or, are you coming up with new ideas to stay ahead of people who are trying to copy you? New ideas don’t always have to be big changes, and they may even come from outside your category or even outside the industry. Read More

Quality is just table stakes

When playing competitive poker, you have to pay to get into the game. That’s called the “table stakes”. When it comes to the wedding and events industry, or really any business, quality is table stakes. You can’t claim doing quality work as a differentiating factor. It’s the minimum required to be in business or in the industry. So, what are your differentiators? Read More