Where do you find your inspiration?
Is your best inspiration coming from inside your industry, or are you missing out on ideas from the outside world? Do you pay attention to friction you experience as a customer and ask yourself how you could fix that in your own business? Are you making things easier for your customers, or just for yourself? In this guest episode, I share stories and questions to help you recognize when and where real inspiration can strike, and how opening your eyes to everything around you can help you get ahead of the pack.
Listen to this new 11-minute episode for practical examples and fresh ways to find inspiration where you least expect it.
If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at [email protected] or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com
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View the full transcript on Alan’s site: https://alanberg.com/blog/
Summary
In this episode, I take a deeper look at where inspiration comes from in the wedding business and why it’s essential to intentionally seek it out beyond your immediate circle or local market. I share insights gained from a recent conversation with my friend Isaac Atkinson, who credits much of his success to investing in personal education, attending conferences, and exposing himself to diverse perspectives. I emphasize how stepping outside your “small pond” can be eye-opening, allowing you to connect with people at various stages in their careers, from seasoned experts to those just starting out. This exchange of ideas creates a two-way street for inspiration, whether it comes from those with more experience or from observing newcomers’ fresh approaches.
I dive into practical examples of how everyday experiences can become sources of inspiration, especially when you pay attention to the friction points you encounter as a customer. I talk about how noticing these pain points in my own experiences led me to make specific changes in my business, such as improving the way I provide downloadable resources and making my email signatures more user-friendly. I give the example of how a seemingly minor detail like a non-clickable image in an email signature can create unnecessary hurdles for clients and how fixing these little things shows a commitment to customer experience.
I also challenge listeners to examine their own customer journey, asking whether they are truly aware of where friction exists in their business and how small, thoughtful changes can make a big impact. I share stories of frustrating experiences with impersonal AI systems and lengthy contact forms, explaining why sometimes reducing friction means disregarding what might be convenient for the business owner and focusing first on what makes things easier for the client.
Throughout the episode, I encourage seeking inspiration from outside your industry as well as within, whether it’s through books, conferences, or simply by observing exceptional service in unrelated fields. I discuss how capturing bursts of inspiration—no matter when or where they occur—can lead to creative breakthroughs that give you a genuine advantage. The ultimate message is that by remaining curious and observant, and by consistently striving to improve both small interactions and big systems, you can set your business apart and better serve your clients.
Where do you get your inspiration? Yeah, I’m revisiting this. Hey, it’s Alan Berg. Welcome back to another episode of the Wedding Business Solutions podcast. I did a podcast about this a long time ago. Where do you get your inspiration? And it’s really everywhere.
But I just did a podcast with my friend Isaac Atkinson. You should listen to this. It’s about how his journey of going to conferences or reading books and investing in his own education is really why he’s so successful.
But part of it also was this idea of getting out of his local area where he was the big shot in his local area, probably still is actually. But by seeing what other people are doing, now you realize, okay, yeah, I’m a big cheese in my small—big fish in my small pond here. But there’s a lot of other ponds out there, and there’s people that are bigger than me, smaller than me, same as me, same point in their careers, before me, you know, just coming up, and then much more mature in their career.
But the inspiration goes both ways. The inspiration comes from people that have done this longer than you and that have also not. But for me, it’s also just opening my eyes to what’s happening around me in terms of my life as I travel, as I work, as I do things for personal use.
And one thing that I pay a lot of attention to is the friction that businesses cause to their customers. So we notice when we’re the customer when there’s friction.
It’s very much like, you know, you go to open up a door and it’s hard to open that door. You notice that friction. But that same door, you go to open it and it opens just fine. You don’t notice that at all. Or even more than that, I went into a restaurant the other day and I opened the door and the door just swung open so easily it just slammed on the other end. Well, I noticed that incredible lack of friction. That was actually too much of a lack of friction there, right? Should have had some.
But if you think about this, so many things that we do in our businesses could be causing friction to our customers. But since we don’t do what they do, we don’t have to use the tools that they do, we don’t have to click on the buttons that they click on, it’s hard for us to see what that is.
I’ll give you a personal example. So if you come to my conferences, there you might be asked to give a survey, you know, what did you think about this? Give some feedback to the event, give feedback to me, and I offer a download. And that’s your, you know, it’s a little bonus if you do that. You don’t have to give any feedback, but you have to kind of go through that process to get the download if you want it.
And in one of these presentations I was giving, I was talking about how you should not use PDFs if people are going to be on their phone, because the PDF, yes, it technically opens, but it’s not a good user experience. And in that same event, I was giving a PDF download of this thing.
Now you could forward it to yourself. You could open it then on your desktop, print it out or whatever. But it was one of these, like, no-duh moments where somebody said, “So you told us not to use PDFs, but you gave us one.” I was like, you know what? You’re right. You’re absolutely right. That is not good.
So what I did is I created a page on my website that has a fully responsive version of that exact same bonus with the option to download the PDF if you still want it once you got there. So now if you’re on your phone, it’s going to open up just perfectly on the phone. You’ll be able to read it and scroll and do all the things you should need to do.
It’s not a PDF. It’s a live page on my site. It’s what we call a hidden page, meaning there’s no links on my site to get there. I have to give you the link for you to get there. It’s kind of like it’s behind the door, but there is no door, but I can beam you up and get you in there.
So that was an example for me, eye-opening for that, like, whoa, okay, I’m creating friction. I need to try to reduce that friction.
I had, just the other day, I did a podcast about this. I’m not sure if you heard it, where I talked about how in the email signatures, very often people have this graphic. It’s got their logo, it’s got their web address, it’s got their phone number and contact information, but it was a picture, so none of it was clickable, and that was incredible friction.
And then I noticed in Outlook that they made some change, and all of a sudden all the formatting on my email signatures just went terrible, right? The spacing wasn’t right and the fonts weren’t right, and I didn’t change anything. This was something that happened in the backend, and I went in and I had to redo them all.
And I noticed, oh, wait a minute, I had a link to my website. It wasn’t just the text there. I had a link to call or text me. It wasn’t just the text that was there. So I had to go and add those in.
I shouldn’t say I had to. I added those in because I wanted it to not have the friction that I’ve experienced.
So now it’s time for a little bit of introspection. You know, where is your inspiration coming from? Are you noticing things like that in your life as a customer, right? Or like a chatbot that can’t answer your questions.
Before I created Ask Alan Anything, I wanted to make sure I had enough content that it would be able to answer most of the questions people would have because I’ve been so frustrated by people’s chatbots and phone trees.
What did I have the other day? I had one. Oh, I was calling Verizon, the local store, and nobody was there to answer. So it gave me their AI voice. Well, I had already spoken to the AI voice on the main Verizon website, who gave me the wrong phone number for that store, which I then had to look up. And now I call the store and it puts me back to that virtual voice thing.
Incredibly frustrating, right? So my inspiration—this is a negative inspiration—my negative inspiration is don’t do that. Don’t do that to your customers.
Somebody the other day, I think I’ve already mentioned this on the podcast, a friend of mine in Pennsylvania, a DJ, was trying to get a hold of a venue, couldn’t get a hold of them, so he went to their website, couldn’t find out how to contact them, went to the contact form, and it had 14 fields that were all required, including the physical address, like your mailing address, your street address. Like, no, don’t do that, right?
I probably have a couple of fields extra on my contact form than I would prefer to have. And it’s because if I was only doing business in the States, I might not have these. But because I do business internationally, I do have a field for tell me your country and tell me your location.
So if someone’s inquiring with me now, even if it’s a virtual thing, like I’ve done business with people around the world, when I do business with people in Australia or New Zealand, we’re talking like a 12-, 14-, or 16-hour time difference. Well, I want to know if I’m responding to you, you know, is it 3 in the morning and I don’t expect you to get back to me? And then if we’re going to do business, we have to figure out a time that’s going to work, right?
So some of this, again, a couple of fields there. Now that’s a conscious thing where I’ve left those fields on because I want to have that ahead of time. And I know if I took them off, it could probably help, but I don’t think they’re hurting that much. I don’t think anybody objects to telling me I’m in India or I’m in the UK or I’m in Ireland. I know because they are. That’s where you are. I wouldn’t have that problem.
But it’s paying attention to that and saying, okay, you know, where’s my inspiration for reducing the friction? And then on the other side of it is, what has some other company done to make it so easy for me? And is there something that I can do to make it easy as well?
I think that’s another important thing for inspiration, is it doesn’t only come from inside your industry. It doesn’t only come from in your market and from your peers.
And what Isaac was sharing on the podcast is by going to conferences, he got exposed to people from other places, people who are doing things in their businesses that he didn’t even know existed or didn’t think about, people that have been down the road that could share with him, you know, listen, this is what worked, this didn’t work, you have to decide for you, but let me just tell you about this. Kind of like I do when people talk to me about writing a book or speaking or consulting or coaching or any of those types of things.
So inspiration is opening your eyes and just paying attention. I listen to a lot of audiobooks. I think Audible said over 60 a year, and some of them are directly related to my industry and what I speak about. So, like, I’ll read or listen to AI books for sure, but I also listen to books because they’re interesting, and there’s something in there that I can adapt to our industry to help you.
And I think that just gives me that broader base, that broader perspective. And I’m getting inspiration from things that are completely outside of our lane.
And I think that’s what we all need to do. Otherwise, we kind of get stuck into following what everybody is doing here. You know, what’s the thing? If you’re in a dog sled, if you’re one of the dogs, you know, if you’re not the lead dog, the view never changes, right?
So what can we do to get inspiration from outside of your industry? And I think really the most important thing is just paying attention. Paying attention to what you’re experiencing as a customer, you yourself, your family, your people that you work with, and noticing when you’re getting really great service and what does that mean and what can you do to adapt that.
And noticing when you’ve tried to get a hold of someone or tried to get information and they made it really easy for you and go, oh, how can I do that? Is there something I can do that can automate that and make it self-service?
And yeah, it could help you as well. I always try to say, you know, first, does it help the customer, make it easier for them? And then does it also make it easier for me? Because if I do what makes it easier for me, it could actually be making it harder for the customer.
Because let’s face it, easier for you would be to have a really long contact form where they gave you all the information, everything that they’re looking for right up front, and then you would know that it could go right into your system and fill out all the fields you need for a contract or proposal. But that’s not going to work because you’re going to chase away more people than you’re going to attract with that.
So where do you get your inspiration, right? What sparks you when you go, oh, wait a minute, right?
I have a pad by my—I think I’ve spoken about this—on my nightstand that has a light on it. So if I want to write a note in the middle of the night, it’s got a light so I can write those notes because, you know, they always come in the shower or when you’re sleeping and stuff like that.
But it’s that kind of inspiration where you go, oh, what can—oh, I can adapt that. I can adapt that. I can say, yeah, that works for them, and I see why that could work for me or how it could work for me. And we need to pay attention to that.
And that gives you that competitive edge where you’re doing things that other people aren’t thinking of because you’ve literally thought outside of your box, right? You don’t see the box. You say, okay, all of this could apply to me and my business and my customers if I’m paying attention.
So like I said, I’ve spoken about this before, but something just sparked it for me. I’m like, you know what, it’s time to revisit this. So thanks for indulging me.
I’m Alan Berg. Thanks for listening. If you have any questions about this or if you’d like to suggest other topics for “The Wedding Business Solutions Podcast” please let me know. My email is [email protected] or you can text, use the short form on this page, or call +1.732.422.6362, international 001 732 422 6362. I look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Thanks.
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Question
How can I find real inspiration to improve my wedding business?
Tags:
#inspiration #businessgrowth
Answer
I find inspiration everywhere—through conferences, books, or just paying attention as a customer. When I step outside my daily bubble, I see new ideas, solutions, and opportunities to adapt what works for others to my own business.
Takeaway: Inspiration multiplies when you look beyond your routine.
Question
Why does stepping outside my local market matter?
Tags:
#growth #networking #perspective
Answer
When I got out of my local area, I realized I was just a big fish in a small pond. Meeting others at different career stages showed me fresh perspectives and new ways to succeed. There’s always someone out there doing things I hadn’t even considered.
Takeaway: Expanding your circle expands your vision.
Question
How should I use my experience as a customer to improve my business?
Tags:
#customerexperience #selfreflection
Answer
I pay close attention to friction when I’m someone else’s customer. If something frustrates me—like a clunky door or a confusing process—I ask myself if my business creates similar hurdles. It’s the quickest way to spot and fix hidden problems.
Takeaway: Notice your frustrations; they’re clues for improvement.
Question
What’s a common mistake businesses make with digital downloads?
Tags:
#customerexperience #technology
Answer
If you’re giving out PDFs to people on their phones, you’re creating unnecessary friction. Sure, a PDF opens, but it’s a lousy mobile experience. I switched to a responsive web page for downloads, and immediately made things easier for everyone.
Takeaway: Match your tools to how clients actually use them.
Question
How can I reduce friction for my clients?
Tags:
#customerexperience #process
Answer
I constantly look for points where my process feels clumsy or slows people down. Every friction point—like non-clickable email signatures or endless forms—pushes clients away. Fixing these details makes the entire experience better.
Takeaway: Make everything as easy as possible for your clients.
Question
How can I spot friction in my own business?
Tags:
#selfaudit #customerexperience
Answer
Step back and try using your own services just like a client would. Notice every place where things aren’t smooth—forms, downloads, phone calls—and make improvements. If it annoys you, it probably annoys your clients too.
Takeaway: Experience your business from the client’s seat.
Question
What’s wrong with using a graphic for my email signature?
Tags:
#communication #usability
Answer
If your signature is just one big image, nothing is clickable. That’s a hassle for clients who want to call, visit your site, or get in touch quickly. I made every detail—phone, website—clickable to remove that friction.
Takeaway: Make contacting you effortless.
Question
How do you handle unavoidable friction, like long contact forms?
Tags:
#process #internationalbusiness
Answer
Sometimes a little friction is necessary—my forms ask for country and location when I work internationally. It’s worth it for smoother communication later. But I always check that every required step is serving a real purpose.
Takeaway: Only keep what truly helps client communication.
Question
How can negative experiences inspire my business?
Tags:
#inspiration #customerservice
Answer
Every time I’m frustrated by clunky phone trees or useless chatbots, I use that as motivation to do better for my clients. My “don’t do that” list grows every time a company irritates me.
Takeaway: Let others’ mistakes shape your improvements.
Question
Why should I learn from companies outside the wedding industry?
Tags:
#inspiration #crossindustry
Answer
Breakthrough ideas don’t always come from your direct competitors. I take what works well from totally different businesses and adapt those lessons. That outside perspective keeps me ahead of the pack.
Takeaway: The best ideas may come from outside your lane.
Question
What’s the danger of only following what others in my industry do?
Tags:
#competition #originality
Answer
If all you do is copy your peers, you end up stuck in the same routine. Just like a dog sled—if you’re not the lead, the view never changes. I want to innovate, not just imitate.
Takeaway: Stop following—start leading with fresh ideas.
Question
How do I know which new ideas are worth adopting?
Tags:
#execution #mindset #inspiration
Answer
I watch for things that truly make life easier for my customers. If a company wows me with simplicity or service, I ask myself how I can translate that to my business. The filter: does it help the client experience?
Takeaway: Only adapt ideas that make clients’ lives easier.
Question
What’s the balance between making things easy for myself and for my clients?
Tags:
#customerfirst #process
Answer
It’s tempting to build processes for my own convenience—like making clients complete long forms so my system is perfect. But if I do that, it might make their experience harder and turn them away. Clients must always come first.
Takeaway: Serve the client before optimizing for yourself.
Question
How do I capture inspiration when it strikes?
Tags:
#productivity #habits
Answer
I keep a notepad with a light by my bed for middle-of-the-night ideas. Inspiration often comes at odd times, so I make it easy to jot things down before they disappear.
Takeaway: Keep tools handy to catch inspiration whenever it hits.
Question
What does it mean to truly “think outside the box”?
Tags:
#mindset #innovation
Answer
For me, thinking outside the box means looking everywhere for inspiration and not seeing any limits. If something works in another context, I ask how it can fit mine. That’s how I keep a competitive edge.
Takeaway: No box, just opportunities to adapt and win.
Question
Why do I need to keep paying attention as a customer?
Tags:
#customerexperience #continuousimprovement
Answer
When I’m alert as a customer, I spot both great and bad experiences. Each one gives me a chance to rethink my own business—what to replicate, and what to avoid.
Takeaway: Stay curious; good and bad experiences are both valuable teachers.
Question
How does learning from conferences and peers help my business?
Tags:
#networking #education #growth
Answer
Attending conferences puts me around people with new ideas, different struggles, and unique solutions. Hearing their stories and advice often sparks positive changes back in my own business.
Takeaway: Surround yourself with people who push you to grow.
