90: Impactful Gifting Strategies for 2020, with Margaux Fraise

Do you have money mindset blocks that are preventing your business from growing and preventing you from leading your best life?  Maybe you believe that you don't deserve to charge more yet. Or maybe you believe you shouldn't charge more because you love what you do. Or maybe you think there's a new competitor popping up every day who charges so little, it's not worth it to raise your prices.

I had some major money mindset blocks - until I discovered our guest today, Denise Duffield-Thomas.

Denise Duffield-Thomas is the author of Get Rich, Lucky Bitch and Chill and Prosper, and the host of the Chill and Prosper Podcast.

This episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there are 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.

The doors are currently closed for The Vault, but join the wait list now so you can be the first to know when the doors re-open.

Weddings for Real on Social Media:

Instagram: @weddingsforreal

Facebook: @weddingsforreal

twitter: @weddingsforreal

Hosted by Megan Gillikin, Weddings for Real is presented by The Planner's Vault, and is produced by Earfluence.

Rachel Sheerin, keynote speaker and Megan's first business coach, is guest-hosting this episode. She comes from a wedding background before shifting into corporate events and eventually speaking on the biggest stages.

Today, Rachel brings on Carrie Davenport to discuss how wedding vendors can start adding corporate events to their portfolios and revenue streams.

Carrie Davenport is an accomplished event planner, speaker, leadership coach, and writer with extensive experience in the corporate events, association events, and weddings. She cofounded the Association for Women in Events and currently serves as the lead meeting planner for Altria Group Distribution Company. 
---

Today's episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault. The doors are currently closed for The Planner's Vault, but join the wait list now so you can be the first to know when the doors re-open.

Weddings for Real on Social Media:

Instagram: @weddingsforreal

Facebook: @weddingsforreal

twitter: @weddingsforreal

Hosted by Megan Gillikin, Weddings for Real is presented by The Planner's Vault, and is produced by Earfluence.

"Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, 'Make me feel important.' Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life." - Mary Kay Ash

Keep that quote in mind for this solo episode, as Megan Gillikin is giving her 5 tips for getting more referrals from your fellow wedding pros.

---

Today's episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault. The doors are currently closed for The Planner's Vault, but join the wait list now so you can be the first to know when the doors re-open.

Weddings for Real on Social Media:

Instagram: @weddingsforreal

Facebook: @weddingsforreal

twitter: @weddingsforreal

Hosted by Megan Gillikin, Weddings for Real is presented by The Planner's Vault, and is produced by Earfluence.

On this episode (listen to part 1 here), we ask engaged couples the questions you can’t really ask when they reach out to you. But we can!  Questions like:

• How are you finding your wedding vendors? Instagram? Website? TikTok?
• Do you need to see pricing on the website?
• Do you want a consultation call, or do you just want info sent by email?
• How do you determine budget? And how has it evolved?
• What's something you wish wedding vendors would do differently?

Every year we do this, and every year this is one of our most downloaded episode. So tune in to go inside the buying minds of engaged couples!

---

Today's episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault. The doors are currently closed for The Planner's Vault, but join the wait list now so you can be the first to know when the doors re-open.

Weddings for Real on Social Media:

Instagram: @weddingsforreal

Facebook: @weddingsforreal

twitter: @weddingsforreal

Hosted by Megan Gillikin, Weddings for Real is presented by The Planner's Vault, and is produced by Earfluence.

On this episode, we ask engaged couples the questions you can’t really ask when they reach out to you. But we can!  Questions like:

• How are you finding your wedding vendors? Instagram? Website? TikTok?
• Do you need to see pricing on the website?
• Do you want a consultation call, or do you just want info sent by email?
• How do you determine budget? And how has it evolved?
• What's something you wish wedding vendors would do differently?

Every year we do this, and every year this is one of our most downloaded episode. So tune in to go inside the buying minds of engaged couples!

---

Today's episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault. The doors are currently closed for The Planner's Vault, but join the wait list now so you can be the first to know when the doors re-open.

Weddings for Real on Social Media:

Instagram: @weddingsforreal

Facebook: @weddingsforreal

twitter: @weddingsforreal

Hosted by Megan Gillikin, Weddings for Real is presented by The Planner's Vault, and is produced by Earfluence.

The Unraveling series, where amazing and inspiring entrepreneurs share the unraveling of old habits and mindset that holds us back, and the rebirth of new.  

Today we feature Inez Ribustello, whose unraveling started back on September 11, 2001, when she lost nearly all of her colleagues in the terrorist attacks. At 25 years old, Inez had hustled her way up the ranks to be the beverage director at Windows on the World, a restaurant and entertainment venue located on the 106th and 107th floors of the North Tower. When the attacks happened, Inez and her husband Stephen - who was the sommelier for Windows on the World - happened to be at her sister’s wedding back home in North Carolina.

Instead of slowing down to grieve, Inez kept hustling - and it's only now that she's beginning to process everything that happened.

Inez Ribustello Website | Instagram | Life After Windows | On the Square: The Community That Made a Restaurant

For previous Unravelings:
156
157 with Adrianna McDermott
161 with Aleya Harris
177 with Sara Margulis
184 with Andrea Eppollito
188 with Ashlyn Carter
191 with Kristen Mullins aka "The Pie Lady"
193 with Rachel DeAlto
197 with Sandra Cassios
208 with Brian Green
218 with Nellie Butler
238 with Natalie Franke
245 with Michelle Norwood
253 with Amber Melanie Smith

(01:20) What's an Unraveling? 
(02:15) "With shock came a lot of anger"
(06:00) Finding the right next job
(10:00) Going back to Tarboro North Carolina to start a restaurant
(14:10) "We had zero tools in our toolbox for what we were doing.
(18:00) Throwing in the towel - on the businesses, on the marriage
(24:30) The case for therapy
(27:30) Why one investor refused to keep working with Inez
(30:30) Inez's new chapter

This episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there are 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.

The doors are currently closed for The Vault, but join the wait list now so you can be the first to know when the doors re-open.

Weddings for Real on Social Media:

Instagram: @weddingsforreal

Facebook: @weddingsforreal

twitter: @weddingsforreal

Hosted by Megan Gillikin, Weddings for Real is presented by The Planner's Vault, and is produced by Earfluence.p

With finances, I still have blocks (listen to the intro) preventing me from fully feeling comfortable and empowered when it comes to things like tax planning, KPIs, and projections.

I’ve learned through conversations with wedding pros and my own real life experiences that overwhelm can lead to avoidance, so my goal is to make conversations like this one easy to digest and not something you run the other way while covering your ears.

Because as business owners, we really can’t do that. Fortunately, today’s guest Tatiana Podel is someone who explains everything in a way that anyone can understand.

Common Tax Deduction Guide

(00:00) Getting kicked out of my MBA finance class
(04:00) "It truly does not have to be very complicated." + Tip #1
(13:40) Tip #2 - Budgeting and forecasting
(24:00) Tip #3 - Outsourcing and delegating
(30:40) Tip #4 - Understanding your KPIs
(35:00) "Don't spend $1 to save 25 cents."
(37:30) The tax bill is never that big...unless you're surprised by it
---

Today's episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault. The doors are currently closed for The Planner's Vault, but join the wait list now so you can be the first to know when the doors re-open.

Weddings for Real on Social Media:

Instagram: @weddingsforreal

Facebook: @weddingsforreal

twitter: @weddingsforreal

Hosted by Megan Gillikin, Weddings for Real is presented by The Planner's Vault, and is produced by Earfluence.

Today we're tackling engagement and booking season, and I'm going to share three strategies and mindset shifts that will help your business stand out, resonate more with your ideal clients, and help you book more easily this year - no matter what vendor category you're in.

This episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there are 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.

The doors are currently closed for The Vault, but join the wait list now so you can be the first to know when the doors re-open.

Weddings for Real on Social Media:

Instagram: @weddingsforreal

Facebook: @weddingsforreal

twitter: @weddingsforreal

Hosted by Megan Gillikin, Weddings for Real is presented by The Planner's Vault, and is produced by Earfluence.

At the end of last year, I sent out a survey to my email list asking them to share what they want more of and what they want less of in 2024. And at the end, I had a spot for them to share openly about anything they had on their mind, or share a question they want me to answer.

There were so many great questions that I decided to kick off this year with a few of those questions in an ask me anything style podcast episode!

We'll get into:
(04:15) How can wedding pros do a better job of selling their service, but at the same time, educating the client on a specific overall wedding budget they require in their market?
(10:25) Do I really need to overhaul my wardrobe to attract more luxury clients?
(15:00) How do you continue growth at the beginning without feeling like you have to drop thousands of dollars to market and grow?
(20:50) What was the one thing that changed your wedding planning business from regular to being booked out all the time while still increasing your prices?

You don't want to miss:
Free Training Thursday, January 18th at 3:00pm ET
The Planner's Vault Challenge, January 16th to 18th - Use the Code "WFR20"

Episodes referenced:
211. Live Interviews: Inside the (Buying) Mind of Engaged Couples

212. 4 Sales Mistakes Wedding Pros Make, with Sam Jacobson

254. Book the Top Package, from the Own Your Business Podcast

This episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there are 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.

The doors are currently closed for The Vault, but join the wait list now so you can be the first to know when the doors re-open.

Weddings for Real on Social Media:

Instagram: @weddingsforreal

Facebook: @weddingsforreal

twitter: @weddingsforreal

Hosted by Megan Gillikin, Weddings for Real is presented by The Planner's Vault, and is produced by Earfluence.

Megan and Jason Gillikin talk about their wins for 2023, their misses, most memorable moments, and goals for 2024.  Tune in and reflect along. Share your 2023 reflections on social media @weddingsforreal.

Past Year-End Recaps:

2022 

2021 

2020 

2019 

2018

This episode is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, my online membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there are 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.

The doors are currently closed for The Vault, but join the wait list now so you can be the first to know when the doors re-open.

Weddings for Real on Social Media:

Instagram: @weddingsforreal

Facebook: @weddingsforreal

twitter: @weddingsforreal

Hosted by Megan Gillikin, Weddings for Real is presented by The Planner's Vault, and is produced by Earfluence.