This happens in our industry today. We clique into circles, and we don’t “leave the neighborhood”.

But we are grown-ups now. We choose who we spend time with. I love that our industry is richer in all kinds of diversity that I didn’t get to have while growing up. I feel so lucky to have made so many different friends, including black women, BECAUSE of the opportunities I’ve been given in this industry. Do you know how lucky we are to have this community? I feel so lucky to have made so many different friends, including black women, BECAUSE of the opportunities I’ve been given in this industry. Do you know how lucky we are to have this community?

If you want to see more inclusion, it starts with the most basic idea we learn in kindergarten: make a friend. We can talk until we are blue in the face about having more black leaders as speakers, or diversifying our vendor teams, or featuring black couples in websites and magazines. But those business “deals” don’t happen without friendship first.

If you want to do better, get to know people individually. Have a coffee meetup, or a Zoom get-to-know-you chat. (Important note: not now. Your soon-to-be-friends are tired.) It’s easy to do business, to refer business, to hire people that you actually know. If you have deep relationships with people this is all so much easier to do, you guys.

I’m not perfect. My circles are still too separate for my taste. I have to expand further. I need to be more proactive with getting to know new people. I need to get out my “neighborhood”.

You ALWAYS have a seat at my table. And if you are ever made to feel otherwise, tell me. If I haven’t pulled out the chair for you, let me know.

Will you join me in making new friends? Show your solidarity with me and my friends here: Unity in Community.

The post It’s Easy to be Unified When We are Friends appeared first on Sage Wedding Pros.

If you’re looking for leadership also, I invite you to join this much-needed conversation in our industry.

Terrica Skaggs and friends will be tackling the hard questions, experiences, and future of race in the industry. Terrica not only brings REAL TALK, but she is also one of the most compassionate and caring people I know. This will be a thought-provoking conversation, in a safe space for wedding pros of all backgrounds to listen, learn, and interact. ⁣Register here.

The post Race & Allyship in the Wedding Industry appeared first on Sage Wedding Pros.

You are exhausted, a little short of breath, and are even sweating just a tad.  Your heart is pounding and overall, you just feel horrible.  This is the panic that has been slowly setting in ever since you started postponing events, laying off staff, and trying to figure out how many months you can survive on your savings. 

Panic is insidious.  It seems to creep into all areas of your life and paralyze you.  Feeling completely debilitated, it is difficult to see what “the next right thing” is, to quote Anna from Frozen 2.

But, you can push through panic to a productive state with a pivot plan.

Step 1: Support Yourself Through a Mindset Shift

Before you can begin to feel motivated and gain traction in adjusting your business to fit within the current climate, you need to make sure that your basic needs are met.  Abraham Maslow, a psychologist and the founder of humanistic psychology, created Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in which he illustrates that if your physiological and safety needs aren’t taken care of, you won’t be able to focus on anything else. Take care of yourself first so you can take care of others.

This might look like applying for SBA loans, finding a temporary job, or selling assets to create a sense of security for yourself.  It might also look like focusing on moving your body, drinking more water, and writing in a gratitude journal.  Do what you need to free your brain up to be able to focus on giving instead of receiving.  Generosity will not only uplift your spirit but will also help you build your brand.

Step 2: Give Away Free Stuff

Although you may not be able to express your craft as you would normally, your expertise wasn’t canceled along with your events. You just need to find another channel to share it. Take your talents online and provide solutions to your audience’s current problems while creating one of your business’ most valuable assets, an email list.

Start by thinking about your client’s top problem.  Write 1-2 pages that provide helpful advice to solve that problem and package it into a nice looking PDF.  That bundle of valuable knowledge is called a lead-generating PDF.  Promote the lead magnet using social media ads, put it on your website, and add it to your email signature.  Give your PDF away for free in exchange for an email address.  As you start building your email list, make sure to send weekly emails to begin to develop relationships.  You aren’t trying to sell them anything.  Your goal is to add value and stay top-of-mind so that when this is all over, they will think of you first when they need your services.

Step 3: Put Yourself Out There

Two of the tell-tale signs of panic are immobility and silence.  As you begin to move from panic to productivity, it is time to get moving and break your silence.  Take to the internet with the sole purpose of being a helpful expert.

Start hosting free Facebook Live events a few times per week where you teach and inspire.  Walk your audience through how to create a seating chart, thank you letter writing techniques, or how to curate their wedding playlist.  Develop or revisit your blog or podcast.  Post daily to social media.  Be present, show up consistently, and come from a place of service.  Not only will this build goodwill, but it will also increase the visibility and likeability of you and your brand.  People buy from who they know, like, and trust.  Use this time to get out there and make valuable connections.

The beautiful thing about crises is that they end.  Our “normal” may look different when the safer at home orders are lifted, but people will continue to get married, have babies, and throw parties.  Instead of focusing on what you have no control over, like when you can get back to work, place your attention on how to manage yourself now to set yourself up for success in the future.  By pivoting from panicked to poised, you can position yourself to be remembered as a key force for positivity and upliftment in our collective crisis story.

The post Pushing Through Panic Mode to Your Pivot Plan appeared first on Sage Wedding Pros.

The Cashflow Plan is a FUTURE tool. This is where you guess what your cash will be doing 6 months from now. This is different from bookkeeping – which records your PAST. Watch below to learn more. (You can get your FREE cashflow sheet here and join me for our next class here.)

The post Cashflow Planning for Event Business Owners appeared first on Sage Wedding Pros.

Watch how it can help give you clarity on your cash situation during this crisis:

The post How a Cashflow Plan Can Give Your Event Business Clarity During a Crisis appeared first on Sage Wedding Pros.

As business owners, we’d all love to think that nothing can stop us from achieving our goals. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work out as simply as we’d hope. Natural disasters, illnesses, and family emergencies all have a way of rearing their heads unexpectedly — and it’s important that we, as humans, are prepared to set aside business responsibilities for the big things in life.

As someone who has endured a cancer diagnosis while running my business, I’ve found that these types of things tend to show up at the worst times. When I found out I had stage 4 cancer, I had just gotten my business to the point where it was growing in the direction I had planned. Suddenly, challenges with marketing strategies or inventory management seem laughable. Daily life was no longer about matching blooms and creating timelines; it was hospital stays and chemotherapy sessions.

Since that day, I’ve had 29 surgeries, and my business has survived the ups and downs of that journey. Thankfully, we are back in the right direction, and the hurdles along the way have been entirely worth it. However, we—and I’m referring to myself, my family, and my team—didn’t come out on the other side of this without a few lessons learned.

Here are the most important takeaways I gained from my experience.

Lean on your team for support.

A team is always important, but it’s critical in dire times of need. You cannot persevere alone forever, whether it’s an illness, loss of a family member, or any other setback you’re facing. Look to your family and your team at work to lift you up and carry responsibilities you set aside. When I was in the hospital, my husband was in contact with my staff as we focused on my recovery — I believe this is why we managed to keep the doors open until I was ready to return to business.

Be realistic with your expectations.

Even if your team manages to run your business successfully in your absence, there will still likely be some level of loss in business. There will be less energy directed towards marketing or sales to keep up with the demands of current clients. This isn’t worth your stress; focus on what you need to do to bounce back and save the worrying for when you’re healthy and ready to get back in the saddle. Even then, it will still take time to get back to pre-crisis success levels, but rest assured that you and your team can make it happen.

Trust your accountant fully.

When times are tough, money has a way of getting tight as well — especially if you consider that your business is operating at less than full speed. You may have extra bills tacked on (like repairs from a natural disaster or medical expenses from a hospital stay). A great accountant will help you to keep your books in order and manage your finances in the best possible situation. Certainly, don’t expect him or her to find money where there is none, but in terms of smart money decisions, it’s best to rely on a professional to help you stay solvent.

Commit to your community.

Once you can put the worst behind you and get back to work, you’ll want to spend some of your time resuming your role in the community. People will be thankful to have you again, but they need first to know that you’ve returned to business. Reach out to your connections and schedule some coffee dates to get the scoop on what you’ve missed. Tell your story and use your influence to make an impact. Since my return, I’ve become a spokesperson for a local cancer nonprofit. Attend chamber meetings, local workshops, and other industry events — now is your time to make a difference.

Sometimes, life has a way of getting in the way of business. It’s virtually inevitable the longer you are in business. However, there’s no reason a life crisis means you have to shut down your business. Take care of yourself first, trust your team, and know that everything will happen the way it should.

The post Pushing Your Business Forward After a Setback appeared first on Sage Wedding Pros.

Get a handle on your cash flow here:

And, if you want more help, join me for a cash flow planning class (which I have discounted deeply) or for deeper digging, hire me.

The post Free Cashflow Plan Worksheet for Event Businesses appeared first on Sage Wedding Pros.

We always wait for things to be “perfect” or for “just the right time” to make big changes in our lives and businesses, don’t we?  I wonder when we’ll realize this strategy is flawed?  How many times will I, (the one who’s always shouting for people to get help BEFORE drowning), wait until the last minute and add to my team in the midst of full-blown chaos? 

In just a few days, my family and I are packing up and moving across the country.  Again.  We’re moving for the second time in two years and while that may not be so dramatic for some, it feels like it is to me.  Prior to this, we hadn’t moved since 1995!   We’ve been blessed with “busy season” at work for long enough that it’s now our normal and we’ve also been talking about adding a 6th very vital position to our team for months!  Sounds like just the right time now, right?  (Insert facepalm, haha!) So let me give you a little peek into how we plan to implement this big change!

Once you find your assistant start with your heart

Everything begins by deciding what is falling or about to fall through the cracks.   In our case, we are hiring a social media assistant.  My goal for the future is that she will completely handle the SM management and alleviate this weekly pressure from Christina whose plate runneth over!  We have Trello boards that layout brand guidelines and color codes and files with logos and graphics and content for repurposing.  Of course, our Canva is full of templates and previous designs. But more than anything else, she must begin learning our brand voice.  What does this mean, exactly?

Step number one is meeting with me!  Being very transparent, I haven’t handled our social media for almost two years.  When I did, I didn’t do it well. Promoting myself and anything I’m doing is definitely a personal weakness.  So, why meet with me first?  Shouldn’t she be meeting with Christina who can give her all the logistics of how we like things to be done and let them walk this out together? Why not just hand over the files and give her access to the programs and let her go?  Clearly she has amazing social media skills or we wouldn’t have chosen her.  You might think she should just be able to jump in, create a few graphics, and get them posted, right?  Exactly wrong.

She needs to hear about why Rock Solid was started in the first place, the things I’ve learned along the way, and most of all the love and passion with which we pursue our goals each and every day!  It’s about so much more than creating a beautiful graphic with the proper font, color code, and brand aesthetic. The world is filled with beauty and while we want to add to it, we must always bring value with each and every piece of content we produce!  Learning how and why we do what we do will also solidify why we keep doing it even on the toughest of days!

You see, I’m not bringing on just another teammate.  I’m not only looking for the person who can throw the best lifesaver to a team headed to the deep end!  My team is my family!  If my heart stopped beating before I finished typing this sentence, they could pick up where I left off and not only complete this blog post, but possibly run my business better than I do!  I’m looking for the person who is going to care about what we do and why as well as be able to develop relationships with all of us to jump in and pursue excellence in each daily task!

I can’t stress the importance of this!  I know, you want actionable steps easily laid out in list format and we are getting there but this is the biggest piece of the puzzle so don’t miss it – share your passion, purpose, and goals with your new assistants!

Okay, okay… you might already be skimming, looking for specific details!  Let me provide the list I think you’re looking for! 

Action Items

1.    Read the above paragraphs. Twice.  (Yep, it’s THAT important!!)

2.    Write down your goals

List the tasks that do not spark your creativity and consider which ones you can easily hand off to a teammate.  Recognize what tasks are rabbit-holes of nonproductivity and begin planning to hand them off as well.

3.     Give your assistant access

Take some time to consider what systems you would like your new VA to have access to and get all your login info into a password management system.  We love LastPass!  (You can read more about why here!)

4.    Do you need to create a new email for your VA?

Do you need to set up an email specifically for your new VA?  (If you’re unsure how to do that, your VA can help once you begin working together.)  If you can get this done ahead of time, it’s beneficial as you can begin sharing documents, files, and passwords through LastPass before the engagement begins.  Everybody can hit the ground running on day one!

Okay – the next one is a big one!

5.    Clearly write your expectations down! 

This is very important and cannot be skipped if you want success!

Write down what tasks you expect to be repeated each day and each week. Don’t forget to include how-to details as well as your specific preferences!  This might mean something like “4 Instagram posts per week according to our strategy outline” or “1 blog outlined each week with correlating time blocked off on my calendar to complete the necessary writing”. 

Perhaps inbox and lead management are your number one priorities.  Your initial #1 priorities might look more like, “Inbox sweep each morning by 9.  Please handle anything you can handle and prioritize and label the most important things I have to handle myself.  Repeat this sweep once in the afternoon.” and “Check the to-do list within HoneyBook and follow-up with any clients who haven’t previously replied daily.”

Maybe you need to get your systems in order and the first assignment tasked to your VA is something like, “Get Dubsado fully functioning with workflows, templates, branded quotes and invoices by the end of the month.” Perhaps you need Asana or Trello boards set up so there are clearly defined expectations, roles, and deadlines communicated while the relationship is building.

When expectations are communicated clearly within the team, everyone is able to see the big picture, evaluate each piece, analyze the priorities, and proactively execute each needed step.  This is what brings TEAMWORK to your team!

Simple example: If I say to my EA, “Make sure my inbox is handled each morning before I get to the office” and don’t provide any type of direction or expectations, there will be a problem immediately.  Let’s say this EA has had 25 years of EA experience and handling inboxes.  That honestly means very little as her previous CEO might have liked things handled vastly different than what I have in mind. 

All of this should allow us to see why expectations are so important!

Clearly defining and stating expectations – for yourself and your teammate – is more valuable than you might realize! Nobody is a mind-reader and we all need a mark to aim for so communicate your expectations very clearly to your team.

6.    Hand over everything and let her dig into your systems, folders and files, inbox… everything!  

I know, this feels a little bit invasive.  I mean, you’ve just met this person, right?  Yes, I know.  If you’ve been around long, I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about trust and if not, you can read all about my reason for trusting first and trusting until I can’t anymore here!

In this specific situation here at Rock Solid, I want our newest amazing team member to really know what we’re all about, what we’ve already discussed publicly, what we love to shout from the rooftops the most, and all the other ways we’ve worked to bring value to a world who is quickly learning the benefits of leading well and working with amazing virtual assistants.  Once our initial meeting is over, Christina will walk her through our systems and Trello boards.  She will explain, in detail, how she has been handling everything and how she’d like it to continue.  She will then give our newest team member access to every piece of content ever created and those currently in progress. 

We want her to scour all of it in depth!  How do we speak with our followers?  Is our tone more of a professional one or more laid back?  Do we use too many exclamation points?  (I’m sure I’ll receive a guilty verdict on this one!)  Does she immediately see any areas we could improve upon?  Does she see where we could be more efficient time-wise in our current strategy?  I want her to really get a feel for what we are hoping to communicate about Rock Solid to our friends online!  During our first weekly meeting, I want to discuss all of the things she read as well as collaborate with her – I can’t wait to hear her amazing ideas!  …and that brings me to my final point —

7. Establish communication channels and set up weekly meetings!

In our case here at Rock Solid, we will add our new teammate to our Slack channels and Voxer on day one!  I will introduce her to all of our internal-team members but don’t normally introduce her to our external teams until she’s had a chance to get a bit more comfortable and gain some understanding of our processes and normal procedures. I will also get her on the weekly team-meeting schedule.  The sooner you make these weekly meetings a habit, the sooner you’ll build your work relationship and see the abundant fruit of your efforts!  Remember, you want your team to have access to you at all times.  An open channel for communication sets everyone up for success!

The first couple of weeks might feel bumpy here and there!  You’re in new waters, out of your comfort zone.  Implementing these steps and being intentional with feedback at each weekly meeting will ensure smooth sailing! Remember, you’ve made wise decisions and hired well, you’re putting in the work to lead well, and the best is yet to come! 

The post How To Get Started with a Virtual Assistant appeared first on Sage Wedding Pros.

Kimberly & Annie of This Week in Weddings had me on to talk about WTH to do with your business! We laughed, we cried… we cried, and we cried (inside). I’m sharing strategies for how to get past the economic hit. Go take a listen here.

The post How to Prepare for an Economic Downturn: This Week in Weddings Podcast appeared first on Sage Wedding Pros.

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