Weddings for Real

Wedding venue coordinators are likely to be your number one source for referral business. So why aren't they referring you right now? Megan asked venue coordinators throughout the country why they refer planners (or not) - and shares the inside information. 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...

As an industry in 2020, we had some pretty major legal issues. With events being delayed, we all had to look back at our contracts and wonder: Are we able to keep all of the deposits?What other money are we entitled to?Can we charge more for postponing the weddings? How do we protect ourselves from this in the future? It was chaos, and we don’t want it to happen again. Girija Patel tells us how to tighten up. GBPLaw.com YourContractBuddy.com Law Chat with Girija This episode is...

Any wedding planner - including your competition - can put together an amazing event if they have enough budget to work with. So what sets you apart? What makes you special? Today, Megan gives 6 potential superpowers and discusses how you can lean into yours. 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...

Hey there, I’m Megan Gillikin, and this podcast is for fellow wedding pros that know what it really takes to thrive as a professional in the wedding industry, because it’s NOT what they show you in the movies. spoiler alert, It takes more than the wave of a wand or the toss of confetti to take someone's special day from BIG idea to BIG success. But you knew that… in each episode I talk with other wedding industry experts to get real world tested advice on ways to better your business on the...

2020 was a year like none other, but there were many silver linings and hidden blessings throughout the chaos. Today, Megan and Jason Gillikin talk about wins, fails, and goals for 2021. 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...

You know that competitor in your market you just can't stand? The one that you're always up against, and you take business away from each other? What if you decided to collaborate with them to build an elite superstar team? Would you ever do that? Well today you'll hear from James x Schulze, two photographers who combined their talents to grow both professionally and creatively, and they’re talking all about what they’ve learned from the collaboration. This episode is brought to you by...

What are your daily habits? Do you wake up early? Do you read? Do you journal? Unless you pressed the wrong button, I’m guessing you might listen to podcasts? Well, I’m trying to improve myself every day, and daily habits are something I’m working on. I’m nowhere near where I want to be, but I’m thriving off of being a work in progress. Today we're joined by Kim Montoya from Twenty 156 Events, who gives us actionable tips to making the most out of your day by building habits. This episode...

Do you have a circle of trust? A proverbial board of advisors? I do and it’s made up of a diverse group of people from my life who each know me in a different way and who I trust and respect their voice as someone I want to hear their insight on when it comes to decisions within my business. Their input throughout my career and my professional growth has been invaluable, and I encourage you to find your board of advisors too. On this episode, I’m going to let you know who should - and who...

Do you suffer from squirrel brain? Symptoms include not being able to get $h!t done because your mind is wandering off in so many different directions on calls you need to make or emails you need to send or big picture ideas or whatever else that’s on your mind and all of a sudden you’ve wasted your time not getting anything done at all. I suffer from squirrel brain, and if you’re running a business or in the wedding industry, my guess is you could be a victim as well. But Brandee Gaar is...

Today we're talking to Braden Drake, who describes himself as "your gay best friend, but also an attorney who's going to help you with your taxes." Braden somehow manages to make a boring (yet super-important) topic actually interesting, and gives us 3 mistakes we're probably making with our cash flow and taxes. On the show, you'll hear about Braden's upcoming masterclass, "SETTING UP YOUR CASH FLOW, TAXES, AND LEGALITIES FOR 2021", which is Tuesday November 10th at either 12PM EST or 3PM...

Join me on this solo episode where I give you 8 quick and easy (yet important and impactful) tips to audit your website, just in time for engagement season. 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...

Today we’re talking all about inclusive language - what to say and what not to say in what has historically been a very bride centric, straight, thin, pretty, white, and rich industry. As Taylor Griffith from Lemon Tree Editorial points out, that’s not what the world looks like, so it’s time to make some changes - on our websites, on our social media, in our contracts, and even in our speech. On the show, you'll hear about a collaborative workshop from Sam and Megan - Packages and Pricing...

Today we’re talking to Sam Jacobson from Ideaction Consulting about the sales process, how to empathize with your clients right now and what you should NOT be doing when it comes to the initial consultation….and Sam’s going to be sharing some easy actionable shifts you can make ASAP. If you remember, Sam was on the podcast back in 2019 for one of the fan favorites, Episode 73, The Four Buying Types. On the show, you'll hear about a collaborative workshop from Sam and Megan - Packages and...

Join me on this solo episode where I give you 7 tips for balancing it all - life, business, family, personal pursuits. We're all works in progress, and no one has figured it out, but I have some ideas that can help. 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...

Today we're sharing an episode previously published on the She Creates Business Podcast with Kinsey Roberts. From SCB: I'm honored to welcome back to the podcast, my friend and fellow podcaster, Megan Gillikin. Megan and I have recently had many, hard, and truthful conversations about what owning a business and being entrepreneurs have cost us. What we want to do differently in the years ahead and what is REALLY important to us and how we'd like to be remembered. (hint: we don't want...

It’s August 2020, five months removed from our two-week pause that we were supposed to have in March. That’s about half of your year that has probably gone up in flames, and let’s be honest, you’re probably not going to meet your goals for 2020. So what are you doing about it? What’s your pivot? What are some new ways that you’re growing your business? Dixie Bagley from Rome Georgia has 8 businesses, all in the hospitality industry, and we’re going to talk about what you can do to...

The Planner's Vault Reopen Webinar Have your wedding planning goals gone up in flames in 2020? Come join me Wednesday, Aug 5th at 8:30 pm EST for a free training on How to Stay Alive & Thrive During The Most Important Engagement Season of Your Career Despite Pandemics, Cancellations, & Reschedules - YIKES! On this webinar training (sign up at https://www.theplannersvault.com/survive2020) you'll discover the answers every wedding planner needs to know, including: * 3 different pivots...

Megan and Jason Gillikin celebrate the 10-year anniversary of A Southern Soiree, and Megan shares her top ten lessons learned over the past decade - lessons she's now bringing into The Planner's Vault. Weddings for Real is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest experts on many topics relevant to growing and cultivating a successful...

This pandemic has caused delays, cancellations, stress, tears, more delays, unanswerable questions, confusion...it really sucks to be in the wedding industry right now. But here's what it can't change - couples getting engaged and booking wedding vendors. So in this solo episode, here are 3 things you can change right now for more bookings. Weddings for Real is brought to you by The Planner's Vault, a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively...

In 2012, Julie Bunkley had run Invision Events in Birmingham Alabama for 7 years, and the business was doing...fine. But it wasn't growing. She knew that to grow, she had to find a true #2, not just someone to help out at weddings. She was lucky enough to hire Courtney Wolf, and the two of them have been a dynamic duo ever since. On the show today, they talk about hiring for your #2, and keeping them engaged and happy. In addition to Invision, Julie and Courtney also run the Educate |...