All in Mindset

WeddingIQ Retrospective: Real Talk on Motivation, Revisited

(Editor's Note: Today, we continue our monthlong look back at some of our most personal and popular posts of all time. Read on as Kyle reminisces about her July 2015 post, "Real Talk on Motivation: What Keeps Us Going When Life Pulls Us Down?")

When I originally wrote this post in July 2015, I felt very lost. It was five months after my mom had passed from a long struggle with cancer (among other personal and family tragedies), and despite my best effort, I was not where I wanted to be emotionally or professionally. I had the naive notion that I would immediately get back to my life right where it had left off and continue growing my business.

WeddingIQ: How Everything Has Changed, and What's Next

I remember when I first had the idea for what would become WeddingIQ. It was very early in 2012. I'd been running my DJ company for about 10 years, mainly overseeing the customer service and administrative side of things. My then-husband and business partner had stepped back from the day-to-day operations of the company to pursue other things, leaving me at the helm. Even with the added responsibility, I just felt like something was missing. Part of it was that I wasn't feeling particularly challenged anymore - I'm definitely someone who likes to take on new things - and part of it was that I knew I wasn't doing everything I was capable of doing in this industry, one that I'd been part of since I was 21 years old.

Plus, because I'd largely systematized the DJ business so that, with the help of a great assistant, it functioned pretty smoothly without my constant supervision, I had time on my hands and my wheels always seemed to be turning. (Basically, every rant you've ever read on WeddingIQ began as a monologue inside my very chaotic brain.)  And, increasingly, I wanted to give my thoughts a voice, a platform. I found myself feeling called to do two things: to help other business owners to become more effective and successful, and also to dissect some of the bullshit I observed in the wedding industry on a regular basis. If I'm being completely honest, I think I probably also believed I had it all figured out. At least most things. (Oh, if only I knew the humble pie I'd be eating later.)

Side Hustle Series: Alli Elmunzer of COLOR!

(Editor's Note: Our popular "Side Hustle Series" is back, this time with a twist! Today we're featuring Alli Elmunzer, a photographer who started out in weddings and eventually <gasp> got out! Her conscious decision to transition away from wedding photography, in an effort to build a career that would fit better into the lifestyle she wanted, is one i think is definitely worth discussing. As rooted as I am in the wedding industry, I'm also a firm believer that our passions, our priorities and our purpose can all evolve throughout our lives. I think it's a great thing when someone decides to make intentional changes to their career path, and Alli is a great example of that. She now focuses on commercial and styled product photography through her primary business, Turquoise and Palm, and recently launched her side hustle, a stock photography membership site called COLOR!

Read on to learn more about Alli's entrepreneurial journey, and about how her new venture fits in with her business and her life!)

Friday Five: 5 Attitude Adjustments to Augment Your Sales

I won't beat around the bush: selling your service or product in a wedding industry business can be hard. And when the clients you want to work with don't seem to be the ones inquiring, or when your offerings seem to be scaring off more prospects than they're enticing, it's easy to become disillusioned. And therein begins the vicious cycle: slow sales cause a sour mindset, which results in even slower sales.

This Friday Five series post doesn't have all the answers - your business issues could be caused by any number of things, from bad branding to misguided marketing to a tarnished reputation, and fixing them probably requires real work.However, if you're feeling bored, burnt out, bitter, or just plain blue, here are five adjustments to make to your attitude before it affects your sales.