Own Your Business Podcast

Success doesn't happen by accident. It’s done on purpose, when someone decides what they want with clarity and then maps out a plan to make it happen.

Today's guest, Twah Dougherty, started her career as a wedding photographer with a very specific intention. If you asked her, she would say it was her vision - and a big part of it relied on building expertise in a few key areas for her business. 

Today, Twah shares her story of stacking those skills she needed to grow her business into the powerhouse it is now.

• How to communicate with affluent and ultra-affluent buyers

• How to pinpoint your ideal client avatar and create messages that matter

• How to identify the soul of your business and remain true to it as you grow

Social media strategy is more than just posting pretty pictures.

At least that's what we say at Duet Social Media, the new agency, Abby Jiu and I cofounded during the winter.

I had Abby on a few months ago to discuss 2025 social media trends, and we had an outstanding response from the audience. On today's episode, we talk about how to create a strategy for mid and long-term success based on more than just showcasing your portfolio in your IG grid.

You'll take away from the conversation:

• Core components for a solid social strategy

• The power of a personal brand story on IG

• Simple ways to engage your audience to boost your posts

• Three common misconceptions about social media in the wedding industry at the luxury level

Get ready for your head to get bigger - and hopefully your inbox fill with more ideal clients - in the next 40 minutes.

Everyone in the wedding industry wants to level up their business. So it's not a matter of if, it’s more how. 

How do you pick the right kind of client? How do you align yourself with the right kind of professional in your network? How do you prioritize all the different tasks that need to be done as the boss? How do you allocate your time, money, energy, and resources to get from where you are to where you want to be?

Today I bring on my friend and client Julian Leaver, to talk about his journey over the last decade building a wedding business that targeted very specific ideal clients in three distinct phases as he grew his company.

We dive into:

• What kind of ideal client he started with when his business got going

• When he knew that it was time to level up

• Why he chose to pursue a safer path with more steps rather than make big leaps

• How he found that fast is slow and slow is smooth when it comes to elevating your brand

If you're looking for real talk about what it's like to level up your business from someone who made the moves over the last decade, this is a conversation you don't wanna miss.

Many business owners in the wedding industry got their start accidentally. Others found their way here because of a passion for creativity or art, and wanted to express it as a profession.

But there are a handful of others who had a dream of being an entrepreneur, and found the wedding space as fertile ground for planning the seeds of their business ideas.

Today's guest, Brittany Lo, founder and owner of Beautini and Beia, joins me on the podcast to discuss her journey as an entrepreneur over the last decade, including:

• How she delegates work to a team in order to grow her business

• What she spends most of her time on as the CEO of the companies

• Where she seeks guidance and support when she's expected to have all the answers

• Recommendations for spending more of your time working on the business rather than in business

If you wanna take your company to the next level, you have to know how to be a boss. Brittany shares exactly how to do that.

Who wants more time back for personal life? Or maybe you want to spend more time doing things you love with your business rather than things you don't or things that are difficult?

The key to making these things happen is freeing up room in your calendar by getting other people to do work for you. 

One of the best ways to bring in somebody to help take care of miscellaneous tasks that are under your pay grade or you don't like doing - or both - is to hire a VA. Where do you begin? And how do you find the right one? And what do you have them work on?

Today, I sit down with Katie Hendricks, owner of the VA agency, Masterfully Managed, who runs a team of VAs for luxury wedding vendors who want to spend more time doing what they love and less time stressed about the details they don’t want to worry about.

You’ll learn:

• When is it time to consider a VA?

• How could you tell which VA will be the right fit for you?

• What kind of work can a VA help with?

• Are there any red flags to watch out for when hiring or assigned to a new VA?