Show Notes:
Today I am chatting with Ashley Ebert, owner of the Abundance Group about all things Disney! When we discovered our shared love of the happiest place on earth, I knew I had to get her on the podcast to discuss all things Disney – and what we can learn in our wedding businesses. We discuss innovation, customer service, suprise and delight and attention to detail.
Whether you are a Disney lover like us or not, there is something to learn from today’s episode!
Visit the Abundance Group website
Time Stamps:
00:01 – Embracing Competition and Innovation
10:59 – The Magic of Disney: Lessons for Business Owners
17:50 – Creating Magic: Lessons from Disney for the Wedding Industry
35:31 – The Magic of Generosity and Pixie Dust
Transcript:
Becca
00:00:00.240 – 00:00:25.280
I agree. I agree. There’s absolutely a lesson here of, like, let competition better you. And you just should never say stay stagnant.
Because if, if Disney doesn’t have to, like, you know, and they still choose to move and make these decisions and again, get into the mind of their buyer and how can they serve them and show up and get them excited? Like, shouldn’t we be that excited for the people that we serve and take care of? And if somebody knew.
Ashley
00:00:25.280 – 00:01:25.150
I’m Becca Poutney, wedding business marketing expert, speaker and blogger, and you’re listening to the wedding pros who are Ready to grow podc. I’m here to share with you actionable tips, strategies and real life examples to help you take your wedding business to the next level.
If you are an ambitious wedding business owner that wants to take your passion and use it to build a profitable, sustainable business doing what you love, then you’re in the right place. Let’s get going with today’s episode. Today I’m chatting with founder of the Abundance Group, Ashley Ebert.
Having scaled her wedding planning business to a team of over 30 planners across seven locations, she now supports other wedding pros to scale.
But today’s conversation is going to take us in a totally different direction as I recently discovered that me and Ashley have a very big shared love of Disney.
So today we’re going to be geeking out over all things Disney and discover the business practices that you can learn from the happiest place on earth. So I cannot wait to get into this discussion. I’ve recorded a lot of these episodes and this is one that I’m very excited about.
Ashley, welcome to the podcast.
Becca
00:01:25.480 – 00:01:26.840
Yay. I’m so excited.
Ashley
00:01:28.040 – 00:01:51.320
I am also incredibly excited.
And when I realized that you were as big about Disney as I was and as big about weddings and helping pros as I was, I was like, we need to be friends and we need to talk about it on the podcast. So we are going to start not by talking about your business history because that’s not what we’re here for.
Today I want to talk about your Disney history. So I want to know when your personal love of Disney, and particularly the Disney parks began.
Becca
00:01:51.480 – 00:03:39.690
Oh, man, when did I not love Disney? So, gosh, I think, I mean, I’ve always, when I was a kid, I was grew, I’m an 80s baby, grew up in the 90s. So I was, I always watched Disney movies.
My grandma, who was a huge influence in my life, loved Disney. So we would watch movies together and I went to the parks, you know, I live in Minnesota, so It’s about a 2 1/2, 3 hour plane ride to Florida.
So my family and I would go. I probably went, I don’t know, three or four times since I was a kid. And it’s. There’s just nothing like it.
And it has not changed at all as an adult experiencing it. It’s just magic and joy and it’s a. And like I say, I think it’s just always been in my bones.
My husband is funny because he had never been as a kid and probably like, well, Henley, my daughter is seven and a half, and my Disney nerdiness did not fully come out until she was like four or five. We started to go to the parks and I was like, okay. So Nate went and he said to me, oh, my gosh, Becca, you’re gonna die. He has never been.
And there’s like a very small. I use amusement park with like a very, you know, very not good guy. Like, it’s very small, but there’s a small place called Valley Fair in Minnesota.
And he’s like, isn’t it just like a glorified Valley fair? And I was like, you take that out of your mouth. No. And so he had never been. So then he. He goes and he was like, oh, okay, I get it now.
So then he basically, like, opened the floodgates to them. If he loved it, I could really show my crazy Disney side. So that’s kind of like the history behind it.
But it’s just, yeah, always been in my family and now very excited. That’s a huge part of my, you know, Nate Henley.
Ashley
00:03:39.690 – 00:04:09.630
And I love that. And it does change because for me, it’s exactly the same. So as a child, I grew up, we took a couple of big family holidays over to Florida.
Obviously it’s a long way from. For in the uk, but it’s kind of a rite of passage as a child here that you get to go to Florida, to Disney. And I loved it.
But nothing beat the day I took my kids to Disney.
It was like, took Disney up a notch because now not only are you reliving your own childhood memories, but you’re getting to give your own children memories as well. Isn’t that an incredible feeling?
Becca
00:04:09.710 – 00:05:02.560
100%. And people always say, like, I know I’m sure we’re going to get into, like, Disney adults and like, the belief around Disney adults.
But there’s nothing like the joy you feel as a kid, like, just complete and utter, like, unabashed, beautiful optimism joy.
But then as you have kids there’s this human, you know, for me, I have just hen and, you know, there’s this human I love more than life that now I can literally see the gleam in her eye when she experiences it. And it’s tenfold of what my experience was, because it’s your baby having that. And it’s just like it’s compounded and. Absolutely. I 100% agree.
I abs like I have grown to love Disney more because of that. And I know we’re going to get into, like, the business side and how they, you know, treat their customers.
And again, as a business owner, again, compound, love it even more because I see really, the heart behind what they do.
Ashley
00:05:02.560 – 00:05:31.580
Yeah, that’s exactly what I was going to say. Because although we can say, yeah, we can see it in our child’s eyes, as business owners, we also know that that’s not accidental.
It’s the choices that the company have made, every little detail, the way they pay attention to everything that we’ll get into shortly that makes that happen. There is definitely no accident behind Disney. Everything is perfectly cur and perfectly planned.
Now, before we get into the business side of things, there’s a couple of things I need to know as a fellow Disney lover. I want to know, first of all, what’s your favorite park in Florida?
Becca
00:05:34.060 – 00:06:10.279
So worst answer ever is they’re like, I like them all for different reasons. So I love, you know, they’re all great. I love Magic Kingdom the most. Nostalgia.
Like, the castle my husband and I have talked about, like, what’s your favorite place on the planet? And I’m like, main street, like, what? Like, by far, like, even more than my bed in my house. And I love my house. Who put me on Main Street?
And I’m happy, but, like, walking around the corner, seeing the castle, like, just it being right there, it’s just. I don’t know. There’s. It’s like chills. Absolutely. Main Street. So Magic Kingdom. Yeah. Yeah.
Ashley
00:06:10.279 – 00:06:22.600
To be honest, I’m right there with you as well. There’s nothing like Magic Kingdom and specifically Magic Kingdom for me in Florida.
I’ve been to Paris before, and it’s good, but there’s something that’s just not quite as good as Magic Kingdom in Florida.
Becca
00:06:22.600 – 00:06:39.380
See, I’ve never been. I’m dying to go to Paris. We’re trying to make a trip out there, a bunch of other educators early next year.
But I’m like, my goal, I’m sure I have to imagine this is your goal, too, is to. To visit all the parks, like, Worldwide like, see all of them. And now Dubai is in the mix. And I’m like, this is incredible.
Ashley
00:06:40.100 – 00:06:49.380
It’s wild. My parents are about to take a trip to Japan and they’re considering visiting Disney Seas while they’re out there. And I’m like, stop considering it.
Like, make it happen. It needs to happen.
Becca
00:06:49.380 – 00:06:52.820
And then I will join. Like, right. As a guy, I’m. I’m in it. I’ll just go.
Ashley
00:06:53.940 – 00:07:12.080
Exactly. It’s crazy. Okay, so your favorite part’s Magic Kingdom. Mine too now.
Thing I used to not like as much about Magic Kingdom was the lack of rides in terms of like big thrill rides. But I do feel like they’re starting to improve that. Which brings me on to my favorite ride.
For me, my new favorite ride is definitely Tron in Magic Kingdom. Insane.
Becca
00:07:13.679 – 00:08:13.520
Well, and they’re doing so much, I think, with the. Especially for the Orlando parks. Like, because Epic Universe is out, it’s like Disney had to double down.
So this is why again, like business strategy. And I’m always nerding out. Like, you know, when your competitors do something, it makes you up your game. And that’s exactly what happened.
But who benefits? Us. We all benefit the client, so. And the. And the customers and so. But yeah, I know they’re like having a villains universe.
There’s gonna be some cars. Like there’s a really cool cars ride I love in land that they don’t necessarily have anything similar.
And I think they’re bringing that in and like Coco Encanto, all these different spaces and I’m like, I’m here for it. But absolutely. I think they are upping their game when it comes to the more thrill thrill rides. They have Guardians now, Guardians of the Galaxy.
At EP that I went on with Sarah Dunn, a mutual friend of ours, for the very first time. And then we realized we were both old and we walked off that thing and I looked at her, I was like, are you good?
And she was like, I don’t really know. And I was like, no, me neither. Just the ones. Just the one time for us.
Ashley
00:08:14.480 – 00:08:15.680
Another great ride though.
Becca
00:08:15.920 – 00:08:17.120
It is. Totally is.
Ashley
00:08:17.120 – 00:08:45.260
But do you think in business, right?
Seriously now, when we talk about business and looking at this whole Disney upping their game because of Epic Universe, is there really that much competition? Because when I was out there recently, I went out to Universal. Epic Universe wasn’t open, but the other two parks were. We had 14 days in Disney.
We did two days in Universal. We did everything we could in two parts in Universal in two days. But we still didn’t do everything we could have done in the 14 Days in Disney.
So is it really as much competition as we think it might be?
Becca
00:08:45.340 – 00:10:02.580
I’m very biased, and I think it’s like, when you’re bought in. Like, my husband was like, someday we’re gonna go to Universal, right?
And I was like, yeah, if you go alone, like, I am not gonna be that close and not be there. Like, it’s just my happy place. So it’s like, I think they create such a cult following, like, Community, that’s like, nope, sorry. Like, this is it.
And like, again, what a.
What a joy to be a member of the community, but also to watch, like, how well Disney treats their community and loves on them and creates these opportunities, these surprise and delights, these experiences, these. And there’s a thousand different ways that they’re hooking into the psychology of human behavior.
And, like, pin trading in exclusives and annual passholders merch. Right. Like, events like, the rabbit hole only goes deeper the further you get in. And I don’t know, I love that.
Like, I want to, like, be in the know of it. So I think that there’s just so much depth to Disney that I don’t think Universal is ever going to be able to touch.
And yes, it’s an amusement park in the same location. They’re a little bit more affordable. So, like, is there. Is there some competition? Yeah. Is it really ever going to, like, overtake Disney? Not. I will.
I will. No, I will. I will personally make sure it doesn’t.
Ashley
00:10:03.460 – 00:10:35.480
But what’s great and a great lesson for us as business owners in the wedding is that actually, even though the chances of Universal beating them is quite low, and although they know they’re probably the biggest player in the market, they haven’t sat on their laurels and they’ve realized, oh, there’s this excitement going on over here. So instead of just going, oh, they’ll never touch me, they’re still improving and still learning.
And I think there’s a danger as wedding business owners. I see it where people get really big in a market and new people come in and they think, now this is no threat to me. And they don’t change anything.
And that’s when businesses get caught out.
Becca
00:10:35.480 – 00:11:34.040
I agree. I agree. There’s absolutely a lesson here of, like, let competition better you. And you just should never say, stay stagnant. Because if.
If Disney doesn’t have to, like, you know, and they still choose to move and make these decisions and, again, get into the mind of their buyer and how can they serve them and show up and. And get them excited? Like, shouldn’t we be that excited for the people that we serve and take care of?
And if somebody new, you know, on the block comes, like, I’m all about abundance mindset. It’s literally the namesake of the company, the abundance group. Right. And so it’s like, welcome them in and learn from them and go, cool.
Content creation. They’re on TikTok. Like, I’m old. Okay. That’s not, you know, I’m born in the 80s, so, you know. Right. So it’s like. But that’s really amazing.
And what are they doing? And curiosity, I think, always plays a really palpable role in the evolution of different iterations of business.
And I, I think Disney’s done it beautifully. And I think, again, yeah, absolutely. A lesson for us as small business owners.
Ashley
00:11:34.040 – 00:12:45.190
Yeah. And I think the thing is, I say often to my clients, we need to look at these huge companies.
Of course, we don’t have the budget, of course we don’t have the team compared to them. However, we can still learn from their best practices.
So I want to talk to you about some of the best practices that I’ve personally experienced or seen in the Disney World just to get your thoughts and opinions on how we can learn from it in the wedding industry as well. So the first thing is, one of the things I’m quite well known for saying here in the UK is the phrase Disney never discount.
So we have a lot of attraction parks here in the uk, which is. Are not that good. They’re okay. And everyone knows that you never pay full price to go in.
If you want to go into the attraction, you just buy some hand soap from the supermarket and you get a two for one. So no one is ever paying full ticket price unless they’re an unsuspecting tourist. So I started saying this phrase, Disney never discount.
Because trust me, if you want to go into that Disney park, you are paying the full price. You cannot buy a bar of Soap with a 2 for 1 discount on it.
And so I started saying this to basically encourage my suppliers to value themselves and to realize, you know, if you’re the best of the best, you don’t need to discount. So how do we think Disney get away with it? How do they keep on charging a premium? And why can we learn from that?
Becca
00:12:45.190 – 00:14:57.980
It’s because it’s layered, right? It’s layered. It’s not just an amusement park. Right. Like you say, if it was just an amusement park.
Now you’re Competing in that same space with some of the other players. The universals, the whatever. It’s the local, the, the Valley fairs that my husband. But they’re not an amusement park. They are, they’re a culture.
They’re an identity to some extent. Like, we identify with the characters, we identify with, you know, spaces, experiences. They’re nostalgia.
Especially as kids, like, we had, you know, for us, that we were very fortunate, had beautiful childhoods. So it’s like there’s this like, oh, yeah, that was so great. So it’s so layered and it’s so ingrained.
You know, the other thing is, you know, I don’t think people realize it, but they see Disney every day. Day. Like Disney’s, Disney’s, you know, thumbprint is everywhere.
And, you know, moving away from just the, the parks and, you know, Minnie and Mickey or whatever, they are a global conglomerate that’s worth like $215 billion last I looked, which was probably like a week ago, because I’m always curious. But. Right. So it’s like there’s this profound impact that the brand has.
And so it’s this, this kind of permeation of these different layers of our life. And so it’s not just like, go to the park. It’s like, it’s the lore. It’s why I’m on the podcast and why we connect.
It’s like, oh, we love this entire entity that they have done such a good job of creating connection with.
We’re connected to the experience, we’re connected to the nostalgia, we’re connected to the characters, we’re connected to the team members, the cast members. Like, you know, you have that experience where you see like, TikTok videos or Instagram reels where the.
Maybe it’s just me because my whole feed is curated Disney, but the, you know, the trap, the people that pick up trash, but they’re, they’re like sweeping leaves into, you know, Mickey. Like, that’s the kind of thing where it’s like, if they love their job that much, they’re joy filled. That’s contagious. So it’s just, it’s.
It’s completely immersive. And I think that’s, that’s like the Disney magic of it all.
Ashley
00:14:58.140 – 00:15:27.070
It absolutely is. And also, I think it is a premium experience. You pay a premium ticket price, but those small things make it a premium experience.
Whereas if I go to the, the attraction park in the uk, which is nowhere near as good, things are broken down. There’s grumpy teenage teenagers working on the concessions They’ve run out of hot dogs.
Like, and it’s not until you go to Disney and think logically about it, it that you realize, oh, these don’t. These things don’t really happen here as much. And if they do, they make it a really nice experience.
Becca
00:15:27.550 – 00:17:50.660
Yeah, well, it was funny.
We were in land, and my husband and I were, of course, at the World of Disney shops, the place where my credit card doesn’t exist and I just buy whatever I want, which is, like, the only place that I have no boundaries. And except for the. I’ve had to. Okay, sorry, tangent, Becca. I have had to buy suitcases while I was down there because I bought so much merchant.
This is the lore of Disney for me. But we were in the world of Disney, and receipt, like, flew out of the bag, and my husband turned around to go, like, run and grab it.
And by the time he had, like, put the bag down and turned around to, like, go run, a cast member already grabbed it. If you go. If you experience, like, the footprint of Disney parks, like, you will not see trash. You will not see dead plants. You will not. Like.
It is the level of. Of effortless perfection. It’s not this rigidity.
It’s just this excellence that, again, is just so intrinsic in the culture of Disney to then walk into it and everybody talks about, like, the Disney bubble. It’s so real. It’s so real. And it’s so. I think it’s because it’s so unreal to some extent, too, because it’s like, that’s not real how real life is.
And a lot of people go on vacation. They go to, like. For me and Becca, I don’t know if you’re the same way, but my. My mind is always thinking about my business. Oh, I can’t turn it off.
But when I go through the Disney bubble, nobody can touch me there. And I’m just in, like, I’m just in this joyful place.
And so you kind of go there to get lost in this truly, like, unreal place that has attention to detail that is so astute. And it’s just. It’s a sight to behold and feel. And again, that’s kind of back to, like, why does Disney thrive?
It’s because all of these different little, tiny nuances.
And you’ll always, like, you said you were there for 14 days, and I’d love to hear some of the things that you were like, whoa, I didn’t even think of that. Like, they’re drone shows and, like, all this stuff that’s Just so above and beyond.
But yeah, I think that’s really the thing that makes Disney something that we, I want to emulate that my, my, my TAG members feel that are part of my community, but also like my, you know, the planning side of my life that our clients feel. And that’s something we can transition into our business.
Ashley
00:17:50.660 – 00:18:31.280
Yeah. And there is so much synergy. Right. Because we’re saying that when we go to Disney there’s this feeling of escapism. We’re in this bubble.
And actually that’s how a couple should feel on a wedding day. Like this should be the most magical moment of their life. They should be able to leave everything else behind.
They shouldn’t be worrying about a bit of trash on the floor yet. I think just don’t do enough to give them that experience. And by we, I mean the wedding industry as a whole.
I mean you see some of the statistics that come out of these surveys about how many people just felt like a number when they were hired by their wedding suppliers and stuff like that. And you think, why are we not just doing a little bit more, even improving our businesses by 1% in the way that Disney does?
Because then we will give the clients the dream experience that they’re hoping for.
Becca
00:18:31.280 – 00:20:28.740
And I think a little bit of this comes. We actually is so funny.
We just had this conversation the other day in our group because when we’re doing it for so long, I think we lose the magic of it. We don’t stop to think how important this day is for our couples, for our clients. And it’s, I get it.
Because it is our lived, it is our life, it is our everyday. And like how do we, how do we breathe life into that kind of joyful youth?
When we were, when we were in the wedding industry, I was started in my 20s, right. And I would just, I remember, I remember walking into a venue and bright eyed, you know, and I was like, who gets married here? This is so beautiful.
And then you know, 15 years in, I’m like, oh, you know, seen this place before. Did, did 600 weddings here.
So it’s like how, how can you continually just breathe back life into the, the old joy that you had as when you first got in the industry and you were new and probably terrified as we all were like don’t screw this up. You know, like that, like ownership and I think getting back to that place.
And again a lot of the, the you know, TAG members like burnout is so real because they’ve been in the industry for a long time. They’re making multi six figures. Like, okay, well, you know, how do we really continually bring. Bring that magic, right?
How do we continually do that?
And I think the way that I’ve always led my team to do it is thinking about the individual, thinking about the couple getting invested and connected with them. Again, this is what Disney does, right? The mom, the dad. Like, how do. How can. How can we make their experience here unlike anything they’ve had?
How can we make this couple’s experience unlike anything they’ve ever experienced within, you know, our vendor category?
So, yeah, I. I know it happens that we kind of lose that sparkle, and when we realize we’re losing it, you gotta work hard to get it back, because it’s important.
Ashley
00:20:29.060 – 00:21:15.290
Yeah, absolutely. And we need to realize that that’s every client, that’s their best day ever, and we need to enter that day to give them their best day ever.
So let’s talk about how Disney do that then. Because one of the things we talked about already a little bit is how incredible their.
They call them cast members, which I absolutely love as a stagey person, too. Like, and the idea is that when they step out there, they step on stage.
Now, I am sure that in their heads, for some of them, they are probably thinking, this isn’t as exciting as it was on day one when I’m on, like, year 13, but yet they still treat everyone like it’s the first day that they’ve ever seen any of this stuff. So how do we think they achieve that? Because there must be learnings that we can get from them, because we may only be doing a wedding once a week.
Once a month, they’re going in those parks six days a week and having to live like that.
Becca
00:21:15.370 – 00:23:02.810
I think for me, it’s because it’s an identity. Right? They call them cast members like it is a. There is, again, there is an intentionality that they’re not just, like, team members. Right.
And that’s what we call our people. It’s like, no, they are. And again, cast members has all this connotation of performance, of showing up of this importance. Right?
And so I think that they. You know, actually, funny enough, my managing director at Simply Elgat, my planning company, she was a jungle skipper on the, like, the Disney ride.
And yes, Bucket List was riding Jungle Jungle Cruise with Lindsey Mackie. And watching her do, like, the whole. It was a. It was such an epic moment in my life. But you. You embrace this character as a cast member, and you.
There’s this onus and responsibility to the character you’re playing that, I think allows them to get into that mindset that’s different than, again, just a regular old job. And I think that was really smart and I think that makes a whole lot of sense.
And again, when the cast members are in that mindset, when they’re showing up, and again, I think they do get to see the magic of the little boy whose eyes are gleaming, or, you know, the little girl that dropped her ice cream. Like, oh, an easy thing is to get her a new ice cream. But that’s like the whole world.
Like, where can we find those moments where, you know, on the wedding day, you know, grandma needs a glass of water and we can notice and just like go over there and talk to her and take care of her. Can I get you a glass of water? You know, like, just stuff like that.
How can we kind of up level and be, you know, servant hearted to those people that are around us on the wedding days, to our clients, and honestly to vendors too, to each other? I think that’s really key in a way to kind of live that same mentality within our own businesses.
Ashley
00:23:02.970 – 00:23:46.690
Often it is those simplest things that make the biggest difference to someone’s day, both at a wedding or in Disney. They’re not complicated things. It costs, what, a couple of cents to replace an ice cream.
But to that parent, to that child, to the rest of the extended family, that probably changes the whole day. It takes us 10 seconds out of our day to offer the grandma a glass of water. Yet often we don’t do it.
Often we’re just thinking about ourselves or we’re just thinking about when’s this day gonna end. And so it’s definitely an intentional thing. So maybe we do need to, on a wedding day, almost become a character.
Even if we’ve had a terrible day, we gotta leave it outside the door and we’ve gotta go, right? How can I show up as who I was on day one with the enthusiasm that I had on day one? Because for this couple, it’s their day one.
Becca
00:23:46.690 – 00:24:50.490
Yeah.
And you have to like, like constantly be like, curating for yourself that inspiration of, okay, I’m having this day and this is my life and this is their, their wedding day. This is their, the day they’ve been, you know, some people look forward to for decades. Right?
Like, so what a beautiful thing that we have the honor to be a part of it and to be chosen to be there. And I think we should show up that way for sure. And like, don’t get me wrong, like, like, sometimes It’s a drag.
Sometimes people are drunk and it’s not super fun. And someone else’s behavior shouldn’t actually affect how you show up because you’re in control of how you present yourself.
The business, the brand, and that integrity and that belief and commitment is what makes you a superior. You know, like, that’s what continues that excellence. And again, we’re in total control of that.
No matter what happens, we’re in total control of that.
Ashley
00:24:50.490 – 00:26:24.770
Yeah. And I guarantee there are a lot of visitors to the Disney parks who are absolute morons.
And yet those Disney cast members will still show up as the best version of themselves and they will do the things right. So, you know, it’s not like we have it harder than they do.
I guarantee they have all sorts of interesting people that they come across on a daily basis. I’m sure they’ve got some stories now, because I’m a Disney nerd.
I recently read a book from a Disney cast member all about the kind of onboarding and the Disney experience and that kind of thing.
And one of the things that really stood out to me in this book when we’re thinking about the business of Disney was how they try and use all of the senses, especially in their parks, to engage you and to make you feel like you’re in this magical place. And I don’t think, again, this isn’t something we think about a lot.
I don’t think in our small businesses in the wedding industry about how we can can engage our couples different senses.
So a couple of the things that they were talking about in this book, obviously, sound music playing, changing music all of the time, depending on the theme of where you are. Music on the like. Music is a constant smell. They like, pump out the smells.
That’s why we all like being on Main street, because they’re pumping out those different smells. Like candy smells. Yeah, it smells like candy everywhere you go.
You can even buy the fragrances in a candle and then you’ve got the, like, the touch and how they make everything at child height so they can see in the windows. And like, there’s just so many different things about Disney. So I want to know, or let’s chat about it, maybe we can think of some ideas.
How can we take these thoughts about sight, smell, taste, touch. How can we bring them into our wedding businesses to give people better experiences?
Becca
00:26:24.770 – 00:28:27.330
This is a great question because. Right.
I think too we had talked about, like, what makes Dizzy, you know, magical and it’s because it’s immersive and when it’s just one of our senses. It’s not immersive. It’s just I saw something or I heard something. So it’s like, how do you make your, how do you make your clients feel something?
Right?
Like, how do we make them feel taken care of, you know, and again, we can kind of ideate here a little bit, but you know, can you when you’re having your in person meetings with them, if you have, you know, going to a coffee shop that’s something they enjoy or going to like, you know, like their favorite place or going and having a meal that they enjoy or like if, you know they love chocolate, like bringing that. Like, is there ways that you can learn their preferences that would be relatively simple.
I’m talking like a form they fill out and then just especially, you know, dripping those in and throughout the experience that they have in working with you. So, you know, if they love coffee, if they hate coffee, like whatever it is, how can we.
And I think the other thing this does is just makes them feel extremely important. And the personalization and the care that we’re in, the relationship, the one on one relationship we have, we actually have an edge up on Disney.
Disney has to make like, I don’t know what 10,000 people happy that are on Main street once a day, like, right? So they have to like appeal to the masses and they’re using human psychology on a super high level.
But we have the connection, we have the one on one. So we actually have more opportunity, I think, to do this really well and intentionally. And again, this doesn’t have to be overly complicated.
But how are we doing it in a way that they feel like, oh, I’m important and they see me and wow, I had no idea that they would care about this or notice that I even said this.
So it’s just I think, think ways to again have them feel immersed in your connection with them that I think we uniquely have in, in this beautiful wedding industry.
Ashley
00:28:27.570 – 00:29:51.160
I think there are a couple of spaces where people do have physical, you know, spaces that they work, maybe bridal stores, venues, maybe if you’re a photographer of the studio, where there are other things you could do in that space. I was having a conversation with a bridal store about how they could make their experience more magical inside the store.
And we were thinking about these different senses and we were just, again, we were just kind of coming with ideas about, you know, the touch. Like can we have some nice feeling rugs, can we have cushions? Like all of those kind of sensory things that make people feel Relaxed and cozy.
What are we serving them to drink? Is it their favorite drink? Do we have options so that they can have their favorite drink?
We talked about music because I was talking about the power of music and especially going back to nostalgia or your favorite music. Because if I don’t.
If you’ve ever had this experience, but if you ever walk into a bar or a restaurant or a room and your favorite song is playing or your favorite artist is playing, something lights up inside your brain and you’re like, this is the best day ever, because my favorite track’s playing. So are we thinking about recreating that? Are we asking people about their favorite music? Can we have a curated playlist?
We don’t even have to tell them we’ve done it. But it will absolutely psychologically change the way they approach that meeting when their favorite song’s playing.
Because just like when we walk onto Main street and all the music is happy, it puts us in that frame of mind. But I think the pushback often is people like, I just don’t have time to do that. I don’t have time to be personalized.
I don’t have time to put this much effort in. So how do we. How do we combat that?
Becca
00:29:51.640 – 00:32:23.360
Make a system. Make it a system, right? Make it. Make it automated in your process.
Make it something that, you know, you have these touch points, and it’s literally part of your. It’s part of your package. It’s part of how you serve them, right? And there’s. I’m always about kind of repurposing your time, doing things in layers.
So, like, for example, I teach a lot about healing and hiring, and a lot of people are like, oh, I have no time to create SOPs or training plans. I’m like, well, you have to serve the client. Record what you’re already doing. There you go. There’s your training. Like, right?
It doesn’t have to be this completely separate thing that we’re doing.
How can we take an hour, one time and go, how do I want to layer in this idea of this connection, this immersion, immersion experience with my company? Where are layers? I can do it. And how can I make it super simple and literally automated for me to do that? Automate, Send out the survey. Automate.
I got it actually, funny enough, got this cute little ring on Etsy Online, and she’s the store gal, sent these other. I don’t actually have my ears pierced. I might just get them because I love this. And she has this, like, beautiful handwritten card now. I.
That I Don’t know. Maybe this is not even written by her. Like, there are softwares out there. One’s called handwritten, where you can literally. And it’s like a.
It’s like a robot that writes it with an actual pen. It’s wild. There’s like, there’s, there’s tools and there’s processes. But how cool was this? I was like, I’m buying from her all the time.
And now I’ve talked about her in a podcast. I actually don’t know her name. I should know her name, but. Right.
It’s like, it’s those kind of things where it’s like she already had to send me the, the thing I purchased. So can. Is there something that’s low lift that you can also. And this is just getting. Okay, I’m sorry. We’re all in the creative industry.
You’re creatives, you’re beautiful creatives. Get creative. Have fun with it. This is like bringing back the magic.
Bringing back the joy is like sitting in like the ideation and creative space of like, okay, how can I surprise and delight the person that’s working with us? So I absolutely think, yes, I hear that it is. Burnout is like the number one word I hear in my, like, online community all the time. I get it.
I’ve lived it. And imagine the impact.
Imagine the impact of that hour, of your time to find the space to do these things and the type of return clientele, legacy clients, you know, that you’re going to have, you know, your bride, sister, whoever, friend, whatever. We don’t necessarily have return clientele in this industry like others do, but there’s really great ways to still have that prolonged impact.
Ashley
00:32:23.600 – 00:32:59.500
I think, quite frankly, quite often we get a little bit lazy and we just think, well, what’s the easiest route to making money? What’s the easiest route to getting through this on the easiest way? And again, I’m all for automating. I’m all for systems, absolutely.
But there is something about a little bit of personal touch that doesn’t need to take very long that we need to go above and beyond for.
And actually, when we look around our competitors and think, well, no one else is doing that, well, great, that’s a signal that you should do it, because that’s what makes you stand out.
That’s why we’re on a podcast saying Disney’s amazing and these other theme parks in our local area are terrible and we want someone on a podcast talking about us and our businesses.
Becca
00:32:59.660 – 00:34:29.829
Right? Well, and I think too, you people don’t get give the concept of generosity and what it actually does for the individual.
I don’t know if anybody’s a friend’s lover. Like the TV show.
There’s an episode where Phoebe talks and Phoebe and Joey are talking about like there’s no whatever a good deed that isn’t helpful for the person. That’s true.
Like when I give generously and I watch, you know, in the example we talked about with you know, the little kid’s ice cream that fell on the floor and the cast member that gives her a new one, that cast member also feels pretty good. Like what a beautiful thing.
So we need to also like, okay, we’re in like get it, get it done mode and you know, not necessarily wanting to put in this extra effort but, but we don’t realize what being good to other people does for us too. It creates more magic in us. It’s like the other thing too.
When everybody around that customer that gave the ice cream like, like they’re brought joy even though they didn’t even get the ice cream. Like there is a, is a un.
Kind of tapped, untalked about ripple effect of generosity, of kindness, of intentionality, of servant hearted, you know, exuberant giving that I think oftentimes we don’t even realize the impact it’ll have on us when we do it. So go do that today and watch the effect of it. And that’s where I think you can again cultivate that magic back in your own business.
Ashley
00:34:30.069 – 00:34:49.909
We need to bring the Disney magic back into all of our wedding businesses for sure.
Because when we start thinking about it differently, you then get creative and then you start thinking like you say, servant heartedly, what can I do to make their day better? Rather than what can I do to make my day easier and quicker and gone. And actually our day feels better when we give.
Becca
00:34:49.909 – 00:35:30.160
It does. It’s also to make your day better. It does it organically makes your day better matter because again, a smile. They’re contagious.
Like being, being kind, being good. Like again, I have a concept I teach called the 97%. It’s this idea of like optimism, abundance. Like it is literal contagious.
Like it’s totally contagious. In our community we talk about all the time. It’s like 97%. Like we’re just gonna show up, we’re gonna be kind, we’re me good.
And that is that it is, it’s, it’s how it affects your own posture, your own daily life is incredibly incredible. And there’s, there’s Nothing that can be it. I don’t think, again, giving to others is. Is a beautiful way to also give back to yourself.
Ashley
00:35:30.400 – 00:36:11.920
Absolutely.
Talking about giving, then the other thing that I love about Disney, and we’ve talked about it a little bit, but I want to go further is the surprise and delight.
So for those who are listening that are not as Disney fied as we are, they have a little thing out there in Disney that people now refer to as pixie dust, which basically means Disney cast members just randomly do things that make people’s day better. There’s no rhyme or reason necessarily. You don’t. It’s not a guaranteed part of your stay.
And I think, again, this is a concept as wedding business owners, we should be considering because sometimes we can offer something that we don’t necessarily do every single time for everyone, but every now and again, we add a bit of pixie dust. So have you had any experience of your own pixie dust? Have you seen anything happen where you’ve been out of the parks?
Becca
00:36:12.000 – 00:36:17.940
I give pixie dust myself, too. I should show you. Okay, hold on two seconds. Right here.
Ashley
00:36:18.010 – 00:36:18.250
Here.
Becca
00:36:18.410 – 00:38:36.250
It’s right by my office. I have these little. They’re called durables. They’re like Disney doorables. And we get them, and they’re these. They’re these boxes where.
And when we first saw these, I was like, why would people buy this? And now I’ve bought hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth. They’re boxes where you can’t see what’s inside.
And it’s like a mystery pack of what you get.
Well, my daughter and my husband and I are obsessed with them, and we’ve done them for years, but you get duplicates all the time because you buy these boxes where you can’t see what’s happening in him. So we actually take the duplicates, we put them in these little baggies with stickers, and my daughter gives them away as pixie dust.
And we have a little thing that’s like faith, trust, and pixie dust. We hope you have a beautiful Disney trip.
So this is actually one of my favorite things in life, is to also watch my daughter give these away to other people that are staying. And she’s a little shy at first, you know, but then she loves it because again. Right. Giving to others also makes her feel good.
So, yes, I’m very familiar with pixie dust. I love it. We have been pixie dusted so many times. One of my favorites was my daughter was not feeling very well.
We went to a park, and she was like, we’re going anyway. And I was like, I’m not sure we should, you know, but we go, and she ends up getting sick in line. And I’m like, oh, no.
Like, she threw up on the plants. And the plants are beautiful. Oh, my gosh. So I run and a cast member is like, oh, no. And they.
So they also have these things that are, like, gold in tickets that, like, certain levels of staff members have where they, like, write anything on the ticket. And, like, you go and get. It’s wild. But my daughter got a little sick on her shirt, like, the tiniest bit, like, wipe it off.
They’re like, we’re going to get her a new jacket. Here’s waters. Here’s all the stuff. And I’m like, I will just put it in the wash. It’s totally okay. And they’re like, no, absolutely not.
And I was like, sure, okay. And I think they just knew I was a little panicky. I didn’t want her to not feel good.
And like, just that level of taking care of a panicked mom, you know, like, that’s. Where’s the. You know, where’s the first aid place? And, you know, whatever. How is she feeling? And of course, like, it’s the. It’s the opposite.
You know, you want your kids having a beautiful experience, and if she’s not feeling good. Right. So they just went above and beyond. And so we’ve definitely been pixie dusted. Yeah. Multiple times.
Ashley
00:38:36.250 – 00:38:56.350
And it turns what could be a horrible experience into again, a happier, nicer experience that even the child remembers. Because now they’ve got a new shirt or a new jacket that they can wear. And again, doesn’t cost Disney very much money at all.
Let’s be realistic to do that. But it has a ripple effect that will make you want to go back and thank them and come back time and time and time again.
Becca
00:38:56.350 – 00:40:12.360
I literally. Becca, you’re laugh at this. Yesterday, my husband and I were cleaning out our garage, and I found the jacket, and it’s way too small for her now.
And I was like, I’m absolutely keeping it. There’s no question. Like, that is like, her kids. Kids will get that. But that’s the kind of like, ripple effect of, like.
And I think a lot of the times, like, that cast member has no idea that that actually, like, every time I see that, I think of her. And every time, you know, like, Henley would put it on, I would think, like, so that cast member just did something generously.
And I have thought about it probably 50 times. What a cool gift.
And like, imagine, I’m sure we’ve done that, each of us as individuals, you know, we’ve made a decision or we’ve done something or whatever. And that other person, the receiving end, thinks about it often. And so I’m like, how can I personally literally give pixie?
Doesn’t have to be like giving of something. Right? It doesn’t have to be, you know, a physical gift. It can be a connection. It can be a. A kind listening ear.
It can be your presence, whatever it is like. But how do we do that in a way that, that is just memorable for other people? And they remember how that made them feel and feel seen and feel good.
Ashley
00:40:12.360 – 00:40:40.430
Yeah. People remember how they feel long after they remember anything else. And it can be something simple, right?
It could even be as simple as one of the guests at the wedding, the mother in the law at the wedding, just complimenting how great they look like you look great today.
You know, those tiny little things to that person will feel like pixie dust, because maybe they’re not feeling so good or maybe they’re day feel out of place. And if we take that moment to notice and share some kindness, then it makes a big difference. Ashley, do you want to hear about my mega pixie dust?
Becca
00:40:40.430 – 00:40:43.390
Do you want to hear? Absolutely, I do, 100%.
Ashley
00:40:43.390 – 00:40:58.870
Okay, so I’m going to tell you the story about when I got pixie dusted in a way that will never, ever probably happen again and has, like, absolutely topped my Disney experience. Because this time when we went, and some people know this because they saw it on social media, we got picked to be the grand marshals in the parade.
Becca
00:40:58.950 – 00:40:59.350
No.
Ashley
00:41:01.230 – 00:42:11.190
It was the tippity toppity tippity top of pixie dust. I still cannot. It’s giving me tingles talking about it.
I still cannot believe it happened because I looked up and it was like, on average, there’s 40,000 people in Magic Kingdom every day, and they pick one family. One, one. One family. And they picked us.
So I’m going to tell you the story of how it happened, because I think these things are fascinating from a business perspective and a personal perspective. And it means I can indulge myself in thinking about this moment again. So it was a normal day in Magic Kingdom. It was like day 13 of 14.
And we actually going because some friends of ours from the UK were in Magic Kingdom and they told us they were only going to do Disney for one day. So they’d gone to Florida and they were only doing one day at Disney which is absolutely insane. But their one day was at Magic Kingdom.
So I said, well, we’ll come and hang out and we’ll meet you for lunch. We told them where to go for lunch. So we went into Magic Kingdom a little bit late that morning to go and meet them for lunch.
So we were rolling down Main street, half past ten, my kids had got it sussed because they started the pin trading, right? So talking about how Disney keep getting more money out of you do. So they wanted to do pin trading.
Well, that means I then have to buy pins for them to trade.
So then I’m buying them mystery pins in order for them to get rubbish ones that they want to trade, because if I buy them nice ones, they don’t want to trade them.
Becca
00:42:11.190 – 00:42:22.630
Isn’t that the funniest thing? My husband was like, I’m like, I’m literally buying something because I don’t want it. I was like, only Disney could make me do that.
Anyways, ridiculous. Yeah.
Ashley
00:42:22.630 – 00:45:04.470
So anyway, so we’re doing that. So we’re wandering around Main street and because we’ve been there for 13 days, we’ve done a lot of stuff, so we can take it slow.
And we’re hopping in and out of the shops, looking at the different pin trading and looking at things we can exchange.
Anyway, we get towards the end of Main street by the castle, and there’s just a normal guest services stand and my son notices they got one of the pin trading boards. So he’s like, let’s go over there.
So we went over there to look at the pin trades and we just got chatting with the cast members like you do everywhere, because that is not unnormal, because cast members talk to you all the time. And they started chatting to us.
And now reflecting back, I think we were in some kind of miniature interview process that I didn’t realize was happening. Because now when I reflect back on the questions they were asking us, I’m like, I wonder if they were trying to like, filter us in or filter us out.
So they were just chatting to us. They were chatting to my kids and they were asking my son about Disney. And he loves Disney. He’s 11 years old. You would love this, Ashley.
He made PDF documents before we left of all of the things he wanted to do in each park. Where to find the characters, what was the top ride, the top place to eat. And he like printed them out and stuck them up in the hotel room.
He’s like, amazing. He’s amazing. So anyway, so I started saying to the people at the Thing.
Oh, he made these checklists and there’s still one thing he wants to check off the list. It’s this cavalcade. Can you show me where it is? So then they’re like, tell me more about your checklist.
So they’re talking to him, they asked, then they said, what’s the, like, your dream thing to do at Disney? And he said, I’ve always wanted to do, like, the Keys to the Kingdom tour, but I’m not old enough to do it.
I said, I’ve always wanted to stay in the Cinderella Castle suite. And again, now, looking back, I think, were they asking me that to see if I was trying to get something from them?
Because I didn’t see, say, I always wanted to be in the parade, right? Because I didn’t even think about it. So we had this whole conversation.
Anyway, just as we were finishing and rounding up to, to leave, they just turned to my son, the guy, and he said, would you like me to put something on your checklist that most people in this park and even in the world have never had? And so he’s obviously like, yes, please. He’s like, I’m going to make you the grand marshals of the parade at 2:00 this afternoon.
You’re my Magic Kingdom family of the day. And my son’s face, I will never forget it because he was so happy. My daughter was so happy happy.
My husband was thinking, I don’t know if I want to be in the parade. And I was so happy as well. And, and he gave us this little golden ticket and he said, just, we’ll take the details.
Meet us at 2 o’ clock or like quarter to two over at this secret entrance and we’re going to take care of you and put you in the parade. So I, I’m like, I’ve literally walked into Magic Kingdom to meet some friends for lunch, to trade pins, and now I’m in a parade.
Like, this is bonkers.
So anyway, we, we went about our day, we met our friends for lunch and we were like, side note, you’re only in the park for one day, but we’re going to be in the parade, so you get to come watch it. And that’s not normal.
Becca
00:45:04.950 – 00:45:10.470
Can’t miss this parade. You’ll see why this is not normal.
Ashley
00:45:10.470 – 00:45:15.710
Like, don’t, don’t judge your Disney experience. But for me, it was great because guess what? There was someone there to film it.
Becca
00:45:15.710 – 00:45:20.470
Who? Will you send me it? I want to see it. I’m dying. I want to see it. Send it to me.
Ashley
00:45:20.470 – 00:45:42.780
I’ll send it to you. I’ll send it to you on Instagram. Anyway, so we went at 2 o’, clock, we went and met the cast member who we’d met before. We chatted to him more.
He said he’d worked there for 30 years and his job every day is to find the Magic Kingdom family of the day and the veteran of the day. And I was like, what a job. And you’re still enjoying it and feeling happy about it 30 years after.
Becca
00:45:42.780 – 00:45:57.750
I would like, I want that job. I want. I want to be that person. That sounds so much fun. Like, what joy to give. And again, like, you will never forget it.
And he gets to give that experience to two people every day. Right. To the veteran and to the family that. I’m like, wow. So fun.
Ashley
00:45:57.830 – 00:46:12.150
It was incredible. And so we went to behind the sight line, which was backstage. I took my phone out, and I thought he was going to lose his mind.
I was like, okay, I didn’t realize. I literally stepped one step over a line. I’m like, all right, I’ll put my phone away. I just know the rules.
Becca
00:46:12.470 – 00:46:13.350
Yeah, exactly.
Ashley
00:46:13.350 – 00:46:13.870
So we.
Becca
00:46:13.870 – 00:46:14.310
Yeah.
Ashley
00:46:14.950 – 00:47:24.230
And then he’s like, here’s your carriage. We get in this carriage. He’s like, you just got to wave all the way down. Here’s the person driving the carriage. Here’s some water for the carriage.
Here’s your, like, hat that no one else will ever have.
Now, in a minute, we’re just going to set you off on the parade route, and you’re going to have your own personal photographer following your car so that you get all of the photos you want of you and your kids in the car in front of the castle. We’re going to read out your name over the loudspeaker all the way down the route so that people clap and cheer you.
And then when you get to the end of the route, we have reserved a space for you to stand watch the parade. I will make sure all the characters interact with you personally because they know that you’re our special guests.
We’ll have water for you, and then we’ll take photos of you in front of the castle on Main street while there’s no one on it, because they’re all stood waiting for the parade. And so.
And then on top of all of that, if that couldn’t have been enough, they gave us a certificate, and then they gave us fast passes to whatever rides we wanted for the rest of the day. And I was like, this is the ultimate in pixie dusting.
Because not only have you given me something, I mean, to be honest, I would have been happy with even just one of those tiny things. Oh, but you have gone so far above and beyond my expectations that, like, I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. And it will never happen again.
Becca
00:47:25.110 – 00:47:35.670
That’s wild. I’m obsessed with this story. I cannot wait to see the video, by the way. And I was gonna say, you know, getting even deeper into the lore.
Are you familiar with Club 33?
Ashley
00:47:35.750 – 00:47:41.110
Oh, I wanna know more about it. I know that it exists, and I know that I would like to go inside of it. Have you ever been in?
Becca
00:47:41.110 – 00:48:48.640
Three times. I have two friends that are Club 33. In fact, I have a Club 33 wallet that I. And a purse. But anyways, I just buy all the merch, remember, Becca?
Because my credit cards. It’s fine in. But it’s. It’s this. And again, this is like, business layering of, like, the exclusivity, but, like, no one. It’s not. You’re not upset.
You’re not a part of it. It’s like. It’s aspirational. It’s like, if I could get into Club 33, right? It’s not like I’m pissed that I can’t, you know, have that thing.
It’s like, ooh, that’s exciting. And I want to learn more. But, yeah, no, Club 33, that was like your Grand Marshall story. Blew that out of the water.
But I have two girlfriends that are Club 33, and they love to be Disney Santa Claus, so they love to get and the experience and stuff to others. And I was very blessed multiple times to be a part of it. But it is.
It’s there they are experiences, whether it’s cast members, whether it’s with your family, whether it’s other Disney lovers. You create these memories that I just, you know, like you say you’re never going to forget, ever. Your kids are never going to forget.
They’re going to tell that story. I’m not going to forget that. You were so.
Ashley
00:48:49.680 – 00:49:25.090
But what’s. What is funny, though, is they pronounced our name wrong all the way down the. The route. So they said the Putney family all the way.
All the way down the route, whereas we are the Pountney family. And so I also think we will never forget the way they pronounce our name, because it was very funny. So they could have.
They could have gone 1% better and got our name right, but I’ll forgive them because they gave us everything else. You Know what’s interesting about Club, what’s interesting about Club 33?
Just as we kind of round this point off and I hope, by the way, that one day you will become a member of Club 33. So you can take me in there. Like that’s my dream for you, so that I could come on in with, with you. But what’s interesting is to know somebody.
Becca
00:49:25.090 – 00:49:27.650
You have to know somebody. So I know.
Ashley
00:49:27.650 – 00:50:29.250
But you know two people, so you’re, you’re one step ahead of them.
Yeah, but what’s interesting is that I think Disney, the model with Disney, if we think about our businesses and especially the luxury end of the market, is they always have something at every level and they do have stuff that’s super exclusive and super expensive. And I think sometimes in business and my clients, I say to them, well, do you even have a super expensive, super exclusive, exclusive option or not?
Because there will be some people that are willing to pay it. That’s what the guy said to me when I was the grand marshal.
He said if this was a paid experience, people would pay thousands if not millions of pounds to be the person that gets to ride in the carriage. But it’s not. But there are experiences that you can pay and people will pay for them.
And so I think our own money mindset needs to change when it comes to our own clients and thinking just because I wouldn’t pay extra for an extra special service doesn’t mean they won’t. So I guess I’d like to round off with that, that thought of people listening. What is your version of Club 33?
What is your super exclusive luxury item that someone can buy from you where you do give them that top level service?
Becca
00:50:29.250 – 00:51:49.520
And again, it’s like, you know, we don’t get to decide what people do with their resources. Like, right. We have annual passes where we live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, three hours away via plane.
We’re not like hopping, hopping in the car and driving to the. But that’s what we decided to use our money for. Some people think, think I’m bananas and that’s okay.
Like, that is something that I want to pay for and I want to, you know, it encourages us to go down often and that again, some people are like, I would never spend that money. I’m like, well, I would, I would spend that money.
And again, you, like you say that can be at any level, in any, like sometimes, like, I’m not a very fashion forward. Like I’m wearing a Disney shirt right now. Like, this is my jam.
I’m literally probably almost always in a Disney shirt and leggings and my purses are for, from Target or whatever, wherever.
And I know there are people that are, that are spending six figures on a, on a handbag and I can say I would never do that, but they wouldn’t say that. They say it’s something that I care about and that’s important to me. And we all, it doesn’t even matter how much money you have.
There is people that will spend a percentage of what they have that is higher than others. And so I totally agree with you of like how, how can you position it in your own mindset of like, yeah, absolutely.
If someone wants to pay me for that, this, this is what it, it cost to me. Resources, time, whatever. And I’m willing to do it at this price. And there will be takers. A thousand percent.
Ashley
00:51:49.600 – 00:52:54.510
Yeah, exactly.
And we need to push it further than we do because I think we, we limit ourselves because we think, well, I wouldn’t pay for it, therefore no one else will. But we know, we both know from our own Disney experiences that people will pay for all sorts of things and people have a lot of money.
Which is why despite Disney also being one of the most expensive places on on earth, it is always crowdish, always, always crowded because people find budget for the things that they want to do. Which kind again takes us full circle to the wedding businesses. When people say we’re in a bad economy, people can’t afford to work with us.
Well, actually if they want to work with you, people will find a way in the same way that there’ll be people that can find a way to go to Disney even in a bad economy. So you got to find the way to make them want to buy into what you do. Ashley, I could talk to you all day. We need to draw this to a close.
Otherwise we will be Disneying forever. I do hope that we will get to meet at Disney in Disneyland Paris next year. I’m really hoping that is going to happen and be on your agenda.
But before I let you go from the podcast, I need to end with my question that I always ask, which is this. What’s one thing you personally wish you’d known sooner in your own wedding business?
Becca
00:52:54.910 – 00:55:01.770
This is a great question. I kind of, I flubbed it. I’m kind of a person that I just sprint. I’m very risk tolerant. I’ll just go, go, go.
I always say like, you know, I’ll jump out of the plane and maybe build a parachute on the way down. Like we’ll Figure it out. It’ll be great.
And I wish I would have had more mentorship and put money on the line for me to have the strategy and be structured because I think I would have saved a ton of money. I bought a business I had no business buying. I had all of these ideas that I pursued and I spent so much money that I wouldn’t have had.
I had a mentor or someone that really had been there before me. And so with that, it was something that I think would have served me back better.
That’s something now that I, you know, very humbly get to do with my group. And I’ve seen the impact and I really do. I wish. So now I have a coach who’s actually one of the club 33 people.
I have a coach that I adore and she has helped me more. It’s indescribable how much she has helped me and I’m so grateful for her. I pay her very well, like multiple five figures every year. But guess what?
It has me show up differently because you bet I need to make that investment back. And so I’m showing up in a different way. I’m learning, I’m growing faster, better.
And again, when people are of that caliber, you pay like you need to pay to be in their sphere because they’re that good. But so I, yeah, I, I would say of all the business decisions I’ve made in my, my life, hiring her has been like such a game changer for me.
So it also made me want to emulate how can I be that experience for other people and steward their businesses and, and be helpful? Because a lot of people come up to me, like, Ash, how are you doing this?
How are you growing your planning business to multi market and leading this many people? And I’m like, let me show you. I. People are always very floored with the transparency.
But it’s also because I’ve received that and so it’s paying it forward. Absolutely.
Ashley
00:55:02.010 – 00:55:05.930
An extra bonus. She can get you into Club 33. So she’s worth every penny.
Becca
00:55:05.930 – 00:55:29.520
That’s how she got me. So she got me in the beginning and now I won’t let her quit me. No. And I have to say too, Becca, you have the best podcast voice of all time.
Like, you have such a radio like cadence to your voice. I was like, oh, we’re switching up topics. I can tell by the way that Becca’s talking, you have the best podcast podcast.
And I have been on probably hundreds of podcasts. I love your podcast vibes.
Ashley
00:55:29.520 – 00:55:36.760
Like the Voice thank you so much. I appreciate that. And I appreciate you telling everyone that live on the podcast. So if you’re listening, they all know it already.
Becca
00:55:36.760 – 00:55:39.920
What are you talking about? They’re all. They all already know. I’m just saying it for them.
Ashley
00:55:40.640 – 00:56:03.400
You’re in the right place. You’re listening to the right podcast right here with me and Ashley. Ashley, it has been so much fun. I could have talked to you about Disney all day.
I’m sure we will again. And like I said, hopefully you’ll get over to Paris next year year.
And I will be there with bells on, talking my French lingo, getting you all through the Disneyland Paris experience. But just know, it’s not quite the same as Florida, but it’s an experience in itself.
Becca
00:56:03.400 – 00:56:05.360
I’m here for it all day. Here for it.
Ashley
00:56:05.520 – 00:56:12.160
If people want to find out more about you, about what you do, or just about all of your Disney merchandise, where’s the best places for them to find you?
Becca
00:56:12.640 – 00:57:27.130
My Disney merch. I should have like an entire Instagram channel for it. No, you can find me. I’m over at the Abundance group on Instagram.
And honestly too, I mean, we got, we talked a whole lot about Disney, but one of the things that I always offer for people when I’m on podcast is, and I mean this so genuinely, if you ever have questions about business or need resources or connections, please DM me and tell me what’s going on. I probably have. I have so many free resources, free connections. I just love to pour into this beautiful wedding industry of ours.
And uniquely, we, again, I’ve actually been a business coach for a whole bunch of different creatives. Wedding industry professionals just have my heart because we are in the most emotionally exhaustive industry. We have no return clientele.
And, and, and so it’s this. It’s, I think, one of the toughest lanes of entrepreneurship. So I just want to be a beacon and a help and a life raft if I can.
And again, if I don’t have the resources, I have a whole bunch of friends that are also educators that I’d love to connect people with. So please take me up on that. I have a lot of people that are like, oh, I wanted to DM you. I’m like, why? We’re already friends.
Like, hit me up in the DMs. Let’s go. So please do. But yeah, I’m just over on Instagram at the Abundance group.
Ashley
00:57:27.130 – 00:57:41.930
Amazing. And I’ll make sure I put all of the links in the show notes. And she means it, everyone. So do go and send her a dm.
I know she means it and she definitely will come back to you. Ashley, it’s been such a pleasure. I hope to see you somewhere in person again very soon. Thank you so much for your time.
Becca
00:57:41.930 – 00:57:44.410
Thank you. In Paris, right? We’re going to see each other in Paris.
Ashley
00:57:45.210 – 00:57:45.850
Absolutely.
Becca
00:57:45.850 – 00:57:46.730
Thanks for having me.
Ashley
00:57:46.810 – 00:58:01.590
What an amazing episode. I knew I was going to enjoy talking all about Disney, but it didn’t disappoint. I hope you’ve enjoyed going down our Disney.
I hope you’ve enjoyed going down this Disney route with us. And hopefully you’ve also got some inspiration for your business soon. I’ll see you soon.
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