Podcast appearances and mentions of bethel nathan

Sure-Fire Sales Techniques with Bethel Nathan, Owner, CeremoniesByBethel.com & ElevateByBethel.com. Good quality sales leads have become more challenging to find. How do you book more weddings and increase your sales game? • Best ways to find new leads  Overcome sales objections

MBA Level Operations Advice with Bethel Nathan, Owner, Ceremonies By Bethel & Elevate By Bethel. ElevateByBethel.com. Owning a wedding business can be terrifying. You risk everything when you start or expand it. Avoid these horrifying entrepreneurial fails. • Unexpected business emergencies • Successful business goal-setting • Recover from bad reviews

Closing the Sale with Bethel Nathan, ElevateByBethel.com. Your sales numbers are solid math. However, the sales process itself is rooted in psychology, mindset, and persuasion. Closing the sale is a superpower that no one is born with. It takes a carefully cultivated skill set. Psychology secrets to close the sale.

If you're looking for a fun, personal, meaningful, and nontraditional ceremony, Bethel Nathan is your officiant. This episode is about the importance of market research in order to understand who your ideal customer is. Bethel Nathan is a business coach and wedding officiant who helps couples create a personal and meaningful ceremony. She has over 14 years of experience and has officiated over 1200 weddings.Bethel learned about the importance of market research in order to understand who your ideal customer is while working on Wall Street before diving into the wedding industry. She realized that she could use her skills to help couples create a personal, meaningful, and fun wedding ceremony. Bethel has now officiated over 1200 weddings and has created a process to help couples figure out what they want their ceremony to look and feel like. Bethel's marketing is focused on helping couples understand her process and figure out if she is the right officiant for them.-----Join The Wedding Pro CEO Podcast Community on Facebook!  A free group to take the conversation past the podcast and share best practices, get quick tips you can implement today and be part of a like minded group of CEOs who are building the profitable business they've always dreamed of! For full show notes and guest links click HERE! Please share your biggest takeaway and REVIEW THE PODCAST HERE!  Follow me online!!Brandeegaar.com Instagram Facebook -----#FemaleEntrepreneur #weddingproceo #weddingprocoach Buy Social 365 HERE! 1 full year of blog posts, reels, carousel posts, and feed posts!!!Support the show

Solve The Puzzle That Gets Them To Buy with Bethel Nathan. ElevateByBethel.com. Successful wedding pros don't talk features and benefits. They tell a story.  • Stories for your social media, website, and phone calls • Authentic sales conversations that lead to bookings

In this episode, we want to give you the recap and takeaways from our attendance at the WEDDING MERCHANTS BUSINESS ACADEMY (WMBAA). Here are our 3 biggest takeaways:  Emotions can affect our decisions. Thank you to Sara Margulis CEO Honeyfund for speaking on how our emotions, our teams and partners are important to discuss and take time to solve before making decisions in your business. Words Matter! Shout out to Renee Dalo Moxie Bright Events for taking the time to explain and help us understand how we speak about ourselves and how we allow our clients to treat us through our selection of words. All about tech!!! So excited to have met with the team @gokenect & new business @venq_app We also want to remind you to follow up with your clients, be transparent and do not undersell yourself or services! Enjoy this episode and get inspired on reconnecting in person.   More shoutouts: And of course the bonus lesson with Alan Berg Certified Speaking Professional Amazing #WEDTALK by Kristin Binford @theweddingvenuecoach Finally got to meet and learn from Bethel Nathan. My favorite guest on the Wedding MBA Podcast & Special Thanks to @shannonunderwood the wedding MBA team, Speakers, Exhibitors & Volunteers for creating a safe space for our industry to reconnect in person! Thank you to Candace @thenomadhotel for allowing to record in your beautiful space! Hosts: Geovanna Burgess White Yvette Valdenegro   https://www.justengageduniversity.com https://www.instagram.com/justengageduniversity

Getting and Using Reviews with Bethel Nathan. ElevateByBethel.com. How and when to approach the review process with your clients. What to do with the reviews to enhance your marketing!

On the podcast today, your host Jonathan Aymin interviews Bethel Nathan! A successful business owner, award-winning officiant, and a WeddingPro Educator, Bethel knows how to build and run a successful wedding industry business— having married over 900 couples in the past 10 years with over 300 5-star reviews. Combining her years of experience in both large Wall Street investment banks and small business, Bethel also enjoys helping other wedding industry businesses grow and prosper as a business coach and industry speaker. Guest Links: https://elevatebybethel.com LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST ✩ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3qW7ntS ✩ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3gIz7h3 ✩ Android: https://bit.ly/3njXOTE CONNECT WITH US & SUPPORT!!! ✩ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thevenuerx/ ✩ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thevenuerx ✩ Support Us!! - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thevenuerx

Bethel Nathan is not only a leader in the Officiant wolrd but also the wedding Industry as a whole. Her expertise has been shared to thousands at Wedding MBA, The Knot and just about every other wedding industry conference there is. She also speaks Japanese, loved baseball and is an avid diver. Oh did I mention she is one hell of a public speaker. We sit down with Bethel and talk about ceremony legalities, traditions and personalization. https://www.ceremoniesbybethel.com/ and https://elevatebybethel.com/ Instagram: @bethelnathan and @elevatebybethel Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ceremoniesbybethel/

Today we're giving your wedding ceremony the time and attention it deserves, in a detailed show that covers everything from choosing your officiant, to writing vows, selecting ceremony traditions, and more. Your wedding ceremony is a HUGE deal!  These 20 minutes or so are the WHY of the entire wedding, and yet the ceremony can get obscured by the million other things on your mind as you're frantically planning this wedding. Be sure to stick around until the very end when I share a bonus tip to make your first kiss photo even more WOW-worthy! Other notes & resources: Set on having a loved one lead your wedding ceremony?  Don’t risk an under-prepared, cringe-worthy, awkward performance!  Give your "rookie" officiant everything they need to deliver your love-story based ceremony just like a pro by visiting: www.unboringofficiant.com/weddingplanningpodcast Are you in the Southern California area, and looking for an amazing officiant?  You can learn more about Bethel Nathan here.  Be sure to let her know that Kara from the Wedding Planning Podcast sent you ;) https://www.ceremoniesbybethel.com/ Questions about today's show or stories you'd like to share?  Come find me on Instagram!  @weddingplanningpodcast Cheers until next time, Kara 

Bethel Nathan-  Bethel Nathan is a successful business owner, award-winning officiant, and WeddingPro Educator, and she knows how to build and run a successful wedding industry business, having now married nearly 1000 couples since launching in 2009 and building up over 350 5-star reviews.  In the first ten years, Bethel focused not only on being great at what she did for her couples, but also on knowing her ideal client, developing relationships locally to support her and her business, and finding the right marketing tools and methods to attract her ideal client, as well as the right systems and processes to best service them. Combining her background in large Wall Street investment banks (living in Tokyo, New York, and London) and in small business, Bethel also enjoys helping other wedding industry businesses grow and prosper as a business coach, industry speaker, and educator, in addition to via her soon-to-launch online learning platform. Bethel's content can be seen on The Knot and WeddingWire’s WeddingPro Blog, and she has been a speaker at several WeddingWire World and Knot Pro events. Plus, Bethel has been speaking at the Wedding MBA conference annually since 2015, in addition to having spoken at the NACE and ABC national conferences, The Special Event, and Love Mexico, just to name a few. She now lives in California’s San Diego County with her husband, Jason, and they enjoy traveling and scuba diving in exotic places whenever possible. Links: Elevate by Bethel: www.elevateyourweddingbusiness.com – our online course platform launching very soon! https://elevatebybethel.com/ FB & IG: @elevatebybethel https://www.instagram.com/elevatebybethel/ https://www.facebook.com/elevatebybethel Ceremonies by Bethel: https://www.ceremoniesbybethel.com/ IG: @bethelnathan https://www.instagram.com/bethelnathan/ FB: @ceremoniesbybethel - https://www.facebook.com/ceremoniesbybethel Love + Laughter + Community: www.lovelaughtercommunity.com Listen to another #12minconvo

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area. Bethel Nathan of www.elevatebybethel.com is not a photographer but a wedding celebrant based in San Diego, USA. In this interview, she shares tactics on how to avoid being ghosted following a photography enquiry. It happens to all of us... we receive an [...] The post 328: Bethel Nathan – How to avoid being ghosted following a photography enquiry appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

Bethel Nathan. ElevateByBethel.com. CeremoniesbyBethel.com. How to deal with procrastination. Identify your fears. Plan the most efficient tasks. Give yourself rewards.

The post Episode 142: Why Couples Don't Book You with Bethel Nathan appeared first on Evolve Your Wedding Business - Wedding Business Marketing & Strategy.

Cold Shoulder: Why They Don’t Book YouMore bookings and better bookings – those are universal goals for most of us in the wedding industry. Yet, not every couple books, and not every inquiry makes it as far into our process as we would like. What can you do about this? In this action-oriented presentation, we’ll talk about: What real couples are saying about us, what is turning them off along the way, and what they wish you all knew. At each of the five pre-booking stages, what you can do to turn their “No No” reactions into “Yes Yes” items instead. Your conversion rate and how you can improve it. How you can make cold prospects into buyers. That was a snippet from today’s episode… Welcome to the Wedding Video Boss Podcast! Where we talk about the business of being a wedding creative and also a peek into my world as a wedding videographer. I am your host, Paul Santiago and today is Monday which means it’s time for another Masterclass! Which means you need to bring out your notepad, pen, tablet, your quill or whatever you use to takes notes because you’re not going to want to miss this one. Your instructor for today is Bethel Nathan and she’s here to talk about why clients don’t book you and she’s brought so much data that you may need to hit pause for some of it just so you can take notes. I think she’s almost ready so let me give you a head start to grab that coffee or any warm alcoholic beverage and let’s start the class! Bethel Nathan is a successful business owner and award-winning officiant, and she knows how to build and run a successful wedding industry business, having married over 900 couples since launching almost 10 years ago, and building up over 300 5-star reviews. Combining her background in both large Wall Street investment banks and small business, Bethel also enjoys helping other wedding industry businesses grow and prosper as a business coach and industry speaker, and as a WeddingWire Education Expert.I’m going to stop talking now and get straight to it. Friends, let’s welcome, Bethel Nathan...So there you have it, now that you have a better understanding of how people feel about every aspect of the way you communicate with them, I hope this will help you a lot.I’d love to know how this episode was for you so feel free to reach out if you have any questions or suggestions. I’m throwing all these information goldness for free so I’d really appreciate if you help me by subscribing, rating or leaving a review, Thanks so much to those who already did it, thanks for listening it means the world to me, watch out for next episode the Wedding Video Boss podcast. Till then, play nice if you can’t win, be nice especially if you’re good looking. Bossman out.Headshot photographer: La Vida CreationsHere is all of my contact information to share: www.ceremoniesbybethel.com www.elevatebybethel.com www.lovelaughtercommunity.comEmail is bethel@ for all of the above.IG: @bethelnathan – for CBB, EBB, and personal @lovelaughtercommunity for LLCFB: All have their own pages with the business names /ceremoniesbybethel /elevatebybethel /lovelaughtercommunityCredits:The Wedding Video Boss Podcast hosted by: Paul SantiagoBossIG: www.instagram.com/weddingvideobossBoffoIG: www.instagram.com/boffovideoWebsite: www.weddingvideoboss.comFor comments & suggestions email me at: heypaul@boffovideo.comSpecial thanks to Ning Wong (@NingWongStudios) for the sexy headshotMusic credit Isaac Joel - Azophi from www.SoundStripe.comSupport Wedding Bossness by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wedding-video-boss

This is a SUPER exciting and important episode you guys! We're all sorts of celebrating today! This is our 100th episode which is SO incredible. Of course we're poppin' bottles for that one... We're doubling up the poppin' because it's Julie's birthday week. She is celebrating her New Years Eve birthday this year from Paris and she couldn't be more excited. She'll be sure to Instagram story the heck out of her trip so be sure to follow along @julieferneau. She's been known to pop ALL the bottles on her birthday. And the 3rd thing we're celebrating today is the early arrival of Kate's baby! She was born on Christmas Eve and she is truly perfect in every way! When we get photos we'll be sure to share them. Stay tuned for that! This is also the last episode of 2018. Let's talk about how fast the year went. It flew by so we're take a dive back into the past episodes and sharing 10 of our favorite tips that changed our businesses throughout the year. Favorite Tip 1 Erin Brant of The Leo Loves was a guest on Episode 73. She taught us to prioritize play over posing during photo shoots which is her wheelhouse. Her style is very candid, playful and fun. Favorite Tip 2 Meghan Brown of Two Bright Lights joined us on Episode 32 and shared so many valuable tips on getting published. A few of our reasons to get published are: Julie has now been published - which is a big deal for her! It establishes Credibility The backlinks from other blogs help your SEO You have additional things to share on social media. Who doesn't love getting published!? People love seeing themselves on blogs. Favorite Tip 3: Tracy Petrucci of Petrucci Marketing shared a wealth of knowledge in Episode 17 all about social media. One of the biggest takeaways was that Twitter has a big effect on SEO. Favorite Tip 4: Episode 36 with Bethel Nathan taught us to show what you want to book. Her episode was all about the modern couple. We as photographers and other creatives need to showcase and feature diversity on your website if you want to book more. Favorite Tip 5: Mary Fein Brandt is a LInkedIn expert. She was our Episode 59 guest and she served up bite-sized tips for us. With 460 MILLION people on LinkedIn, we listened up. Update your LinkedIn account right now by updating your headshot, bio and making sure you have a well-established page. Favorite Tip 6: Going way back to this oldie but goodie to Episode 9, with Melissa Mitchell of Melissa & Co where she dished out so many SEO tips, you have to go listen! It's a good one, we promise! BONUS: What we've learned over the the past 100 episodes: Done is better than perfect Sound quality does matter If we curse and offend someone, it's ok- 37 Setting a set recording schedule works and setting boundaries Planning meetings are essential Change will happen - embrace it We want to thank each and every one of you for listening and being a part of our family over the last 100 episodes! You are the best and give us the motivation to move forward and continuing this incredible podcast ride.  Here's to the next 100 episodes friends!  XO,  Julie & Kate http://photosparkshow.com/wp-admin/edit.php?paged=1

Bethel Nathan. ElevatebyBethel.com. CeremoniesbyBethel.com How to determine and communicate your business pricing. Should you put pricing on your web site?

Today I welcome Bethel Nathan, the Vice President of the International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants and the woman behind Ceremonies by Bethel and Elevate by Bethel to the podcast! This was a bit of big deal to me because when I first started Let’s Get Married SoCal, Bethel was one of the officiants who mentored me from afar without knowing it. Her inclusivity of the LGBTQ community, her transparency with her pricing and value, the warmth with which all her couples spoke about her all inspired me when I entered into the wedding industry. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of not only hearing Bethel speak at places like the Wedding MBA and WeddingWire World conferences, but have even gotten to socialize with her a bit on a personal level as well. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! This episode’s drinks: hot cocoa Topics we covered: How Bethel got into officiating Why it’s so important for wedding professionals to have a business plan How Bethel helped influence me so much from the beginning of officiating Religious versus non-religious ceremonies How you can pre-qualify your wedding vendors by their websites and social media The two different wedding vendors: providing for your day and those with you on your day Why images are so important to show inclusivity and diversity How Bethel celebrates the cultural aspects of Jewishness without being religious How Bethel brings in her love of travel and language into the wedding ceremonies How Bethel and I make the unity ceremony in the wedding part of the relationship rituals Bethel schools me on how to pronounce “quaithe” in Gaelic How Bethel and I craft our ceremonies How we feel we bring a bit of our own good marriage vibes to our couples’ ceremonies Why Bethel does not stay at any wedding reception How extroversion and introversion affect the way we run our businesses The structure and style of a ceremony with Bethel The questions we ask our couples to get the best info “Sometimes you don’t know what marriage is until you’re in it.” – Bethel Nathan How our egalitarian marriages affect the way we word our ceremonies Bethel’s advice for figuring out their ideal client and how to attract them Why you must meet Bethel before booking her Why I’m totally cool with strangers booking me without ever contacting me For wedding pros, it is important to price according to your value For couples, understand pricing is based on value NOT cost Links to the awesome things and people mentioned: Ceremonies by Bethel Elevate by Bethel IAPWO (International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants) Evolve Your Wedding Business Podcast Wedding MBA WeddingWire World

The post Episode 98: How To Create A Client Journey That Makes You Money With Bethel Nathan appeared first on Evolve Your Wedding Business - Wedding Business Marketing & Strategy.

Adrianne Miller is an elopement blogger at SimplyElope.com and we discuss why we love elopements. This episode’s drinks: Adrianne was drinking Death Wish coffee and I was drinking a vanilla latte. Topics we covered: How Adrianne came to blog about elopements What makes an elopement different from an intimate wedding How Adrianne and I discovered each other Why we love elopements so much Dream elopement locations We gush about the romance of weddings as dedicated romantics Officiant blindness (you know I’ll rant about this) The pre-ceremony pow-wow I do before the wedding Why wedding coordinators and planners are so necessary on wedding day What is a concierge elopement service? What makes an amazing elopement Why professionals make all the different, even for an elopement I share several wonderful and ridiculous elopement stories with Adrianne Common misconceptions about elopements Big weddings are a fairly new concept Ethnic and cultural wedding traditions How we’ve experienced different people breaking down on wedding day (if they do at all) How loved ones unwittingly create stress for the couple on wedding day The one thing that Adrianne asks wedding guests to NOT do at the wedding What Adrianne recommends to keep in mind for your elopement Why so many couples elope and then have the big wedding later (you can have both!!) Links to the awesome things and people mentioned: Death Wish coffee (http://bit.ly/drinksdeathwish)  Bethel Nathan of Ceremonies by Bethel (http://bit.ly/bethelisawesome)

Alex Bruce is a wedding photographer in Southern California (alexbrucephotography.net) and we discuss why we love working in the wedding industry. This episode’s drinks: Alex was drinking St. Barnardus Abt 12 and I was drinking an eggnog martini. Marie’s Eggnog Martini Recipe Ingredients: 1.5 oz Absolut Vanilla vodka 0.75 oz Kahlua 4 oz Southern Comfort Eggnog Dash of cinnamon Instructions: Pour vodka, Kahlua, and eggnog into a martini shaker with ice. Shake for 5 seconds. Strain into a martini glass and dash the top with cinnamon. Serve immediately. Topics we covered: How Alex came into the wedding industry Why full-time is very different from one wedding vendor to another How much work happens behind the scenes for every wedding Unplugged wedding ceremonies versus the cell phone etiquette announcement The things that can go wrong during a wedding and why it’s not the end of the world The story of the fainting groom Dealing with family drama on wedding day Alex’s pet peeves What it’s like to do a family member’s wedding How the right vendors create good energy for their couples Our favorite moments on wedding day Why you should always let the couple eat at their reception without interruption The pros and cons of big weddings Why wedding pros also love intimate weddings Introverts and extroverts both hate small talk, apparently Why Alex loves engagement sessions Digital versus print for wedding photography Why some vendors require you to meet them before booking We share our “self-inflicted wound” stories Knowing who you are as a wedding vendor and respecting your limits How much time we work per wedding (not just the time with the couple) Why we love really getting to know our couples Links to the awesome things and people mentioned: The Fifth Element Leelo’s ID card I mentioned is from Loot Crate My version of the chocolate tasting ceremony was heavily inspired by Bethel Nathan - thanks for sharing that with me! The “I hate small talk” quote Heidi Thompson’s Evolve Your Wedding Business Podcast Keri Rico Photography is part of my Sweetheart Package Alan of Simply Perfect Images is also part of my Sweetheart Package  

Photo Cred: La Vida Creations Hello everyone! We are hoping your 2017 has been going great so far. We've been super busy here at PhotoSpark so far this year. We've been recording episodes, planning new show topics, discussing our WPPI strategies, and more. We figured this is a great time to remind ourselves about the importance of keeping our clients happy, and who better to chat about that with than Bethel Nathan! She's the awesome wedding officiant/business-woman extraordinaire who runs both Ceremonies by Bethel and Elevate by Bethel. She is also an absolute EXPERT in the customer journey (I mean... have you SEEN her Wedding Wire reviews?!) so we knew she'd be the perfect person to have on the show! If you think about it, your clients' journeys begin the moment they know they need your service... that part is mostly out of your control. Once they reach out to you, you are in complete control of how their customer journey unfolds from start to finish. We want to make sure this is a positive journey! Tune in to hear the full episode, but feel free to check out some of our favorite talking points below! Key Takeaways Find your weaknesses. Take a look at your business from the customer's perspective. Pretend you're your own client & you're on your customer journey. What parts of your experience are lacking? For example, Ashley feels like the gallery selection process could be a little confusing for her clients, while Kate feels her email response time should be better. Taking time to determine the weaknesses in your business model will help keep you on track to fixing them. Sometimes it's a super easy fix that can make a world of difference in the customer journey! Remember this is a BIG DEAL for most clients. It's easy for us to forget how special, exciting, and crazy photoshoot day (or wedding day!) is for our clients because it's something we do every single day. However, to your client, this is an experience they're not likely to forget! If you're a portrait photographer, your client has likely spent days or weeks figuring out the perfect outfits, making hair & makeup appointments, and imagining what her photos will look like. If you're a wedding photographer, we DEFINITELY know your client has been dreaming of this day for a long time... sometimes their entire life! So we definitely have to slow down & make sure our clients feel appreciated, special, and significant during their shoot. Make sure their expectations meet your expectations. Clients likely have different expectations according to what they're paying for a shoot, and you might not even know what those are! Make sure they know exactly what to expect from you. Behind the scenes videos are a GREAT way to do this (hello 2017 goals!!). If expectations are clear from the get-go, you're ensuring their customer journey is as successful as possible. Don't underestimate work done behind the scenes. Oftentimes, the networking you do and connections you make within your industry (and related industries) benefit the customer journey without them even knowing about it! Bethel gives the example of how she always hand delivers marriage licenses to the county. This isn't a required thing, or even something all of her couples even really care too much about, but it's something she loves doing. Because of this, some couples have benefitted from her connections at the county clerk's office when they've needed a service above and beyond what they would usually get. We can't forget the importance of everything we do to improve the customer journey, even when they don't know we do it! If you enjoyed this episode and are local to San Diego, check out Bethel's upcoming workshop ALL about the Customer Journey on 1/25/17 at The Bash Boutique in North Park. There's more info on the event's Facebook Page... take a look! AND THERE'S MORE! Bethel is awesome and put together a quick one page summary on the customer journey FREE for you guys! Just click here & download! (You'll also find free downloads from her other two shows with us as well!). As always, thank you for listening & have a great week! Relavent Links: Elevate by Bethel Bethel's Freebies! Upcoming Workshop- The Customer Journey: Their Path to Your Success The Elevator (Bethel's Facebook accountability group!) Download from iTunes Here Download from iTunes Here

Photo cred: La Vida Creations EEK! We are so excited to share ANOTHER awesome episode with you guys featuring the ever-talented Bethel Nathan!! If you tuned in last week, you already know that Bethel is the owner of a few awesome businesses based here in San Diego. She's a wedding officiant at Ceremonies by Bethel, as well as a business coach at Elevate by Bethel. Last week she chatted about modern weddings and how the wedding industry has changed (in a great way!) over the past few years. If you missed that episode, tune in here: http://photosparkshow.com/modern-weddings/ This week, she's chatting a bit more about the business side of things! She believes business owners need to work harder AND smarter to optimize their business's potential, and she shares some great tips with us on how we can do that too! She gives us 6 keys to grow your business... here are some of our favorites (you'll have to listen to the episode to hear the rest!) Key Takeaways: Ideal Client: Ok.. we know we have talked about this A LOT. But it's SOOOO important!! If you aren't working with the right people, you won't be happy, and you probably won't be as successful! If you're working with people who trust you & love your work, you're going to enjoy & sustain your business better. These are also the people who are going to appreciate your services SO much more than others. You want to leave your event or shoot feeling appreciated, because it was exactly what they were looking for. This definitely builds self esteem for your business and will make you much happier in the end! Also... appreciative clients lead to more reviews & word of mouth recommendations, which leads to more business in the future from similar-minded people! Make sure your website & marketing materials clearly state who you are and what your business is about, because that's the best way to weed out people you aren't a great match for. Text and imagery is SO important & will do wonders to help grow your business! Setting Smart Goals: Start by looking at your big goals, and work your way down to your smaller, easier goals. You have to know where you want to end up in order to grow your business accordingly. These are your personal, key goals... everything else leads to that. Setting quarterly goals tends to be a bit more effective than yearly goals... they're easier to attain & they'll help you stay on track. Bethel uses the SMART acronym to help define her goals: Specific: Who, What, When, Where, Why Measurable: You have to know when you reach your goal Attainable: Within reach & do-able within your industry Relavent: Make sure it's the right thing to focus on Time-Specific: There needs to be an urgency to the goal Systems & Processes: As photographers, we have a ton of systems in place to help make our lives easier. From Shoot Q to email templates, there are many ways we can work more efficiently in our businesses. Bethel stresses the importance of looking at your process also. Take a step back & see where organization & efficiency can be boosted... if you can't handle the business that you have, you're going to struggle & let people down. So take a look at what areas can change to help you be more efficient. Consider hiring a virtual assistant if your workload is too heavy. Relinquishing control can be REALLY tough, but in the end if you're too overworked & inefficient, your business is going to suffer and you won't be able to grow your business. Photo Cred: E3 Photography Thanks for tuning in to this episode... we are amazed at the plethora of knowledge Bethel shared with us (for free!!!). She's fantastic at what she does & we were honored to have her on the show two weeks in a row!! Be sure to check out the links below & visit her on social media! ALSO!!! Super rad!! Bethel has shared some free goodies with our listeners!! She shares a free PDF from last week's episode on key things you should be doing to work with the modern couple as well as a PDF from THIS episode on ways to grow your business! Check out both freebies here: http://www.elevatebybethel.com/podcasts Relavent Links: Elevate by Bethel Ceremonies by Bethel Asked to Officiate Bethel on Twitter Bethel on Instagram Bethel's Freebies for our Listeners Download from iTunes Here Download from iTunes Here  

This is a pretty fun episode to listen to because of all of the mutual "fan-girling" going on in the studio!! Ashley is away this week (she'll chat about where she is and what she's doing in a future episode!) so Julie & Kate held down the fort! They're both HUGE fans of San Diego officiant Bethel Nathan, and she's a huge fan and listener of Photospark, so it ended up being an AWESOMELY fun time!! Bethel is a wedding officiant here in San Diego (Ceremonies By Bethel), as well as a business coach (Elevate by Bethel), and just overall awesome presence here in the San Diego wedding industry! She dropped by the studio to chat with us about weddings & the modern couple. She's super inclusive and loves ALL types of weddings! Photospark definitely supports marriage equality, so we wanted to have Bethel in the studio because she's basically an expert in this area, and she gave us some awesome tips we can use when working with modern weddings! Key Takeaways: Make Your Support Clear: If you support marriage equality (and we REALLY hope you do!), make it clear on your website. Include photos of same-sex couples & testimonials from their weddings. If you haven't had the opportunity to photograph a same-sex wedding, put out a free offer on your Facebook page or Instagram & try to build your portfolio. Bethel mentions that over HALF of same-sex couples express having fear about contacting potential vendors because they aren't always sure they'll be accepted. So the more clear you can be about your support of LGBT couples, the better!! If you lose clients over this expression of support, they weren't your ideal client anyway! Don't Make Assumptions: We make assumptions ALL the time. Couples planning modern weddings are looking for a ceremony and rituals that fit THEIR unique situations. This isn't just an LGBT issue either; there are plenty of straight couples who have unique family dynamics that might make them rethink traditional wedding ceremonies. Don't assume that the bride's father will walk her down the aisle. Don't assume that there will automatically be a mother/son dance at the reception. Modern weddings are awesome in that couples don't feel the need to carry on traditions JUST for traditions' sake. They're looking for vendors who support a wide range of ideas & uniqueness. The more support & validation you can give to these couples, the better! Watch your Verbiage: This is a HUGE thing that changed when marriage equality became present. Pre-marriage equality, most of our contracts had a spot for a bride and a spot for a groom to fill out their information. Now, it's a great idea to keep the verbiage neutral so everyone feels included when filling out an inquiry form or a contract for their wedding. Small changes like this are actually HUGE in making couples planning modern weddings feel comfortable! Check your Preferred Vendors: When dealing with a modern wedding (especially for LGBT couples), it's important to know that anyone you could potentially refer to your couple will also support them and their marriage. If it's not clear on their website & marketing materials, it's important to ask them. Don't assume your favorite vendors support marriage equality & modern weddings because you might be shocked to find out they don't. Only refer your couples to vendors who have the same mindset as you and will be happy and supportive toward your couple! Modern Couples are NOT just same-sex Couples: It's important to remember that this topic isn't JUST about marriage equality for LGBT couples. Interracial couples also deal with discrimination when planning their wedding. Make sure you have imagery to show support of their union as well! And again, if you haven't shot an interracial wedding, make it a point to find a couple to photograph! Couples want to see themselves in your marketing materials. It makes them feel included & lets them know you are 100% supportive of their union. There are SOOO many more tips from Bethel in this episode, but you'll have to listen to find out what they are! We were so flattered that she was excited to join us in studio for this chat, and we hope you love everything she has to say as much as we did! Stay tuned because we KNOW Bethel will be back on Photospark to share even more knowledge about another topic soon! Relavent Links: The Gay Wedding Institute Elevate by Bethel Ceremonies by Bethel Asked to Officiate Bethel on Twitter Bethel on Instagram Download from iTunes Here Download from iTunes Here

Want to get everything you want? (Well, just about everything…) Tune in to Your Big Life each Saturday at 10 am ET!  Yep, that's the best-kept secret to easily vibrating high, attracting gracefully and having a great time.   Join Stephanie Pedersen, MS, CHHC, AADP, a recovered fashion journalist, now a nutritionist and law of attraction educator as she chats with officiant Bethel Nathan of Ceremonies by Bethel.  Stephanie and Bethel will chat about love, life and the importance of celebration in honoring each unique relationship. Join in as Bethel shares her unique view on the power of love and partnershp. This will be an uplifting, celebratory—and yes, fun—show! Be prepared to come away touched and with a smile on your face! (What a great way to start your weekend!)  A speaker and author of more than 20 books, Stephanie is known for her deep work with coaches, small biz owners, and other entrepreneurs, who need to look and feel their best so they can get out into the world in a big way. She uses a blend of health, law of attraction and mindset work to help give individuals the edge—making them so magnetic they draw clients, helpful people and opportunities toward them.   For more on Stephanie Pedersen: www.StephaniePedersen.com   For more on Bethel Nathan:www.ceremoniesbybethel.com