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Episode : 155 - starting a business as an engaged couple - Ele Frangrance
70 Plays2 months ago
Today I have Eugenie and Erik owners of Ele fragrance
Connect with Ele https://www.instagram.com/ele.fragrances
https://instagram.com/carissawoo 17hats.com - Use code heckyes
https://aftershoot.com/friends?ref=carissawoo
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Transcript
Introduction and Shout-Out
00:00:00
Speaker
Happy Woo Wednesdays! I've been saying that for 15 years. It's so crazy. um Real quick shout out to my sponsors AfterShoot AI Editing. They gave me back my passion for shooting. I used to come back after wedding overwhelm because I knew I would have to spend like hours editing or send it to an editing company and they take all my profits. So photographers, you have to try them. Also Wedding Pros, I just launched two new brands last week. Check out on my IG. Go to www.heckyesvip to learn more about my program.
Meet Eugenie and Eric from Alay Fragrance
00:00:33
Speaker
Today, I have Eugenie and Eric from Alay Fragrance. They are the hardest working and most intentional couple I know. They are starting an empire. I meet the coolest people through WIPA. Eugenie lived in the Philippines her whole life and traveled to Bali to discover her love for fragrance.
00:00:51
Speaker
and met her love, Eric, online. So this is a next hot new thing.
Alay Fragrance's Unique Offerings
00:00:56
Speaker
Go to their IG, Alay Fragrance, and book them for your next event. It's interactive fragrance gifting with perfume sanitizers, diffusers. It's a beautiful bar that provides a luxury experience for your guests.
Business Dynamics as an Engaged Couple
00:01:10
Speaker
Today's hot topic is starting a business as an engaged couple. Enjoy the episode.
00:01:20
Speaker
Welcome to Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu.
Carissa's Photography Journey and Coaching
00:01:23
Speaker
I'm your host, Carissa, and I've been a Los Angeles wedding photographer for over a decade. I've traveled the world, built my team, and seen it all. I now coach wedding photographers hit 10K a month and build a thriving business. In this podcast, we are going to deep dive into how top wedding creatives get that heck yes from their dream clients. We are not holding back on the struggles of the business and how to push through the noise. Some healthy hustle, mindset shifts, up-leveling your money story,
00:01:49
Speaker
Time hacks because I'm a mom of two, a little bit of woo-woo, and most importantly, self-love and confidence are just a few of the many things we will talk about. I want to give you a genuine thank you for following along my journey. I hope to inspire you every Woo Wednesday so that you say heck yes to listening to this podcast. See you guys soon!
First Encounter at WIPA Event
00:02:11
Speaker
Hey everyone, welcome back to Get a Heck Yes with me your girl Carissa Wu. I have my new friends Eugenie and Eric in the house. They are from Elle Fragrance. I just met them at a WIPA event at the Garland and it is an interactive perfume slash sanitizer theffusion but diffuser bar that can provide a tremendous experience for a wedding event. Guests are given a luxury of choosing and wearing and taking home gifts that are truly unique to them. And I got to experience it firsthand and it was a shit. But welcome, welcome on my podcast. I'm so happy to have you on. Excited to be here. And we're, you know, ready for all the great questions that you have. Yeah. Yeah. I can't wait to know, get to know you guys better. I briefly talked to you, Jimmy, on the couch. But so we'll go deeper today, but briefly describe to the audience who you guys are in a nutshell.
Origin of Alay Fragrance's Name
00:03:10
Speaker
um Yeah, so we are a, we're Ile fragrance, and we look to provide a wonderful experience the day of the year event, and then also give a lasting, wonderful gift for your guests as a giveaway. And that way, you know, they can cherish that moment, have a nostalgic, you know, feeling and, ah you know, sense of emotion from the, from your wonderful day that you've had. Nice, nice. And Eugenie, how did you get the name Ile, not L?
00:03:40
Speaker
Well, actually it started because we like letter E because our names are spelled E, Eric and Eugenie. And in the future, when we have kids, we kind of want to pass on our businesses to them. So we we plan to name our kids as starts with letter E too. So, you know, we just want to use the E and then Lee is Eric's last name.
00:04:03
Speaker
Oh, okay. It all kind of meshed it together. And then the last part was just like, you know, Eric loves Eugenie. So it's a little, you know, a little, there's a lot of meanings or Eugenie. Yeah, I love it. Okay, well, um let's get to your younger years. You guys can both answer. I've talked to Eugenie a little bit about your, your origin story when it's really cool. But let's start with Eric. It's really briefly like what were you like as a kid and where'd you grow up and all that jazz?
00:04:32
Speaker
Yeah.
Eugenie's Fragrance Passion and Eric's Career Shift
00:04:33
Speaker
So I was kind of, you know, into sports, grew up in Irvine, California, where I still reside and never, you know, I was kind of nerd and studied accounting, but never really thought I'd get into fragrances, honestly. And now that we're here, you know, if I had a chance to speak to my 14 year old self or 10 year old self, I'd be like, no way that's not happening. But here we are. And I'm super excited for that journey. Hey, I love that. Thank you for keeping it brave. How about you, Eugene?
00:05:02
Speaker
Well, I mentioned to you before, I just came from the Philippines. I moved here last year. It's just been a year that I'm with Eric. I met him here in the US. s Now he's my fiance. And growing up as a kid, I love cooking. I have a food business in Asia. And right now we're starting to build up our ELA fragrances that that's what we're working on right now.
00:05:29
Speaker
Wow. Oh my gosh. Okay. So you've only been here for a year. That's why. I couldn't imagine. Like I had the fragrance business in Asia. So right now I'm trying to build it here in the US. Okay. Let's talk about that. Like go a little bit deeper into the business back home and then we'll talk more about like how you guys got together in the love story. why So how did, yeah, how did, Eugenie, why don't you share how, how the business got started?
00:05:58
Speaker
Well, it started when, as a kid, I love fragrances. Like my family love fragrances. We love candles. We love perfumes. Like growing up, I just love fragrances. And then it started when I have, I have a close friend and then, but sadly she passed away. But before she passed away, she kind of like taught me how to make candles. And when she passed, she didn't even like, she taught me how to she gave me the formula.
00:06:27
Speaker
And then during that time, I kind of like traveling. So I made those candles and then my friends loved it. And I kind of want to learn more about how making it.
00:06:40
Speaker
So I went to Bali, Bali is one of my favorite countries. So I went there, I took a meditation classes and I took for a few fragrance classes. And that's where it all started, where I was formulating my own brand. And then I started making it in the Philippines. And most of my friends and like families loved it. And so I started my own fragrance line and Asia. So that's where it kind of became a hit. And then all of a sudden, my family had to move here in the US. s So I had to move here. And that's where I kind of like just the thought of like, I want to continue doing that. And I met Eric, and he's a businessman, too. So I kind of like shared that thought. And I've been looking for manufacturers, suppliers, and one to just continue it.
00:07:32
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. what um So what age did you go to Bali? I was, I keep coming back and forth because that's one of my favorite countries. So I've been to Bali like five times. Wow. So I forgot how old the last time that I was there was before I moved here. So that was the last country that I've visited before moving here in the States for good.
00:07:59
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. And then what did your parents come here for, to the US s for? Well, they had to, they were working here for like 20 to 30 years already. So us kids, we have, we just have
Eugenie's Move to the US
00:08:12
Speaker
to follow. We just made, oh, that's right. Yeah. They had the siblings.
00:08:19
Speaker
right Yeah, they sacrificed the siblings had to kind of raise each other in a nutshell. So you know, the oldest, you know, oldest brother, oldest sister had to care the young ones, and, you know, kind of make their way that way. That's right. I watched the Anthony Bourdain documentary, one of them, like, they talked about um the Philippines, but how, like his nanny, or I think it was one of the people that worked there, but the nanny like lived here and then the kids lived in the Philippines and all the sacrifice yeah all the sacrifices the parents had to make to like not see their kids, but then to send like gifts over and packages. So now I kind of get it. Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:00
Speaker
And, um you know, I don't want to be kind of long winded about it, but it actually, you know, the weight process took so long that, you know, she was just going to settle her life in the Philippines. Yeah. It was kind of at that that moment, that cusp where they kind of almost, get not give up hope, but they're like, Hey, it's been 15 years. You know, I might as well just settle down here. I don't know when it's going to happen. And so when she got the call, she's like, you know, I have to leave my businesses. You know, she mentioned she has two, three businesses there. So she had to leave everything. and and and come over here. Yeah, I didn't expect to. I didn't expect to like come here. Like I was, I was waiting for it to come here with my parents when I was a kid, ever since I was a kid. So, and you know, lose my patience. And I'm like, no, I have to step up. Like I have to be strong. Like growing up without parents is very hard, but I have to step up. I have to do something on my own.
00:09:55
Speaker
So that's where I kind of started my businesses. But, you know, like I had to move here. Of course, um I want to be with my my family. So that's more like, oh, I have to let go. um I mean, I have to, you know, like leave my businesses there and then move here. And I want to continue doing it here. Yeah. Oh, that's really emotional. all That's so crazy. And then can I ask you what your parents did here for work? They're working here. My mom is a nurse and my dad is a contractor.
00:10:25
Speaker
Okay, cool, cool, cool. And then Eric, tell me just a little bit more of the splashes of what your hobbies were like in high school and college. Yeah. So, um, you know, I was a little bit of a book nerd, you know, I studied accounting in college and, um, you know, I, uh, was able to really start, I wasn't, you know, business centric and played around a lot as a kid, but you know, as you mature, you start to,
00:10:48
Speaker
you know, gravitate towards interest and currently I'm in the hospitality industry. So we kind of own and operate hotels. So that's, you know, kind of the path that I'm taking. Yeah. Wow. You guys do a lot. Yeah.
00:11:03
Speaker
Oh my God. Okay. So, um, let's just not jump into the hot topic yet, but let's talk about your love story because everyone knows I'm a hopeless romantic. Um, how
Eugenie and Eric's Romantic Journey
00:11:14
Speaker
did you meet? How did it all start? You guys are super cute couple. Everyone could tell right away. So let's talk about it. Yeah. So, um, we met, you know, it's 2024 and, uh, meeting on, you know, apps is, is, you know, this the norm now. And so we were both working professionals and we, you know, kind of clicked on the app.
00:11:33
Speaker
funny thing is she's like, Hey, I'm from pH. I'm like, what are you doing from Philadelphia? And she's like, I'm like, she's like, no pH Philippines. I was like, Oh, okay. And you know, we hit it right away because she's like, I love vi Vietnamese food. Let's like, let's grab some I'm like, I'm Vietnamese. She's filming like already that you said you like Vietnamese food. So great things. And I immediately could tell that she was super cool because after dinner, we didn't really have any plans. And so we try to go to improv show, improv show. I knew the bouncer. I was like, hey, I could pay cash because it was kind of sold out. I didn't have any cash to just have my credit cards. I didn't have a debit card. So I was kind of like, hey, you got a debit card?
00:12:14
Speaker
It's kind of weird on the first date. She's like, you need cash? I didn't want to sound like I was, you know, you know, not didn't have any money. So she's like, don't worry about it. I got an ATM. I'll get some cash. We'll tip the bouncer. And so even on the first date, I was like, you know, she's a really cool chick.
00:12:30
Speaker
super down to earth, super just going with the flow. And so ah since the first date, I was like, um you know, we we had a great connection. And like we said, it's kind of mutual interest where we talked a lot about our businesses and we had very, you know, we're very um grateful for our parents, you know, it kind of comes out very quickly. And so those are kind of the the the matching points, the common interest. And from there, you know, our love grew and we just got engaged. We got engaged at the The Mariah Carey show, so shout out Mariah Carey. why you know It was awesome. It was kind of awkward. you know We had ah three guys and one girl, and then she's like, why are there three guys here? I was like, no and but they didn't know any of the songs. So like she's like, I'm the only one singing. What are these guys doing here? But I needed them to record the proposal. Her favorite song is We Belong Together, but that's the end of the set. So we had to do the song in the middle.
00:13:26
Speaker
And so we proposed, there was like 95% female. So all the girls looked at us and was like, congratulations. And so mike carery if if anybody's looking for a great ah proposal, Mark Kerry is doing a lot of shows at the MGM Grand Park. Guys, tell you right now, your lady will love it.
00:13:43
Speaker
Were you so surprised, Eugenie? Yeah, I was so surprised. I couldn't imagine he pulled it off. Like knowing Ari got, like I always, you know, like I always like, um kind of knew that he's happy. He has like a surprise for me, but I don't want him to pull it off.
00:14:01
Speaker
Yeah. It's kind of hard. You know, you're very conscious of the ring in your pocket. You might lose it. Yeah. Okay. Oh my God. Okay. So I have to go back and ask Eugenie, what was it like dating American men? And what was it all about Eric? I just, I'm so nosy. So Well, actually, this is kind of like funny. I don't usually believe in dating apps. And during that time, I was just with my cousins because I was just spending time with them. Like, you know, we were childhood best friends. I'm with my cousins. So I was just hanging out at their house. So they threw ah like a house party. And then so we were drinking, you know, having fun. And then I
00:14:46
Speaker
I found my very long, long school friend like from the Philippines and im like I was kind of surprised. I saw her and I'm like, hey, Stephanie, I haven't seen you for how many years? And then now you're here. like What a small world. you know like She knew my cousins too. And so we kind of talked and I asked her, like oh, so you have a partner? Do you have like yeah like a boyfriend? And she said, like yeah, and how how did you meet him?
00:15:14
Speaker
And I was single for four years, four to five years. wow I was kind of like just curious. And she said like, oh, I met my boyfriend from this dating app. And then I'm like, come on, skip her.
00:15:25
Speaker
Like there's a lot of stalkers. I like watch movies with those stalker films. And so I kind of like asked her, like, are you scared with those kind of like psychos or whatnot? Like I'm not being too judgy of the dating aspect. Like I'm paranoid. So she told me like, no, you should try this app and then you're going to like it. This is very wholesome. And then I did kind of like now I kind of don't like it. You know, I kind of want to meet one.
00:15:54
Speaker
During that time I was like I want to focus on my business like I'm not looking and then the next day I was hungover. I'm like I Like curious of like this dating app. I want to see the interface of how it looks like on the app. So I yeah did like two dating apps and then I was scrolling and then I created an account and then I was like chatting a few and then Eric kind of like hit me up maybe a week after I had my app. And then it's kind of funny because I don't know how to to use it.
00:16:28
Speaker
Pardon this short interruption, but guess what? I have a new program. It's for all wedding professionals. It's called The Triple Threat. We redo your brand messaging, the homepage of your website. Part two is we do all your marketing. we create a beautiful brochure so you could start getting on Prefer venue vendor list and we do all your sales. So we actually make you a sales presentation leading your client to the heck yes, so you get paid. I have a free 20 minute demo training. It's only 20 minutes. Go to my Instagram at Carissa Woo.
00:17:09
Speaker
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00:17:31
Speaker
tell us how you're feeling like I want to just know a little bit more about your thoughts. Yeah, beautiful. And you're, you're awesome. It's beautiful. I'm speechless. I just like the fact that it feels like myself like I can I feel myself when I see this. Oh, man. Well, you got me pumped and excited for this. Krista, thank you. So it's just popping notifications, but I don't know what to do. like Yeah, the Coffee Meets Bagel. okay okay okay kate going I had Hinge and a CMB. So I was just calling. I don't even know how to click like. Like when you swipe right, it says like, you like that person. So I didn't know. I was just crawling like, oh, okay, cutie. No, something like that. I was just enjoying it. And then me, I kind of like accidentally scrolled Eric and then he scrolled me back and then he kind of like
00:18:25
Speaker
sent me a message. I forgot. I wish I could have like, but right now we were trying to backtrack our first message, but we couldn't because we deleted, you know, like, yeah.
00:18:39
Speaker
yeah yeah
00:18:42
Speaker
Thank you. Yeah, kind of like about it like that's how we started dating He asked me on the date and then you know like I wasn't ready like I was just like I just want to have fun and I just want to you know get to know people and Like it's not that easy like for me. I didn't expect like to date on my first year. I didn't expect an American man, so It's it's like a big adjustment
00:19:12
Speaker
You know, like I haven't, I haven't had a partner for like four years. Oh Yeah, it was all meant to be. um Well, I mean, this is perfect flow into our hot topic, but I'll kind of give everyone the kind of the big picture because I was there and I like witnessed your company firsthand. So again, it was ah at the Wipo event, the Garland, beautiful, like garden oasis. And I see like your set up,
00:19:42
Speaker
and it was like all these like perfume bottles and perfumes and like glass bottles and it's like very beautiful and like the perfume was branded and you guys are like really like warm and welcoming and you um everyone's just like coming up to you guys um and just a great experience and like a party favor I've never seen before um that I've been to, I've photographed over like 500 weddings. So I got excited and I asked you to be on my podcast, but we're gonna talk about, I'll ask you, what is your hot topic and why is it so near and dear to your heart? Yeah, so the hot topic is actually um being engaged and you know starting a business together and there's there's you know dynamics and there's
00:20:29
Speaker
you know, there's different challenges and there's so many wonderful blessings. And so that's kind of the hot topic we want to talk about today with you, Carissa. All right, let's do it. So just fire at me and I'll just ask you follow up question. Yeah. So, you know, um, first is the dynamics, right? Of who's playing what role. And so I think that, you know, one of the, the first things you have to realize is what are, what are,
00:20:55
Speaker
the partner's strengths, right? And so who's who's great at marketing, who's great at numbers, who's great at creating the actual product, who's the creative mind behind the product itself, who can you know analyze and strategize. So I think you know those are important things that you need to you know establish pretty quickly because everybody has strengths and weaknesses and you should, in in my opinion,
00:21:21
Speaker
play to that, especially as you start the business. So that way everybody is kind of comfortable in that role. So if you're a great speaker, maybe you should be the one speaking, right? She's great at social media. Her other business is is has thousands of followers. So she naturally kind of gravitated towards that. And um um some of the challenges are you will butt heads. You will certainly butt heads.
00:21:45
Speaker
And, um you know, when you're engaged, you kind to, you know, the beauty of this, you get to know the person so much more at the deeper levels, right? And so there's surface level things, but then there's really below the surface level things that that come out naturally as you're working together. And, but the one thing that's really brought us close together is um our drive and our hard work. So, you know, we're both working professionals and we get off work at 7.30, 8 o'clock, you know, we have to,
00:22:15
Speaker
you know do different errands, but at nine o'clock from that nine you know nine to 11 p.m. maybe is our time to, you know or nine to 12, we were able to focus on the business and that's where we kind of had that mutual understanding that however tired you are, however frustrated you are at something else, it's like this this time slot, it's business only, um were we're still partners, you know we love each other, but let's get to work.
00:22:45
Speaker
And I think that as the relationship has evolved and as we're growing our business, we we have like a kind of a set schedule. So for us, structure is important. And so we have a defined like, you know, this is our time to focus on the business. so you know Those have been the things that we wanted to emphasize on. and That's kind of the hot topic that we want to bring to your listeners, which is I'm sure there there are engaged people that are starting or married, engaged, all that right in a relationship and starting a business together, challenges, blessings. and It's been a really awesome experience actually. so Maybe, Chrisa, you want to start something or maybe Eugenie can chime in.
Balancing Full-Time Jobs and Business
00:23:29
Speaker
oh No, no, Eugenie, um you have a full-time job too.
00:23:32
Speaker
Yeah, I do. I have one day to Friday. Oh, what do you do? I work in my cousin's business. We're under like medical department. So yeah, I work around like 9 a.m. to sometimes I get off like seven. It depends. we' make So I'm under sales right now. I'm a trainee in sales. So yeah, that's where I kind of like my schedule. I had to, you know, like focus first with my my job, day time job. And then after that, I focus on our business. Yeah.
00:24:04
Speaker
Yeah, that's amazing. That's crazy. Okay. Let's, let's tap into a little bit more about your strengths and weaknesses. So Eugenie's strengths are social media. Um, she knows fragrance. Eric, what are your strengths? I know you have a lot of strengths. It's very indicative. Like, you know, first of all, when you, you when you have ELA fragrance at your event, you know, I'm kind of the extroverted really loud,
00:24:33
Speaker
really gathering the crowd. I want to talk to you about the product. I want to be the one to connect with you on a one-to-one level. and so you know That's one of my strengths. It's called like you know code shifting, but I can really speak to any age, you know man, woman, younger, a little bit older, business professional,
00:24:55
Speaker
And so I'm in the hospitality industry. So in the hospitality industry, we come across a lot of different people. And so I'm able to engage them really quickly, make them feel comfortable. And then I pass it on to the the the sense master over here because she knows the product a lot better than I do. And so she's the one that's kind of the, you know, the one that is the, you know, doing the suggestions, the ones that's giving you information about the product. And so that's kind of how my strengths kind of leading them to the well,
00:25:26
Speaker
And then she's the one that's like, okay, here's what you want to drink, you know, kind of okay sharing. Yeah, you were totally working it. I love how you got everyone's Instagram. Eugenie, I'll let you talk. I wanted to ask you, um just going back to the hot topic, like you guys were planning a wedding. I'm sure you had a lot of friends from, you know, overseas, you know, Eric says urban boy. like culturally You guys are probably like a lot different in many ways. Tell me some of like the hiccups that you went through and how did you overcome them? Well, hiccups in what in in what way, Carissa?
00:26:03
Speaker
kind of like fights arguments about growing the business, how to delegate your time, how to like work as a team, how how much money you should spend on your new business. And then, you know, with the wedding expenses, just like anything, like what, what hurdles do you overcome together? Throw them all my way right now. Like I'm I'm not gonna get hurt, you know? Like, I'm not sensitive to that. I had a lot of, like, ah arguments, like, let's say, for example. Sometimes he doesn't talk to me as if I'm, like, the fiancé. Like, he talks to me like as a business person. oh Like, so, how much did we sell? Like, what did we buy? He asked me like that. And then for me, I'm like, hey, I'm your fiancé.
00:26:47
Speaker
talk to me like in the sweet manner or something like that is like kind of like he as the pillow but you know he explains to me that you know like you shouldn't think like that this is business so I kind of make him understand too like you know like you also have to have like a boundary where you don't forget like you know we're still gonna get married yeah that is yeah that's yeah turn of voices everything in marriage did you have anything to add on to that Eric
00:27:18
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:29:50
Speaker
I have to watch myself. That is what I have to watch myself because you know um we're pretty aggressive in my full-time job. like We're very you know very stern, very data-centric, to the point, and very direct. and I think you know when you're working with your fiance, as we're alluding to this hot topic,
00:30:13
Speaker
It's the fine line between getting your point across in a business professional manner versus your fiance. And so you know when you do when you're working your eight to six at the corporate office, sometimes you bring it home. So I have to kind of start to channel that in the next you know a couple months and and really and polish that up.
00:30:34
Speaker
Yeah, you're lucky you have a soothing, nice voice. you could and here and Okay, so you said in your questionnaire, be selective. That is very important to you. What does that mean to you, Eugenie? Selective in your partner. Oh,
00:30:54
Speaker
Well, oh, yeah, I didn't know what that meant. I didn't know if but it meant like in what you do or your partner. Like being a partner where for me, it's like more like understanding me because sometimes I can be tough too. You know, like sometimes my mood changes right pretty quick. Eric experiences that like he experienced that a lot. Like sometimes I'm just not in a mood. Like, you know, sometimes we have our hormones. so I'm not in a mood like today. Like, for example, I only had like four hours sleep this morning. kind of through like
00:31:29
Speaker
my you know my mood. So I think he's very understanding. And that's why I'm very lucky that I picked him because he's more like, he has the values that I really want for a man. And I didn't expect him, like him growing up here as an American boy, I didn't expect that we'll get along.
00:31:52
Speaker
that much because, you know, in Asia, it's different culture. So he has the values that I have to and family wise, you know, he has he grew up like he has the values that I really wanted. I love that. What are some of like the biggest lessons that you learned in Bali? And like, what did you take away from that and like, kind of put into your business? That's like my favorite. Number one is patience. You have to like, I meditate every day. So I really practice. That's what I learned in Bali, like how to meditate. I meditate every day and it helps me. It helps me
00:32:34
Speaker
go through the day and then just makes me relax gives me peace and that's the same thing with Eric he gives me peace when people ask me like why Eric you know he's like my peace so you know like ah when I'm with him is there's there's no stress or you know so that's why I kind of like just like everything that's what's going on even just people would say that it's been only a year You know, like everything has just happened so fast. Like when you know, you really know. Yeah. Yeah. You guys were probably together in a different lifetime. ah Like a soul. Yeah. Aww. Eric, tell us a little bit about like your hospitality career. And then what did you bring? I mean, it's obvious, but like, what did you take away from that and like bring to your company? You kind of said some stuff, but let's go a little bit deeper.
00:33:30
Speaker
Yeah, so I was very fortunate. I didn't know anything about hospitality, honestly. I studied accounting. you know I was supposed to work in accounting in the hospitality industry. i So I kind of got into the operation side of it. um I'm lucky enough to in the last 12 years. So we you know run Hilton's and Marriott's. And again, we run through a plethora of so many people and you know the idea of service, the idea of you know providing value to your guests.
00:33:58
Speaker
and you know kind of having very the utmost standards. right so When you go to Hilton, you know that, hey, your room is going to be clean. you know that When you're with the Marriott's, you're going to have the VIP guest. You're going to have to treat everybody like they're the the number one priority. In the last four years, me being there, I was able to kind of you know take those those um guidances and you know take those measures of, you know, high excellence. And, and so now I can put that into any business that we run through moving from. Yep. Well said. Eugenie, what is your best heck yes sales technique? How do you get your heck yes from your dream client? Because you already are getting heck yeses already. Well, for me, it's social media. It really helps a lot, you know, like posting, like doing marketing.
00:34:52
Speaker
like what else like visuals yeah visuals going to events you know like I really want to just put my bar there like before in the in Asia I would it was really my dream to just have like a bar in a mall Like I just wanted to play all my s sense and then just have it there. So I just thought of like, when I come up with the the fragrance bar, I just want my bar to be mobile. I just want to take it anywhere, everywhere. So but for me, it's meeting people.
Enhancing Events with Alay Fragrance
00:35:30
Speaker
It's, you know, like going to events, attending.
00:35:35
Speaker
convention. Yeah. Yeah. Shout out to you. My hubby loves the scent. So um no long thank you. I'm not a perfume person. I think the only perfume I had was like Tommy Hilfiger when I was like 16. So now I'm back in the scent game because of you guys. But what we what would you say your woo factor is? What is your LA factor? What makes you stand out? My woo factor?
00:36:01
Speaker
Yeah, because I know maybe people you know in the future may copy you or try to copy you or mimic you because you guys are one of the first, but what makes you stand out? Yeah, so I think number one is we enhance any event that you have.
00:36:17
Speaker
I truly believe that like, you know, we're gonna be understanding of you know, the vibe. So if it's like really rowdy and loud, we can we can do that. And if it's like a quiet baptism, we can be super quiet and just chill. um And also, you know, Eugenie's knowledge of the product, but then also Like I said, we are um you know relatively young, but we can really cater to any and everybody. like We really love interacting and we love teaching people about the product. so I think when you have us at your event, that's like the woo factor. I don't want to do our own horn, but ah really we just love to socially interact. That's number one. and Then number two, we have wonderful sense. Then number three, I think is,
00:37:03
Speaker
um you know We have a long-lasting product that will you know be beyond the day of the event. and i think I think those are the three secret sauces that we have. like we and Also, the last thing, sorry to make this long-winded, is we are business professionals that value every guest's time. ah We are going to come early. you know We're going to have the right ethics, the right morals. We'll never cheat anybody.
00:37:30
Speaker
And whatever you know you request, we have attention to detail. And so us being in in business for so long, we know how those small things, like for us in hotel world, for example, you better not have a crease in your sheets, right? you you The breakfast room food better always be full. You know you better be charged the right amount. you know Those are the the practices which we take on over to our LA fragrance that is the secret sauce that we are going to hold near and dear to our heart.
00:38:01
Speaker
Yeah, and perfumes you definitely wouldn't throw away. I throw away a lot of stuff that I get from weddings, but a perfume, no one would ever throw that away. It definitely will go somewhere on your your table your you know where you get ready. so Um, it's, it's one of a kind type of gift and it's also, you know, personalized to the couple. Um, I'm going to just act like I'm on a sales call, but, um, don't think of business at all or being business partners at all, but I'll let lady ladies first. But Eugenie, what do you love most about Eric? Hmm. What I love about most about Eric. Well, he's very, um, patient. He's very patient of me.
00:38:44
Speaker
And he's very understanding and he's very sweet and very, um, we really get along. No, like we have the same hobbies, not, not all, but yeah same. Like, you know, he works out, I work out too.
00:39:01
Speaker
likes playing sports and I know some sports too. So that's what I kind of like about him. Like he's very understanding and he's very patient and very patience is very important to me because I know myself. I'm tough too. Like I need to get along with it. Like I read energies, you know, like there are some people that, oh, okay. But there's like a wall.
00:39:28
Speaker
So he's kind of like, you know, trying to make me understand that, you know, like take that wall and just be, you know, just be who you are. Cause sometimes I tend to guard my wall. So, you know, like growing up, I've had experiences, so I had to guard my wall, but Eric taught me how to like, you know, like just such a or down and just be go go for it.
00:39:53
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you grew up without parents, so I can't imagine you had to deal with some tough situations by yourself at a young age. Beautiful, that's so beautiful. And Eric, what do you love most about Eugenie? Yeah, so, you know, she got that be selective question. But, you know, for me, um I've dated a lot. And, you know, for me, being selective means that there's no greater selection in life than probably your life partner.
00:40:18
Speaker
And so with that being said, I think the greatest thing about Eugenie is her work ethic. And I think for me, I needed somebody to be down with the cause, ready to work, you know burn the midnight oil, you know come 9 to 12, listen to the weekend and just start banging away on your laptop. And and that's it. Like she's she's down with that. I'm down with that. And it's it's a lifestyle decision, right? Like there's a decision of you can, on a Saturday night, you can Netflix and you know, kind of just take it easy. But for us, I needed a partner to say, Hey, we don't need to watch the latest show.
00:40:57
Speaker
we're going to work. And I think that's the most thing I love about Eugenie and Eugenie's never turned down you know us going to our office and saying, hey, let's look let's cook up some new ingredients. Let's you know do some work on our social media. like I need that type of person to compliment me because I'm that um'm that type of person myself. Yeah. If not, you would be alone.
00:41:21
Speaker
yeah yeah yeah know it's it's It's interesting because my husband and me like I am I'm very work oriented. So um He has like a nine to five so he will not work at all and I'm not allowed to talk about work and you know, I feel bad if I I kind of work. So it's interesting, like the partner that you choose. Yeah, like i a lot of some ex girlfriends would be like, let's, let's, you know, so I'm just like, Hey, as you go to old, I'm, you know, 37, 30, 38, you know, some men get married at 30. Like I just knew that this type of person with this kind of attitude is, you know, more suitable for me.
00:42:03
Speaker
Oh, I love that. Well, um I guess let's do rapid fire questions. That was pretty amazing. Actually, one more question before rapid fire questions. ah Speak to the hearts of wedding pros. I know you guys just started, but you're already like, you know, booking and you already were like featured and everyone went crazy for you and like getting your name out there. What would you say to someone that just wants to be successful, but Kind of is in the slum. What would you say to them to do today to make it happen for themselves?
00:42:39
Speaker
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00:42:57
Speaker
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00:43:27
Speaker
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00:43:49
Speaker
Well, I think the first thing is try to ah you know be physically present any and everywhere. And there's no secret sauce. It's like working out. You got to put in the time to work out. And for us, we're trying to be you know five places all at once. And so once you're there and people know your name,
00:44:07
Speaker
At that point, you have to be kind of extroverted. You have to be willing to say, hey, what's your Instagram? Can we connect? Can we network? and so Don't be shy. Be getting your car and just go. Go to the places. and you know for it's like Somebody says, hey, how do I lose weight? It's like, go to the gym. you know Get on the treadmill. There's no secret sauce. so For us, like we're on the go, go, go all the time. We're looking to be at you know venues all the time. We're going to be at one of the hotel events tonight. And we we've done you know five things today already. So there's no secret sauce. And she was able to grow her food business. She went door to door and said, try my food. like Eat my food. If you like it, eat it. So I think that's an advice that we would give to anybody who's just starting. And I want to give just a real quick shout out to Jasmine, who
00:44:59
Speaker
that our you know wonderful mentor, she's the one that kind of broke us to whip us, showed us that event. And so Jasmine has been gracious and just everybody that we've met so far in the wedding industry. Jasmine Katorkigiri.
00:45:11
Speaker
Yes. Oh, she's the one that helped me too. She like went to us and went and was like, Hey, have you heard of Wippo? Wipe a who? And so like so she just introduced, you know, she, you know, just really got my phone number, called me, texted me, walked me through the ropes. And so you by luck that we were able to meet her, but also it was by our, you know, grit of just trying to be any anywhere and everywhere.
00:45:38
Speaker
Aw, she helped me. She's the one that got me my speaking gig for Webbus. So I spoke in front of 75 of them and I was like the only main speaker. So that was like the start of my speaking career. So shout out to Jasmine. Jasmine, we love you so much. Big hearts. Yes. Big hearts to Jasmine get to our cakeery by her cakes. OK, these are more rapid fire questions. Let's see. Favorite wedding planning tips. Wedding planning tips.
00:46:09
Speaker
Our best wedding planning tip. Short answers. Best wedding planning tip. What's yours? Maybe you can give yours and then we can give one. Me? Because I got very long time ago, but I guess is to have a vision, stick with it, and then stop looking around. I'm a bit pinterest because you're going to get confused. That's a good one. That's a good one. Yeah. I really like that one.
00:46:34
Speaker
Thank you. Let me prepare a checklist of everything. Like, you know, in schedule, mark your calendars, like ahead of time. Like I've marked my calendar until February um during our big day. So I already marked everything. Quick tip for me, I'm basketball. Don't play basketball the day before the way. That's what somebody told me. the Don't play basketball. or you appealian yeah acl um What was going to say? Oh, yeah. um What do you do when you're not working? Your favorite, like,
00:47:04
Speaker
togetherness, hobby, workout. Workout and listen to the weekend. We love the weekend. No, I don't like that. I love the weekend too. Oh, okay. No, you love the weekend too? Yeah, but not as much as you, but yeah, of course. Okay, good. You make me feel like it's magic. I listen to the weekend all day.
00:47:31
Speaker
And like, I'm like, but I got sick of it because of Eric. Thank you. Oh, I'm glad you mentioned it. Cause Martina mentioned Mark Anthony and I've been watching Mark and I listening to Mark Anthony all week. So now I'm going to listen to the weekend. So I like that. Okay. Magic Wong question. i'm I'm a coach. So if you had a magic wand, where would you see your business in 30, 90 days, three months, like goal setting?
00:48:01
Speaker
Yeah. So you know for us, it's not just weddings. We would love to be in weddings, bridal showers, ah you know carpet corporate events, and you know being able to you know spread across maybe five or six different industries. you know We want real estate agents to to have our you know item. We want people loving it. And so I think hopefully in 90 days, we can spread across and we don't pigeon ourselves we know pigeonhole in just kind of one or two industries. We would like to expand across you know maybe six to 10 different industries.
00:48:30
Speaker
Wow, okay, that's good to know. Perfect, and then last question.
00:48:39
Speaker
Favorite part of your wedding? My favorite part of our wedding would be the dancing because Eric likes dancing. I haven't seen him dance so I can't wait. And my my favorite would be also walking down the aisle because I've never seen Eric cry. I want to see him cry. but Even if it tells me that he's not gonna cry, I really want to make him cry because I want to see him cry. but Did he cry?
00:49:06
Speaker
No. but Well, we haven't had our wedding yet. so Oh, you're so engaged. I'm That's ah like a little bit. of february But I told them to, um, my heart is too cold for that. So I don't know if I'm going to cry. in your pocket i'm just kidding Oh my God. Okay. So you're engaged. I get it. Okay. I was so confused. Um, that's so crazy. Okay. So you've done so much as an engaged couple. Um,
00:49:31
Speaker
Um, yeah, I'll just wrap it up. Um, tell everyone where to find you, how to work with you. And then just lasting words to professionals out there. Um, anything that you want to say, just speak to them from the heart, from your heart.
Conclusion and How to Connect with Alay Fragrance
00:49:44
Speaker
Yeah. So thank you, Chris. Number one for your platform. We're so thankful to have you on this podcast and you've been so warm and welcoming. You can find us on Elay fragrance. ah That's our handle on Instagram.
00:49:56
Speaker
And then we have elayfragranceatgmail.com, so you can please email us. We'd love to be at your event or you know just interact with you. And then any parting words is, again, is this industry is a wonderful industry. We feel as though everyone can win in this industry. And we hope to be a you know a wonderful partner in this community that's gonna be so long lasting. And we're super excited on this journey.
00:50:23
Speaker
And we look forward to working with everybody and seeing everybody at all events. Yeah. Thank you so much. And I can't wait to see your wedding pictures and how your wedding comes out. But you guys are great. Thank you so much.
00:50:42
Speaker
Thanks for joining me this week on Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. Make sure to follow, subscribe, leave a review, or tell a friend about the show. Take a screenshot and post to IG. Tag me. Also, don't forget to download my free guide on how to become a lead generating machine. See you next time, wedding pros!