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Ep. 141 - Diversifying and outsourcing - Chiell ann - Get your time back
95 Plays6 months ago
Happy Woo Wednesdays.
I have Chiell-Ann in the Get a HECK YES house, well-known wedding planner.
She went through my program The Triple Threat because she wanted a brand message rebrand and to get on the preferred venue list.
In less than 2 months, she has a new brand message, new website, new instagram and sales deck. She used my strategies to get on her 1st preferred venue list after being in the industry since 2017. I'm so proud of her.
Check out her new brand here. https://www.loveandlife.events/
Today we talk about Diversifying your biz to have multiple revenue streams and outsourcing to save you time. Chiell is a mom of 3 so this topic is very near and dear to her heart.
She strives for balance because she ended up in the hospital because she overworked herself. Something had to change.
She now leans on her team to be out at the wedding.
She helps wedding pros get their time back by linking them up with a virtual assistant from the Philippines for a fraction of the cost.
She also sells a beauty line.
All of these things align with her brand and her core values ; Family and balance.
Connect with Chiell-Ann
https://www.instagram.com/loveandlife.events
https://www.instagram.com/chiellabrate See her cute family
Connect with Carissa Woo
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Chelan and Invitation to Follow CarissaWoo
00:00:00
Speaker
Happy Woo Wednesdays! Chelan from Love and Life Events, well-known OC wedding planner for fun and carefree couples, is in the Get a Heck Yes House! She went through my triple threat program because she wanted new brand messaging and more leads. She shares her experience and excitement of using my strategies and getting on a preferred venue vendor list! The Holy Grail list! If you want the same, DM me the word DEMO. My Instagram is at CarissaWoo. And be sure to look at her new website. She is a mom of three and strives for balance every day. I do too.
The Role of Filipino VAs in Business Support
00:00:38
Speaker
Today she talks about diversifying your business. Check out the company she talks about called SaaS. She links up VAs from the Philippines to give you your time back for a fraction of the cost. Book a free call with her to hear more. Enjoy this conversation.
Carissa Wu's Podcast Goals for Wedding Photographers
00:00:58
Speaker
Welcome to Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. 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, time-packed 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!
00:01:50
Speaker
Hey everyone, welcome back to Get a Heck Yes with your girl, Carissa Wu. I have Shel Ann in the Heck Yes house.
Chelan's Background and Journey to Professional Career
00:01:58
Speaker
She is from Love and Life Events, OC and ah LA Wedding Planner. I've been working with her for over a decade and redoing her brand launching very, very soon. And I'm so excited to have you. Welcome, Shel. Aw, thank you, Carissa. Thank you so much for having me. Yes. And this is your first first podcast. So I'll go easy on you. But I guess first question is, tell me the cute little story you're going to say about your name, Shaw. Oh, shell. Okay. Well, my full name started. Well, if you want to know my full full name, it's shell and Garcia Pereira Ordonez is one of those Filipinos.
00:02:42
Speaker
names. But Shell for short, I just completely cut it down. um But I am a Filipino American. Maybe many Filipinos know like parents just kind of like to combine their names together, and then create a mix of the two. So my mom's name is Ellen, my dad's nickname is Cheeto, or it starts with CHI. So they put the CHI from my dad and then E-L-L from my mom together. And then my grandfather's name is Anthony. So I think Anne was also a very popular name in that timeframe. So yeah, that's how they put it all together. So Shell Anne is my whole first name. Oh, I love it. It kind of rolls off your tongue. I'm a Carissa Anne. Oh, are you really? Yeah, we have that in common. and then
00:03:36
Speaker
to the guests, me and Shell, we're talking about how we both woke up today with a swollen eye. So we both looked like cyclops, and mine is my right or the left, but it looks like we're mirroring eye swollen. That's so funny. Yeah, something in my eyes just like popped up like a sty or something. Oh my That's so funny. Okay, so we're going to I'm gonna do your bio later, but tell the audience like who you are, who you serve and what you're like growing up.
00:04:08
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Okay, so who I am, like I said, i my name is Shell and um I go by Shell. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, cal California. My parents moved here from the Philippines in like the 80s, of course, had me here in l LA. And I was just basically like I grew up in the hood, I would say like, I don't know if you're familiar with LA, but you have like, the really nice areas and the really like Booj Ghetto areas real quick, like from street to street. And I think growing up in my area, it's called Mid City, Los Angeles. So literally Mid City. I'm just 15 minutes away from everything. So I feel like I was kind of sheltered as a kid because, ah you know, my parents probably really wanted to keep me safe, me and my sister safe. Just really protected, of course, from our outside world, outside of my gates. It was kind of like, ooh, you gotta be careful out there.
00:05:05
Speaker
So they were very protective of us. But they I think they really like valued of course, good education, good school. So they made us go to school districts outside of our like boundary line. Like my home school would have been like LA high or like somewhere really. I remember as a kid also like touring the schools when I was little like going into kindergarten and we could tell like I just didn't feel comfortable. I was like, Oh, this is like kind of weird. And then we went to actually, um, schools in like Beverly Hills, which is just like 10 minutes outside of where we live. So as you know, like LA is just like, it's like street by street. It's like a different thing. So I went to elementary school at Carfay. I went to, um, middle school.
00:05:56
Speaker
And like Koreatown, which is like, right where was right next to my dad's work. And then for high school, I went like two hours away from my home on a bus to East l LA. It was like a magnet school. So um I think my parents just kind of made sure we had just good education. And like, you know, um being where we lived, we just tried to make the best out of it. But still a really great community around us. Like we loved our neighbors and like the people around us, so. I love that. but It's so funny because, not funny, but you grew up in the hood, but you just seem so like proper and like framed and like, even your room and just like, so everything about your brand is so pretty. a like Because, well, that's like me up until 18 years old. And then for like, once I graduated high school, cool I went off to Orange County, I went to UC Irvine. So I think Orange County obviously has a different vibe than LA.
00:06:55
Speaker
So I kind of stuck around here in Orange County ever since college. So I went to UC Irvine. I would say I was pretty involved on campus too. I was part of a lot of groups and if you know, kind of like the dance community. I used to dance with a team called Cabo Modern. Oh, wow i yeah, like a Filipino American like hip hop dance crew. So shout out to all my dancers in the community. Wow.
00:07:27
Speaker
very involved with that. And I just, you know, it was Irvine, so it's definitely like more cookie cutter out there. And I guess it just kind of, it was complete opposite of how I grew up. I love Orange County because now i I feel really safe out here. I feel like I can go out, like not have to worry about traffic. and all the crazy things that are happening outside of my walls. Yeah. I mean, ah thing great crazy things still happen here, but not as bad as LA. Yeah. My sister went to UCI, and you know, Cobba Modern was huge,
Challenges and Growth in Marketing and Recruiting
00:08:01
Speaker
which is still, is so I would go to all the all the performances or watch them. I was on Evolution for UC Riverside, not 909, but.
00:08:14
Speaker
Yeah, so I was definitely in that world, but fell down to Cava Modern, so you definitely were the cool kids at UCI.
00:08:23
Speaker
During the time I was on it, it was from my classes, 2006. So it was around the timeframe that ABDC was big on MTV. I wasn't on the show, but I was on the team while the show was happening. So we, yeah, we got to benefit from some of that, that fame, I guess you could say at the time and just kind of got to travel and perform a lot more. And it was just so, that time was so much fun. Oh, man, what the glory days are just like old and all of us have kids and we just like reminisce about those days. So yeah, now you're a mom of three just for our audience so to, um to tell you guys a little teaser, we are going to be talking about um diversifying your portfolio after kids.
00:09:11
Speaker
after becoming a mom or you know if even if you're not a mom, diversifying your portfolio to have the different revenue but ah revenue streams. But tell the audience a little bit, maybe post college, what your first jobs were, and then we could get into how you became a wedding planner. Oh, sure. So I would say even from like high school, the day I could start working, I think I started when I was like 15 and a half. So I was always working and hustling and starting from LA. So like college or throughout college, I did like work for study type jobs.
00:09:46
Speaker
um During college, actually I remember my senior year of college, I did have like a part-time job at this marketing like graphics company and I think it started off more so like as an internship and then a part-time job and so I guess they really liked me because people would come and go all the time even from UCI because they reached out to a lot of UCI students to work for them And so I was quite busy at that time of senior year. I was still dancing. I did SPOP. I had a job. SPOP is also like a volunteering program at UCI. So I would just be super busy with everything. And that company was um not really hiring, but ah I graduated in 2008 during the recession.
00:10:39
Speaker
So that was also a hard time for any graduate or anybody really at that time to find a job or retain a job. But at that time they were doing layoffs, but they actually offered me a full time job after I graduated in 2000. Wow. yeah Which is crazy because they let everybody else go, but they've kept the ones of obviously the one that they wanted to keep on, to keep it going. So I was just, I felt lucky that I had a job in 2008 and that was my job. So it was like a marketing and sales position.
00:11:11
Speaker
And I was literally selling maps, like graphic maps. Oh, interesting. Yeah, they're like business solutions for, of course, like also small businesses type of thing. um I guess more so I was like talking to people and customers over the phone and just kind of selling their products. And it worked out. I just kind of ran with it. I actually, to be honest, really didn't like the job. I just was doing it because obviously I just graduated. I knew I was lucky to even have a job and I was just trying to pay my own rent at that time. Yeah. And roommates, you know, I'm just a new graduate trying to just put something on my resume.
00:11:53
Speaker
at that time. So I stuck with that job for about six years. And at that time too, there was so I was shell and right up until college and whatnot. But at that job, there were three other ands at that company. So they were like, you shell because literally there's other ands here. That's why call me shell. So that's kind of how that came about too. Everyone else. Oh, how funny. They're like, can't we drop like happy. There's like three other ands here. So the end is such a popular name. I'm meeting so many people whose middle name is and even like my best friends are their middle names are. Oh my god, that's so funny. Yeah, I graduated 2007. So that was a good time to graduate. And everything was booming. That was right before the crash. And, you know, when you graduated, then that was
00:12:47
Speaker
really, really rough. but So you're so lucky that you had that job and you weren't there for a good amount of time. Yeah, it was six years. And I remember it just like dreading going to work. I was like, I i hate this i doing this. But I needed obviously to just make some kind of income. I i knew that I was also gaining good skills as far as like, like work skill sets, selling, like there's like a really good sales manager there. I was able to figure out how to just be in like corporate small business type of company. Um, I did stay there for quite a bit until I was like, Oh, I'm done. I think recession is over. I actually transitioned over to a job in recruiting, which was kind of similar. And it was very, um, a lot of the skillsets that I have was, able I was able to transfer over to a recruiting role. So then I was just kind of like working more with people and placements, which is really nice. So that was about a year.
00:13:43
Speaker
And then from there, I was ready to do the next thing too. Cause I was like starting to just build up my portfolio and build up my confidence and, um, get more tools under my belt type of thing. Yeah. So, um, at that time I also was also with like my boyfriend at the taste. He's now my husband today, but at the time he is my boyfriend, we were both in that hustle mode where we're just building our careers. And so. um We connected with us another startup company where we grew a lot as well. um So from there I worked at a small startup brand. It was a premium beauty brand company also here in Orange County. And I basically was the first employee and I wore many hats. I was able to help run the business, grow
Inspiration and Start of Wedding Planning Business
00:14:30
Speaker
the business and really learn how to be part of a small business.
00:14:35
Speaker
And so from there too was a beauty brand. So was I just loved all pretty things and just like um the makeup, the influencers, the Instagram, this is I think is 2014, 2016 timeframe. So Instagram was just booming at that time. So the brand blew up because like the whole influencer thing was just starting at that time. So it was like a new place to be and you're we're just like riding that wave. So it was just like a great place to see that company grow so much. And I learned so much
00:15:11
Speaker
to how to run like a small business. And so was that I became like the director of operations and then the vice president of the company. Wow. So it was a great company. We worked with big, big brands like Disney, H and&M, like Sephora, like all these crazy brands we got into. And that was awesome. Until I was like, Oh, I think I'm ready to just this kind of be my own boss. I was just so inspired by the brand and the company owner. And so I felt I learned so much. And I was like, Okay, I think I'm starting to feel like ready to be my own boss one day, because I was just so inspired about the brand.
00:15:50
Speaker
and how that grew. So that year was 2017 when I got married to my husband. So he proposed after seven years, we were dating. About time. I was like, I'm getting a little, what's going on? Like, what's happening? It's seventh year. Like, I don't really know. He did a proposing we got married in 2017 and at that time I actually Started also planning my own wedding at the at the last company I worked for I was very much involved in the events like the trade shows putting like events together and I love that part of the business and so the kind of also was part of how I got into weddings and events because I just loved the
00:16:38
Speaker
like putting things together, bringing people together and just celebrating. And our wedding was just like all of that, right? It was just a day full of love and so amazing. I did hire a wedding planner and coordinator as well. And she was amazing. Like I was, I remember being so stressed, right? I was just like, oh my gosh, I can't believe how crazy this is, this huge party. I did plan most of it, but I still released everything over to my wedding planner. Her name is Pam. still writing her wedding planning business and florist business today. Oh, shout out to Pam. We love her. Yeah, I love Pam and Viv. Yeah, they're the best.
00:17:17
Speaker
Yeah, so they were my, our wedding team on the day of and it was just, I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. I had so much fun. There was stressful moments, of course, but they were able to handle it all. And I was just then so inspired, you know, I was just like, oh, this is amazing. I love just celebrating and being part of these big days. So started kind of like dabbling into it, started side hustling, wedding planning. And then I was finally ready to take the leap. like I think I'm ready to do this. Oh, wow. But you've only been doing it for like seven years. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. you You've done a lot. So yeah, you I mean, everyone go check out her Instagram love and life dot events. She has the most amazing amazing weddings on her new website.
00:18:09
Speaker
yeah that's a um But I guess, okay, so you caught the wedding bug. And yeah, I love working with Viv and Pam, they are on top of their ish to the tea. But what happens next, like, um starting your business, do you just start doing like friends weddings? How did you get your your feet out? And how did you kind of like take off? 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
00:18:52
Speaker
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. and DM me the word DEMO. I will send it right over. It's how to get 10 to 15 quality leads in your inbox per month. Enjoy, guys. Krista Wu is a LA-based wedding photographer who's actually turning business coach. She helped me grow and change, and I'm so proud to call you coach.
00:19:38
Speaker
tell us how you're feeling. Like, I want to just know a little bit more about your thoughts. Yeah, it's 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. Carissa, thank you. Yeah, yeah. So also my best friend and I Emily, she helped just start building because she's also um a nurse herself. She's she has a day job. But we both were kind of like, Oh, we just love weddings. Like we love pretty things. I feel like we can do this. So
00:20:17
Speaker
To just kind of jumpstart it, we just kind of put the word out there to our friends and family that, hey, we're looking to start this thing. We are going to do three free weddings to start. So we did offer it for free. All we requested was some kind of review or testimonial, some feedback. on how we did and how we can improve and be better. So we started there and we got three weddings. They were great. Like one of our first weddings was actually at the Disneyland Hotel, which was really great. wow So yeah, just getting that first experience through connections was really fun. And we of course had experience from our own weddings and we would just talk to other
00:21:00
Speaker
um Yeah, other professionals I connected with Pam too. And I asked her I was like, Hey, would you be mad if I do that? She's like, No, like, I feel like you're like good for you. Like, she's so supportive. And until this day, I still connect with her and just kind of check in and see how she's doing. So I think um the key words right there, like, two sentences back, but how do we improve? So I think um a lot of people forget that question to ask and just ask for a review. They only want to hear the good things. But I think if you could ask that question in your career, in your journey in your life, I think it's um
00:21:39
Speaker
it's going to set you apart from the others. cause yeah i think that's um Sometimes it's hard to hear constructive criticism, but it's so necessary and people have to realize it's not negative.
Importance of Feedback and Continuous Improvement
00:21:50
Speaker
It's just everyone could improve and you know on our journeys in this wedding industry world. 100%. I agree. I feel like that also was part of dancing as well, like being part of a big team just in college. right We would go through dancing and request critiques from each one of our team members. Wow. Practice. So I was used to getting critiques. I actually want critiques. I want people to tell me how I could be better.
00:22:24
Speaker
Interesting. Yeah, I mean, I work with a lot of like interns or like third four shooters and the people that exceed my not exceed, but the ones that do really well are the people that ask, Hey, Chris, what can I do better? And I'm like, wow, that's really, I feel honored that they're even asking me. So um but those people are still faster. Yeah. Yeah. Cause you don't really want to like feel like, you know, at the first, like maybe first pitch, it's definitely hard to hear. Cause you're like, Oh shoot, I thought I was good. better You know, and that's, I think that's a great way to see it too. Like.
00:23:04
Speaker
Yeah, always. I love it. Well, thank you for sharing your journey. I know there's so much more to it, but I'm going to ask one more question before a hot topic, but this is kind of a, um, there's so many layers in this question, but I guess to summarize like your first year and how like you became successful, like after the three free weddings, maybe speak to the audience right now and just tell them how you did it that first year and just I don't know, maybe how you quit your job and got these weddings because the weddings are like top notch. So in in a nutshell, like to just kind of inspire our audience.
00:23:43
Speaker
Oh, sure. I mean, for the first three, of course, we kind of built off of what we all re kind of knew in our own experience. So both Emily and I, and also our friends at that time, this was kind of the time where a lot of our friends and ourselves got married. So we had just our own personal experiences from what we observed, what we saw, like how we even gone through the whole wedding process with our own, like planners and coordinators and things like that. And we took in what we really liked about them and what we really like appreciated and benefited from. And then we also took into consideration the things we would want to improve in the process.
00:24:26
Speaker
so I just remember, Oh, I love like how just everything flow. I loved how the vendors work and the communication. um But there's always something that maybe falls through the cracks, right? So I was just thinking, how could I have made that better? How if I knew this coming into it, like maybe just preparing um extra like bags for like leftovers or left like extra bags or something or um talking to all the vendors beforehand so they knew what the timeline was so just like little things like little nuances where I feel like oh if I could have done that then maybe this could have just been that just a little bit better and so after doing those like that first wedding and just learning from there we would you know at the end of every wedding and I still do this to this day I would check in with myself and the team whoever worked it and
00:25:17
Speaker
talk about our highs, our lows, and any feedback and improvements. Oh, you're such a corporate woman. And I came from that whole, like, that was like my background before. I don't know what you mean, like, plan, do, learn sheets. I love it. Yes, and that was also part of my college experience. I would just always know or talk to people about like, oh, what how how did this go? How did this event go? Or how could we have made it better? So I just kind of took that and transferred it over to my company as well.
00:25:52
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it's all making sense just working with you the past like two months, but you're always like taking copious notes and then you get the things I tell you to do done really, really fast. And then you're always like, what's the next steps? You know, so it's all, it's all coming in full circle. Okay. I didn't even realize that that's now part of me or like it's natural to me. So if that doesn't happen, I'm like, Oh, I don't know what to do next. Like, you know, how can we improve this or how can we make this? money So it's just kind of like, it was built into me like over time. You're like Toyota, always moving forward. Well, that's the first time I've ever heard that. Yeah, that was really good. You're like, okay, now what? It's like, okay, like the next step. So I like how your mind works. That's um that's how you probably gain traction so fast. So um anyone listening, I do work with a lot of students and some people like I'll tell them to do something and they don't take action, even though it's not that hard. So I think these tiny actions,
00:26:52
Speaker
that you take on a daily basis, like really, I don't know, catapult you into the next level really fast. Oh, yeah, thanks. Yeah, I don't even realize that that does that sometimes until you kind of like, talk about it, and look back like, oh, it actually is like, building that foundation. Yeah, I love it. Okay, so what is your hot topic today,
Balancing Motherhood and Business
00:27:14
Speaker
Shell? And why is it so near and dear to your heart? Yeah. So you kind of mentioned it earlier, just how to diversify, especially now that I'm a mom of three and my business has been, it established in 2018. So also a little tidbit, funny story. Like, um, I started my business in 2018 and about two weeks later I found out I was pregnant with my first born. So I was basically growing and
00:27:44
Speaker
nurturing two babies at the same time, literally a full on human baby and my business baby. That's hard. That's really hard. Yeah. but Really, really hard. So right. It was really, really hard, really challenging, of course. um And I just kind of think, okay, it's just making me stronger. I'm getting through this one baby in a business, like, I'm just getting that much stronger. So I just always would kind of keep that in mind. Um, but was even harder was then, you know, I was building traction, getting more weddings in 2019 and then our pandemic hit in 2020 and I was like, what is happening so of course that was, you know, building. And then it was just another little bit of a dip. We've had to pivot quite a bit in 2000, you know, 2020.
00:28:37
Speaker
I also have a love for like design and interior design. So a lot of people were home. So I pivoted quite a bit where I was still doing some weddings, right? Rescheduled micro weddings or a lopements, really small intimate weddings, which I really love because there is so much like more love and intimacy, like part of it. yeah um But still kind of had to figure out how to pay some bills, right? So I dabbled into like interior design renovation, because we could essential workers were able to work at that time. So contractors were considered that. So I did some renovations, started also like a small blog, just like of being a mom, being a business owner, doing all that called ShellaRate.com. So I was like, just trying to put it all together. And then from there.
00:29:25
Speaker
2021, I had my second born. And I was like, Oh, okay, we're having another one. So cool. 2021 comes around and things are starting to lift right events are coming back around, we're starting to have more weddings and all the reschedules are coming back. 2122 was also a booming year. And it was so like, just things were growing, right? Yeah. The field doing events, growing the team. I also had a coach, went through some programs as well and learned how to just continue to build the business. And then end of 2022, I think.
00:30:02
Speaker
I found out I was pregnant with my third born. I celebrate continues. ready We're done. We're cutting you off, Nick, like my husband. sip that But the doctor recommended we don't step until after the baby was here, just in case. So interesting. Yeah, so that was good. Just, you know, in case, of course, baby boy number three came about in July 2023. And then we eventually did get, you know, he's cut off, he's done, like, we're done, we're happy, we're blessed. We're good. Totally blessed. You're outnumbered.
00:30:42
Speaker
but Yes, and of course still running event so I still very much leaned on my team to Yeah, take it over like they you know Emily and the girls like they definitely took a lot of weddings on at the time because it was a good looking team. Yeah like they are you know they are a complete support system for me and so definitely leaned on them to take on the weddings that I maybe couldn't have been at like you know postpartum so and they're still growing too and like I'm starting to kind of pivot a bit where I'm taking on a little less still very much growing the business
00:31:22
Speaker
But scaling back as far as how many weddings I'm personally taking in, like the business is still growing, but it's just a lot harder now with three little ones. So they're five to almost three years old and then a 10 month old. Yeah. Tell us about your new venture. Your wedding planning company is you're getting, you said you're getting a lot of leads right now, which is awesome. You're launching the rebrand, but tell us about your new side hustle because they're sponsors for this podcast as well. And I, you yes, yes.
00:31:57
Speaker
So at that time, you know, when I was pregnant with my third, there was a lot of also like reflection. I was like, what am I doing? How can I do this wedding planning stuff with three kids and then pregnant? So I also thought about like how I can pivot a little bit to make sure like my lifestyle and my home life, my work life, my marriage, my relationship, first all of it is balanced. Like work-life balance is something I strive for like every day. Like I always need to make sure like I kind of keep that stable head on my shoulders. Cause there's been a moment where like years ago definitely was not an experienced burnout burnout. And I had to go to the hospital for a mental breakdown. It was, I went through like some hardships back, I think it was 2017 where my imbalance. So I knew I had to make a huge change, especially now that I had kids have kids.
00:32:54
Speaker
So I'm definitely prioritizing that. So I'm always looking for a way to make sure like I could try to find that balance in my life. So I definitely like manifested and prayed. I was like, is wedding planning where I'm supposed to be? Like where else should I be? I really don't know. I definitely love the beauty of it all, the celebration, like all the things and the core values are all there, but physically um I can't like, it's just so hard. So I just kind of like just put those thoughts out there and then somehow some way this company called Strategic Assistance Staffing found me because they were looking for a Filipino American wedding planner to help build that brand and link up the Philippines and American culture to one. So now I'm partnered and
00:33:39
Speaker
the director of the wedding and events side first. Thank you guys. Thank you. I was like praying this. I was like what other opportunities are there for me that I could do but still do what I love and maybe just this time in my life I just need to you know kind of take a step back a little bit. That's wild. Yeah, so obviously like I definitely lean on a lot of my team to help with you know any outreach, communication, Instagram, social. There's so much to do in your business. So um this is a virtual staffing agency based in the Philippines.
00:34:16
Speaker
And I've worked with the virtual staff before, virtual VA before, ah years ago, but I definitely wanted to revisit that
Partnership with SaaS and Virtual Assistant Services
00:34:23
Speaker
idea again. And so they said that they specialize in virtual assistants or wedding pros. They're specifically trained for wedding and event vendors like us. So they've actually partnered with a US partner who has over a decade in the wedding and events industry in the catering and venue side. His name is Ryan Angott. And they also have other consultants like Allen Berg um and people that they work with throughout their decade in the wedding industry. So they've all partnered together and basically working with SAS to train their VA so they know how to work with us, communicate with us, like be on top of the ish. like
00:35:02
Speaker
know how to work and like know the lingo for the wedding industry because it's kind of very demanding, right? yeah I'll tell everyone like in layman's terms, I mean, you you kind of did but um they pretty much link VA's from the Philippines to us wedding pros to do our little task or you know, a little stuff in Canva or sneak peeks or anything that takes a lot of time And they do it for like a fraction of the cost because um I was paying my VA 400 and month for eight hours a month. And this one is five hours a week. So that's five, 10, 15, 20 hours a month for lower than 400. So yeah. So variable rates, right? Yeah.
00:35:53
Speaker
I'm excited to share with you all about our first Get A Heck Yes sponsor, Seventeen Hats. I've been using this CRM company for over a decade and I've been referring them to all my frienders for all this time. I always know when I'm going to get paid and most importantly, I get paid. So here is a question. What is holding you back? What's keeping you from finding success as a small business person? It's not passion. The fact that you're listening to my podcast shows that you're eager to learn and get better. Know what holds you back is all the chaos of business, paperwork, mailed invoices, and no system to handle at all. That's where Seventeen Hats comes in. Seventeen Hats is a better way to manage your small business. It's an all-in-one platform that streamlines everything from lead capture to client communication to clicking your done automated invoices.
00:36:49
Speaker
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00:37:30
Speaker
So yeah, ever since the podcast, I signed up for Kickstarter Accounting and wow, so much peace of mind in my finances. So if you are a wedding pro looking to streamline your financial processes and gain clarity on your business financial health, I have the perfect solution for you. Kickstart Accounting Inc. offers specialized bookkeeping services designed by entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs. Their services are tailored to woman-owned businesses, focusing on providing clear, accurate financial records, allowing you to focus on what you do best, growing your business. I invite you to book a discovery call with Kickstart Accounting. The link is in the show notes. Mention, heck yes.
00:38:16
Speaker
And yeah, they are going to get your finances in order so you can continue to scale and succeed. Back to the show. Yeah, and that's very much taken care care of like the Philip, this agency that I now partner with called SAS. Like we are very much taking care of the employees as well. They are staff and employees, full-time employees for this company. So they are taken care of as far as like healthcare care benefits, taxes, legal laws, things over there. So it's a full on running company there, that their employees are taken care of. So I know it is a lower rate for us, but the cost of living is completely different. and Exactly. Yeah, I mean, my editor for over decades from the Philippines and I feed her whole family. That's what she says. It goes a long way. Yes. And I felt just such a connection when I received this inquiry from them. ah Again, thank you, God.
00:39:11
Speaker
Delivered people like I love you know I do and I do pray like I want to like be able to do this And give back to my my family in the Philippines I still very much have my mom's side of the family there that I do want to visit someday And I also have like a great grandfather of my kids like my mom's
Connecting with Filipino Roots
00:39:29
Speaker
dad. That's still alive. He's like what good do You want to go out there and visit him? So yeah, just kind of bridging that gap from the US to the Philippines. I am that kind of link as a Filipina to represent and be that ambassador for us. Yeah, that's so cool. I wanted to share a little story.
00:39:50
Speaker
um So for me, I'm kind of straddling two businesses, the wedding photography, and the coaching business. um I haven't fully let go of the photography. I love it so much. It pays the bills, you know, it's almost in my blood, you know, like, I say I'm not going to do it. And then I like reach out to venues and stuff. Just like literally, it's in my mouth, my blood, like for doing it for 15 years. But it's hard for me to read books. because i just have like so many like little things in my head and i always say in the podcast oh i don't read i don't read um i always listen to podcasts um or audiobooks but after signing up with sass this guy nathan um
00:40:32
Speaker
Shout out to Nathan. He does two hours for me every day, like little things. And I get to go to the gym and be present with my husband in the morning. I just went this morning. That's why I look like a sweaty mess. um But I picked up a book after, you know, signed up with with SAS, Brene Brown, Braving the Wilderness, and the words were just jumping out of the page. It was the first time I could just read a book and actually comprehend what I was reading. And it was because of this two hours a day that has he's given me back a day. Isn't that crazy? Oh, yeah. Because you can just like, spend that time and focus on other things that you've been meaning to prioritize, like the reading your self care, your mental health, like
00:41:20
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah, when people will be like, Yeah, I wake up and drink my coffee and I read a book. I'm like, what the like, how do you do that? Like, just the things about like, making your little demographics of all like your reviews for your Instagram, like that was dressed me up. Because I'm like, Oh, crap. You know, like, ah Yeah, yeah. And I still get those moments where there's so much to do on my like to-do list right now. But learning also how to delegate, right? And just like being able to like let it go and like it's going to be OK. You have trusted people that you've vetted and worked with and trained. you know like So I've learned to also like be able to let that go.
00:41:57
Speaker
Yes, and just shout out to them one more time because you know, they're amazing. I use them, you use them and the wedding pro, the wedding industry really use could use this because I feel some people like I have on the calls, um you know, for with wedding pros and they feel like you can feel like the anxiousness like I got to go or yeah. i know I know this is going to help a lot of people. So you have the wedding planning company, you have your Shelabrate, which like your mommy blogger and you have the cutest family ever. You have the SaaS virtual assistants where you link up the BAs in the Philippines with wedding pros in the US. And then one more. Now you have the beauty, beauty product lines, but everything goes hand in hand.
00:42:43
Speaker
Yes, everything like I, I always think about how this can just like, collaborate and build on to be on top of each other, and just kind of align with like, my own business and like my industry and things like that. So um recently, I've also connected with you know, other wedding industry professionals, shout out to Han and Kim Lee, they are also they started off as wedding photographers as well. Yeah, that's the base of it starts, but they They also have other businesses as well. And um so Han actually is was Emily's wedding photographer for her wedding. And that's how we got connected. I actually started reaching out to all my wedding frienders and say, Hey, I'm doing this new, you know, I'm part of this new business, right? So I reached out to Han and she's like, Oh,
00:43:29
Speaker
You know, I don't need it right now, but I could see it maybe in the future, but also I have a business opportunity you might be interested in. And so she introduced me to a skincare line. um The overall parent company name is Riemann, but the brand itself, they have, I think, three main brands and once they're number one, selling brand line right now. It's called Inselger. So yeah, I bought it from you. and So you still have to give it to me. you Yeah, so we host these fun like pamper parties, completely complimentary free, you just kind of go over to morning lavender. I think they have like once or twice a month.
00:44:05
Speaker
And so we would just kind of have our friends and family test out this new Korean skincare line. And it's like and the number one skincare line in Korea right now. It's completely viral and e it'll definitely give you that glow up and like that Korean skin that you don't see right now. So it looks excellent. Just for a month and a half. Like I i am like obsessed with it. And I'm not big on like those kind of things. But when I tried it, I was like, Oh my gosh, this is actually it feels so nice on my skin. I'm able to also like kind of prioritize my self care. Yeah.
00:44:46
Speaker
So it is the whole eight step process. And you're like, Oh man, how am I going to do this? I have three kids. Like I don't have time for this, but actually look forward to it because this is my time right before bed where I wind down and just kind of take care of myself. And like, it's like a ritual that yeah um before you sleep. Oh, I love that. I think, um, all of these diversifying your business is it does align with your main core value and that is family and time. So that is, but that is so interesting. Um, I guess almost wrapping up, but can you, can you tell the audience a little bit about your new rebrand and what it was like working with me and my team?
Rebranding with Carissa Wu's Assistance
00:45:28
Speaker
Photographers, I am so thrilled to announce my new sponsors Aftershoot, an AI editing company. They do AI editing, unlimited cropping and straightening. I am seriously blown away by the precision and five hours a week I get back in my life. My life is so much better and I literally don't have any more anxiety. It's so crazy. I remember being at barbecues with my laptop because I had to get out of shoot and and that was so stressful, so not fun. And the best part about after shoot compared to their competition is that it's a monthly minimal cost, not cost per image because I am a true overshooter. I could shoot like, I don't know, 3000 photos in an engagement shoot, which is not good. But anyways, using my code in the show notes to get a 30 day trial and 20% off
00:46:21
Speaker
You're going to get in the software and just go crazy with it. And AfterShoot edits 2.0 just released and they have a lot of new features that you are going to love. AfterShoot, I can't thank you enough for giving me back my time to focus on this podcast. Oh yeah, back to the podcast. Oh yes, I'm so excited for it too because I've been wanting to do this re-ran for Love and Life events for like ever since like the pandemic. Cause that's when I actually rebranded from Shelivate to Love and Life events is in 2020. And I knew I wanted like just a new storefront, a new look, like elevating that design that I already have and just being able to speak to my audience and my ideal client. So working with you and your team was just so much fun. So amazing because you were able to take my brand voice and just like make it sound even better.
00:47:14
Speaker
on my website and like my sales deck and my sales pitch and just like my Instagram and be able to put that copyright into like my like my voice into like words that sounded really great and still sounded like me. So it was an awesome process like I was able to just jump on a call with you right away like schedule that call and talk about like the the brand talk about the importance of like what I want to showcase and like how I want to attract my clients. So yeah, it was just a great process and I'm so excited to kind of see where it goes because I'm ready for that launch and I'm already seeing success because I got on my first preferred vendor list.
00:47:57
Speaker
Yeah, I was like, Oh, I'm gonna just, you know, follow the strategy and just kind of see how it goes. And we're now a preferred vendor for Portofino. So I'm doing my mom dance. So I'm excited that I'm gonna be back out there and we've you know, work there a couple of times before and we're gonna start doing that same process for the rest of our like, top lists of venues we want to be at.
00:48:29
Speaker
Yeah, it's been such a pleasure. ah Thanks to you and your team and just like your strategy to like if you've been in the biz for over a decade. So I'm sure you went so much now you're sharing it with everybody. So thank you. Thank you for that. Okay, so back to the hot topic one last question maybe speak to the heart since I'm talking about diversification and um You know passive revenue streams income streams um speak to the heart of wedding pros right now that just maybe struggling to get leads for weddings and maybe this is a new opportunity to start
00:49:11
Speaker
something new, they don't have to give up what they're doing right now. But I don't know, changing things up, like rattling, rattling their lives up. And so they're not just um sitting there watching Netflix, moping around, like feeling sorry for themselves, like speak to them right now to um share with them how to get started with diversifying their portfolio or anything you want to speak about. about about Yeah. Oh, my gosh. And I, I've definitely been in that place where I'm like kind of moping around, like I need kind of almost have to get to that point of lowness to be like, turn, I got to turn this around. Like something has to click to just be like, you got to get out of this. Right? So whenever I feel like I'm getting to that point, I like literally just have to get up and move my body. So I'd like have to like get up, do an exercise, get some fresh air, take a walk, like go do something different than just like being there and being like depressed. So I would just get up and get up.
00:50:06
Speaker
And then I would start thinking like some things would spark in my head like, Oh, like maybe I just need to like meditate or like put it out there, like write something down, journal about it and figure out like what I really want. So then I would just kind of think about, of course, my family because that's like, like why I do what I do because I have now three, you know, future little ones that I'm trying to build a great life for. And of course, really myself, my husband as well, my family, all the people who are important to me, my core people. So like what do I really want? So I have to really think about what I really want. And where do I see myself in like five, 10 years from now? Or even just like, even short term, a year from now, where do I want to see myself? So I would really think about those things and like put it down on paper and just like write it out. I actually put together like a vision board. I know some people love vision boards. Some people maybe are, maybe not so visual. So either way that makes you just like put it down on paper or put it out in front of you. Like put that in your forefront.
00:51:05
Speaker
and then kind of work from there. Like if it's something really simple as far as just maybe getting back your like health or your mental health or getting out to the beach or um buying that new wardrobe or getting your skin refreshed or like, you know, something really simple, it can start off as that and like go make it a goal to reach that first and take that first step. Oh, I love that. You're really but we're big, high vibrating generators. So I'm sure like your parents instill that you definitely have a can do attitude of, um you know, where you see your your big vision and how you manifest it. But fun questions just to wrap it up. ah What is your favorite thing to do to stay connected with your hubby? Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Well, it's really simple.
00:51:54
Speaker
He actually gifted me on Christmas last year like he just wrote a card because you know we don't have time but he just wrote a card took a piece of paper folded it like you know you do in like grade school like in four pieces and he wrote like I'm sorry this is like a whack gift but I really just wanted to gift you a date night once a month for this year and like a membership to like a gym or something. Yeah, it sounds like he's like, I really just want to spend more time with you kind of thing. I'm going to tear up thinking about it, but last we tried to prioritize a date night for us. So we would literally just like, we need to get obviously babysitters. So we like have to schedule like our parents to like watch our kids or like my sister or something. And we would just go have dinner or go to a bar lounge and literally over food and drinks is when we connect. So it's very, very, it's really hard when we have the kids around and we're just like,
00:52:49
Speaker
taking care of them, of course, prioritizing them. And but we do have to prioritize that one, once a month date night. ah just Yeah, marriages. Yeah. yeah many you I love you how you got emotional. That's so special. um You work with all those influencers at that one makeup ah job. what What is now like your biggest social media hack? Oh, so actually you almost got hacked, but people are trying to get into my app right now and like use my passwords. Oh man. But also using like regenerating passwords, like almost every month I have to change my password just to like refresh and all that. But biggest hack is really just getting that extra support and help and just like finding an expert to do it for you.
00:53:36
Speaker
If that's maybe not your strong suit or your strength, because I know it's not my strength. Like my strength is being around the people, like planning, like being the lead and directing and like putting that vision out there and making those goals. But to get there, I need definitely the teams. I'm very dependent on like really great people. Like I want to be able to like work with great people, bring in and like bring up their talents. you know, use you for your skill sets, as far as like what, what that is, like what you're really good at and like flourish from there. So like, um yeah, I like really try to find like the talent in each one of my, my team members and bring that out. I don't want to just like, have you do like tedious things if it's not for you, like I want you to like be able to use that talent and grow from there, like whatever your talent is. Well done.
00:54:27
Speaker
Yeah, just like finding really great people to do the thing great sort of things. And where can everyone find you and work with you? Oh, yeah. So ah like you mentioned, I am the owner of Love and Life events. It's a wedding planning company out here in Orange County. So that website is loveandlife.events. So it's not a dot com. It's a dot events. I know it's kind of strange, but you can find me there. Also on Instagram, loveandlife.events. um My personal brand is Shelabrates. It's just like my name, um Shel, C-H-I-E-L-L-A-B-R-A-T-E, and that's me. And then for Strategic Assistant, it's strategic-assistant.com. You can find all that on my personal and Love and Life events as well, but I'd love to connect and help you out and just, yeah, grow together and celebrate life together.
00:55:27
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.