Candice (00:00.11)
Aikashi, welcome to the show.

Akeshi Akinseye (01:17.029)

Thank you for having me. Okay, so before we get started, I'm just gonna say like I've been fangirling for years and I was like, I cannot wait to be on this podcast. like, know, years later, I'm here. So thank you for having me. I'm super excited to have a chat today.

Candice (01:23.96)

stop.

Candice (01:27.57)

Here we are.

Oh my gosh, I will I've been fangirling over you. In fact, I just pulled out your book, which typically sits right behind me. If you're watching this video, you'll see it sits right here behind me always. And yes, girl, festive tables. I love your book. This is your second book, though, right? Yeah. Oh, so exciting.

Akeshi Akinseye (01:40.371)

Yeah

Akeshi Akinseye (01:45.493)

that makes me so happy. Thank you. That's my second. Yeah, working on number three for pub date October. Fun times, yes.

Candice (02:00.712)

It is. Listen, being a published author is so gratifying, but it's a ton of work to bring a book to life. It's like, it's what I imagine is like giving birth.

Akeshi Akinseye (02:04.479)

Yes.

my God. Yeah, triplets because you know, I think we forget like, you know, like when I did that, it was brutal and I was done with it and I forgot that process and I'm in it again. like, why do I keep doing this? But we love it and why not? But also great for your business and great for your brand, obviously.

Candice (02:24.768)

Yeah, why not?

It is. Yeah, it's true. Well, I would love to actually talk about this a little bit later in our interview and just kind of understanding how publishing a book supported your brand and your business. But we've known each other, I want to say for like eight years, I think we first met at the signature CEO conference if memory serves. Yeah. Yeah, you. I know. I know. Well, hello. Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (02:35.871)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (02:39.509)

you

Akeshi Akinseye (02:46.941)

I think so too, yeah. But it's always so brief and I want more girl time, FYI. I'll just come to you for like a month or a few weeks.

Candice (02:58.218)

Maybe me, you and Kunbi can like a mastermind in my house and Barbados and like be poolside and just work on our businesses together. I'm going to message her. And if she's listening to this, I know she's going to text me right now and be like, I want that. please like when can we do that?

Akeshi Akinseye (03:06.133)

say less, just tell me when.

Akeshi Akinseye (03:15.603)

Yeah, why not? Girl bosses, nice weather. You said pool time, was like, I'll bring the tequila and we're good. Really? No.

Candice (03:21.44)

Yes, thank you. That's all we really need. We don't need to eat just a little bit of tequila. That's it. Well, thank you so much again for for joining me today and for being so willing to share your story. This behind the brand series is it really exceeded a lot of my expectations for it. We've gotten such great feedback from our listeners at how motivating and inspiring these the series has been. And so many people have messaged me about how they decided to take action.

Akeshi Akinseye (03:40.885)

Okay.

Candice (03:49.822)

on their brand, their business, something in their business based on what some of our guests have discussed. And I know that this episode is going to get a lot of people thinking about the trajectory of their business and where they want their brand to go. And I'm selfishly really excited to just hear more about your story and just spend an hour with you. Because like you said, our time together has always been too short.

Akeshi Akinseye (04:04.117)

I know I'm so excited, like truly honored, yeah. Okay.

Candice (04:17.741)

Yes. Yes. All right. Well, let's let's dive into your story. I would love to start off where we start off with most of our guests, which is what inspired you to start your business in the wedding industry? Take us back to those origin moments, the big bang for you. What inspired you?

Akeshi Akinseye (04:32.53)

Yes, how it all started. So mine goes back quite a bit. as a kid, grew up, my biggest influence is my mother. I grew up in hospitality and people don't really know that. So my mom, professor, my mom and dad were professors by trade, like educators. But the entrepreneur side of my mom was hotels.

We had stores, we had a fashion house where they made clothes. So I learned how to sew. We used to everyone's wedding cake, everybody's birthday cake. So like I learned how to bake two hotels, different stores. And it was just, we were the family of hosting, right? So I just naturally just being my mother's favorite, my siblings love to hear this. I was with her through everything and I just...

kind of that knack for creativity or hosting or making people feel good. I was just always there as a kid. And then I never really thought much of it. I just naturally picked up a bunch of things. We used to do all the curtains and fabrics. And back then in Nigeria, decor wasn't flowers. It was fabrics and whatever you could put together in grand style and the cane chairs and all that fun stuff and ribbons.

But anyway, so when I moved to Chicago, I was like, I'm gonna be a therapist and I wanna be a psychologist and that's my calling. And then I used to host friends all the time. I would go to Ikea, buy a bunch of like plates and cups and I would rent a rooftop. I would cook at home and everyone was like, okay, maybe you should just go plan. I'm like, nah, that's not my destiny. I meant to be a therapist. I'm gonna go to school for psychology, which I did. And in some way, like we, I get to apply.

Candice (06:13.005)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (06:27.196)

Are you kidding?

Akeshi Akinseye (06:28.573)

I get to apply my degree every half hour, so it's great. But I kind of fought that and eventually when I got engaged, I was like, you know, let's just see what happens. And then I'd lunch, I thought, because I grew up cooking, catering was my first business. My first business was cash catering and events. I just thought my destiny was to be like a caterer, then eventually I'll be a therapist.

Candice (06:32.16)

Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (06:55.763)

And then I did catering, I did three weddings including my own and I was like, bless caterers, this is not my ministry. No, so then we pivoted. So the evolution of how we got there for everyone is always different, but you would see consistently it's a series of pivots. It's one idea leads to another for some people. And for me, it's been that evolution of like, I wanna be a therapist, but I grew up knowing this and I'm good at this, but then sometimes we kind of fight it. So long story short, you're...

Candice (07:00.608)

No.

Candice (07:08.034)

Mm-hmm.

Akeshi Akinseye (07:25.013)

I feel like your gifts and your destiny will find you sometimes even when you run away from it. And that's really how I got in. was 2012 where I really made a decision to just be like an event planner. And outside of planning my own at the same time, someone, my first gig, they paid me $700 in cash and you couldn't tell me anything. Like they gave me $700 bills. was like, Oh my God. Like I am made. was like, you just paid me $700.

Candice (07:43.626)

my God. No.

Akeshi Akinseye (07:55.221)

and it was a nightmare, but whatever. I learned hard.

Candice (08:01.684)

I have several questions. The first question I have is, is you catered your own wedding? Tell me about this.

Akeshi Akinseye (08:08.802)

I catered my wedding. I planned my wedding. I'm a total psycho. Let's start with that. Let me introduce. Hi, I'm Mikesha. I'm a psycho. So in my mind, know, like initially we have this need to like, everything has to be perfect. was like, cooking was important for me. had a chef. So like I even went like the night before to make sure the seasoning was great. We planned the menus that was on the side. I was running around like a crazy person. And then I was like,

You know, I went to Home Goods, Michael's. I know they were like, this girl in this coupon has been here like five times. This, my 50 % off coupon. I was gluing things to like, just, you know, whatever my brain could do, I was like, this is my design. And in my mind, my first, you know, step of design was bling everything out. So I put brooches and everything and I put, my friend still told me that was like the most beautiful wedding ever. was like, girl, are you crazy? Like, look at this table, but.

Candice (08:58.294)

Yep.

Akeshi Akinseye (09:05.813)

I planned, designed and catered, which is absolutely nuts. And then we had a day of coordinator, but like the whole experience was just like, was like, thank God it's my wedding because I don't know who would forgive me for this.

Candice (09:19.977)

my God. You were like every wedding planner's worst nightmare as a client by doing it all yourself.

Akeshi Akinseye (09:24.933)

The worst. The worst. I made my invitations. I put the little Swarovski crystals on them. I mailed them out. I put the wrong stamps on. Some guests had to pay 50 cents to get their invitations from the, I'm not kidding, from the post office. It was, but then they were having the, you know, it's funny, all my guests had the best time. I was freaking out and I was noticing every little thing.

Candice (09:39.374)

No.

Akeshi Akinseye (09:52.021)

But also I give myself grace now. It's like, girl, you were just learning this business, right? But I would never do that again. That's crazy.

Candice (09:56.101)

my gosh, it's true.

No, you would never and you, you the type of clientele that you book does not do that. They invest a lot of money in hiring an expert to plan it all for them. And I think, interestingly enough, your wedding, when you look at how much you were responsible for, and you look at the brand that you've built now, where you're like an all in

Akeshi Akinseye (10:04.206)

All right. Yes, 100%.

Candice (10:25.246)

one house design, production, planning business, there really were some of the precursors to the business that you were gonna build, maybe minus the food element, but there were some precursors to the business that you have now baked into how you planned your wedding. Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (10:37.151)

Ha ha ha ha.

Akeshi Akinseye (10:42.869)

100 % it's just full production. What I appreciate now is my expertise, my knowledge, my experience, and knowing how to do things the right way. I wouldn't say I was a professional wedding planner then, because then anybody can say that. Like just because you're having a wedding doesn't make you a planner. But I did have that in me. I just never really tapped into it in an official capacity, maybe lack of confidence or whatever, right? At that time.

Candice (10:54.947)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (11:11.603)

And I feel like now we do the same thing. in full, we're all hands on, full event production, largest scale, multi-day celebrations, so much at stake, right? But we still do that same thing. Like we're putting pieces together and making sense of everything and telling a story that's cohesive. That's literally the same thing all the time. Yeah.

Candice (11:24.108)

Yeah.

Candice (11:33.504)

It is, yeah, it is.

Akeshi Akinseye (11:35.505)

Yeah, but telling the client story, not my story. I always specify like story challenge, but for the client, not me. Yeah.

Candice (11:38.88)

Yes. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I want to hear more about the $700 wedding. And I love hearing about the first wedding that you planned because there's so much growth from that moment. And I think some people can feel embarrassed about their first wedding. Some people, of course, don't want to disparage their first clients that ever hired them in any way, but there is, it's so interesting to see how far we've come from the first wedding we planned.

Akeshi Akinseye (11:47.093)

You

Candice (12:08.686)

So tell me about this cool $700 service that you offer. Tell me everything. I want to know all of it.

Akeshi Akinseye (12:11.581)

my gosh. So first and first the clients, the couple were so sweet. We're still literally keeping in touch till today. They were just like, would you plan, it was a Nigerian wedding. It was, you know, know, typical Nigerian wedding. The guest list is this, the actual is this. But I, like, I had a very small wedding and we didn't have those problems. Like I was very strict. Like no one uninvited showed up. Like it wasn't like that. But

You know, some people feel like they can't really say no or so we were in that. But they were just like, what do you feel? How do you feel about playing? I was like, I've got this. And I was like, do I? In my head, was like, I don't got it. But I was like, I can do it. And they're like, how much? was like, what do you guys want to pay? And then there were like 700 bucks. I was like, uh-huh. So they pulled out literally from their pocket.

Candice (12:54.126)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (13:05.599)

seven hundred dollar bills and that was our contract was a hug maybe a handshake. And then I recruited my cousin to assist me she was not happy because she got cursed out so many times at the door because she was like if you're not on the list you can't come in and you know you tell a guest that and they're like but my friend is here my cousin is here and it was it was just like and then of course I had the whole I had a clipboard like I have a photo of that if you want it.

Candice (13:10.538)

my gosh.

Candice (13:17.582)

I believe it.

Akeshi Akinseye (13:33.673)

But I had a clipboard, because to me, like a planner, it's like, hello, no clipboard, no notes. come on. So I had my guesses with my clipboard. I had this long gown, because I thought, I don't know. But it was great, right? But I wasn't ready for how fast things move and how much you rely on your team. Like, you're only as successful as the people that are supporting you. So my team is a huge part of my success.

Candice (13:34.006)

my gosh.

Candice (13:46.552)

Ha ha!

Candice (13:56.61)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (14:02.453)

And I had my cousin, she had an attitude, she was like, I didn't sign. I was like, girl, just stay at the door, okay? And do nothing but that. So I did the best I could. Of course, going back, I'm like, could have done that better, but also I was new and they were aware of that. I don't think the expectation was even much higher. They were very happy and you know, but then obviously we, 12 years plus later, I'm like, a difference.

Candice (14:21.432)

No.

Akeshi Akinseye (14:29.809)

I really appreciate the beginning. think sometimes we lose track of how we started and the evolution and how much we've grown. I think sometimes when we give ourselves a hard time, you have to go back to like, remember day one, remember wedding one and how much you we've grown and, really like, I think it's just the resilience of it all, right? How much you've gone through, how much you've spent, how much you've invested in your business and how you're still standing and even dare to go bigger.

Candice (14:42.221)

Yeah.

Candice (14:51.778)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (14:59.679)

So I don't know, I love those moments and I appreciate everything you're trying at every step, but most especially the ones in the beginning, because they took a chance on you. Yeah.

Candice (15:09.446)

yeah, they sure did. Yeah, for sure. And you learned so much and it really helped to fuel you. I'm sure after that wedding, you probably needed the longest nap, but also you were probably really fired up at the prospect of getting to do that.

again and again and again and it probably fueled you and it definitely shaped and molded you into the planner, the designer, the floral designer, the producer that you are today. I would love to know in the first year of your business, let's say after the $700 wedding, was there a strategy or a decision that you made early on that you think contributed to your overall growth?

Akeshi Akinseye (15:53.569)

I want to say the first year. think the first year I was very scared. was very... Naturally, I'm an introvert. So would say I was shy in the business. I was afraid to even say out loud like, I'm a planner. I was like, no, no, no, we do that on the side. My first year, no. I was just trying to just take anything that anybody said yes, we were doing this.

You know, you learn the hard way. But what I also did from the very beginning was look back at the end of everything, like what went wrong? What don't I like about this? Is this really my path? And I wasn't really clear my first year. I would say year two, three, I really had like that moment because of going back to a signature. And I think that's essential for everybody in business where

I was like, I can't do this like everybody else. was just, I was literally just blending in and I was like, I know that I have a secret sauce. I know that there's something I can offer that is different from what I'm seeing. And I'm not saying someone else is not doing it, but I was like, okay, what can I add? What value can I bring in? So that's the homework of like, yes, you're in a very, you know, saturated business, but it doesn't mean you can't.

offer something unique. So my homework was like, what is my signature? What is my secret sauce? And how can I show that to the world? Which means being bold, which means stepping outside of your comfort zone and saying and dare to say, you know what, this is who I am. And in that moment, I realized that there was also something missing because I was only planning. And about two years in, I was like,

there's something missing. It just doesn't feel complete. I don't feel like I'm giving my clients my all. Mind you, I came from design with my mom, like sewing and putting curtains up and, you know, fabrics. And I was a pin holder, by the way. And I was like, I don't know anything about florals. I've never designed flowers. I actually was very terrified of flowers. I used to say I don't like flowers. Now I'm like,

Akeshi Akinseye (18:13.609)

You're such a liar. You love flowers. You just know what to do with them. So I was like, what's, it was intimidating and it looked amazing. I was like, I can't do that. So I kind of took a step back and said, how do I want to show up in this industry as a business owner and as a creative and what am I adding? And I think for every, every industry, everyone has to bring something to the table and not just like look like everybody else. Cause that's the norm. You, you know, look at a website, you're like, okay, this is a template and

Candice (18:15.118)

Right. It was intimidating. Yeah.

Candice (18:40.31)

It's true.

Akeshi Akinseye (18:43.229)

You post like them, you create things like them. I was like, this is boring. So I went back and I was like, I'm missing something. And that was design. was like, but where do I start? I knew I had a creative knack for putting things together, but I didn't know how. So I was like, okay, let's invest in classes, workshops. took my first workshop, flew out to Canada. It was a three-day workshop, floral. And I was like, whoa, cause...

Prior to I had asked around, nobody would tell me anything. Like I was like, how did the flowers sit on the thing? Like how do they stay fresh? Like I just couldn't figure it out. And I tried and I asked around, nobody told me anything. So I went to like Home Depot and I was buying all kinds of stuff. My poor husband was like, what are we doing today? And I'm like, I'm learning like the thing and things would fall. Like I was buying, I couldn't even figure out pipe and drape.

Candice (19:13.357)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (19:38.709)

how is the fabric attached and just standing? So I was like, maybe it's like plastic. So I went to Home Depot, bought pipes and it will just, I was like, this is not it. And nobody would tell me it was simple pipe and drip, like just this, you know, just the basics and nobody was really sharing that. And I think now we're more open. So I was like, you know what, if no one, yeah, much more. And now I'm like, if no one is gonna tell me, I'm just gonna pay for it. So I just, I threw myself in a bunch of workshops and classes that, ah, that's.

Candice (19:56.928)

Way more open. Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (20:07.637)

That's how the fabric is. So I just invested so much money in enhancing the skills that I already knew I had, but I had to train it out of me. And I think some things that you are good at, you have to practice at it. if you, know, cocaine, for example, which is not everybody's forte, but like in order to get that recipe right, you have to practice it. It's a muscle you have to keep working on. So I think the biggest thing for me was

Candice (20:22.253)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (20:34.549)

stepping back and saying, how do I want to show up in this industry? I know I'm in the right industry, I never doubted that. But it's like, I don't want to be like everybody else. Also, I've just always been in my own zone and I knew I had something different. So I just figured out, okay, what is my signature? What am I doing that's repetitive that I'm seeing as a pattern? And sometimes you have to do the homework of analyzing yourself.

your style, things you're doing that you're not even paying attention to. it took me a while to really figure out what that signature is, which today, hopefully people can see consistently no matter where, what, who, right? Because people are paying for that. And, you know, what we see now is clients who pay for you because they want that sauce that you have and they don't care how much more it costs or where you live. Cause my clients don't live in Chicago. I don't really work in Chicago anymore.

but clients are looking for our signature, my signature. And I think that was the biggest decision that really changed the game. And I would say too, once I figured that out and I learned floral, I did a style shoot. Cause I was like, now that I know who I am, I don't have that content. I don't have that client yet. And I was like, what do I do? So I invested a lot of money into a style shoot at a location that I knew would be.

acceptable that my ideal clients would want to see. So that was my marketing strategy and that post-out shoot, I used it for like a whole year. You saw it. Because I was like, this is all we have. we're... You saw it. It was in that feed. But what happened was people started paying attention. People started seeing the signature. And then it was like, who the hell is this? And who the hell is this person? Where did you come from?

Candice (22:06.914)

Yeah, we saw it. It was in the feed. Yeah, it was in the feed. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Akeshi Akinseye (22:25.341)

And we want to know more. then I got a lot of people are like, we want to interview you up and coming producer designer in Chicago. I got a lot of press from that. And it's just, I really honed into that. And I think in the end, no matter the business is being authentic in your craft and being true to who you are, because we're not good at everything, but the ones that you are good at, that is your secret sauce and that's your weapon. And you use that without.

Candice (22:42.732)

Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (22:52.709)

regrets and you do it unapologetically you and that is it. End of story. So that's kind of like that evolution of like this brand that I am now is truly just I come from a place of authenticity. I'm not trying to copy anybody. I'm not trying to be like anybody. I'm just in my space and paving my own way.

Candice (22:58.412)

Yeah. Yeah.

Candice (23:14.114)

Yeah. So much I would love to dig into and what you said. A couple of things as I coach wedding planners and work with wedding pros, hear a lot. Wedding planners want to grow their business in a few different directions, but floral and production often scares them. And I love that you got over that intimidation and said, you know what, I'm going to try to figure this out on my own. And when you couldn't, you said, you know, the next step for me.

is to actually just go to where somebody knows how to do this and pay them to teach me instead of waiting for someone in my industry to train me or for me to figure it out myself. I know that's a huge hurdle that a lot of planners have to overcome that wanna add floral or production into their business. And I love that you challenge yourself to move past that. And I also really love that you recognize that.

You could add that to your business, but it still didn't separate you in the way that you felt like you needed to be separated from competition. So you got really clear on what your signature style was. And you recognized that in order to attract the types of clients you wanted to work with who were focused on style, hospitality, and design, that you had to give them something to look at.

that said, want that. That's the type of wedding I want. Those are the colors I want. That's the essence of what I want my wedding to look like or my event. And so you did what it took, which I'm sure it wasn't cheap to produce your styled shoot and to also to make that happen. You did what it took to produce that and you leveraged it beyond. Like you didn't just post it once and say, shit, now I need to go do another one. You were like, no.

Akeshi Akinseye (24:48.073)

No.

Candice (25:02.766)

I am wearing this outfit until somebody gives me $7,000 to produce their wedding versus 700. I am going to work the shit out of this investment in this styled shoot. I don't care if I posted it seven times for the week. I'm posting it again. I'm using it again because this is my ticket to being able to attract the clients that I want. And then here we are today.

Akeshi Akinseye (25:25.811)

Yeah, so no, 100%. I think to where, I would say this to wherever you lack, wherever you're struggling, get help. It costs you more trying to get it for free or to figure it out. You may get, but there's nothing bigger than investing in the places you lack. And secondly, nurturing, paying to nurture the skillset you already have. Because some people are good at certain things, but it's not good enough. It could be better.

Candice (25:39.437)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (25:55.445)

That's why you coaches have coaches, mentors have mentors because we're never at our full capacity by ourselves. So I 100 % believe in community, continuous education and pushing yourself. Cause the moment you get comfortable, then you're a segment and you are already behind because people are wanting more. Even where we're seeing in luxury weddings, it's like.

Pretty flowers is not enough. They want immersive everything. They're like, wow me, like wow, not only wow me, wow my clients. So what that for me in a lifestyle business, I have to immerse myself in other things, experiences, what's trending, what's mixology is doing this time, what a caterer is doing, how are we changing the game on food.

It's constant and you have to throw yourself in all these different areas every single day, investing in education to expand your knowledge so you can bring it back and charge more because then you're worth it. Right. If you haven't invested time on money or energy into anything, why would they pay you more?

Candice (27:02.446)

Well, it's true. mean, you have to, if you want to up level your clients, you need to up level your business and that, yeah. And yourself a hundred percent agree. This is something that we see as a bit of a through line in the interview so far for behind the brand is, that the businesses that have joined us, it's very obvious that investing in their business and investing in the evolution of their brand has been one of the secret.

Akeshi Akinseye (27:05.587)

Thank

Akeshi Akinseye (27:09.181)

And yourself. Yeah.

Candice (27:30.08)

strategies that has helped to move them forward. And obviously, you made those investments midway through and it really helped for you to get clear on your business and clear on who your clients are. And then also the services that you wanted to provide this kind of soup to nuts, like I'm going to help you with everything relating to planning, design, coordination, not just ideas, but actually the execution. I'm curious, you're operating at a much different level now than you were when you were

Akeshi Akinseye (27:31.315)

Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (27:47.05)

Yeah.

Candice (28:00.076)

to Canada to learn about flowers. And so at your level of business, what are some of the investments that you're making or you're looking to make this year in your business that you think will help usher in the next generation of your company?

Akeshi Akinseye (28:06.485)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (28:15.219)

Yeah. One of the things I found, I talked about the evolution, how things evolve and you learn new things. In the midst of building a business, I realized that there was a brand within, like there was a person, brand within my business. And I think sometimes we get stuck in just the business and we hide behind the business. I, as much as I love my babies, my babies, you remove...

The biggest growth, would say, challenge or is figuring out who you are as a person or brand, like the person, right? So I run multiple brands, right? But then each brand has its own identity. Then it's like, what about me? What is my message? What do I want to be known for? Things like that. So I've spent a lot of time while building the business brand.

really, really embracing my personal brand. And there's so many opportunities that we miss because we don't pay attention to the person. One of the things I scream every time is like sometimes I go through brands or pages and I can't find your name. I can't find the person. It drives me absolutely crazy because some people feel like, you know, it's safe and that's what everybody else is doing. And my decision was

Candice (29:35.149)

Yep.

Akeshi Akinseye (29:43.303)

Mm-mm. You can't miss me. Trust me. Within that grid of nine, you're going to find me and then that's a promise. If you scroll through my social media, you will find me. So being that bold to even with all the negative self-talk or I look chunky today or I don't look good, but being in front of your brand, really taking ownership of what you are bringing to the world.

Candice (29:51.586)

Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (30:13.021)

the message, the transformation and what you as a person would like to, how you want to impact the world, think is important as we build a business brand. So I've spent a lot of money in addition to all the business things for the business, my personal growth, my personal brand has been a focus in the past like five, six years I've spent money. I have a monthly membership on a brand in a branding group that's immensely changed my view on

how I run a business and how I wanna show up and the impact that I wanna make. And I've spent money, I'm in programs right now. There's a paid mastermind on building a brand and brand partnership. So I think just once you see what's out there and you dare to say, want in, there's a lot of times you can say, oh, they're not gonna go for me. They're not gonna.

Who's going to say yes? Like the publications are not going to call me. The TV stations, they don't want me. Me, all people. But when you start to grow and really focus on your personal brand, there's so many opportunities that open up outside of weddings. I tell people all the like, I've had features in Conde Nast Traveler, Elle Decor, they reached out, right? Last year, Essence did a feature, they reached out because people start to notice you.

Candice (31:20.492)

Yep.

Candice (31:34.36)

Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (31:35.261)

Not the work, the work is supportive, right? It enhances, but in the end, people are looking at you. So when I look at you, for example, I'm like, she's so fly. I'm like, that's my fashion girlie. I love that she's funny, right? Very stylish. Like you bring us into your world. I'm not only budding to what you do, I'm budding to who you are. And I think that people miss that and there's so many opportunities.

Candice (31:47.329)

You

Candice (31:57.378)

Right.

Akeshi Akinseye (32:01.617)

In the past five, six years since I really just showed up as myself, giving advice, sharing tips, being a thought leader, and being the expert in my field, I cannot tell you how much press, much contributions I've done for blogs. just sent my portion of an article for Brides this morning because they wanted my input of something, right? And something else just...

Got featured last night from Brides from another editor. So people would start to reach out once they believe in your expertise But the only way they're gonna reach out to you is if they can find you so when people hide behind their brands because they And they're you know, you don't have to worry about what someone thinks And how you sound because my gosh and all of that, right? You hear your voice. You're like, that's how I sound This is how I look on video

Candice (32:41.431)

Yeah.

Candice (32:55.518)

I know, I know I'm so tired of myself. I'm so sick of myself. I'm like, I, I really, I don't cringe at this out of my voice, but sometimes I just hear it and I'm like,

Akeshi Akinseye (32:59.395)

Akeshi Akinseye (33:07.461)

I do. I do. And that's the key, right? But look at us, we're doing it regardless. And a lot of people pause or don't do or, you know, take longer because they're still worried about all the things that nobody cares about. What we're worried about, no one is paying attention. They're not worried about your weight. They're not worried about your lip gloss. They're just, they're here to be moved by something and impacted by you.

Candice (33:14.668)

Yeah.

Candice (33:35.532)

Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (33:35.999)

So by not building a personal brand, you're missing, people are missing out on so many things and so many opportunities. Just owning your space. Like I'm a celebrations expert, so I'm going to do all the things that I feel and love about celebrations. that includes showing up once a week on Instagram, sharing tips in my comfort zone, right?

Candice (33:59.362)

Yeah. Well, your marketing is, it kind of brings up a question about marketing because you are very consistent in your marketing message and you've diversified your marketing. So it's not like you just do one thing for marketing. You are very consistent. You're not afraid of showing up on camera.

you're not afraid of using your voice to teach somebody how to have a celebration or do a video on how to style a table or how to make a signature drink. I I love watching your content. It is, it's great. Well, I love seeing you and I love, I love seeing a woman who's not afraid to be yourself and to share her knowledge and her love of something. And so now that I know a little bit more about your story, especially as it relates to your mom, you know, she lives on through you through how you teach people how to celebrate.

Akeshi Akinseye (34:31.509)

Thank you.

Akeshi Akinseye (34:40.831)

Mm-hmm.

Akeshi Akinseye (34:47.519)

Yeah.

Candice (34:50.082)

the small moments and the big moments in their lives. And you do that very often in your marketing. You also do it in the two books that you've written, which are fantastic, and this third book coming up. And so the question is, how do you think marketing played a role in building your brand? I feel like we've kind of covered this. I mean, you even mentioned PR and press, which is honestly a huge part of

Akeshi Akinseye (35:00.639)

Thank you.

Akeshi Akinseye (35:09.919)

Thanks.

Candice (35:16.91)

growing an iconic brand in the industry that we haven't talked about too much yet on the podcast, but press is big. Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (35:23.679)

Huge. And people think it's this like mystery place that you have to hit a certain level before you're getting the door. I'm like, first of all, you can become your own press. I think you start by being your own press, right? You build your own damn table. So if someone doesn't want to feature, feature yourself, write a blog.

Candice (35:29.036)

Yeah. Yeah.

Candice (35:38.9)

Thank you.

Akeshi Akinseye (35:46.857)

Again, I tell people I'm like you say your website says this is marketing your website says this we say all the things people want to hear Because we said that like we're saying just so you know your website is you're saying I'm this we love it. It's great My next question is where can I find proof of that?

Candice (36:04.822)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (36:07.119)

I, you we, we puree the bespoke with attention to deep, lovely, all great words. I'm here for it. SEO is probably loving it too. But show me, show me proof of that, which means YouTube, Instagram, Reels, behind the scenes, you giving written. So there's written, there's audio, there's video. That's social proof of you being the expert. So.

Candice (36:13.939)

Yeah, show me.

Candice (36:33.824)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (36:34.269)

The steps are easy. Figure out who you want to be, what you want to be known for, and just literally go at it. And I know it's a lot of work. I would never downplay it, but guess what? It's so worth it because I always joke, I'm like, no one asked you to be here. Like you chose this. Like this is literally your choice. So since you've chosen this, you have to do the work. So you can't choose and hide. Marketing, if you don't market, you don't exist.

Candice (36:40.598)

Yes.

Candice (36:57.098)

Mm-hmm. Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (37:02.229)

It doesn't matter how pretty you are or how pretty your website is, if there's no marketing, nobody's ever going to find you. So it's, it's thinking about ways that people can find you in addition to the things you've said about yourself, which means doing the uncomfortable videos or talking stories or, you know, showing up as an expert here. After that, people start noticing you. Um, I told people, I'm like, I don't, I haven't pitched in years. I literally haven't pitched in years.

Candice (37:08.12)

No.

Candice (37:25.312)

It's true.

Akeshi Akinseye (37:32.017)

And the amount of press that we've gotten in the past few years is wild because people just take notice. You can't notice what's not there. So if you are limiting yourself in marketing because you care so much about what people think, it's going to be a while, right? Or just saying like, F it. Like I look crazy. I'm like, don't touch it. I talk to myself. I'm like, do not delete that video. Because sometimes I'll do a voiceover. I'm like, ooh.

Candice (37:39.022)

Yep.

Candice (37:48.012)

Yeah, I agree.

Candice (37:59.724)

You could never, you always look put together. You could never look crazy. You always look put together. But I think what, yeah, I do. We do.

Akeshi Akinseye (38:01.745)

hit send. I appreciate it. But you know what I mean? Like we just talk ourselves out of things and we talk ourselves out of being found and growing because we're afraid we're afraid to market ourselves. But I'm like, you chose this. So like, what other options do we have?

Candice (38:16.833)

Yes.

Candice (38:21.41)

Well, it's true. And I think one thing that we really have to recognize and understand.

is that if you don't have the confidence in yourself and if you don't believe in yourself as the expert that you are or that you want to become, you can't possibly expect clients in the industry to take notice of you and make you an expert. It starts with you believing in your talent, believing in your vision, in your ideas. And once you have that audacity or that confidence in yourself, that confidence

Akeshi Akinseye (38:43.209)

Yeah.

Candice (38:56.692)

then starts to rub off on other people and they have confidence in what it is that you're selling, you're making, you're creating or what you're saying. But it really does start with you and I also think back to a previous guest we've had on the show, Jerisha Hawk.

She was one of my first guests on the show and I loved her episode. Go back and listen for a little nostalgia. She talked about, she said something on the show, which I say often and I think about often. And it's, don't be disappointed by the results you didn't get from the work you didn't do. If you want to build an iconic brand in the wedding industry, if you want to be the next cash events, you can't, you have to do the work.

Akeshi Akinseye (39:17.013)

Bye.

Akeshi Akinseye (39:31.058)

Akeshi Akinseye (39:39.989)

You have to do the work.

Candice (39:40.096)

It's not going to just, it's not just going to be given to you. Not anymore, not in this industry anymore. There's too much competition. There's too much talent and there's too much at stake and clients are very smart. Now they're not, you know, like they're very smart about who they hire and they can tell when somebody is the real deal and when they're not. So if you, if you want, yeah, well, no, exactly. Well, you didn't do it.

Akeshi Akinseye (40:01.607)

Yeah, that gave me goosebumps. I was like, can't be a matter of what you didn't ask for it. You're not even in the running. Yeah. Yeah.

Candice (40:09.888)

Yeah, you didn't show up to the you didn't show up in the arena, the man in the arena, that famous quote, right? That that Brené Brown loves to talk about and it's it's cliche now, but it's actually very true. If you want the thing you have to show up and fight for it and work for it. Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (40:15.337)

Yeah. Yeah.

and

Akeshi Akinseye (40:28.393)

Yeah. And you only get better things that you actually try to do. Like when I look at my first video, I can find it for kicks. It was so bad. I'm like, my gosh. But guess what? You get better and you build that muscle of, now you take notes and then you're more confident. Even the, this is obviously years ago, but it's like, you're so much like, now they call me one take a question. I'm like, let's do this. I'm like, me my line.

Candice (40:33.41)

Thank you. Yes.

Candice (40:40.033)

my gosh, all of our first videos are bad. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Candice (40:57.102)

Let's go.

Akeshi Akinseye (40:58.129)

Let's go. So like, I'm like, so before I would be like, my gosh. And you know, you only get better at anything you're doing, whether you're planning or designing or whatever you're doing by practice. The second part about marketing, why people don't do it is you're marketing stuff that you don't know anything about. think that confidence comes from staying in your lane and honing in on the things you're good at. only, I always tell people, if you hear me talking about real estate, run, because that is not my forte. I'm not good at it.

Candice (41:20.183)

Yes.

Candice (41:25.518)

You would be though. P.S. though, you would get good at it. You would absolutely run circles around Chicago real estate if you decided that was your passion, I have no doubt.

Akeshi Akinseye (41:27.291)

What am I good at? I would be like, welcome to Park Lane.

Uh-huh. That would be my exit strategy. No, but what I'm saying is you're most confident talking about what you do know. And when you're trying to copy or mimic someone else, you're a little bit cheeky because that's not your place of genius. And while we're not good at everything, find the stuff that you are good at and sell that, right? And then go learn the things that you're not. Like, I think you have to recognize that.

Candice (41:48.727)

Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (42:07.325)

In an interview, I don't prep because I'm like, ask me anything. I'm, this is my life. I live it. So I'm confident to talk about that. But then if you ask me things, I'm not prepped for, I'm like, so then it's obvious and people see when you're not comfortable in your expertise. So I say, start with what you know, market that honing on that shot. Let that be your secret sauce. Right. And then, just keep learning and keep pushing yourself on.

Candice (42:17.897)

Yes.

Candice (42:27.106)

Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (42:36.883)

Like even now we're looking at like interior design courses. want to take that because I feel like it would enhance my design skillset. Right. So it's continuously pushing yourself. We've taken courses on speaking. I've taken courses on writing books and I'm just of course junkie because I come back, I take notes and I implement and you get better and you get better. Then I'm comfortable raising my price because I'm like, you know,

Candice (42:43.726)

sure.

Candice (42:56.268)

Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (43:03.241)

Well, that little course I just took that just elevated my knowledge, it's going to cost a little bit more, right? But we grow, but you can't just ask the world of things when you haven't done the investment. They have to see that you are that person and you are confident in that space that you're selling.

Candice (43:08.468)

Absolutely.

Candice (43:23.766)

Yes, I fully agree. And I love this conversation so much. You know, I have mentored so many women in the industry and I think confidence is one of those things that so many women need in order to grow in their business. And I just love that we're having this conversation. I would love to switch gears. And as we sort of wrap up our interview, I always ask this question of every guest and it's what does it mean to have a Keshe event? What does that mean for your clients? are the, what value

Akeshi Akinseye (43:37.588)

Yeah.

Candice (43:53.633)

What qualities do you think separate you and your events?

Akeshi Akinseye (43:55.807)

Akeshi Akinseye (44:00.243)

Yeah. So for me, first and foremost, it's a very hands-on intimate approach to planning. I take a very boutique. So although we do high-end elevated services, want to bring back the experience to be intimate. So I tell my clients, I'm like, we're going to be like, we're in this together. Like we're just dating for like another year and a half. So get ready. Right. The second is it's always a collaborative approach. There's never a one way thing. It's a collection of ideas. It's a collection of talents.

working together for one goal, but it's also a collaboration with the client. I can't produce for a client without the client. So I want their input. I want to hear more about them. It's I'm digging, I'm asking questions. It may not make sense, but I want to know more about them. So I'm able to translate. So it's really about personalized details. Like I said in the beginning, it's not about me. It's about the client. So I want to hear things. I want to know more about them. And it's my job to take those

what they may consider mundane things and turn that into a story and then reverse that and implement that throughout the celebrations or celebration. So it's just really attention to detail. My style is very romantic. It's very layered. If you want a detailed celebration, I am your girl. If you want basic, I am not your girl. I am not, and I'm not sorry about that. am your, we can do simple, but it's still elevated.

Candice (45:19.66)

Mm-hmm.

Akeshi Akinseye (45:30.637)

Most importantly, my message is always this, creating meaningful experiences. If there is no meaning behind anything, it is completely useless. So if you just want to do something to trend or you want to do something to be popular because it's what people are doing, it's going to be obvious to your guests. So for me, while we want to spend the money, the meaning, it's really about curating meaningful celebrations that you can hold on to.

Candice (45:48.002)

Yep.

Akeshi Akinseye (45:59.509)

forever for you and your guests and your guests can feel that they were thought about. So while I'm thinking about the clients, I'm also thinking about, what are we doing for the guests? How do we want them to feel? do we want to transition and really immersive experiences? So it's just really a very intimate approach to planning and designing. It's very personalized. It's very sexy. It's very layered. I always joke like if I designed a funeral, it be the most

romantic funeral that was. They would go like, we at a funeral? What's happening here? And it's not about, to me, it's not about wasting money or putting money in random places. It's putting, creating experiences in things and immersive experiences that make sense in the right places at the right time that really tie in that story. And that's what fuels me every single day. So that is the Keshe experience. Meaningful celebrations, yes.

Candice (46:32.408)

Absolutely.

Candice (46:39.917)

Right.

Candice (46:52.224)

I love it.

Meaning and very layered and I love that you think about planning and design and production with purpose behind it. I feel like you can see an event that lacked purpose. Like if you're scrolling your Instagram feed and somebody is showing their work or something, you can tell when an event lacks purpose just by looking at the imagery or the video of it. And purpose and celebration is so important. One of my favorite books was given to me by my friend Carla and it's the art of gathering and pre pre

Akeshi Akinseye (47:02.377)

Yes.

Akeshi Akinseye (47:08.202)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (47:20.853)

Yes.

Candice (47:23.832)

Parker talks about having meaning behind a dinner party, inviting somebody over for a cup of coffee. Like, what's the purpose? And when you get really focused on the why behind the celebration, it actually just improves everybody's experience. And I love that that is a value that you've woven throughout your business. think it's important. And I think it's so important nowadays. And it's what clients want, too. This next generation of client, Gen Z, they want.

Akeshi Akinseye (47:48.18)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (47:53.856)

Intimate celebrations, they want meaningful celebrations, authenticity woven into their event. And so now it's more important than ever. Okay, final question for you. And then we have to unfortunately wrap up. feel like we could talk forever. We could literally talk forever. Okay, so we asked this question too, of every guest that comes on the show. And it is in your opinion, what makes an iconic brand in the wedding industry?

Akeshi Akinseye (48:01.043)

Yeah. Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (48:07.355)

No!

Candice (48:23.76)

that people recognize. When you, Akeshi, are scrolling Instagram or when you are introduced to somebody and you see their work or you hear their voice and you think, yep, that's somebody who, that's somebody who's building an iconic brand. What is it?

Akeshi Akinseye (48:41.417)

I think it's just that signature piece. And for some people, it's just how colorful they are, right? Or how elegant they are, or that thing that you see constantly. Or for some people, it's just confidence. But I think everybody has and needs a signature. Literally, a signature, something that takes you from everyone and you stand out.

And I identify with things like that. And sometimes I may connect with someone, maybe we have a boat by fashionistas and we love certain brands or we love certain styles. Sometimes we love certain kinds of travel experiences, right? But I think just identifying that signature and the audacity to actually bring it to life and not worry so much about missing out. Cause that's the thing when you apply signature, thinking like, about everybody else? But I'm like,

Candice (49:28.087)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (49:36.533)

Again, back to the signature, you're not for everybody. So then people start to identify. And sometimes you may meet people that say, I love your work. I know I can't afford you. Sometimes I'm like, oh, thank you. But I'm like, it's working. But the truth is we can't serve everybody. And you water down your brand by trying to be like everybody else. And if you could just quiet their noise and figure out what that thing is in you that you can show up and give to the world. And I think that's the most attractive thing for me.

Candice (49:49.026)

Yeah.

Candice (49:53.378)

That's true.

Candice (49:57.131)

is true.

Candice (50:05.866)

I agree. I love that you've said this. Yeah, I absolutely love that you've said this. And this is something that you help people figure out for their brand. And I'd love for you to share more about the work that you do on the education side. And we talked about the amazing events that you plan and produce and create, but you also have a heart to take what you've learned and impart it on other planners and designers. know, just hearing your story, I feel like this goes back to when you were

Akeshi Akinseye (50:29.363)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (50:35.76)

researching for information on pipe and drape and how do you make the flowers do this and you couldn't find it and so you flew to Canada and you paid somebody to help you figure it out. You realize that having access to information is actually what's going to help you grow and I love that you are taking what you've learned over the years and imparting it on others. So I'll shut up. I'd love to hear how you help wedding planners and pros with their business and their brand.

Akeshi Akinseye (50:40.661)

Okay.

Akeshi Akinseye (50:59.121)

yeah, no, I think the education piece just like you is so important and lack of, you know, there's more information now, but like I always feel like I don't want I don't want anyone to struggle the way I struggle because I struggled for a long time. But now at for for a few hundred bucks, you can actually buy a course that can change your brand if you are willing to apply.

Candice (51:07.095)

it is.

Candice (51:17.229)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (51:29.173)

because I think people sometimes buy things, watch things, implementation is where we struggle. So that's another story for another day. But one of the courses we sat through that, I have the Keshe Experience as my education platform specifically for wedding and event pros. And going back to the signature, we've kind of looked at like, what is the course? What do we want to be known for in the education field? And I was like, you know, it's simple. I just want to teach people how to build a signature brand that stands out. That's it.

Candice (51:35.021)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (51:58.207)

So we built, we created a course last December, which launched and it's the signature brand mastery masterclass. Quite honestly, I think it's for any business, but my niche is winning an event pro. So we launched that, made it super affordable. Cause someone sent me a message of like, why is it so cheap? I was like, don't worry about it. I was like, just don't worry, just buy the course. And when you go and you figure it out.

Candice (52:16.085)

Yeah.

Akeshi Akinseye (52:21.375)

So that's our signature course and we have other courses for floral, art of tablescaping, things like that. But I think that where people need to start is building a brand that stands out, building a brand that makes sense and building a brand that has a clear message in order. like you said, people are not stupid. When you don't have anything you need to offer, people can tell. And the homework is you have to do that homework. I can't tell anybody what your signature is. You have to figure it out.

Candice (52:29.068)

Yes. Yes.

Candice (52:49.61)

is true.

Akeshi Akinseye (52:49.727)

So what I teach in the course is how to actually find that and ways to kind of bring that to life all the way through PR. So yeah, so signature brand mastery masterclass is on the keshexperience.com. Thank you for asking about that.

Candice (53:00.748)

my gosh, yeah, of course. Well, listen, I want our listeners to have access to all the tools in their toolkit to help grow their business. And I love that you're doing this. And I just love everything that you do. You have a ton of value to bring to the wedding industry. And a course is a perfect way to give that value. And I love that you've also made it affordable. My course is affordable too, because I want people to.

Akeshi Akinseye (53:08.192)

Ew.

Akeshi Akinseye (53:17.781)

Thank you.

Candice (53:25.614)

not have an excuse. I'm like, you have literally have no excuse not to buy this and it's going to change the way you think and it's going to be the mindset shift you need. So I'm going to link to all of this in the show notes and including how you can just learn more about Akashi. Obviously go follow her on Instagram. Instagram is where she's hanging out, but Akashi, thank you so much for spending so much time with us today and sharing your story and yeah, encouraging us. I know.

Akeshi Akinseye (53:27.615)

Yeah.

Right.

Akeshi Akinseye (53:40.817)

Yeah, thank you.

Akeshi Akinseye (53:49.205)

Oh, thank you for having me. can't believe it's been an hour. feel like we're just hanging out. We are, yeah.

Candice (53:54.53)

Well, we are kind of. Well, thank you so much for being so open and sharing so much great wisdom and knowledge. Everything you shared today is resonating with me. I'm even thinking like, for myself, thinking, hmm, I think there's some changes I need to make too. But thank you so much. And for all of our listeners, yeah, thank you so much for listening today and for being a part of this conversation behind the brand.

Akeshi Akinseye (54:08.053)

Thank you for having me.

Candice (54:22.562)

I would love to know if there's somebody you'd like us to bring on the podcast that we can interview. I want to remind you there's so much power in your purpose and I'll see you next time.