Candice (00:00.288)

It's September in wedding season. And if you're a wedding pro, you're likely on the verge of burnout. You're definitely exhausted. In this episode, I want to talk to you about how you can survive survival mode in wedding season when you have to push everything to the side and just stay focused on your clients. You're here to grow a business, but not just any kind of business. You want to grow a profitable business with purpose.

A business where you wake up every single day driven to serve your customers and make a difference in your own life. I'm Candace Coppola, published author, business coach, and your guide to building a profitable business with purpose. Join me here every single week as we explore how to build and grow your business with purpose. Get ready to dig in and have meaningful conversations about the strategies and techniques

that will help you build your dream business. This is the power in purpose.

Candice (01:06.946)

Hey there, friends, and welcome back to the Power in Purpose podcast. It's me, your host, Candice. And surprise, we have a special episode for you today. It is not Tuesday. It is actually Thursday. And we are dropping our first episode on Thursdays. Now, before I get into that and today's episode, I do want to share with you that today is a special day. It is my birthday.

I'm celebrating turning 43 today and gosh, I'm so grateful that I get to sit here and chat with you on my birthday and I'm just grateful for all of the wonderful things that I have in my life. So thank you for being a part of it and thanks for being a listener of this podcast. I'm excited because on my birthday, I get to announce that we are dropping two episodes a week.

of the show throughout the traditional off season for wedding pros. So from today all the way through into we'll see how long we can actually do this. But through the winter months, we plan to release two episodes a week. And there are a few reasons why I made this decision. First, I have just a lot to talk about and share. And I just don't feel like I can do that in one episode a week.

Second, I have a lot of people I want to introduce you to with really amazing ideas that I would love to have as a guest on the podcast. And it's really limiting when you can only release two episodes a week. Third, I feel like you need some help. I mean that in all sincerity. I feel like this is the time of year where you really begin to dig into your business and you start thinking about the changes that you want to make. And I want to be a part of that change and I want to support you.

in what is mostly off season for a lot of pros, not everyone, but for many, I want to support you in the season of business building with business building episodes here on the show. So those were the three primary reasons why I decided to do two episodes a week. So episodes will drop traditionally as they normally do on Tuesdays. And then on Thursdays, an extra episode will be here.

Candice (03:22.4)

inside your podcast player waiting for you on a hot topic or something that I think we need to continue talking about here on the show. So I hope you enjoy this. I hope you enjoy the added support, the added conversation, and I'm so excited that we get to just talk more here on the show. All right. So today, our first episode of this two episode season is all about survival mode. I literally just delivered a live inside the Facebook group for the women.

in my mastermind on this topic. And this topic was so well received by the women and I was so impassioned by it. And I felt like it was so timely that I decided that I'm going to record an episode on survival mode very spontaneously because I know many of you are in it right now. And I bumped our original episode to next week. So next week we're going to be talking about mapping out a strategy for Q4. So stay tuned next Thursday. That episode is coming to you. today,

We're talking about survival mode. know so many of you guys are in the thick of survival mode right now. It's the tail end of wedding season. You might be feeling completely exhausted. And usually during this time in September, late September, mid September, sometimes the beginning of September, depending on how early your season started, you're starting to question how many more years of this you can take. It is sort of a crescendo.

of exhaustion that you're usually feeling in September. You love your clients, you love your work, but you are tired. Your body's tired, your spirit's tired, your mind's tired, you're tired of dealing with problems, you're tired of putting out fires, you're tired of people not listening to you, you're tired of people not reading your emails, you're tired of playing catch up all the time, you're tired of putting things on the back burner that you really wanted to get to this year. And so you're in survival mode. And when you go into survival mode,

You make a decision that you need to focus on what's just in front of you. And you let everything fall to the back burner, everything. When you're in survival mode at the stage of wedding season, you put everything on the back burner because to you, the most important thing is getting through the next couple of weeks and also supporting your clients in the way that you promised you would. Meeting deadlines, throwing yourself into all your client work.

Candice (05:46.378)

making sure that your clients are well fed, satiated and happy. And in return, you put everything on the back burner, your marketing, your health, your finances, your business growth, your relationships. And you say, I just need to get through these next few weeks and then I'll be good. I'll be fine. I'll be great. can get back to marketing on Instagram and I can get back to, you know, making sure my books are up to date and tracking my

my sales and I can get back to working out or eating well or whatever, whatever the case might be. So you throw yourself into your work. And then when wedding season is over, you know, that, that period where you say, I'll be good. This is, this is the time where you're supposed to be good. Cause you've gotten through all of those crazy weeks. You're dehydrated. You are depleted and you are dangerously dangerously close to burnout. If not totally.

burnt out. That's survival mode. That's September survival mode in wedding season. It's tough. I'm not here to tell you that you need to keep going in spite of feeling really overwhelmed and having to turn survival mode on. I'm not here to tell you that you don't need to go to survival mode. I'm not here to tell you that you can't put things on the back burner because that's unrealistic. And it's quite frankly, it's unhelpful.

You know that you need to be marketing your business. You know you need to be doing all the things. You know that you need to think about this in advance, but it hasn't happened. You're in survival mode right now. And the only way beyond survival mode is through it. You have to get through it. And I am dedicated on this podcast to helping you through survival mode. And then also in future episodes, helping you avoid.

this fight or flight mode that you find yourself in season after season. That's another topic. But right now we can't go back and turn back the hands of time and make decisions in the past. All we can do is think forward. And so I'm not here to tell you and give you some BS pep talk, make you feel guilty, make you feel bad for being in survival mode. It happens. And I don't think any other industry can really appreciate how wedding pros feel in September.

Candice (08:04.28)

having done so much work and being just on the cusp of almost being finished, but still having so much work ahead of them. I don't think there are many industries that are like the wedding industry. I don't think there are many business owners that have such all consuming client work that derails any hopes, any chances of working on other things in their business and also the physical exhaustion that comes along.

with the wedding industry. Very few people understand it and very few people are qualified to talk about it outside of other wedding industry pros. People just don't get it. So I don't want to give you some BS pep talk that quite frankly you don't need and that you would tell me to fuck right off. You'd be like, Candace, I love you, but you just need to fuck right off with that bullshit. I don't want to make you feel guilty either.

for having to turn on survival mode in your business because you're just trying to survive. You're just trying to meet your obligations, your deadlines, keep your clients happy, make sure their experience is great. I don't want to make you feel guilty about that. So instead, I want you to embrace the survival mode that you're in. And not only do I want you to embrace it, of course, the Enneagram 3 in me wants you to be the very best at surviving.

And I think there are three ways that you can be good at surviving survival mode. So whether you're in the thick of it right now, you see it like you've got your binoculars out and you see it there on the horizon, or maybe you're just getting started in your wedding season again. Maybe you're in the South, maybe you're in Florida, you're in Texas, or you're in the Southern hemisphere. And so you're just kind of getting going. Put this, put this in your mind for the future.

I think there is something that we can do to survive survival mode, and that is to be uncompromising on the things that actually keep you alive, the things that keep you going. The key to survival mode is being uncompromising about the things that keep you moving forward as a person, as a business owner. And so when you're in this position of having to turn off

Candice (10:26.49)

all other things and only focus on client work. What I need you to do is not delay, defer or forget about the things that keep you healthy and sane. There are three things I really want you to prioritize in this season. You can put marketing aside, you can put finances aside, you can put all of it aside. Go right ahead.

I mean, there are repercussions and consequences and you know them. I don't need to rehash them with you because you're an adult and you know what you're doing. Hey friend, hear that noise? That's the sound of HoneyBook depositing cold hard cash into your bank account. HoneyBook is an all -in -one client flow platform that helps you manage your leads, send wedding proposals and sign more contracts all at the click of a button.

HoneyBook also offers a variety of resources and materials to help you grow your wedding industry business. One of my favorite features of the HoneyBook platform is actually the community of creative entrepreneurs just like you. HoneyBook is offering listeners of the Power and Purpose podcast 35 % off any of their three plans for your first year. 35%. It's an amazing deal. Use the code PURPOSE at checkout or go to CandaceCoppola .com slash HoneyBook to learn more.

That's Candace Coppola .com slash HoneyBook. And thanks to HoneyBook for sponsoring this episode of the Power in Purpose podcast. Today's episode is brought to you by our partner, Flowdesk. Flowdesk is an email marketing software used by thousands of creative entrepreneurs just like you to grow their business and their brand. What I love most about Flowdesk is just how easy and simple it is to create stunning and effective email marketing campaigns

in just a few clicks. It's perfect for the wedding industry and for anyone looking to grow their business with email marketing. Go to CandaceCoppola .com slash flow desk to sign up for your free trial where you can start designing beautiful email campaigns while I teach you about marketing here on the podcast. That's CandaceCoppola .com slash flow desk to start your free trial and use the code Candace50 at checkout to save 50 % off

Candice (12:45.27)

your first year. Check it out and see what's possible. And thanks to Flowdesk for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. Now let's get back to the episode. But for right now, I want you to prioritize three things. The first, when you're in survival mode, is I need you to prioritize your health. It's important that as you throw yourself into client work and that you let go of all the other tasks and to -dos,

that you don't let go of what keeps you healthy. And for all of us, that looks a little bit different. I know for me, what keeps me feeling healthy and what keeps me surviving in survival mode are two things. I need to prioritize movement and I need to prioritize my nutrition. Now for you, this might be the same or it could be your mental health, your emotional health, your spiritual health. It could be your menstrual health, your...

fertility health, could be other elements of your health, but you need to acknowledge what keeps you sane and what keeps you healthy and be uncompromising in that. That means that no matter how much work you have, no matter how bad -ass the wedding, no matter how bad -ass the clients this weekend, no matter how many places you need to be in at once, you need to prioritize this one.

That could be going for your morning walk. It could be trying to eat as nutritious and as healthy as possible to keep yourself fueled. It could be being uncompromising about taking your vitamins or your supplements. It could be lifting weights. Whatever it is, I want you to be uncompromising about it. And what that means is that you prioritize it first. You get in your morning walk, even if it's 10 minutes. You try to eat as healthy as you can.

before you do anything else in the morning. Be uncompromising about your health and the aspects of your health that keep you going, that keep you fueled, that keep you sane, that keep you grounded, and that gives you a better chance at surviving survival mode. The second thing I want you to be uncompromising about and to prioritize is something in your business that keeps you afloat.

Candice (15:07.254)

Maybe this is talking to your business coach. Maybe this is connecting with a community that you're a part of. Maybe it is a certain thing that you do in your business on a daily basis or a weekly basis that keeps you grounded, that keeps you focused. Maybe it's a goal you set for yourself, like having your inbox at a certain number that makes you feel good, it makes you feel in control, makes you feel like you are making progress. Whatever it is, I need you to go back to basics.

And I need you to be uncompromising about one thing in your business that keeps you grounded and keeps you centered. This is going to make you feel like you are making progress. This is going to make you feel like in spite of having zero control in survival mode, because you're just trying to make sure everyone else is fed, you have control over this one thing. This one thing in your business that you prioritize above other things that you make sure gets done.

This might be your marketing. I hope it is actually your marketing because when survival mode ends and you go into sales, you may find yourself in sales survival mode if you put your marketing off for too long. The third thing I want you to prioritize in survival mode is relationships. And I think that this might actually be the most important out of the three. know, health is important and the health of your business is important too, but the health of your relationships, I think,

shows your overall health in your life. One of the first things to go is when we're in survival mode is the extra time we set aside for people. At least this has been in my case. So maybe not in yours, but this is something I see and this is something I've experienced firsthand. We don't have time for a date night with our partner. We don't have time to go out to lunch with our friends. We don't have time to go to Sunday dinners by our parents or our family. We're stressed out, we're maxed out.

We bring our laptop into bed. We're scrolling on our phones all the time. We're anxious. We're tempered. We don't have time to take our kids to the park. We don't have time to take the dog for a walk. And so our relationships actually lose priority in the grand scheme of all the things that we have to do. But our relationships are what keep us grounded. They're what keep us sane. And they're the proverbial touch of grass that we need to remind us that we're alive.

Candice (17:30.188)

and that whatever stress from the day, a nasty email, a shitty client, a shitty thing you saw on social media, it's all relative. Our relationships are what matter. And so when you're in survival mode, you can deprioritize relationships. I don't want you to do that. In fact, I want you to be uncompromising about a relationship in your life that you will maintain priority of.

in one specific way. Maybe you can't be 24 seven up somebody's ass all the time, but what you can be is to make sure that on Wednesday nights, if that's your date night with your spouse or your partner, that you do not compromise that time, that you make time for it and you show how important that person is to you and you set your work aside, you set your stresses aside and you connect with your person. If you go to dinner at your family's house every Sunday,

be uncompromising about that. You need that time to be around your family, the craziness of it, the happiness of it, the bullshit of it all. It actually fuels you and it reminds you of what matters most. If you love taking your kid to dance class or you want to be there for a tee ball game or a football game this fall, make sure you prioritize it. Your relationships are what keep you grounded. They're what keep you sane. And I really think that they're the key to surviving survival mode. So listen.

Sometimes you arrive in a place where you need to prioritize, where you need to let go of things and understand, can't do it all. I don't have the team to support me. I don't have the money to spend. I need to put some things aside and put my focus and attention on the things in front of me. I need to simplify. I give you permission to do that. If that's where you're at right now, turn the survival mode switch on, but before you do.

Make sure that you find a way to prioritize your health, your business, and your relationships. Because on the other side of survival mode is now we have shit to do mode. Now we have sales to make mode. Now we have project wrap up mode. And I don't want you to feel burnt out, overwhelmed still, and depleted and dehydrated at the end of your wedding season. Burnout.

Candice (19:52.194)

You know, people talk about it. It's no joke. It is no joke. It is debilitating. can take a while to come out of burnout. It can take months. It can take years. Some people never recover from work burnout, from business burnout. They never recover from it. You have to be protective of yourself and your business because you never know when burnout is going to come into the equation.

and what that burnout season might look like for you. Burnout is like, can't get out of bed. Burnout is what used to bring you joy, what you used to enjoy in your life. The sports you used to enjoy, the TV shows you used to enjoy, the hobbies you used to have, working out, cooking, going out with friends, being social, taking trips, traveling, all those things. You just can't find enjoyment in them anymore, not even in a song you used to love. That's burnout.

If you no longer enjoy things in your business that you used to love, and it's beyond just like, I'm used to this now, it's like next level. You don't enjoy anything. You enjoy sleeping. You enjoy being left alone. That's a sign that you're in burnout. And there's a whole nother discussion we need to have, but I do think the same principles apply in survival mode, prioritizing your health, prioritizing something in your business that keeps you healthy and prioritizing your relationships can help you find your way out of burnout too. But I don't want you to

get there. So make sure that you're fueling these things during survival mode. listen, we all find ourselves here. The goal after survival mode will be, how do we not repeat that as intensely as we did? What are the changes we need to make to make sure that the next time we enter this season, the September survival mode season, that we have just a little bit of a leg up, that we have just a little bit more momentum, we have our head screwed on just a little tighter, that we're feeling a little less stressed.

just a margin of improvement can actually just make a huge difference in how you come out of survival mode. Something we'll talk about this season on the podcast. All right, friend, thanks for joining me today. I hope this message and this episode has reached you at a stage where you need to hear this message. And I hope it's helped you and it's served you. I want you to have a good rest of your wedding season, whether you're just getting started or you're staring.

Candice (22:17.478)

staring at the ass end of your season. want it to be good and I want you to survive because we need you in this industry. We need your craziness. We need your creativity. We need your energy. I don't want you going anywhere. All right, friend. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. I'm rooting for you and I want to remind you there's so much power in your purpose. It's what helps you survive survival mode. I'll see you in the next episode.

Thanks so much for tuning in to this week's episode of the Power and Purpose Podcast. If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode and consider leaving a review. Head over to powerinpurposepodcast .com to access all of the resources and links mentioned in today's episode. That's powerinpurposepodcast .com. I'll see you next time.