Our Katelyn James Coaching Recap (Plus Our Second Anniversary Session Favs!)

This seems to be season of pouring back into DSE, and I don’t hate it:) I’ve got a little break between weddings, and therefore planned to attend a wonderful workshop, and invest in a Couples Coaching Session with Katelyn & Michael. I think that as a small business owner, it’s a NECESSITY to give back to your business through education, and I’m so happy I’ve been able to spend time doing just that.

In my first year of business, I invested in a mentor session with Natalie Franke. It was hands down one of the best decision I’ve made! Having dedicated one-on-one time with a mentor in the industry is so important!! I decided that every year of my business, I would invest in a one-on-one session with an industry leader. This year, I reached out to Katelyn & Michael about doing a Couple’s Session for me and Matt.

Let me set the record straight: Matt and I have no idea if we will ever run DSE or C@H as a husband-wife team. We don’t know if it’s our desire, God’s desire or financially feasible for us to both bring in a paycheck from these businesses. So we did not go into the session with that idea or leave the session with that idea!!:) Here’s WHY we did this session together:

– Even though Matt does not bring in a paycheck from DSE, his is my husband and we are a TEAM! I WANT him to be apart of business-related decisions. I want to be able to chat with him more in depth about my business struggles and victories and rely on him for support and wisdom.

– Since Matt does not work in the industry, he gets a little lost sometimes:) (I had to explain what a styled shoot was multiple times last year!) Let’s face it, ladies, the wedding industry is unlike ANY OTHER industry!! It’s a little crazy, ha! It’s fast-paced, full of momentum and very hard for non-wedding-professionals to understand!!! Because of his lack of understanding and my impatience, we have had many, many arguments. It’s the sad truth of it. I knew that I wanted to have him be apart of more business-conversations and this coaching session was the perfect start.

– We adore Katelyn & Michael!! They were our wedding photographers, they’re strong believers, they’ve grown an AMAZING business and we LOVE spending time with them!! It was a natural fit to spend 9 hours digging deep into DSE, C@H and everything in between!!

If you are looking for a way to bring your husband into the business a little bit more (whether as “official” business partners or just the ability to have more strategic conversations ABOUT the business) I strongly suggest a conversation or coaching session like this!! Sitting down in a room with a husband-wife team who do this together AND used to do this NOT together, was vital! It was so great to hear their experience before Michael joined KJP, and to chat with them about HOW he joined and WHAT he’s doing for the team now!!

Let’s be real: the wedding industry is pretty girl:) We put a lot of emphasis on the bride, and I think that’s okay! I LOVE my brides and I LOVED being a bride!!!! I think because there is so much emphasis on the feminine, guys can get overwhelmed and feel insecure. Matt doesn’t really like wedding day, y’all!! He comes to serve me and help me (and he’s great with people so that’s a HUGE plus)!! But it’s not his ideal Saturday! He’d much rather be watching NFL or playing Madden:) Me, I LOVE wedding day!! I’d rather be at a wedding than be playing Madden, ha!:) Because of our differences, and how feminine weddings are: we have struggled with how to integrate him in business conversations.

To be honest, we struggled silently. I never realized that other wives were struggling with the same things! I struggled with the fact that we are not a husband-wife business team, but we ARE a team in marriage!! How do I balance being an independent boss lady & being a wife who longs & needs her husbands advice & love? Marriage is private and personal, and it’s very different for every couple. I do not want to tell you and your spouse how to communicate (because Matt and I are still learning!!); but I do want to give you a word of advice from someone who has been silently struggling with the balance: You HAVE to communicate. Sit down together. Spend a day, an evening, an afternoon, and talk about how you both feel. Express your desire to have business-minded conversations; EDUCATE him on the business so that he CAN assist you in those decisions!! I would loose patience when Matt didn’t understand something, but I wasn’t actually TEACHING him about it!! I was expecting him to understand a foreign industry, and that’s not fair!! On the other hand, as your husband, he also needs to have a DESIRE to learn the industry and learn the business, so that he CAN help you (whether that’s by doing things for you, or lending a listening ear when you need it most!). The husbands of boss ladies deserve gold medals, right?! I LOVE that Matt supports my crazy adventures and ideas!!!! I couldn’t do this without him!!

When we began to talk more, our eyes were opened. I realized he WAS willing to help. I realized he WANTED to help. And I realized I needed to ALLOW him to help!!! During our day with Katelyn & Michael it was SO GREAT to talk about practical and tangilble things that he can do RIGHT NOW to help me. We’re already taking those things to heart & he’s been working behind-the-scenes on some big projects for DSE!! (I’ll share more about this soon!)!

All in all, our coaching session with Katelyn & Michael was a total game changer for how we operate the business and how we communicate together about the business; it gave Matt a better idea of ways he can be involved in such a feminine industry, and they had some INCREDIBLE ideas of ways we can continue to grow and build these businesses in the next year!! Katelyn is so, so wise and I’m so grateful for her time, talent and friendship!!

At the end of our session, we celebrated with a Anniversary Session!! These two captured our Engagement, Wedding and now 2nd Anniversary – so special!!! (I told her I’ll have to do another session – in a few years – when we’re expecting so they can capture our maternity too, ha!)

Enjoy my favorites!! And if you’d love to chat more about our experience or anything else I mentioned above, please comment below or email me. We’re all in this together:)