#awinewith Tania Hall
MEET Tania, founder of Event Wanderer Co.
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:04):
Tanya, Welcome to Spark tv.
Tania Hall (00:08):
Hello. Thank you so much for having me on.
Danielle Lewis (00:10):
I'm so excited to talk to you because we have already talked a whole podcast episode and then we're like, oh shit, we record. Exactly. I love it. I love it because I know we're going to get into it. Let's just start things off by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Tania Hall (00:28):
So my name is Tanya Hall and I am the owner of a little company called The Event Wander Co. And we do all things wedding invitations, signage, printing. We are based here in Melbourne or just outside of Melbourne on the beautiful Bass Coast, so heading down towards the Penguins and Philip Island. If anyone knows where that is, it's gorgeous. But we pretty much service everyone across Australia so we can send wedding invitations and signage anywhere, and we absolutely adore what we do. So it's beautiful to be part of everybody's love journey because weddings are such a special time and we also kind of like to step back in and help with birthdays and christenings and anniversaries and celebrations, but weddings is definitely one of our specialties. So lots of fun. Definitely.
Danielle Lewis (01:17):
I love it. Do you get lots of stressed out brides?
Tania Hall (01:22):
Yes. No. Hopefully when they come to us for the invitation side, they're pretty chilled.
Danielle Lewis (01:29):
Yeah,
Tania Hall (01:31):
It's the very early stage of the planning. It's like the, oh, okay, we've got our venue now we need to start getting our guests in. What do we want to do with our themes? And then the more we kind of get closer to the day, we do start to get a little bit stressed out. But if I've done my job properly and I've worked with my couples really, really well, then I am first and foremost not adding to their stress. I'm actually alleviating their stress because where I like to help them is when we kind of get to, on the day when we're dealing with things like seating charts and menus and welcome science, I'll kind of step in and go, Hey, rather than me deliver everything directly to you guys and then you happening to take everything to your venues, just tell me who your venue contact is, tell me who your wedding planner is. And particularly if they're here in Melbourne, I'll literally just deliver all their stuff directly to the venue and kind of take that added pressure off them because nobody wants to be running around the week before their wedding wondering where their seating chart is. So yeah, if I can alleviate that one little element of stress, I will do whatever I can to help them out along the way.
Danielle Lewis (02:42):
I love that so much because I feel like that is such an amazing business lesson. If you can put yourself in your customer's shoes and think, what are they going through right now? And I mean weddings is a very specific example, but I mean, anyone think of any customer you have, what are they going through right now and how can I make their life easier? I just think that's a very smart business strategy.
Tania Hall (03:06):
A hundred percent. And I think particularly when it comes to weddings, everyone's so inclined to think that they can do so much themselves as well.
Danielle Lewis (03:13):
And
Tania Hall (03:13):
Then there's always this stark realization the closer you get to the wedding day, that the day is actually about you and it's about you and your partner getting up and making that commitment in front of your loved ones. And then because it is about you, and we're almost inclined to do a lot of stuff for other people, and it's about your guests, and we think that we can also be in every other place multiple places at once. And on your wedding day, you can't on the wedding day, it is about you need to be the center of attention. And so it is not physically possible for our couples to be running around doing the styling, wondering where everything is to be set up. And that's kind of where we come in and that's where also people like wedding planners and stylists, and there's all these people within the beautiful wedding industry who are there to support couples along their way. So yeah, it's a wonderful, wonderful industry to be a part of and we just love it. We fell into it by accident, and that's a whole nother story in itself.
Danielle Lewis (04:17):
Well, tell me, no, I want to know, that's literally one of my questions is how on earth did you get into this? So
Tania Hall (04:23):
We fell into this. Look, long story short, weddings is just one part of our business, sorry, weddings and stationery is one business we do. My other business that I do is I am an online business manager, and part of that is one of my beautiful clients a long time ago was a wedding planner. Came to me in a bit of a jam and she was like, look, I need help. I've got a client who needs a seating chart, but she wants it to be in gold, because that was their theming. I had some contacts from a former life when I was an event manager, put the feelers out to some signwriter and they were like, yep, we can definitely help you out. So in the end, created all the signage for my beautiful client and then kind of was like, oh, hold on. I actually quite enjoy doing this. So just by making one seating chart, one welcome sign and some place cards for her, it kind of snowballed from there. And it's funny because even as a kid, I used to make, used to make cards with rubber stamps, you used to get the rubber stamps with the ink, and then
(05:31):
My mom used to sell them in a news agency, and I used to do that as a kid and would sell the cards for a dollar. So it's really funny that come down the track 30 odd years, and I'm nearly 40 now, and I've actually got a full on proper stationary business doing proper invitations. And yeah, it's like it was meant to be, but I've had to go through totally, that's full circle careers in between, so it's full circle and going through a few different careers in between as well, obviously. But yeah, that's kind of how we accidentally fell into wedding stationary. And then that all kind of happened during Covid obviously, but covid was a bit of a blessing in disguise because it gave us the time to actually research, build a portfolio, do our designs, get everything up and running, and really kind of build the business the way that we want it to be. So we're nearly three years in now, which is good. And it's kind of at a point where we're really ready to go full time with it and see our little baby grow more than anything. So yeah, very exciting times.
Danielle Lewis (06:33):
It's so good. And you mentioned having a background in events, so give me a quick rundown on what that career looked like and then when you decided to make the leap into online business manager.
Tania Hall (06:46):
So, well, I have covid to think for the leap because obviously Covid kind of shut down, leap in inverting commerce, shut down all the events. But long story short, I was a event manager for Tennis Australia for the Australian Open. So I spent eight years working on probably one of the biggest sporting events here in Melbourne, which was amazing. So also didn't really know what a summer was for a long time, and it's probably taken me five years to actually figure out what a summer is because I finished up with them back in 2019. But that was amazing. And working on such an international event too, it taught me so much about not just myself, about resilience, about business, because we were across everything as event managers, we learn about hr, we learn about strategy, we learn about management, we learn about finance, we were marketing, we learnt everything that there was.
(07:42):
We were operations and logistics. It was such a varied role and I'm forever grateful for everything that I learned as part of that. And then when I finished up with them, when I just got to the point where I learned as much as I could, and it was time for a new challenge, I ended up going to work for a friend of mine who incidentally had also worked at Tennis Australia, and he was building a brand activation company. And through him I got to see another side of events, which was more bespoke retail-based brand activations, working again for a massive company, going in and building their brand activations on a week by week basis across Australia. We were going in, again, we were doing massive sporting events, we were doing events like Grand Prix, we were doing festivals over summer, all that type of thing. And then that obviously came to a crashing halt when covid hit. And that was just as we were starting to get into the full swing of it as well. And it was kind of surreal because I was standing there the day the Grand Prix got shut down and I was actually at the Grand Prix. Oh wow. And it was so weird. I was inside the gates going, okay, there should be people in here now. Where is everybody?
Danielle Lewis (08:57):
Oh wow.
Tania Hall (08:58):
And there's literally like five, 600 people just at the gate entrance wanting to come in and nobody knew what was going on. And it was just really, really surreal from our point of view. And I literally had friends ringing me, they were watching the TV where the premier was making the announcements and all that, and they're like, oh, the Grand Prix has been shut down. And I'm like, what? No one told me I'm here. I'm standing here. And so yeah, that was kind of the beginning of the end. So that was really weird. And then obviously Covid happened and we got put into lockdown, and it was kind of during that we were all working and trying to keep events going and moving into the online event space, which we were forced to adapt and for want of a better word, pivot as everyone, that golden word. We did
Danielle Lewis (09:47):
Love the word pivot during,
Tania Hall (09:49):
Oh my. It just reminds me of that friend's episode when Ross got the couch. That's what comes to mind. I just screaming. And then I was actually really, really lucky that during Covid, a girlfriend of mine, she started building out a virtual assistance agency and she'd been doing work herself for some time and she'd been growing her client roster and she'd got to a point where she couldn't handle it herself anymore. So she kind of reached out to me and was like, Hey, do you want some extra work given I wasn't working? And I'm like, yes, I'll take anything. And from that, that's kind of where I started as a va. And then it was kind of nice to take that step back from being a fullon manager and just going back into being a VA and having that breathing space. And because being a VA and being an OBM to very, very different roles, you've got one where you're just being led by the business owner.
(10:51):
Whereas when you're an OBM, you're really stepping fully into someone's business and you're working with them from a strategic point of view to really move their business forward. So it was good to be able to take a bit of a break. We had a lot of personal stuff going on at the same time, but then over the course of probably the last two years, the VA side's tapered off. And I've really stepped back up into the business manager role and the consulting role and going back into the strategic role, which I love because that's what people want. They want somebody there who is kind of on the journey with them.
Danielle Lewis (11:24):
And
Tania Hall (11:26):
I think now, as I said, I'm nearly 40, I've been in the business industry for 20 odd years. I've got my own businesses, my partner's got his businesses and we're running them. So we all come from experience now. So it's rather than me just sit here and let my clients tell me what to do, it's so much more beneficial for us to actually work together and they don't feel alone as a result either. And I can just have weekly meetings with some of my clients and we just sit there and chat for an hour and they walk away and they're so much happier because they know that they're not alone in their business. They're not sitting in their offices, in their houses and being on their own. And that's the greatest thing for them more than anything. And also for me,
Danielle Lewis (12:10):
And it's really interesting, I was literally just having this conversation this week as solo or even small team, small businesses, it can be really hard. You mentioned the loneliness, but also just getting out of your own way and thinking strategically and planning and looking at the bigger picture, setting the vision, the big stuff. It can be really hard when you're by yourself in your house behind your laptop and you're like, oh my God, the to-do list, all this stuff. Sometimes you need that person to actually have the sounding board and those larger, more strategic conversations.
Tania Hall (12:51):
A hundred percent. And it's a funny one, I think actually, I had a meeting with a client yesterday and the reason we have fortnightly meetings, and one of the things that we realized a few weeks ago is, and everyone's guilty of this, we all freeze up when we have to talk about our own businesses. Not everyone is naturally able to be put on the spot and talk about their business. Happens to me sometimes happens to everybody. But it's really funny with this particular client, and I love it a bit, the second I get her talking about a subject that she's passionate about, she'll go,
(13:28):
But put her in front of a camera and trying to get her to do that for a social media reel won't happen. So we actually teed this up yesterday and I said, right, I'm going to put you on the spot, but I'm not going to put you on the spot because you're going to know that I'm going to start doing this. And so we did a pseudo interview where we literally just for an hour talked and we've recorded the whole thing, and I pretty much have gone away. And I think we've now probably got a good two months worth of real content out of that discussion
Danielle Lewis (13:57):
That is so good.
Tania Hall (13:58):
But it was so good for her because she's like, all I needed was somebody to talk to two.
(14:04):
And it's just that whole concept of, and as she said to me, she's like, if I'd have had to have done that in front of a camera, I would've seized up on my own. I would've got nervous, even though there's nobody in the room to put pressure on me. She said, it's just because it's me internalizing and putting pressure on myself, but because I'm here and it's just me and her having a conversation, it was just so much easier and it just took the pressure off. And it is just good to have somebody there who you can almost spitball ideas off.
(14:36):
I know that's been the greatest thing for me is just knowing that I've got somebody there that I can talk to as well. And that's what I love about my clients because they're just as interested in my business as I am in their businesses. So it kind goes both ways. My client from yesterday, she's getting married in four weeks time. Cool. She was telling me all, and they're getting married in Dublin. Oh, wow. So she's in the process of planning an international wedding and she was telling me all about it, and she's like, oh my god, my, my bridal shower is going to be in this amazing restaurant. And I was like, have you done your bridal shower invites? And she's like, oh, no. She's like, oh, I was just going to do an email. And I'm like, I'm going to do those for you. I don't. And she's like, oh my God, can you make them look pretty? And I'm like, leave them with me. And so it's that whole beautiful thing of she's like, she knows what I do on the side. And she's like, I'm just going to leave them with you. And it's that beautiful rapport. I love it. And I'm so incredibly blessed with my clients that I have. I've got such like-minded clients that I love them all to bits and they're, they're the greatest assets that we have as a business. So incredibly blessed.
Danielle Lewis (15:48):
Totally. And it's so beautiful because I think what we're talking about here is building great relationships and surrounding ourselves as business owners with like-minded people, with great communities, with people who are going to hype us up, cheer us on, but also have the hard conversations when we need to have the hard conversations.
Tania Hall (16:08):
You can't be afraid to have the hard conversations, which can be tough, but I always find that once you do have them, it actually kind of solidifies your relationship a bit more and it builds more trust at the end of Totally. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (16:22):
And it's also, I always find that's the buildup that's the problem. It's the anticipating the hard conversation. Once you have it, it's like, ah, the weight of the world is off your shoulders.
Tania Hall (16:36):
I also find too, that generally if something's going wrong in a business relationship, there's actually external factors. So it's also kind of the whole, okay, if there is something going wrong, let's have a conversation and look at the external factors that are playing into it. Because if there is something going on externally, then are there other ways that we can help? Because if something changes in a dynamic in a relationship with a person, that and something changes. There's got to be a reason for it.
Danielle Lewis (17:07):
And it's
Tania Hall (17:08):
Just about being empathetic to other people as well and going, okay, what's happened? If something's not right, just let's think outside the square here and just not be so quick to judge either.
Danielle Lewis (17:19):
Totally. And I think now, look, I try and be ultra positive and bury my head in the sand a little bit about any external factors, but I do recognize that we are going through a bit of a crazy time. Well, we have been for many years in terms of economy. The cost of living crisis is on the bloody news every day. People are stressed a hundred percent, and they've got families to look after all of this personal stuff going on whilst trying to balance either being a business owner or being even an employee in a business, being a business professional, everyone's going through so much right now. I love what you just said. Maybe we need a little empathy. Maybe we just need to be kind to each other right now.
Tania Hall (18:06):
And that's a hundred percent. And it's kind of like we've adapted, particularly with our wedding stationary business. You talk about the cost of living crisis. We've kind of sat there and gone, okay, how do we actually address this within our business and how do we still ensure that all of our clients get what they want? How do they still get the luxury, the magic, the beautiful weddings that they dream of, but we deliver it at a price point that actually works for them? And particularly for us, the answer was Canva. We love Canva. I'm such a big advocate for Canva. And it's like, so we literally brought in a printing offering. So it's like if you design all of your invitations in Canva, you send them to me and I'll send them off to my beautiful printers and they'll be the ones that create the magic because that's what they do.
(18:57):
I definitely don't do it. They're the ones with the card, they're the ones with the ink. They're the ones that make it all real. So it's just kind of facilitating access to those printers. Our trade printers are that they won't deal direct to the public. They'll only deal with graphic designers like ourselves and businesses. So it's like, well, how do we facilitate access for the general public who want that particular item? Well, that's it. You go through us. And then particularly for our clients too, they then get the benefit of us having a look over their designs, ensuring that they're pretty, that they're the way that they should be. We might make a minor tweak here and there in terms of their font size or something, but then all of our clients are walking away absolutely happy at the end of the day because they've got what they wanted at a price point that actually works within their budget.
(19:50):
Because particularly given what we do, I'm fully aware that invitations do have a tendency to end up in the garbage. Not everybody wants to keep them, but it's also looking at your other options. Like there's digital options, you can send them as emails. There's all those things. And I think as a business owner, we need to actually adapt and be willing to offer those services to our clients who might not necessarily want to want to pay the high-end services that we offer. That's not saying that we don't want them, we do want those clients who want to pay them, but if we can adapt and offer our services across a variety of platforms, it's going to be better for us as a business as a whole.
Danielle Lewis (20:36):
And I just think there's so much value in meeting our customers where they are. And I just imagine, especially in your industry, if you create that beautiful relationship, and yes, maybe it is a lower price point, more accessible for somebody that just wants to get in. If they have a great experience, they're telling everyone. The thing about weddings is all your friends get married and you'll talk. So being able to cater for people in ways that suit them at different price points is a great strategy because then you get that great word of mouth and when it's the right time for someone, you do land the higher end customer.
Tania Hall (21:16):
Exactly. Exactly. And you're always going to have those clients that want the higher end product or they want the simplicity of not happening to worry about it themselves.
(21:26):
Not everybody's going to want to tackle something in Canva or they're not going to want to try it their hand. They just want the ease of having somebody to do it for themselves. And that's where we come in and we do that. So yeah, it's about offering something. And I think that's what makes us unique because I do have this massive technical background because of the work that I do do as an OBM and systems and integration and technology is such a huge part of my daily work with that. And I've been so fortunate that I've been able to bring in all of those elements to this business, to the wedding business and go, okay, how can we make these platforms work for us for our clients within the wedding business and then go forward and make everything so much more functional for everybody else. So yeah, hopefully that's a bit that makes us stand out now, our little niche in the world. But
Danielle Lewis (22:19):
I love it. And it's really interesting systems and processes, leveraging technology integrations, super boring, but so valuable,
Tania Hall (22:31):
So valuable, and also totally there to make our lives easier
Danielle Lewis (22:35):
At
Tania Hall (22:35):
The end of the day. And particularly if it's done right too. If it's done right and it's done smartly, it will so save you so much time along the way.
Danielle Lewis (22:47):
What would you say to someone who's like, I don't have time. I am just so flat out doing all the things, I don't have time to bring systems and processes and technology to my business.
Tania Hall (22:58):
My advice would be that as easy as that is to say for the time that would take you to actually, let me rephrase that actually. If you were to spend five minutes actually looking at your systems and processes, you would probably end up saving yourself five hours down the line. And if you were to then spend an hour actually implementing those systems and processes, you're going to save yourself 10 hours down the line because the more you can start to look at your systems and processes, look at what you can start to automate as well, then you are going to get to a point where you don't have to do things manually. You don't have to worry about chasing things up. There's so many pieces of technology out there, applications, programs that are designed to make our lives so much easier. And I think we've only scratched the surface with what's out there.
(24:00):
And I know particularly in the online business world, we've got a host of platforms that we use and we run through them like Zapier is a big one. It makes programs talk to each other and we love it, but then there's other ones coming up and programs just integrating so seamlessly with each other. Nowadays, every time I log on into different programs, it's like, oh, this one talks to this one now and this one talks to that one now. And it's just the world is getting easier. So yeah, just for an hour investment, you're going to save yourself 10 hours down the time, sorry, 10 hours down the line, guaranteed.
Danielle Lewis (24:38):
I think it's so good because you are spot on, and I feel like it has a bit of a compounding effect. Once you do one thing,
Tania Hall (24:48):
You're
Danielle Lewis (24:48):
Like, oh, I know how to do that now. It's almost like it's a bit of a fear of unknown as well. I remember I was getting overwhelmed with replying to direct messages on Instagram, and I'd seen everyone doing the comment or DM thing and haven't chat
(25:04):
Set up, and I'd been putting it off and putting it off and putting it off, and I finally, I'll just do one and see how it works. And I did the one thing and now I'm like, oh my God. And then I'm like, how cool each thing each funnel in my business, so I want people to listen to the podcast or I want 'em to download this masterclass, or I want 'em to do X, Y, Z. Now it takes me minutes to set up a new little funnel flow thing, chatbot message, but it is that, oh, I just put it off and put it off and put it off. And now I save so much time just literally copying and pasting the same response to people. It does it all for me. I know while we're having this conversation, if someone comments on Instagram, they have the information they need straight away, but it is that barrier to entry where I think we are our own worst enemy sometimes and we put it off. But if you just set aside that little bit of time
Tania Hall (25:55):
And it's the unknown, it's like, oh my God, it's a new program that I've got to learn. But that's where the University of Google and the University of YouTube is amazing because that's what it's there for. And it can tell you within five minutes how to do it. And particularly something like ManyChat and all the funnels for the dms. I've spent the last month really focusing on that for a number of clients. And it's just amazing what that can do. And the bit that I love is the fact that nobody's even trying to hide the fact that it's, I love it. I call it
Danielle Lewis (26:29):
Out. I call it my little
Tania Hall (26:31):
Spark bot. It's perfect. And it's like, call it out. I think I nicknamed ours. What did I call ours? I actually gave ours a name. I can't even remember what I gave it. I called something, but the little bot's got a name. It's like, I'm such and such from the event, wander occur. And I'm like, that's what you do. He's an actual employee within our staff. That's so cool. And it's just like, let's not try and hide this. He's an actual person. He's AI or whatever he might be, but he, he's got his place within our business, so just like our dog does. So our dog's, our perfection officer, that's what I called him. For whatever reason, our dog gets more traction on our Instagram account than anything else. Everyone loves our dogs, so he's the best. But so we put him in our business, he goes everywhere with us. We take him to expos where we're allowed to take pets and the dog gets more attention than our actual signage does. It's hilarious. People just come back to pat the dog for half an hour.
Danielle Lewis (27:30):
It's a good draw card, it's great draw card, forget
Tania Hall (27:32):
Merch, bring a dog.
(27:34):
He's actually our secret marketing weapon. That's the reason why we take him everywhere. I love it. He's a Catholic king Charles spaniel. He's just cute. So yeah, I think we had the most recent, we did an open for, not an open for inspection. We did an open house for a wedding venue and we took him up there and they were quite happy to have him. They wanted to illustrate, they were a pet friendly venue. And I swear to God, we had one couple that literally just stayed there for half an hour patting him. He was in heaven. He was like, this is great. I'll go home with them. I was like, but yeah, you got to call it out. Just hide from it. People just, we get it.
Danielle Lewis (28:10):
We get it. People get it. Everyone's used to technology these days. I think sometimes we stress ourselves out about what people will think, but it's like the biggest priority potential customers have is speed of information.
Tania Hall (28:25):
Hundred percent.
Danielle Lewis (28:25):
So if you are not the type of person that's going to sit on Instagram every day and reply to DMS within hours, just set up the chat bot and it's done, and everyone's like, great, I have the information I requested.
Tania Hall (28:37):
Exactly. And that is where, that's actually part of what I love doing. It's like, okay, how can we use technology to improve your business? And also how can we use technology to give you more time back with your family or more time doing the things that you love whilst your business is just ticking over in the background. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (28:59):
Exactly. Because where the magic happens, I think so many people are like, how do I scale? How do I grow my business? And it's like exactly this conversation in this systems, processes, technology, get things to work without you having to touch it.
Tania Hall (29:15):
Yep, a hundred percent. Which now means now reminds me, I need to go and set up a few systems and processes in my own business. They're never ending. I said they'd end. I'm so good at doing them in other people's business. But again, it's like that time of, okay, so I need to put aside an hour for my own day. But one of the greatest things, actually, my business coach and my mentor, she's like, you need to take time away each week and have a CEO day for yourself. And it's like
Danielle Lewis (29:41):
Thousand percent,
Tania Hall (29:42):
She is right. She's a hundred percent on the market, and I know she does hers on a Monday. I do mine now on a Friday. And it's like, that could just be a job for tomorrow. So it's set up your own systems and processes and take that time for yourself to spend it in your own business and just close the rest of the world out for a few hours and get the stuff that you need. Done. Done.
Danielle Lewis (30:01):
It's so true. That is the best tip, having a CEO day. I think that, I mean, I guess that's where this conversation started, but it is that idea that if realistically you are the only person that cares if your business succeeds or fails, so how much time are you spending actually planning, strategizing, setting the big vision, stepping away, making the business work better? If you're not prioritizing that, then no one else will.
Tania Hall (30:33):
Exactly. Exactly. And it's also the thing too is if you've got people around you to support you, you've got to share that vision with them too, because you can't, and I'm guilty of this too. I've got an incredibly supportive partner and he's my number one salesman. He can sell ice to Eskimos. He's amazing at it. And he has learned so much about the wedding industry in the last three years that he has never dreamed he ever would've known. But I am incredibly guilty of the fact that because obviously we live in the same house, he sees everything come in, he sees everything go out. I just assumed he'd know what I'd do. And it kind of hit me one day when I was just like, oh, why don't you know that? And he's like, well, you've never actually taken the time to tell me what it is you do. And I'm like, oh, actually that's on me. Because again, I've just assumed because you've been living in proximity of it all. You've just seen it.
Danielle Lewis (31:29):
And
Tania Hall (31:30):
It is now we actually have, because he has stepped into the business and he helps me run the actual, he helps me actually run it. We now actually make time and we have a weekly meeting and we talk about the business every day. He's like, okay, what do you need me to do today? If there is anything that you need me to do? Have we got orders going out this week? Have we got events this week? We've got an expo coming up next week. And he's like, okay, so what's our selling point for me for next weekend? What do you want me to hone in for summer? And it's just those little things because now he's more aware, but I'm also more aware that as the CEO, as much as he's my partner, he's also my support network and I need to ensure that he feels supported to be able to support me. So it's kind of like the, I need to give him the information and just can't assume that he knows what's going on in my business. So yeah, that's been a real learning curve. But that's probably the piece of advice too, is if you've got somebody around you, like your family who is supporting you, take the time to actually talk to them and explain what you're doing,
Danielle Lewis (32:33):
Because
Tania Hall (32:34):
That will help in the long term because he's just as passionate about this business. I am. And it's funny, when we do go to wedding expos and I listen to him talk about me, I get really choked up because it's not just him selling what we do, but it's actual pride that comes through too, because he's so proud of what I've achieved and I just sit there going, well, I can't do this without his
Danielle Lewis (33:01):
Support.
Tania Hall (33:02):
And so it's this bundle of emotions that we actually get when we're out there trying to put ourselves forward and trying to get people to engage with us. And it's really funny because when clients then come back to me and I was like, oh, how did we meet? And they're like, oh, we were talking to your partner at the wedding expo. And I'm like, how good The one that draws them in. So yeah, when I can't take the dog, take him.
Danielle Lewis (33:26):
No, but I just think it's really a really good point. Anyone that is involved in your business, getting them to buy into the dream. And as the CEO of our businesses, that is our job. Yes. We often wear so many hats and we have to do all the jobs, but one of our main jobs is to get everyone to buy into our vision, whether that be a customer, whether it be a va, whether it be our partner, our family, whoever it is, that is our job to be selling the mission, to be selling the dream.
Tania Hall (34:00):
A hundred percent. And when you brief those people in particularly your VAs and your staff and all that, then that's when your business is going to succeed. Yes, a hundred percent. A hundred percent.
Danielle Lewis (34:13):
That's it. If people know why they are doing their job, it's so much more powerful than just do this task.
Tania Hall (34:22):
Exactly. Exactly. And
Danielle Lewis (34:26):
Well, it helps them think more critically as well. If they're like, oh, well now I know why I am doing this. This isn't the best way to do this.
Tania Hall (34:33):
No, hundred
Danielle Lewis (34:34):
Percent. So people can bring in their ideas as well.
Tania Hall (34:36):
Yeah, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. It's so much easier. And I speak from experience with this one of my clients. It was when I saw her work in person that the penny dropped. It was like, I get it now. I get what we're sitting here trying to achieve. And since that moment, my work in her business has been so much easier
Danielle Lewis (34:58):
Because
Tania Hall (34:58):
I get it. I've seen her working in person, I've seen her engaging with her clients, I've seen the end result, and she's just not a face on the end of the camera anymore. It's like, I've been there physically in a room with her. I've stayed with her. It's that whole thing. It's like, yep, it's easeful now. It's like we catch up two or three times a year. I fly up to Queensland to see her. It's just easy and it's the best. And I know now that her business will succeed because I've seen that and it's so much easier.
Danielle Lewis (35:30):
I love it. Alright, Tanya, you and I could talk all day. We could. We could. Lucky we don't have wine today, otherwise everyone would be in for a treat. But I always love to wrap these podcasts with one last piece of advice. So reflecting on your time in your multiple businesses, what would be one piece of advice that you would give to another woman in business on her journey?
Tania Hall (35:57):
The biggest piece that I've got to say is one, back yourself and also trust your gout. The biggest. I feel like there's so many times on the business journey where we waver and we think, I'm not good enough. I'm not going to succeed. I, there's no point in me doing this. But then the next day can completely change that. You can go a week without a sale coming through. You can go a week without an inquiry coming through and then all of a sudden you can have a day where two or three inquiries come through or two or three sales come through. And it's just that case of back yourself. Because if you've come up with this idea and you believe in what you're doing and you're doing it for the right reasons, you've gone into business for the right reasons. So back yourself and trust your gut more than anything. It's the biggest piece of advice I can give to anyone. Don't just give up at the first hurdle. Just keep going. It will all work out in the end. Yeah, that's probably my best piece of advice after all these years. I love it. I weren't if I'd given up,
Danielle Lewis (37:12):
Oh my god. And that's it. There's a quote that's something like, you only fail when you give up. So if you keep trying, then you literally can't fail.
Tania Hall (37:22):
Just don't give up. Just keep going. It'll all work out.
Danielle Lewis (37:26):
Oh, beautiful. Tanya, you are amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing your journey, insights, wisdom, tips with the Spark community. It's been absolutely fabulous to have you on the show today.
Tania Hall (37:39):
Lovely. Well thank you so much for having me.
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