"A rising tide lifts all ships" the saying goes, and in entrepreneurship, that means surrounding yourself with people who will help you improve and grow while also challenging you. An accountability group can do just that. If you've heard the term before but don't exactly know what an accountability group entails or how to start one, this week's episode is one you won't want to miss. We're chatting with two members of a wedding industry accountability group that credit their peers for not only supporting them in business, but helping them grow theirs.

About our guests:

Beth Bernstein is the owner and creative director of SQN Events in Chicago. Beth founded SQN in 2009 and along with a push from and the support of her accountability group, added a small weddings arm, Essential I Dos, in 2020.

Valerie Gernhauser is a New Orleans based wedding planner for ten years. She owns three companies: Sapphire Events, Ruby & Pearl Events, and Minimal Matrimony, and is also a wedding industry educator for profitable pricing and processes through her course, The Valerie Gernhauser Method.

Beth and Valerie met at Engage in December of 2012 and became fast friends. While they stayed in touch between conferences, their friendship grew deeper in 2017 when they, along with three other planners, formed an accountability group. Within a year, the group grew to seven members and they have been planning world domination ever since.

• Beth Bernstein's original podcast episode #86 - "Getting Ghosted by Potential Clients" 
• Valerie Gernhauser's original podcast episode #87 - "Weathering a Drought in Business"
• How their accountability group got started three years ago
• How they added members to the accountability group
• The structure for the accountability group, including how frequently they meet
• The benefits of being in an accountability group with people in your same field but different markets
• The extreme levels of trust required amongst the group
• How to tell if an accountability group might not be right for you

Want to connect with Beth?

• Online: https://www.sqnevents.com/ 
• Instagram: @sqnevents and @essential.i.dos

Want to connect with Valerie?

• Online: https://sapphireevents.com/ and https://minimalmatrimony.com/ 
• Instagram: @sapphireevents and @minimalmatrimony

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