Stephanie:

All right, so today is a special day. I have my very first guest on the Homemakers in Business podcast, my good friend and client Dana. I’m so like just so excited to have her on my inaugural podcast interview. So Dana, would you please tell us who you are, what you do and who you help, all that good stuff.

Dana:

Hi Stephanie, thank you for having me. I’m excited to be here and honored that you also consider me a friend. That feels really good. My name is Dana Lewis. I am a Texas born and bred girl through and through. I have to throw that in there because we recently did a stint in Arizona and I’m just so glad to be back in Texas. But I helped. couples all over the country so my location really means nothing. But in my business I am a destination wedding planner. My business is DWD travel and destination weddings. Along with that I do plan family vacations as well as that just is kind of a natural fit having my own family and then growing with my clients as they become parents and all that good stuff. But looking forward to being here and chatting with you.

Stephanie:

Yeah, all that stuff is so great. , you’re so good at what you do. I mean, I haven’t personally used you for anything like that, but just seeing, , your interaction with your clients on Instagram and, , being in the back end of your business on your website and stuff, you do a really, really excellent job at. Your job, like you could tell that you love it, , and that it’s a really big passion for you, so that kind of leads me into my first question is what actually led you to pursuing a travel? business and a travel business from home or while you’re traveling essentially because I know you just wasn’t recently that you went to Costa Rica yeah

Dana:

Yes. Yep, we did our family vacation in Costa Rica and I was able to work from there. So essentially I can work from anywhere which is fantastic. But I feel like my story is a little bit nuanced and it’s kind of a big deal. It’s been 10 years. This December will be 10 years for the first time I got on a plane. So I’d never been on a plane until I was 26 years old. My husband had traveled all over. He worked in Africa, Cuba, all over the United States. So traveling was no big deal to him. And one day I’m complaining, as I had done for many, many years, I want to go somewhere. I want to go to New York City specifically. And he looked at me and was like, just go. Like it was the simplest thing in the world. But to me… It was not. It was something other people did. Something only rich people did was travel. So I did. I planned a week-long trip for my mom and I. She had also never flown. And it truly changed my life. We got back from that trip. I planned several other trips. And then friends and family kept saying, you should become a travel agent. Do those even exist anymore? Like all I could think of was, I can’t remember the little girl’s name on Sleepless in Seattle, where her parents just printed out the tickets and wham bam, thank you ma’am, have a nice day, you’re on your way.

Dana:

That was like my vision of travel agents. So, but I do so much more than that. I really curate special. experiences and one-of-a-kind trips and destination weddings. So now here I am 10 years later and actually in December my mom and I along with my two twins, they’re five now, I’m going to take them to New York City. And I cannot wait we’re going to go a bit about the same, not for a whole week, but for a few nights during that same time period. So we’re going to be there. on the exact dates my mom and I were 10 years ago. So I can’t wait for that.

Stephanie:

Oh my gosh, that makes me so happy for you. That’s gonna be so special.

Dana:

It is. The kids are… so we’ve watched Home Alone a whole lot. Home Alone 2 is our favorite and of course that’s the New York episode. So they have requested to go ice skating, to be picked up by limo with a cheese pizza with Mr. Grinch playing. Those are their requests. I’m like… know if I can pull off the cheese pizza but the limo I can I can make that happen so I’m working on all that stuff.

Stephanie:

Oh my gosh, that is so awesome. Like what a great inspiration for them to like watch those movies and then be like, I can do that in real life because my mom can make this magic happen.

Dana:

Yes, yes and to know, you know, I think back they were one the first time we took them somewhere and I probably would have never taken them but it was at the request of my mother-in-law. She wanted us to all go on our last-kin cruise and they were, like I said, they were one, about one and a half. crazy to think, you know, taking one and a half year old twins on a cruise, but we did it and you know, I questioned it the whole time or leading up to the time, but then my son noticed the chips of iceberg in the water as we’re sailing along and I’m like, I’m gonna remember this. He’s not gonna remember this, but I’m gonna remember this my entire life. And that really solidified traveling with them for me. And over the years, you know, they do, they have started to remember the trips we go on. And it really does have an impact on them. And I think it has an impact on their, their character and their personality. You know, as a kid, I was very shy and… Not to say that they aren’t shy, but I was very closed off, walled off. I didn’t want to interact with people I didn’t know. I had a hard time, you know, meeting new people. I still do but You know now we take them on trips and they go to the kids club. They beg to go to the kids club So they love making new friends like even going to McDonald’s They want to play with play with different kids and I would have never done that so I can definitely see the impact on traveling with him, so that’s exciting.

Stephanie:

Yeah, I can totally relate to that. We don’t have kids yet, so I can’t see it from your perspective, but as a kid, my grandparents took me on, I can’t count how many trips, like we never traveled out of the country. We only traveled

Stephanie:

by plane twice, I think. And that was to Hawaii both times. , but they always tell this little anecdotal story of when I was like three years old, they took me to the beach, , somewhere down along the Gulf Coast area. And I made friends with this girl in the pool and like we played together all week long because we were staying at the same hotel, never saw her again. Don’t remember the encounter at all, but I had a great time at that time. And my, I mean, it’s something that my grandparents literally still tell that story to this day. So it’s something that they’ve remembered. And I mean, there’s been stories like that over the course of my entire childhood. , we don’t. get to go on as many trips with them now, but like that’s like such a fun part of my childhood is looking back traveling with my grandparents.

Dana:

Yes, that’s going to even transfer to you when you have kids, you know, those experiences and making that important for you. I feel like I’m different because I didn’t travel much as a kid. We traveled to visit family, which is still absolutely important and a big deal. But traveling in that sense and getting out of your norm and away from people that you know in your comfort zone I think is really important. Your story makes me think of a story with the kiddos. I traveled with them alone to Mexico, I guess it might have been 2020, maybe 2021. We went to a resort, so felt very safe and comfortable. And they made friends with a little boy who was about my nephew’s age, so maybe around eight or ten. And you know, they’re three, so they’re very young. You know, you could tell this little boy loved kids and it was just so sweet. And he played with them the whole time. And even as he was getting ready to leave, because they were gonna leave the next day, he had found a seashell and brought it and gave it to them. And he said, you know, I want them to have this. And it was just the sweetest, sweetest thing. So I hope that as they grow, they do things similar. And I kept that shell and I wrote on there, you know, revere my year and stuff. I had no idea the boy’s name, but he was just precious. So, you know, you never know the impact you make because as a kid it rolls over and snowballs into impacting other people. So that’s a cool story.

Stephanie:

Yeah, that is so amazing. Yeah, we really don’t know. I mean, sometimes we can tell the way that we’re having an impact on other people, our kids, our family, friends, stuff like that, but a lot of times we don’t in the instance that you didn’t know that little boy’s name. I didn’t know the friend that I had made for that one week, but these are things that we carry with us for forever, as long as we can remember them. So I think that’s just really cool and really interesting. I want to kind of bring it back though to like you started this travel business. You had all these people telling you this is what you should be doing, like you’re really good at it or whatever. What did you actually do before you decided to pursue the travel business?

Dana:

So I worked for a community college. I was an advisor, student advisor at a community college in Waco where I am from and I actually did both for several years. I worked for the college for seven years I think and two or three of those I had my tribal business and then once my kids were born I was like I think I want to try to pursue this full-time. , and stay home with them and see how it goes. And, , my business took off after I did that and survived COVID, not only survived COVID, but I’m now thriving and thrived in 2021 and have continued to grow. So, , it was a, it was the best decision. It’s very different than what I thought it would be, but the best decision.

Stephanie:

Yeah, I was gonna say, I think that we got connected online about 2020, like really early on before the pandemic actually hit. And it’s been so fun watching your business grow just since then, which it’s hard to believe that that’s been three years now, almost four, my goodness. But the fact that something that was based around travel during a time where people weren’t really traveling that much. like to the public eye, it seemed anyway. It’s amazing that you were able to grow as much as you have from that.

Dana:

Yes, I feel very lucky and blessed to have made it through and continue to see that growth.

Stephanie:

So when you think about when you were initially thinking of starting this business, what kind of vision did you have in mind of what running a home-based business would look like?

Dana:

I started my business in 2015. The twins were born in 2018. So 2018 is when I transitioned to full time. So before that it was, you know, more of a side hustle. Just trying to see, okay, is this gonna work? Could I ever make it, you know, a full time income? Really kind of a pipe dream. At that time, I started calling it my nap time empire. You know, just trying to make it work during nap time and things like that. But it eventually took off, like I said, and turned out very different than I had envisioned. I really, I feel like in the beginning, I didn’t really have a vision. Just trying to, just trying it out, you know? more like, I don’t want to say a hobby, but it being kind of a part-time gig made it feel like a hobby, if that makes sense. Not to discount that in any way or discount folks that have side businesses. For me, that’s just kind of what it felt like. I was just having fun.

Dana:

And then when I transferred over to Fulltime, I was like, okay, I have to make this work. And very soon on after leaving my full-time job, I was like, okay, I never want to have a boss again, so this has to work.

Really digging into all of that and all of the things that make a business a business, I didn’t realize. And there’s just so much more to it than we see on the outside. , so really bringing that all together, figuring out all of that. I’m still figuring it out. I feel like businesses are constantly evolving and figuring things out. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I think that’s a good thing, but, really just. of transferring from side gig to full time was Not only a game changer for my business, but for my mindset and for the realization that this is so much more than I realized. I feel like I’m rambling.

Stephanie:

Oh yeah. No, no, that’s such a big realization too though, because I think I started freelancing in 2015, so around the time that you were starting your business too. And I think that was like about 2015, probably 2014 ish to 2019, 2020 was like the height of women starting a lot of side hustles, especially in the MLM world and just trying to make this like side income. So it was kind of hard to differentiate that. from people that were actually doing this full time and running something that they could grow to be, you know, something that supports their entire family, essentially, which being further along now, you see a lot more of that, the more that you’re in the space and whatever you see more examples. And that’s kind of something that I’m hoping to bring to the show here is more examples of people actually doing this and bringing in significant amounts of money for their family and not just, oh, I’m… getting an extra hundred bucks a month or whatever to pay like a single bill, which is amazing when you’re first starting out. And if that’s all you want to do,

Dana:

And that’s your goal.

Stephanie:

That’s totally fine.

Dana:

That’s great. Yes. So I think and two I think it’s hard to I think we’ve talked about this before. It’s hard to get people to take you seriously, especially family, maybe the older generation of family, grandparents, even parents. Getting them to understand like, oh, this is my job and I make money, just as much money as before. Actually, I make more. So, to get that… reassurance that, but to get people to understand that I am a legitimate business, this is a legitimate job, I am making money, I’m supporting the family, in tandem, I’m getting to live my dream. And I’m getting to show my kids firsthand hard work and, you know, that sort of thing.

Stephanie:

Exactly. Yeah. Now that’s awesome. So talking about like those close to us, not really understanding what it is we do or taking us seriously and stuff like that. Do you feel like you ever had to convince your husband that was like, was that, was there ever a period where he was like, oh, she’s just doing this for fun or whatever, and it’s not really going to go anywhere or Like, was he like full in supportive of you from the start?

Dana:

He is and was my biggest supporter. If it was not for him, I would not be doing what I’m doing. I would not be where I am. I would have never traveled. So he is absolutely my biggest supporter.

Dana:

, just, he really, really pushed me and continues to push me beyond what I could ever dream. So I think finding someone, and maybe it’s not a spouse at the beginning, maybe it’s a friend, maybe it’s a mentor who can push you and exercise those muscles that have not been doing or that you’re afraid to. to push, I think is really, really important. And sometimes it is parents. And my parents are absolutely great. I would not now be able to do what I do without them and their help with our kiddos. So super grateful for them. My husband, nber one supporter, and he’s like, as long as you can pay your bills in the beginning, I had a little bit of debt. He’s like, as long as you can take care of that, I’m here for it. And now I’m getting to where I’m making an impact in our household.

Stephanie:

that’s so amazing. Cause I’m sure that’s not the case with everybody that’s listening. Like I’m sure there’s people that no one is supporting them and they’re just kind of trying to push through this desire to work from home or build whatever kind of business it is that they’re wanting to build and they’ve got no one supporting them, like they don’t have the support of their husband, their parents, friends. Like. That’s one of the things that’s hard for me around here is my husband and my parents, they are great supporters of what I do. In fact, I’m almost positive. My mom is listening to this right now. And, , but I don’t have any friends that are around me that have a business like this that are working and I think that’s really difficult trying to maintain friendships with people that are working regular nine to fives or like working night shift or something like that and trying to, I don’t know, just keep those relationships going and then trying to get new relationships online with people that actually know what you’re going through. Cause I think that’s important to have both sides of that coin, the ones that don’t They’re not necessarily completely involved in your world. So you can still have interesting conversations with each other. Like, oh, this is what you do. That’s what you do. How different, but we still like each other.

Dana:

yes. Like you need the relationships of people that don’t necessarily understand, but then I think the relationships like ours where we totally get the difficulties and the nuances of home, working from home, home businesses, whether it be working from home or home businesses. , and it’s funny that you say that because one of my best friends just left her nine to five corporate job after 20 years and is starting her own. Home business. And, , you know, I’m like, okay, well we can try to co-work cause I want to encourage her and help her not get lonely. Like I’ll send you my Google meet. link and we can kind of co-work and just know like each other is there even though we’re not working on the same things but just having someone there to talk to kind of like we’re a cubicle away we’re just a screen away  because it gets really lonely it gets really lonely working from home

Stephanie:

Yeah, yeah, it really does. I like that what you said about being like a cubicle away, but on the screen.

Stephanie:

That’s so funny. Cause I did work. , one of my previous design jobs was in the city in Birmingham and, , we were in little cubicles all around the office. And I don’t know that image just popped in, , did not enjoy that actual atmosphere at all hated being in a cubicle cause I felt like I couldn’t. I couldn’t customize it enough to actually feel

Dana:

I had my cubicle covered in crap just trying to make it cute and comfortable and encouraging and inspiring. Even though I didn’t really work in a creative job, I think you need to be inspired in whatever work you do. I think the atmosphere definitely matters. I feel you on the cubicle.

Stephanie:

Absolutely. And now we both have, like watching you move like from, was it Arizona y’all went to? Okay, like coming from Texas to Arizona and then back, you’ve had multiple home offices now. So what has that been like? Just like creating new spaces for you to work in, but still making it still feel like you feel like home.

Dana:

Yeah, yeah. I feel like I this so this is gonna be my third. This is my third home office now and I feel like I finally have it down to where it’s functional. It’s pretty and inspiring. Like pretty to me is important like even in a home.  I always, my husband’s like why are you doing all this decorating? Like within two weeks of being moved in the house was fully decorated. That’s just how I thrive. And I always say, even if no one ever came to visit, decorating to me is important because it makes me feel good. It makes me feel inspired. It makes me love home. And I think that’s really important. I say I’m a lot, I’m sorry. So I have finally found my flow with how… workspace needs to be for me and the organization and all the things and making it pretty. Like the wall behind me.

Stephanie:

Yeah, no, I totally feel that. And my husband’s the same way. He’s like, I don’t understand. When we first got married, whole house, beige walls, two couches, a TV, a bed, and no kitchen table and like some workout equipment. That was it. I’m like, no, we got to, we got some work to do.

Dana:

Yeah, it needs to feel cozy. It needs to feel inviting. Even if it’s just inviting for yourself, you know? You want to feel that when you come home and when you’re at home. You want to feel. You want to feel at home. Not in a stark, I know exactly what you’re talking about. That’s how my husband was when we met. Like it was just nothing. Like thank goodness for his mom and sisters for kind of making it a little bit, you know, more cozy. But I totally, totally get what you’re saying. And now he doesn’t argue with me when I ask him to, you know, hang things up or this past weekend he hung curtains for me. Finally we got her. I’m like, okay, it really is starting to feel good and feel like…

Stephanie:

Yeah, I think it’s so important. Like I just moved into my second home office within the same house, but it’s not done. Like this beautiful green wall that you see behind me, that is only one of about three walls that is actually painted. So there’s still like this section over here that’s red and ugly and I hate it. But I’ve just been doing like a little bit at a time. Like my first focus was getting what was behind me to look well so that when I’m on video like this, like if, obviously people are listening to a podcast, but I might use some of these clips or whatever for social media. So it needed to look nice behind me. , but it’s got such a long way to go. , but I think that just having even, , a step in the right direction there to where, but my old office was like, I think a hundred square feet or something like that. It was real tiny, but you know, that’s more than a lot of people have where they’re working from their couch or their kitchen table or whatever. And I’ve been there too, but that one room had a single window and it was looking off our covered back porch. So sunlight never came in and it just felt so dark and dingy. And now I’m in a room where there’s three double windows and there’s so much natural light coming in that I almost don’t even need lights on. And it just feels like I can, I don’t know, breathe and be in this space for longer and it doesn’t feel as much like work, if that makes sense.

Dana:

Yes, it totally makes sense. I think that’s really important is setting the stage for where you’ll work. Even, like I said, even you mentioned working from your couch, even if you have to work from your couch, make sure you feel good in your living room.

Dana:

If you don’t, you’re not gonna feel inspired, you’re not going to want to work because you don’t feel good in this space. And I do sometimes still work from the couch. I take my laptop and work from the couch or from my bed. Yesterday morning I worked outside. That was fantastic. It’s finally starting to cool off here. So really just making wherever you’re gonna work, make sure you feel inspired and warm and cozy in that space. You don’t wanna cold, dingy office like you said.

Stephanie:

Yep. You don’t want it to feel like a cubicle.

Dana:

No, you definitely don’t want that.

Stephanie:

All right. Well, moving in a little bit of a different direction now, , what, well, still kind of talking about the moving thing, but what was it like running your business while you were moving? Cause you weren’t in Arizona for very long. So it was like you moved, you were there for a little while, then you moved back and you were still running your business while you did that. So how did that look for you?

Dana:

Yeah, that was a wild time. So a little bit of backstory. We, Texas Born and Raised lived here my whole life until a little over a year ago we moved to Arizona spring 2022. And we ended up moving back in January 2023. So we there, we were there a very, very short time. We did not expect that or we would have never moved at all. But it is what it is. But I had to keep my business going during that time. Luckily, my business is online. I don’t meet with clients in person usually. I can travel from anywhere, so that’s not a huge deal. But kind of organizationally back end, I just had to make sure to stay organized. I immediately set up my office. That was my first thing in all the places we moved. So I think just making that a priority when you work from home, that organization, and keeping all of that top of mind is really what helps me keep things going. And a good laptop.

Stephanie:

Yeah, yeah, and at that time you didn’t have your assistant then did you?

Dana:

I did not. No, I just recently hired her since I moved back. So earlier this year, I hired an assistant and that has been a game changer for me.

Stephanie:

Yeah, but how has that made, I mean, it’s been such a short time, but how has that made running your business different? And like, how does that translate over to the time that you’re able to spend with your family and stuff too?

Dana:

Yeah, so I hired her. She had done some virtual assistant work for me like social media, things like that. And that has been ongoing for years, but I never wanted to let go of control of anything touching client work. So earlier this year, my husband and I went on our 10-year anniversary trip and I was like, I want a real vacation I want to not have to work. So I made sure one to not plan anybody else traveling during that time and I actually did break the rule I ended up having two people travel two different trips

Dana:

but it went okay. But I knew I wanted to hire someone and have them trained to do new wedding guest reservations and process payments while I was away. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about them while I was gone. So that was a huge deal. I got her trained and onboarded, and I didn’t have to do any of that stuff and got to have a real vacation. It was amazing. So now she’s still doing that, and I’m able to focus more on working in the business, or is it on the business? I always get that mixed up.

Stephanie:

I know what you mean.

Dana:

Right, yeah, working on like the behind the scenes stuff, the meat and bones and she’s working on, you know, that client facing stuff, which is, which is great. The more like transactional to-dos.

Stephanie:

That’s amazing. So how, okay, so that allows you to work more on the parts of your business that you want to be working on, right?

Dana:

Yes, absolutely. And makes me feel more energized and I really get more done in the day because I’m excited about what I’m doing. And therefore if I get more done in the day, I have more time at the end of the day with my kids, with my family. Not working on weekends anymore. I’m not working at night anymore. Unless I just want to. So yeah, huge, huge deal.

Stephanie:

I know that’s a big deal for you because I’ve seen you many, many nights being up so late. Like I’ll get on stories the next day and it’ll be like posted three hours ago. And I’m like, Dana, what are you doing?

Dana:

I know, and actually several weeks back, probably, well it’s been probably a month and a half, two months ago, I was in a, I was just on a roll. I don’t know what it was, but I just felt like so energized and wanted to get all this stuff done, and so I was staying up like multiple nights in a row until like three or four in the morning. just getting stuff done and it felt good, but it was stuff I wanted to do. It wasn’t stuff that had to be done. I mean, it needed to be done, but it wasn’t like, I have to get this done today. It was nothing like that. So that was exciting. But I don’t do anything I have to do at night anymore. It doesn’t look like that anymore, so that’s great.

Stephanie:

Yeah, that’s amazing. Now I totally get that too, because that’s one of the beautiful things about running your own business from home is that you get to set your hours and you decide when you work and for some people that can be really hard to like, if they don’t like working on a schedule, then they’re just working whenever they have the time and that’s totally fine when you’re starting out, if you can get your stuff done that way, but I know for me, it works better. I get the more important things done faster. if I have set hours that I’m working. So in the mornings I work nine to 12, I take an hour lunch, and then I work either one to three or one to five, depending on my husband’s schedule. And if I wanna work later than that, I can, but it’s not gonna be on one of my big three things that I need to get done that day. Like they got done that morning, everything else in the afternoon is just whatever I want to get done or needs to get done, but isn’t quite as pressing.

Dana:

Yep, yep, same. I have gotten to where I have a schedule and clear boundaries with client work, with clients, , and anything, you know, that I just want to do that I feel like, okay, I’m going to do this tonight or over the weekend, which is very, very rare. , I’ll get it done, but it’s nothing that has to be done because I’ve met, I’ve learned those clear. clear boundaries which are really hard when you work from home and like you said you know you don’t really have a schedule you have to make a schedule for yourself and you kind of have to train your clients to know I am even though I’m home based I am not accessible 100% of the time unless you’re traveling that’s a completely different story but I’m not going to answer text at 10 o’clock at night or even 7 o’clock at night because that’s not during my business hours. I’m not going to respond to emails late at night. And that used to be me. Like, I would just drop everything and like, this is a client, I have to get this done. But you don’t have to. You have to have boundaries. And I think people appreciate boundaries and if they don’t, they’re not your people. They’re not my people anyway.

Stephanie:

Gosh, yes, that is a mic drop moment because learning to set those boundaries is so difficult in the beginning. Not just with clients, but like with family and stuff too, going back to them not understand, yes, but going back to like family not understanding what it is that you do. They’re like, oh, you can work whenever so you can just come do this thing with me for three or four hours in the middle of the day and then you can work later. Technically, yeah, I could, but I have to have that boundary with myself and be aware of when my energy is at its highest and when it starts to decline. My energy is always highest in the morning and it declines after lunch.

Dana:

Yes, yep. And I am actually the opposite. I feel like my energy comes in the afternoon, but that doesn’t work for me. I have to make myself get things done in the morning because that’s when my kids are now at school. So that totally different, you know, shift there. So yeah, you just kind of have to fit what works your lifestyle. And if you don’t, you don’t have kids or you don’t have kids at home, just kind of working with what works for you and finding what works for you. Which is sometimes why you see me up late at night working.

Stephanie:

Yeah, if you feel like, like you get a burst of creative energy or whatever. And you’re like, Oh, I have this huge idea and I’m not going to sleep unless I do something about this right now. Like you have the ability to just go ahead and get it done if you want to do it talking about like setting your schedule if you don’t have kids. For me, that was one of the more difficult parts was that my day was just completely open. Like my husband has a set schedule and he’s a teacher. So not just a teacher, but a band director. So he’s got like after school stuff that happens, things that happen on weekends. And I was like, You know, when I was setting up my schedule last few years, , I wanted to be able to go to his events. So like go to football games, go to competitions, concerts, traveling things and stuff like that. So I decided I just set my schedule around his schedule and it works great. Like I can, I have the ability that if I need to take my laptop with me, like to a game or something and get something done there, I can do it and still be present. I don’t like to do that, but. It can be done if it’s necessary. So I think finding something in your life that is already kind of. Scheduled or has a routine to it. That’s easier to build your schedule around rather than just kind of starting from scratch.

Dana:

Yes, absolutely. And you know, if you like that is a great example, you know, setting it based on your spouse’s schedule or your kids or say you have neither, find a friend and set your schedule to align with theirs. That will just give you some accountability, you know, and help you not just work yourself to the bone because that’s really, really easy to do. staying up all day all night looking at that endless to-do list. Like you have to have those boundaries and you really do have to have a schedule. Whatever that schedule looks like it works for you.

Stephanie:

Do you have any advice for other whether it’s their family or friends or just society in general, to be doing work and home life in a certain way, like feeling like they have to fit into this box. And they’re like, no, I’m going to get outside of the box, but they’re feeling this pressure to conform to a certain image. Like, do you have any advice for them on how to get over that basically? Cause it’s hard.

Dana:

Yeah, it is really hard and you know I mentioned I transitioned full-time working from home about six months after my twins were born. So I had this vision for myself. I would take care of them. I would make sure our house was perfect, you know perfectly clean, everything done all the time, dinner made, and I would manage a business. That is not doable, that is not sustainable, it’s not even possible for one person to do all of that. So I think just letting those expectations of yourself go, and I feel like a lot of times even more than society we put those expectations on ourselves because that’s what they, that’s what we think society expects of us, and maybe in some places it is or in with certain people it is the expectation. But just learning that everybody looks different and every business and every home looks different. And figuring out what you can let go of. So early on I was like this is not, I can’t do this. If I really want this business to work, and I want this for myself and I want this for our future. I can’t do all of this by myself. So I started out in putting our kids in Parents Day Out at one of the local churches. And that was fantastic. And that really helped me kind of transition to where we are now, which is starting kindergarten. And then I also, which is so. against like everything I ever grew up, you know, being ingrained, I hired a housekeeper. And I’m not rich by any means, like that’s another one of those things. Only rich people have housekeepers. No. I’m a regular person. I just happen to like prioritize travel and prioritize having a housekeeper because I know if I want to be the kind of mom wife business owner that I want to be, I have to let things go. , so that is one of the things that I have. I’m, I’m letting someone else take care of, , and just knowing like you’re not going to have it all together all the time. And some days you might, , most of the days you’re not. And it’s really just, it’s a mindset of learning to not let other people get in your head, not let yourself get in your head. And sometimes it is a compartmentalization. Like right now I’m in work mode. I am at work, I am at my desk. I have to ignore what’s outside the door, which is a huge mound of laundry that I haven’t done in two weeks, which never happens. But sometimes you just gotta let it go.

Stephanie:

Yeah.

Dana:

And tomorrow is the weekend and I’ll work on the laundry. Really just… It’s learning to not let other people get in your head, learning to compartmentalize, and learning that it’s okay to not get it all done.

Dana:

We’re not 50s housewives. We are work-from-home wives.

Stephanie:

Oh, yes. Yes. That’s another mic drop moment from Dana. When people see the word homemaker, I think that’s the image that pops into a lot of people’s minds that aren’t actually living that life. Because you, you see like, like these old, , like manuals on how to be a good housewife or whatever. And it’s talking about like, The house must be spotless when the husband arrives home at five and you have to have like a five course meal ready and all this stuff. I’m like, that’s not realistic.

Dana:

I’d have been fired a long time ago!

Stephanie:

That’s me too. Like no one can, no one can maintain that kind of. lifestyle of trying to make everything perfect in every section of your life at all times. Like you can’t be a perfect wife, a perfect mother, perfect business owner, perfect daughter, perfect friend, all of that all at the same time. You have to give and take some. And I think your comment on hiring a housekeeper, like thinking of that as being something that only rich people do, like that would have been something that I thought too growing up. But now being a business owner, I just look at that as that’s just outsourcing. Like business owners do that all the time. Why can’t I just do that as a wife?

Dana:

Bingo. You know, she’s not doing my laundry, she’s not doing my dishes, she’s not doing like the day to day tidying things up. She is doing the cleaning the toilets, the dusting, the, you know, all that stuff, the floors, that I don’t have days to dedicate to or that I don’t want to. Because I can either choose to take away from work to do that or take away from family time to do that. And I don’t wanna do either. So I can outforce that.

Stephanie:

I feel the same way. It’s just managing your home. Like being the manager of your home doesn’t mean that you are the one doing the work the entire time. It’s delegating it.

Dana:

I love that.

Stephanie:

It’s like, okay I can’t do this, so so and so is going to do this for me. And that may not be forever. That may be something that I do at some point in the future. But right now and this season, it’s not possible. Like for us during marching season, there’s a lot that goes on done around here because we are both tired all the time and I prioritize actually getting to support my husband and go see his band and be with him on days that if I was trying to maintain the house perfectly during that season, I would never get to see him from July to November.

Dana:

Exactly. So we have to choose what we want to dedicate our time and energy to. And for me, it’s to my business and my family. Not to chores. And spotless floors. Like, it doesn’t matter. And, you know, but having that weight off my shoulders of knowing it’s going to get done and I don’t have to add it to my to-do list is really… a game changer.

Stephanie:

Yeah, totally get that. Love it. All right. So let’s get into some rapid-fire questions. I love it when people do this on other podcasts. So I wanted you to do it here. , these are just like little fun questions where people can get to know you a little bit, which I think everyone’s gotten to know you quite a bit through this episode. This has been amazing. Like, I think we’ve had a lot of good conversation already. , but I want to talk about something that is behind you right now. And, that is your hats. You have such a lovely collection of hats and I’m not like a big hat wearer, but I love looking at all of your hats. So just what started like the hat collecting.

Dana:

You know, when we got engaged and we did our engagement pictures, I decided to wear this beautiful, like, floppy hat. I’d never really worn hats. So that was like, what, 10, 11 years ago. , and eventually it just kind of like, okay, I’m going to start wearing hats and I got a beach hat or, you know, hats like that. Well, let’s see, 2022? January, 2022, I went to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, which is central Mexico, very, like what you would envision as a quintessential Mexican town with all the colors and food and vibrant culture. And everywhere were hats for sale. And in every color, you could imagine and I’m like, I love these hats and I couldn’t pick just one. So I brought home 10 hats.

Stephanie:

Oh my gosh.

Dana:

Now let me tell you, you’re thinking, how did you afford 10 hats? These hats were 10 and 15 dollars. I couldn’t not buy these hats. So now I just, I use them as art. I plop them down when I want to wear one and just plop it back up on the wall when I’m when I’m done wearing it. , so I have to use them not only to wear but for art as well.

Stephanie:

That’s amazing.

Dana:

Multipurpose use there, and they’re so pretty.

Stephanie:

I love that so much. I had no idea about that because I’ve seen your hats obviously for years now and always wanted to ask you. So that is such a fun story.

Dana:

I have a picture of me the night before we left San Miguel. I’m like, how am I going to get these home? I ended up buying like a giant woven plastic like kind of beach bag kind of thing. And I stuck them all in there and just carried it on. But I have a picture of me the night before of wearing all of the hats. So I just stacked them all up on top of my head and had them all on. It was such a fun picture.

Stephanie:

Oh my gosh, that’s so fun. I love that.

Dana:

But yeah, I couldn’t not. They were so cheap. So I couldn’t not buy them.

Stephanie:

And they, they look so lovely in all of your offices that you’ve had. Like they’ve been in every office, right? Yeah.

Dana:

Yep.

Stephanie:

That’s awesome. All right. So what is a book or a podcast or other resource that has helped you? Like just in general, it doesn’t have to be business specific. It could be, or motherhood, your faith or something like that.

Dana:

Oh my goodness. Oh, what is the name of the book? Why did I not look this up before? It is by, it’s called What If It’s True. , let me look at the author. Interesting. Yes, What If It’s True by Charles Martin. It is a book on faith and faith in Jesus and what if it’s true? You know, it really… There are some aspects of the book that I don’t necessarily align with or his beliefs that I don’t necessarily align with, but the core, his core beliefs, you know, Jesus is my savior, I absolutely believe. But this book really kind of breaks down the story of Jesus and how he saves us and saved us. and what he did and what if it’s true and really, , but to me it helps me talk about it. Like with someone that’s maybe not a believer or on the fence, but what if it’s true? Like here’s what you’d if it is true. So I really, that’s a book I encourage everybody to read. What if it’s true? , A Storyteller’s Journey with Jesus by Charles Martin. , and I also love the author Fiona Davis. E is historical fiction. All of her books are set in New York City, so very special to me. , an all historical fiction and she kind of marries, , not necessarily present day, but maybe like, okay, the one I’m reading right now is the Magnolia Palace. It’s set in the early 1900s and the 50s, so it kind of goes back and forth. and ties like past to more present. And just these beautifully interwoven stories really, really love her as well.

Stephanie:

That’s so awesome. I love both of those recommendations. I’m maybe a note to look them up when I get done. I love it. All right. So going into our last rapid fire question. So we have now worked together on two different VIP design days and they’ve both been this year.

Stephanie:

So could you just kind of smarize what that service has done for you and like your perspective of what it is, what you love about it, why you continue to invest in it. Just kind of speak to someone who might be hearing me talk about this and they still don’t understand or they just want to know a firsthand experience of what it’s like.

Dana:

Yeah, so I would describe it as getting stuff done without having to do it. So I’m able to list out all these things that I need done that I know that you have an expertise in. So the gifts you’ve done for me, show it design, stuff and show it, things like that, that I don’t necessarily want to do or have time to do or have the expertise in doing, I can give them to you and free up my time. to do something else and not have to learn something new. I feel like in the two days we’ve done this, I have accomplished so, so much. Well, you’ve accomplished it. But it’s able to free me up to do the things that I need to do or want to do rather than having to learn something new or brainstorm, troubleshoot, and figuring it out. for other things. So definitely highly recommend Worthy Investment. And if there’s like anything, you can do anything for us, right? I feel like you can.

Stephanie:

Within the realm of design!

Dana:

So yes, yes. And Showit, which I think, I feel like Showit is so much more than just design. It’s very technical. So there’s been a lot of like technicalities you’ve been able to work out on Showit for me, which I really appreciate. So it’s like, it’s getting stuff done without having to do it.

Stephanie:

I love that that’s going to be my new tagline. Get stuff done without you having to do it.

Dana:

Yes!

Stephanie:

Let someone else do it for you. But that’s, that’s just another case for outsourcing though. We’re, you know, someone that’s very starting out at the beginning of their business, they may not have the funds to invest in somebody helping them like this. You might get a friend to do something for you for free a couple of times, but there’s going to come a point where it’s worth it to spend a little bit of money to get some of your time back so that you can. make more money doing the things that you want to be doing. So I think that’s a really good explanation of it.

Dana:

Absolutely.

Stephanie:

So thank you. And then lastly, can you tell everyone where they can connect with you and hire you and get to know more about you and your awesome hats?

Dana:

You can find me on all social channels @DWDTravelandWeddings. I love connecting with new people so be sure to follow me on Instagram. And my website is DWDTravel.co. You can learn more about what I do there, reach out to plan a vacation, honeymoon, destination wedding, all the things. So yeah, look forward to connecting with new people.

Stephanie:

I love that and people will love following you because you post such beautiful pictures, not only from your own travels, but from your clients too. The way that you do your photo editing, I don’t know if that’s something you do or if you have someone else do that, but everything just looks so nice together and it’s so aspirational.

Dana:

Thank you. I actually use Lightroom. Super simple. It’s an app on your phone. So I think I have desktop version too, but I just use it on the phone because most everybody takes pictures with their phone nowadays.

Stephanie:

That is very true. All right. Well, thank you so much for being here, Dana.

Dana:

Thank you for having me. I really had a lot of fun.

Stephanie:

Me too.