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The stories from the places where people gather.
Dana Kadwell (01:34)
And today we are talking with Ian Ramirez. Ian, CSEP, is a legacy venue owner, venue coach and sales specialist and wedding industry speaker based in Texas. As co-owner of Madera Estates, an award-winning wedding venue that hosts a hundred weddings and events each year, he has helped build one of Houston's most recognized venue brands. He is named as one of the 2025 Event Tech's fifty most influential venue professionals.
Ian now coaches and speaks to venue owners who want to refine their sales process, increase conversion rates, and build sustainable legacy level businesses. Ian, welcome to the show.
Ian Ramirez (02:07)
Dana, thank you so much for welcoming me. I'm happy to be here.
Dana Kadwell (02:10)
Yes. for th those of you listening, this was a hard fought scheduled podcast because of me. It was my fault. I kept canceling. One was just like double booking. I had like a graduation, then I had a flight get canceled. It was crazy. So really happy that you're finally here. It was. So
Ian Ramirez (02:26)
Me too. It was meant to be. Good things, right? Sometimes we have to wait for, so
Dana Kadwell (02:31)
true. So true. so a legacy venue owners. Let's talk about that. How did you become the co owner of Madera Estates? Maybe a little bit about your background.
Ian Ramirez (02:40)
Yeah, so I never thought I would be in the wedding business, much less
Dana Kadwell (02:45)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (02:46)
own a wedding venue, which I'm sure a lot of your listeners can identify with. my former career actually was as a professional opera singer.
so I joke with a lot of my friends, a lot of my family that I moved from opera to operations. And
Dana Kadwell (03:02)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (03:03)
so when I was singing professionally I lived abroad in Germany, got a little homesick and moved back to the States.
And that was in 2016. And prior to that, my parents, Kim and Larry Austin, had built and started Madeira estates. the first wedding they hosted was in September of 2012. And so I knew what was happening here
Dana Kadwell (03:25)
Mm and so I knew what was happening.
Ian Ramirez (03:28)
and loved what they were doing. And when I moved back from Germany, I find I found myself wanting to
kind of filled my time in between opera gigs, make a little bit of extra money. So
Dana Kadwell (03:39)
make up a little bit of extra money. So
Ian Ramirez (03:41)
I came on board on a part-time role working here. And then about six months in, my parents approached me and were like, hey, like why don't you make this more of a permanent thing? Our GM at the time was stepping away to build another business. And I said, you know what, let's try something new. So I jumped
Dana Kadwell (04:01)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (04:02)
in to the GM role, which then we shifted into
Venue director title. And then five years ago, about five years into me being there, my parents started having conversations with me about secession planning and kind of their estate plans and the future of the business. And
Dana Kadwell (04:20)
Mm.
Ian Ramirez (04:20)
they offered me a stake and equity in the business. And so, as a part of my journey, I took some time to think about that before I said yes right away to that
Dana Kadwell (04:32)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (04:33)
long commitment.
Dana Kadwell (04:34)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (04:34)
And
after talking with my husband Paul, I decided that this was the the right step for us. So now here I am going on ten years at the business, but five years as co-owner of Madeira Estates. And well again, it's not something that I thought I would ever be doing. I'm so happy I walked through that door and and took that opportunity because it's given me so many incredible opportunities.
Dana Kadwell (04:59)
Yeah, yeah, I can only imagine. I'm super curious, like, how was the conversation with your parents? 'Cause I like so my kids have had so many we've they've mentioned stuff to me in the past, like, are you gonna wanna take this over? And I'm like, I don't know, like I don't have like I actually I didn't build this for you, I know that sounds terrible. I know I'm a parent, but I didn't build it for them. but like how was walking into that conversation with them?
Ian Ramirez (05:24)
So so they actually approached me, seeing how I was gravitating toward not only the business, but also the industry as a whole.
They approached me, and my my stepfather, his whole life was a serial entrepreneur. He was in land development and real estate. My first job as a kid was painting white fences in a community that he developed. Also,
Dana Kadwell (05:51)
Nice.
Ian Ramirez (05:51)
he owned a pizza shop that I made pizzas over the summer. Definitely why I gained a lot of weight in high school because I was making handmade pizzas. but they kind of saw that spark that I had and
From a young age, just growing up in an entrepreneurial family, and then having my experience as an opera singer, I knew I never wanted to work for someone else. if that makes sense.
Dana Kadwell (06:16)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (06:17)
And so seeing those similarities, my parents sat me down and just said, Hey, we're starting to think about what the future looks like.
This is a lot more work than I thought we anticipated, which I think a lot of venue owners realize. that running a venue is is not necessarily
Dana Kadwell (06:30)
Yeah, I can you're late too, yes. Yes. Yes.
Ian Ramirez (06:37)
an easy retirement plan. and so I I think it it ended up becoming mutually beneficial at the end of the day, right? Because as they were wanting to slow down, I kind of stepped in and was able to help rev things up and and really help take the venue to the next level. And I don't say that.
with an ego in mind. I just say that with the intention that you're not gonna find someone that is more invested in a business. Well, maybe this is a gross generalization, but as a child of someone that started a business, right?
Dana Kadwell (07:08)
Yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (07:09)
I was very much invested in not only seeing the business thrive and seeing the business grow and succeed, but also, you know, to some extent that a lot of children want is to make their parents proud, right? And so I think that's really
how I walked into that conversation, took some time. As I said, I didn't answer them right away. And so then we we began that conversation after I said, yes, let's do it.
Dana Kadwell (07:34)
Yeah.
Yeah. So what was the biggest change for you going from you were an employee and you did the job you're supposed to do? Obviously you were invested in it in some level because you cared about it. It was your parents' thing, but was there a mindset shift you had to have to go from an employee to now, okay, I gotta really pay attention to these P and L's and these operational costs and all these things?
Ian Ramirez (08:00)
Yeah, I think the biggest thing that I had to think about is I wanted to start running with a lot of changes, if you will, seeing opportunities for growth, bringing in additional revenue streams. And I had to push pause just for a second because I really wanted to acknowledge and respect the fact that this is something that th they had built ultimately, right? And while want to say
That it is my baby to an extent. It is my baby now, but it really is something that they started. And so I think there is that delicate balance when there is that transition or a secession planning for any family, whether it's a wedding venue or any other business, that you have to respect what has been given not given to you, but what has been the foundation before you step in. And so I I was very delicate with
Wanting to not move too quickly on certain changes and definitely wanted to, you know, get their feedback, get their opinions on on certain elements. And
Dana Kadwell (09:06)
Hmm.
Ian Ramirez (09:07)
at the end of the day, I think I took more of that mindset of I'm the one that's gonna be going out into the industry and meeting people and really keeping my ear to the ground on what's happening. And so when that transition happened,
I was the one that was more and more going out to wedding conferences like Wedding MBA and networking out in the Houston market, joining
Dana Kadwell (09:27)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (09:28)
organizations like ILEA, serving on the board, being involved with NACE. And so it really was more of my opportunity to take the the business to what I considered to be the next level and implement
Dana Kadwell (09:42)
Mm.
Ian Ramirez (09:43)
a lot of changes.
Dana Kadwell (09:45)
Was there a lot of friction with that? Yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (09:47)
Naturally. Naturally. Yeah.
of course, you know, and there's definitely moments where I wanted to do things a little bit faster and wanted to implement certain changes. I I think the hardest part for for me and perhaps still to this day is we have employees that work for our family business that have worked for my f family for twenty-five years, right? And so there is that element of like some
Senior senior team members that I've worked for my parents' other businesses that are involved with Madeira that see me stepping into this role. And, you know, I want to make sure they don't just look at, you know, me and say, like, who is this young kid coming in here trying to shake everything up? Or who is this kid coming
Dana Kadwell (10:28)
Yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (10:30)
in here to tell me that I need to be doing XYZ? You know, I don't report to you. I
Dana Kadwell (10:32)
Sure. Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (10:34)
report to Kim and Larry, right?
Dana Kadwell (10:37)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (10:37)
And so I think for me that was probably one of the biggest friction points that.
that I had to understand. And
Dana Kadwell (10:44)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (10:44)
even, you know, even moving offices was like a delicate thing, right? because they didn't want it to appear that it was happening like all of a sudden, right? And there is still some in my my father has since passed away, but my mom is still involved with our sister rental company. So her presence
Dana Kadwell (11:01)
Mm.
Ian Ramirez (11:02)
is still very much here. And I think that for me probably was one of the biggest friction points.
Dana Kadwell (11:08)
Yeah. I can imagine. I mean, it's not like it's not quite the same, but you always have those people in like Hollywood, like those Nepo babies or whatever, like they just get whatever they want just because of their parents' position and what in in the industry. And it seems like whenever I'm sure that you're not alone in that when there is a kid that comes up and but at the same time you can look at it and say, But you earned it. I mean it's not like you just
got off a plane from Germany and then the next day were promoted to this position, it's like you showed passion for it, you know, you obviously did the job, you prepared for it, trained for it, did all the things. But it is really hard for people who don't see even the work behind the scenes, especially those that have only worked for your parents. They didn't see all the hard work that you put into it, you know, to get to where you're going.
Ian Ramirez (11:53)
Right.
And you know, it's it's funny too because people can have that mindset where it's like, it was handed to you. And I definitely would challenge that assumption because as you just mentioned, they don't see everything that's going on behind the scenes. They don't see, you know, the f four years that I served on the board for Ailea. They don't see all the speak engagements that I've had, the hours that I've spent on webinars, on coaching calls, right? And
the time spent at home, even as an entrepreneur, right? That you spend on your business that's not in the office, in air quotes, for those of you that are just listening, right?
Dana Kadwell (12:29)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (12:31)
and you know, there's I have three other siblings, and I'm the third, and none of the other three want anything to do with the business, right? And so it's not even any sort of
the the firstborn was the one that gets it, you know, my siblings
Dana Kadwell (12:44)
Right.
Ian Ramirez (12:45)
are happily doing all the things that they're doing, right? My
Dana Kadwell (12:47)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (12:48)
brother lives in Austin, Texas. My two sisters live in LA and, you know, I'm really the only one that's still here home and
Dana Kadwell (12:55)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (12:56)
running the the the family business. So
Dana Kadwell (12:58)
Yeah.
That's interesting. Yeah. Does that change the dynamic with your siblings at all?
Ian Ramirez (13:05)
To some extent, I think I you know, I hear from my siblings a lot. So if my siblings are listening, I know I can say this with all transparency. no, they're very happy that I am here to support or have supported my parents, right? And this is, you know, a side topic, not so much about business, but as family dynamics shift and change.
You know, when my dad got sick, I was the only child that was here, right?
Dana Kadwell (13:35)
Yeah, yeah.
Ian Ramirez (13:36)
And so I was here helping not only emotionally support my family, but help support the business too, right? And so my siblings on a regular basis would reach out to me and just say, like, we're so thankful that you're there to be able to support them. And now, you know, my mom as a widow still, I'm the only child that's here.
Dana Kadwell (13:53)
Yeah. Sure, sure.
Ian Ramirez (13:54)
And I don't hold that against my siblings at all, right?
But I'm I'm happy to be here to support her. I love, I love my mom. Shout out to mom, everybody that loves their mom, right? Shout out to moms.
Dana Kadwell (13:59)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Mm.
Ian Ramirez (14:06)
but you know, I think probably the only other side of that that maybe is not addressed ever verbally is, you know, sometimes it is it it can be, I don't want to say burden in a in a negative sense, but it's just I think a natural given, right? When you are
one of the only child near a parent and that's running a business, right, that they started that they are still somewhat involved in. it it definitely can dominate, right, a lot of of your life. And so I think there has been that balance too that we've had to navigate.
Dana Kadwell (14:40)
Yeah, I think for me, some of the hardest parts when you are going business with family, a lot of it's expectations, you know, like
Ian Ramirez (14:46)
a hundred percent.
Dana Kadwell (14:47)
the expectation for each other. But then the other part of it too is it's really hard to draw a line between and this is where like my like personal relationship with my family, you know, with my partnership with my sister failed, is we had no clear delineation of this is business, this is family. It got so intermixed that when something went wrong with the business, it then meant that there had to be something wrong with.
with our family, like our family unit. Like that relationship was so toxic at that point because we didn't have that line. And and I you know, when I think back on it, I don't think there was a single moment, holiday, birthday, where the business didn't come up and there wasn't a conversation about it. And there wasn't something
Ian Ramirez (15:24)
Right. Right.
Dana Kadwell (15:26)
that like bled over into that personal life. So do you like
Do you have any advice for anybody that's right now? 'Cause venues are a lot of venues are run by families. They're run by couples,
Ian Ramirez (15:37)
Yes.
Dana Kadwell (15:38)
what I know is like husbands and wives or parents who are just like your situation, who have a kid involved. and sometimes the the the child is running the whole thing and the parents are just the investors and so they're like this fin
Ian Ramirez (15:49)
Right.
Dana Kadwell (15:50)
financial part, but do you have any advice for anybody that's to help create those lines a little bit better, I guess?
Ian Ramirez (15:56)
Yeah, I think first of all, everyone that's listening that is in a family business, you have to understand that it's not always gonna be perfect, it's not always gonna be black and white. So as much as we sit here and I can sit here and say you need to draw lines, you need to draw boundaries, which you absolutely should, you're not gonna be perfect, right? You're not gonna reach that goal a hundred percent of the time because there's gonna be days, right, where you're out at dinner and the phone rings or something happens and naturally business is gonna come up.
Right. So I think probably the biggest piece of advice that I would say that we have really tried to focus on the past few years, especially after I lost my stepdad, was really identifying and honing in on what are our roles and staying in our lane. I think that would be the number one piece of advice that I have. And something from a mindfulness perspective that we have been practicing is when, you know, there's a nugget that I haven't even dropped yet.
Legacy b business owner, right? My parents started the business. Well, my husband works with us too, right? So sucker for punishment. but
Dana Kadwell (16:59)
Yes. I was about to say that, yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (17:05)
no, I think we've been really practicing and being intentional about when we're out in a casual setting as a family, right? When we're going out to dinner, we're going to the movies, and someone starts to bring up work, we give each other the space to set that boundary and say, you know what, like I really don't want to talk about that.
And we have to give each other that space, right, to be able to set that boundary because it can really take over your family relationship, right? And that any sense of familial relationship. And that's when resentment comes
Dana Kadwell (17:36)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (17:36)
in, that's where miscommunication or deceit or secrecy comes in, where you don't start sharing true feelings,
Dana Kadwell (17:42)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (17:45)
right, and sentiments or even things that are happening potentially on the family side or in the business side.
And so for us, that's really what we've been intentional about the the past few years is giving ourselves that opportunity to say, hey, you know what? I really would rather just focus on whatever we're doing right now, being in the moment. and we can save that conversation when we're back in the office.
Dana Kadwell (18:07)
Mm.
Ian Ramirez (18:09)
you know, but that's barring any like true emergency, you know, like something that we have to address in that moment.
Dana Kadwell (18:10)
Sure. Correct. Yeah, for sure.
Ian Ramirez (18:15)
but I think identifying your role, staying in that role is probably the the staying in your lane is
One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give to somebody. And then the other part of it is, you know, when it comes to disagreements, disagreements happen in families, disagreements happen in businesses. But I do think when it comes to decisions, there has to be somebody that ultimately is the final decision maker. Right.
Dana Kadwell (18:39)
Yep. Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (18:40)
And if you don't have that identified or you don't have that as a part of someone's specific role at the business.
I think that's where it leads to even more disagreements, right? there has to be some sort of hierarchy for someone to make that final decision.
Dana Kadwell (18:57)
Yeah, and I think that's like that's such a hard part too when you walk into relationships where it's a true fifty fifty, you know, and so then and it's even going back and you serve time on the ILEA board, I'm on the NASE board. They love having odd people, an odd number of people on the board because you don't want to create that situation where it's a a stalemate 'cause yeah,
Ian Ramirez (19:20)
It's like a deadlock, yeah.
Dana Kadwell (19:21)
right, it's half and half, you know. But yeah, I one of the one of the many attempts that we made to try to like
fix some of the things that we were having w and that was a lot of it was the decision making. Like we just didn't agree on a lot on certain things. And so we'd kind of created this what is my lane and then who like where does the buck stop with who? So like if it's this type of a decision, ultimately I have to defer whether I agree or not, I have to defer to your judgment on this because this is very clearly your lane. If it's this, you know, so on and so forth. And
And it was really hard. Like it was a very like it was a really tough thing to put down on paper to to not say you don't have control over it 'cause you could still say your opinion, but ultimately if you're s if you're providing the framework to say, Okay, you're the one that makes this choice, knowing
Ian Ramirez (20:09)
Right.
Dana Kadwell (20:10)
it doesn't really matter what you say. You're just hoping that that person respects you enough to like consider or whatever. It's really, really, really tough to do that. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (20:16)
Yeah. It is very hard. I
like I said, I am not perfect. I think anybody that touts themselves to say they have the perfect situation is
Dana Kadwell (20:25)
Mm.
Ian Ramirez (20:26)
not telling the truth. but it's it's it's always a it's I I I'm a big reader and I think the second that we
feel like we have arrived or we have made it or we've figured everything out, we start to stop growing, we stop developing. And I think it's so important for us to always continue to have that open line of communication.
with those boundaries that you just mentioned, Dana. It is it is so important. And continuing to to make sure that we have open dialogue and that we both are wanting to move the business together in the same direction, which I can imagine sometimes is difficult for family businesses, right? They want to go in one
Dana Kadwell (21:08)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (21:11)
direction, right? and then your partner or your spouse or your parent wants to move in a different direction, right? And that especially is hard.
when you have to give up s quote unquote control to the other person because that's a part of their role or what y'all decided. so it can sometimes feel like your hands are tied.
Dana Kadwell (21:35)
So I think one of the things that's always that wh whenever I talk to venues, especially that that have I've had a couple of people recently, family venues, people it's p typically it's actually a parent child more than it's a partner situation. is that the goals are so far off from one another that
Ian Ramirez (21:54)
Mm.
Dana Kadwell (21:55)
typically you have somebody that is like, I just wanna coast, like I just wanna collect my paycheck and call it a day and you know, and I want to
scrutinize every penny and every dime, right? And typically that's gonna be your investor, which makes sense 'cause they have the money
Ian Ramirez (22:10)
Right? Right.
Dana Kadwell (22:12)
in it. And then the other person's like, well, I don't necessarily like obviously everyone wants to make a decent paycheck, but their concern is more creating this experience and they see more maybe like the investment piece of it. We should we need to do X to get these type of clients or whatnot. and so can do you guys ever have
an issue where have you had an issue where just like the goals are off. Like what you what you're what you see going down the line the pipeline in five years is very different from what somebody else sees five years down the line. And how did you deal with that?
Ian Ramirez (22:47)
Yes. there certainly was a a point when I joined the family business where our goals were a little bit different. What I think has really helped alleviate that is having regular 90-day goal planning and checking in on those goals and continuing to verbalize them. I mean, at the end of the day, you can't work in silos and so you have to make sure that you're reiterating what those goals are. And sometimes it's hard for, you know, the the parent.
investor type to share that you know that hey they really do just want to coast like you mentioned
Dana Kadwell (23:20)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (23:21)
right and then you have the maybe child or sometimes considered subordinate owner right that is wanting to move things in a certain direction whether it's following trends or expanding to potential revenue streams because they're looking to the future and so I think that's where a little bit of that
respect comes into play is having
Dana Kadwell (23:45)
Mm, mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (23:46)
that open dialogue and understanding what is this primary investor parent oftentimes as you mentioned what do they want? What does the child want, right? What is their vision of the future? And making sure that they both come together and communicate those and not being afraid to communicate those.
Dana Kadwell (24:03)
Yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (24:05)
I think oftentimes there's the fear of letting the other down
By sharing like ultimately what their goal is. But the moment that you have that level of secrecy or
where you're keeping your cards close to your chest, I think that's when you start to see more and more of those cracks in the foundation of the business. And so my recommendation would be to have regular 90-day goal setting meetings to identify, you know, these are the goals that we set, did we meet them or not? And has that changed, right? Not only on a business level, but on a personal level too, right?
Dana Kadwell (24:38)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (24:43)
And I think it's hard because there gets to a point, and this was happening with my my parents, full transparency, right? Where it's like they're seeing this through, you know, as retirement, but there does get a point where we have to make a decision, right, on what is the exit strategy. And,
Dana Kadwell (24:59)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (25:00)
you know, how how does that happen? And, you know, I am not a professional by any means as it comes to secession planning or estate planning. You need to have those people in your corner,
Dana Kadwell (25:10)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (25:10)
right? Whether it's an attorney, your CPA, like
all of those people that are in your circle, those professionals that you really trust to help you make that next step. and it and it can be overwhelming, right?
Dana Kadwell (25:23)
Yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (25:25)
it can be very om overwhelming for the person that is having to to let that go.
Dana Kadwell (25:30)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (25:30)
And I I recognize that. I'm sure a lot of listeners can
Dana Kadwell (25:33)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (25:33)
recognize that too. if there is anybody listening that as a part of that family business that you're a part of that conversation, right? and so I think ultimately it just comes down to those basics which are always hard. Communication, respect, right? all the things.
Dana Kadwell (25:45)
Yeah. Communication. Yeah, all the things. Yeah.
It's so interesting. Like, so one of the my biggest like when I go when I do it 'cause I've had so much time to reflect on this and I've had, you know, opportunities to like, you know, become a partner with somebody else and I've you know, and my old CO would joke, she was Don't you ever get into a partnership again. And I was like, I was like, but I'm not afraid to. I'm really not, because I learned so much from the
Ian Ramirez (26:11)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (26:11)
first one. But for me, what I
I but I did not think that I I guess expected or what I didn't understand was there's a difference between owning a business and operating a business, right? So if you walk into an ownership situation and you have equal equity, you have equal investment, whatever, and you're a 50-50% owner, it does not mean you are a 50-50% operator. And there was this
Ian Ramirez (26:38)
Correct.
Dana Kadwell (26:39)
very immature view of me, and this is on me, where I was like, well.
you own fifty percent of this, you have to be doing fifty percent of the work. And just like any kind of relationship, and you're talking about like your spouse, there are times in your life where you're giving 70% to the family and they're only giving thirty percent for whatever the case and it flip flops back and forth.
Ian Ramirez (26:59)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (27:00)
And so I think I did not understand that
you could operate in a different capacity. So if I'm like, I feel jazzed about this. I'm so excited. I want to spend and I did. I spent every day at the office. I loved going to the office. I loved doing these things. I wanted to operate at, you know, my 100 to 50%. Whereas my partner in the phase of life she was in really probably was only giving thirty percent. And for me, I was kept pushing, like, why aren't you giving the same amount back and
Ian Ramirez (27:29)
Right.
Dana Kadwell (27:30)
not recognizing, well
Okay, let's take a step back and say, well, if you only want to work 30%, then maybe we just need to adjust a little bit of a salary and then, you know, put this back on me. But then you can have the goals and the life that you want, all the things, right?
Ian Ramirez (27:43)
Right.
Dana Kadwell (27:44)
And that was like a really hard thing for me to understand. And we and I understood it a little bit too late. And so then when we started having those conversations, it felt like it it just it didn't go over well. Like at the end of the
Ian Ramirez (27:55)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (27:56)
day. Like it just wasn't because it was.
Well, I've given the same amount that you have, so therefore I should have the same
Ian Ramirez (28:00)
Right.
Dana Kadwell (28:00)
amount. Is that does that make sense?
Ian Ramirez (28:02)
No, a hundred percent. And I think that ultimately comes just down to what I was mentioning earlier about communicating what you want and what your goals are, right?
Dana Kadwell (28:09)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (28:10)
For running running the business or owning the business.
Dana Kadwell (28:13)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (28:13)
And if you are too afraid to share what you want, it's just gonna continue to fester
Dana Kadwell (28:19)
Yep.
Ian Ramirez (28:20)
and it's gonna continue to crack those foundations.
Dana Kadwell (28:22)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (28:23)
And I I think sometimes you have to have those crucial conversations, those difficult conversations.
At the end of the day, even if what you want is different from what the other person wants, you openly talking about it is that first step. Right? And I I I think it it is really hard when you have people involved in a business, co-ownership.
Equal equity partners, right? Kind of like you were mentioning, where one person is giving more than the other, right?
Dana Kadwell (28:53)
Mm.
Ian Ramirez (28:54)
And I think that again comes back to that main recommendation that we already talked about is identifying what is your role in this, right? What are the expectations that we have of each other and explaining those very clearly in the beginning, right? We
Dana Kadwell (29:09)
Mm.
Ian Ramirez (29:09)
learned the hard lessons. So, listeners, if you're starting a family business, right,
Dana Kadwell (29:12)
Yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (29:14)
have it clear from the get, right? And
Dana Kadwell (29:16)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (29:16)
if things
Start to change, communicate about it.
Dana Kadwell (29:19)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (29:20)
don't think that someone should be doing something just because you're going at it a little bit harder.
Dana Kadwell (29:26)
Yeah. And I think for me, like so much of that was wrapped into you and we you know, I went through so much, so much therapy, but that
Ian Ramirez (29:32)
Yes, it's so important.
Dana Kadwell (29:34)
it is. But like you would have this small little crack and it was like this, and I called it the resentment, right? And then
Ian Ramirez (29:39)
Mm-hmm.
Dana Kadwell (29:40)
that divide became so huge. And it was because exactly what you said, I didn't say what I wanted, I didn't say exactly how I felt. And then on the other side, what I can recognize too is that
I know my expectations are extremely high. And so for someone who cared about me and and I believe that she cared about me and loved me, her fear was disappointing me. And so she kept pushing and doing things that she knew that she wasn't didn't maybe didn't want to do or didn't the passion for, but she was so afraid to have that conversation because I was so here and that if she had that conversation that I would be disappointed or upset. And to be a hundred percent fair, there probably was historical data that
That proved that point to her. And so so then you just kind of live in this, and I call it like living in the shadows. Like you just are
Ian Ramirez (30:26)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (30:26)
like not out in the light, being truly who you are, really what you want, and you're just kind of moving in these spaces. And then it became such a huge thing that there was no coming back from it. Right. And so when I look at it, like there was a lot, you know, it's a very complicated story for sure. But when I look at it from the very basic business level, if I could go back and change anything.
It would be that expectation setting and it would be understanding that if someone's giving this amount, we can agree that this is what that's gonna look like. And that's okay. No one's gonna be disappointed, nobody's gonna be upset, no one's gonna hold the other one, you know, to the fire on it because life is dynamic, it's not static. Like things change and, you know,
Ian Ramirez (31:08)
Course.
Dana Kadwell (31:09)
but that's the hardest thing I think is is recognizing that and having those conversations.
Ian Ramirez (31:16)
Sage advice from Dana Cadwell, everybody. Yes, we all needed to hear that today. No, but
Dana Kadwell (31:21)
Yeah it's
Ian Ramirez (31:21)
you I think you hit the nail on the head in terms of that that level of communication. And people are complicated beings at the end of the day, at a at a human level, outside of business, right? And so I think the more that we can be willing to come to the table with an open mind and an open heart and listen to what at the end of the day that people want. I mean, listen, people want to survive.
They want to thrive, they want to feel safe at a human level. And so I I think the lesson that you shared, although it was very hard, I can only imagine, is such a valuable lesson, not only for you, I'm sure you've learned a lot from
Dana Kadwell (32:03)
Yes.
Ian Ramirez (32:03)
that experience, but for everybody that is is listening today too, it's such a valuable lesson.
Dana Kadwell (32:08)
Yeah.
It's I think I think it's you you went you said at the very beginning, like you want to make your parents proud. And when you're with your family, you want to make them proud and you
Ian Ramirez (32:15)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (32:16)
want them to, you know, respect you and love you. And I think that we forget that love isn't conditional and we start treating it conditionally. We forget that the other person on the other side, you know, you love them unconditionally no matter what happens, right? And and who they
Ian Ramirez (32:31)
Yes, of course.
Dana Kadwell (32:32)
are. And you forget that in business sometimes because it becomes very dollars and cents. It becomes very
Ian Ramirez (32:37)
Yes.
Dana Kadwell (32:38)
Black and white where I feel like family relationships and business, it's very gray. It's murky and it's
Ian Ramirez (32:44)
Very gray.
Dana Kadwell (32:45)
muddy and you just can't have these like how you said before, you can't have this like clear line, you know, it's just not how it works. Yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (32:52)
Right? It is hard, it's very difficult.
Dana Kadwell (32:54)
So you obviously entered into this with your parents and mentioned this. And then
Ian Ramirez (32:58)
Yes.
Dana Kadwell (32:58)
at what point were you did you convince your spouse to be like, Hey, by the way, this has been so much fun. You should come on over
Ian Ramirez (33:05)
Come on over into this madhouse,
Dana Kadwell (33:07)
I know. Yes.
Ian Ramirez (33:08)
right? That is family business.
no, so I I mean again, it wasn't really by design in the beginning. So my husband Paul, who's fabulous, I love him so much. We have been together 10 years. Actually, when I moved back from Germany, 2016, a lot happened in 2016. I moved
Dana Kadwell (33:26)
Yeah, big year for you.
Ian Ramirez (33:28)
back from Germany, I started working at the venue, I met Paul, my husband.
so
Paul's background, he was in marketing. He worked for Capital One in activation, opening new branches for many years. and then he transitioned into healthcare. And before he joined the team at Madeira, he was the director of marketing for a local hospital. And he was there for several years through COVID, and then about halfway through COVID, they decided, you know what, like we're not marketing elective surgery.
So we're gonna eliminate your position. And so during COVID, obviously, for everybody listening, that was one of the wildest, craziest times for a lot of us. We were dealing
Dana Kadwell (34:15)
Right.
Ian Ramirez (34:15)
with all of our couples, he was dealing with you know things at the hospital and then being let go. And so I remember sitting at a dinner table with my parents and Paul. and this was that fall, we had been in that year in 2020 through COVID, and my parents were like, hey, like
The sale we're letting go of the salesperson that was with us at the time. Why don't you come on board? We joke, you know, my stepdad was always like, Paul, we need to get you on payroll. Why don't you come work for us and see if you like it? Right. And so we created this new position for him that was really business development. And so he is over sales and marketing at the venue and vendor relationships. And he came on board and he's never left.
So he joined the family business. And I think much like my mindset was again going back to being a part of a family of entrepreneurs, being an opera singer, not really ever working for somebody else, that was something that I wanted him to experience because his whole career, right, he had been
Dana Kadwell (35:15)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (35:15)
focused on climbing the corporate ladder and now started working for a family business and just experienced a different level of freedom.
Dana Kadwell (35:24)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (35:24)
Although
having a family business and owning a business as an entrepreneur maybe sometimes feels like an anchor to some people.
Dana Kadwell (35:29)
Yeah, for sure.
Ian Ramirez (35:30)
but we had a little more freedom. He had a lot more freedom, right, with his schedule. And so I found that he ended up becoming a lot more happy and happier, right, working as a part of our team. And so yeah, he's been now with Madeira six years, which is incredible.
Dana Kadwell (35:46)
Okay. Were you like
were you super nervous about it? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Technically his his buttons to be Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (35:50)
Of course, naturally in the beginning I was like, How is this gonna go? I'm technically his his boss, he reports to me, right?
And you know, we have a ten year age difference. He's ten years older than I am, but you know, we went at it with that idea that we are
Gonna stay true to who we are and really try to stay within the lanes that we were talking about, right? which is is is easier said than done. And in the beginning, you know, it's it's it's funny because he had a different idea of what working at a family business was, especially moving into that sales role, that client-facing role
Dana Kadwell (36:30)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (36:31)
in the beginning with doing tours. He showed up, I remember in slacks and a jacket.
for his first day of venue tours, I was
Dana Kadwell (36:39)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (36:39)
like, no, you don't have to do that here. you don't have to look that formal, right? We're not a hotel, we're not a resort. You know, he
Dana Kadwell (36:41)
Yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (36:46)
had to wear slacks and a tie every day at his
Dana Kadwell (36:49)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (36:50)
job at the hospital. And so he quickly realized, you know, he can be a little bit more of himself here, which was which is really exciting.
Dana Kadwell (36:55)
Yeah. That is cool.
Ian Ramirez (36:58)
but I I think it was it was
Easy it was an easy transition, right? Because we have the same schedule. We weren't having to commute to Houston anymore. There was a time period where we were living in Houston, which our venue is about 45 minutes north of downtown Houston. And so we slowly started learning each other's isms. For a time period, we shared an office, which leaning into the mic, don't share an office with your spouse. Paul is okay with me saying that.
Dana Kadwell (37:25)
Don't do it.
Ian Ramirez (37:28)
we tried it for a little bit and it it is it is it was very difficult. And so we ended
Dana Kadwell (37:33)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (37:34)
up separating offices. Now we have our own spaces, right, which is really great
Dana Kadwell (37:38)
Nice.
Ian Ramirez (37:38)
at the office and at home. We each have our separate office at home too. And it just really gives us that I think grounding that we
Dana Kadwell (37:46)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (37:47)
need for the day. but he's he's really excelled and exceeded in his role. I'm super proud of him if I can just brag on my husband just for a
Dana Kadwell (37:55)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (37:56)
little bit.
he's done a lot of things well at Madeira. He's implemented so many new things that I never even thought about, which I think is so cool. And in the beginning, full transparency, I had trouble, you know, releasing the reins on certain
Dana Kadwell (38:13)
Yeah, I'm sure.
Ian Ramirez (38:14)
elements at the venue, whether that was how we did things at our open houses or how venue tours should be run. And he just came at it with this beautiful different lens.
And I I just can't believe what we've been able to achieve together over the past six years since he's been on our team.
Dana Kadwell (38:35)
It's really cool. I think that's that's one of the goals we have, like personally, is Sam coming on board in some capacity. we're not quite there yet. And for me the indicator isn't want desire, it's it's just the financial stability of just a new business, like only being in year one of it. You know, I want to have a little bit more like just feel a little more comfortable before we take off the the stable nine to five
Ian Ramirez (38:57)
Yes.
Dana Kadwell (38:58)
job or whatever.
But was there some indicators that you guys and maybe with some of the conversations that you guys had that was like a green flag. You're like, Okay, we're ready for this. Like our relationship can can withstand this. You had the right mindset. Like what were some things that you were looking for maybe in those conversations with him that was like, Okay, like this is gonna be good.
Ian Ramirez (39:17)
I think we just as a couple outside of business have a very similar philosophy on life, how we treat people and how we communicate. I think that's something that really drew us together in the beginning anyway when we first met. Paul and I, not to get like too personal, one of the the biggest things that I learned being with him very quickly is that our relationship can sustain a lot of hardship.
And when when I met Paul, his mother passed away very early on in our relationship. And so my green flag with him started ten years ago.
Dana Kadwell (39:52)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (39:53)
And but when it came to specifically with working at the venue, having those conversations, seeing him work in action, you know, ultimately the green flag for me, for him, number one was his experience. And so I say that truthfully, you know, listeners on the call, as much as you want to bring your spouse
on to payroll, have them work with you at the venue. I think you do also have to understand what they want, what their strengths are, right? And what their skill set is. And so for us, Paul checked all of those boxes beyond him wanting to work in the business
Dana Kadwell (40:23)
Mm. Right.
Ian Ramirez (40:25)
too, right? And have a similar lifestyle that I had in terms of not being nine to five. Paul worked for for Disney for several years. He has his masters, so he had a hospitality background.
He worked, as I mentioned, with Capital One and doing activations. So I knew he knew events. He helped with the Macy's Day parade. So it it made sense, right? In terms
Dana Kadwell (40:48)
Right.
Ian Ramirez (40:48)
of his experience, being able to communicate to people. And that for me was the biggest green flag was that he wanted to be a part of the business. He had that desire to be a part of the business. But then also he had the skill set to do it.
Dana Kadwell (41:05)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (41:05)
And I I I think
Maybe you're maybe easier said than done, had he not excelled at the role, right? I think about that oftentimes too. What would that conversation have looked like, right? And at the end of the day, while it would have been difficult, I knew and know today that if he did not or had not excelled in the role, especially with sales, right, that we would have had a different conversation, right? It would not have worked out because if there is no sales coming into your business, obviously there's no events, right?
Dana Kadwell (41:38)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (41:38)
You have no cash flow. And so I think for anybody that is considering hiring family or working with family, I think you have to have that conversation in the beginning too. that if they are not pulling their weight, you can't be afraid to fire your spouse. As hard as it may seem, right? As terrible as that saying it may be. But
Dana Kadwell (41:56)
Yeah. Yeah. As as terrible as it'll be. Yeah, yeah.
Ian Ramirez (42:02)
I mean, at the end of the day, I think you you have to do
Course, I want to say what's best for your relationship too, but you have to do what's best for the business, right? And oftentimes what is best for you, right? Saying either to my husband, to my mom, or any team member, what is best for you is oftentimes what's best for the business,
Dana Kadwell (42:24)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (42:25)
right? And so you do have to think about it from that perspective. You don't want to go into it with blinders thinking that, this is gonna be magical, which it can be, right? Working with your spouse or your partner.
but I think you also have to recognize too that there's a certain level of expectation
Dana Kadwell (42:41)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (42:42)
within that role that they still have to fulfill, right, and
Dana Kadwell (42:44)
Yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (42:45)
meet.
Dana Kadwell (42:46)
Yeah. I think it goes back to one of the biggest lessons I learned early on in my career was if you create a job for the person, meaning you just love the person and you were like, Okay, well they could do this, they could do this, they could do this, sixty percent more than half time p percent of the time, they're gonna fail at it because they don't have the right skills walking into and your expectation
Ian Ramirez (43:05)
Right.
Dana Kadwell (43:06)
is way too high. And I think you really said what is so important and I just think anyone listening, just just latch on to this is that
bringing a spouse or a partner on in the area that they are going to excel in because they have the experience. And that's one of the things I was talking to my husband about because where he wants to come on is facilities management, which he does great. I mean he's like he goes out every weekend and does it now anyways, like, you know, all the stuff. But I said the thing that I really need and what he's always done for our family is all the financial stuff, like the accounting and all that.
But I say, but you don't understand accrual accounting. And I know that we've had conversations and you don't understand this part of it. So, you know, part of our plan is that he's starting to take some accounting classes and get ready for it and learn it to be able to to pot to have that experience and to have the knowledge base to do it. But just to throw him into it and say, I taught myself QuickBooks, you can teach yourself QuickBooks, like I know that would be like a recipe for disaster and failure, right?
Ian Ramirez (44:05)
Yeah. Yeah,
you're setting up for ex failure. Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (44:08)
Yes. So I think
like totally finding it and I think it's one of those things where the universe lines up. Didn't have
Ian Ramirez (44:16)
Yes.
Dana Kadwell (44:16)
a job, he had the right skill set, you had this opening and you're like, wow, this like every single door and hurdle has been cleared and this makes perfect sense. Whereas I think a lot of times we force it we force the cash flow to be there, say, we can we can
Ian Ramirez (44:27)
Yes. Yep.
Dana Kadwell (44:29)
just siphon this, we can, you know, pay them for this or whatnot and then that's when it starts to get really dicey and you
Ian Ramirez (44:36)
Well, it's
just like the advice you give to you know, a manager or venue owners that I tell when they're hiring somebody, right? The temptation to hire somebody that you get along with, right, especially in an interview, is is is there, right? You're like,
Dana Kadwell (44:47)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (44:49)
I'm driving with this person, I get along with them, right? But at the end of the day, especially if you're filling a role, you still have to hire for the skill set.
Right. and so that has to be true for your partner and spouse. They have to
Dana Kadwell (45:03)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (45:04)
be able to fill the need of the role that you're wanting to bring them into.
Dana Kadwell (45:08)
Yeah. Yeah. Well, we are just we could talk for hours, I'm sure, about this.
Ian Ramirez (45:14)
Yes.
Dana Kadwell (45:16)
But it has been so wonderful. But I want to end on a couple of things. I always ask a couple of questions. there's two. So
Ian Ramirez (45:21)
Okay, let's do it.
Dana Kadwell (45:22)
the first one is what is the number one piece of advice you'd give any venue owner? It doesn't have to be related to what we talked about today, just like the the
Ian Ramirez (45:29)
Okay.
Dana Kadwell (45:29)
best piece of advice you got or the best thing you want to give somebody. And then the second one is your craziest wedding story. Like craziest.
Ian Ramirez (45:36)
Whoo! These are juicy. Okay.
Dana Kadwell (45:37)
I know there's a lot of but I know.
Ian Ramirez (45:41)
Biggest piece of advice for a venue owner. I think my biggest piece of advice for a venue owner is don't get complacent. I I shared this earlier
Dana Kadwell (45:53)
What's a good one?
Ian Ramirez (45:54)
in our conversation of like
There's gonna be a point in your business where you want to think you've arrived, right? Where
Dana Kadwell (46:01)
Mm, mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (46:02)
you have made it. And I think the second that you do that, you get blinders on, you miss out on what's going on, not only in your business, but what's going on in the market. And you constantly, and this is for any entrepreneur, not just a venue owner, you constantly need to be growing and learning and identifying ways that you can grow and improve your business.
Chances are there is somebody else out there that is doing that, right?
And the second you take your guard down, that is when you know you're gonna move into what we were talking about earlier, whitewater, right? Where you're treading water and
Dana Kadwell (46:39)
Mm-hmm.
Ian Ramirez (46:41)
you missed out on some opportunity, right? And so I'm that
Dana Kadwell (46:43)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (46:44)
firm believer that you cannot get complacent as a business owner. Things are always changing today with weddings, with AI, economy, right? You always need to keep your ear to the ground, make
connections, you know, attend education like Dana's venue masterclass, right?
Dana Kadwell (47:01)
Mm.
Ian Ramirez (47:03)
But but that but but I mean that wholeheartedly, right?
Dana Kadwell (47:05)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (47:06)
There you cannot have that attitude and think you've arrived, right?
Dana Kadwell (47:09)
Yeah. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (47:11)
because we always need to be growing and making our businesses and ourselves better.
Dana Kadwell (47:15)
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Yeah. I love that. And I am like a hundred percent I say that all I I am like that that's my favorite thing to do to be that lifelong learner. And I I honestly I know without a shadow of a doubt it's why I was successful. Is because he kept asking questions and kept saying, Well, what else are what are you doing? What's this person doing? And like just surrounding yourselves around professionals and community and conferences and all the things. So that's a great piece of advice. Love that. Yeah. Okay, so crazy story. Crazy story time.
Ian Ramirez (47:42)
So important. Okay. Okay, the juicy
story. my gosh. Okay, there's so many, but my favorite one.
Dana Kadwell (47:46)
Juicy there's so many my favorite
one. I'm ready.
Ian Ramirez (47:52)
Is okay, y'all ready for this? So this
was right after I started at Madero. This is like 10
Dana Kadwell (47:58)
Okay.
Ian Ramirez (47:58)
years ago. This is OG crazy story.
Dana Kadwell (48:00)
Okay.
Ian Ramirez (48:02)
so we had a wedding going on at the venue, and we get a package delivered to the venue on wedding day, and
Dana Kadwell (48:08)
okay.
Ian Ramirez (48:09)
it is addressed to the bride. And
Dana Kadwell (48:11)
Okay.
Ian Ramirez (48:12)
I don't know about y'all, but we don't allow our clients to have mail or packages delivered to the venue.
Dana Kadwell (48:16)
Yeah, no, yeah.
Ian Ramirez (48:18)
so not normal.
Dana Kadwell (48:20)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (48:20)
And so I'm like, I'm not giving this a ride, I'm gonna open it. So I open it. I'm gonna open it, right?
Dana Kadwell (48:25)
You're gonna break the law. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (48:28)
And so I open it. And do you wanna know what was inside? It was
Dana Kadwell (48:33)
I do want to know what's the side of it.
Ian Ramirez (48:38)
a letter written to the bride,
Dana Kadwell (48:39)
Okay. Okay.
Ian Ramirez (48:40)
accompanied by photos. This was back when you like printed things, right? Like at like Walgreens, you'd get the photos made.
Dana Kadwell (48:45)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Ian Ramirez (48:48)
Along with photos, the letter was written to the bride from a mistress of the groom that was getting married that day, basically saying you shouldn't marry this guy. And the photos were photos of them together, the mistress and the groom.
Dana Kadwell (49:06)
what'd you do?
Ian Ramirez (49:08)
I put it in my filing cabinet and we
Dana Kadwell (49:10)
Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (49:10)
threw a wedding.
I don't know if they're still together or not, but I was not about to open that can of worms. That is not my responsibility.
Dana Kadwell (49:17)
How we guess Hell no No
Ian Ramirez (49:21)
I am not having this drama on wedding day.
Dana Kadwell (49:24)
No, can you imagine the backlash of that? Like No. Absolutely not. That's hilarious. Wow,
Ian Ramirez (49:27)
My god. I I'm not dealing with that, but it's it's still sitting in our filing cabinet here. Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (49:33)
that is a juicy one. That's a good one. I've never had something that crazy. I've just I've had like a like a groom not show up, but like nothing like that, yeah. But
Ian Ramirez (49:40)
Yes. Ugh.
There's there's a lot of other ones too, but that I think is my juiciest.
Dana Kadwell (49:44)
Yeah. That's a good one. Mhm.
Yeah. Hm. I bet you ever bride's like, Was that me? Was that me who did it? All your two thousand sixteen brides. Who was it?
Ian Ramirez (49:54)
Who was it?
Let me know. what is this guy? I know I know I tell that story to people too
Dana Kadwell (50:00)
Okay.
Ian Ramirez (50:01)
and they think, man, you should have told them like that was the right thing to do. It's a good thing to do.
Dana Kadwell (50:06)
Mm.
Ian Ramirez (50:06)
She shouldn't have married that guy, blah blah blah blah blah. I'm like, yeah
But like when you're about to have like a hundred people, a hundred and fifty people show up to your venue and you're gonna have this drama unfold in front of you, I don't wanna be a part of some sort of like this happened and show up on TV, right, because
Dana Kadwell (50:20)
No.
Ian Ramirez (50:25)
the bride went AWOL on the groom. No.
Dana Kadwell (50:27)
Yep. Well it's the same thing, like when
you have a friend who's like struggling, like, should I divorce my husband? And you're like, I'm not answering that question. Hell no. I because
Ian Ramirez (50:34)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (50:34)
I don't want to be on either side of any of that, right? Like it's n no, exactly. Yes. Yes, because that's Exactly. Yep. Exactly. A hundred percent. Yes. Not your job. Yep, it's not your circus. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (50:37)
I don't wanna be blamed. You shouldn't have given it to her, right? Why did you you're the reason the wedding didn't happen? We want our money back. I'm like, no, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. I'm staying out of this. I'll just sit over in the corner with the tea and just be like, I wonder if they're here. Is
the mistress here?
Dana Kadwell (50:55)
I
know, you should Facebook and see. No.
Ian Ramirez (50:58)
my god, can you imagine?
So have you gotten some good crazy stories?
Dana Kadwell (51:03)
Yeah, I mean not not it's more my planning days to my venue days.
Ian Ramirez (51:07)
Okay.
Dana Kadwell (51:07)
Planning I had a a couple of a lot of like really good ones. I had a couple that like that broke up before the wedding. not a ton on the event. Nothing that was like crazy, some that were just sad, like just like, you know, things that happened, you
Ian Ramirez (51:20)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (51:20)
know, unfortunate accidents and deaths and stuff that like, you know, everyone's I think everyone who's owned a venue has had like someone have a heart attack on property and that's just traumatizing. but
Ian Ramirez (51:30)
Ugh. Or a
grandma break her shoulder. I had that.
Dana Kadwell (51:34)
Yeah. Something like yeah, like crazy. Well but there's
all that. I mean, we got like I always have an AED on site now and any time anyone
Ian Ramirez (51:41)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (51:42)
does a horror, they have to have a chair with arms that is like a non negotiable or I won't let them do it. Like if even if they
Ian Ramirez (51:44)
Yes. Yes.
Dana Kadwell (51:47)
don't rent it, I'm like, I'm sorry like s I someone fell and literally broke their arm because they didn't have like the arms to hold on to, you know. Yeah. So I know. I know.
Ian Ramirez (51:55)
The lessons we learned from venue ownership. Y'all,
if you're a newer venue, take take notes right now. Avoid our mistakes.
Dana Kadwell (52:00)
Crazy. Yeah. Yeah.
Make sure they have armchairs for Ahura, for sure. Yeah.
Ian Ramirez (52:05)
Yes, I love it.
Dana Kadwell (52:07)
Well, thank you so much for your time today. It has been lovely chatting with you, as always.
Ian Ramirez (52:12)
Thank you, Dana. It was a fabulous conversation today. I love your podcast. And I hope our listeners today get some good nuggets that they can take away.
Dana Kadwell (52:19)
Yes,
I know they will.
Dana Kadwell (52:23)
Thank you so much for joining us for Gathered Here. To learn more about my new properties, be sure to follow us at McAlser Leftwich and at the Graham Mill. If you want to stay in the loop for all things Hustle and Gather, the venue masterclass, or our mastermind group, be sure to follow us on Instagram at Hustle and Gather. And for updates to the podcast and see all the fun things we're going to be doing this year, be sure to follow at Gathered Here Podcast. I'm your host, Dana Cadwell. Join us next time on Gathered Here.