Latest / WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas / 76: Why I'm Bringing Back My Mastermind To Simplify My Business With Monica Schrock

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76: Why I'm Bringing Back My Mastermind To Simplify My Business With Monica Schrock · WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going back to my true love.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: To my ex.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: My mastermind.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm recording this in February 2024.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: And two years ago in 2022, I announced an episode nine of why I'm ending my mastermind and how I'm simplifying my business and how you can too.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: I ended my mastermind then because I was doing the most.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Two years ago, I had five different services, which meant five different processes and systems.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's more team time and money spent.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Now here I am two years later.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I have to admit I miss my mastermind.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: So all of January 2024, I made space and time to reflect and refine by deleting a lot of things in my business so I can stay focused on what I want to do.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: And that's bringing my mastermind back.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: Just focusing on my mastermind and one-to-one.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: How simple does that sound?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's amazing.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Also, a little secret.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: I tested bringing back my mastermind for the past six months for sharing this publicly with you.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: So this technically isn't new to my business.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just sharing this publicly.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I guess I'm making like a podcast official.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is that a thing?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Remember back in the day when things are MySpace official?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: My millennials know what MySpace official means.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: And if you don't understand what that means, um, I just dated myself.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: So whether you're a business leader or career leader, I am sure you will appreciate all the behind the scenes thought process on why we wanted to bring back the mastermind.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: And the new and simple name hint, it's similar to this new podcast title.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Remember, clear, get over, clever.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: All right, let's drop the beat.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, I'm Elaine Lucarthas.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a business and career coach for women of color and allies.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: LA Weekly awarded me the number one thought leader, and Apple News named me one of the top five business coaches.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Done doing the most as a woman of color or ally, and you want to create your own definition of success and happiness?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Well, grab your coffee tea or boba and let's do some business and career real talk.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Legacy leaders, I'm with your favorite, not me, Monica Schrong.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: Happy to be back.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: For those that haven't met Monica, Monica is a friend, a client, my marketing strategist.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yay.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: And amazing human.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Appreciate you.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: These are always so fun.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: So you know it, since you've been on here for a while, and I know for some people you're this first time listening to you.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Fun fact you want to share before we start this episode?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Fun fact about me.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: That I probably don't know.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: That you don't know.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, fun fact.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I used to live in LA, Lake Elaine.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And they left me.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: I did.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: I miss it so much.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: But I loved LA for all the like random things that would happen.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: So fun fact about me is that I went to a random EP release party at the satellite in Silver Lake that my friend invited me to.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I got to hang out with Tom Morello, the guitarist of Rage Against the Machine, and Chad Smith, the drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers, for the whole night.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it was super fun and wholesome, by the way.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Super wholesome.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a fun fact about me.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: I got to hang out with those two really rad dudes.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's like funny because I hear these stories, right?
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I grew up in LA.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like not to hear like a lot of people.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like we moved from Central California to LA.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: I lived in Glossal Park.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: For those of you that don't know Glassell Park, it's by Eagle Rock, where all the Filipinos live when I was like three.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I never had one of those like celebrity hanging out moments.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Why is it like in East Hollywood?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: I lived in East Hollywood.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like a lot more of celebrities walking around, you know?
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's like where it's like where the celebrities that didn't want to be Hollywood Hills or Beverly Hills celebrities or didn't have enough money to be.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's where they were hanging out.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: But don't worry.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: This episode is not about should you live or move out of LA.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's not what the episode is about.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: But I think everyone should live in LA at some point.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, that's just my opinion.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: Agreed.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Agreed.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know, let's maybe, maybe it is about that.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Side conversation though.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: I was having a conversation with one of my friends.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: She does not live here.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: She lives in Canada.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: And her Uber driver, who just moved here, by the way, was like, yeah, LA food, I would think it's diverse.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's not.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, excuse me.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: Shutting that down.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: When did she move in two months ago?
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: Where was she?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: Where did she live?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: So she was driving her from Marina Del Rey to Hollywood.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, no.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like, no.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: So this is someone who has decided not to do any like exploring at all.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: I need you to do better.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like hole in the walls.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And when people have to go to hole in the wall.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's little Armenia, there's Thai Town, there's there's little Tokyo, there's Koreatown.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like there are places named after cultures where you could go eat amazing food made by people in those cultures.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: And now that I officially live in LA again, like I could vote for LA mayor.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh my God, the diversity of food.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: Dude, the Indian food here.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: So good.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: I need to bring you when you next time we come, there's this really good, like all the Ethiopian food, so good.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: I am hungry.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Let's sorry everyone.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is a this is an eight.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Elaine's not ADHD, but I think I influenced her in this moment with my ADHD tangent.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: But we're not talking about LA food or lifestyle.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: This one is called real talk.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: We are having true real talk.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: That's this we're real talking.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: Structured and do step one, step two.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: The moral of this story is don't talk shit about LA in front of us unless you've actually done your research.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Don't do it.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Or live there forever five years.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: Anyways, this episode's kind of like an anti-thesis of episode nine.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's so long ago.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Two years ago.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Two years ago, I recorded one of my top recording podcast episodes of how I decided to end up my mastermind.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: But what are we doing now, Monica?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: We're bringing back the mastermind, baby.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: But in LA caveat in a different way.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but in LA fashion.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: With surgery and rebrand.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: Dude.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: So we're doing that, but I just want to share a funny story.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I remember I was at LAX, and then they're always doing construction in LAX, right?
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: And there was a signage that says LA people are not the only people that get reconstructed.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, woo! Wow.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: So good.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: It was hilarious.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: It was hilarious.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's funny.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm 100% natural.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: But we're bringing back the mastermind, but it's a little different.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's coming back.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: It is a little different.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: I really like how it is.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very excited for it.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: But should we talk about what it was like before?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: For people that maybe not listened to the episode two years ago or yes.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um definitely listen to episode nine.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to be right now, stop listening to this episode and listen there, but right after, maybe.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I was doing the most because I mean, not making fun, but it's just also facts.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm Asian, right?
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: Valley Dictory.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I I was taught like, hey, you do the most, you get awarded, and you do everything.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: So 2020, 2021, my business blew up, and everybody wanted to work with me, which I was really grateful for.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: Monica at the time, like started to be was that when you started to be a client?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: No, 2018, 2019?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: 2018, November 2018.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then the pandemic happened, and yeah, unfortunately, a lot of shit happened, but also my business blew up.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: But I was realizing a lot of beginning business owners wanted to start.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: And then my clients who have been with me for a while wanted more an advanced container.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: So then created two different containers, and then I had a career coaching client, and then I had my one-to-one.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: I had like five different programs.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like five different programs.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: And the way I was getting clients was constantly going live all the time, constantly on social media, taking pictures of my food, talking.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: I was annoying.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: You weren't annoying.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: I well, I I look back now because now when I see people do it in public, I'm like, oh my God, I was that person.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Now I just have videos of me fighting.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: But you were you had like five, yeah, you had like five programs.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: And when it came down to it, it got complicated to have a marketing schedule for all of them.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: One, because if you're doing if you have five programs, you're running promotions constantly.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's no way you're not constantly like marketing specific like pushes, not just like, oh, I'm all year round, which you were technically.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: You didn't have a closed door program, but it's like you had to remind people about five programs, which was a lot of work.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then when it came to explaining it to people once they came into the fold, it's almost like they had too many options, I would say.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah in a way.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: It was like hometown buffet, where it's too much.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's too much versus like in and out.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like come on up from Ellie.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know I was gonna do it in and out.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: I do the same thing.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: They sorry.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so sorry.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: I realize you are vegan.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: I apologize for being this conversation.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: But like, you know, you go to in and out, it's like a number one hamburger, number two, cheeseburger, number three, double double.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: And and I just couldn't do it anymore.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: It just overwhelms me.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: But we were looking at our marketing stats and data from last year, and we were realizing trends that was happening and also what type of clients.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I would kind of want to use also Monica as a little marketing strategy session that's being recorded in podcast episode.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: But what did you notice, Monica, when we were looking at the data and stats?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, what I noticed is I mean, your career and business clients were starting to kind of like even out, like balance like half.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't like so much you had mostly business owners and then like one or two career clients on the side.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: They were starting to kind of balance out.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we were we were seeing that it's not as biased towards businesses anymore.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then we were also noticing that a lot of people come to the calls, the office hour calls, including my office hours and other people's office hours.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: And these are a mix of your clients that not just business career, and they're still getting like the same out of it or even more because they're able to kind of like help people, even business owners who have been in corporations or in organizations can relate to what people in their careers are going through, getting the feedback from people who aren't doing the exact same thing as you are.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that was really important that we realized when we wanted to like change this and bring the mastermind back that it's so valuable to learn from other people who aren't doing exactly what you're doing.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's so valuable and maybe even more insightful because they're not doing the exact same thing.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so we wanted to simplify it, just like how we just changed the name of this podcast.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: So the name of the mastermind, it's called Business and Career Mastermind.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: How simple.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: How easy.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: But you're not gonna forget it.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a clever name that you're gonna forget.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: We always say clear over clever all the time.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I love to be clever, so it's hard for me sometimes.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, and it's very obvious what it means.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: So obvious.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: What does business and career mastermind mean?
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: People who have a business or career.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: But the difference this time around is that these are leaders, they're experienced and advanced in their own career, whether they're direct, manager, director, and above in their own careers, or if they have their own business.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: And Monica and I, we always talk about my clients, but like we love like the clients I'm working with right now, like they have team members, which was different two years ago or three years ago.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: A little more like beginner.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I think also we paid attention to the trends.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not like we really made a mistake when we got rid of the mastermind.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like it just kind of made sense.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like you were starting to get folks who weren't as beginner, and so you had the mastermind who were was more beginner, and then the inner circle, who was more like intermediate or expert or advanced.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Just more time, more experience that they'd been in business.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: So you had these two groups that made sense then, but also you started getting more intermediate and advanced people, which is what you wanted, like that's who you wanted to work with.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then we noticed like a trend that mastermind the like the term was really oversaturated at the moment.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was part of it too.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: So we were like, oh, let's do inner circle.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: People are really liking that.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: And now we see a trend where it's like inner circle and other like group names like that are becoming less recognizable and mastermind is coming back around and it's in less saturated.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I think like the the online business world, the business coaching world has kind of balanced out a little bit.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it like feels good and it's making more sense like SEO-wise for us to go with mastermind.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and that's what we did too.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: We looked at SEO, and I remember one month when I saw I'm like, oh, people are looking for a mastermind.
• 13:57
  unknown: Yeah.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: And at the time it was called Collier Dreams Inner.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, let me change it to Mastermind.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: So we changed the name again without announcing it officially.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: We called it the Collier Dreams Mastermind.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: But here's what I want our listeners to know this isn't like, oh, they are marketing this and it's brand new.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: Well, actually, I started this back in June where I combined it both.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: So what I want people to hear is that I've already experimented with this for half a year combining both my business and career coaching clients together, going to office hours.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: The commonality that both my business coaching clients and my career coaching clients is yes, they're leaders, but also they have that shared experience of being one, a woman of color or two allies.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a great point too.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And always as a reminder from like my position as a marketing strategist, none of these decisions are made like hastily.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like we No, they weren't.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: They were very intentional.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, these are patterns that we recognize, not something that happened once.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: So we like freaked out a little bit and changed it.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's definitely not a way to test anything.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like you want to do these smaller increments.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Can you see you can see if things are actually working or trending in this direction and just paying attention for like three to six months or even longer?
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: So great point.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely not something we were like, oh my God, people are searching for basterminds all of a sudden.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to change the name.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no, no, no.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: It was just like, let's see how this goes for a little while.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let's see if these groups kind of mixing together still was valuable to them.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: And once we knew that, it was kind of a no-brainer.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think what solidified it too is that when we're recording this, it's like a week after we renamed our podcast.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Yeah, shit, the SEO worked so well.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: We were number one on Apple and Spotify.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we need to change the SEO for our mastermind.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: And also, I will announce we're also changing the SEO or the name for our newsletter, where it's gonna be called Business and Cur Diaries.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: And the reason why we're adding the word diaries is because it has that Zhangin Live Journal feel, which as us millennials, we love the blogs.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: And blogs are trending again.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: And they are, yeah, absolutely.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: And if you look at the biggest thing, 90s are back.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Well, 2000s, 2000s, early 2000s.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: Anyways, as you're saying, late 90s, early 2000s.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's also the the like consistency of the brand, right?
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because we we're we're seeing the success of the SEO and the podcast.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's like, okay, well, to keep this brand cohesive, we're gonna like build that into the rest of the programs because that's what makes the most sense.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's more recognizable, it's more cohesive.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that way it's like we tested that theory on the podcast, and now we can confidently use business and career everywhere else.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: And for our listeners who whether they are running their own department in their career or in their business, and you know, we're having this come out at the beginning of the year, what advice or tips do you have for them as they're analyzing things and making decisions for the new year?
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, looking for patterns is a big one, right?
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like I think that's the biggest thing.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, even if it's qualitative, like a lot of the times, like you'll do surveys and you'll get open-ended survey like question answers.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: And even there, you can what I always do is I pull them out and I look for the patterns.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like a lot of the times you have like a majority of people saying a similar thing.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where you really kind of want to like give your attention to.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's whatever, whatever like collection you can do of information just from the folks, even if you were just to kind of like survey the people in your department.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like you were saying, if you're a manager or a leader, kind of like surveying people in your department, however, makes sense for you.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: If it's anonymous, I don't know if that's like, you know, it depends on the size of your department, whatever makes the most sense, or asking questions of people, being open to feedback.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: That way you can see patterns in your team and how people are feeling.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's just however you um, you know, get information from your audience or your team or whatever, get that information.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: Or if you have this like backlog of information, like I always tell my clients that have their own businesses that if you have an intake form that asks where people found you or any really relevant information like that, look however far back you can.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: And if you see that people are finding you on Instagram or they're finding you on YouTube, or they're finding you through the same referral website over and over again, that's where you need to like put your more of your attention and do less on these other marketing channels that aren't actually getting you conversions.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's really just looking for the patterns and any of the data and the research you have available to yourself for as far back as you can look at it.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I even want to share, like one of my clients, I was on a call with her earlier today.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: And she's like, hey, these two people that are part of my membership is asking for like private sessions now.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, okay, great.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's a trend.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: If you notice that, I would send a blast email to all of your current and past clients, letting them know that you have one-to-one spots available.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: She's like, oh my God, that's really it.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a reminder, like, look at trends that are happening right now in your business.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: Because if two people are asking, yeah, that means more people are curious about the same question.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's true.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: The amount of people that are actually assertive enough to ask is like way less than the people who are probably wondering, but are like, uh, I don't know if I should ask or afraid to ask or whatever.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: But it just it feels so good to know that I have the mastermind and one-to-one coaching, whether it's business or career, that's it.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: Two different two services.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: That's so good.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember one of the things I was talking to you about, because looking at data and numbers, I know that I don't want to say Ivy League, but like comparing it to like a liberal arts school.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: I want to work, I want to be known for like my high-touch relationships.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we have a wonderful relationship.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: Me and Monica are constantly sending each other memes.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm just a work relationship.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: But I want to have like that deep relationship with my clients as well as my team members, like you, Monica.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: All my clients love you.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: Where it's like, Monica, I just want to say work with 24 clients.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: So do you know how easy it is to just say, I work, we work with 24 clients at one time, either one-to-one or through my mastermind where you get one-to-one coaching time with us.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Easy.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Simple.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, super simple.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then we see like how we want that divided up, you know, or or does it matter?
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: We just, you know, reverse engineer from that goal.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the biggest thing too, is just have a goal.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to reverse engineer from that goal.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think we've talked about this before is like having a goal and wanting to make a certain income, but then not doing the math around what that'll take.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then you actually don't have enough hours in a day to make the type of income you want because your prices too are too low, or that's too many clients that you can take on, which is usually due to your prices being too low.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: So in all transparency, my bookkeeper of all finance, Harkin Corey yelled at my ass.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, your profit margins aren't as strong.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like what happened?
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh shit, I forgot.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: I hired new coaches and I did this retreat and I didn't keep that in mind.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: But then I was also mindful, not just money in terms of time.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: So one of the things in the mastermind is you're guaranteed a six.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're gonna have like a monthly one-to-one with me.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: And then there's office hours I do twice a month for two for about three hours.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Well, 90 minutes for each of them.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: So 24 clients plus three, 27 hours of calls a month.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: A month, not a week, a month.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: A month.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: I know you're looking at me like crazy because Monica's like an interview, like, oh no, that's no.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: 27 a month, that's not a lot.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's not a lot for me.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I get to do my Thai still.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like if a full-time job, you're in way more calls a week, a month than that.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe like two weeks, you're in 2006.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think you knew that.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: But when we started working together, if you remember back in 2018 and you were my client, like I was doing 50.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: So many calls.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: I was fucking crazy.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: I was in my twenties.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I had a lot of energy.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: I was in my twenties.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: I was not in my 20s when we started working together.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: Late 20s, late 20s.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: I apologize.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: Let's be clear.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: Not 21.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: I was in my early 30s.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: I was in my Saturn's return.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I think like 28, 29.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: But you're figuring it out.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: You're figuring it out.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: But it just feels so good.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: And with that, like now that we work backwards, like I just want to do 25 hours of calls a month.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then figuring out the price point.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, I even had a conversation with Monica.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's not going to be happening like soon within a year, but I even told Monica, like, hey, in a year or two, when I'm like popping out a baby, like I'm going to need you.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like handle it.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then here.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm not popping out a baby.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm also saying this recorded because I have evidence that Monica.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: You have witnesses.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Monica told Elaine.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: This is recorded podcast episode number.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: Monica, you said you're going to do coaching sessions and I pay you more for this for my comments.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here for it.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: We can do it in writing right now.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here for it.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: But going back to the mastermind, we were even debating timing.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like that was hard for me personally because I was just like, oh, it was so easy to convert a lot of three month people.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: But oh yeah.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: No, but they're not getting the results.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's an integrity thing, right?
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like yeah.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: People are more likely to sign on for three months over six because of the investment.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: But like we know that six months is the timeline that people actually start seeing results.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: So if we're if we're selling people's breeds, yeah.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Then they're not going to come back because they're not going to see the results because we know exactly unlikely to happen.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: And that's that's exactly what happened when I was looking at my data.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, a lot of my three-month clients are not renewing.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like before when I had my mastermind for a full year, people would renew like another year or another six months.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, okay, six months is a sweet spot.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: We'll do, we'll still have a year.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was six when I started working with you.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, it was six, and then I increased it to a year.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: But we you and I were debating should we do six months or a year for this mastermind?
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: We said six because the transparency, the economy right now, it's hard to commit for a full year.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Committing to a year is hard.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then three months was not enough time for people to see significant results.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: So we landed on six.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that feels good.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I would, but you know, because of me, because of what I know, if someone was like, I'll get your results in 90 days, first of all, I'd be like, what results?
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: And second of all, I would be like, I'd probably be sus.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: Cause I'm like, how are you gonna get me like 90 days is not a long time.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: I am a millennial.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: What the hell does sus mean?
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, come on, man.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's not even.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's suspect.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a millennial.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm what I'm older than you.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Apparent.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: All right, go ahead and school me.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know these terms.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Sus means it's like suspect.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's like we okay.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry I don't speak slang.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: Continue.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my God.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: This has to be in the clip.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: This has to be a clip.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: No, I'd be like sus suspect of this person who is like, promise me all these results in in 90 days, because that's like not enough time.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they don't even know where I'm at in my business.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: They don't know how long it would take for me to get results.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I think integrity-wise, it's a good place to be.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: And understanding that, like, yeah, this is not a time that people will probably be able to commit 12 months.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I was talking to one of my clients who has gotten amazing results in three months because that's what they signed up for.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I want to get your thoughts if I were to do this six months, like minimum, because I really want long-term results.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: And she's just like, yeah, like I know it's easy for me to say yes to you because it's three months, it's a lower price point, but like I get what you mean.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like our contract's about to end and I don't want it to end when I already see momentum happening.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it would just be easier.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: And now they have to make a decision instead of just being like, oh, great, we're halfway through and I'm getting some momentum.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: And then we're doing a disservice.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, focus on the dollar as opposed to like what do our clients really need?
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: And let's be real, it's like, it's like when I I'm a service provider.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: So it's always Yeah, what do you do, Monica?
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: I apologize.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I know I said it earlier, but for those of you that just met Monica on this episode, you know, I just learned sus.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I learned so much from this episode.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I do marketing strategy and copywriting, which consists of I do custom proposals, so it can be a lot of things, but generally I do a lot of marketing consulting packages, and then also email marketing is my big one.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then I do consult on social media.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: So it's copywriting, it's a lot of sales pages and websites.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I write and I do marketing, a real like holistic strategy.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: But as like a service provider, I've noticed over the years, it's always the clients who are paying you the least that expect you expect the most.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like always.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I have at this point, too.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's why at this point I'm just I'm very selective about who I discounts my services for or who I do pro bono services for.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because to me, it has to like I just have to really feel like there's going to be that.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I know how much like the exchange usually is for this, and I respect that.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because a lot of the times people don't.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like, I think sometimes there's that like that energy of like, I need to get these results in three months because that's all I signed up for.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: So it's this very like kind of hectic, like I don't want it's not desperate necessarily, but it just has that like desperate edge where it's like, I need to get results before three months because I'm not, I don't want to spend more money.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: Which I understand, but it's also when you're thinking about your packages, you you want to acknowledge that that might happen, and maybe that's not actually the like container you want to create for people.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: Have the the data already that says it's unlikely.
• 28:04
  unknown: Yeah.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: Legacy leader.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: I know what you're thinking.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Elaine, you have such good stuff here.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: I want more.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: So if you want more tips and advice for your business career in life, sign up for my gifts and gifts newsletter at elenelew.com forward slash join.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: That's J-O-I-N.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: And here's three things you'll get when you join, because I'm like Santa Claus.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: I love giving.
• 28:31
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• 28:33
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• 28:37
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• 28:39
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• 28:42
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• 28:47
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• 28:49
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• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: My gifts and gifts newsletter is like an up-to-date diary.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: Think Zenga or Life Journal for my fellow millennials, where I share vulnerable stories, relatable mistakes, and important life tips like what to watch on Netflix.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like when's the next Bridgerton season?
• 29:11
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• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: That's J-O-I-N.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: All right, let's get back to the episode.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I hired you.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: When did I hire you?
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: A year ago or two?
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe two years ago.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: Two years ago.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: It was when you started the podcast.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: When I started the podcast January.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: So when I recorded episode nine, why I'm ending the mastermind, that was in March.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: So two years ago, right?
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I knew, like working with you, that I wasn't gonna see fast results.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: The reason why I decided to work with Monica is because I already saw the writing on the wall.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: I knew that everyone was gonna burn burn out with social media and online.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that was what my business was heavily reliant on on social media, me being constantly on.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't want that.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's why I made a podcast because I'm hiding behind the screen.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: And we're not fully recording this.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just gonna show a little clip of it.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: And like we knew it was a long-term, like we entered the like the agreement knowing this was long-term strategy.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: And we've like started on like a smaller package too.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't like, oh, let's spend a bunch of money up front when we know this is gonna be a like a long-term strategy and is gonna take some time to see the results and cleaning up in your list, your email list health and cleaning all that up.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: I told you in advance that that was gonna take some time.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: And then it took us, I mean, like what March of No, not even March of last year.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: Two years ago is when we ended the mastermind.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so two years we worked, but two years ago we ended the mastermind.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm looking at my data right now.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: And then we realized like two years later, like, hey, let's bring it back and combine it.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: By looking at data and also depending, and that's actually the goal for the mastermind.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like, actually, I wrote it.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: See, we're still we're still brainstorming here.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we're updating the sales page.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I also want to share, I like change the copy of my website once a year.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we clean it up.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I was just gonna say, too, like, based on like changing the copy and the like, so like two years of us figuring out now we've gotten to this point of the business and career, like what we've named the podcast and the mastermind.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: This ain't over.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: And the newsletter and the newsletter.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: That was the other thing.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: So brand messaging is something you have to test for a while.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: So we've been testing this, I want to say the same brand messaging that we rewrote two years ago for these two years, have tweaked it along the way, are now getting very clear on who you're attracting, who you want to attract, and what like SEO and what marketing strategies are working for them.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: And like, yeah, companies do this consistently, but also it takes years, and it's not that you can't make money before, but if you're looking at like long-term sustainable strategies that you don't have to put so much like in the moment being on all the time effort in, and you can still like sign off and like do your thing, this stuff takes time.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like it just long-term sustainable strategies.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't even share this with you, but while I was talking to you, because Monica was delaying when we were gonna hit record because Monica's partner was in the restroom.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: And the doors right here.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I was like, Oh, I gotta wait.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Monica was like entertaining, was like, why can't we hit record yet?
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: And Tom comes out, I was like, Oh, number two, bro.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_01: I had to give him some time.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but I didn't tell you this.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: But literally, when that happened, I just got an email from someone who wants to pay me to speak for two hours for$5,000.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: Guess how they found me?
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_01: They do they Googled what because I have no idea who this is.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, Can you speak for our our group for women?
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, Yeah.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sure.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: Is it a cra is it a career or is it business?
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_01: Career.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: Career.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: But see, that was that that's been a common theme, right?
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_01: Business and coach.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_01: And that came from your first, okay.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: So everyone, Elaine's like first title was that you're what?
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: An like an coach?
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: Assertiveness career coach.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: Assertive career, yeah.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: Literally, they use the word assertive.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, can you guys speak on negotiating and how to be assertive?
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: Not even kidding.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like the evolutions, the evolutions in just five years.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not, and again, you want to test stuff, so we're not saying be hasty and just change things all the time.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: But over five years, like the evolution has been like we've looked at the data.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because even we would talk about it even when I was your client, too.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like it wasn't like because we've I've like been through this whole thing with you, right?
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: Regardless of what side of it I was on.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: But it's like the evolution, the the actual, like how honed in we are now versus then.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: But you started just by seeing, like, oh, I see this like gap and I'm gonna like go for it, which is great because that's how you have to start something.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: There's no, yeah, there's like overthinking it and trying to create the perfect thing before you start.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: And y'all, I'm like, I can relate in some ways.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: I am very much a like jump in kind of person, but sometimes I think it's because I was in like manic states when I was bipolar and I was like, fuck it.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think that was like helping me.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: But you really do have to just see a gap and see if and like jump into it and see if it works, and then you evolve over time.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: You're not going to create this perfect brand with these perfect strategies and get it right on the first try.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: No, no one does.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no one does.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: No, because you don't have data.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, what's funny is so I was like a sort of career coach.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: That was like my first title.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then I noticed as I was collaborating with other coaches, specifically women of color coming to me.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't the observation that made me change the title to WC Business and Career Coach.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, I asked people like, hey, why did you want to work with me?
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: I was looking for a woman of color coach.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh, interesting.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_01: But going back to what you're saying, curiosity.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_02: Huh?
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: They're looking for me.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: And some people said they were looking for me through Instagram.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, huh.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: What if I try this on Google?
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: So we did.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: And then WC business and career coach has been keywords that have been used.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then that's why we were talking about the podcast.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like, let's try it.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh shit, it's a session.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: Shit, we should change a whole thing.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_01: Let's change a mastermind.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_01: Let's change a like it was just oh my gosh, this is all working.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just really nice and simple.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's so it's so satisfying to see patience and I know and data and uh things like pay off, you know.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_01: I know what's Monica, you're sure it's oh my gosh.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: I know, it's wild.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, I think you heard it here first.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: I know it's being recorded, just like how I told Monica she's taking on whenever that time comes when I have a kid.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: But that's the unfortunate thing, though, with social media is the instant gratification.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_01: People are thinking, no, I need 10,000 followers overnight.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_01: How come not getting likes and comments?
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: How come I'm not a millionaire in three months or whatever the fuck they see the on the Facebook ads, you know?
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Elaine and I were around when that was actually possible.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a beautiful time.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: It was a beautiful time that posts were chronological, and there weren't even really ads on Instagram and you know, and you could build a following just organically because you had good content, you know.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: It was a great time and I really miss it.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: But now that's not the case.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: So you're not gonna build a business on social media, you know.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: There are other things like TikTok for young people is their new SEO.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, maybe TikTok is a place that you're going to do that.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: And mind you, we did have a conversation about this in our last call.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Monica, like SEO should I consider TikTok?
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: We're like, no, but what I'll say it here.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: We're like, actually, let's try YouTube short.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: That makes more sense for your demographic.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: And also they don't know what sus is.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_00: And look at calling me out.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: Jeez.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: No, but seriously, we were like, okay, with the demographic we're we're going for, where they where we like typically want them to be in their business or career, and that's who you help the most.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: There are trends in what the ages are.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: YouTube was a better choice.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: YouTube is the SEO of our generation.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's where our generation is hanging out because we were here for the beginning of show up, millennial.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_01: Go up on my YouTube channel.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: YouTube subscribe.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: Hit that follow and subscribe button.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: TikTok is not our SEO.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, so in that case, it was really easy to make that decision and be like, we're not gonna do the most and do both platforms because that doesn't make any sense.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's against our principles and the way that we do things.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: But let's try to strategically make a decision.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_01: If anything, it was let's try it.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I didn't want to do like the YouTube long form content.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I was like, let's just do the YouTube Shorts.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_01: And guess what?
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna make it really easy for me and just do the same clips I have on IG Reels over on YouTube Shorts.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, see what happens.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, a lot of people do TikTok and then they reuse all that content.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because TikTok, you know, those trends get to Instagram late, and then that stuff is relevant again.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's not like it's different people.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm definitely not a TikTok user like a lot of people.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'll log on sometimes and look at some stuff, but I'm seeing trends when they're already out like outdated because I'm seeing them on Instagram.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's how I'm getting content.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: So which is fine because that I'm a different demographic, so it's like it's totally fine.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's when I know the trends are happening, not before.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and I think about like my ideal client, because I am my my own ideal client, and I didn't even share this with you, but that's another conversation.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know what happened before I had to end something, but yeah, I did find like a new certification program.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm working with Center for Executive Coaching because I'm getting more like peers and executives.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but and they have their SEO like on point.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_01: But I want it, I want to become a better coach because I just do, obviously.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I was watching their YouTube videos, even though they have barely any following, but I was researching.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, okay, if this is what I'm doing, I know other people are doing it.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not even like the beautiful graphics of why my clients decide to work with me.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like I have no makeup on while doing this YouTube, YouTube, this podcast.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's they want to know the depth.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_01: They want to know that they're gonna get results.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_01: And see, I'm I wasn't even showing Monica like the edited, or I'm working on the sales page, but it's like a business and career leadership mastermind to help women of color and allies go from not having a life outside of their career and business to having one in six months.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: So simple.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: So simple.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: Who it's for, what the challenge is, what the outcome is, and then the timeline, which is amazing.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think what I think what I want all of you to hear too is that we're just getting to know our audience more.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do you get to know your audience more?
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_01: Pay attention to what's happening.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to them, give them opportunities to tell you.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's not like you can't listen if you're not asking.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: So give them opportunities.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_01: And if you don't have like a survey, when I get on calls with people interested in working with me, I'm like, hey, how'd you find me?
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: What made you want to work with me?
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, just ask casually asking your client who said two people had asked to do one-on-one sessions.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: I would have been like, send an email out to everyone in your program and at like be like, hey, would you be interested in that?
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly what I told her.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like you don't have to do a whole thing, just ask people, and when they say yes, just give them the link where they pay and schedule.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like it doesn't have to be a big promo.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can just be a question, you know?
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_01: Monica, what is one takeaway that you would want people to have?
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good question.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm having trouble thinking of one right now.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: I I think you know what?
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes we get caught up on what we think should be happening based on what we see.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I think asking yourself, what would yeah, like what like business model would make you the happiest?
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself that question.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and that could mean like what Elaine's saying.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I have this many one-on-one clients and this many in a group program.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: Or for me, it's like I would love at the end of the day to have five consulting clients and I never do any more implementation.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like, if that's what I want eventually, then it's like doing those small things over time to get there, right?
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like ask yourself how like what do you think would make yourself the most happy when it comes to a business model?
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think if you have your own business, I know we're not I'm not talking about career people at this point, so you could probably speak to them, but like you need to know where you want to go to know how to get there.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like I am just an annoying parent because this question comes from all my podcast episodes.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_01: Was like, what do you want in your life?
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_01: And also acknowledge that you're in a different chapter.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're older, like, so it might be a lot different from even not just five or ten years ago, but even a year ago, what you want in your life.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: 100.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I can tell you right now from what I wanted like a year and a half ago.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's so different.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and I mean, the unfortunate thing as we've gotten older, but Monica and I have gone through like people who are transitioning or that have past that we know in our life, and that changes perspective of like.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: That changes perspective on what you want to be doing on a daily basis.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_01: And like, for example, I got a message, a friend invited me to like this meetup.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I know five years ago, Elaine would be like, sure, let's go.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm like, I want to have dinner with my boyfriend.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_00: Is that what I really want tonight?
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like I I don't need to do that.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_01: I don't need to be constantly on.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_01: So what do you want in your life?
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: And that includes for a career, my like if you're a career leader, director and above.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because I mean, especially now, because now we have there's options, right?
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_00: Even to the smallest, this is not a small detail, but even to do you want to work in an office?
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want to be hybrid or do you want to be totally remote?
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this is a question for your career.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you work in a place where they're making you come into the office and you're like, that's not where I want to be in my life, then that's a question, right?
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_00: How do you want your career to be set up?
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like, for example, I have a client who thankfully is leaving.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: She found a new job that is paying her a lot more.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's leaving a very toxic work environment where they like email post 5 p.m.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_01: on the weekends during vacations.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_01: There's this like need to work.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it was interesting because she was about to negotiate via email, like on salary negotiation.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I told her it's 7:30 p.m.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_01: Do not send the email, schedule it out tomorrow at 8 45 because you're setting boundaries now.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_01: You're setting boundaries now.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then she was like, it was so nice because the hiring manager didn't get back to me because she was on vacation.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, perfect.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's perfect.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, so it's not just for business owners, but it's like you want a job where you don't feel the need to have to work on vacation.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_01: That should be one of your dream lists.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_01: And if it's not, have that conversation with your work.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like, hey, like, I'm gonna be on vacation.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: There's a work culture of responding via vacation.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to do that.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not even bring my laptop.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for me, when I'm thinking about, because you know, having my own business, I don't work a nine to five.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_00: I actually have very like erratic hours that I like to work.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how I like to work.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like sometimes a Saturday or Sunday is when I feel most productive.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I will work because that's when it is.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_00: But if I'm doing something at three o'clock on a Sunday and I'm like answering emails, like in my mind, like I'm thinking, would someone want to get this email on a Sunday?
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no, I'm going to schedule it for a Monday morning, probably super early.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_00: So it's in their inbox when they get in there.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_00: But it's like maybe they have notifications on their phone for emails.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't because I do not want to see what comes to my email at any moment in time, only when I check it.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't want to send some email to someone that's on Sunday at 3 p.m., you know, asking for something or giving whatever, and they're enjoying their Sunday and it pops up and then they get like stressed, you know, not that I'm my emails are stressing people out, but emails stress us out because they require something of us a lot of the time.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I think for me, it's not just my boundaries.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think about the other person and I'm like, would I want to get an email at 8 p.m., 9 p.m.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: at night?
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: Most of the time the answer is no.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_00: So let me schedule this for the next day, unless I know that they want it ASAP.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm typing if you hear heard that in the background, because Monica has a beautiful like signature line at the end of all of their emails.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna read out loud.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_01: Is that cool?
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm asking.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it's my version of a signature line or two lines that I that was presented to me in a trauma informed spaceholding workshop.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it is your line, so do you want to read it or can I read it?
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you can read it.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's it's award show season, so I feel like I have to like try to interchannel Monica right now.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, the signature is before business owners, we are humans.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_01: I strive to put people over productivity and honor boundaries.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_01: If you're getting this email in a time of rest or can't address it, I want you to know that I respect your boundaries, time and energy.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_01: Don't feel you have to respond to this immediately or on any timetable that doesn't honor your humanity.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_01: Did anyone Oscar for that?
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_01: Did I?
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_01: That was really good.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_01: I would have stumbled.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_00: I know I would have.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_00: You didn't stumble at all.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: I would have been like, blah blah.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: Those are Bonaka's words, not mine.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: Blah la la la.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_00: And when people are like, I love it, I'm like, copy and paste it.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_00: I don't care.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like put it in your like email signature.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: I want as many people to do it as possible.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because you know what's funny is I think sometimes people would be like, but then no one's ever gonna respond to me.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not true.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think people just feel the like they can like exhale after seeing that.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I've never had any, like, I've never had any problem with people just like taking forever to respond.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like that, like, oh, I don't have to email back immediately.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like they don't even expect it.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's just relieving, you know?
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_01: I always have to remind my clients and myself, like, I'm sorry, people are not thinking about you all the time.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: I actively do not answer emails immediately out of like their principle now.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, even if I have an answer right then, I'm like, I'm gonna wait.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because I don't, I don't want people to expect for me to answer so speedy every time.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're setting those expectations, they're gonna pretend they're gonna act like something's wrong when you're not acting that way, which isn't the case, you know?
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's like being really intentional.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, set those boundaries now.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, I got a new client recently and they were like, oh my God, I forgot to put you on this like calendar invite.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_00: Can you hop on right now?
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I can't actually.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and I even if I honestly, even if I could, and I think I could have, but I was like, no, that's not a precedent that I want to set with a client.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_00: So no, you gotta invite me like in advance.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_01: Damn, I can't just invite you to a 2 a.m.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_00: conline right now.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and if you have your own business, it's really important.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like I just did a new thing and Elaine, I don't even think I've told you this because I've done many projects where I'm working hourly because sometimes that just makes the most sense.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't do it if I don't need to do it, but sometimes an hourly project is what makes the most sense.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I've noticed in the past that like sometimes people drag out projects and it's not necessarily because of anything, it's just they don't have time to look at things, and then it's been a week, and then it's been two weeks, and then the project doesn't end for two months instead of two weeks, and I don't get paid until the project ends.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm done with that because I've done a lot of work already, right?
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_00: So my new policy is I I bill for hourly work every two weeks, and you pay me for what I've done.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_00: So that's my new policy because I'm like, yeah.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: Monica, I'm getting too much.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 48:38
  unknown: Yeah.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is really sexy.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: Why should I wait for money for work I did two months ago?
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm not doing that.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that's my new policy.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't learn it from anyone, I just made it up.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully people will be okay with it.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_00: But I think they will because I'm not gonna ask them, I'm gonna tell them.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's what it is.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's so good.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'll I'll report back on that, but I'm sure it'll be great.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and that type of boundary though, has your audience respect you.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_00: Even more.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm gonna get paid for the work I've already done, like in a timely manner.
• 49:09
  unknown: Yeah.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, for both of us, I know we have forms.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like I have forms and people schedule an introductory call with me if they're interested in working with me.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're interested in working with us, you go to elanelew.com forward slash call.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_01: But if people don't fill out the form within 24 hours, I cancel the call.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_01: And if you do fill out the form and you answer it, and so for example, I didn't even tell you this yesterday.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_01: I had someone filled out the form.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, why do you want to work with me?
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_01: Because I I actually am looking for collaboration.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_01: I can help bring$10,000 more per month in your business.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, What?
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_01: So they're clearly.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_01: And then so I I like canceled a call, like, hey, I read your form, we're not looking for collaboration.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I've canceled this call.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like, my answer back?
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_01: No, they didn't.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_01: No, they respected that.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_01: But because of the form, I even canceled four other calls.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like I am just very we work with 24 clients at one time.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_01: And we get to choose who we work with.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's not because I'm just gonna willing to take money everyone and anyone.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_01: And not just money, but energy.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's energy, yeah.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_01: And when I'm not meant for everybody, no.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I will now when I see a budget that the deliverables exponentially would cost more money than their budget, I'm like, no, I'm not even like because you didn't even take the time to see what the industry like averages to pay for these things.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you're just saying I have this much money and you actually don't care how much work it is for the person you're trying to like contract.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_00: You don't care how much work it is.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's what that's telling me.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you don't value our time or our skills.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_00: So that's where I'm at now.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_01: Look, I mean, going back to why we decided to bring back the mastermind and simplify our business, it's actually what do you want out of your life and setting those boundaries?
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's what all these boundaries are.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's never too late to set boundaries.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_01: No, never ever.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_01: And it's still constantly learning from it.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_01: But for those of you listening, as you know, we brought the mastermind back in a new Pokemon form.
• 51:18
  unknown: Yeah.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_01: I would love for you to share how this mastermind is different.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_01: One and two, even your experience when you worked with me in this mastermind.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think, like you were saying, or like I was saying earlier, I really like that some mix of career and business.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_00: Cause I think there's something valuable to learn from everyone.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I also really like that there are group containers as well as one-on-ones with you.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think, you know, a lot of times people will come to my office hours for marketing and messaging.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_01: How often do you do office hours for how long?
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for an hour.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_01: Monica once a month.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_00: And they're really good sessions.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_00: And people, we make sure everyone gets like a turn to be to get like, you know, one-on-one advice from from me.
• 52:08
  SPEAKER_00: But also there's, you know, I always ask if anyone else has to add because like so many people have the experiences of their own experiences and what they see and what they like.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_00: But my point is that a lot of times people won't have something to bring to the table necessarily, but they say, like, oh, I'm just here to listen because I always learn something from other people's questions.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, or it spurs a question in their mind once they've already, like, you know, been there.
• 52:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I think like what I love about it is the mix of folks, what they're doing in their businesses or careers.
• 52:37
  SPEAKER_00: I also love how everyone really is like wants to be intentional about how they set those things up.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's just like a really good opportunity to learn from a lot of people.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_00: And you have opportunities with not just Elaine, even though you get one-on-one with Elaine and two office hours, which is really important because we know a lot of coaches will just like outsource that work and you don't.
• 52:57
  SPEAKER_00: And you also get all these other other opportunities with other coaches that Elaine thinks brings a lot of value.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think having all those things together is just a really good opportunity.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_01: And for those that know, we have someone that does systems and operations.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_01: I have someone that comes in that does intuitive guidance.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it's very holistic.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_01: And then we have our retreats.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that was something else we simplified.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_01: I used to do monthly events.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_01: We just do two retreats a year.
• 53:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 53:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: Really intentional.
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_00: Shorter now.
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's just everything's really intentional, and the containers are very like they give space for people in those.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's not too like packed, but it also like is short enough that people can get a lot out of it, but aren't just feeling like they're like dragging on several days and are tired and need to get back to their lives and whatever, whatever.
• 53:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I will say the first retreat I had with both business and career coaching clients was the one last year.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I tested so fun before.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_01: It was.
• 53:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was super cool.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm really curious because you've known me for a while.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_01: How have my clients evolved?
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_01: How is it different now versus before?
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 53:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and this is like this is not a negative thing.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_00: I just like I said, I like the I like having a mix of, you know, what people are doing because it just really like is there's a lot of variety and a lot of diversity and experience there, but a lot less of your clients are coaches.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_00: I which I like it.
• 54:18
  SPEAKER_01: No, I which I like.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Monica and I had another call where she was like, I cannot work with coaches.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_00: You're the only exception.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, most of the time.
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, I think I like variety a lot.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I like about your group now is, you know, and not only are there people doing different things, like there are people who like use the services that someone's offering.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_00: So you get all this feedback.
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have like a like a echo chamber of everyone being coaches, you're not getting a lot of variety, and you're not getting a lot of like outside advice or experience or you know, value.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I like about.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you can check out the mastermind at elanelew.com forward slash mastermind.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_01: A and Monica, if people just want you all to themselves, yeah.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_01: How can they contact you?
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_00: And what does that mean?
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_00: What does it mean?
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, you can go to monicashrock.com and the homepage will have you choose your own adventure.
• 55:18
  SPEAKER_00: So just go to the homepage and see see where you land.
• 55:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'll put Monica's website on the show notes.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_01: And oh, I always ask this, but why have you what have you loved about my coaching?
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_01: For those of you that are possibly interested in working with me.
• 55:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think what I love about your coaching is I've said before, just like kind of Because you don't like coaches, because that's what we learned five minutes ago.
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I do, yeah, I'm nice.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_00: I guess that's another episode.
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_00: I do.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_00: I do love coaches.
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um and also I think there's a lot of other like valuable service providers.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's like a there, there I have opinions and we have another episode on it.
• 56:00
  SPEAKER_00: But like I think about your coaching specifically, I've always loved how supportive you are in like not pushing people to do things that they don't want to do.
• 56:09
  SPEAKER_00: Cause sometimes it's like, no, this is the thing that coaches do and you need to do it.
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_00: You've never been like that.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I think also just being really like, I don't know, just flowing with like how people's lives change.
• 56:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like we were saying, like things change year to year.
• 56:21
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's five years, maybe it's every year.
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_00: You've always been really open to where I'm like, I don't think I like this anymore.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to do something else.
• 56:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like it was like, oh, I don't think I want to have clients anymore.
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think I want to work in sports.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_00: And we like did a session on how I can like start doing that.
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then I did that.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_00: And now I'm like, I actually don't want to do that.
• 56:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to get back into freelance full time, and I want to do it this way this time.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, you're never like, what are you doing?
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_00: You're all over the place.
• 56:43
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, cool, let's let's see how we can do this next evolution of what you're doing.
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's that's something I like a lot.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's so cool.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's like different Pokemon.
• 56:52
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know why this episode's not sponsored by Pokemon.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_01: I hope it is.
• 56:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's gotten popular again.
• 57:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's true.
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't be mad at it.
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_01: Monica, thank you.
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure to check out monicashock.com if you want to work with Monica.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to work with both me and Monica, you can go to elanelou.com forward slash mastermind.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's always a pleasure, Monica.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_00: Always.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_01: We'll catch you next month, right?
• 57:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_01: I hope you learned a lot about the behind the scenes of our thought process and decision making.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I didn't just talk to Monica to ask for her feedback.
• 57:32
  SPEAKER_01: I also asked for feedback from our systems and operations coach, Gabby.
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_01: I also asked for feedback from three of my clients.
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I was also thinking, what best serves my clients?
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_01: I had to take ego out the door.
• 57:48
  SPEAKER_01: I've been in business for six years, and you would think I would know how to create this perfect service, and that's it.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_01: But here's the thing: our clients change.
• 57:57
  SPEAKER_01: The economy changes, we change.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_01: And it's important to constantly be thinking what is best for our clients.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm actually recording this outro one week after I interviewed Monica.
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_01: And since I interviewed Monica, I've actually made more changes to the mastermind after seeking for feedback from my clients.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_01: We used to have this VIP day for clients that wanted to work with us for a full year.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm scrapping that.
• 58:27
  SPEAKER_01: I realized I was essentially doing what other coaches were doing, as I shared in my previous podcast episode with Jamie.
• 58:34
  SPEAKER_01: And instead, we are doing a marketing audit with Monica, a systems audit with Gabby, an ideal client audit with me for our business leaders, where we look at the past 12 months of data and provide recommendations and metrics for our clients as well.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_01: And those are individualized for each of our business owners.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_01: And for our career coaching clients, we're doing a life audit, examining all aspects of life and prioritizing what is important in their career and life.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_01: What I love about being a leader is that we're constantly learning and adapting.
• 59:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it's up to us to be self-aware to take aligned action.
• 59:16
  SPEAKER_01: So if you loved this podcast episode and you found it helpful, here are four things you can do if you feel called to do them.
• 59:27
  SPEAKER_01: If you could leave a five-star rating interview, that would mean a lot to me and my team.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_01: And each episode takes about four hours to create, one hour to prep, another 30 minutes to one hour to record, then my team spends another two hours to edit and market.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_01: And number two, because I care about accessible education, this podcast is a way for me to give back.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_01: Share this with a friend who probably needs help in simplifying their business or career.
• 1:00:05
  SPEAKER_01: Send them a personal message on why they should probably listen to this episode.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_01: Number three, don't forget to hit that follow button and subscribe button.
• 1:00:15
  SPEAKER_01: Because when you hit that, it lets the interwebs know how important this podcast is for women of color and allies like you.
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_01: And number four, if you would like to create a more sustainable and simple business or career and you want to work with me and my team, then schedule an introductory legacy, business, and career review call.
• 1:00:41
  SPEAKER_01: I only work with 24 clients at one time.
• 1:00:45
  SPEAKER_01: And to ensure all of my clients get the best results, that's why I work with a limited amount.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_01: So you can schedule the call at elaneluve.com forward slash call.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, a little bonus, one more thing.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_01: I obviously talked about the mastermind.
• 1:01:02
  SPEAKER_01: So if you want to learn more about the mastermind, go to elanelou.com forward slash mastermind.