Brave Biz Labs - 17th October

Good morning. Good morning. Can you hear me?

Yep. Can you hear me?

Yes.

How are you doing?

All right. How are you doing?

I'm good. I'm freezing. It is.

What?

It's so cold here.

What?

Like Massachusetts? But it's really freaking cold here, too.

Yeah, I bet. I mean, Berkeley tends to drop.

What. How cold is it there?

It's like, in the 40s.

Okay.

Well, I think I win. Well,

let's see. 52.

Okay. Yeah, that's pretty chilly.

That's cold.

Yeah. And you guys don't have, like, the heating systems and. And insulation the way we do.

Right? That's true.

Yeah. What are you celebrating? This.

Oh, I forgot that you were going to ask that.

Everyone does, Even my clients who work with me for forever.

What am I celebrating this week? I. I can't think of anything. Wow. I got some stuff done at work, but that doesn't really seem like something to celebrate.

I mean, so here's. Here's what I like to frame celebrations as. We tend to tie, like, celebrating to an outcome. Right. To, like, getting, like, achieving something or receiving something. Like, that's what we tend to celebrate. Only we don't celebrate along the way. Right. So, like, we don't celebrate something that was really hard. We don't celebrate making 2% of progress on something.

No, I. I think I do. I just don't think. I don't know if I made any progress on anything. I mean, so I. I.

Your.

Your advice about not putting up a bunch of samples on the website and changing the landing page, all of that. Super good advice. I'm going to put up one sample because people are. People are asking for it, but I'm blocked by. I'm blocked by the designer. Kind of been waiting all week for that. And then when that happens, I will feel like that's something to celebrate.

Yeah. Awesome. Okay, cool. But it's under progress.

I mean, I wrote the sample, but I think that was true. I think that was true last week.

Yeah.

The big thing is that because you told me I didn't have to write more samples, I didn't write more samples. That feels like something to celebrate.

Yeah, we'll celebrate that.

Awesome.

Okay.

Yeah.

And. Hi, Margaret. What are you celebrating today?

I am celebrating that one of my clients had an event last night, which I, despite holding a ticket, chose not to go to because I was too tired. But I helped her with her speech and the layout of the evening, and her goal was to make $30,000, and she made 84,000, so.

Holy.

Yeah, she did great.

So, Margaret, that's huge.

Super proud of her. And they're on a roll.

Yeah, she totally believes that.

Like, I'm. I am, like, the person who has made all of this happen. So that feels really great.

But, yeah. Yeah, like, that gets to be true.

I've helped her a lot. For sure. I've helped her a lot. She's offered me a lot to work with, and no way would she be here without.

Yeah.

So.

Yeah.

Yeah. So, like, what I want you to do today is I want you to go through, and I want you to write out all the things that she brought to the table before she worked with you. Right. Problems and skills and strengths and weaknesses and all the things. List out a couple, like, things that you worked on, not how you worked on them, but things you worked on. Like, here are the areas we worked on. And then I want you to list off what you've, like, seen in her transform. And then. And then point to. The result is, like, she went into this event hoping to raise $30,000 and raising $84,000. Holy.

Yeah. I mean, they're, like, way ahead.

Three times. Yeah, that's great.

Way ahead of what she had hoped to bring in this year. So.

Yeah. That's amazing.

Yeah.

But you see, like, when. I know, like, we all get, like, squirrely about, you know, taking credit and also talking about our clients. Right. But this is how you can do it in a way that doesn't identify her. Doesn't identify the organization.

Yeah.

Call her out for anything. And, like, you could be talking about any amount of people. Except for the number, of course.

Yeah. Well, I could just say she made three times. Almost three times as much as she set out to make. Yeah.

And then.

Is this a post or what? Where does it go?

It's a post. It's A post times 10.

Okay.

Yeah. You just. You constantly talk about this.

Okay.

Yep. Awesome.

Yeah. Cool.

I don't have anything in particular to train on today unless there's a request for something specific. And of course, we go with paid clients first. And then to everyone. Margaret, do you have any questions right off the bat?

I'm not. Yeah, sure. I mean, since. Since we're here. I had a. A strategy session. Ish. With somebody yesterday. She was referred to me by a really good friend. So it's a little. It's an interesting, you know, like, it. And nor am I at the place of, like, I don't. I don't know if I can work with this person yet, but it was just a little. It was just a Little, it was a little tricky. She's, she's retiring in a year and she's been, we see this all the time. Like the, I'm saying this so you can just file this away too. Like when we start a nonprofit and everybody's happy to volunteer at the beginning and then, you know, sometimes they remedy that sooner rather than later, but they've never remedied that at this nonprofit. And so this woman's been working for free for six years and now she's ready to retire and they have no fundraising program. And oddly enough, they actually are going to have to have, you know, a couple hundred thousand dollars to fund the organization and offer a salary to whoever they want to hire to, to replace her. So, I mean, she, she kind of understands that. And so they've reached out to see if I would work with them, but I just have this feeling like if she wanted to raise money, she would have done it in the first five years. You know, it just feels like she would like to pass off a plan rather than actually get started on having a program, a fundraising program. We, and we touched on that and I, you know, I tried to be pretty, pretty clear, but also they're not going to do it unless they get a grant. Like, they have a specific grant in mind. But anyway, you know, now they're asking for like, what would my deliverables be? So they can include that in their grant application. And it just seems, you know, and this happens to me from time to time where you start with like, oh, sometimes you have a 30 minute strategy session with somebody and they're like, great, where do I sign?

Yeah.

You know, and this is promising to be like at the other end of that. You know, they want me to talk to their board, they want me to write something up. It's all contingent on whether they're going to get a grant or, you know, to start. Starts to feel like this is a lot of work to get a client here.

Yeah. So this is not your client.

Maybe this is not my client.

This is not your client. This is not your ideal client. They don't have the funds. They're not in the position. The person that you'd be working with. You already know. You, you've just said it. You already know she wants to hand off a plan. She doesn't want to do the work. Right. You already know this is not your client. Right. Like it would for you to get this client, like you would have to kind of help them fix all this structural stuff about how they have set up their Nonprofit. Right. What I might even say is, hey, listen, like, if you do want to work with me, I can't work with you as you are now. So like, here's what it would look like to work with me. It's going to be like $50,000 and I'm going to be bringing in this person and this person and we're going to be kind of restructuring how you guys work with people. Right. Happy to give you, like you have to pay us for our time to help you with the grant first and, but like we're happy to do this because like, honestly, like you're not going to have a non profit after this. Like if you don't have someone who's going to step in and do fundraising.

She does, she understands, she certainly understands that. And I mean, and I'm not writing the grant. They are and the grant is only.

But I mean still, like the fact that you'd be doing any work to help them do the grant, you're, you would need to charge for that.

Yeah. And I mean I'm, yeah, I hear what you're saying. I don't mean to argue at all. I did say the grant is only for $6,000. And I was like, it's going to be more than that. So you guys are gonna have to come up with some money. You know, like that would, that would cover a piece of what you're asking from me. But you know, your board needs training and so I'm going to write up all the, all the things and it will probably come into, I'm going to guess, 12,010 or $12,000. Yeah, yeah, we'll see what they want to do.

Yeah. But I honestly, I wouldn't chase this. Yeah, I wouldn't.

No, I, I, she did say so. If I end up doing this, feel free to say I told you so. But she's, she's got, you know, self self owned adhd, which, you know, it's funny, some people own it in and in different ways. Right. And for her, she's like, and I might not always be easy to work with, but like I'm in charge and that's everybody else's problem. Was essentially what she was saying. I was like, okay, that's an interesting claiming of ADHD to be like, you know, you can work with me or you can fuck right off. You know, I mean.

Yeah, that was, yeah. And when I hear that, I hear someone saying I'm not coachable.

I don't know that she, we talked about, I mean there's a Person on the board who I think would end up being the main fundraiser, I don't think. I guess I just have to feel through that because. Yeah, I don't think she's. Why would she put all this work in and then retire? You know, it just doesn't. No, it doesn't check out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, so here. I know I've said this before, but I will say this until the cows come home. And I don't have any cows, so it's going to take a very, very long time. Like, the people who need us the most are often the people who are not our clients. Like, the people who are so desperate for the help that we provide are usually the people that are so far gone. They're the clients that are so far gone that there's no way our help can help them and there's no way for them to engage in our help. Right. And it hurts as someone who, like, is a helper and like, has this like, like kind of healer energy. It's like, ah, no, just. I could help you. I could help you. I, like, like, come here. I. You can be my project. I will fix you. And it never works. It never works because they need so much. We cannot provide it for them without sacrificing too much of ourselves. Right? It's usually people like, on a scale from 1 to 10, one being like, they don't need your help at all. I'm sorry, they need your help the most out of everyone. And 10, like, they could do your work for you. Like, they are such an expert at what they do. Like, they don't need you. We don't want the ones, we don't want the twos. We, we may want a 3. It's really like the 3.5 to 6 that we want to go for as our clients, right. Those are the people who have their shit together enough that they can make use of our work. Right. And they're like. And it also isn't like there's nothing need, you know, someone who is like a 7Up, they don't really need you. You, you could absolutely have some value add, but it's not a need at that point.

Yeah.

Right.

So, yeah, I think maybe I will just write out some of my concerns and what it would cost and you know, if they still want me to talk to their board, I just want to get a feel. Like all I need is one person on the board to work with. But.

Right, right.

See what happens.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I do hear.

And I, And I can commit to, like, no chase energy on this one. Like, it falls in my lap. Like, totally. There's somebody I can work with, and it's a yes. But there's no helping them with the grant proposal or proofreading or. There is. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

So.

Yeah, so make the proposal. Tell them if the board wants to meet, send me some times. If they follow through on the times, then. Then go to one of those meetings. Have a conversation. You know, if there's someone on the board that's like, yeah, we need this. Let's go then. Amazing. Go for it. But if it's. If it's like, oh, well, we need you to help us with this and this and this and this and this, you can say, you know what? That's just not what I do. You're either ready to go or you're not.

Yeah.

You know? Yeah.

Yeah.

And then, you know, if there's anyone who you think might be better for them for where they are, you know, you can. You can recommend that person or intro them at that point, because, you know, you do have that friendship that you want to make sure you're not, you know.

Yeah. Yeah.

Awesome. Does that help?

Yeah, that does. Thank you.

Okay, cool. Awesome. Hi, Hillary. Welcome. Hi.

How are you?

Well, how are you?

I'm good. I'm sorry. I was having some zoom issues.

No, no, no. No worries. Yeah, no worries. The only thing you missed is I have everyone name something that they're celebrating when they come in.

Okay.

And then Margaret had a question. Margaret's in one of my programs, so. And you heard the tail end of that. So what are you celebrating today?

I think Friday.

Yeah.

Mm. You made it.

I just went back to work from maternity leave, so it's like, the end of, like, my first full week back at work.

Yeah.

And it's hard, so I'm celebrating that I made it.

Awesome. Awesome. Well, congratulations to be back to work.

Thank you.

Yeah. So, just to reiterate. So welcome to Brave Biz Labs. How's call goes? We start with celebrations. I open up questions to any of my paying clients that show up to the call. That's Margaret today. Margaret, do you have any other questions that you want to jump in with? Okay. Now I open it up to everyone else. There are no limitations to what you can ask. Swearing is loud. There's nothing too simple, too advanced. Like, if I can answer the question, I will, and we do not. The only really real rule is we don't apologize for taking up space. Right. Because the question you have to Ask, I guarantee, is useful to other people in their stage of their business and in their situation. So what questions do we have? What can I help you with?

So I have this. I mean, I'm in, like, a very big conceptual stage for my business idea. I've always come from, like, a corporate world, and, like, my idea is very, like, small and community focused, and it's outside of my agreement. So. So, like, I. And I haven't given you any. Any details in saying that. I just don't know, like, where to start. And I'm kind of just like, bogged down in the, like, what is the first building block to this? And so to give you some context, like, my. I just want to build community essentially in. In my area. So I. We moved to Connecticut as I think, you know, a couple years ago. I live in Stan. I do not have, like, it took me three years to, like, make a friend. And as a mom, like, that's, like, really lonely. And there's, like, a lot of. So now I'm, like, in this place where I, like, I have friends. Great. But, like, now, like, I want to, like, get together. And I realized, like, it's hard to get together with moms, other moms, because, like, yeah, you're busy. Like, you don't have a lot of brain space to like, put into, like, taking time out of your day and to go into, like, a social setting. And so, like, the core of my business idea is a concierge service for women who want to get together and have a fun night but don't really want to plan it.

Yeah.

So, you know, at, like, the very base level, you could. It could be like, mezzes and, you know, and drinks and, you know, putting together, like, a nice, like, foodboard and having, like, you know, cocktails, mocktails. But, like, more, you know, where my head is is, like, having a list or menu of ideas. You know, is it a wine night? Is it a book club? Is it mahjong? Is it game night? Is it a paint and set? Like, all these things that you do and coordinating it all to bring it to you so you don't. Like, the tag in my head is like, host without the hassle. And so I come from a perspective of, like, marketing and social media. Like, that is what I do. So, like, marketing this, I'm like, yeah, cool, I got it.

I.

Building a website. I'm, like, creating the socials. When it comes to actually, like, planning an event, I'm like, yeah, not my area of expertise.

Yeah.

So, like, having a lot of Imposter syndrome. What if the first one fails? And then like all I have is like a bad aura of review. And so I'm just kind of like paralyzed in like the actual like getting it off the ground in a way that I feel good about.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, cool. I mean, there are a lot of different ways you could take this. My brain, I'm just gonna throw this out. My brain immediately goes to. There's like a paid membership where people get access to these exclusive curated events that you organize. And so that way it, it brings some money in right off the bat and it creates some community, you know, so like for instance, you could host on Circle, you could host it on. I use Heartbeat Chat for my membership and, or for my communities. And you know, it could be something like 50, 70amonth, right? And you could have some virtual events that are easy for people to check into. Like, you know, like sip and bitch

or,

or you could do like a book club night or whatever. And then you could have like upsell events that. It's like going to a wine tasting, you know, and that's like the event that you organize. And you might say, like, I organize like two to three a month, you know, like one midweek, you know, people who like, that's easy for them. One on the weekend and then one that like is kid friendly also, you know, especially if everyone has, you know, is. Is a mom or you know, has a partner or whatever, you know, kid and partner friendly also.

Yeah.

You know, and people like, like members would get a member price for that. You could also open it up to non members, you know, but they have like, like an extra surcharge to that. And then they would be kind of entered into. Do you want to become a member of this group?

Yep.

Right. And then of course, like, you know, you're gonna have some flops, guaranteed. You are absolutely gonna have some events that just do not hit. Right. And you know what, like what you're gonna take from that is you're gonna ask questions, you're just gonna get curious. You're not gonna take it on as a personal failure.

Totally.

Right? You're gonna reach out to people and say, cool, like what did you like about this? And what also do you want to see different? You know, what could have made it better? Yeah, right, because that's gonna help you, right? It'll help. And then you can actually make content out of like, hey, we did this event. You know, it actually didn't go great. Like here, like I didn't think about this. And I didn't think about this and I didn't think about this and you know, here's what we're gonna do to improve next time. And also, like, this is why we need community. We need a mirror. We, we need to get this feedback. We need people that we trust. Like, you can relate it to the friendships you're developing through it, right? Yeah, you might also. Because you want to be there. You want to be there and you want to be able to interact with people because it's going to be you as the host. You are going to want to have someone there who can kind of handle the event bits. Yes. Like making sure the food's coming out. Make sure, making sure like everyone's getting served their, their beverages, what have you. It could almost be like a grown up babysitter.

Like,

you know, you could also partner with local businesses.

So that's, that's where my brain has started. Like, I, I think a big part of this is creating vendor relations within the, within the area.

Yeah.

Because like, ultimately, like, I don't want to be going to every single one. I like if someone wants to have a ceramic night, like I'm partnering with a local pottery studio and like they're going and they're bringing their kiln and then I'm coordinating the food and the drink and like, I'm really standing at like this like admin state versus like serving as host.

Yeah.

And then, you know, like long term, I was thinking like, if we wanted to expand this outside of like this area, like there could be like a membership option with vendors that, that like create like local discounts that like. And like you could like host your own event and like maybe have like hosting kits that you could download and. Yeah. So like have like the vendor discounts at your disposal. If you're paying like 20 bucks a month, you get like an automatic 15% discount at like this wine shop in town.

Right, right.

Bringing it like local too, and having that benefit.

I would actually challenge you here. I would say you can have like in the beginning when it's, it's just you doing it, a couple of people helping you could have like, like community hosts who do the events. Like they'll coordinate and do all the things for local ones. But then like, there's nothing stopping you from licensing this. Right. You could license this and then say, hey, listen, like, if you want to buy this little like business in a box, like you'll be in part of our network. But like, if you're in Brooklyn, if you're in San Francisco, if you're in Seattle, if you're in Chicago and you want to start this and have it be an income stream for you where you also get to make friends. Like, you can buy this package and almost like, franchise it.

I. Yeah, that's. That's exactly what I've been thinking about. Like, I just. I think I'm like, bogged down and

I'm like, is this a good idea? You know, like, will people be interested? You know?

Yeah.

Going down this avenue of, like, no one cares. The economy is hard. People aren't, like, spending money on superfluous things because, like, were, like, strapped. And like, I'm creating this thing that, like, it's like, fun and, like, community focused. But, like, is this, like, you know, I'm like, bathroom? Like, oh, is this even. Is this, like, good, you know?

Yeah. Okay, so a couple, A couple, like, words of wisdom, right? If you want is wanted. Right. I don't know if you've ever heard of the app time, Time out, Time now or something. I forget the. I forgot the name. That's not a good sign for the app. But it started in France and. Or time left. That's it. Time left. And basically they curate dinners. So, like, everyone. Is it every Wednesday? Yeah, every Wednesday they have, like, dinners and you basically say you're going to this dinner and you sign up and they, they like, release the list right before. Oh, hello. It's okay. I love it when many humans join. So they, like, release the list of people who are going to be coming beforehand. You have to rsvp. You can't, like, cancel and you're told the restaurant. You basically show up and it's a bunch of people you don't know.

Okay.

Right. And I've been to a couple and they're in Boston. They're an hour and a half away from me. Right. And like, it's a bunch of women. There are very few men who actually show up. So I know you're saying, like, you don't know if it's actually wanted. It is. People are so needing this connection. Right. And the fact that it's hyperlocal. I mean, if you want it. And actually I am part of a entrepreneurial group in the Stanford Darien area. And I can't tell you how many women in there. The last event I went to were like, it's so hard to make friends here.

So hard.

So hard. Especially, like, you get a lot of women who are moving from New York, you know, because they got married, they want to have kids, like, New York's not easy for kids. So, you know, but that makes your marketing super easy because you can speak to that. Right. And then you could look at markets that are, like, suburban outside of major city centers where people move. So like, could be Marin for people moving from San Francisco, you know, it could be the Peninsula. It could be, I don't know, any suburbs in Chicago. But, you know, you get what I'm saying, right?

Yeah, yeah, I do.

Yeah.

So that's one part of it. So, like, if you want it, it is wanted by other people. Okay. And we know this. Like, people want connection. It will also say, like, do you know when Disney was started?

No.

Okay. Disney was actually started during the Great Depression. Right. A brand and a company that was purely about entertainment and joy. Right?

Yeah.

When times are hard, like, yeah, we cut back on some spending. Right. But it doesn't like, the fact that times are hard. That means we actually have a lot more stress and pressure on us.

Right.

People. People need things that bring them joy and connection.

It's true.

Right.

Yeah. And, like, in a time where I feel like big conglomerates are, like, taking over and also, like, causing a lot of trouble not to get political.

And also, you're in good. You're in good company. I know everyone here. Yeah.

I, you know, I. I like this idea of, like, being local, you know, like, if it's a book club, like, how can we engage, like, the local bookshop? How can we engage, like, the local wine shop? So, like, you know, we're not. It's not like we're getting everything off Amazon and we're, like, bringing it to you. It's like, one day ship. It's like, maybe we need a little bit more time to curate and to, like. But I'm building those relationships. And also, like, you also can benefit from that because, like, maybe if you attend this event, like, you can get a discount. And then, like, the. The business gets stronger because, like, it's pulling more people in and you're also meeting people. So it just feels like this. Like, we're going. You know, I think when things are really hard, we kind of, like, have to, like, just stay in our, like, bubbles that make us feel kind of safe.

Yeah, totally. Yeah. And you can also say, like, you know, if you want. If someone wants to open up their home to the dinner party, you know, you. You could have some kind of, you know, and those could be private to only members. Right. So people know that, like, there's a list of rules that people follow. There are. There's Like a code of conduct. And like, if you violate any of the code of conduct, you're out. Right. So, I mean, there's so many ways you could take this, is what I'm saying. Okay. Yeah. But I think it's a great idea and I think it's something that you could do on the side of working full time.

Yeah.

And that's, that's. I don't have like the leisure of like, up and quitting to start something at this moment. So it felt like it was like, not a lot of overhead, not a lot of initial investment because I am relying on like those outside vendors and like, potentially down payments to, like, do the stuff. So I'm not like, creating this, like, warehouse of like, kilns. If someone wants to rent a kiln, like, I just need to have the local people say that they're interested in going and like, hosting and like, being a part of this event.

Yeah, yeah. So where I would actually start is start building your social media following, talking about how hard it's been to make it be to make friends.

Yeah.

Then I would. I would even put like some free events on, like Eventbrite or something, or Meetup and then promote it through social media. And then have people register because then you have their name and you have their email. And also you can have an email list. I mean, you could very easily, for free, set up a kid account to build up an email list. Say, you know, if you're interested in future events, then go and register here. Right. And you'll be the first to know when we, when we launch something. Right. Because, I mean, say you have 300 people on an email list and you launch it and you say we have a membership for $50 for founding members, you know, and you get 30 people signing up. Like, that could be enough to fund the first couple events.

Yeah. And I was also, like, in home, like private events, like with, let's say, like a group of 10 girls who just don't have the time. Like, I have like, friends, you know, now that I can be like, let me just do this. That, like, can I coordinate this? And then like, potentially, like, there's like a big word of mouth component to it.

Yeah, absolutely. There are also just a lot of videos on like TikTok and Instagram right now of women who are hosting just anyone dinner parties at their homes, you know, and you could stitch those. You could, you could like do a duet with them and say, this is why I'm doing what I'm doing.

Yeah.

Because then you kind of capitalize on their audience as well. And the people who are in their audience want this as well. Yeah, right? Yeah. I will say for anyone who is doing any kind of business that is geographically located, you want to make sure anytime you post something, you're geotagging it.

Yeah.

You know this. But for everyone else's benefit, it's one of the best ways to get in front of people. So I did this. I ran for office in the beginning of the year, and I lost. But anyway. But I did TikTok and I. I geotagged, and I only have, like, 2,000 followers on that account. But, like, I'll walk around, you know, events and stuff, like on Cape Cod, and people will stop and be like, recognize me. Like, oh, my God, I know you from Tick Tock. As if I'm famous. And it is so freaky. But it's because I geotagged because it got pushed to people in this area. Right. That's it.

I know.

Not famous. Like, it's. It's barely over 2,000. But, you know, people recognize me. It's wild.

That's great. I know. I love. I used to work for TikTok, so I'm, like, big on. Big on building, like, a platform and an audience there. It's great. I just don't want to build the audience and then fall flat on the offering.

Do it. Do it. Because then, like, it's so inspiring. It's so inspiring to see someone say, this is what I want, and I'm gonna try to work on it, and I'm gonna try to create it. And you know what? Actually, that one didn't work, so let's change it.

Yeah.

You know, and then you have kind of like a. Like a hero's journey. You can say, this was the first thing we tried. And you know what? Like, people weren't interested. And I realized this was the thing that we were missing. And. And then it gives you a reason for that next thing.

Right.

People love supporting someone who's going after what they want. Right. They. Flavor Flav, I think, who is. Who sponsored the women's polo. Polo team.

Yeah.

You know, the reason people love that story is because he was so inspired by these women who are working multiple jobs to be able to do this sport and to represent their country, you know, doing something that they love. Right. Like, he saw the passion they had, and then we see, like, the kindness and the support he had for them to support them. Like, people love being involved in that kind of story. So don't. Don't worry. About failing all of you. Right. The failure is part of your mythology. It becomes part of your mythology. It's what makes you interesting at the end of the day. Yeah, that's so.

Thank you.

Of course. Yeah. Helpful for everyone.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'd say. I mean, it's been a long time since I've had little babies, but I definitely remember. I mean, just speaking to the need. You know, I would make plans with women I had met through my Lamaze or, you know, my birthing class. And, like, we had literally nothing in common. Like, nothing other than having babies the same age. And it just petered out so quickly, and then it really was incredibly lonely. So I love that idea.

Second wave of, like, dating, it's like, you, like, making. Meeting your partner and, like, going on dates to meet your partner, and then, like, going on dates to meet your, like, people is, like. It's so stressful.

It is stressful. The other idea that, you know, that comes up for me, just especially at the beginning, if you have people who are signing up, you could offer them a free month or a half off a month if they wanted to plan an event, you know, and then you're not actually in charge of all of it, and they might bring some creative ideas that you hadn't.

Yeah.

Thought of, but, you know, spread the love a little bit to some of the people who join.

Yeah, absolutely.

I want to put in a plus one for the membership idea. Like, that kind of recurring revenue is really the key. I have these neighbors. They're in a vastly different situation than you are, but they started this thing called Local Economies where they got a retail space and they are doing, like, workshops and speakers and. And they have a membership, and it's like between twenty and a hundred dollars a month. And 250 people signed up, like, just. Okay. To be fair, the guy is like a local celebrity because he's. He has a radio show on public radio that's very widely known in the Bay Area. But I just cannot believe how they started this thing. And they have this massive influx of cash without having done anything. It's kind of mind blowing.

Yeah. But you know what? Like. Yeah, but. But to the point, people want to be part of something.

Yes, exactly.

Community.

Yeah. All this is is a community building thing. It's a community space. And, you know, they're curating these workshops and stuff. But people are so. 250 people. Yeah, almost at, like, at least 50 bucks each.

Yeah. So let's do the math. 250 times 50 is 12,500.

Well, so. The first. The first, like, however, 100 people who signed up, I did for them, and the average was $75.

Yeah.

So they're probably making more than 12,000amonth.

Yeah.

It's just insane how badly people want this kind of community.

Yeah.

And, yeah, I was a single mom with a baby. Right.

Yeah.

Who doesn't. What mom doesn't want this?

Yeah.

So this is a great idea. Totally. Do the membership thing.

Okay.

Yeah.

But, you know, like, I'm thinking, like, you could even partner with, say, local animal shelters, you know, where you, like, you have a snuggle fest where everyone's going and, like, playing with the rescued cats, you know, like, cat lady night. Right. How fun would that be? And then it's great for the cats. They get. They get socialized a bit. Maybe some get adopted, you know? Yeah, yeah. You could do after hours at a bookstore. You could do after hours of yarns. I used to teach knitting, so I'm always big into, like, knitting teaching and stuff, but, like, you know, whatever it is that people have in common. I don't know. Like, at the last dinner I was at for this event in. I think the last event was in Greenwich, two women left early because they had to go to their full moon, like, manifestation lines portal party, you know, like, and they were gonna, like, wear bodysuits and cover themselves in glitter and dance under the full moon, you know, and there were so many people at the event who were like, oh, man, I wish her going to that, too. Oh,

yeah. I mean, I had that as one of my menu options. Was like, a wellness coach for, like, manifestations and just.

Yeah, yeah.

Having just, like, you know, building up your. Your inner, inner self or, like, having like, a local bar and yoga instructor and, like, smoothies and, like, having just, like, a wellness, like, morning.

Yeah, totally. Well, and also think about it, you know, you could have a membership also for businesses that want to become regular hosts. Yeah, right. So, like, a wine bar could pay, like, $100 a month to be able to put, like, one event on the calendar each month, you know, and to promote it within the group. And then they could also sell tickets to other people outside of it. But they get to use your branding, you know, and that gets them a ton of exposure to people within the group. It gets people coming regularly. It builds that routine of, oh, we have this women's night every night every month. You know, there's so many ways you could do this.

So your original question was about, like, kind of how to get started. And I. We've gone way, way, way down the path of past where you've gotten started. Are you. Do you have. Do you have thoughts now about how to get started?

I think.

I think what I've heard and taken. Taken from this is like, don't. Don't be shy to create the content outside of, like, actually having done an event. And then I think where I've been thinking is, like, just starting to do some local outreach to vendors and see, like, what their appetite would be for this, which if what you're saying is what they say is that it will be, and then, you know, maybe where my head is on where to start is not actually the correct place, and it might just become clearer to me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And also, you know, getting people. Getting businesses to commit if they would host something in the future rather than. Do you like this idea?

Yeah.

Really easy for someone to say, yeah, I like the idea, and then not follow through.

Right, Right.

Because no one wants to tell you your idea sucks. Right.

Having a book club, like, event at a book shop.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. You can have. You'll have so much fun with this. Yes.

Great idea. I need to hop off and get myself.

Awesome.

Good to see you.

Thanks.

All right. What other questions do we have today?

So last time you told me I should try to get at a meeting with actual elected officials and not their

staff,

and I. I went to, like, the website, and I just. They're just. They really want you to meet with their staffers? Yeah, like, they. It's. It. I mean, if I fill out this form, there's a spot that says, are you willing to meet with a staffer if I just say no? Do I actually. Do they? It just seems like. Especially if I'm trying to say, like, hey, your staffers aren't doing a great job at this thing.

Well, yeah. That's why you don't meet with the staffers.

Yeah. Okay. Well, that'll be. My task for the week is actually trying to get a meeting with my assembly member.

Yeah.

Mm.

And getting the website. Get at least getting the samples on the website.

Yeah, yeah. It's especially for women. We are told to, like, dance around the thing that we want. Right. And, like, don't be too forward. And, like, if you're. If you're pushy about this, that means some bad things about you.

Right.

And I want you to just channel your inner mediocre white guy who doesn't give a. Who's just like, I deserve to take up your time. I deserve 30 minutes on your calendar. Elected Official because I am like God's gift to the world. Right. You're not going to go in with that energy, but like have that, that like momentum that that person would have in trying to make these calls, in trying to set up these appointments.

Right. That is really useful. Yeah. I years ago I met with these people who were like, you know, we don't need people with renewable energy experience. We need somebody who can run a tech company.

Yeah.

And I said, I can run a tech company. And then I thought, well, I haven't ever run a tech company. I don't know why I said that. But I know if I were a mediocre white guy, I would be like, yeah, I can run a company and I wouldn't probably be able to.

Yep.

But I actually could.

Yep.

So I. That

there's all those stats on like the percentage of women who apply to jobs if they don't have like X amount of bullet points of requirements compared to the amount of men who like just apply to everything. Because they're like, I could do that.

Yeah. I think, I think it's like women will make sure they have at least 80 of the qualifiers. And then men, I think it's like 20 or 30%.

They'll be like, women are like, oh, I have all the qualifications except two. And the men are like, awesome. I have all the qualifications except two. Oh yeah, Right. I need to channel the mediocre white guy. I'm really into that. I found that extremely helpful for me.

Yeah.

I forgot about it for this.

Yeah. There's that and there's also the saying, like, have the confidence of a four year old boy wearing a batman shirt.

You know?

Yeah. You know it's. And also like, I guarantee you most of them have listened to a mediocre white guy and that's why they have awful newsletters.

You know, I got. So in my sample.

Huh.

I did like a pseudo like a super generic boring newsletter. And then like. Right. And it feels to me like a parody. Like it's insane how boring.

Yeah.

And then I got a newsletter from a school board member that actually sounded a lot like it.

Yeah.

Like she started off with, I was honored and I was like, wait, seriously? Like, like this feels like AI. It's so shitty.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean a lot of what I do in my, my missing link LinkedIn training is, you know, how people know how to use LinkedIn is. I'm honored or I'm so excited to announce we're going to be at this conference Tabling. Come and see. See Us, you know, and it's like, are you kidding me? Like, you know, if you scroll through LinkedIn, I guarantee you're gonna see at least three of these, right? But no one reads them and no one cares and no one has a reason to comment unless they're trying to sell you something, right? Versus how I teach how to use LinkedIn, which is, you know, tell a story. Tell something personal. I wrote a post a couple weeks ago about how donating my eggs helped cure my fear of spiders.

Whoa. What the hell, right?

Like, what do you mean? And so then I went on to tell the story about how I donated my eggs. And like, I know I went on to meet one of the families that I donated to and I met their son and he's adorable and he's like obsessed with bugs. Like, obsessed. Like has pet bugs and I'm terrified. And I had this moment where I was like, in the shower years after meeting him. And like, I stay in touch and like, you know, we do zooms at Christmas. It's really cute. But anyway, I, like a spider started crawling down the wall while I'm in the shower and I'm like, ah. And then I had this moment. I'm like, there's a five year old boy across the country who is 50% my genetics who would pick this spider up and name it and protect it, right? Like, I can't be afraid of this stupid spider if he's not afraid of the stupid spider, right? And then like, and then I went on to make a point about, like, you know, why do so many like, community calls for my clients, right? Because they get to hear other people who've done the scary thing, who remind them of themselves, right? Who are doing similar businesses, who, you know, made the phone call, did the sales call, posted for the first time on TikTok, did their first webinar and, and survived, and then went on to actually learn how to enjoy it and get results from it. And they're like, oh my God, well, if they can do it, I can do it too, right?

Well, I love telling stories. That's my natural way of communicating.

Exactly.

I'm so stuck on you donated your eggs.

Yeah. No, no, no, But I mean, like, but which one is more memorable? I'm so excited to announce that I do a, I do a community call once a month or once a week versus, like, here's a story. And then here's like the benefit of coming to this call.

Yeah, no, I'm all on the story thing. That's, I, that's How I naturally communicate. Well.

And also, you know, one of the things that I want you to kind of harp on is, you know, the right is attacking the left for being empathetic. Right. And how do we build empathy? We build empathy by sharing a little bit of our. Ourselves. Right. And. And you can make the point like, it is time for the left to double down on empathy. You know, it is time for us, you know, for the elected officials that you want to work with. It's time for you to say that, like, your eyebrows rise when you buy eggs now. Like, it's expensive because, you know, they're not getting paid much. Right. It's hard. Like, maybe when they send their kids off to school, like, oh, God, should

I be worried every day?

Every day.

Well, nothing beats the worry of a mom with a baby.

Yeah.

Every single time I walk down the stairs with that baby.

I know.

Anyway, he's 24, so she made it.

Yeah, but I mean, but you get to say, hey, listen, like, you get to make it about something bigger than just. I can make you, like, have a higher open rate. You can make it bigger. Like, the way we're going to turn things around is by bringing more of ourselves and bringing more empathy.

I am trying to make that point. Like, this is about engagement and voter engagement.

Yeah.

I like the empathy part.

Yeah.

I just. Okay, well, I will try to meet my. Try to. I will fill out a form to try to meet my assembly member. Yeah. And you with the big. You go big. Like, that's your thing. No matter what someone says to you, you go big.

Yeah.

So I'm gonna call Governor Newsom's office and.

Yep.

Congratulate him on his great social media presence and tell him, tell the staffer, hey, we need to get other Democrats doing some good things.

Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

I don't know, but I. Is my ask. Like, what is my ask there?

Your ask is what Democrats in the state need to increase their voter turnout, because that's what I help them do through improving their newsletter. Okay. Yeah. Let me introduce you to some people in their office. You might not get a meeting directly with them. You might be getting it with some staffer, but an introduction from Nome's office to you, that's going to make a difference.

Yeah, that would be crazy. Yeah, that would really be crazy, but. Mediocre white guy.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, I met with a. I met with a consultant. He was like. I was like, well, I don't really have any credentials. And he's like, yeah, none of us really had any credentials.

It's all made up. But here's the thing. Like, exactly. That's that. That's every government ever in the world. It's all made up. All the laws, it's all made up. It's people who come together. They have some ideas, they put it on a piece of paper, they say, okay, we're all going to follow this one thing. Cool. Right. And then there's a whole world that. Because, you know, comes out of that, where people study that one thing, and that becomes, you know, the legal profession and, you know, political science and so on and so forth. Right. It's all just made up everything. You know, the fact that we drive on the right side of the road, that's made up. Other countries drive on the left side. Except for my friend Raz, who grew up in India, who's like, there's no sides. You just kind of drive and just weave. And I never want to get in the car with him again. Even that's horrifying. He's not used to having lines, so he, like, focuses on staying in the lines, which, of course, it's like this anyway, but it's all made up,

so

maybe I can do those two things.

Yeah,

Yeah, yeah.

For both of you. I just want to say, like, the fact that you're making it up as you go doesn't mean it's not going to have impact. Doesn't mean it's not going to help people.

Well, I mean, I want to help people.

Yeah.

You. Full permission. But you're not going to be able to help people unless you really believe that you can make it up as you go.

Yeah.

So I challenge you. You're gonna. You're gonna contact Newsom's office and you're gonna reach out to five legislators. Yep. You're gonna. But I'd actually rather you pick up the phone and call their office and ask to book an appointment with the elected official.

Oh, so not fill out a form.

Yeah, I would. I would pick up the phone, call their office. Whoever you get, say, I want to set up an appointment with so and so.

And then when they say, what is this about?

You say, I'm. I'm a constituent in California and I want to talk about voter turnout. Because it's exactly what you want to do. And you just say, they need to take my meeting. Remember, mediocre white guy, full force.

So I'm. But. Okay, so. But my status, my assembly member, is I'm actually a constituent.

That's okay.

In order to. But I. I so Used.

But you want to talk about voter turnout. That's.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, yeah. I'm not a constituent of other assembly members. But you live in California, so that's like state.

Yeah, but still. Still you're getting hung up on the semantics of this.

Well, I'm getting hung up on not being able to say I'm against. I'm a constituent if I'm not.

Well, I mean, you're a constituent in California, like everything that's happening. But here's the thing. Like, what's happening in California doesn't just impact Californians, it impacts the whole country right now. Right. Especially with, what is it, Prop 50.

Yeah.

Right. So you are constituent of the United States. It matters. And you want to talk about voter turnout. Right. I want you to wear khakis. I want you to wear like a white and blue checkered shirt from Banana Republic. And I want you to wear a Patagonia vest if it helps. You're inner mediocre white guy.

Okay.

The tech uniform. I used to live in San Francisco, so I know this. I've dated. I've had so many bad dates. Sorry, what was it?

I'm gonna have to bring that back to Mike.

Oh, no. Does he wear that? I bet he does. But he's not mediocre. He's amaz.

Mediocre outfit wardrobe.

He has to fit in. He doesn't want to make the other media like the mediocre guys feel, you know, anyway. Oh, yeah, Lynn, you got this. And the worst they can say is no. The worst they can say is no. And they're not even going to remember that they said no to you. Right. But all you need is one person to say yes and to start doing work with them and to help them, like increase their open rate and increase the amount of people who feel connected to them and then start asking them, what other legislatures should I be working with.

Right. Well, that's the thing. Like meeting with this. I met with that guy that got recalled and he's like, yeah, get some, get a sample up there and I'll start introducing.

Stop listening to him. He got recalled.

Stop listening to him.

Yeah, stop listening to him. Go for, Go for people who are in government right now doing the work.

Well, but he can introduce me to people who are in government, but he's not really.

He.

Has he introduced you to anyone so far?

I just met him and he asked me for some samples. So that's why I put up the same. I'm going to put up on the website.

So once you do that. He can introduce you or not, but if he's not introducing you to anyone, then he's. He's not useful to you.

No, I know.

Okay.

Hasn't been. He hasn't had a chance to be. Not useful yet.

Okay, cool. All right. All right. Okay. So give him a chance to be useful to you, but the moment you realize he's not being useful, stop listening.

Yeah. He's just much more connected than I am.

Yeah, but you can. You can form connections. He's not special because he has connections. He's just spent more time.

That does make him special.

No, but you can. You can form connections as well, is what I'm saying. It's not unique to him, is what I'm saying. You can absolutely form connections. Right. And connections are only worth it to you if they actually serve you.

Sure.

Right. I can't tell you how many people like to also trade on that. I have a lot of connections so that they can get shit out of you. So just be careful there because it's very common in politics and in business, too. But I mean. Yeah, okay. We're at times. Let's do main takeaway. Just name what your. Your main takeaway from today is, and whoever goes first will tell the next person. But there's only two of you, so it's going to be pretty straightforward. Who wants to start us off?

My main takeaway is that I feel now accountable to these things that I said I would do.

Good. Awesome. Thank you, Lynn.

Hillary, my main takeaway is your quote of if I want it, it is wanted. And to not be afraid that what I crave is a unique feeling to me.

Awesome. Cool. All right, well, as always, this call happens every Friday. You can come to as many as you want. And if you do show up next week, I want to hear exactly what you've done to make progress on this. All right?

Okay.

Awesome. Have a great weekend, everyone.

It was lovely to meet you both.

Yeah, nice to meet you, too.

Really helpful.

Oh, good.

Thank you so much.

All right, thank you. Bye.