Sandi L. Boucher (Red Thunderbolt, Loon clan, Seine River First Nation) is raising her First Nation training prices to one-quarter of her mainstream rate to attract people genuinely ready to engage. She's shifting away from late-fiscal-year conferences that draw unprepared attendees, focusing instead on deeper one-on-one work with Indigenous people. At 60, she's prioritizing high-impact engagements over volume.
Questions this video answers
May 23, 2024.
Sandi L. Boucher; Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan; member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 territory.
The First Nations price tag will be one quarter of what she is paid in mainstream (non‑Indigenous) Canada.
60 years old.
Chapters
I think you'll be happy to see that today I contained my video making enthusiasm long enough to put my face on so. Because I'm not sure a filter could have helped anything in that last video of mine. Having said that, today we need to talk about intent. And I think I've shared this with you before that a colleague and someone I'd like to consider, a friend, Chief Tony Alexis from the Nakota Sioux Nation in Alberta. He talks about the Alexis principles, principles that were developed by his family. He's a sixth generational chief and so his family watched his dad and his grandfather negotiating not only with the provincial and federal governments, but with very large oil companies with a lot of power. So they came up with these principles. And one of those principles was intent. Making sure that you know why you're doing what you're doing before you send the email, make the phone call, attend the meeting, plan the event, whatever the case may be. What is your intent? Because if you do a good job with intent, it's going to make all the rest of your decisions easier. Is it in line with our intent? Yes. Then the answer is yes. If it's not no, we're not going to do that. So, you know, if you follow my career for any length of time, and if you're new here, welcome. I hope you find this educational. If you have followed me for a while, thank you so much for joining me on this journey. But if you have followed my career for a while, you know that I work on both sides of the feather, that I work equally in First Nation communities, helping first nations to heal and recognize their resilience and their strength to overcome the shame and guilt to get us to healthier soil. And equally, I work with non Indigenous Canadians, helping them to understand Canadian history and the challenges of working with Indigenous peoples because of that history and more importantly, how to overcome those challenges. Recently I made a decision, a business decision, and it concerns the pricing of my First Nation offerings. I'm changing it with intent. Wanted to share that with you. So let's talk about it. Hi everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River first nation in Treaty 3 territory in Northern Ontario, Canada. And as mentioned, I spent a lot of time in First Nation communities. And years ago, when I first started working with mainstream and non Indigenous Canadians, I realized they had access to a lot more money and a lot more resources than the limited nonprofit budgets of Indigenous agencies or first nations communities. So along the same lines of Indigenous people being able to camp in provincial parks at no charge, or being able to get into museums like the Human Rights Museum free of charge. I wanted to do something as an act of reconciliation, acknowledging the additional barriers and the disadvantages. And so I have always priced my first nations work lower than my mainstream work, and that was just simply to recognize capacity. But recently I discovered or realized that the intent behind so many First Nation training seminars, in my opinion, is wrong. And that is through no fault. We have incredibly good, incredibly dedicated, hard working. Think of an acronym. These people are amazing that work in first nations communities. They give so much to the people they serve. And anyone who knows anything about nonprofit funding, definitely a systemic problem in that you receive or you are approved. I shouldn't say receive. That's part of the problem. You are approved for a certain budget for the operating year, which tends to be April 1st to March 31st. Problem. The first payment for that budget is may not be received until the summer months. And in some cases, like if there's a problem with reports or whatever, it could be as late as September. So you have to be operating all those months spending a budget of dollars that you have yet to receive. And the big catch 22 if you do not spend all of your budget by March 31, you are at risk of getting your budget red reduced, but for the next year by whatever amount you couldn't spend. So when we see First Nation communities and first nations agencies doing a lot of conferences and spending a lot of money in January to March, that tends to be why they have to deplete those budgets. And everyone I know is trying to find quality training, quality supports for the people they serve. It's just really hard when you have those kind of budget restrictions. So here's what happens. The intent becomes spending the budget. The intent is not on providing. I don't want to say it's not on providing quality content, but it's not on matching up the people that are ready for the quality content with that seminar because time just does not allow it from my perspective. And you know I'm all about sharing with you the other side of the feather. I definitely didn't eat breakfast yet. I didn't even drink my coffee yet. So yawning today should not be a surprise. But here's what happens. A whole bunch of seminars happened during that time. The attendance tends to be super low because there's only X number of people interested in taking a seminar and often is often too hard of a word. It is not uncommon to have people in the seminars that are there to put in time there because someone told them they should be there. And it is a real treasure and a joy to find the participant who really wants to be there, who enjoys the content, who asks the intelligent questions, who you realize is there because they were given an opportunity, they recognize the opportunity and it's in line with where they are on their healing journey. So. But so often we have apathetic participants that are just there. And I now know 15 years in, I want to reach the people who are ready to be reached. When I work with a non indigenous audience, one or two problematic people may get in. They are never even close to the majority. These are people that want to learn, want to understand, want to unpack. They listen, they engage, they ask intelligent questions. It's amazing. And that is worth my time. The reality is, at 60 years old, I don't have mega amounts and decades and decades and decades of time to reach people. It's the wall metaphor again. I am speaking to the people that are touching the wall, that are ready to learn. So what I've decided is there is going to be a price increase for First Nation peoples. I have to make sure that I'm earning a good income with the time I have. Now, before you jump all over me, the first nations price tag is one quarter of what I get paid in mainstream in non Indigenous Canada. So I think that still very much reflects my dedication to reconciliation. My hope is that at the bigger price tag, people may be a little more hesitant to bring me in. And when they do, they're going to make sure they take the time to find the participants and get them into that room. So it's worth all of our time because I am just simply past the age of traveling to do a seminar for six people that don't want to be there. That's disrespecting their time and mine. So here's hoping that works because I would love, and on the counterbalance, the other side of that, I am setting up the systems to do way more one on one work to be able to support those Indigenous people, or Indigenous women probably primarily, who really want to find their voice and figure out how to use it. That is a joy. That would be such a privilege. I have all the time in the world for someone who is willing to put in the work to make change. But if you're not there yet, then you shouldn't be there yet. And to me that just makes sense. So I have always said I go where I'm asked, but I go also Where I'm heard where. And it's not even a judgment because often I run into people that are just not ready to hear what I have to share yet. They're not on that stage of their healing journey and I'm going to respect that. I'm not going to force them to sit through first nations tend to hire full day seminars. You don't have to sit through seven hours if you're not ready to be there. But if you are, I'm there. And if you'd rather work one on one, I'm there too. So maybe I'll put some links in the notes below about the options of working one on one with each other. But I don't know about you. Air is precious. Life is precious. Time is precious. So this is me actively hunting for the people who actively want to work with me and want to make those advances in their life and understand that my wisdom and experience can help them do that. I'm done with wasting people's time, including mine. So I hope that makes sense. I. I am. I sleep nights with the price tag. I put it on my products. If there's one thing I've learned in all my years of being an entrepreneur, the price is not the dollar value you're selling it for. It's you telling people how much this is worth. And I know the value of my content based on years of results from the people that were willing and able to hear. And again, this is not a judgment for those that aren't. There are many, many supports that have to take place before you're ready to take charge of your life. And I mean, those agencies exist. I have never wanted to be the person to try to, to replicate or replace those agencies. I couldn't if I tried. They are experts at what they do. But I am no longer interested in helping someone spend a budget. I'm interested in making a difference in the lives of the people I have the opportunity to serve. And maybe one day that'll be you. I hope that made sense. I'd love to hear your feedback. Until tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye Bye.
