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Whatta night!
It started at Kate Eisemann’s very cool new photography studio in a prime retail location in Wilton, CT. Her goal last September, when she came into my Mastermind Group, was to have 20 of her images on display in her own studio by January 2009. She wrote it down and began taking actions to make it happen. She told the uncanny story of how it unfolded in an affordable and magical way.
Women came from far and wide to be there–Hilary came from Chicago, Jill’s supportive boyfriend Don drove her here from the Boston area, Doreen and Lisa arrived from P’town and Karen arrived from Rhode Island. We had photographers, interior designers, wellness professionals, realtors, writers, craftswomen, wardrobe consultants, coaches, financial advisors, professional organizers, entertainers and a modern day priestess.
Every woman in the room introduced herself, the name of her company and spoke briefly about an accomplishment from 2008. By the time the first dozen women had completed, we were all in rapt attention. With only a brief break while the videographer re-loaded his camera, we spent nearly an hour and fifteen minutes listening to each others’ successes. I think everyone would agree it was captivating and inspiring.
There’s more to tell than in this entry, but I will have video footage soon to share. (After trying a few contacts to come and shoot the event without success, I went on craigslist.com and hired a gentleman from Danbury who was happy to have a party on a Monday night.)
I can’t say enough about the experience yesterday evening of being in a room with 80+ remarkable women defining their own uncommon success. But one articulate attendee, journalist and college teacher Joanne Kabak, can:
I happen to have started listening to Stephen King’s book of short stories yesterday. The first one was, as usual, well-written and creepy. But it kept repeating a consistent theme of “perception and expectation.”
I thought it was a perfect match for the evening’s experience. In this downbeat economic time, where the media news is virtually all bad and a sense of hopelessness is invading so much of the thinking about money, jobs, prospects for doing anything that brings in income – never mind doing something that you truly dream of doing — your event was a game-changer in terms of perception and expectation of what is possible, rooted as it was in real stories of people succeeding in the face of today’s realities.CNN should have been covering it!
…Mastermind Group member Nikki Bates (see 11/10 post) recently sold a piece of her jewelry for close to $10,000. We track goals of each participant from when they enter my group until the final meeting. One of her earliest goals this session was to create a show-stopper–a piece that she creatively and joyfully designed without budget consideration. That was the necklace that sold.
When I was exhibiting my art I always had a show-stopper to attract attention to my booth, to woo that special shopper who wanted something totally unique and to expand my range. Also, when you have a piece that is 5-10 times your normal price point, it creates a different perspective for the buyer. When there’s a $750 brooch available, the ones priced at $125 seem far more reasonable by comparison.
It’s always a good idea when pricing your goods and services to have options for your buyers. That’s why I have offers like my Dream Peek Experience which is a stand-alone service (one hour, with a 15 minute follow-up call within 30 days) all the way to a six-month commitment for one-on-one coaching. The prices range from $275 – $2400.
Maybe I should have my own show-stopper for my coaching services: A Day with Jane–$5000. Any takers?!
In the 10 minutes before my Mastermind Group session started a few weeks ago, my clients were chatting among themselves. The conversation was about me and what happens when others ask them about “working with Jane”.
I was all ears.
There was a lot of energy in the room as they compared notes. I heard that at a recent EWN event someone said to my Mastermind Group participant, “I hear she’s really expensive.”
My client: “Yes, but she’s worth it. This is what I’ve done since I began working with her…It’s changed my life.”
EWN Networker: “I hear she really pushes you.”
My client: “She does, and that’s why I’ve gotten to where I want to be.”
“It’s only pushing if you’re resisting.”
Then I got an email from a past workshop attendee and Mastermind Group client, Jamie Cat Callan, who further captured the experience:
I’ve been writing and publishing since 1978. But I was always the “ARTISTE.” I never publicized or thought about the business aspect of things. I didn’t care about making a living. I was all yin energy.
And then your workshop gave me a big dose of yang! Seriously, you made me understand (and the mastermind group of women) that it’s just plain foolish and unproductive to only take care of the art and neglect the business.
So I do believe that in a roundabout way, I’m on Page Six of The New York Post because you gave me that much-needed little boot in the pants!
A funny thing happens in my business. Every so often a client who left a session totally energized, on fire to reach her goals and thriving in her newfound commitment to her own success, will approach me a week or two later a bit downtrodden.
“My husband thinks that looking at office space in xyz town will change our lives too much.”
“My sister-in-law told me she thought it was too high-stakes for me to invite the press to my art opening.”
“My mentor says I’m paying the graphic designer too much for my new logo.”
Thanks for sharing, Folks.
In my Create Your Own Future workshops and retreats, and with coaching clients as well, I include a proviso: Be careful who you share your dreams with. Often and surprisingly, the very people we think would be the most supportive are the ones who may subtly sabotage the dream. They don’t do it intentionally.
However, when you’re on your path, working towards your vision, the status quo is going to get rocked. Family members and close friends may not want to have that altered. The way they create “Don’t Change!” will look different in each case. But the effect on you, the visionary, can be devastating.
The solution? Share your go-up goals, as Zig Ziglar calls them, only with those on an equally committed path to success–your goal buddies, Mastermind Group colleagues, coach and business allies. The others? When they ask about what you’re working on, just smile and say, “You’ll see…”
Diane Lohman, owner of Seed, is a member of one of my current Mastermind Groups. Her goal for January is to gross a specific dollar amount, to the penny, per month through her own contributions.
Diane is a jewelry designer and has pieces available in several shops in Connecticut. Her short-term goal, after our first session, was (1) to figure out how much she had in inventory, and (2) to create a list of stores where she would like to sell her product.
I also challenged her to role-play her sales pitch at our second session as though we were prospects.
In addition, Diane noted that she was willing to work at a part-time job 20 hours per week to supplement her business until it becomes fully self-supporting.
Rarely have I seen a more confident woman walk into our Mastermind Conference Room. Diane appeared yesterday with a new bounce to her step and a more commanding presence than I’d previously witnessed. I could hardly wait to hear what had happened in the two weeks since we’d met.
In doing her field work for our sessions, Diane brought her samples to the WAVE Gallery in New Haven. Her sales pitch must have been right on the money, even without rehearsing it in front of our group. Not only did they invite her to sell her work there, but also were so impressed with Diane’s presence that they offered her a job–part-time–in the store.
It’s the perfect environment for her. She’ll be working 2 1/2 days per week in the center of creative hand-made products, can keep her finger on the pulse of her buyer as well as ‘talk up’ her jewelry to customers.
Diane moved into action, took several steps in a positive direction and got results that affirmed her vision and what she wants to create in her life. That’s a miracle!
All of my coaching groups are on hiatus for the summer. My speaking kicks back into high gear mid-September. Several individual clients are taking a break from coaching over the summer. So I scheduled a brainstorming session with myself to figure out how to best use the open spaces on my calendar.
I came up with a healthy list that may stimulate you as well.
- Go through files. As dull as this looks, I always find gems in my drawers–opportunities laying in wait.
- Review goals sheets from my Mastermind Groups for themes, successes and patterns.
- Re-visit marketing my Distinguished Speaker Series to other Chapters of ASID around the country.
- Go through entire database (3500+ names) and segment, delete and update.
- Send holiday cards. I choose to reach out to my friends, clients and associates in the summer when mine is the only card they’re receiving, not one of 100. Our daughter got married in April, so I will send a photo to everyone along with warm wishes.
- Create a video for my website.
- Design a teleclass offering for 2009.
- Brainstorm book ideas.
I’m often asked what kinds of tasks I delegate to my Virtual Assistant (VA), Valerie. Clients and colleagues want to know exactly how a VA might save them time and money. I’ve long been an advocate of delegating any task that I can pay someone else to do while I spend my time doing the work that only I can do. So, here are a few of the items I recently took off of my desk and put onto Valerie’s:
~Send out email reminders to my current Mastermind Group participants letting them know what goals they need to be accountable for in our upcoming sessions.
~Handle all registrations and inquiries for upcoming day-long goals workshop
~Create a spreadsheet with contact information for attendees of the workshop
~Continuously pass on information to inquiring members of ASID who’ve seen my CEU (continuing education units) seminar on the ASID home page and want to know how to find out more about my course
~Update flyers for my fall Mastermind Group sessions
and more…
Valerie, who is adept at administrative details, can handle these jobs swiftly and efficiently. I tend to get sidetracked when I’m doing this kind of busy work, so it takes me longer than it should and distracts me from the work that is income-producing. The mantra here is stay productive, not just busy.
Looking for a VA? In addition to word-of-mouth referrals, try assistu.com.
As a table sponsor for the May EWN Grand Networking Event, I had the opportunity to contribute to the goody bag of each attendee. I brought that possibility as a challenge to my mastermind group members who made the brilliant suggestion that I give something educational, like one of my teleclass recordings.
I’d created an audio product a few years ago called How I Got on the Today Show which has been a popular seminar ever since. The sound quality was excellent (thank you Walt Graham), but I’d never paid any attention to the visual quality. With the upcoming goody bag prospect, I decided now was the time.
I put my graphic designer on it right away who came up with a compelling design for me. We went right into production–deadlines are great for moving into action mode–and printed 500 copies. As soon as I saw them I realized that attractive visuals are not only easier to sell, but also highly motivational. I want everyone to see these. They were well-received by EWN members, and I’m now bringing them with me when I speak and have sold several already. They’re also available on my site for $9.95 plus shipping/handling. http://www.janepollak.com/book_detail.asp?PageID=1074
