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Episode 99: Building a Mastermind Program
170 Plays4 years ago
Today's guest is Vanessa Hicks of Vanessa Hicks photography and we're chatting all about how she built her mastermind program. We cover how she marketed it, launched it, who would benefit from a mastermind, and advice for people considering creating a mastermind or joining a mastermind.
As I mentioned in the episode, Vanessa is the perfect person to talk to in 2020. I believe the first time I heard her speak was at United a few years ago and she was sharing about mental health and entrepreneurship, a topic that's super relevant for this year. I know she's recorded other podcasts on that topic so I encourage you all to check those out.
Vanessa is also part of a military family which means she moves relatively frequently. Her latest move was actually this past spring during the height of the pandemic shutdowns. I ask her about how she's been able to create such a flourishing business throughout her different moves and about this one in particular and I think what she shares is full of wisdom. So yeah, we chat about a lot in this episode and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
For the show notes, go to https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-vanessa-hicks-episode-99/
Recommended
Transcript
Inspiration to Pursue Photography
00:00:05
Speaker
My husband, you know, he asked me a question that changed everything. He said, he was like, clearly, you've never liked the job that you're doing. He said, you know, if money wasn't an issue, and it's an issue, but he was like, money wasn't an issue, what would you do? And I had, you know, been dabbling in photography, taking pictures of my friends, and I happened to have a photo shoot with a girlfriend of mine that weekend, just for fun. And I literally blurted out, I'd be a photographer.
Introduction to Vanessa Hicks and Mastermind Program
00:00:35
Speaker
Welcome to the Brands at Book Show, where we help creative service-based businesses build their brands and find more clients. I'm your host, Davy Jones. Today's guest is Vanessa Hicks of Vanessa Hicks Photography, and we're chatting all about how she built her Mastermind program. We cover how she marketed it and launched it, who would benefit from a Mastermind, and advice for people considering creating a Mastermind or joining a Mastermind.
00:01:03
Speaker
As I mentioned in the episode, Vanessa is the perfect person to talk to in 2020. I believe the first time I heard her speak was at United a few years ago, and she was sharing about mental health and entrepreneurship, a topic that's super relevant for this year. I know she's recorded other podcasts on that topic, so I encourage you all to check those out.
00:01:22
Speaker
Vanessa's also part of a military family, which means she moves relatively frequently.
Entrepreneurship and Mental Health
00:01:27
Speaker
Her latest move was actually this past spring during the height of the pandemic shutdowns. I asked her about how she's been able to create such a flourishing business throughout her different moves, and about this one in particular, and I think what she shares is full of wisdom. So yeah, we chat about a lot in this episode, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
00:01:51
Speaker
Be sure to check out the show notes at DavyandChrista.com for the resources we mentioned during the episode, and I want to hear from you. Let me know what kind of content you'd like to see on the Branchette Book Podcast. To leave your feedback, head on over to the DavyandChrista Facebook page and send us a message. You can also send us a DM on Instagram, at DavyandChrista. Now, onto the episode.
Challenges of Relocation During Pandemic
00:02:16
Speaker
Vanessa Hicks, welcome to the Brands That Book podcast. I'm super excited you're here to discuss how you started your mastermind program. Hey, how are you? Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, I feel like you are the perfect person to talk to in 2020, all right? Because I've heard you educate before. One of the topics that you've educated about is just taking care of your mental health. And God knows that is a conversation that needs to happen here in 2020. We were talking a little bit before the episode started here.
00:02:45
Speaker
I feel like my 2020, like everybody else's, has been a little rough around the edges, right? But then I started talking to you and you were telling me about your move in the middle of the pandemic and then a potential impending tsunami somewhere in there. So can you tell us a little bit about your experience early 2020, moving from Hawaii to San Diego? And I'd love to, but we'll get to it. I want to hear all about the tsunami first.
00:03:09
Speaker
just how you've been able to move your business successfully with everything else going on. So what was moving during a pandemic like? Well, first off, I feel like your your audience already is going to be like, wait, what? So you guys, okay, like literally cannot make this up.
00:03:24
Speaker
For me, 2020 started off like I think everybody else. New decade, 2020, it's about to be my year, about to crush all these goals, all these things. And for us, we are a military family. My husband is active duty 20 years. I'm a Navy veteran. So we already had orders scheduled to move from Hawaii to San Diego. And so at the beginning of March, as, you know, it was like February, but I started hearing of this pandemic and all that, obviously then it became
00:03:53
Speaker
global pandemic and then how it started to affect our country. And Hawaii being an island 6,000 miles away from land, it's like its own little thing. And so Hawaii shut down pretty quickly because so many tourists and stuff come there. And so the Pentagon had released this, it's called a stop movement order saying military members, you know, for the next 90 days can't move, can't, you know, if they're on deployment, they have to stay, you know, essentially a stop movement across the board.
00:04:24
Speaker
So we had our flights booked, our movers booked, all of the things booked a house that we needed to start paying mortgage on in San Diego.
False Missile Alert Experience
00:04:32
Speaker
And we just didn't know how that was going to work. And a few days later, the military, they're called detailers. They got in contact with my husband and was like, Oh no, you are an exempt to this order because of XYZ. Essentially you need to be in San Diego and report when you were supposed to. So.
00:04:52
Speaker
After we had just did and canceled everything, trying to rebook our flights and the movers where at that time, Hawaii was now in a stay at home order so they didn't know if they could come into our home to pack our stuff. Let me tell you, Davey, I was not about to pack this stuff. Somebody was going to do it or we were leaving with nothing. I totally get that. Having movers is well worth it.
00:05:15
Speaker
Exact and the military covers that you know, so like there's like that little I don't say little but the benefits of being Over the move we just have to schedule it all so I was not going to do it But luckily waivers happens and they were able to come in and pack our stuff and get it shipped. We're in the hotel The hotel that accept us and then you hear on our phones thing fight canceled
00:05:38
Speaker
So then we rebook our flight, boom, flight canceled. We book our flight again, boom, flight canceled. So we had four canceled flights in a matter of four days. So, you know, packed up, ready to go up. Nope, not leaving. And then as Davey mentioned in the middle of that, now growing up in Hawaii, we would get tsunami alerts anytime from Japan to California, to Alaska, any earthquakes that happened around us, there would be an alert. Usually there's buoys in the water. If a wave hits it, it would trigger it.
00:06:06
Speaker
In 13 years of living in Hawaii as a kid, only one time we ever actually had to like evacuate our home and go up to higher ground. Nothing obviously came of that. So in, I think it was between cancel three and four of flights. We hear these alarms go off and it says tsunami imminent wave of impact 10 48 PM at this time is like five o'clock.
00:06:30
Speaker
And look, I'm looking to the skies, and I'm like, so this is how we gonna go out? God, after all of this, this is how it's going to end with a tsunami. And now I have five hours to fret over it. Luckily, nothing happened. I think by the time it hit the second buoy, it was canceled, but it was like an hour of stress. And I was just like, get me off of this island. Yeah, thanks for that goodbye, Hawaii. Thank you for that goodbye. Yeah, thanks for the goodbye.
00:06:59
Speaker
I'll see you when I see you.
Maintaining Business Amidst Relocation
00:07:01
Speaker
And we eventually made it to San Diego. And, you know, we still had to go through waivers and stuff to have the movers come and deliver our stuff after two and a half weeks of sleeping on air mattresses and AT&T could come in our house. Luckily, my husband's an IT and was able to set up our Wi-Fi and internet. So moving during a pandemic, it's not for the week to anybody.
00:07:27
Speaker
For sure. And I mean, you had mentioned just being on an island and kind of what that does mentally to you, especially in the midst of the pandemic. But then also you have a few years ago, you had that false missile alert. For those of you who don't understand what we're talking about, Google it, it will come up for sure. But you guys basically thought you were being hit by a missile, right? You got a text message. Alarms went off on a beautiful day saying nuclear missile inbound, this is not a drill.
00:07:55
Speaker
So, I mean, it literally said this is not a drill. And tensions, obviously, with Korea and all that, so expectations, that's where it was coming from. And if you know anything about nuclear reactors or nuclear missiles, there's just really no... Yeah, and you're on the island. It's not like you were... And you're on the island. You can't run. And when you guys Google it, you will see people are putting
00:08:19
Speaker
people are going down storm drains and I'd rather die than go to a storm drain. But you know, that's me. But for 32, I think it was 32, 36 minutes, you sat there with your family. And unfortunately, my kids were holding the alert popped in on their phone. So I couldn't even act like I'm just hugging them for no reason. As we're waiting for this missile to come, they saw it and trying to calm them down. You know, it was,
00:08:47
Speaker
It was the scariest 32 minutes ever. You're saying bye and it's gonna be okay and all that and it took that long for them to let us know that it was false. And apparently someone hit a button.
00:09:02
Speaker
I'm going to let you read into that, however, because someone hit a button. Big mistake. That is a big mistake. Next time you make a mistake in your business, just ask yourself, is it as bad as you accidentally alerting an entire state to a false impending nuclear missile? I'm going to use that. Is this that bad? I love that. You guys have made that big of a mistake. Guess what? You can come back from it too.
00:09:31
Speaker
I love that. So tell me a little bit about the start of your business. One thing, I mean, we're going to get into, just so people know as we get into this discussion, we're going to be talking about your mastermind and starting
Building Business Foundations
00:09:41
Speaker
a mastermind. We'll talk about both sides of it, both the educator side of it, but then also whether a mastermind might be right for you. But like I said, there's so much other stuff that you can talk about. I would encourage people to go and find, I'm sure,
00:09:54
Speaker
I think I heard it show it, but I know you've done podcast episodes on just taking care of your mental health as a business owner. So I'd encourage people to go out and search for those. But we have so much other stuff to talk about today. One of the things I want to ask about is just starting your business, especially being part of a military family. And so moves happen pretty frequently.
00:10:11
Speaker
So, did you start your business right out of the Navy and how have you managed your business and made sure that it was just continued to be vibrant in the midst of moves that inevitably come being part of a military family? Well, first off, Davey, I'm going to love the fact that you thought that I just joined the military and all that because I didn't. I'm aging myself. So, I actually got out of the military in 2007. So,
00:10:35
Speaker
There was some life that happened between me getting out of the military and then the start of business. Sure. Actually six years this month, full time. And so life happened. I actually walked into my corporate job one day a week before my husband was scheduled to deploy for a year. And the job let me know that they were eliminating our apartment due to budget cuts. So after a breakdown of sorts, my husband, you know, he asked me a question that changed everything. He said,
00:11:02
Speaker
He was like, clearly you've never liked the job that you were doing. He said, you know, if money wasn't an issue and it's an issue, but he was like money wasn't an issue, what would you do?
SEO, Blogging, and Business Success
00:11:11
Speaker
And I had, you know, been dabbling in photography, taking pictures of my friends. And I happened to have a photo shoot with a girlfriend of mine that weekend just for fun. And I literally blurted out, I'd be a photographer. And so I expected him to laugh in my face and get a quote unquote real job because you got bills.
00:11:28
Speaker
But he didn't. That's how you know what to love, Davey, because my images sucked. And he was like, I've seen your images. You know, they're good. He was like, try it out. He was like, because if it works, great. And if it doesn't, when he came back from that year deployment, we were moving to California. He was like, you know, go back to work. And it worked. That was kind of like the start of my business. Six years, full time this year, I've moved my business four times.
00:11:53
Speaker
And luckily with strategy and for me, the biggest key to my success is blogging and SEO, but strategy and Ford marketing, I've been more successful each location I've been. And so again, it's not for the week. It's hard. There's a lot of courses and things that talk about building a successful business, but what do you do when you have to then move said successful business? You know, it's a kick to the ego a little bit of having to kind of almost start all over.
00:12:24
Speaker
And it's a lot of, again, strategy if you want to maintain that level of success every time you move. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, especially just thinking about your most recent move, in Hawaii, you just had such an outstanding reputation. Of course, it takes hard work to build a reputation like that. So to move to another place, of course, within the industry, like we still know, you obviously still have a great reputation, but those aren't necessarily the paying clients, right?
00:12:52
Speaker
You have to redo a lot of the work that you've already done. What did that look like moving to San Diego? What were some of the steps you've taken to start filling your calendar, presumably in the San Diego area, in the midst of what's going on right now? I'm sure people are starting to shoot again, especially in different parts of the country, but for large parts of the country, there's still not much shooting happening. California was one of the first states to shut down.
00:13:20
Speaker
So for me, luckily, the minute that you know that you're about to move to a new location is when the marketing happens. And there's going to be an overlap in between that. Luckily, I've branded myself as a destination photographer. So I had to have work here in California. But thinking that, oh, OK, I'm going from Hawaii to San Diego beach and beach images. They can transfer on my website and all that very easily. It's not necessarily the case. Hawaii beaches are very different than San Diego beaches.
00:13:49
Speaker
So for me, the first steps was to create content. A lot of times I see people, when I mentor people who move their business, and they go from somewhere like Hawaii to, let's say, Tennessee. And they're like, you know, I'm not getting any success. And it's like, well, that's because you're just posting Hawaii photos. Yes, we know as photographers, if I'm a good photographer here, I should be a good photographer there. But clients, potential clients are looking at your work and saying, oh, that's pretty. But since I cannot envision myself in the images that you're presenting me, I'm going to find someone else that can.
00:14:19
Speaker
So the first step for me is a lot of times out of my own pocket, going to the new location and creating content, styled shoots, giveaways. This is where you have to have ego out the door because sometimes they're free shoots. Now I control what they wear and all of these things, but it's all about creating content. So the content that I post, people can see themselves in that image. Forward marketing, it's really going back to the last six months and to a year.
00:14:46
Speaker
blog posts and key wording them, understanding keywords, researching the market in your area. I'm an educator that believes in market research. Hawaii market and San Diego market is very different. So my pricing, at least starting out, will probably be different too. Again, six years, you don't want to have to lower your prices. But to start and build, you know, that's ego. I don't want to lower my prices, but I also want to start working. So that's a big key too.
00:15:16
Speaker
And so one of the big things that I've done each and every move that has built success is using landing pages on my website and all that. I'll run a giveaway of some sorts. Now, I never say it's a random giveaway. There's applications and all that. And I usually choose more than one winner. And here's why. Yeah, somebody's like, well, that's a lot of free work you're doing, Vanessa. Yes, I do hope that I can book their wedding. That's part of it. It's an engagement session. But in terms of
00:15:43
Speaker
marketing. Now, pandemic aside, the way that it was supposed to be in the first three months of me being here was going to be shooting, shooting, shooting, and people were going to be like, dang. But that's just working all the time. And clients are going to be like, wow, she just moved here and look at all these things. No one's asking me what they paid. Yeah, I'm not saying it's a free session. It's content. And then it's blogging that I can keyword and that I can run a targeted ad to its strategy. So when I landed here again, Corona obviously messed that up a little bit.
00:16:13
Speaker
But the goal was to land, and I actually chose 10 people. But they were sessions that I had, I controlled where they were in all of these things. And they fit the look that I was going for, not based off size or sex or anything like that, but they could do their own hair and makeup. And they looked like on their Instagram, they could dress nice, because I wasn't paying for that. And in the first quarter, there would have been at least 10 shoots that I had with different locations that, again, blog,
00:16:41
Speaker
retarget all of those things. And so a lot of work goes forward because a lot of times what happens is you move to the location and you think, well, I've had success here. So I'm just going to sit and wait. People would come to me. I made one announcement. I made two Instagram posts. I'm moving to this location and now I'm going to sit and wait. Yeah. I don't have time to wait. Right. I got bills to pay and I like nice things and I like to work.
00:17:04
Speaker
So there's no time to wait for that, to come in, wait for Google to work my SEO and all that. I have to go out and create content to then show the content. So if you guys don't realize that marketing is not, I won't say it's lying, it's stretching the truth, right? Working, right? But I didn't say it was paid or not, but no one else would have known. And even now, the sessions that I'm doing, you don't know if they're paid or not. That's none of anybody else's business. You're just saying new work, new content and potential clients are seeing beautiful work
00:17:34
Speaker
And they're seeing images that they want me to create for them. Exactly. And when people see beautiful images, the first question they ask themselves, or the first thought isn't, oh, I wonder how much they paid. It's, oh, that's beautiful. You know, it's compelling. It resonates with them in some manner, and they want to reach out. And then you have the pricing conversation and everything from there. But I think there's just so much wisdom in what you said, especially putting ego aside. And I think that's probably one of the hardest things is knowing. And we never had to move while we were building
Content Creation and Strategy
00:18:03
Speaker
I'm thinking about our photography business specifically, but that would have been hard, I think, saying, okay, well, I might have to lower my prices here, or just thinking about the hustle that goes into creating content. We chatted a little bit about that before the podcast began, but something you said was, nobody really wants to talk about vlogging an SEO.
00:18:22
Speaker
Because it is especially around creating content, you know, I would say that's 75% of it at least and that's the hard work, you know digging into that steadying up those style shoots moving to a new area and then wondering whether you're gonna be able to find somebody or
00:18:37
Speaker
especially if there's other vendors involved, will they say yes, that sort of thing. I just think there's so much wisdom in that advice. And it obviously works, right? Because you've moved a number of times, your business has been vibrant through those moves. And it continues to be even in the midst of 2020. Exactly. You know, I've been lucky. And David doesn't know what I'm saying. But in the midst of the pandemic, I redid my website, and it's a Davey and Krista template. And even I saw the changes in
00:19:06
Speaker
the clients that came in. So since I launched I launched it the week of my birthday, which is in May. So it's from May until today. I've booked six weddings since I've launched that in a new location. That's awesome. In the middle of a pandemic, you know, so it is a lot of work. And believe me, I'm not going to sit here and act like I've never there's it is a mental game, especially the move from Hawaii because I had generated so much success there, you know, and it was great.
00:19:30
Speaker
You almost kind of want to stomp your feet and be like, I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this hustle, right? Where you see your fellow creatives who don't have to do this hustle anymore in year six, right? They can just continue to grow and expand. So you kind of want to stomp your feet a little bit and be like, I don't want to. But then at the end of the day, I have to. Like that, that is, my journey will always be different. And anybody who moves their business, any military spouses out there, you know that, and I encourage you that comparison of stuff of joy is so true, but
00:19:59
Speaker
Understand that our journey to success is very different than most, right? And I applaud anybody who has to move their business because you cannot compare. I can't compare my six years to a fellow colleague who's been in for six years, but it's never moved their business. So different. So.
00:20:16
Speaker
Yeah. So much wisdom. And like I said, if you haven't heard Vanessa talk about that subject in particular, you should go out and search for that. It just might be that you have to come on another episode so we can dig into that a little bit more because there's so many different places I'd love to take that part of the conversation. But I definitely want to talk about the mastermind as well. And I feel like one of the nice things about the mastermind that you've created is that
00:20:39
Speaker
So you have, you know, there's your reputation as a photographer among clients, but then you have a reputation among fellow photographers and creatives as well. And so at least even in the midst of moves, you know, that's something you don't have to constantly rebuild. So how many masterminds have you run before this? Two others. I created the mastermind as 12 week programs. And so I started it in 2020. So there was a January launch, an August launch, and then the July launch.
00:21:07
Speaker
Yep. And you just finished your most recent launch. Is it just for photographers? It is now because I know, you know, I want to make sure that I can teach them one photographer in my last mastermind. She was a photographer starting her photography business and also an Etsy seller with a greeting cards, handmade greeting cards. And so a lot of the things that we talked about, she would just have two separate goals to work towards that. But yeah, it's definitely for photographers in general.
00:21:34
Speaker
Yeah, awesome. And just so everybody knows, you'll be launching the last one of 2020 around the first week of October. And we'll have details on that in the show notes for anybody who wants to learn more. But what went into starting the mastermind? Why did you decide to start a mastermind? So when I look back on the first few years of my business, which I think most of us can attest to, it was lonely.
00:21:59
Speaker
And I think just not maybe the first few, in general, business is only, entrepreneurship is lonely. And I don't believe that business is meant to be done alone. As you know, I speak on mental health, so I know the effects, the triggers that creative entrepreneurs face. And one of them is, you know, being alone, that fear of loneliness and social isolation. I was part of a year-long mastermind previously. And the best thing that I got out of that mastermind was the people that I met, right? We still talk today.
00:22:28
Speaker
send each other referrals and bounce ideas, the power of being around like minded people together physically or online. There's power in that and growth in that we are. So when we run our business, same thing like if you're about to launch a new website, maybe I know like you deal with this. People are so attached to their website, but it's because you created it. But when you have an outsider looking in, you can find the holes in their business. And so,
00:22:55
Speaker
When I created the mastermind, I knew I didn't want it to be a year long because a whole lot of life can happen in a year. Um, and I read a book called 12 week year, and it's all about the importance of annual goals. But what happens is when we create annual goals subconsciously, we're like, we all know, call it resolutions, goals, what have you. Oh, I'm going to lose 20 pounds. And then, you know, you don't do anything in January. You're subconscious like, it's okay. You got 11 months left. It's good. I'm going to learn blogging. Okay.
00:23:23
Speaker
January, no, February, no, March. And before you know it, November happens, life has happened. And then you're like, Oh, I didn't even learn this. Okay. I got next year. Right. And so while annual goals are important, these breaking your life out into 90 days, right. And focusing on that is enough time to learn and implement, but quick enough that that subconscious, if you have that hustle, it doesn't get in the way I built the mastermind based off wanting to bring like-minded people together.
00:23:52
Speaker
And really the whole point of it is that you're not alone. The mastermind is meant, my personal mastermind is meant for people who are looking for a foundation in their business. A lot of people have built a beautiful business, but their foundation is Rocky, right? And eventually that house is going to crumble. You cannot build up on a Rocky foundation. There was cracks in it. And so I say, take it back to the basics, but it's not the blogging, SEO, you know, content creation. None of those things are basic, but they are,
00:24:21
Speaker
the seeds that you plant in water that is something like a pandemic happens, you can come back to it. And I feel like a lot of people feel so lost right now because they don't have the foundation in their business. And again, I've had to build that foundation very quickly because I moved so much. I created this mastermind so people didn't feel alone, that they had a affordable way to learn amazing content. And then they have
00:24:45
Speaker
10 to 12 accountability partners. It's not like buying a course that you're never going to finish, right? You do one module and then you're like, okay, well, you know, I know everything now. And it's been beautiful, especially who would have thought to run a mastermind during this year. It absolutely did not turn out how I envisioned it. It actually turned out so much better, right? Harder, but the purpose and the impact has been so different.
00:25:13
Speaker
Yeah, and I think so much more important for people because of how tough this year has been. So much of what you're saying about masterminds, I think resonates, especially the outside perspective and how important that is to a business. And really just a life in general, you know, having somebody who's not kind of in it, right with you, who can say, okay, so why are you doing things that way? Put this together for me. And I think back to our business and some of the areas of the largest growth came because of coaching and mentoring relationships and
00:25:42
Speaker
you know, not necessarily because they shared any sort of silver bullet, you know, and that's, I think that's the tendencies we want to find this secret formula that somebody's going to share and all of a sudden it's going to be easy and our business is going to blow up from there. But just because you have an outside perspective saying, hey, why are you doing it that way? Hey, you know, you said you're going to do this, did you, you know, do that?
00:26:01
Speaker
And I think all of those things are super valuable for mastermind.
Mastermind Program Structure
00:26:06
Speaker
One thing I really like, and do you remember the author of the 12-week year? I really like this concept that you're talking about. Let me pull it up, guys. I'm so sorry. I should have had that ready because it's the book that I have. It changed everything, not only on my business, but personally too. My goals personally are 12 weeks as well. Sorry, I'm pulling it up right now for you guys. And we'll make sure that it's in the show notes too.
00:26:31
Speaker
100% yeah. And just as far as people who would benefit from doing a mastermind, who do you feel like would benefit the most from this? As you're pulling up the title here, I think that also for people thinking about a mastermind, and you talk about the loneliness factor of entrepreneurship, I think it's one of those things where it doesn't even, even for people who are part of teams,
00:26:53
Speaker
I think there still is a loneliness factor in running a business, being a leader in your business because your team is just not necessarily thinking about the same things that you are. For Davey and Krista and for my newer business, Till Agency, we have two phenomenal teams, phenomenal people that make up those teams, lots of camaraderie. But I think that when you're running the business, when you own the business,
00:27:15
Speaker
there is an element of loneliness there that it's nice to talk to other business owners about, you know, the different challenges that they're facing, whether they be mental or a more tangible problem within the business. Absolutely. So for you guys, it is called the 12 week year by Brian P Moran. So it's an incredible book. There's a workbook that you can get with it, but it really talks about the importance of
00:27:43
Speaker
not focusing on annual goals, but this 12 week mindset. And so you'll hear a lot, a lot of people are doing 90 day this or whatever, because there is such an importance in that. And it, and it picks up steam to then go into the next quarter. So for me, so the mastermind is built for people. There's an application process. And again, when they fill out the application, I'm looking for certain things. When you're part of a mastermind, it is all about being a giver as much as you are a taker, right?
00:28:12
Speaker
If I wanted to do group coaching where I'm just teaching the masses or group, right, I'm just the only teacher and that's it, that's group coaching. Obviously you have one-on-one coaching, but a mastermind, the true heart of a mastermind is the people that is in it. I'm the leader, yes, but so is everyone else, no matter how long you've been in business. So if I see something where somebody may be in business that they're not really caring right now, and I know that sounds bad, but about someone else's business, I really just need to focus on that.
00:28:42
Speaker
That's okay, but you're not meant for a mastermind. You're meant for group coaching or one-on-one. And so I need people that are willing to be both a giver and a taker in a mastermind that, and it doesn't matter again how long you've been in, because remember how we said having someone else looking at your business, that is going to be key to it. That there's no, it's a safe space. You have to be willing to talk marketing ideas and not that fear of, Oh my God, that a limiting belief that only you can have this idea. And if you share it, somebody else is going to take it.
00:29:11
Speaker
No, like we share ideas freely and then we encourage the other people in the mastermind to utilize that idea. You know, make it your own, but utilize that idea as well. If you can't, you can't hold on to things and it takes a week or two to build that trust in the group. But as I'm looking, I, it's like a puzzle piece. This person will fit with this group and I build it around that. So for my, my particular mastermind where I found where my passion lied was looking for individuals who, again,
00:29:40
Speaker
feel like they don't have structure in their business. I love structure, I love strategy and really looking to build that foundation. If you peel the layers back in your business and you really cannot tell me where the majority of your leads come from, you can't tell me where your business is being seen if you're utilizing every avenue of Pinterest, blogging, marketing, social media, Google My Business. If you don't know the basics of Facebook ads or
00:30:05
Speaker
or anything like that, then the mastermind is for you because these are the foundations of your business, that a pandemic, a move, anything like that can happen, and we can come back to these foundations to recreate and regrow. It doesn't matter if you've been in a year or eight years. If you don't have that strategy, then my particular mastermind would benefit.
00:30:27
Speaker
Yeah. And I assume that there's like a network aspect to it as well. Like you had mentioned at the beginning or towards the beginning of this episode that even from the mastermind you were part of that was a year long program, you still keep in touch with the people that you were in that mastermind with. And I got to assume the same is true of your mastermind that these are people that you can now network with. You've been able to build relationships within a structured setting and it can now network with forever.
00:30:54
Speaker
Oh, so, and that happens so organically where if they're in the same location, so I've seen people that have been in the mastermind second shoot for each other, send referrals to each other. One group from the very first one, the beta test, I believe they're coming together to create their own kind of educational retreat. A couple of them that were in it that have different things to offer are something themselves. So, you know, I like to say, I mean, I don't want to say sisterhood because any men are welcome to come into it too. I mean, it's been all women so far, but
00:31:23
Speaker
It is a tight knit family which is why I keep it small because I can manage that. I can make sure I've had each round tends to have an introvert in there and I make sure that she is not being left behind. It is our job to pick out who the introvert is, right? And pull her up because you have someone like me who's a talker and I don't want her
00:31:45
Speaker
to be overwhelmed or pushed aside. So it's like, I always find that one person and we're going to push you up to the front the most. So you're not left behind in this group. We've had people lose family members during the 12 weeks and then I was a pandemic there and everybody's rallied around them. So I find that it's so much more than business, but it's my job to curate the perfect group to do that. Because if I just let anybody in, there's going to be someone that's going to be more of a taker.
00:32:14
Speaker
going to be something that's not going to fit the vibe, then there's cracks in my mastermind. Sure. And as far as going about structuring it, do you follow a certain you have a sort of like weeks planned out like, Hey, this is when we're going to cover this? Is it based mostly on I guess what people need? Or do you kind of have a loose framework for what you're going to go through? So there's definitely like, I know the topics that we're going to talk about. And that was when last year, when I started talking about the mastermind, and I asked what people were looking for, I based it off of that. So you know, we
00:32:44
Speaker
We start off with goal setting, but again, we question those goals, right? Because they need to be strategic. You know, it's all about smart goals. So every goal that you set for the last 12 weeks, they have to answer these questions.
00:32:55
Speaker
then we go into content planning. So most people cannot look at their calendar and be like, okay, well, I want to run Christmas minis in October or November. So that means that I need to start marketing in September, which means by August, I need to have the content for it done, which means July, I need to buy the props for it. No one looks at the business in that mind frame. A lot of times it's like, Oh, I should run a Christmas mini. I'm going to do it in October. And then they're like, Oh my goodness, my mini sessions don't work. I'm like, when did you start marketing it? November. That's why.
00:33:24
Speaker
So we spend a whole two weeks looking at your year, but then again, we're going to break it down so they walk off. Most businesses don't do SWOT analysis. That's where my master's comes into play and all of that. So we spend time doing that. We do blogging and SEO, social media, Facebook ads, systems and workflows. I actually bring in guest speakers for those two topics because while I'm good at it, I'm not the master. So I'm bringing people who are. And then email opt-ins and things like that.
00:33:54
Speaker
Luckily, those are the frameworks. That's a skeleton of the mastermind. But because we're in a Slack channel, let's say someone's like, hey, I want to talk more about running giveaways. Great. Let's create a thread and we'll talk about it in there. So it may not be a weak topic, but no topic is off limits. I want to talk many sessions. I don't talk many sessions, but let's create a thread and let's talk about it. So there's so much that we can talk about. It's the framework of the business. And now at the end, the way we end it is they start the goals. They really go back to week one.
00:34:24
Speaker
and create smart goals for the next 12 weeks. So that's how I built a structure of this particular mastermind. And it's just kind of rinse and repeat every month. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. What did it look like promoting the mastermind the first time around versus now? I assume that in some ways, maybe it gets easier because you have had people gone through it. But how did you get it in front of people to begin with?
00:34:51
Speaker
The very first round, I started marketing only in my education group. So it was a beta round, it was very cheap. And your education group? Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off. Is that a Facebook group? Yeah, so it's the Vanessa Hicks education community. So I have a free- Is that- Yeah, for anybody. Excellent. All right, cool. Yeah, I just want to make sure that gets in the show notes. Yeah, absolutely. But you said that's how you promoted it.
00:35:15
Speaker
They marketed it in there and it was a beta round. And so my theory was, okay, I'll do this beta round for 12 weeks. If I like it, great. If I don't, great too. Contracts were in place, you know, so obviously if you're doing the beta round, you had to leave video and video testimonials and written testimonials, you know, again, so I could help promote the next round. Ironically, what happened was the first round, there was 13 people in it. And, you know, I had more just in case someone dropped out or anything and more reviews, the better.
00:35:44
Speaker
when it started hot and they ended with the start of the pandemic, right? So everybody, you know, so you think January and going into February, things were just so, and then the pandemic started. And so they, we almost kind of ended, I don't want to say on a sad note, but it was like, okay, these goals that maybe you've created, let's readjust them, right? We're going to have to readjust them and do these things. So it was nice to have that. And then a lot of people, their reviews were like, I'm so happy that I had it at the start of this to push me to the next 12 weeks.
00:36:13
Speaker
When you start marketing it, I was already starting to market the next one in February. So people had already booked all of these things. And for an April 1st launch of this year, we all know, you know, thinking of April cancellations, our businesses were stopping. So some people had dropped out, but then seven stayed. And the work that I watch these people do, these seven incredible women in the 12 weeks,
00:36:37
Speaker
So then, you know, then there was social injustices online. All of these things are going on in the last 12 weeks in terms of marketing it. I was just utilizing them. And, you know, I had a whole sales page set up for this next round and email launches and all that, that, I mean, not, I'm blessed and I don't want to rely on it. I didn't even have to use because come this third round, the 11 women that are in it now,
00:37:04
Speaker
It was an easier sell this time around than it was either one, the beta or the second one, because they were like, I've seen what people have said, and I haven't done much work, or I haven't had much success in these last three months, and I'm scared. They're coming to me saying, I need a foundation that I don't have to rely on with the uncertainties. So this was an easier marketing based off just the success and with the words that the other people had to say. I didn't have to say much.
00:37:34
Speaker
And again, I don't rely on that. There's marketing plans and email lists and webinars and all that ready to go for the next launch. But I was blessed to again, created this group that did it for me. They were sharing online through the last 12 weeks. They were sharing our zoom calls. They were doing things that I didn't even ask them to do, which then helped create that. And again, I think it goes back to as an educator, you need to know who you want to teach.
00:38:00
Speaker
Right. My mastermind will never be a very high ticket price mastermind because I know who I'm trying to teach. They tend to be newer photographers and all of that. And so I don't want to out price that they can't get quality education. The mastermind has never been a financial goal for me. And especially how this year has turned out, it's been an impact goal. How many people can I impact during this time? Because remember my whole mastermind is built on not wanting to be alone and the times.
00:38:28
Speaker
Right now, so many people are lonely, literally, physically, all of that. And we don't even have our clients to talk to because we can't shoot. So I think more than ever, people are craving that. And more than ever, people now have the time that they've asked for. We've all asked for time. Well, then we were forced time. But they have time to look at their businesses and see where the holes are. You know, why do I not have a blog?
00:38:58
Speaker
why am I not showing up consistently on social media? You have nothing but time to evaluate your business and what you need. Sure. So, as far as... Well, first, I guess I want to say about the marketing. I mean, that's obviously, I think, the situation you want to be in where people are so ecstatic about it that they're sharing it for you, good on you for creating an experience that provides that. But also noted that you still have these other
00:39:22
Speaker
you know, things like sales pages and a potential webinar launch, like you have those things lined up in order to pitch it if need be. And so I think that's important as well. And there's opt-ins and things like that because I mean, David, you know, as an educator, it's the same thing as we do with our clients, you have to build a no light trust factor, someone's going to invest in you to teach them, you have to build a no light trust factor. So what does that come with opt-ins and freebies and all of these things to prove to you
00:39:51
Speaker
you know, give you a little bit where you're like, Oh, that's great information. I want more in order to do that. And then I want you to teach me for 12 weeks. You have to have all that lined up. You can't just be like, Oh yes, I made this much photographer that learn from me. You, we see so many of those, right? Dave, you have to have been in for so long. I call him like Instagram famous educators, you know, but quality education. Yeah, for sure. I need to, not just the fact that I've been in six years and I've moved four times and all of these things,
00:40:20
Speaker
I need to prove to you that what I have is good. And you need to trust me. That includes a launch. That includes all of those things that you need to be ready for instead of marketing like how people would market those Christmas minis, right? Oh, I got a course coming on Instagram. I posted it twice. How come no one booked it? First of all, you need to post it seven times. There's a strategy again behind that.
00:40:44
Speaker
Absolutely. And the value of just referrals coming from people that you've served beforehand. But I think everything you're saying is so true, especially around building no like and trust. A conversation we just had as a team with Till Agency was, it's so much nicer getting on a phone call with somebody who's interested in working with us.
00:41:02
Speaker
who has a friend or has somebody that they know that's worked with us that's been getting a great results and has had a great experience because getting them over the finish line to booking is so much easier, right? And so, all these things that you do so well, such as blogging and focusing a little bit on search engine optimization, sharing consistently on social, I mean, you're building all of that before it comes time to somebody having to make that decision, right?
00:41:27
Speaker
So what advice do you have for somebody who is considering either joining a mastermind or creating a mastermind of
Advice on Mastermind Participation
00:41:35
Speaker
their own? So if you're looking to join a mastermind, I think it goes back into what I said in earlier is that you have to be willing to be a giver and you have to have that confidence that your business may not be where you're at. Maybe you're brand new in business, you know,
00:41:48
Speaker
I don't want to stray you away to think that you don't have anything to offer because it's always easier to see other people's business and have ideas. I know I can't be the only one where I'm like, oh yes, do this and this and oh my God, now I have all these ideas. And I'm like, why didn't I think of that for myself? Right. It's so much easier to be there. And if you're really craving a community, a mastermind is going to be good. But the person that wants to be part of it, you need, you also need to know what you're looking for. If you are just looking for something for just you that you just need to focus on you, that's okay.
00:42:17
Speaker
So you're meant for a mentorship or a one-on-one coaching, you know, and then you just come in and we have to let all of those walls down, right? Because again, my therapist used to always say that when your walls are up, you miss the good stuff. And so once the walls come down, therapy or in a mastermind, the good stuff can come. And so know what you're looking for in the mastermind, make sure that the content that is being taught is something that you need and willing to invest in.
00:42:45
Speaker
If you are looking to teach a mastermind, again, I really encourage educators to know who you want to teach. If you want to teach high level people who already have the foundations and they're willing to extend or whatever it is, that's fine. But then know that when you do that application, if you see the red flags that, yeah, this person doesn't have the foundations, they don't have, they're not doing something consistently. Be okay with recommending them to someone else or, you know, don't just take their money and then let them get swept to the side.
00:43:15
Speaker
So know who it is you want to teach, who you're passionate about teaching. Like I said, I know my passion lies in those newer photographers or those who that needed a foundation. I'm not passionate about teaching technical skills like camera skills or I will never teach that. I'm not passionate about that. Just like I'm not passionate about shooting newborns. So I'm not going to do it. So know who it is because then as you create copy and marketing and all that, you will speak to their pain points. It's the same thing like we're trying to do for our clients.
00:43:45
Speaker
just on the education side of things. Yeah. Well, I want to wrap up the podcast by talking about something else, a good thing of blessing that's come out of, you know, 2020 for you.
Young Entrepreneurship
00:43:57
Speaker
And honestly, it's something that I hope for my relationship with Jack, who is our two year old, but you your daughter started a business. So Oceana art design, right? Yes.
00:44:08
Speaker
And so that has happened that started in 2020. And like I said, obviously, I want Jack to grow up and do what he's passionate about and what he wants to do. But there is a definite part of me that's like, I hope he grows up to be an entrepreneur, you know, I hope he goes up, you know, grows up wanting to start a business or businesses. So tell us a little bit about that experience. And you know, if you've learned anything from her in starting the business.
00:44:33
Speaker
Well I mean I could I'm just a proud mom in general so I have two daughters Jasmine who is 13 and Tatiana who has her Etsy shop and she is 12.
00:44:43
Speaker
I had just shared, actually, in my education group, I did an Ask Me Anything Kids edition, and that was fun. You want to know what your kids think about you as entrepreneurship? And they were really honest. Do something like that. And I found out some things that I didn't know. But Tatiana has always been- Now you and your entire Facebook group knows. Yeah, they do. And again, on the flip side, so many people had messaged me because my teenagers were very honest about
00:45:10
Speaker
that I had missed and all of that. And so, you know, so many people messaged me. They're like, thank you. Now I kind of get a little inside of what my kids feel. But she's always been very artistic. Now, I cannot draw a stick figure. And she's always, you know, pen and paper. She's, you know, she asks for art supplies for Christmas and all of that. And it was actually someone online I had shared. She is obsessed with Hamilton. Obsessed with Hamilton and created me to be obsessed with Hamilton.
00:45:41
Speaker
I had shared some of her drawings in her sketchbook. I was like, look at this kid, man. And someone's like, she should create a shop. And I was like, Tati, somebody online said that you should create a shop. And she was like, imagine if these were stickers. And I was like, imagine if they were stickers. And so she recreated, they were pencil drawings. So she recreated it on her iPad. And as she's doing that, I'm kind of researching everything about Etsy, because I don't know anything about it.
00:46:08
Speaker
She was like, mom, I want to do this. I want to, you know, she looked on Pinterest and all that. She's like, I want to make stickers. And I was like, okay. And we saw with her artistic skills and her drawing, she's always been the kid that doesn't like to be outside. We'll go outside with a drawing pen and all, you know, that's just, that's just who she is. And she definitely doesn't like to be in front of the camera and all that. So me and my husband sat down and like, okay, if you want to do this, we will invest in you, right? Cause you need a, a cricket machine and some other things. You will pay us back.
00:46:38
Speaker
She was like, okay. And so this is in the middle of the pandemic too. So, you know, it was like, everybody was interested again, before Hamilton even came out on Disney plus on the, her Hamilton stickers. So created an Instagram, put them on Etsy. So, you know, obviously friends and family started buying it and more, you know, showing on Instagram and she's just sort of creating more drawings. But what really put her on the map was obviously during the social injustices that's been going on,
00:47:07
Speaker
you know, the heaviness of it the past couple months, she created this beautiful drawing of two hands wrapped around in flowers, African American hand and in a white hand. And I control I manage her Instagram just because she's still 12. And there's creeps out there. And I was like, I love this drawing, Tati. I was like, I'd love for you to just write. I didn't see it. I was like, here's the phone. Write what it meant to you and post it.
00:47:33
Speaker
And she did, and essentially, you know, at 12 years old, she just didn't understand. She understood that people are dying because of their color of skin, but she didn't get why. Why can't the world be like this hand? And she put united. And it kind of went a little viral. And people were sharing it on Instagram and all that, and we created a print on it. And so watching her have to manage her orders and pack them up. And, you know, during the last two months, especially when that happened, she does like these custom drawings. People send a picture of them, and she creates a drawing.
00:48:03
Speaker
It skyrocketed and she had a little breakdown because she's still 12 and understanding time management and run a business. It is your responsibility. No, you can't watch Hamilton for the 18th time on Disney Plus. It came out four days ago. You have work to do. And so, you know, I put herself on Etsy. The girls 12, two months in the business has a VA already. Okay.
00:48:27
Speaker
But to see her be so passionate about it has been incredible. And watching her work ethic and, you know, if tomorrow she's like, I don't want to do it anymore. She'll she'll complete the orders that she has and and will be done. But, you know, she has a checking account. She has a card for it. And it's funny. So she as an artist, there's these Copic markers, right, that are two hundred three hundred four hundred dollars for these sets first. And so when she she's made
00:48:54
Speaker
quite a bit of money in there. I was a little jealous one month that she made more. But I was gonna talk to her, you're gonna, you know, get another set of Copic marshes. She's like, No, they're $8 a marker, right? Like, as she did the math, they realized it. And I was like, Well, that's funny, because you sort of asked for it for Christmas. I had no problem that it was $8 a marker. And so it's funny when it's their money, what they're willing to spend on.
00:49:20
Speaker
during her point of kind of being a little overwhelmed, you know, because it's always just going into her checking account. We're like, why buy something? And this little bougie girl bought her a $70 pair of Hamilton leggings and a $80 Hamilton sweater. She's like, Mom, but it's from Broadway. And it was, you know, and she was so happy, like that reward that that she got. But then she's asked us like, Mom, can I can we have Chick-fil-A for lunch? I'll buy it. And me and my husband have been very adamant that we're like, no,
00:49:48
Speaker
You're not going to spend your money on food, and here's why. Because you're 12. So in six years, when you're out of our house, you'll have to buy food. That's right. But when you buy that, be happy with that, right? But your $80 leggings, I'm not buying. So it's been incredible to watch her build this little business of hers. And yeah, she's got tons of ideas of, you know, and funny, she's thinking a season ahead. She's like, Mom, it's the summertime. I need to start making fall and Christmas stickers. Yes, you do.
00:50:18
Speaker
You know, so she has a little notebook that she writes her to-do list and whose commission is up and a book of ideas and she kind of just scratches those off. And so to know a little bit of what I've learned, right? And to pass it on to her about like, yeah, you need to think of season ahead. Don't, don't drop fall stickers in September. It's already fall or October it's already fall. So you need to start thinking Halloween right now and draw those up so we can get them up on Etsy. So.
00:50:44
Speaker
I'm so proud of her. She knows what art school she wants to go to in New York City and she's paid my other daughter because my other daughter has helped her pack her orders and so she bought her book and has given her some money.
00:50:59
Speaker
The only thing if any of your kids start entrepreneurship is that they can get a little attitude. Like they think now bringing in money that they might be able to pop off at the mouth. My husband has implemented dad tax on her. So anytime she does something ridiculous or gets in trouble, he's like, I'm just withdrawing five bucks every time. And all he says now is $10.
00:51:23
Speaker
And then she gets all upset because she knows that that's $10 out of her account. FYI, for anybody that thinks that we're mean parents, she wrote something very nice for him on Father's Day and he deposited all that. We've never actually taken it, but the threat that we can go on and take that money out of your account for tax, we will.
00:51:41
Speaker
there's been a little bit of low attitude that she thinks she's something. That's so funny. You still just the kid. So funny. But I mean, what what is special, I think what a special thing, just be able to do that with your daughter, and then all the lessons that she's going to learn from that. And because we all have different things that we're passionate about. And
00:52:00
Speaker
It's one thing to be a good photographer and take good images, but as you're teaching so many people through your mastermind and your other educational resources, that's like 20, 25% of it. There's a 75% of it that's managing a checking account and fulfilling orders and time management and planning a season ahead. So she gets to learn that as a 12-year-old, which is incredible, right?
00:52:23
Speaker
The funniest part of it was when she saw that, you know, because I keep, I'm like, hey, so just so you know, every listing, you have an Etsy, you know, payment and all of this. And so she was like,
00:52:36
Speaker
She looked at her last month at what she made, and she's like, why did I have to pay so much taxes and fees? This is just not fair. And I was like, I know. So know that my 12-year-old is not happy about the Etsy fees and all that because she sees how much money she could have made and how much money she actually made. But those are her words. Why are the Etsy fees and taxes so high? Because that's business, honey. That's right. We need to get her off Etsy. We need to get her on another platform so she's just paying taxes. Unfortunately, we can't do anything about the taxes.
00:53:05
Speaker
Just as a final question, do you all have a favorite Hamilton character? Alright, so obviously not from like historical standpoint, but from like in the musical, I just saw it for the first time, I guess over this past weekend, and I didn't, I'm just not, I'm not a huge musical person. I have no rhythm myself, but I've really enjoyed it and it has been playing, you know, more than once in our house since it's come out.
00:53:29
Speaker
So we love, I mean, the soundtrack has been played on repeat for months, you know, since my dad was obsessed with it. I would say that going into the musical to watch it on Disney Plus, which was done incredibly well, you know, I just assumed that Hamilton was going to be my favorite, right? Knowing the history and all that. Then when I watched it, and I think what is so great about how the story was written was that
00:53:55
Speaker
there's so much of us that probably can relate to Aaron Burr, you know, just a man that like didn't want to be in the front and just wanted to just live and make you, you know, like, I mean, and there was a part in it where, where Hamilton chooses Jefferson and they pan and you see the heartbreak in his face, right? And it was like, Oh wow. But I really, I mean, I loved Thomas Jefferson because of the V days he played it so well.
00:54:23
Speaker
Tatiana, I definitely think she loves the Skyler sisters. Sure. And then Jasmine, my oldest daughter, I mean, probably likes like Hercules Mulligan. That's her. I just kind of outrageous. Yeah. So it was, and I have to remind, she actually stayed up last night to watch it till like one o'clock in the morning. My Tati has probably watched it.
00:54:47
Speaker
Five or six times. That's awesome. It was a two hour 40 minute show. Yeah, it's long. It's like, honey, we're still paying for Disney plus. I promise you it's not going away. You know, you don't have to watch it. Yeah, Disney is going to keep that around probably for a while. And we're in AR799, so you're fine. Yeah, Chris is Chris's favorite characters, Thomas Jefferson as well. And I really liked King George. I thought his character was so funny.
00:55:11
Speaker
in an article, you know, he only has nine minutes on stage. So he had to make an impact in nine minutes and boy did. Yeah, so good. Well, Vanessa, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast. This is long overdue. And like I said, so many different things that we could have we could have chatted about. So, you know, we'll have to have you on again to cover some of these other topics. Where can people follow along with you? Well, I am Vanessa Hicks photography on Instagram that Instagram is always my jam.
00:55:41
Speaker
I do have that free education group on Facebook. If you just type in Vanessa X Education Community, that's where I'm at. I would love to have you guys. Make sure you DM me and let me know that you came from Davian Christos from the podcast and yeah, anything I can do to help you. I'm there. Awesome. Well, all those resources will be in the show notes and thanks again, Vanessa. Thank you. Bye, you guys.
00:56:08
Speaker
Thanks for tuning into the Brands That Book Show. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving a review in iTunes. For show notes and other resources, head on over to dvandchrista.com.