286 EVENT RECAP: I hosted our 3rd IRL Meet Up!
Visionary Meet Up
Everything You Need to Know
TL;DR ▶️ On Friday May 26th I hosted an ‘IRL’ meetup for the Visionary Community and it was AMAZING!
Running an Online Business offers so many amazing opportunities— from being able to operate a business without physical storefronts, all the way to connecting with clients around the globe. It’s such a gift to be able to work remotely, and do what I love from my laptop.
However, no matter how convenient the miracles of modern technology may be — nothing compares with in-person connection!
The connectivity formed from face-to-face hang outs (and no, I’m NOT referring to staring at someone’s face through Zoom!) is truly irreplaceable, which is why I decided to host our 3rd official Visionary Meet Up at a restaurant called Planted In Hamilton and we had 16 amazing visionaries (past + present clients of mine, and students of our Visionary Courses) who came from all over!
Some of the attendees even commuted over 4+ hours to be there
Others came knowing NOBODY else in the room,
But all of them OPEN to the magic that happens when entrepreneurs connect
In this episode, Kelsey chats about:
The difference between living in the present, the future and the past
What are the things I shouldn’t be doing today to create the me I want to see in 365 days
The importance of community in business and life
The secret ingredient that delivers lasting success
Creating gatherings with meaning
To connect with Kelsey:
Access the transcript for this episode:
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You're listening to the visionary life podcast. I'm your host, Kelsey Reidl.
Each week, I'll bring you conversations with the most visionary humans on this earth, in hopes that you'll be able to absorb their wisdom, avoid their failures and feel less alone on the roller coaster ride that is entrepreneurship.
This season, I'll be chatting with creative thinkers, masterful marketers, brick and mortar shop owners, brand builders and people just like you who have a story to share or a vision that inspires. If I can share one quick secret with you before we get into the episode.
It's that we all have a little bit of visionary inside of us, you know, that spark that nudges us to pursue our full potential in this lifetime. But perhaps somewhere along the line, it got covered up. I'm here to tell you that it's never too late to explore that inner voice and access the brilliance deep down inside of you. It's in you. It's in all of us.
Let's dive in. Hey, visionaries. Welcome back to a little mini episode, I wanted to do a quick recap of the ir l meetup that I hosted at the end of May.
And this was for the visionary community. And sidenote, I listened to this podcast religiously. I won't say which one it is.
But the host always says R i L. And I'm pretty sure the expression is IRL right? In real life. But she said it like at least 100 times since I started listening to this podcast a few years ago. And I'm like, at what point do I reach out and like just gently say it's not r i L because that would be real in life. But maybe that is the case.
So if you could just DM me on Instagram is it IRL or R i L? Because I always say IRL in real life. Anyways, now this is reminding me of that show I used to watch as a kid called TRL Total Request Live. I don't know if you guys ever watched that. We're going so off topic here. I'm pretty sure I was able to watch it because my parents had an illegal satellite dish. And I live in Canada.
So we didn't get MTV or not like the the real one when I was a kid so my dad I remember we used to drive to this really sketchy house and a different neighborhood. And we would pay this guy cash for Direct TV. And this would give us a US satellite signal. And I loved it because I got two channels that I was obsessed with number one, the Game Show Network. We didn't get that in Canada and I have never been a huge TV person. But if I was gonna watch it as a kid, I was watching the Game Show Network so I always watched like prices right? And the the no Whammy, no whammy stop game and Hollywood Squares and oh my god, I'm blanking on all of them. But every single game show I was addicted to.
And I also would watch things like Supermarket Sweep that must have been my favorite show as a kid. If you don't know what Supermarket Sweep is you are missing out go YouTube Supermarket Sweep, and watch how awesome it was. It was. And still is. I don't know if they still film that show or if they ever did a comeback. But I always had this dream. Dream big guys, I dreamt of being on Supermarket Sweep and doing the final sweep where they literally would run around the grocery store and gather as much money in food in their cart, and they had to find special items.
And it was like this big, big treasure hunt. It was just so fun. I mean, yeah, I could go on. So that was one channel that I watched. The second channel that I loved was MTV. So I would watch all of the silly MTV shows, I loved Total Request Live. And they always did count down so they would do the top 10 music videos of the day. And you know back in the day how we used to really look forward to music videos dropping like we would see the new Britney Spears video and everyone would gather around the television and MTV did such a good job of really just like bringing the live crowd and it was just so fun. It was such an interactive show. And I remember think I was 17 Maybe when I went to New York City for the first time and I begged my parents I was like we gotta go to MTV, and I bought a hat I bought a sweater and I thought I was the coolest thing since sliced bread because I was finally at the studio of the TV shows that I love to watch so anyways, I've still many fond memories from my childhood. And sometimes I don't let myself just sit in the past actually, I have a lot of fond memories. But what I do find too is that I am constantly in the present and future. And oftentimes when people say, hey, Kells, remember when this happened, I have no memory of it. And I always wonder why. And my only theory on this is that there are different types of memories. Some people store most of their memories from the past. And that consumes a lot of what they think about. So they walk around town, they see a sign, and then they get a memory from the past. Some people are more in the present, and they don't really think about the past or not thinking about the future.
They're just like very in the world around them. And then other people are constantly living in the future, this would be someone that you'd say, Oh, they have their head in the clouds, or you're such a dreamer, or I don't know, they're always like spewing ideas and what if, and I find that most people are actually in camp number one, so they live in the past, and they're constantly ruminating? Did I say the right thing did I do? Well, I am so mad at that thing I ate for breakfast, or that email I sent yesterday or that conversation, I should have gone golfing yesterday, there's a lot of like past shame, or they just are constantly thinking about what has already happened and is over, essentially. And I do think that maybe we are in this crisis, we're not that many people are just truly present with what's in front of them, and also giving themselves the ability to think about the future. In fact, I was just listening to a podcast, I'm always listening to podcasts. I was listening to podcasts with one of my favorite entrepreneurs, and he doesn't even know I exist. Although I have DM Tim on Instagram a couple times. But anyways, he's a Canadian entrepreneur, he runs a software company, he has coaching programs.
He's an author. And I've always been very inspired by this person. And he was talking about a recent retreat he went to so this is like a nine figure business owner hanging out with another nine figure business owner both some of the most successful people in the world. And one of the assignments at this group hangout.A visionaries are you an entrepreneur that started your business to feel the freedom that it can bring? I know that's certainly one of the reasons the main drivers actually why I decided to take the leap, leave my corporate marketing management job and to start the visionary brand. So we start the business, we crave the freedom, but then we kind of get bogged down in things like too much responsibility, and we have decision paralysis. And it's really challenging to figure out where to put your time and energy and how to not stay up all night, worrying about your marketing worrying about whether this business is ever going to feel easy and take off. Well, what if we told you that you could enrich your weeks and your days with a community of devoted passionate, impact driven and health and lifestyle anchored entrepreneurs, like you don't want to just build a massive company that supports you financially and that supports your well being. You also want to do it in a way that supports being your best self feeling healthy being around people who are like minded with shared values. I know for me that eating well and making sure I'm accountable to my workouts and being around amazing, driven positive women who lift me up and cheer me on rather than bring me backwards. It has been essential to my success. Over the last seven years,
I've gone through phases where I felt lonely and disconnected. And I can tell you that those have been the worst months in my business. So that's where we want to talk about the mastermind presented by the visionary method and the magnetic life. So my business partner Emily Elliot is a certified mindset and success coach and myself being a professional marketing coach. We've collaborated and we've created what we believe is the top mastermind for female entrepreneurs like yourself, if you are feeling a strong call for connection and you want accountability to get through your launches and to make sure your marketing plan is on track and you want a space to ask questions about hiring virtual assistants and knowing when the right time is to launch that next offer versus scale your existing one. You're definitely going to want to be part of this group. It is weekly elevation. We are calling you forward to your highest version. Have your CEO self. But we're also going to be there for you through the lows and the challenges. Maybe you're a new mom, maybe you are going through some sort of relationship struggles, you know, this is a place to be your full self. We are not just entrepreneurs in silos who just work like workhorses all day, we have stuff going on, and let's make a space where that's accepted. And let's make a space where we challenge each other, to be better both in and outside of our office, if you are interested in applying this as a very intimate small group, head to Kelseyreidl.com/mastermind, or you can just head to Kelseyreidl.com, and click the coaching drop down, we would love to have you apply, I'll jump on a call with you give you the full overview of what this space is, like we meet every single week, and we cannot wait to see your application come through was to go find a quiet spot on this beautiful oceanfront property.
And think about what you want for the next 10 years. Like so simple. And you think that these people who are already so successful, it's like, don't they just do that naturally? Aren't they always just living in the future, but I think it has to be a conscious practice for us to give ourselves time and space to actually dream about the future and, and really picture what's possible and to imagine what we want beyond what we have today. You know what I mean? And just hearing him say that he doesn't even give himself that time and needed a coach to tell him, I was reminded that, you know, we all need a little support in allowing ourselves giving ourselves the space, the bandwidth to actually ask ourselves questions like, What do I want five years from now? If my life did not change 10 years from today? Would I be okay with that? What are the things that I shouldn't be doing today to create the me that I want to see in 365 days time? Who am I trying to become? And what rituals and habits does that person need to incorporate? And you know, one of those things for me, when I started my business, I did so much in person stuff. I taught a lot of workshops around Toronto, I was a fitness instructor teaching multiple classes a week, so I was always in community. I worked from co working spaces downtown Toronto, so I met so many humans, I attended conferences, and any type of event that spoke to me whether it was health, fitness, wellness, you bet I was there, I would go to the colleges or to the local institutions. And anytime they put on fireside chats or q&a with people I admired I would go I saw the founder of Joe Fresh speak, I saw, you know, founders of brands that are now mega consumer packaged goods, companies, I saw them speak I would go to weekend trade shows, I say all this to basically emphasize how important it was for me to be getting out and networking and just building building a crew, right and just, I think some people call it a Rolodex, like building the Rolodex meeting new humans every single day having stimulating conversations. And something that really was important was being curious about others. I didn't want to talk about myself ever. I was still learning I was still building.But I did want to meet other people. So I would do that in so many ways. And this was one of the reasons why in the back of my mind, I kind of thought, You know what, I don't think we'll ever leave Toronto, like, I don't think we'll ever move out of the city. And the reason for that was because I thought community has to be baked in to my business. I need the accessibility and the proximity to all of these events. But you know, we all know what happened in 2020, COVID happen, blah, blah, blah. A lot of these things were shut down, we were able to reevaluate and, you know, much as community is a core value for business. It's also a value in my life. And I knew that I can find that community, anywhere I live in the world, even in the smallest of towns and yes, some of it might have to be digital. But I started to drop that limiting belief that my business was location dependent, or that fear that if we move from the biggest city in Canada to a very small town of 20,000 people, my business will suffer like, for some reason I told myself that story which is kind of wild, right? Because the business runs online, but anyways, because I prioritize community, it's a core value, I really didn't know. But after a lot of deliberation, we knew that the lifestyle, we wanted the family life that we wanted to create our happiness, our joy, it was going to be found in a smaller town, and it was going to be found in a place with some property, and with some yard. So fast forward, we move. It's been amazing, we love it. But the one thing I will say is that I'm not getting out to events every night. And let's be clear, I don't have the same kind of energy that I do in my 20s, I have a fully booked coaching business. So I don't have the bandwidth to be bouncing around to 900 places a week, like I, I have to strategically protect my evenings these days, and how many commitments I make during the work day because I need to show up for my clients.
And that's really it. That's all they are my priority. They are the reason why I do what I do. So you know, there needs come first, essentially. So the times have changed, right? But all this to say I still really, really really value in person connection and being around whether it's my clients or other entrepreneurs, or creatives, there is something so insane when you get a group of people in a room. And it's kind of the way that we position our mastermind. So if you're not familiar, my colleague and I launched a mastermind, and it's a group of women who are running online service based businesses who are really looking to plug into a community of leaders and grow their health, and their wealth and their relationships. And it's all built on the quote that mastermind groups multiply the mental powers of all participants. This is the secret ingredient that delivers lasting success. And this is a Napoleon Hill quote. So let me read that, again, mastermind groups multiply the mental powers of all participants, this is the secret ingredient that delivers lasting success. I love that quote. Because I have experienced the results. I have said many times to you guys, I've paid 10s of 1000s of dollars more probably than $100,000 to be part of masterminds. And they have produced infinite return on investment. And so no matter how convenient the miracles of modern technology are, and the fact that I could just sit and scroll on Instagram and blah, blah, blah. Nothing compares with in person connection, nothing compares with face to face Hangouts. And this is why I decided to host our third official visionary meetup. And so I chose a location that I thought would be vibey it was called planted in Hamilton. And we had people commute in from as close as 20 minutes away, as far as for four and a half hours away.
So it was so cool. Some people came knowing nobody in the room, some people came knowing you know, more than half of the people in the room. And all in all, it was just so reassuring and therapeutic to run this event and to create a space where people I've met on Instagram or people who have been my students at the Canadian School of Natural nutrition, which is now being taught virtually some people came because I used to work with them at Vega. Some people came because I studied with them at university. How crazy is that? And we've reconnected, some people were there because their listeners of the podcast, a lot of people were there because they found me through Google. And in spite of all these people knowing me, they didn't all know each other that well, even though we do group zoom meetups. So it's just so neat. So in planning this event, I really thought about the book, The Art of gathering by Priya Parker, I really value her perspective on creating gatherings with meaning. Because you know how sometimes you go to a party and you're there, but it feels like it's almost empty, and there's no intention and you kind of leave feeling worse than when you arrived. And I didn't want that feeling for this gathering. Like I really did want to curate an experience that was intimate and structured and that nobody would feel left out or wondering why are we here? Why are we spending our Friday like I wanted there to be enough going on really good food, good vibes, a crew of people, energetic people, and to loosely follow a structure and agenda like I know. So for example, I just got invited to a three day conference in Utah. And I'm really considering like, is this the right conference? For me? It sounds really badass. But there's no agenda And so imagine I'm gonna fly halfway across North America to be with people I don't know to do. I don't know what. And yes, there's a loose outline. But I kind of said like, Guys, where's the agenda, I am not someone who wants to pay $3,000 to show up and just see how things unfold. That is not a tangible outcome.
For me, I just want to see a breakdown of the schedule, you know. So I found this really interesting. Because I've been to some events where there's not enough structure, I wanted there to be structure. So maybe I'm a bit type A about that. But I think that makes everyone feel welcome, and included. So we started with arrivals and welcomes, then we did a really fun partner introduction and roundtable exercise. Then we did a breakout, then we had a group lunch that planted in Hamilton catered, then we did another breakout, and then we wrapped up. So it was just a three hour event. But there was just enough structure to kind of keep everyone on track. And aside from that, I kept the details really simple. I just wanted a great atmosphere. So we had a private space in a loft of a restaurant. So there was background noise from the restaurant, but nothing too crazy. Like I mentioned, I wanted food and drink. So I ordered a bunch of that and catered it and supplied enough food so that everybody would not leave hungry. I broke up the tables into four tables at first and then we ended up pushing it together into one group table. Because I think atmosphere and feeling included and not like you're stuck at the same table the whole time is very important. I really thought about some visual elements and appealing to the senses. So having music playing when you come and having things on the table in case you found yourself sitting alone. So there were intention cards and stickers, and postcards that you could fill out. And there was balloons that said the word visionary. And so I think just if you are going to plan an event, and I kind of wanted to just share this just in case, anyone ever wants to refer back to it, really think about appealing to the senses, and how can you, you know, go the extra mile to make everything feel comfortable and cozy. And to just create the environment that you know you'd want to be in. Even something so simple as signs on all the doors, leading them to where they need to go. So I put a sign on the very front door and then a sign when they needed to turn up the stairs, and then another sign to indicate that they were going the right way and should fill out a name tag. So I think just making sure that you've thought through every minute of the day, and do you have a good flow. So I just wanted to share that just in case this is something that you're wanting to do. Maybe you want to do a Community Meetup, I can tell you with certainty it is 100% worth it, especially if your community is mostly remote. Yes, your business may start out digitized. But I really do think it can go a lot further when you return back to face to face interactions. Some of the most successful business leaders in the world. They prioritize getting on planes trains driving, to go meet face to face to have coffee with friends. So I hope this inspires you to maybe plan something of your own. And if you have any questions about the visionary meetup, send me a DM on Instagram. And that's it for this short little minisode. So feel free to send me a message. And I hope you have an incredible rest of your week.
We will chat very soon. Hey, visionary, I want to quickly interrupt this episode to ask you if you've been curious what it's like to work with a private business and marketing coach. If you're a business owner, and you feel like your marketing plan is all over the place, you haven't figured out your search engine optimization or your SEO strategy, you have no idea what your social media marketing plan is, and you are not doing so well on the self Express content front. I call these the marketing trio. It's the three S's SEO social media self expressed content. And by dialing in all three of these pillars, you too can get more visible, generate more income and increase your lead generation where you're actually turning your followers into paid clients and you're constantly bringing new people in at the top of the funnel. If you're not familiar with my work, I am a private business and marketing coach and I have spent the last 13 years working in the marketing industry. Many of those years doing consulting with clients like you who want to finally get more visible and get in front of their dream clients. So when we work together, you have me for four months as your marketing partner, I'm gonna do a full audit of your business, put you on a private project management software with me and then based on your innate skill sets based on your strength based on where you are curious and where Are your dream clients are paying attention, we're going to build out a custom marketing strategy. We're going to track it, we're going to optimize it. And by the end of the four months, you have a plan that works. And you're seeing results. It's truly incredible.
Christina crook, just landed a $100,000 consulting contract after implementing just one of my marketing strategies. Emily Fraser signed multiple new clients in one day after just one month of working with me. And now she is having consistent five figure months. And Natasha, she started leveraging her email list in December, and 30 days later, in January, she pulled in $25,000, from one single email that we created. So these results are possible for you too. But don't sign up yet. Just had to Kelsey rydell.com. And check out how we can work together, learn all about it, make sure you feel informed. And if you'd like to book a discovery call with me, just fill out the application on my website, we can get on the phone and see if it's a good fit for you. So anyways, I don't want to interrupt this episode anymore. I cannot wait to work with you to support you and getting you more visible. And let's get back into the show. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of visionary life. I love bringing you these conversations on a weekly basis. So it would mean so much to me. If you could help me out by rating and reviewing the show on either iTunes or Spotify. It just takes a second. And if you don't want to rate the show, you could also just take a screenshot of the episode and share it on your social media platform of choice tagging me at Kelsey Reidl. I'll catch you in the next episode.
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