400 Solo: How One Conference in 2019 Led to $100K in Contracts, a Business Partner, and a Sold-Out Event
Solo: How One Conference in 2019 Led to $100K in Contracts, a Business Partner, and a Sold-Out Event
Episode 400: Rain or Shine Podcast
Host: Kelsey Reidl, The Rain or Shine Podcast
The Ripple Effect of Saying Yes: Why Getting in the Room Is the Best Business Strategy You're Not Using
Episode 400: Rain or Shine Podcast
Host: Kelsey Reidl, The Rain or Shine Podcast
Quick Summary:
In this solo episode, host Kelsey takes listeners through the real, unscripted story of how one decision — buying a ticket to a conference in LA back in 2019 — set off a chain of events that led to a $70,000 contract, a $30,000 client referral, life-changing friendships, and eventually co-founding the Wave community. This is a raw, honest account of what happens when you say yes to the room.
In This Episode:
Why entrepreneurship requires trusting the ripple, not just the plan
Kelsey's background: 15+ years in marketing, 9 years as a business owner
The 2019 Toronto business summit that started it all
Getting a free ticket to an LA conference — and what came from it
Joining Archangel Synergy and landing a $70,000 contract
Meeting Michael Roderick and the Hit Makers mastermind
Saying yes to a Curiosity Quest adventure retreat — 4 months pregnant
A $30,000 client referral that came in during mat leave
Meeting Amy Sussex at a brunch and the serendipity of a seat assignment
The full-circle story of how Emily — now Kelsey's co-founder — entered the picture
The Wave community, Paris Ontario event, and what's next
Key Takeaways:
You can't plan the best connections — but you can put yourself in rooms where they happen.
Every investment in a relationship compound over time, often in ways you'll never predict.
The same room that gives you one great connection can give you your future business partner years later.
Showing up consistently — even for free — builds the trust and visibility that creates opportunities.
Being open to receiving, not just pursuing, is what makes the magic happen.
Memorable Quotes:
"One event, one introduction, one yes: $70,000. I couldn't have planned that."
"The ripple effect will happen, and it will rewrite what you ever even dreamed was possible."
"I very much detach from having really rigid big visions, because when you say yes, things change."
People & Resources Mentioned:
Kelsey’s Instagram: @KelseyReidl
Kelsey’s Website: www.KelseyReidl.com
Raymond — Mentor met at a coworking space in Toronto
Archangel Synergy — Coaching/mastermind program (scaling from 6 to 7 figures)
Nicole Weston — Wave community member; met at the LA Archangel Summit
Michael Roderick — Speaker, coach, founder of Hit Makers mastermind; referable brand expert
Brandon Fong — Super-connector, host of Beyond Curious podcast
Curiosity Quest — Adventure retreat in Park City, Utah
Max — Founder of Pick My Brain; met at the Curiosity Quest
Amy Sussex — Operations consultant; met at a women's brunch in Kitchener
Blake Fly — TEDx speaker; member of Thank You Live community
Emily — Co-founder of the Wave community
Wave Paris Event — April 17th, Paris Ontario
About the Host
Kelsey Reidl is an entrepreneur, fractional CMO, and host of Rain or Shine (formerly Visionary Life). She's been podcasting for 8 years, helping entrepreneurs show up consistently and build sustainable businesses. She runs the Wave Mastermind and specializes in marketing strategy, website design, and business growth. Kelsey is a mom to a 2-year-old, an avid mountain biker, and a firm believer in the "rain or shine" mentality.
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CLEANED & EDITED TRANSCRIPT
Kelsey: It is going to be a really fun episode today. I want to chat about how one event can literally change everything for you — and how one event for me sparked the most wild, serendipitous domino effect of connections I never could have predicted. I certainly never saw it coming, because I almost don't believe you can plan this stuff sometimes in business.
We have to trust that if we just put one foot in front of the other, if we plant seeds every day — and water them, this is the Rain or Shine podcast after all — eventually things will present themselves. Opportunities will show up, the ripple effect will happen, and it will rewrite what you ever even dreamed was possible.
I'm a big fan of having a vision, but also staying open to the opportunities that come when you show up, when you are consistent, when you put yourself out there and ask for what you want. And also, to receive things that come your way and to be super open. So this episode of Rain or Shine is me riffing about my story — how getting in the room has changed my life.
I want to share how one decision, if I really go back about seven years ago, one decision to buy a ticket, book a flight, and walk into a room full of strangers led to — oh my gosh, where do I even begin? That decision to go to LA led to a $70,000 contract, a $30,000 client referral, a trip to Utah while I was pregnant with my first son, and has literally turned into me now hosting events where these types of magical opportunities can happen for you, just by saying yes to getting in the room.
So this is not a hypothetical podcast. This is not me making up stories or sharing clients' experiences. This is me sharing my own journey — things that have happened in my life by saying yes, by not always knowing what was on the other side, but always trusting and seeking the opportunity.
The magical moments and what was waiting for me inside those four walls, or on the other side of a plane ride — because we also know that we get what we put into things. You could show up at an event, go to a retreat halfway across the world, and get nothing out of it. And yet another person could go to that same event and have a million-dollar connection, a million-dollar contract, or a million-dollar investor show up in front of them.
So I hope that by sharing the little twists and turns of my story, I can actually change the way you think about saying yes, seeking opportunity, and looking for the incredible things out there that could radically shift the trajectory of your business.
For those of you who are new to Rain or Shine, my name is Kelsey. I've been recording this show for eight years. This is officially Season 16, and I've been working in marketing for over 15 years. I started my own business and left my corporate job back in 2017 — about nine years ago.
Deciding to step away from corporate meant I was starting on my entrepreneurial path, and it was scary. I didn't have personal experience running a business. I watched my dad run a countertop manufacturing company, but starting a business in the online space, in the personal branding space, is very, very different from manufacturing. So I was following a couple of people who were out there freelancing, doing their own thing, and I thought: I'm going to try this on my own.
I found a handful of clients, quit my high-paying job, and decided to take a chance on myself. And I am forever glad that I did, because of the compounding effect of entrepreneurship. It's just the best.
So let me walk you through some of the chain of events — the decisions I made that have paid back in ways I could never have planned for. I'm going to end this story with a full-circle plot twist moment. You'll have to wait till the end to find out.
Let's rewind to 2019. I was a couple of years into running my own business and starting to feel like I needed to get myself in the right rooms, around other entrepreneurs. So I started joining coworking spaces. This is where I met a guy named Raymond. I still need to reach back to him — I've DM'd him on Instagram before and said, "Raymond, thank you for being that mentor." He didn't even know he was my mentor.
I met him at a coworking space. He gave me access to one of these online courses that taught me a lot about online marketing. So even though I already worked in digital marketing, he showed me some secrets and tricks of the trade. That was one of my first serendipitous moments of getting in the room — joining coworking spaces, meeting entrepreneurs, building my network in Toronto.
Then in 2019, I got invited to a business summit in Toronto. There were hundreds of people there, and I went with one of my sister's girlfriends. I got on the email list of the event, and then I got an email from the event organizer — probably in late 2019, when my business was growing fast and had almost hit six figures in annual revenue — offering calls to map out a six-figure roadmap. I said yes.
I get on the call, it goes well, and I'm about to invest in a membership program and coaching with this person because I knew I wanted to meet other business owners on a similar path. And on that call, the founder literally says, "By the way, we have an event in Los Angeles, California coming up in a few weeks. Do you want to come? I'll give you a free ticket — you just have to get yourself there." I said yes.
I book my flight, I go to LA for this conference. It's incredible. I actually meet someone who is now one of my clients and Wave community members extraordinaire — Nicole Weston. That connection leads to me becoming a foundational member of what was called Archangel Synergy, a program for people scaling from six figures to multiple six figures and seven figures. I met so many smart entrepreneurs and felt less alone, with inspiring people to keep me going on the hard days.
After about 10 months in that program — showing up and implementing, being their case study for doing the work — I ended up getting a $70,000 contract. Let me trace that back: I attended a summit in 2019, booked a free discovery call with the founder, said yes to the invite to go to LA, joined the membership program for $1,500 a month — which felt like a lot — and eventually got a $70,000 contract that paid back everything and more. I couldn't have predicted that. One event, one introduction, one yes: $70,000.
In that Archangel coaching program, I met somebody named Michael Roderick. Michael was a speaker in the Synergy group. He trained us on how to become a referable brand, and I was just enamored by him — he's quirky, fun, from New York City, a teacher turned Broadway producer. I never forgot that. I got to know him better, booked a one-on-one call, and eventually, scared to death, invited him on my podcast. He said yes.
Years later, he invited me into his mastermind called Hit Makers — a three-month program. I said yes because I really trusted Michael and his ability to gather a great group.
In that mastermind, I met somebody named Brandon Fong. Brandon is a super-connector, a relationships master. He has the gift of making you feel like you've known him forever. We connected, booked a one-on-one chat, became online friends, and then one day he sent me the most cryptic video message: "Come to the Curiosity Quest. It's July 9th to the 16th in Park City, Utah."
Side note — I was four months pregnant at the time, and this was an adventure retreat: rafting, hiking, mountain biking. I said yes anyway. We stayed at a gorgeous chalet with a private chef, about 10 rooms, surrounded by founders and creatives in startup mode. Incredible week. One of the people I met there was Max. We spent extra days together, went mountain biking, explored downtown Park City, and she became a really meaningful connection — the incredible founder of Pick My Brain.
Then I went on maternity leave. Fast-forward about five months, and my phone rings — metaphorically — and it's Michael Roderick. He says, "I have a client for you. They want to pay you $30,000. Are you interested?" And I said yes.
The relationships I had built in Archangel referred me to Michael. I stayed in touch with him through his mastermind, where I met Brandon. And then Michael circles back while I'm on mat leave and says, "I have a client for you." That client flew me to New York City. I worked with their team for six months. It was a beautiful relationship, and those previously built relationships were still serving me even while I was away.
I could go on and on, because I continue to put myself in rooms — not always on an airplane, not always a virtual mastermind. About a year and a half ago, coming back from mat leave, I went to a high-vibe women's brunch at the Walper Hotel in Kitchener. I was serendipitously seated beside Amy Sussex, an incredible operations consultant who helps business owners get their systems in order. Now I'm supporting Amy on a project, I'll probably hire her for something, and she's coming to our Wave events. I couldn't plan this stuff. We literally got sat beside each other at an event.
Now for the full-circle moment. Back at that 2019 LA conference — the Archangel Summit — I also met someone named Blake Fly. Blake's a dad, a TEDx speaker who travels the US and Canada speaking to youth. Incredibly gifted. For many years, I hosted a weekly free group coaching call every Wednesday from 12 to 1 — the Visionary Method Weekly Group Coaching Call — from 2020 all the way to 2023. I showed up roughly 150 Wednesdays in a row, serving my community for free.
I was always looking for guest speakers. So I posted in one of the groups I was part of — Blake's group, called Thank You Live — and asked if anyone knew a gifted mindset speaker. Little did I know that Blake's wife, Emily, was coming off mat leave with their first or second baby and had become a trained mindset coach. Blake referred me to her. Emily and I got on a Zoom call, locked in a session for when she was back from mat leave, and the rest is history.
Emily is now my co-host and co-founder of the Wave community. We've grown our events to nearly a hundred women each time we host them. And it all goes back to getting in that first room in 2019, staying in the right rooms, and eventually building our own rooms — and selling out our next event on April 17th in Paris, Ontario.
One room. One event. One person who is now my business partner. But I had to say yes back in 2019 to get here.
I very much detach from having really rigid big visions, because when you say yes, things change. When you show up, when you're real, when you trust the ripple of your life — you just don't know. You have no idea.
One more side note: Nicole Weston, who I met at that LA conference — I connected with her because I posted in a Facebook group saying, "Hi guys, I just bought a ticket to LA. Does anyone have a bed for me?" And Nicole and her friends said, "We don't know you, but you can have one of the cots." She's still in my life today, and she's part of our Wave community.
Absolutely wild how things work.
So — I want to invite you to say yes to the opportunity to get in the room. Join us at our Wave Paris event on Friday, April 17th. This is exactly the kind of room that changes everything. We have about 20 tickets left, maybe less, and they will sell out. Know that you belong in this room. It is not just for established entrepreneurs, and it's not just for people just starting out — it's for those who are ready to build relationships, hear from guest speakers, and have a life-changing day.
The theme is high performance. There will be activations, a full three-course meal, speakers, and breakout rooms. Even if you're an introverted person or scared of networking, we will guide you the entire way. You will not feel alone. We want you to show up feeling intimately connected right away, like you've always been part of the Wave crew.
If you have any questions, I'm on Instagram at @KelseyReidl. That's it for this week's pod. I hope you loved it, and we will see you next week.
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