Interview of Kara Willis

Episode Summary:

In the latest episode of the InPowered Women’s Podcast, host Sharon Lee sits down with Kara Willis, founder of The Mastermind Collective. Kara shares insights into what The Mastermind Collective is all about, her career journey, and what inspired her to start this movement.

Kara delves into how she’s building a community for women in business through her organization and curated supper clubs, designed to meet individual needs and foster deeper connections with like-minded people. She also highlights the power of a strong community and friendships when navigating major career changes. Finally, Kara wraps up by sharing how having a mentor in her corner made a difference — someone who cheered her on throughout her career.

Insights from this episode:

• What the Masterminds Collective is
• Kara’s career history
• Establishing Kara’s networking events and why she started her supper clubs
• What sets her supper clubs apart from the rest
• The importance of creating solid relationships and community
• Benefits of joining her online community
  

Quotes from the show:

• “That’s the beautiful thing about having women in your inner circle; they can cheer you on and then back it up right with reassurance” – Kara Willis, InPowered Women, Episode #14 
• “As an entrepreneur, you can be in consumption mode till eternity” – Kara Willis, InPowered Women, Episode #14 
• “I feel like the best thing that could be said — that I would want anything I touch to be known for — is that there are kind people who are also high performers and go-getters in the room, and that they are approachable, collaborative, and easy to connect with” – Kara Willis, InPowered Women, Episode #14 
• “[On the supper club] It nurtures that part of you that just wants that connection where you feel like you can go deeper and form relationships” – Kara Willis, InPowered Women, Episode #14 
• “Your next job, your next client is gonna come from a relationship. Your next employee is gonna come from creating a relationship for your next opportunity” – Kara Willis, InPowered Women, Episode #14 
• “If relationships are the foundational core of every aspect of me moving forward to hit my goals, how can I pull more of these relationships towards me?” – Kara Willis, InPowered Women, Episode #14 
• “Having someone who believes in your highest self and maintains that vision for you, even when you don’t always see it yourself, is just so empowering” – Kara Willis, InPowered Women, Episode #14

Episode Transcript:

Speaker 3

Welcome to the InPowered Women’s podcast, where we tell the stories of Unstoppable female leaders who Excel, uplift, and secure a clearer path for female leaders in the future. I’m your host, Sheron Lee.

Speaker 1

Hi, and welcome to the InPowered Women podcast. I’m Sharon Lee with Pinnacle Strategic Advisors. Before getting to today’s guest, I’d like to extend a great big thank you to Megan Kuhl, owner of Perfect Search, for sponsoring this episode of the InPowered Women podcast. As a boutique staffing agency, Perfect Search specializes in matching top talent with the right companies, making them a trusted partner for businesses in need of personalized recruitment solutions. Thank you so much. We appreciate your support and look forward to continuing our partnership. And with that, I’d like to introduce today’s guest, Kara Willis, the mastermind behind the Masterminds Collective. How are you, Kara?

Speaker 2

Fabulous. So grateful to be here and excited to be doing this with you. This is my first time on a podcast, so this is exciting. This is a big jump for me. I got to tell you, I was nervous this morning about coming on.

Speaker 1

You know what? It’s so funny. I understand it’s the first podcast, so that can make you a little bit nervous, but your personality, I mean, the very first time that we ever met, you are a take no prisoners girl. I never thought that you would have second-guessed this whatsoever.

Speaker 2

Glad that it comes off that way. I think we get used to a certain medium, so we can be comfortable in one environment, and then, of course, doing something new. My instinct this morning was to say, Can we reschedule? What excuse can I concoct to just kick this down the road one more week in delay, even though it goes completely against one of my values of urgency in business. Here’s a little trick. Whenever someone gives me the option of like, Oh, should we do it Friday or Monday? I always say Friday. I say the first option. Should we do it first week one or week two? I say week It would just speed up your whole life when you just always default to the first available option. But I was second guessing that this morning. I was like, Why did I say yes to this week?

Speaker 1

Well, I just don’t think I would have allowed it. I think I would have said, No, I don’t care pull up those bootstraps. Let’s go, girlfriend. I’m so glad we didn’t have to do that. Sometimes you got to fake it until you make it. So get out there and put yourself out there. I am so glad that you did. You know what? We’re talking about putting yourself out there. We haven’t even talked about what you do. So Let’s dive into this 30,000-foot level. Tell me what the Mastermind Collective is.

Speaker 2

Yes. The Masterminds Collective is my business that is rooted in creating community for women in business. Executives, business owners with employees or solopreneurs. The concept unifying all the aspects of the business is that we thrive with community. We get unstuck with community. We have more resources and are better equipped when we have community at our fingertips. Putting yourselves in high-powered communities that are going to help propel you forward so you can hit your goals easier and more quickly and have more fun along the way is really the underlying theme behind the Masterminds Collective. There’s an online community where you can just tap in virtually and be part of that experience, and then more small curated mastermind groups where you can be in a very small, high-performing group for 90 days as well.

Speaker 1

I want to dive into each of those different subsets of it for sure, but I feel like we need to get to know you a little bit more and what your background is and all of that. Talk about what your career history was before you launched this.

Speaker 2

Prior to this, I was working in a Fortune 100 corporate role for nearly a decade. I was living in Portland, Oregon, executing on the communication leadership and development programs for all of our North American store leaders. Two years ago, I decided to quit that corporate job, move out to Georgia, and it’s been the best life decision.

Speaker 1

Let’s talk about this a little bit more, because if I’m remembering, your previous corporate world is more of a male-dominated entity. Let’s talk about what it was like around the longboard table and your seat at that table and some of your experiences there.

Speaker 2

Yet there are a lot of men in more senior-level leadership roles. We see that just universally, right? There’s a lot of studies that show that. I don’t even know that I’m particularly off-put by the idea that there are more men in those roles just across industries and companies, because a lot of women don’t endeavor to have such a demanding career where you’re on on the weekends, where you’re working late nights. A lot of women don’t seek those rolls out because they are making choices that are aligned with other values that they have. I mean, there’s no right or wrong. You can choose any path. The people in that company are fabulous, but you still see the gender dynamics. What’s interesting to me is that even in male-centric environments like that, I saw a lot of people pleasing. They wait for the leader to speak, and then suddenly they all go, Oh, yes, I was thinking the exact same thing. I just find that in more women-centric spaces, there’s more willingness to maybe express more thought diversity. I would find myself often being the person saying the uncomfortable opinion, or before we’d go into a meeting, some of the other leaders and I would be conversing about what our opinions are or some concerns that we have.

Speaker 2

We get in the meeting, and then the head honcho is talking and everyone just sitting and nodding, and I would be looking around thinking, Well, wait a second. We just talked about all these other ideas that we had. Why isn’t no one saying anything? I found myself being willing, for the sake of just being committed to telling the truth, it It would just be burning in me like, Why is everyone being so quiet right now? I don’t understand. What changed in the last 10 minutes? It was only once I spoke that then other people would say, Well, yeah, that is true. We have heard other people say that that was a concern. Then that would move the conversation forward in a different way. And you don’t have to be the most senior person in the room to do that. You just have to have the audacity. Or just the curiosity because I was genuinely confused in some of these situations thinking, Wait, why is everyone being so quiet? He just said, Do we have any questions or any other ideas? And it was like, crickets. Right.

Speaker 1

And you don’t have to be brash. It’s just a matter of asking the question, Have we thought about this? Is this something that we’re going to do? And once you do, the damn breaks. And then all of a sudden, there’s other opinions that come out. So good for you for being that girl.

Speaker 2

That girl. I want to be that girl. That’s a great comparison. When the dam breaks, it’s like, What is that one thing that’s going to put you over the threshold for good that opens up more possibilities? I love that concept. I do, too. I do, too. Look at us go. Look at us. Yeah. Breaking barriers.

Speaker 1

Right now. I love it. Well, so let’s talk about you decided to move to Georgia. Cross country, wasn’t like you had roots here, family here, and all of that. So let me guess. She called all the girlfriends, got their opinions. No. What put you over the top that said, I’m going to do this?

Speaker 2

It just shows the power of having people who are cheering for you in your inner circle, and especially in your personal relationships. I moved here to be with my boyfriend. We had a very solid relationship, but we’re dating long distance. And he really just encouraged me and gave me the confidence to saying, You know you want to do this. You know we’re going to be together, so you can just burn the boats. It’s time. I’ve got you. It’s going to be great. When we’re listening to our own inner critic who’s offering up all the reasons why not to do something or the litany of that can come up even with small decisions in your life, right? And making any change, having that reassuring presence, if you’re not able to do that for yourself in a moment, seeking out somebody who can hold that candle for you of saying, No, this is consistent with what you’ve been talking about, what you wanted to do. I’ve been talking about wanting to have my own company that serves women in business. I’ve been talking about using my skillset and my passions for something beyond the corporate world where I felt like, I’m there to serve the company’s agenda.

Speaker 2

That’s the role, which is It’s fine. But as someone who has so many ideas and visions and is inspired by so many things, it’s like, why not? What am I waiting for? Why not now?

Speaker 1

I joked about you call your girlfriends and all that stuff. But the reality is those people that are around you, love you, enjoy being with you, have a different agenda. They want to keep you there because you’re the buddy, you’re the person that they can hang with and that thing. You got the boyfriend that’s saying, Come on over here, and then you got people there like, Where did you go? What was your community that you went to to help get your brain around, I got to make this loop, and I can do it.

Speaker 2

I had made the decision with him and not conversation. I made the decision. Then the next day, the following day, I was reprocessing. Wait, am I doing this? Am I doing this? I’m doing this. But am I doing the right? Again, probably with any big decision, you almost have to recommit to the decision or remind yourself. So that inner chatter. It was so reassuring when I was talking to some of my trusted coworkers that I felt I could tell them before I had actually put it in my notice at this point that I was thinking about doing this and telling some of my close girlfriends, thank God for them. They all said, We’re going to miss you, but the worst is never going to happen. You’re never going to be without a friend, without a place to go. Even though this is a big leap, you have a lot of safety nets beneath you. So many of them were like, If something doesn’t work out, just call me. I’ll be there in a minute. Or, Come back and be with me. It was so supportive, and that’s Another beautiful thing about having women in your inner circle that can cheer you on but then back it up with reassurance.

Speaker 2

Now, it turns out that I didn’t need any of those safety nets. To be honest, I’m the type of person who I don’t think that I would have figured it out myself. But sometimes just knowing that the safety net is there just gives you that. I don’t even know that it’s the confidence because you got to move forward even when you’re not confident. What’s the word? I’m doing it despite how you feel because this decision aligns with my values and where I want to go and my goals and the vision that I have for myself. But it just gives you that ease. It’s going to be okay. It gives you another voice to counter with of like, Okay, I can sell shoes.

Speaker 1

I can sell shoes. That’s right. I don’t have buyer’s remorse. I am going to continue to go. But that does lead straight into your personality, though, because not everybody would have their goals aligned and listed and know exactly what I want to do in the short term or what I want to do in the long term and all that. Because you’ve already had this subset of what your plan was, you had that to lean on. That goes right into not only your personality type, but what you’re trying to do with your business.

Speaker 2

I would say that I’m still figuring out what I want some of my short and longer term milestones and ultimately my mental mental results to be. But I had this calling, this vision, this picture where I could almost visualize myself in different scenarios, doing one-on-one coaching, speaking in front of audiences, hosting events, It’s running an online community because I did so much communications work in my corporate role, and I see how we can use communication as a vehicle to unite people, to get things done, to encourage people. I see the makings of what I want this business to be, and it’s already had iterations, and I’m sure it will have many in the future. But that willingness to move forward when you feel devoted and faith-filled towards the vision that you’re trying to enact, even when you don’t have all the pieces figured out. We’ve only figured out the pieces as we get there, for sure, which is the painful part. That’s why it feels painful to step forward because you think, Wait, what’s the step after this? I can’t see it. But you only see it once you take one step forward. That’s where it requires constant just faith and self-belief to move before you feel like you can see everything perfectly outlined.

Speaker 2

That’s something that I still constantly try to remind myself of. Just take one step, just take the next available action.

Speaker 1

Well, and how long ago When was it from when you took the leap from Portland to Atlanta?

Speaker 2

When I had that conversation with him, I was in Atlanta six weeks later.

Speaker 1

That was a couple of years ago.

Speaker 2

Two years ago now. I took the first year to do some personal certifications. I got my life coaching certification and did some other courses. Then I realized, as an entrepreneur, you can be in consumption mode till eternity. Start putting things out into the world, shipping your work, put it out. I would say that’s just been really within the last maybe just over a year.

Speaker 1

Let’s break down some of the subsets of the overarching mastermind. I met you at your networking group for female entrepreneurs. This was back in November I believe. I don’t know how long you had been doing those, but I got invited by a friend of mine and truly was blown away because I really had no idea what to expect. It was in a restaurant, so I expected to be a little bit smaller than it was, but the place was packed and there all of these raffles, there was just a buzz going on. Maybe it’s just women, and maybe it is business owners, and all of a sudden, you’ve got this perfect storm of both, where it was so easy. I didn’t know Assault, and I wandered around and had plenty of conversations and really felt like this was fantastic. How long have you been doing those? Tell me a little bit behind what you were wanting to get out of those.

Speaker 2

The event that you came to was probably my sixth one because I just started them that summer. The impetus for that was that I was trying to plug into other women communities in my area, moving I didn’t have my friend circle around me or even my professional circle in close geographic area. I thought, okay, I’m going to plug into some pre-made communities where I’m likely to position myself to find other like-minded women. I was not successful with it. Not to say they’re not out there, but I kept drawing these different groups and would have these experiences that really left me overwhelmed. I think they were designed more like a traditional networking. Everyone exchanges business cards and it pushed to give referrals. I remember one event that I had high hopes for. I dolled up to the ninth. I was ready to put my best heel forward. I approached this woman. We were just talking about the event casually, and I said, Well, I’m relatively new here and just trying to meet people. I’d love to connect with you at some point if your schedule would ever allow for a coffee chat or something just to learn more about what’s out here for women and communities.

Speaker 2

She just looked at me and said, Let’s just see how this goes, honey.

Speaker 1

And what No way. No way. Wow, honey.

Speaker 2

Honey, best of your heart. That along with a myriad of other things, I just thought, This is not the vibe. Again, going back to that vision, I’m thinking high vibe, women who are collaborative in conversation that still you up, not making you just feel so vulnerable walking in and then shoving business cards at you and treating you just like a lead. Without even making eye contact or saying hello, I would just thought, This is so bizarre. People don’t act like this in real life. I want to be invited to a ladies’ party, a soirée, where I’m meeting my friend circle, my professional circle, where I’m getting inspired, where I’m laughing, where I have these storyworthy experiences that last with me for several weeks after, where I can feel the glow. That was the vision for what I’m trying to put out.

Speaker 1

Well, and mission accomplished. I think I told you after I had attended. It was so funny I’m talking to these women and another woman comes up, and I don’t even know how we started talking about… Maybe it was our connection to Atlanta, and I said something about my husband had grown up here. I’ve been here since 2003, blah, blah, blah. And somehow it came up that she and my husband had gone to the same high school, and they didn’t know each other in high school. But then she realized who he was, and one of her best friends is his younger sister. And so we took a little selfie together. We just had this whole little moment, and we were talking, catching up and all that. After I left and I had gotten home, and I texted that picture to my sister-in-law, and I said, You’re never going to guess. Were your ears burning? And she calls me, and she said, Oh, my gosh. She called me before She had gotten my text. It was just so cool. I mean, that is a totally different dynamic. There was no, Hey, you’re not part of this conversation.

Speaker 1

You hadn’t made the cut, honey. It was, Let’s talk about the fam. It was great. Mission Accomplished. You have a great mix of people. You had an interesting mix of raffles. There was one that was a foster program advocate, and I put them together with a client of mine that does summer camps for underprivileged kids. Even if I am not making a client out of this contact, I love paying it forward. Anyway, well done on that event. Then you have other events, your networking event. Tell us about some other of your events.

Speaker 2

That is the nicest compliment. Ladies who attend, say it’s easy to talk to other people there. I feel like just the best thing that could be said that I would want my… Anything that I touch to be known for is that there’s kind people who are also high performers and go getters in the room, but that they’re approachable and collaborative and easy to connect with. That’s what I hear over and over that you can just walk up and start easily talk to anybody. There’s no weird, awkward, who should I target next? Where could I go to slink away in corner, that it’s like this room full of friends who are eager to meet you and want to find out who are you? What are you about? What are you working on? What’s happening in your life? What’s working lately? How can I help you?

Speaker 1

Even for the person that is more introverted, that isn’t ready to just go have whatever conversation with whoever happens to be standing beside them because I’m very willing to have conversations. But you had some other things for people to do. You had the woman that does headshots. You could go back to the back and you could go get your headshot made if you wanted to, and you could talk to the people waiting in line, you could see what they were doing. And she brought props, which was fun. You end up having a conversation over what props are you going to use and all of that. And so that was a nice added touch as well. Something that was above just, Hey, let’s go get a drink at the bar.

Speaker 2

I try to incorporate different things. I had a magician at one. We’d come up and do like tricks right in front of you. And my jaw was on the floor the whole time. I just wanted to gasp and follow him around and watch everything. Or photo booths. Giving people an activity or something to I can make it feel like an experience, something different than just a week full of meetings where they’re just on delivery mode the whole time, where they can actually have a sense… Again, this is my ambition for this. I don’t know that I always accomplish this, but my ambition is to create a sense of wonder. Like, Oh, what’s a delightful thing that could happen in their evening tonight by coming? Be like, Oh, this is unexpected and fun. Oh, this is different. You know what people talk about romanticizing their life? Loving where you’re at. How do I create an experience that sticks with you. You just feel happy afterwards. You feel like your cup is filled. You feel like you got a hug, you made a new friend, you found a collaborator, you found a podcast guest. There’s been ladies who have gotten jobs there.

Speaker 2

They found business partners. They have filled board positions. They’ve collaborated on other projects. They have connected women with other opportunities. Seeing that as a way to actually propel you forward and help you step into action because it’s like action begets more action. It does.

Speaker 1

You’ve got your supper clubs, and that is much more intimate, and it is different goals for an evening like that. Honestly, for a person that would be attending, a whole different of anxiety, right? You’re going to be trapped at this table. It’s like, Okay, who am I going to be with? If I’m going to be with the person that we’re in a conversation and open their mouth and you got to do all this. So there is that, okay, who is going to be there. But now tell me a little bit about why you wanted to offer your supper clubs?

[Speaker 2

Yeah. So that is a format that’s smaller events, capped at around 20 people or less, generally. It’s just where you can go deeper and have more intimate conversations, more in-depth, because at the cocktail hours, you’re on your feet, you’re meeting and mixing and mingling, which is fun. But I’m an introvert myself, and I like to go deep with people. I like to have conversations where we can see it through more so than just a 5 or 10-minute meet and greet. I like to I’ll get to absorb somebody while I’m sitting there watching them, listen, watching their mannerisms, enjoying a meal. What do I do with the people that I love in my life? Share a meal together. I thought, okay, let’s have a little dinner party where you can sit down and have place set for you so that you don’t have to negotiate where you’re going to sit or who you should talk to. I’ve selected it for you. Sit down. You’re going to have a good time. You’re going to have good food. You’re going to have other lovely ladies. You’re going to have fabulous conversation and get to leave with your cup filled The intent behind that for me was just it being a little more slow-paced, intimate, where the opportunity to explore other types of conversations and go deeper, if that was a conversational preference that you had.

Speaker 2

I found after doing my first Supper Club, I was so full of energy, whereas the bigger soirees, there’s just so much stimulus. I’m like, it feels like a three-hour marathon. I was just meeting so many people in the raffles and that microphone. After Supper Club, I just like bouncing off the lulls. Just so happy. It nurtures that part of you that just wants that connection where you feel like you can actually go deeper and stay connected, form relationships. For sure. In the organic way.

Speaker 1

Well, and I went to this last one. I know it wasn’t your first one, but I went to a recent one. You got candles on the table and there’s flowers. The mood is set very well. This was a smaller group. There were some people that had either been sick or a sick kid or whatever it may be. I remember talking to you when you got there, and of course, there’s anxiety around that. Is that going to fulfill what your guests are expecting and that thing? It turned out to be fabulous because there may have been folks that knew each other prior to. I I did not. No, I knew one person from there. But across the table, we had one organized question. What was the question? I can’t remember now.

Speaker 2

It was, what are you letting go of and what are you bringing into your life in its place instead of that? Yeah.

Speaker 1

I mean, what a great thought-provoking question. Some people had much more in-depth answers to that, and some people were more flippant with that, and that made it fun. We could go all around the room, but it wasn’t like a stand up and say who you are and what you and all this stuff. But the other drill down ideas and questions and things like that just came out. Somebody mentioned podcast, and I said that, Kara is going to be on my podcast. I was just thinking about that. Then somebody else said, My sister-in-law has got a podcast, and she does true crime, and we were starting to… That’s probably just a woman thing anyway. We were just all over the place in the conversations. But I felt the same way. When we left, it was like, that was so much fun. It was just completely different than the other, but very intimate, and it was just a great evening. So well done.

Speaker 2

Have you stayed connected with anybody that you met there?

Speaker 1

Interestingly enough, we did not share cards and all of that, but I did get a message on LinkedIn from a woman that was there. It was interesting because you expect somebody, Oh, this is what I do, and they’re just reaching out to you. But she had someone she wanted to introduce me to as a potential podcasting interview. I’m like, Of course, here’s my contact information. Please put her in touch with me. We have connected. We have scheduled a time to talk. But I mean, that was so fantastic because we did get to know each other well enough where she felt comfortable sending somebody to me that might be just somebody that’s a little bit different, a little bit interesting. I’m like, Let’s talk. That’s fantastic. So, yes.

Speaker 2

I love hearing that. No one ever followed up with me at any of these other networking events that I went to. No one was like, Hey, do you want to be friends or there’s an opportunity. It’s like, Okay, how do I curate create a group of people who are wanting to contribute and help others rise as they’re also going after their goals and using that as their competitive advantage. Because your next job, your next client is going to come from a relationship. Your next employee is going to come from creating a relationship. Your next opportunity is going to come from a relationship. So it’s like, okay, if relationships are the foundational core of every aspect of me moving forward to hit my goals, how can I more of these relationships towards me in a way that doesn’t burn me out, feels organic and feels authentic and genuine, and that can ultimately fuel me as I go instead of just feeling the pain of mental isolation, trying to do it yourself.

Speaker 1

It’s so funny because when’s the last time you’ve actually had a conversation about goals around those types of networking events? Because a lot of times it’s like, Well, I usually go to my chamber mixer or I usually go to this, and You don’t think about the deeper connections. You may walk away because you happen to sit beside someone and that was great, or you could comment on the great speaker or whatever. But realizing that those types of things are thought through behind the scenes, and then you just have to figure out, did I experience what they expected me to? It’s something people don’t generally think about. Look at us go.

Speaker 2

Look at us go. You know how Walt Disney had to put so much effort into creating this magical experience? It’s like, okay, how are they going to feel? What are the smells they’re going to smell? What are they going to see? Which direction do I want them to walk around the park? What’s the vernacular that we’re all agreeing to use? What’s interesting about when you have a community that you’re building is that I can only plan for so much. Then I just have to trust that the lovely other people who are there are going to fill in and meet me halfway and co-create this experience with me, which, thank goodness, I’ve just been rewarded over and over with women like you showing up for that and bringing that energy because one person cannot carry an experience. But just finding the people who want to be co-creating that experience together is like the chef’s kiss. Oh, I love it. It’s the magic.

Speaker 1

Well, and it’s interesting because these are not the core pieces of your overall business. Your Masterminds Collective is really more, well, why don’t you tell what it is instead of what I tell what it is?

Speaker 2

I have now launched the digital community. What I’ve seen over and over is that we get stuck in isolation and we do so well when we have the structure and experience of group momentum around us and behind us to help us get more done. In the online community, it’s designed for women in business to have spacious calendar You’re not always on calls, but there’s opportunities for you to have private conversations with other people in the community, answer questions, share resources, get unstuck, share challenges in a safe and more speedy way to get you to resolution faster. Then our calls are geared around getting things done. Setting your week up like a CEO, planning your time, something that we’re not taught in school. We were just talking about this when we weren’t taught. How do you plan your time? How do you make sure that you focus on what’s essential? How do you make sure that at the end of the month, you’re closer to your goals? Where was that class?

Speaker 1

I had to learn it after. I know. Exactly. Some of this was rooted in your time when you were at Adidas, because you were creating these 90-minute, essentially, mastermind collective ideas. You created these leadership-Leadership programs. You were finding that people that were going through those were the ones that were getting promoted, and they were meeting their goals and all that. Once again, I’m telling your story instead of you telling it. But talk about the roots of this and how that has solidified into your business.

Speaker 2

In my time at Adidas, I rolled out a program designed to help leaders hit their 90-day goals. I matched everybody into these really specific curated groups where they were in small groups with people who were at a similar level as them, but they weren’t necessarily people that they interacted with frequently already. They represented different skill sets Because a term that I find attracts women to the group is when I say, Oh, get together with like-minded women. It’s actually not about having people who necessarily think like you. People who have similar journeys that they’re on. I should call it similar journeyed women. That just doesn’t have the tone. But they have different ways of thinking, different skill sets, different strengths, different experiences that help frame up how they get to their goals quicker. And so how can we tap into the brain trust of these other people around us to help ourselves? This program was geared around helping leaders get to their 90 day goal. And with over a 93% success rate, I just think is incredible. Who’s heading their 90 day plans cycle after cycle after cycle? I did seven cycles of this. And so that was That’s the catalyst for me having this vision.

Speaker 2

I thought, Okay, this Corporation that I work for, it provides all of this structure for its employees and for its leaders. But what about all the women out there trying to put their business out into the world who don’t have that structure around them? Maybe they don’t even have a 90 day plan. They don’t even know what their exact goal is other than like, I just want to do better. I want to make money. I want to grow. These very vague things. It’s hard to know when you’ve reached the next milestone, if you keep it so vague. Even if you have a goal, who’s hitting it with 93% completion rate.

Speaker 1

Who’s actually thinking it through to say, Okay, well, I didn’t meet it last time. What do I need to do differently? Because you’re so right. You get up, you take your kids to school, you go do here, you do this, you go sports. It’s like, When do you stop and really take that step back in a deep breath and go, Okay, what I did last week was not the best way of going about it. What am I going to do this week? But yeah, you get caught in those cycles and you just are blundering on. So having that accountability.

Speaker 2

Structure. You can chat into the group if you have questions, submit a coaching question, and then rely on the workshops to actually use them as power hours.

Speaker 1

All right, let’s jump into a day in this online community. See, we have a fly on the wall, we’re going to see a little sausage being made. What would be something that whatever day within that 90 day period that I happen to land in there, what’s a takeaway that I might be able to on that day? Tell me a little bit of something, a little nugget.

Speaker 2

Yeah. If you join on a Monday, then you’ll get to set up your week like a CEO. This is where we actually sit down together and plan out your week so that if you do nothing else but set yourself up for success for the whole week in one hour, you’re much more likely to get the most essential things done. If that’s all you ever use the membership for, that’s a win. Using your time well, that’s the most precious resource that we have, right? Other options would be for you to look at the resource library and find templates for things so you don’t just have to start from scratch. Basic things that you’re just trying to get out. They’re all geared around getting unstuck and getting into action. Get clear and get going.

Speaker 1

You mentioned that even earlier, that whole idea of getting unstuck, and the isolation is getting out of that. So you’ve got the community and then you have tools that you can tap into. But drill down a little bit on the getting unstuck piece of it. What are some ways that you cry somebody out of that chair and get them unstuck?

Speaker 2

In the community, it helps so often when you’re delaying something. Our brains will give us a list of all the other things that we could suddenly be doing that are suddenly more fascinating than sending the one email or writing the sales page or getting the uncomfortable thing done that you’ve been avoiding or making the call to make an offer to somebody. Sometimes even just being in an online workshop where you know that everybody else on the call is also doing the uncomfortable thing. It could be your money hour where you’re just making offers the whole hour and you know that there’s other people on the call doing the same thing grinding in the background. Just tapping into that momentum and that thin thread of accountability where no one’s badgering you, but it’s just like, Okay, this is for people who you want to be the best version of yourself. You want to get things done. It’s just hard in isolation. Surrounding yourself with people in an environment that are also going towards towards their big goals and doing uncomfortable things, even if they may not feel like it in that moment, can just be like, okay.

Speaker 2

It’s like when you tell a girlfriend you’re going to meet her at the gym for a class, you’re not going to skip. But if you’ve got somebody who’s meeting you there. That’s right.

Speaker 1

That goes back to my life is a It’s not a team sport. It is not a spectator sport. You’re supposed to be involved. You’re supposed to be with others in that community. It all makes sense. I was going to ask you this, you’ve got some one-on-one types of coaching that you do, and then you’ve got online. Tell me a little bit of the difference there.

Speaker 2

Sure. It’s just like choose your own adventure. If you do well with just the group environment and being on the group workshops where we’re working on building your skills and competencies in certain domains, doing the group Call is fabulous. You can get a lot done with that. If you want to be in a smaller curated group where you’re going after your goals, like that same program I created in my corporate role with a group of six other women around you, and you have a private group chat and you’re really being held accountable for taking your weekly action steps, you’re more full throttle, then that’s a great place for you. Then I also have one-on-one clients. Sometimes you just want the personalized attention. You want somebody to walk you through each of the goals, look through your targets, look through your KPIs. Depending on the level of attention and customization that you want, it’s there. But I would say so many people, you can get so much done even in just the group format. And it just unlocks so much energy, too. We talk about wanting manage our time, but more and more I’m realizing it’s managing your energy because when you’re on fire for something, you’ll stay out working on it.

Speaker 2

I just got to get that. I’m so inspired. I have to burn out when you’re on fire and when you’re inspired and when you’re doing work that you love, even though you can get physically fatigued, you’re not emotionally drained or tapped out. Being around other people on that energetic vibration can just be the lift that we need sometimes to get going, get out of our heads and into action.

Speaker 1

I was talking last summer, I had never done a group online coaching class before, and I did one. I really didn’t know what to expect out of it. I did find that there were questions that you might not have even thought to ask. You got that one-on-one, and your leader may bring up different things or whatever. Or you could say, I was thinking about that as a question, but I hadn’t thought about it post from that standpoint or whatever. It is really interesting to bring the group into the dynamic in order to think a little bit more outside the box or take a little bit of different context and all that. Again, it takes you out of that isolation because even if you are one-on-one, you still are only coming from your own perspective and your coaches versus everybody It was such a pretty eye-opening because usually if you do a group class and it’s in-person, you’re talking about just a small, small group. But I mean, this was a large group. You really did see things from a number of different perspectives. It was a great experience. I was glad that I did it.

Speaker 2

I love that because I feel like what you’re getting at, too, is this concept of borrowing thoughts from other people that are useful. When someone will say something in a group that’s like, Oh, well, I never think of it as bad to outreach. Cold outreach is someone I love that. They get to meet me and I have a corporate, and you think, Oh, that’s so interesting. But that’s an optional thought that’s available to me. If I choose to take it and just be exposed to that as a possibility, like a mental frame, can help get you going, too. We just tend to ruminate with the same recycled thoughts that we’ve I’ve been thinking for years and years. That’s where that infusion of newness and hearing those other insights or hearing how other people got unstuck or hearing why they just decided it wasn’t a problem. When I first started my group, the monthly cocktail social hours, the networking events. It was just 12 women at a lounge. It was small. There was no raffles. We were just talking. It was nothing like the production that I have going now, right? But starting with where you’re tapping into the thoughts and ideas of the other people can just take the pressure off where you just think, it doesn’t have to be a big production.

Speaker 2

That’s not a problem. Or that I only have one client right now, or that this person just said no to me, or that my employee just left. What if it’s just not a problem? Hearing other people’s perspectives, I’m like, Oh, wait, I don’t even have to validate this. I don’t have to make this a bigger thing. I can just move forward like she did. Sometimes that can just be so empowering.

Speaker 1

That’s so true because it’s putting one step in front of the other, but it’s also celebrating creating each step along the way. You started with 12, and then you have a packed room from there. Yeah, it’s a progression. There’s nothing wrong with that. I think that that is great. It goes right back to that goal setting that can limit speech well, but you got to start there. But your goal is over here, and you’re just going to keep on ticking away.

Speaker 2

If we decided that everything’s a problem along the way or that everything other than or highest vision is somehow a disappointment or a failure, you’re just going to have a lot of disappointments string together. I don’t want that. I want to feel happy and excited, delighted with the journey along the way. I think bringing in other people, too, can help you get out of that frame of thinking of that it’s binary. There’s only win or lose, or it’s only successful if it looks this certain way, or, Oh, this is really bad if this just happened. That’s normal. What happens to everybody? When you’re in a big group, like the group you’re talking about, you see how normal it is because hundreds of women will raise their hands and say, The same thing happened to me. Same thing happened to me.

Speaker 1

Yeah, absolutely. You know what? A lot of the Same ways of getting beyond that and getting up that big mountain is the fact that, yeah, we had dips. We got knocked down along the way, but we kept going. You may have to go about it in different ways. You may have to scale the mountain a little bit differently or whatever that may be. But I think that the overarching idea is that you keep going. I think that the people that are seeking out that group coaching, group dynamic, they’re winners. They are going to get to the top. They just may not know how to do it. If they just had that little bit of a pull, that little carrot out there, and showing them how to get there, and so here you are. Creating a space, give them carrots. Go, you.

Speaker 2

You got this. That’s the noise, just one person to you or one message, a response that you post a question in a group to get you out of your head and to get going and to keep going. Because if the knockdowns are inevitably going to happen, okay, how do we just get back up more quickly and spend less time looking shoes, thinking about what to do next, just get into action. Right.

Speaker 1

One thing that I generally try to talk about on this show is mentorship. Either did you ever have that mentor that really showed you the ropes and helped to pull you along, or have you seen the benefits of where that person doesn’t have to reinvent every wheel and all that? What is your experience with mentorship and success from that?

Speaker 2

It was actually an old boss that I had, a prior boss. She was just fabulous to work for and always backed me up in my role while I was working for her. She just always believed in me, believed the highest good for me, believed. Even when I made a mistake, she would always just speak positivity over me and reassurance over me. She taught me so many lessons in life and business. She also really instilled in me this idea of, how are you going to comport yourself and conduct yourself when things get tense in business? Because we dealt with a lot of that in this role. She was always just this most gracious leader who took the burden of accountability and responsibility, and she was just such a role model in that way. As I moved into working for Adidas, she was such a huge support and gave me ideas about how to maximize my visibility in that role. That’s like the epitome of someone cheering you on. How do we amplify your voice and amplify your impact? Hey, try this, try this. I remember she said to me, You are going to get to see because it’s such a large global organization.

Speaker 2

She said, You’re going to get to see how good you really are because or getting to see yourself stack up against this pool of other talent. No, sure.. No. Thanks, mentor. She’s like, You’re really going to love seeing how great you do in this environment where you really get to see performance-based reward. Then when I decided to leave and start my own business, she again applauded me and said, You are made for this. This is going to be great for you. It’s just like, wow, having somebody who believes in your highest self and maintains that vision for you, even when you don’t always see it yourself. It’s just so empowering. I still will reach out to her to this day and tell her all the things. She’s not even a big advice giver. She just has such deep wisdom and will just share from her own experience. I think, Oh, gosh, I want to be like that. I don’t tell people what to do, but just say, This is what’s worked for me. Try this. You’ve got it. You’re smart. You’re brilliant. You can do this. If anyone can do this, you can do this.

Speaker 2

You’re made for this. You’ve got this. That’s what I need every day. Yes, right.

Speaker 1

Just record her talking. Put that on as you’re getting ready in the morning and you’re going to be just fine.

Speaker 2

Absolutely. I’ll share it with everyone. We can all be encouraged by her. She’s fabulous. Thank you, Rebecca. That’s perfect.

Speaker 1

But I usually also ask what you do for fun, but every aspect of your business life seems so enjoyable, and it has been built around how to lift people up and how to enjoy. Do you have to decompress from that? What do you do to pull away, to recharge so that you be there to cheerlead on?

Speaker 2

Oh, yeah. Especially since I’ve moved here in the last couple of years, I’m still getting to know the local area. Getting to drive around, see the different sites. It’s fun because there’s so many states nearby here I can go to Nashville. It’s so easy to tap into these other fun cities and see the mountains and go on different hikes around here. It’s been fun getting to know a new area.

Speaker 1

I love it. I love it.

Speaker 2

Beautiful here.

Speaker 1

It is. You’re right. There’s so much to see that it’s going to take you a little while to take it all in. But hey, just give me a call. I’ll go take it in with you.

Speaker 2

Well, done. It’s a date. Thanks for sure.

Speaker 1

Well, so if someone wants to reach out to you, ask you more about the Mastermind Collective or just get to know you as a woman in business and lifting up other women in business, how do they find you?

Speaker 2

Oh, I love that. Yeah, find me on LinkedIn, Kara Willis. I’ll be there and I would love to say hello.

Speaker 1

Okay. I will put a link to you and your website and all of that down below. This has been so much fun. I’m so glad that you did not put this off because I knew it would be so much fun to have this conversation. So go huge and doing it.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Sharon. You’re just a pure delight. Thank you. This is so lovely.

Speaker 3

Thank you for listening to InPowered Women. If you like what you heard, please give us a five-star review and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to your podcast and share with those you think can benefit from this information. Please email all questions, suggestions, and compliments to sharon@pinnaclestrategicadvisors.net. The InPowered Women podcast is produced by the podcast laundry production company and executive produced by Sheeran Lee.

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