Mastermind Your Launch

Brittni Adams is the founder and designer of Whitby Handbags, a socially conscious luxury handbag line dedicated to preventing the exploitation of girls around the world through education, namely: Haiti, Iraq, Peru and Thailand.

Brittni founded Whitby in 2014 after two years of extensive research on the topic of modern-day slavery and its correlation to the widespread problem of girls not having access to educational opportunities due to gender discrimination, religion, or poverty.

Brittni has B.A. in mass communication, public relations from Georgia College and State University, and a master’s certificate in nonprofit management from the University of North Carolina. Brittni lives in Brookhaven (Atlanta) with her husband Jeremy and golden retriever puppy Magnolia. Apart from Whitby she is the co-founder of Atlanta Women Entrepreneurs and mentors high school girls at Passion City Church.

Mission: It’s no small task that Brittni has taken on… I loved her statement about always having the “capacity to dream”. This is so often what holds people back - not being able to visualize the possibilities right in front of them.   

Mindset: Can you imagine someone launching a fashion company with no fashion experience? With so many firsts and lessons learned along the way, Brittni shares how she was able to keep moving forward putting one foot in front of the other.

Marketing: “Throw a party”. That was the advice that Brittni implemented during her launch and it turned out to be a great success. Listen as she shares the story of the launch party and why it made all the difference.

Masterminds:  Community makes all the difference… Brittni shares the impact that Atlanta’s Plywood People community has made along her journey.

Mastermind Challenge: I love Brittni’s story about the launch party for Whitby and how it really changed the momentum of her business. Having hosted many events for MYL, I know that there’s nothing like the energy of bringing people together. How can you create an event around your business that allows people to enjoy an experience that forever reminds them of you and your mission?

Tres Crow is a Business Consultant with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the CEO and Co-Founder of City Data Company, creators of the event mapping technology Walkabout, writer, and advocate for sustainable design, architecture, and economic policy, and the small businesses that make it all possible.

He’s an experienced professional with 10 years of sales, marketing, and management experience. Tres has a BA in History from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, and finished his MBA at the University of West Georgia, where he was inducted into the prestigious Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society.

Mission: By observing how communities and event organizers and attendees were limited by the functionality of Google Maps, Tres began working on an idea that would make finding event specific information (like parking, concert stage locations, and food options) accessible from your smartphone.   

Mindset: Seeing the unique value and opportunity to impact his community, Tres got busy assembling the team to being Walkabout App to life.

Marketing: The challenge with Walkabout App is the many players involved… there is the event organizer, vendors, sponsors and more. Tres and his team have made a focused effort to make the end user experience for the event attendee as seamless as possible in order to drive usage and create a viral element to the app.

Mastermind Challenge: I love that the inspiration for Walkabout App came from noticing the limitations of the platform as big as Google Maps. How can you take a look at what the big guys are doing to carve out your own niche in the marketplace?

In episode 55, we hear from Connor Ford, CEO of Spirit App and soon-to-be freshman at Georgia Tech. That’s right, this edu-tech CEO hasn’t even taken his first college course yet...

Connor share’s his journey to develop the tech company Spirit App at the age of 15 and all of the early signs that predicted his success.

It’s so inspiring to watch a bright, young person like Connor execute his vision with such precision and confidence.

Mission: As a 15 year old high school student, Connor noticed a pain point in the way that his school tracked student participation at events. Connecting the dots, he discovered that he could leverage technology to create an app that would solve the problem. With that, Spririt App was born.

Mindset: Connor attributes his curiosity and love of tinkering with giving him the confidence and base of knowledge to tackle a project like Spirit App at such a young age. Listen to hear a hilarious story of one project that actually had him tearing up the walls in his house. A fun surprise for his mother, no doubt!

Marketing: Being that his demographic of users are school-aged, Connor wisely took to social media is gained an online marketing presence. He’s recently launched a blog as well with hopes that providing value to teachers and administration will lead to increased leads and users.  

Momentum: Like so many, Connor marks getting his first client as a big milestone in his journey to launch. There’s definitely something special about getting that first taste of validation and proving that you’re idea has value in the marketplace.

Masterminds: Connor has made an intentional effort to get connected within the Alpharetta tech community. Alpharetta, Georgia is the Technology City of the South and offers incredible resources to local startups, including Alpharetta Technology Commission's Innovation Center.

Mastermind Challenge: I’m completely in awe of Connor’s confidence to take action at such a young age. Do you know a young person that’s revealed a certain talent, leadership ability, or curiosity. What if you carve out some time this week to listen to their ideas and desires and offer insights to help them along the way? Imagine the impact that one conversation could have! Let’s create a world with more Connors :)

Since his adult life Dan has refused to accept the concept of limitation and strives to help others to discover the limitless possibilities that life has to offer whilst assisting individuals and businesses to take charge of their destinies. Dan is recognised for his selfless contribution and ability to motivate and create positive change within individuals and business. His high-energy, passionate delivery inspires and engages audiences to step beyond any perceived limits, empowering them with the motivation to become an UNSTOPPABLE ENTREPRENEUR.

After 7 years of working with one the world’s largest financial services organisations and working alongside thousands of businesses, Dan identified patterns of behaviour that either leads to business success or failure. Dan has also had the privilege of modelling the strategies of some of the global authorities in the fields of network marketing, internet marketing business growth and the psychology of peak performance.

Dan’s experience, coupled with his undeniable thirst for constant and never ending improvement and the most up to date practical knowledge in the areas of business growth, leadership and peak performance, is rapidly making him a trusted and highly sought-after advisor and consultant to a new generation of entrepreneurs, leaders & inspired thinkers.

Mission: Dan is on a mission to push his boundaries and create something innovative. Inspired by trailblazers like Steve Jobs, he’s constantly studying entrepreneurial pioneers to gain inspiration and ideas.

Mindset: It all boils down to how much you believe in yourself. You will achieve as much as your mind believes. Dan shares the story of the moment he realized that he was sabotaging his own success and the root cause was his own lack of belief. Luckily, he also shares he turned it around and how you can too.

Marketing: Dan shares that “Clarity is Power”. Getting clear on your talents, who you serve, and then engage the market to confirm. It’s the part of engaging that will give you the feedback you need to move forward. The answers won’t come from thinking over the plan, they come from taking action.

Momentum: Serving his first clients gave Dan the confirmation and momentum he needed to move forward with full force. Seeing firsthand the impact and shifts he helped his clients achieve, it became obvious that he was on the right path.

Masterminds: Listen as Dan shares his the story behind his first mastermind experience which consisted of a group of men who all thought the same way and within the group felt understood.

Mastermind Challenge: I love Dan’s story about putting pen to paper and being truthful with himself about what he desired and his belief in himself to get there. This is a great exercise for all of us at any point in our lives and business.

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http://www.howtofascinate.com/ - A resource mentioned during the show

Yaystack is word-of-mouth referral marketing in a digital platform that reaches further faster than traditional methods. We simply reward sharing. Our native app and online e-commerce tool enable sellers of nearly any product or service to offer "thank-yous" (promotions, freebies, and discounts) to their buyers only once they have been shared via text or social media. This share-to-get model empowers advertising through buyers to their friends (and their friends, etc.) in an automated viral system. (What business doesn't want to easily reach their buyers' friends?) Gone are the days the age-old discount incentivizes merely one buyer per transaction. With Yaystack, businesses can now leverage the same value to purchase the Holy Grail of marketing (WOM) and get more than 10x return on their investment - now in their buyers, not banners! We monetize trust for both parties. Our mission is to strengthen economy by elevating quality business. Not only do we accomplish this in our model, but we also make it easy to donate to charities that build struggling economies globally.

Mission: As a music producer, Trey found that his business grew organically through referrals. It was actually a Target commercial that reveales to him just how powerful sharing is to marketers; however, no one had a way of rewarded the sharer with a piece of the pie. Enter Yaystack…

Mindset: When Trey first connected to the idea for Yaystack, he knew that in order to pursue the opportunity, he needed to leave the music world behind.  Amazingly, when he announced his retirement from the industry, his dream clients began to come forward asking to work with him. His faith was truly tested, but he stuck to his decision and moved forward with developing the platform.

Marketing: Trey actually shares that the name Yaystack came through his work with an Atlanta-based branding company, http://matchstic.com/.  The first name, Community Commerce, while fitting of the goal, wasn’t the best marketing play for the long-term growth of the platform.

Masterminds: Hear as Trey reveals a power-packed team that has joined him to launch Yaystack. I think it just goes to show how much potential this platform has to revolutionize how businesses, large and small, market to consumers.

Mastermind Challenge: I loved Trey’s story about being approached by his dream clients just as he was leaving the music industry. I’ve seen it so many times… when we lock onto a big idea, our commitment will be tested. What roadblocks seem to be coming up for you? Do you feel differently when you view them as not a block, but a test of your commitment?

Erez Weinstein is a lifelong entrepreneur in diverse industries, tech and non-tech. Currently, Erez is working on new ways to create hospitality brands in the sharing economy space and a new approach to define schools position in the community. By challenging the current business model and structure of private schools, Erez aims to create a tuition free, self-funded education hub providing new opportunities for students, teachers, investors and entrepreneurs.

Mission: Being a father himself, Erez is invested in the educational system that is molding his children's minds. Seeing a large gap between the way that kids are taught and the skills needed for adults to succeed, Erez connected to an idea for making a shift. Developing a strong base of knowledge for what is currently being done, he connected to the idea for a new educational system and a path to bring that idea to reality.

Mindset: It's easy to see how passionate Erez is about this innovative idea. While he's not blind to the road ahead, he's focused on building a team of like-minded influencers that can share in the vision and bring it to reality.

Marketing: Once launched, Erez envisions that the success of the students will drive demand for enrollment. Imagine a high school graduate accepting a $45k offer from Google upon graduate. That could become, not the exception, but the norm, when project-based learning is implemented on this level.

Masterminds: I love Erez's description of the value and relevancy behind project-based learning.  His comparison between the current day focus on individual achievement in school, versus the real-world success of building the right team.

Mastermind Challenge: Project-based learning has a lot of similarity to group masterminds. Do you have a specific goal that your working towards? Revenue target, number of blogs to create, number of clients to onboard... what if you stop leaning on just yourself and your own self-motivation and great an amazing group to hold you accountable and become your sounding board? This is your mastermind, and it will make all the difference. Click the link below to check out our upcoming FREE masterminds happening here in Atlanta. 

Kristen Stocks is the founder of Kids Boost, a non-profit organization designed to help kids give back to the world using their gifts, talents and passions.

Mission: To empower kids to give back to the community while learning business skills and experiencing entrepreneurship for themselves. In this episode she shares the story of Jared, a former patient at the children’s hospital where she works, who inspired it all.

Mindset: Kristen actually had the idea for Kids Boost for several years before taking action. Hear her describe how starting small helped her to finally launch her  big idea.

Marketing: “What I didn’t think I was ready for was all that I needed and more.”  Kristen shares the marketing moment she did quite feel ready for and how it helped get the word out in a big way.

Momentum: Now out of the launch phase, Kristen is enjoying hearing the stories and feedback from some of Kids Boost’s first graduates. Seeing her idea come to life and impact kids is giving her and Kids Boost momentum for the next chapter.

Masterminds: From the inspiration for it all, Jared, to her board members, and friends and family. Kristen shares what it means to surround yourself with a dream team and why it’s so important.

"When they forget about you, you introduce them to something you've been trying to give them the whole time"

Rasa Don, together with former Arrested Development band mate Headliner, are the masterminds behind the artistic experience, Creative Royalty. Bringing together music, art, literature, and so much more to give fans an experience like no other.

Rasa Don is best known as the drummer for the Grammy award winning band, Arrested Development. You will quickly hear that his artistic expression goes far beyond drumming. Ras has spent his career making music and art. In this interview, he shares the lessons learned with Arrested Development and the challenges of launching a new project.  Rasa Don says, "Trust me, it's worth the wait".

Ofelia de La Valette, owner and founder of Dance 101 didn’t find her calling to the dance world until the age of 35. A successful insurance agent with her own company in Atlanta, Ofelia had been pounding away on the treadmill at her gym when the sounds of a cardio dance class caught her attention. Though humiliated at her own lack of skill, Ofelia jumped right in. Despite her embarrassment at being the worst in the class, Ofelia found a strengthened sense of self and scorched 20 pounds in the process. She was hooked.

After 10 years of intensive dancing, she was asked to teach a class at Emory University, and after two years there, she took a huge leap. At the request of five of her students, Ofelia dropped her lucrative career and opened the original Dance 101 location off of Miami Circle in Buckhead. The first studio of its kind in the WORLD, Dance 101’s unique offerings and accessibility made it an instant hit. 

Ofelia teaches weekly dance classes and manages all aspects of the business. Currently, she is working on expanding her studio both locally and nationally. Driven by a passion for dance and an innate need to make the world a better place, Ofelia has picked up numerous awards in her years at the helm of Dance 101. With the advent of her new Alpharetta location, Ofelia is looking to develop Dance 101 into a franchise—so fellow dance fanatics can reap the benefits of adult beginner classes nationwide.

Her efforts have been featured in several local as well as national publications, webisodes, podcasts and recently in CNN Small Success Stories, Passion to Portfolio, Making It In America (both CNN domestic and International) as well as Headline News. In July, 2011 Ofelia was invited by the White House to deliver the afternoon key note speech at the Atlanta Urban Entrepreneurship Forum and was presented with The Phoenix Award by Mayor Kasim Reed. She was recently featured in the top 10 Atlanta Best Self magazine’s Over 40 and Fabulous Atlantans and was one of 50 women profiled in Marlo Thomas’s book, It Ain’t Over…Till It’s Over.

Ofelia is providing the public with an opportunity to do for themselves what, until now, they could only watch others do on TV: to make their own leap — from their living room to a classroom, from the audience to the stage. Listen and prepare to be transformed by the power of dance at Dance 101!

Calvin Wayman is a social media entrepreneur. He's a sought after speaker, featured guest on business-, entrepreneur-, and social media podcasts, contributor for Entrepreneur Magazine, and founder of Cobbes – a social media management company. He is also the creator of the YouTube show "Millionaire Case Study," where he is documenting his journey from zero to his first one million dollars as it's happening.

After quitting his day job to pursue his dream of working for himself, Calvin Wayman relocated from Salt Lake City to sunny southern California. He sold door to door to stretch his comfort zone, pay the bills, and fund his online business. Calvin’s passion is helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses by taking advantage of modern tools and technology.

Mission: Calvin admits that he knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur, but had no clue exactly what his business would be. Inspired by the success of early adopters on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, Calvin saw an opportunity to get in early with Periscope. Just by taking action towards this idea, he gained momentum, earned his first dollar online, and found his calling to help more businesses market in today's digital marketplace.

Mindset: This is a must listen. Calvin shares his incredible perspective on taking action and crushing fear. Listen as he describes with total transparency how he made the decision to take the leap into entrepreneurship.

Marketing: Calvin gives his 4 C's of social media success.

1 - Content: "Without content, you do not exist". Share your story and let people know who you are.

2 - Context: The way you frame a certain message is hugely important.

3 - Consistency: In both your story and your frequency, staying consistent is what will help you to be remembered.

4 - Connection: This is the reason we do social media. Make an effort to build a real relationship with your audience.

Mastermind Challenge: Calvin shares that the magic happens outside your comfort zone. From taking cold showers to laying down on the floor at Starbucks, he is constantly running experiments to test his own limits to go outside his comfort zone.  This week, find something that makes you uncomfortable and just do it knowing that your ability to push through fear on the little things will 100% impact your ability to push through fear on the bigger things.