Welcome to Tried & True with a Dash of Woo, where we blend rock solid tips with a little bit of magic. I'm your host Renee Bowen, a life and a business coach, professional photographer, Diet Coke lover, and mom of three grown kids. Here to walk you through all the ins and outs of identity-based marketing and how to run a business that feels like freedom. Hey, hey, welcome back to Tried & True with a Dash of Woo. I am your host Renee Bowen, and I have a really amazing guest for you guys today. But really quick, a couple of little housekeeping things for you guys just to kind of let you know what's going on, a little bit of a heads up, because I am taking a little bit of a break for the next couple of weeks. I'm heading to Mexico on Sunday for a retreat for the MixerMind. You guys are going to hear a little bit more about the MixerMind in today's podcast, but I'm going to be there for a little over a week, and then it's going to be Thanksgiving. And so I'm taking the next couple of weeks off from the podcast. And then I'll be back after that with some solo episodes for you guys. But I have something really awesome and new for you senior photographers who are listening. I created a new private podcast, it's totally free. And it's six episodes that walks you through all the different ways that I think you really need to be marketing right now in order to get booked. It's called Still Booking, because there's a lot of you guys who are really stressed that you don't have enough bookings, you're not booked enough. And this is really the nitty gritty of the marketing that you really need. Okay, I know that it's fun to take another posing class. And it's fun to go out there and shoot with a new lens. But you need clients. And so you need to dig into your messaging and your marketing and your positioning. And that is what I help you do inside of this free private podcast. So the link for that is in the show notes. And I also made you an entire workbook, Google Doc to go with it. So yeah, it's not like a little surface level thing, you're actually going to walk away with a lot of value. Also, I took my Senior Sunday custom GPT, which is a marketing GPT for high school senior photographers helps you with your content and your planning. It's also a Claude skill. I took that and I made it into an app. And now it even has more built into it. So yes, it's going to help you with your social content. But every week, you're going to get new and fresh trends pushed out to it. There's a place for you to upload your own brand book. So it really knows your voice and you can connect your own AI to it. It's still built with my 20 plus years of marketing to high school senior strategy. And now it has my entire coaching brain built into it as well. I call it Pocket Renee, because it's like having me in your pocket, a coach in your pocket. It does a lot of things, you guys, like it's really, really cool. It's a very robust marketing app, specifically for high school senior photographers, because we really do have a very unique set of circumstances, we have to be marketing to the parent and to the teenager. And inside of it, you're going to get ideas for both. It also helps you if you have no ideas whatsoever, gives you a starting point, it fleshes everything out for you. And it's built, like I said, on the content strategy that I have been using for years, to run a six figure senior photography business and to stay booked. We also dig into the other aspects of your marketing and not just social. So this is a super affordable way for you to stay on top of your marketing so you can stay booked. All right, you guys, my guest today is someone that I absolutely adore. Her name is Linda Sidhu, and she runs the MixerMind. So you might have heard me talk about the MixerMind community in the past. This is my second year being a member of the MixerMind. And it has brought me not only amazing business opportunities, it's brought me some of my best friends that I would not have met had it not been for this group. We dig into that a little bit, but we really are talking about like relationship building. And Linda just really brings so much knowledge across the board, but a lot of sales knowledge that I think many of you are going to really appreciate. So this is a really fun conversation that we had. I'm excited to get you guys to meet Linda if you haven't met her already. She's absolutely amazing. You need to get into her universe. And so let's just jump in to this conversation I had with Linda. Linda, I am so excited to talk to you. We're friends. So this is going to be like extra special for me. But I think it's going to be really awesome for my audience too. So thanks for being here. Oh, really? Thank you so much for having me. Yay. Okay, so we're just going to get right into it. You've been in this world, this entrepreneurial world, long enough to have done the rounds, right? Like maybe some courses and masterminds and coaches, like you've been in this a bit. So was there a specific moment where you sort of looked around and thought, I'm surrounded by all this content and I'm still building it alone? Like what was the actual crack in the wall for you that made you want to open up to what you're doing now? Yeah, great question. So what happened to me or the origin of how the MixerMind started, I guess, was when I launched or I started my own summit. And it was back when I was known for doing quizzes, personality quizzes. And so I was hosting a summit called the quiz to cash bash. And I was super excited about the speakers that were there for the event. And I hosted a mixer. So the speakers could actually meet each other because I thought they were also brilliant and that they had to meet each other. And I really wanted them to engage with each other and understand how special the event that I was promoting and that was going to take place. And so from that event, everybody had a blast and they were like, we should do this again. And, but the problem is, is I didn't have another summit coming up. So I was like, okay, like they want to do it again. Okay, well, who else would I like to know that I view as a mentor or a peer? And so I started to personally invite peers and mentors. And I even went for the nose. Like I went for people who I had no intention that they would even come, but they started to say yes. Like, believe it or not, like there was mentors that I hadn't even met. I was not on their podcast, didn't have a relationship with, just sent them emails, letting them know how much I looked up to them, how much I valued them, and I would invite them to these mixers. And so I think it was 2021 where I was just hosting mixers. And the main reason it wasn't about content and like doing anything alone. It was more the stance of we're all experts. Why do we have to pay 18, 20, 30 grand to have access to a community like that? And I thought that was my standpoint of like, I don't think we need to pay one expert to give us feedback in just a 10 minute hot seat. And then that's all the time we get. I would much rather connect with my peers and learn about their business and support their business, reduce the pricing around that, and make it more of an even playing field to the point where what a real mastermind should look and feel like anyways. Yeah, that's fascinating to me because yeah, I've been in those containers and I totally get it. That makes so much sense. And so when you were doing that, right? Like, so obviously you didn't kind of go into this or did you? Like when you went into this, you weren't thinking like, oh, this is going to grow into like the MixerMind. That just sort of evolved, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So what was that specific feedback? Whether it's from other people or like the feedback you felt yourself? Because I love the fact that you just sort of initiated this. And then there were other little things that kept showing up. So I wanted to kind of talk a little bit about what that looks like. I think a lot of us kind of tend to be very stringent upon like, okay, I want this to happen. And then like we're get, we get stuck on that outcome that we maybe aren't open enough to like what could be. So what was some of that feedback that made you realize, oh, this, this is turning into something different. Yeah. So when I started hosting these virtual mixers, I had people posting about it on Instagram, sharing it, tagging me. I had people saying yes, that they wanted to attend it when I didn't even have a relationship with them. Really. I had people that were, I was inviting that was inviting their peers and it just kind of caught on like wildfire. And then I had someone who was my current copywriter. She's been my copywriter for years. She said, Linda, you should monetize this. This should be a paid offer. And I was like, what? I can't even wrap my head around that because we're all having fun. And this is like, you know, really, it should be a paid offer. And so I started to lean into that a little bit. And then I started to do my market research a bit more and asking the people who were invited to these events. If I did turn this into something, what would it look like? What kind of support would you like? What do you want? And that's where I started to get feedback. I'm a Manifesting Generator. So I thrive on getting feedback from people so that I can respond to it. And so once I was able to see what people wanted, they were asking for, you know, a, they were asking for like retreats and in-person events. And I was like, I didn't have any of that on my bingo card, but I was listening and I, you know, took the research and consideration. And then I started to see the cream rise to the top. And then I started to say, well, how could I build a structure around this? And then I also knew that I wanted it to be community led where it was like, we're peers where, you know, it's not a place where we're coming to get, you're not paying me because I'm the guru or the expert. You're coming here so you can actually meet like-minded people, ask questions, get support. And then I started to see the three line was like, Oh, well, then, you know, if we do this, what's the purpose of this? So I started to really be like, okay, what's the purpose of this community? It is to build long lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. And we do that through collaborations and partnerships. So that became the purpose. And so everything I decided to do, whether it was the round tables or the behind the panels, it had to go back to the purpose. Am I actually achieving this purpose? And if I was, then it was in, if it wasn't something that would achieve that purpose, then I left it out. And so I created this new structure for the community called the MixerMind. And I launched it very low price, beta tested it. And I just kind of continue to do research and build the plane as we were flying it. Yeah, I love that. There's so much good stuff that happens. I think you build it as you, as you're going along and you get so much great feedback. But did you know when you started that you were such because you're so good at many things, but one of the things that you're good at is connecting people, like understanding sort of like who fits with who or who could vibe with who. Did you know that about yourself or did you know that the success I had in business in the past in my corporate days was in pharmaceutical sales sales. I was selling, I knew how to connect with doctors. I knew how to show up for doctors. I knew how to make it all about them, their patients, their practices. And just by me being a natural nurture or relationship builder, that was my specialty back when I was in corporate. So then I was thinking, well, if that's what I had success with and that's, could I create something similar? So I started to think of this container as a, how could I create something where I'm just supporting other entrepreneurs and I'm not necessarily the expert or creating curriculum or making them do a bunch of stuff. It's more of how can I support their business? And so I came, looked at it through that angle. And then I started to really recognize, oh, I kind of understand the business journey. I know how to connect people. I can help people with the personality work. So if you don't know me, I was actually first known in this industry as creating personality quizzes. And I learned that when I was working in pharmaceutical sales. And so I took that strategy by really understanding each personality, how to communicate with people, how does that, how do I help people align with their values? How do I help them? How do I connect people that have, are both like fast action? What about people who are more thoughtful? You know, and so I started to look at it with different angles. And that's where I think my super power lies is in the connecting. It's weird. It's like, I just understand the business journey. I understand your client audience. I know who to connect you with to help you propel your business forward. And that's what I started to do. That was the differentiator than other masterminds, other communities, other programs. And that is where I continue to stay in my lane. And that keeps me different than everybody else. Okay. Yeah. Love that. Because you do have so much, you mentioned it earlier, the Human Design piece, you have a lot of the self-awareness in general, you had already been on some of that journey yourself. And so instead of just trying to try on all these different hats, it's like, no, this is what I know works. This is actually like even calling back to the corporate and saying, I was good at that. So how can I double down on that doing this? And I feel like so many of us, especially Mani Gens, I'm a generator, but I work with a lot of Mani Gens. And I feel like a lot of Mani Gens tend to be a lot of ideas. And then they sort of like are looking for the next new shiny thing. Right? So I think there's a lot of value in looking through that lens of no, actually, this is actually what I know works well for me. And I got these really good results. So how can I actually add some fuel to that fire as opposed to just like trying to light all these different fires? You know what I mean? You probably see that a lot too. Yeah. And you know, honestly, probably because of my cancer diagnosis that happened in 2023, it kind of slowed me down. So I didn't have the capacity to be like a little tornado and just do this and do that and go wherever I decided to go. Right. Instead, I put a lot of things like I put the stuff, the quiz stuff in hibernation and said, I'm going to pause this because this feels out of alignment and it drains me. And instead, I'm going to focus on this MixerMind and what's happening here because there's a lot of energy. And when I made that decision to double down on the MixerMind, that's when my business really propelled and it's I only really sell one offer right now. Yeah. Yeah. So but I do want to kind of and you mentioned it, I want to talk a little bit about that. Your cancer diagnosis is a really big piece of your story in general and how, you know, it helped not just shape your life, but shape the MixerMind. Talk to me a little bit about that because that was unexpected, obviously. And were you at a point where you already had something in motion and then you had to sort of like, Oh my gosh, pivot. Yeah. So I had launched the beta group of the MixerMind at the beginning of 2023. And three weeks after I enrolled the members, I found out I had thyroid cancer and I knew that I was going to have to have one, maybe two surgeries. The first surgery is to remove half my thyroid and the nodule because it was four centimeters. It was pretty big and I just wanted it out. And then they were going to test it for cancer. And sure enough, I got diagnosed with thyroid cancer. So I had to have a second surgery. And then in that second surgery, I unfortunately had a complication where I had a blood clot and I'm lucky to be alive. The blood clot collapsed in my throat after a week of me trying to tell my doctors, family, friends that I was having trouble breathing. I went to the ER three different times. They asked me to leave three different times. But the funny thing is, is I finally told them, I think it's a blood clot and they scanned. I did a CT scan for my heart, my lungs and my leg, but nobody thought to look at the, where the surgery took place, which was where the actual blood clot was. So after seven days of my second surgery, where they removed the rest of my thyroid, that's when the blood clot collapsed into my throat. So from that moment forward, that's when I knew that my health mattered most and not my business. And so I had to really focus on what do I do now? I need to take time to heal. And this is a priority. And actually, I didn't even have a voice for a full week. Like my voice was completely gone. I couldn't talk and I had to almost, I always say I was like a bird sitting on a perch, just like watching life. And that silence was really powerful because that was the moment I decided this is what's working. I'm going to double down on this. I'm putting the quiz stuff in hibernation and I'm only going to focus on the MixerMind had a huge component of that to your point earlier with your question, was my community. When I came to them to tell them I had cancer, they raised money. They sent me money for grocery delivery to help with dog walking. And they really supported me in that time. And I think because this was only three weeks after I launched, they were showing up for calls. They were hosting calls. They became like the backbone of this reciprocity that was built in the state to this day. That's really powerful. And just in general, but that little piece of it there, especially because obviously you didn't expect any of that. You know what I mean? As you were launching this, it's the last thing you thought was going to happen. And then you didn't have a choice. So, okay, you have to pull back and that piece about sitting in the silence is really important for people to hear as well. Because I feel like maybe it's just me. I feel like there's just a lot going on all the time, especially if you like wear all the hats in your business and it can get away from you very quickly. And we really shouldn't wait until something like that happens. To zoom out and to reflect on what am I really doing here? What do I really want? And what is my capacity? Truly what is my capacity? And get radically honest with yourself about it. And that's something that I've personally been trying to do and doing the last couple years is be really, really honest. And it's hard. I got to say, it is. It's really hard because as a person, I can take on all this stuff. But just because I can doesn't mean I should or want to. And I know that you use Human Design, but you're also, and again, ties into my show, Try It or True with a dash of woo. You exemplify all of that. You have so much strategy and so much knowledge, all the corporate background, even the sales psychology, all of that. You have, then there's this woo side of you as well. You're very into the self-awareness and digging into that and personality tests. What do you feel like has been one of the most impactful, maybe modalities in that woo side of stuff that you use that has helped you the most? Well, I did a Human Design reading with Danielle Laura, who's also in the MixerMind, right before I launched the MixerMind. And she identified I was a Manifesting Generator, a 4/6. And she was like, Oh my gosh, this community is in your design. You are the four, which is a community builder. So this is perfect for you, but you're also a six, which means as you head into around midlife, you and closer to 50, you start to step into this role model stage. And she's like, right now you're just evaluating what's working. You're trying to figure out different things. You're kind of watching from afar, implementing things, but eventually you're going to rise up and you're going to be able to be this leader. Right. And so that was fascinating to me. And I also, in the same, one of the same readings, it could have been the same reading or a different reading with her. She also said that my purpose in life was tied to intimacy. And I not only had those numbers, however they do it, I don't know the terms or whatever, but it was twice in my Human Design. And she said out of a thousand readings she's ever done, she's never seen it double down like that twice. And what's really fascinating is, you know, I could get into a lot of this. Like now that I've been exploring more about the trauma I've been through, even from the start of my birth and what I've had to endure to this moment, but there's been a lot of like things that I've had to go through alone, believe it or not. When I became a mom, I don't care if your husband's in the room and if there's family, like you go through that alone, like it is, it's a lot. And so for me, when I gave birth to my son, we had just moved to Seattle. We didn't have a meal train. We didn't have anyone at the hospital. That was something I had to go through that transformation alone. When I went through my cancer, unfortunately, that was also alone. They didn't let me have my child at the surgeries. So my husband was like, he had to take care of Liam. So he was barely there. He was just making sure I was in and out like good, she's good. Let's okay, I'll take off and like go pick up Liam from school. Even when I did the quarantine for the radioactive iodine, I had to do that alone. I had to like go somewhere in quarantine because I couldn't be around people. I couldn't be around my dog. Like, and so part of me was like, Oh my gosh, does this mean I'm actually going to have to die alone, which is really profound. But through this experience, I've realized I've had to be resilient and I've had to have a lot of self trust in myself to continue to get through these moments and goes back to your original question is like, what was the one thing? And I think it was really that human design reading. But then also I did have a numerology reading too. And the numerology reading, the lady had stated that I was a master 11, which means I'm going to fulfill my purpose. So at that point, once I heard that, I was like, well, then I'm it's just go time, like then nothing like matters. Like I'm going to get where I need to go. And my soul signed up for this mission. And it's going to happen. So at that point, it was like leaning into self trust because I was aware of like my role in life. And I feel more confident with my decisions, knowing that I'm here to make an impact somehow. I think it's so interesting because, and I often look at Human Design and any of these modalities really, but Human Design, as you know, is really been impactful for me. It's confirmation, right? Like, so a lot of this is I feel like, especially when I start telling people about their Human Design, because when they come into coaching, I always do that with them. It is that level of like, oh, it's like a confirmation. It's like a yes, like affirming something that you, you might already have felt, right? But it's like, okay, now it's like gives you more of a reason because you felt it. And then it's, it's there in the design. And so I think it ties a little bit to, to that decision. Like I was thinking about this, it's been on my mind the last couple of days, this, the fact that this certainty that we must have when we decide to go for something. And if we, if we have any level of like uncertainty about something, that energy, as you know, that's the energy that we're emitting. There it's, we're not emitting certainty. We're not emitting a decision. We're emitting uncertainty. And so that's why we're not really seeing it show up in that moment. Right. But I feel like that story, as well as a lot of my own stories about Human Design and seeing it in my coaching too, it helps give people confirmation, which helps with that self trust and helps with that certainty and the decision making. Because then it's like, it's like a confidence, it's almost like a confidence builder, right? Yes, I am going to do this. And then boom, the universe is like, oh, hello. That's a different frequency. That's not uncertainty. So I feel like, does that resonate? Do you feel like, Yeah, because I think once I realized that it was, I was meant to be the leader of the MixerMind, I made that decision. And I knew the one thing I had to do was like launch it. And it required me to personally reach out to my very first members. So I personally reached out to 40 people and asked them to join this community. And so I had to walk the walk, I had to talk the talk. It was scary as hell. But if I'm, but I had to do it, right? Like I had to be the leader to like invite the folks in. And I did it. And so you have to do that for yourself, for yourself, even when you're like hitting an upper limit issue, like there are going to be times where you're ready to evolve and you're in it's really scary. And you have a lot of fear. But at the end of the day, if you want to see the stars, you got to walk outside and look at them. You got to be the one that like believes in yourself and trust that you got to take this risk and you're going to be able to fly. And even if you don't fly, you're going to be okay. Like there's a lesson learned and it's progress moving forward to get you to where you need to go. That's a big piece of it is looking at, you know, quote unquote failure. That's because that's the word we give it as just information because it is, it's like if, even if you don't succeed, okay, well, what other information is coming from that? Because it is truly just at the end of the day, information, it's just that we put so much weight and so many people are so afraid to fail. Right. And so they can't even like take that step. So I just think it's a very interesting, you know, way of looking at it and also how impactful things like Human Design or working with a coach or whatever it is can get you to the certainty so that you do move. That's the point because confidence and all of that, it comes from action, not just thinking about it. If we just stay in our head the whole time, like you said, like you have to go out and look at the stars, you have to do it. So I want to kind of segue a little bit into somewhat like same topic, but the MixerMind itself, I think that on the surface, it might seem like one thing to some people, but I think there's a hidden ROI inside of it that a lot of people don't realize until they're probably in it and actually experiencing it as well. Right. So like, yeah, we know like the intention was, like you said, in the very beginning, and then it sort of evolved. So what do you see from your perspective? I'd be interested because like, I'm a member, so I have a different perspective. Yeah. But your perspective is like, okay, people come in thinking it's this, but then really, it's this, like, what are some of the stories that you've heard about people telling you or that you've seen personally? Yeah, I would love to hear your perspective too, if you want to share after me, but when I launched the community, I personally was like, I just love business strategy. I want to talk like I enjoy talking to peers and mentors and strategy and like learning. And I was like, that really lights me up. And like, this is like the room I want to be in. And I hadn't seen a room out there that was like that for an affordable price too. You know, so when I launched it, that was my vision. That was what fired me up. But what happened was I started to realize I was really building a home for people, a home where they felt safe, a home where they could be vulnerable, a home where they could share what's actually working with their business, but also what's not working with their business. And so it's a very intimate group of individuals. And I think some people join because they might want the proximity to be close to a certain individual. They're thinking of it more of like transactional. And what they actually get is a support group that's going to catch you when you fall. Like when you're taking these big risks, this community is here and I can share it in a few different ways. One of my favorite ways though is with Sophia Parra. And she has publicly shared that she struggled with infertility and had, you know, went through this journey and she finally got pregnant. And we were all rooting for her and excited for her. When her baby was born, she had leaned into her network, which also happened to coincide with some of the MixerMind members. But every single person who showed up for her when she was on maternity leave was also in the MixerMind. And she was able to take a maternity leave and be with her son. And we kind of took over the wheel, right? And supported her. A more recent story was a member has unfortunately lost her job. She was actually working for another entrepreneur. It was kind of interesting because this particular situation has only happened once in this community where they were certain, like kind of the lead of marketing and relationship building and stuff like that. And so she was working for another entrepreneur and she got let go. And she had recently messaged me and said, you know, I'm just so grateful. There was, you know, 17 people that booked calls to support me. Six of them were the MixerMind members. She got invited to go to a conference, grabbed a ticket, she headed out to the Kit conference. There's MixerMind members there to support her. But at the end of the day, she was like, I joined the MixerMind for a totally different reason. And the amount of support I'm getting as I pivot right now is unreal. So it's this beautiful community. And I do think we have unfortunately had to weed out people who were very transactional. And they're really no longer in the community. The majority of the people who are there now are very heart centered. They value the community. They take care of the community. And I'm really proud of what I've created. But that was something that was like a bonus that I didn't realize was going to happen. Yeah, it's kind of similar to me. I think, you know, I definitely, I think Ellen had reached out to me to join the first year and I couldn't do it. I had so much going on. And I said, but no, definitely keep me in the loop, you know, for next year. It's definitely it's on my radar for the next year. And I think that I, you know, she did a really good job of explaining it. But it's one of those things too, just like you said, you don't really know what your experience is, you know, until you get there. And it's just like anything else, it is, you're going to get out of it what you put in as always. So when I do put myself into containers like this, I always, I always go in with like, I came to play. I'm not just going to join and like not do anything with it, right? I'm, I'm doing it, even though I'm super busy with all my other stuff, right? I'm going to throw myself into this, but I'm a 2-4. So that two line for me is very much the hermit. Like, yeah, I have the community side, but like that two line sometimes gets very, very loud. I can be, I can be a super introvert, especially since I am on camera a lot. I do the podcast. I'm out there a lot. So sometimes people are like, what? You're an introvert. I'm like, no, I need to be alone. And I mean alone alone, like not around my husband, not around anybody, like alone. And for years I felt until I learned about Human Design, I felt like that was like something was wrong with me. Like, why can't I just be more extroverted or why can't I just love, get energy from that? Finally, you know, learning about it through my own psychology stuff and getting my degree in psych and doing the Myers-Briggs, I'm a hundred percent in INTJ. I was like, okay. And then, but the Human Design just added this other layer to it, gave me more permission, right? To be like, nope, that's just how I made. And if I just kind of sync up to the way that I'm aligned, things will just work out for me better. So there's always, when I joined communities though, there's always like this, like, huh, like, I don't know how it's going to work because I'm such an introvert. But what's been so great for me is that, first of all, there's a ton of other introverts in there, which is awesome. And that is not something I really expected. I don't know why I didn't expect that. I just, I guess, didn't think about it. So that's been really awesome for me to see because when we, when was, when introverts sort of find each other, we're like, Oh, okay. We can, we can really be our weird selves around each other. And that's that level of acceptance that I wasn't really expecting, but that I found inside of the MixerMind. And yes, I've had really good partnerships and I've done summits and you know what I mean? Like I've, I've joined other people's things. I've had a lot of people here on the podcast, which has been amazing and sharing with my audience, but the undercurrent, the theme underneath everything is this energy of acceptance that I really hadn't found in other places. And that was surprising to me. And I know you see that a lot too. And the stories that you hear from people, like you said. Yeah. I also want to acknowledge something though. Renee, Renee shows up for pretty much everything. She is like one of my, actually out of all the pod leaders in the community, you've shown up the most for the community. And so I think that speaks volumes because if you are leaning in and if you are showing up, you are definitely going to give back what you give. And so it's a very reciprocity community based thing that's going on. And what's really fascinating to me is there's a lot of members in the community that don't show up very often. Okay. Fair enough. I will say that I am very personality based too. And because I know that I've established different ways where you don't have to have it all. You can just pick what works for you. So I do have the private podcasts. People can listen to the calls on the go. We have the pods where you can show up live. We have the in-person retreat. Like there's multiple ways you can take advantage of the community. There's a collaboration tool. If you just want to be transactional and like do the opportunities that are there and each person can benefit as long as they're leaning in just a bit. But I will say it's fascinating to me to see business owners who run their own communities and they're not showing up at all. And they also are questioning why isn't anyone showing up to my calls? Why isn't anyone showing up for me? You know what I mean? For my thing. Well, you got to ask yourself, are you a good gatherer? How are you showing up for the things that you're, you know, so I'm sharing this because there are other communities I'm a part of too. And I do my best to show up for those groups as well. And I'm there and I'm there for my own community. And so I have these expectations that if I'm paying for something, I'm going to go all in as much as I possibly can, you know? And it is that give and receive and the more that you lean in, the more you're going to receive for sure. Yeah. And so I think that for if you're listening and you're an introvert or you have any sort of like intimidation lying underneath, whether you're like a part of the group or joining any kind of group or anything like that, I would agree with Linda. There's so much more on the other side of it. Like if you can just kind of get past that and just decide because everything is a decision, like I said, like I'm just going to show up and see what's there for me because you don't know what's there unless you show up. It doesn't mean you have to overcommit. I'm not talking about like, right, right, right. Overcommitting to the point where you're burning yourself out. I'm talking about like leaning in like you said, like leaning in like, okay, how can I help you? You know, how can I assist this group? And if I can, I will. If I can't, I can't write like there are certain times where I'm like, oh, I'm super busy this month. Like, I just can't make that call. But like you said, you have other options for people. And I think that that's really important because some people do really have a heck of a lot going on. Right. Like, I mean, if I were involved in the MixerMind, when my kids were little, like that would have been a different story, right? My kids are all grown. And looking back, yeah, that was a crazy time for me. It might not have been able to be as involved, but I like the fact that you've got the replays, you got the private podcast, there's different ways for people to access the information. So it doesn't just feel somewhere out there for them. Yeah. And there's no judgment of where you are. Like, I mean, I feel like when I, you know, Liam is still young, I went through cancer, like I don't have a lot of family out here. Like I'm the soul, you know what I mean? There's so much that I'm going through too. And I'm aware. Plus, I think I understand the personality side of it. It's like, I get that people are different. They're going to experience and benefit different ways. And, you know, setting people up for success to the point where it's like, whatever works for you, as long as you're leaning in, you will get a return on investment somehow, you know? Yeah. And I do think that there has a lot, and this has been a hot topic too lately, this in-person thing, right? You've seen it probably online too. So many creators, entrepreneurs are talking about the fact that, and it has a lot to do with just the way we are, you know, in the world, in our society and six years out of a pandemic, that kind of stuff where people are craving in-person real events. Again, AI is adding to all of this too, right? So like, I feel like this is also very timely. For me, I was able to lean in my first year and lean in virtually, right? Show up for Zooms, really try and find my spaces and see where I can help or, you know, lend my expertise or whatever it is. And then it wasn't though, until the in-person retreat, that it really, really kind of just expanded everything for me. And maybe that is like the 2/4 in me, maybe I'm not really sure, right? I mean, I think that you've curated a really amazing group of people. And so I think that that definitely has a lot to do with it. But there was just something about being physically in the same space that I think makes a really big difference. Have you heard the same from a lot of people? I mean, where are you at with that? Because I know that running the retreat is a really, really big thing. It's hard. Yeah. It's like planning a wedding every year. It's a decent task to take on. And I do agree. I think I once heard that like miles make you millions. So if you could actually fly and go to an event and meet people in person, that's going to impact your life big time. And so I think what's cool about the MixerMind is you can virtually meet people and you can get those connections in the pods. You can get them when we do the group events. You can also get them in person. So there's multiple ways where you can have touch points. But I think back about my pharmaceutical days when I was very successful in sales. And I remember my boss telling me, you have to show up seven times to these doctors with the same message before they're going to remember who you are. And I also think people have to binge so much of your content before they're going to purchase. And like there's all these things about like you, it's all about developing trust. So when you are in person with somebody, that trust is built very quickly. And it's amplified to the point that I don't think anything else could ever pull that off. Right? Yeah. And it's really interesting because like I had even had a little bit of contact virtually with some of the people, but not a ton of one-on-one because that first year I was just super, super busy. I didn't do a lot of like one-on-one coffee chats and things like that. But even the people that I did, I felt like it was great, but there was something about being there in person that really helped solidify those relationships a lot more. And I do think that maybe it has a bit to do with who I am personally, because I like to go deep with people. Like I don't really like to stay on the surface and it's hard. It's hard for me to just like make some small talk. So I feel like I was able to connect with other people who are also like that in person. And it was just like an instant sort of connection that I'm really grateful for because I feel like then it just sort of opened up a whole different level of that for me, like going into it the second year, you know, now as a pod leader and then just sort of having like a different perspective just from being in the container for more than a year. You know what I mean? Not being like a newbie anymore, whatever it is. And so it's just really great because like you said, there's this group cohesiveness, even though we're so different, everybody's so different. I'm looking at all the people who are at the Kit conference now and I'm totally having FOMO because I'm not there. I can't go. My daughter's graduating on Friday, but I was just at a conference with Nata who's also in the MixerMind a few months ago. And she was like, you have to come to kit. And I was literally about to purchase a ticket with her sitting there at lunch because just because I wanted to go and be there with everybody. And then I was like, Oh, wait, I can't go that week. My daughter's graduating. So I physically couldn't go. But I feel like it has opened up a different part to me, but definitely for my business. Like it's really helped me. I've learned so much from so many people. I was going to say the content in the community is like something you would have to pay like 20, 30 grand to have access to. I want to talk about that for a second because like, I don't think I don't think people really get that. Like I kind of went in thinking, Oh yeah, like we'll be some networking or whatever. I'm like, Whoa, wait, she shared what? Like, like you said, you would have had to pay a pretty high price for a lot of this. And yes, there's a side of it that could be like, okay, it's a lot of information. It could be overwhelming. But again, I would rather have more opportunity to learn and access to more like really good information that you know, actually converts. That's the thing. It's like, Oh, no, she's got the proof. Like she's showing us receipts here. That is so valuable. Like so valuable because even though I might not be using that right now, I might use it later. I also can help my clients better because I'm getting some better information from other coaches as well, which is awesome. It's like, I think that's been like my favorite unexpected thing from it. Thank you for sharing that because I don't think a lot of people acknowledge that part of it. Which I'm like, so proud of because I'm very thoughtful about the topics that we discuss. I'm very thoughtful about who I have on the panels, the roundtables, like I make sure that the information we're getting is like a chef's kiss. Right? For sure. Exactly. Because like even some of the roundtables, like it, even if the topic to me right off the bat doesn't seem like, Oh, I might not need that right now. I'm still, that's another reason why I show up to a lot of these things. Because I'm like, wait a minute. I can file this away. I can, I can dip in and I can see what can I take from this? Right? Like it might not be exactly what I'm needing or doing, but there's probably a nugget in there that's going to be relevant to me in some way, but I wouldn't know if I didn't show up. So that's another reason why I kind of always want to just kind of put myself in the room, like, Hey, what is here for me? Not to overwhelm myself, like I said before, not to give myself all of this extra work, but like, what can I take from this? And how can I maybe help somebody else with it too? Right? Like, so it's just a win-win across the board. And I agree. I don't think enough of us have maybe talked about that enough out in, in our communities about how there's real knowledge and education happening in there that a lot of people would not be privy to had they not been in the room. The room matters big time. So I know that you are heading into, you like to plan ahead and you like to think ahead. And I love that. Thinking ahead to what this next phase of it looks like for you. We have the retreat coming up in November, which I'm super excited about. Very excited about that. Again, that was my, one of my favorite things about it last year as well. So I'm excited to go back. But looking forward and ahead, what are some of the things that you've got planned? You do these really awesome mixers for people, like leading into this next round of it. Is there anything that you have that you want to kind of chat about real quick before we wrap up? Because I want to make sure people have as much information as possible, if they're interested in looking into the mixer line. Well, I think one thing that I do really well as I facilitate the MixerMind in the community, I do a lot of leading from behind. So I don't share a lot of the work I do behind the scenes. I'm going to try to do more of that in the public moving forward. But one thing I really do focus on is the activation. How do you activate your network? Because I think there's a lot of people that know that, yeah, maybe the money's not in the list anymore, but it is in your network. And how do I activate that network? So on my calls, like for the Magic Mixers that are coming up in December when I launch, there is panel discussion, of course. But then there's the breakout rooms where you actually get to connect and meet other attendees. And there's reasons why you're in that room. Even at the retreat to this year, I'm going to be focusing on how do we activate this network that's here right now, so that when you leave, you have opportunities to follow up on. And so that's one of the aspects I'm really leaning into is let's activate that network, because a lot of people don't even know how to do that themselves. And I do, when you first join the MixerMind, there is this framework that I call the Magic Match, where I teach how I activate my own network. And it's really with leveraging your relationships with peers, mentors, and clients. And all three of these people, if you've worked with them, they've experienced you. So there's trust that's built. So even when you're activating right now, like you might not be in the MixerMind like Renee and I, but how can you activate your network? Well, if you think about your upcoming launch or any offers that you want to sell and think about the audience and leveraging borrowed audiences, think about peers, clients, and mentors that have a similar audience that you can reach out to and do some organic partnerships with. But if you do decide to join the Magic Mixers or the MixerMind, I facilitate a lot of that very quietly so that people can propel their businesses forward, for sure. Yeah. No, you guys like Linda's like such a super connector. She that is really where your zone of genius, one of them lies is being able to match people up like that. So it's great that you also teach that framework, but on the other side of it too, as a member of the MixerMind, you know, she curates our pods. So we have little pods. So we have this big group, but then we have pods and it's like five people, right? So it's like five or six people. And you're with the same group of people for four months, I think it is four or five months, half a year essentially. And we have our own little meetings, we have our own Voxer chat. So you get to connect with these people on sort of a different level. And she personally does all of this. Like that's the thing she doesn't just like randomly like throw you in a group. There's like a method to her madness. And, and it's awesome. Because we just get more out of it. Because of that, like if we were just sort of like randomized, yeah, there might be some value there, because there's really good people in the community. But it might not be the right kind of match for that person. She even takes into account like what's going on? What kind of business do you run? Like, what are you trying to accomplish right now? She wants to know this information from people. And like, I think that that makes a huge difference, not just in the outcome for us, but the energy of the group, which makes a difference. I would love to share more about one of the biggest wins I had in the community based on personalities and values. If it's okay, I would love to share Kinsey and Joyce's story. So Kinsey Soderberg and Joyce Hamilton, they just launched Her AI Club. And they were new members last year in 2025. And I put them in their very first pod together. And what's really interesting about Kinsey is she's very like outgoing people oriented. She's also very task oriented and smart with like AI and tech. But she's a fast action taker. Joyce is actually the opposite personality of her. So she's a little bit more thoughtful. She's very tech savvy. She's also very task oriented. And they're almost like the yin to the yang. And because I knew they both valued AI and were really diving into that, they were kind of like leaders in the MixerMind community when it came to AI in 2025. And so I put them in their very first pod. And they ended up doing a joint summit last year. And I'll share the numbers with you. 63 speakers for that summit. 28 of them came from the MixerMind. Over 3000 attendees signed up for that summit.$40,000 in revenue that they generated from that summit. And about 9000 was paid an affiliate commission to the speakers that were part of the event. And six out of the top 10 affiliates were MixerMind members. So the quality, I bet the members coming into the community, they're vetted, they're trustworthy, they're quality leaders, you know, that are doing similar, maybe different things that you're currently doing in business. But what's really cool is they ended up this year, joining forces and creating an LLC together. And they launched Her AI Club. And I think they have over 300 members with that club. But it all started with them being in the same pod in the mixer, right? Yeah, no, it's such a great story. And no, it's such a fun. It's so fun. It was fun for me to watch all that too. Yeah. A fellow member, because I participated in their summit and it was great. And also one of the things I told Kinsey this to after their summit, I participated in a decent amount of those. I was like, you guys ran the heck out of this thing. Like that was a very well run summit. It was probably one of the best run summits I've ever participated in. I mean, Kinsey's a Capricorn, so there's a lot to do with that. And I was like, you guys really did like check the boxes. And just like, it was chef's kiss. Yeah. Well, and that's the other thing too, is like when it comes to collaborations and partnerships, I really do want my members to have success. And so I think it's important for members to identify this was very successful. How can I replicate something like this? Either offer something similar for your business, or maybe take advantage of other opportunities that are similar and start being more strategic about your partnerships moving forward. Because we're all overwhelmed. Life is crazy right now. If you can identify the things that are working, double down on them to make it more strategic in the future, then you will have more success inevitably. Okay, that's a great little spot to land on. That's like a mic drop. So perfect. Thank you so much for being here. This has been always fun for me to chat with you. But I think extremely valuable for my audience. I appreciate you. I loved being here. Renee is amazing. She is honestly, such a gift to this community. And if you are working with Renee as a coach, she's I'm sure you know, she's such a gift to you. So thank you for being here, allowing me to talk about my story today and the mix of mine. And I just appreciate you and love you so much. Thank you feelings mutual. I told you guys Linda was awesome. That was such a fun conversation. Thank you again, Linda for coming on the show. And for those of you guys who are interested in joining the MixerMind, she has those magic mixers coming up in December. I have some special invites for you. And so I would love to invite you if you're interested, okay, I'm not going to put the link in the show notes because this is a very special curated group. I really want to make sure that you're serious about wanting to come. So if you do want to come to one of the Magic Mixers, I need you to DM me on Instagram or shoot me an email Renee at Renee Bowen calm and let me know. And I'll send you the link. Okay, I want to have like a little bit of conversation with you first, rather than just sort of like put it out there just for everybody. It's really a special group. And I'd love for you to join us if it feels aligned. But I'm happy to also have a chat with you first and answer any questions you have about it too. I was lucky enough to be a pod leader this past year. And I absolutely loved it. So hopefully I can do that again next year because of course, I'm rejoining as well. It has brought me so many great people. I can't even imagine not being a part of it. And I'm very excited that I get to leave on Sunday to go to our retreat. The Linda's got some incredible stuff planned for us. I honestly don't know how she pulls all of this together. It's a lot, but she always does a fabulous job. So thank you guys for listening. If you have any questions, hit me up on Instagram. If you want an invite to one of the Magic Mixers, hit me up on Instagram or email me. And as always, if you loved this show, please share it with somebody and feel free to leave us a review and a rating at ratethispodcast.com/reneebowen. Super helpful. It's super helpful for us to be found. Thank you guys again for being here and I'll see you next time. Love you. Bye.