“Champagne Networking – How to Create Meaningful Relationships with Mentors, Influencers, and Strategic Partners to Grow Your Business” Jordana Interviews Selena Soo Transcript from March 11, 2013 Selena Soo (founder of S2 Groupe) is a business strategist for personal brands, focusing on marketing and publicity. Her mission is to help visionary entrepreneurs, experts, and coaches reach more people and change the world. Selena received her MBA from NYU Stern and her BA from Columbia University. She loves living in NYC, where she throws champagne networking brunches and teaches her signature course Elevate Your Brand. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 Jordana: Welcome everyone. This is Jordana Jaffe, founder of Embarkability. Thank you so much for joining us for the New Entrepreneur’s Business Blueprint where 20 experts will tell you everything you need to know to generate consistent cash flow, make a big impact and keep the faith during your first two years of business. I created this event because I speak to women every day who just started a business or who have been in business for a few years and they are really struggling to get clients, make money and stay positive throughout it all. So many women decide to start a business because they feel like it’s the key to living their dream life. The thing is that it really can be if they are shown how because when left to our own devices things tend to come up, whether it’s our own fears or resistance, or else it’s literally not knowing what to do next. These women are scared, overwhelmed and feel really alone. The thing is that they don’t have to. Yet all the while they know deep in their core that they have a strong purpose and have some valuable and unique offers to give to the world. With all this in mind, I wanted to bring something to you. I gathered this amazing group of women entrepreneurs who, like me, all experienced these things at some point in the beginning of their business journeys but somehow or another they made it out on the other side and are experiencing big success today. They are all in different industries and have different backgrounds but they were all committed to their success, which I find to be so inspiring. That is why I have decided to bring them all here in one place so that they can share their secrets with you this week. For those of you who don’t know me well, I am the owner and founder of Embarkability.com and I work with women all around the world to help them start and grow their own successful businesses. I believe that every woman entrepreneur has the ability to create her own successful business and this week is all about showing you step by step how to do just that. I started my first business back in 2007 without knowing the first thing about entrepreneurship. In fact, I was an English major and never took one class that was even remotely related to starting a business. I didn’t take an econ class or sales or marketing; nothing. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 Essentially I was 100% absolutely clueless but I decided that I would be okay with that. The only reason that I was okay with that was because I decided that I would rather feel totally scared and clueless about building a business than to continue to feel totally scared and clueless about what I really wanted to do with my life. I knew that there had to be a way to make money and find clients doing what I love to do so, from scratch, I created my own organizing business and paved my way as a successful entrepreneur. It wasn’t easy. I spent the first few years overwhelmed with anxiety, frustration and constant fears about money. There would be moments of wins but I couldn’t manage to consecutively make the kind of money I wanted to be making or find the clients I dreamed of helping. I was stuck in feast and famine cycles but it was my commitment to my vision, staying focused and pushing through the difficulties that really helped me get to where I am today. As I said, I have brought together this group of amazing women entrepreneurs to share their strategies and support while you grow your own successful business. If you miss any of the calls make sure to go to NewEntrepreneurBusinessBlueprint.com/replay and the replays will be available for 24 hours after each call. Now I am so excited to welcome Selena Soo who is going to share with you how to create meaningful relationships with mentors, influencers and strategic partners to grow your business. I have had the pleasure of knowing Selena for some time now and what I love about her work is that she makes networking with her peers and connecting with mentors so simple and accessible to us all. She really breaks everything down to steps that suddenly seem really doable. What she does for people is simply amazing. Selena is a business strategist for personal brands and she focuses on marketing and publicity. Her mission is to help visionary entrepreneurs, experts and coaches reach more people and change the world. Selena received her MBA from NYU Stern and her BA from Columbia University. She loves living in New York City where she throws champagne networking brunches and teaches her signature course, Elevate Your Brand. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 Welcome, Selena. I am so thrilled to have you here today. Selena: Hi, Jordana. Thank you so much for having me. Jordana: Of course. I’m so glad that you're here. Selena, today and since the day I met you, you have just beyond impressed me. I believe you’ve impressed everyone who hears your story and what you're up to, especially in such a little time since you only started your business officially over the past year. Before we dive in, give the listeners just a bit about your background and how it all started for you. Selena: I went to Columbia University and when I graduated all I really knew was that I wanted to make a difference. I saw this stark contrast between going to corporate America and working at Goldman Sachs or working at a non-profit, which I ended up doing at one point. I have always been driven by being of service. It’s become really clear to me over time that my passion and purpose is to promote visionary people who have these amazing ideas to share that I think can really transform people’s lives. I’m all about helping people improve the quality of their lives. Right before business school I worked at a non-profit called Step Up Women’s Network. It’s a professional women’s organization. It was pretty cool because I was in charge of their New York membership and also produced their professional development programming. In the process, I got to meet so many amazing women like editors-inchief of magazines and CEOs. It really helped build my network. My job was basically networking all day and creating programming to help women, which is what I loved. Then I went to business school. I didn’t really have a lot of formal business experience although I had worked in non-profit and a very entrepreneurial scrappy environment so I had to learn how to be entrepreneurial. That really served me. What I do right now is work with entrepreneurs to help them become more visible. It’s just something I’m really passionate about. I think it’s important to share that I came from non-profit and then did this. I think many times people think, “I need to keep doing what I’ve Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 done before,” but you can really choose to do anything. If you put your mind to it you can achieve great things. Jordana: Yes, and that is definitely something that I want to address later on in our call today; the whole mindset around this. I think that’s something that really stops people from getting to where they want to be. Let’s talk about why you feel like cultivating relationships with influencers is the fastest and more powerful way to elevate your brand. Selena: To answer that question I’m going to share a story. Let’s imagine that there is this woman named Jane and she is looking for a health coach. As we know, she has thousands of options but she narrows it down to two people. There is one health coach who has this great website, wonderful experience and all these degrees. Then there is a second health coach that she is considering. This health coach doesn’t even have a website. There’s not much information about her. The one thing that she does know is that this person is Oprah’s life coach. When you're given those two options, who would the person pick? It’s obvious. The person would pick Oprah’s life coach even if they had no other information. The decision has been made. That’s why I think, to really stand out from the crowd and differentiate yourself, there is nothing more powerful than having someone influential endorse your work. I don’t mean you need Oprah specifically to endorse your work. With what each of us is doing there are people who are influential to our potential clients. Those are the people that we really should be connecting with. It’s definitely important to get testimonials in general on your website but I would say that whether it’s a health coach or a business coach, if there is a testimonial it’s going to be good. I’ve read things like “I helped someone make an extra $5,000” or “I tripled their revenues.” but it’s all the same thing. It’s not really distinguishing yourself. If you have someone really exceptional endorsing you it just puts you in an entirely different level. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 Jordana: I totally see that and I feel that myself. I definitely feel like when I go to people’s websites and I see that they have endorsements from really impressive people, it definitely stops you in your tracks. You see the person differently. With that in mind, how did you get such glowing testimonials from people like Danielle LaPorte and Marie Forleo within only a month of launching your business? Selena: I know, it was a really short time. It was interesting because when I launched my business when people went to my website I was already perceived as quite famous because I had testimonials from the very top people in my industry. I had testimonials from Fortune Magazine, Glamour Magazine and all these places. The reason why I was able to do it so quickly is because I had been cultivating those relationships for a very long time. For some people, like Marie, it was six months. For other people it was 10 years. I think that we can never start building these mutually beneficial relationships too early. If it’s helpful I can explain a four step process to connect with influencers. Jordana: Yes, please. Selena: Step number one is to identify who you want to connect with and do your research on them. This is going to depend on the industry you're in. If you're a health coach, maybe it’s somebody like Kris Carr. It could be someone who is five years ahead of you that you just really admire. You identify the people and do your research. That might mean subscribing to the person’s newsletter and following them on social media so you know what’s going on in their everyday life. If the person has a book you could buy her book. You want to get really familiar with the person’s work before you reach out to them. That’s step number one. Step number two is getting on their radar; becoming visible in their sphere. There are a lot of ways to do it. I would say the easiest way is actually responding to someone’s newsletter. One of my best friends is Ramit Sethi who has this website called I Will Teach You to be Rich and he has an email list of 160,000 people. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 After he sends a newsletter he watches his inbox to see how many people actually responded and really cared. There are times where he has these really funny jokes. He’ll tell me later, “Nobody told me my joke was funny.” Even the biggest people care. They want to know that their work actually means something and that people are responding to it. You could just respond to someone and say, “I love that story you shared. That really connected with me. I can’t wait to apply this tip to my business.” Becoming visible doesn’t mean reaching out and saying, “I would love to meet you for coffee, ask you 10 different questions or get an hour of your time.” That’s not going to make a good impression. Just let them know that you're there and that you appreciate what they’re doing. That is number two. Number three is adding value. The cool thing is it’s actually so easy to add value into people’s lives. There are so many ways. If you're reaching out to someone who is some sort of expert or personality it’s so easy. One thing that every single expert and personality wants is more promotion. They want to grow their business. They want people to know about them. All of us are, essentially, a media outlet nowadays because we have our Facebook profile, our Twitter profile, and even better, some of us have newsletters. I would say the average person would have at least 1,000 people that they could promote someone’s work to if not 5,000 or more if you combine the newsletter list. That’s a way that you can really make a difference. You can promote their stuff on Facebook and tag them. There are some girls on my email newsletter list. Some of them don’t even have that big of a social media presence or maybe they have 50 followers on Twitter. Every time I write an article they are consistently promoting it and sharing their passion about it with their network. Over and over again I definitely notice these people and have a really great feeling about them. Another way is a really easy example I like to give. If you're paying attention to what these people are putting out there it will become Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 very clear how you can help them or ways you can connect. This fall Marie talked about how she was going to be moving to L.A. for the winter months. That’s something that someone could respond to. They could say, “Marie, that’s so amazing. I’ve always wanted to be bi-coastal. You're living my dream life.” Maybe say something like, “I love L.A. These are my seven favorite restaurants in L.A. and my favorite dishes. No response needed. I just wanted to share with you.” With something like that, you're adding value but you're not taking anything. You're not asking them to send you a long response back. You're on their radar, sharing and doing what you can to make a difference. That’s number three. Number four is keeping the relationship warm. You might reach out to someone one day and then want to connect with them two years later but that’s not as ideal. You want to be on someone’s radar. Social media is a really good way to do it. You could just email them to send them updates or congratulate them on things and say something like, “No response needed. I just wanted to share.” Consistently be in touch and get on their radar. Jordana: I love that. That is so cool because it breaks it down into such simple steps and makes it seem remarkably doable. It doesn’t seem so scary anymore, which is so nice. You might think, “Okay, your goal is to connect with Oprah.” Just saying that out of nowhere sounds really scary but after you mapped it into those steps you think, “Oh, okay, great. I’m just going to follow Oprah on Twitter and then we’re going to start chatting.” Of course who knows what’s going to come of it, if anything, but you have really broken it down into doable steps that really anyone can follow pretty easily. Selena: Absolutely. Oprah is one of those harder people but you can do this with basically anyone. Even Marie Forleo, or any of the top people. We all know their email addresses. We can just respond to their emails. They are actively watching their Facebook and Twitter profiles. They want activity. They want people to comment on their posts and like things so it’s really easy. That’s what they want. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 Like I said, just respond and say, “Your work really moved me. It means a lot to me.” That’s the purpose of their business. They want to help people so just let people know, “You helped me. I implemented your tips. These are the changes I made in my business.” People are going to love that. Jordana: It’s so interesting. I think that so many people think that when a certain person gets to a certain point in their business that not only are they unreachable but they also don’t need you anymore and that you are of no use or you are insignificant. It sounds awful to say that. You really just made a huge point. That’s really the farthest thing from the case and that when the day ends we’re all human and we still want to connect regardless of how much we’ve accomplished or how little we’ve accomplished. Thank you for articulating that and really breaking it down into such simple steps. You mentioned before that you had some testimonials from people at Fortune. I also know that you have connections with people at Entrepreneur, Glamour and really big time magazines. These editors have become friends and mentors with you. Can you tell everyone how you’ve done that? How that has happened? Selena: With each person the story is different in terms of how I connected with them but there are certain underlying themes. One is that I just feel like people are people. I don’t think it’s a bad thing for me to connect with people if I just want to add value and make a difference in their lives. There is the way that I met my mentor, Patty Sellers, she’s the Editor-at-Large at Fortune Magazine. She’s the one who created their 50 Most Powerful Women in Business list and brand. It’s an interesting story. I was at this event at Columbia University and Geraldine Laybourne was speaking. She was the President of Oxygen Media. She mentioned something about how they were looking to do this mentor’s walk and bring together awesome, ambitious, young women and connect them with these amazing mentors. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 After her talk I wanted to go up to her and learn more about it because I wanted to get involved. Of course, she had this long line of people standing and waiting to talk to her. A lot of people look at that and would think, “If I have to stand in line for 45 minutes to say a few sentences to her, what’s the point? I’m not important enough. Nothing is going to happen.” A lot of people would think, “Whatever.” I did talk to her briefly and I told her about it. She had her Executive VP next to her and the people from her Community Affairs team. She said, “Talk to them.” I spoke to them and shared how passionate I was about helping them promote it and support it. I ended up getting a lot of my friends to become mentees which was really cool for all of us. They paired me with someone really great, Patty Sellers, and I got to know her through that event. I stayed in touch with her. I invited her to speaking events that I was doing later when I was at NYU in business school but also with the non-profits I was involved in. We just kept in touch and I also nominated her for this really prestigious industry award. I just became friends with her and now I know that if I ever need anything she is someone that I can reach out to. Jordana: That’s amazing. I love that you said that people are people because it’s really true but I think we forget that. I think that we put people up on such a high pedestal. We forget that when the day ends we’re all the same and we still all have insecurities; maybe different ones and maybe different fears. We all have goals; maybe different ones but regardless there is a core that we all share. Selena: Yes, and I think that we have this script running in our head, which is natural for a lot of people like, “I’m not good enough. I’m not important. What am I going to say? I might make a fool of myself if I talk to this person.” If that’s what is constantly running in your head and that is the energy you bring when you talk to someone, they’re going to feel something. It’s not going to help you. At the same time I also want to let people know that it’s okay if they’re scared and shy. There have definitely been times I have Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 approached people and I have been scared and shy. Sometimes I might have made a fool of myself but I’m glad I did it. Maybe you approach people and even if it’s six times you do a good job, four times maybe not such a good job, you still made six really powerful connections. It’s just about doing it. You don’t have to be perfect. Jordana: With that in mind, I know you’ve said in the past, even though I find this so crazy to believe, that you consider yourself at points an introvert. What are some strategies for networking if you consider yourself an introvert? Personally, I consider myself an extroverted introvert. I’m outgoing but deep down inside I’m really a home body. I would even benefit from learning these strategies. What are some strategies for this? Selena: I’m really so introverted. When I connect with people I’m very passionate and alive because I’m connecting with people who I think are making a difference. I want to help them be involved so I become extroverted in those environments. Fundamentally for me, being around people all day for five hours, I’m going to feel drained. I’m not going to have energy. Also, I feel shy sometimes too but I still think that it doesn’t matter when it comes to networking. Something to keep in mind is that if you're someone who is introverted, focus on quality rather than quantity. We should already be doing this anyway but especially for introverts. When I go to an event I have an idea of who the people are that I want to talk to. Because my energy is limited, I’m not able to talk to every single person but if there are people that I really want to connect with I’m going to focus on those relationships rather than spreading myself too thin. That’s one thing to do. The other thing is people who tend to be introverted tend to also be very thoughtful because they are very introspective and they process things deeply. That’s actually a really great quality because when you're connecting with someone you don’t want to be purely Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 superficial. You want to connect with them about meaningful things and add value to their lives. Sometimes you might meet someone and in the moment you can’t really think about how you can help them but you can always follow up or email. I think, for introverts, things like email where you can think through what you're going to say as well as social media where you have more control and you can be using it from your bedroom, that can make a really big difference. I guess to summarize, less is more and be really thoughtful and network in a way that feels most comfortable to you. Jordana: A lot of people are networking. Networking can be a large part of how people get new clients. Personally, even though I know networking is really valuable, it doesn’t always feel great. I sometimes feel like, not that you have to be superficial, but that it’s not this laid back situation where you're in yoga pants and flip flops and just hanging out. Rather, you're in an uncomfortable outfit potentially. It’s late in the day and you just want to go home. How do you network to get new business without coming across as sleazy, needy or desperate? What would be some tips around that? Selena: I think there are so many environments that you can network. Networking isn’t just about building relationships. It’s about building meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships and usually there are some sort of professional contacts to that. You can be networking at parties; people can be introducing you to their friends. That’s networking too. It’s not necessarily going to formal business events and passing out your business card. I really believe in connecting with influencers, people that you really admire. Even if they offer you nothing in return it doesn’t matter because that’s not why you're connecting with them; it’s because you're genuinely excited about them. When you have those influencers, for me it’s people like Marie Forleo and Danielle LaPorte, I’m just adding value to their lives. I’m genuinely enthusiastic about their businesses. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 When you make such a big difference in someone’s business they are going to want to help you. It’s just natural for them to want to reciprocate. I’ve talked to Danielle about my business before. I’ve even shared some of the struggles I’ve been through. That’s something that someone can relate to. Sometimes if we’re all saying, “Everything is great.” Then people don’t really see how they can help you. If you say, “This is something that I’m really struggling with” then they are going to connect with that because we’ve all struggled at some point and they are going to want to go out of their way to help you. Or if you say, “I’m launching this new program and I’m really excited about it. I’m just trying to figure out how to get the word out.” Danielle said to me, “Whatever you're doing, let me know. I’ll promote it. I’ll send people.” Marie has said, “If you ever need me for anything just text me.” The only reason why I have those kinds of relationships is because I’ve done so much for them in the past and from a place of just genuinely wanting to help. You have to let people know how to help you but not by telling them, “I want you to send this to your email list or can you do this for me” but just being open about your life. I would say that’s one thing, and other people will send business to you. That’s the easiest way. That’s the way to get business. Another thing is going to these events and talking to people. Some questions that I really like to ask people are things like “What are you most excited about in your business?” People like to talk about things that they are excited about. Don’t just say, “Tell me more about your business” or “Tell me more about a particular issue” whether it’s their health or relationships depending on what your area of focus is. Then say something like, “What is one of your biggest challenges right now?” They could share that with you and then if it’s something that you think you can actually help them with, share that. Say, “I actually help women and I help them with emotional eating. I’ve had these Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 results with people and if you want I would be happy to have a call with you and get you pointed in the right direction.” Or “I would be happy to help you with that if it’s something you want to explore further.” Get on the phone with people and just offer them help. It will reach a point where they will want to know if they can work with you. Just say, “I have these programs.” and give people options. The other thing is when we want people to sign up and work with us we need to have offerings in place. That’s important. Also, let people know that you would love to help them; that you can really see them overcoming that obstacle. Jordana: It sounds like from what you're saying that it’s really a matter of coming from a place of being organized but also really authentic and coming from a place of generosity. Selena: Absolutely. I think when we’re coming from a place of fear like “I don’t have enough clients. I need to close this deal on the phone” people feel that, but if you're just looking to connect people because you want to help them and if they want to take it to the next level and work with you, that’s awesome. If not, that’s fine too. I think that everyone feels more comfortable. Jordana: I know you started addressing this but aside from the whole concept of thinking that people are people and whatnot, do you have any other mindset shifts that you can offer to help people not be as nervous when they are networking and just feel more comfortable? Was there anything else you wanted to add? Selena: One mindset shift is that “people want my help” or “I can make a difference in this person’s life.” I think that’s really important because if you're coming from a place of service there is no fear. Why would someone not want you to help them? I think that’s a big thing. For me, when I connect with people I’m just coming from a place of being so excited to develop that relationship and make a difference in their lives that there is no fear; it’s just enthusiasm. I guess there are other things I could say but I think that’s really the main thing. I think if you have that mindset, just that one idea I think is enough. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 Jordana: I personally love that people are people. I know that’s so simple but if you're about to go into a networking event and you just need to grab onto some kind of thought, I feel like that thought is so simple and accessible yet so powerful. If I just say, “People are people” I think it can really make a big impact so thanks for sharing that. I really do appreciate that. Selena: Yes, and another thing I’ll say is that people just want to be appreciated. I said it before but I think it’s worth emphasizing again. People want to know that the work that they do is actually making a difference in people’s lives. That’s the entire purpose for a lot of people’s businesses if they’re an expert or coach. Even just sharing, “I purchased your program Rich, Happy and Hot and that really transformed the trajectory of my business.” Why would someone not want to hear that? That’s what they live for. Or it might just be, “I listened to your telesummit” or “I love your newsletter.” People absolutely love that and they’re looking for that positive validation. Jordana, I was telling you before how I recently connected with my personal hero, Sheryl Sandberg, who is the COO of Facebook and number five in terms of the most powerful women in the world. I’m helping her promote her book right now. She was checking in with me, “Selena, did you get the advanced copy yet?” and I told her that I got. She said, “Okay, let me know what you think.” She actually really cares. She wants to know if people like the book. Is it good enough? I think all of us, it doesn’t matter how powerful we are, are all looking for validation. Jordana: That’s amazing. I think that sometimes people seem so inaccessible but you made it really clear. You’ve given us all a big reality check essentially and a powerful one that I think is going to help a lot of people moving forward. You’ve mentioned, especially with a lot of these influencers, that you're connecting with them and you're just offering things. In at least the way that you're describing it, and correct me if I’m wrong, is in the beginning you just offer them something. It’s not like you say you're going to charge them whatever. I guess the question is how do you make the decision between the times that you're helping Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 someone out of the goodness of your heart and when you should start charging them? When does that shift happen? Selena: I think that the truth is as an entrepreneur our time is very limited. We also need to make money so we can’t help every single person. Part of our business is that people pay us for services and we help them so there is only a limited number of people that we can help for free. I think with this kind of thing you should go with your gut. If you're just so passionate about someone, excited about their mission and there is an opportunity to get involved and make a difference just do it. Don’t wait. With Marie, not that I would ever think this way, but if I was the kind of person who thought, “We need a formal contract in place. I need to negotiate all this stuff before I do anything or talk to her or offer value,” then I don’t know if our relationship would even be where it would be. It would have probably gone nowhere. When she and her friends Gabby Bernstein and Mastin Kipp were invited to be on Oprah she reached out to me to tell me about it. I think at one point she said, “If you want maybe we can also figure out some kind of arrangement around this.” She was happy to pay me but also the lead time was so short that I just jumped in and helped her. It was cool because I got connected to Oprah’s publicist and everything. Even though it wasn’t something that was formal I would rather be involved in it than not. It was such a cool opportunity. Or Cheryl’s book; it’s obviously going to be a New York Times Bestseller. Oprah Winfrey and Arianna Huffington are really involved in it and I want to be involved in it, too. So if I was just waiting to sign all these deals with people and not be willing to help until other things were in place then I wouldn’t have these opportunities. With someone like Marie, she’s coming out with books and she has other projects too so now that she knows the quality of my work it’s more likely that we’re going to do something bigger together. In those cases I think it’s just good to be of service. Even with clients that you would charge I think at the beginning you want to offer a complementary session so that you can get to know Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 them. Then they experience the quality of your work. Then you just let them know, “I would love to help you further and I have this program that I think would be perfect for you.” I think that the transition can actually be quite natural. Jordana: You definitely make it seem very natural. That’s the good news. Selena: Just let people know what you have to offer and if they know that you have this program that is really strong, it’s been thoughtfully put together, then they are going to know that it is the best way to work with you. They are not just going to assume that you can always help them for free because that’s the next step. You can say on the call, “It’s been so great to talk with you. I really feel like I can make a difference in terms of helping you reach these career goals. The next step if you want to continue this is option A and B.” People will usually pick one. Jordana: I think that what happens is sometimes we get so overexcited and also scared that I think it’s coming from a place of feeling relaxed and faithful that allows us to offer things from a place of generosity as opposed to starting out thinking what we can get from them. How can we make it so that they can help us first? You definitely shifted things for a lot of people I think, so thank you for that. You’ve said a lot of things about staying in a positive mindset. How do you personally stay in a positive mindset? How do you feel like you continue to stay in a place of faith that everything is going to go well? It seems like for sure you’ve experienced a lot of successes but again, people are people, so I’m sure you’ve had days where you’re thinking, “What’s going on?” How do you stay in a positive mindset during those days? Selena: I’m not always in a positive mindset because I’m just human like everyone listening to the call. There are days I really feel tired or exhausted. I feel like I was reaching out to the media or whatever Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 and no one is responding or I have this task to do for a client and it’s so difficult and I don’t even want to do it. That’s just a part of life but I think at the end of the day it’s really clear to me that what I’m doing is what I’m meant to be doing. With the good stuff there comes some bad stuff too but I’m just so grateful to be able to do this work. I definitely have this attitude of gratitude that’s with me on a daily basis. The other thing is that I have this amazing network that I’ve built over time and I actually believe that it’s not possible for me to fail. The people in my network, everyone wants to see me succeed. They have my back. Obviously I have to do work. I can’t just sit on my bed and do nothing and expect things to happen but if I really put a genuine effort and try my best, I’m constantly trying to learn and grow and I have the support of amazing people in my network, there is just no way I can fail. That is something that is front of mind for me all the time. Jordana: That’s amazing. I love that and I think it would be really helpful for people to hear. What would you say your biggest piece of advice is for a new entrepreneur? I know you're really big on connecting your success with connecting with other people. Maybe this is a two part question. The first thing would be, what is your biggest piece of advice for a new entrepreneur and/or what is the most important place for a new entrepreneur to put their time and money? Serena: I really think it’s building relationships. That’s how we get business. I think a website is definitely important to a point but there is no need to spend $5,000 in branding. You might even not know what to call yourself at the beginning of your business. You might still be figuring out your identity and your services but if you have people who are looking to help you, these people can help you elevate your brand because they might offer testimonials. They could be sending new business to you. They might be helping you grow your email list. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 My friend Ramit Sethi for example, has 160,000 people on his email list. I had invited him as well as a bunch of other really awesome people to a focus group. I was talking about how I need to build my email list. He basically asked me, “Selena, why haven’t you asked me to let me write a guest post for you?” He said, “I will tell people to sign up for your email list. I will tell my community of 160,000 people to do that.” That’s something that money can’t buy. That’s what I feel like ends up happening when you build relationships. It’s not transactional. It’s just that you're making a difference and you never know what is going to happen from it. I think that miracles happen from these kinds of relationships. I think it’s just making a difference in people’s lives, getting to know them, buying their books, taking them out for coffee. I think that’s the number one thing that everyone should be doing. They should be building their relationships, building their network before they even need it because they will need it. We all need other people to support us in what we’re doing. Jordana: This is great. I’m taking it all in. You believe, and I’m beginning to believe this too from my own experience, that it really does come down to who you know, it comes down to who you are connected with. Selena: It comes down to who you are connected with and who wants to help you. You can know someone but the only way they’re going to help you is if they genuinely want to help you. I know sometimes people say “Ask and you will receive.” Ask someone to promote your stuff to their list and ask them to do this and ask them to do that. That’s one step but just because you ask them doesn’t mean they’re going to say yes. They may actually not want to help you or they might feel bad that you asked them. Another point I want to make is the only way that it works is if people want to genuinely help you and that comes from developing a mutually beneficial deep relationship. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 Jordana: What’s so cool about this is that I think a lot of entrepreneurs feel like it costs a lot of money to make your business succeed. Relationships are free in the sense that everything that you’ve mentioned doesn’t cost any money at all. Selena: No, it doesn’t. There is another point that I want to share because I think it’s so powerful. There are different ways you can make a difference in people’s lives. There are some ways that are really high value. One is advice giving. I know a lot of people on this call have advice-giving businesses whether they are helping people grow their business or helping people with their career and relationships. You could give someone a piece of advice that might take you two minutes to communicate but that piece of advice could potentially change their lives or just make a big difference in growing their business. Nisha Moodley has become a friend of mine. I was telling her about this program I created and she gave me a piece of advice that automatically added $6,000 to my bottom line so quickly. Now that I have that knowledge I’m going to keep on building on that. Maybe someone is struggling with a health issue, they’re a busy entrepreneur and they’re totally burned out. You might be a health coach and you offer them a piece of advice or a resource and that could change everything for them. I think sometimes we forget how much we have to offer but advice is one of the best things that we could ever offer someone. Jordana: And again, it’s free. Selena: It’s free and it takes a minute or two. Jordana: I speak to so many women every day and they ask how much money they need to start a business. I myself am a big proponent that it doesn’t take a lot of money to necessarily start a business. All the more so talk about how much it costs to create a successful business, this call has just proven that it doesn’t need to cost anything. Selena: No, not at all. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 Jordana: It really just requires a shift in your mindset, being really committed to your vision and coming from a place of authenticity and generosity. Selena: Yes, you don’t need a website. You don’t need anything. You don’t even have to know how to communicate what you do. If you have other people who are endorsing you and sending business your way and you have even three clients that’s all you need to get started. Jordana: Totally amazing. I love it. Thank you so much, Selena. This has been so valuable for me and I can only imagine how valuable it’s been for everyone listening in. I know that you have a free gift for everyone, which is so exciting because I love gifts. Selena: I’m really excited about this free gift. It’s called The Secret of Super Connectors and it’s basically teaching people how to add massive value in people’s lives by connecting them to other people. When you think about it, all the best opportunities in life come through other people. Whether it’s a great speaking opportunity, a great potential client someone is introducing you to, someone that they may want to hire for their business, whatever it is I just feel like connecting is one of those things that could take five minutes to write an email but it could really transform someone’s life. It’s a skill that I think people would really benefit from learning. So I have this little ebook about it and I have some specific scripts that they can use. I really break it down and make it super simple. People can get that at my website. It’s www.S2Groupe.com/embarkability. They can just download it right there. Another thing is I have a newsletter if people are interested in that. In my newsletter I invite people to special events I do in New York City where they can connect with other awesome women business owners to grow their businesses. I’m also going to start doing free teleseminars and I also do events. I have a few events that are completely free of charge and people love them. They ask all the time, “Why aren’t you charging?” but I just want to give back. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 I have things like that and if you join my newsletter you will have access to all of those things. Jordana: I can definitely speak to that. I’ve been to Selena’s event and they are great. Whether or not you are in the New York City area or going to stop by, regardless, sign up for her newsletter. Selena, I think you are really a model of the whole concept of the art of giving. I feel like you should write a book called The Art of Giving. Selena: That’s such a good name. Jordana: You can pocket that one. It’s so admirable and it’s such a lesson in terms of not only to come from a place of generosity when you're giving but also to know that even though you're not necessarily giving to get back, you will, because of the place of which you're giving. Does that make sense? Selena: Yes, that makes a lot of sense. Jordana: Again everyone, it’s www.S2-Groupe.com/embarkability and there you can pick up this fabulous gift. Selena, I’m sure you can speak to this as well. One of the things that has really helped me move forward and get unstuck has been continuing to learn from experts, teachers and coaches and taking in lots of great information. Selena: Definitely. Jordana: That is why I think events like these can be so valuable because you have access to such high quality content from so many different experts in one place. You can listen to them at any point in time. You can listen to them when you're driving, when you're cleaning the house or when you're working out. It really can be so amazing. It’s like what you were just saying, Selena, how hearing just one little piece of information from someone can help you totally change how you think. With all that in mind, we’re going to be putting together a success kit for everyone. It contains all the recordings of the calls along with extra bonuses from our guests. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 If you don’t want to worry about listening to all these calls this week, if you would like to have them to listen to when you are ready and have them for your reference in the future, along with all of these sweet bonuses, you can pick them up at NewEntrepreneurBusinessBlueprint.com/replay. I personally will generally find during these events a few calls from the event that really hit home for me. I will listen to them again and again. Go to the website NewEntrepreneurBusinessBlueprint.com/replay and you will be able to listen to the recording for the next 24 hours for free. Also you’ll be able to pick up the success kit for only $97 before it goes up to $197. The $97 is for a limited time so be sure not to miss out. Again, Selena, thank you so much for your time. This has been so valuable for me and I can only imagine how valuable it’s been for everyone else. Is there anything else that you want to share with our listeners? Selena: I have two really quick things. One, I think that this toolkit that you're putting together is amazing. I know that when I started my business a huge advantage that I had was that I invested in my education. I didn’t just quit my job and then just start a business and spend six months to a year trying to figure things out as I was trying to get clients. I was prepared and that’s because I bought things like your toolkit so that I was ready to hit the ground running. I think it’s an amazing resource and the price point is so accessible to people so I definitely encourage them to do that. The second thing is that if people want to connect with me they can also feel free to send me an email. My email address is [email protected]. If people found the call helpful I would love to hear from them because I like to know that I’m making a difference. If they have any success stories they can also feel free to share that with me. Jordana: That’s great. I love that. Thank you for making yourself so accessible. Selena: You're welcome. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 Jordana: I love it. Thank you again, Selena, so much. It was such a pleasure speaking with you today and thank you so much for sharing all of your gifts and brilliance with the world. I really appreciate it. Selena: Thank you. I’m so honored to be a part of this. Jordana: Until next time, goodbye, Selena. Selena: Goodbye, Jordana. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871 Jordana Jaffe, your telesummit host, is committed to teaching women all over the world how start and grow their own successful businesses. But that’s certainly not where Jordana first begun. Jordana graduated with a major in English from a small Liberal Arts College in Pennsylvania, completely clueless, like most grads nowadays, about what she wanted to be when she “grew up.” And so her journey began. Within a few years, she stumbled upon entrepreneurship as a possibility when her mom suggested that she start her own organizing business. Jordana Jaffe Business Coach for Women Contact Jordana Jaffe Email:[email protected] Website:www.embarkability.com At that point, Jordana had felt like she had spent way too much time (read: years) contemplating about what she was really meant to do with her life. And as scary and confusing as starting her own business seemed, the thought of spending one more day feeling unhappy and purposeless was, simply put, not an option. So she taught herself, from the ground up, how to succeed as an entrepreneur. After building a successful organizing business, she decided to share her secrets to success with other aspiring women entrepreneurs. Today, Jordana coaches women worldwide on how to start and grow their own successful businesses so that they can generate consistent cash flow, make a big impact, and keep the faith throughout their journeys. Jordana Jaffe [email protected] www.embarkability.com 917-572-8871
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