How to Collaborate with Others to Build Your Business with Leanne Peterson

Melissa Hall [00:00:24]:
Welcome to season 4 of the My Biz Bestie Podcast. I'm Melissa Hall.

Amber Hawley [00:00:27]:
And I'm Amber Hawley.

Melissa Hall [00:00:28]:
And today we have Leanne Peterson. Wonderful guest who I had a long chat with just yesterday. And, uh, we had this awesome chat about collaboration and how to reach out to people and how to make use of your community for paid programs and for offers. And also like, how do you do that in an easy way? So I thought it should be so cool to have on, and she accommodated us by whipping out a time slot like that. So here we go, people. Welcome Leanne Peterson.

Amber Hawley [00:00:59]:
Yes. Welcome.

Leanne Peterson [00:01:01]:
Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be on today. I love talking about everything business. So this is such a fun opportunity to be able to chat about some things.

Melissa Hall [00:01:09]:
Yeah, I think we could all chat for like hours on this topic.

Amber Hawley [00:01:13]:
Yeah, I was like, we don't know what that's like. We don't start a podcast just because that's what we do.

Melissa Hall [00:01:19]:
I know, I know, right? So Leanne, but before we dive into kind of this, this topic of collaboration and, and how, you know, we came up with this topic for this episode, Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do? And I know you have like a couple podcasts and you have a lot going on.

Leanne Peterson [00:01:37]:
Yeah, I'd love to fill you in. So I live in Houston, Texas because I like warm weather. So that's what brought me here. And then being here in Houston, I have a therapy practice and I also am starting a new business for therapists to kind of help them with the business side because I, like I said, I just really love thinking about business and playing around with that side of things. I have a podcast for each of those. So I have 2 podcasts and I've done different workshops. And then for the fall, a colleague and I, a friend and I are launching a program. She's a yoga instructor and I am the therapy side. And we're launching a program to help people kind of get their energy in alignment and get centered. So those are some of the things I have currently going on.

Amber Hawley [00:02:24]:
Yeah, I can see why you guys connected.

Melissa Hall [00:02:30]:
I know, I know, just a few things, right?

Amber Hawley [00:02:34]:
Yeah.

Melissa Hall [00:02:34]:
And you have like, you have kids and a family and stuff too.

Leanne Peterson [00:02:36]:
Oh yeah. I have that whole thing too.

Amber Hawley [00:02:40]:
Yes. We do love our multi-passionate women. Yeah.

Melissa Hall [00:02:44]:
So I know we were talking and Leanne was actually a guest in Inside My Membership for therapists. And we were talking about this, this idea of being multi-passionate and she brought up how she had reached out to all these people in her community to collaborate on this future project. So this is what I thought would be really cool to talk about because I think for some of us, that's a natural skill and for others it's not. So it's really fun to dive into like the nitty-gritty of like, okay, how did you reach out to someone? Was it through email? Was it through calling them? You know, like, what did you actually say? How did they reply? If they didn't reply, did you follow up? Like, That's the stuff I always want people to tell me, you know?

Amber Hawley [00:03:25]:
Yeah. So answer all those questions right now.

Melissa Hall [00:03:28]:
I know.

Amber Hawley [00:03:29]:
No.

Melissa Hall [00:03:31]:
Can you tell us a little bit about like this idea you had for this program and using these collaborations and, you know, like what it is that you plan to do with this?

Leanne Peterson [00:03:41]:
Yeah. And I'll start even more basic than that, because I think, like you say, we, All of us like the idea of collaborating, and then it gets really intimidating to think about how we collaborate. I've noticed that that can stop a lot of people and can stop me is the nitty-gritty of like, well, what would I say? What would I do? I also think a lot of times we try to collaborate with people who are outside of our kind of level. As an entrepreneur who's building a small business, it's very easy for me to connect with other entrepreneurs who are building small businesses. We were laughing earlier, I'm in Houston and Brené Brown's in Houston. If I'm like, "I need to collaborate with Brené Brown on my latest project," that's going to be a lot harder of a collaboration than noticing who's kind of in my same zone and how we could mutually benefit. And so that's the first thing is I met this woman I'm collaborating with, just the basic program on. I was going on maternity leave a year and a half ago, and when I came back from maternity leave, I wanted to do a program for my clients where it was like yoga and sound bowls and kind of this just cool night for them to have a little self-care and stay in touch with them while I was out. So I wanted to plan this thing. And one thing I know about myself is I love bringing things and bringing things together. But I found that when I try to do everything on my own, it's not as fun. I don't follow through as often. And it's more overwhelming. And if things go wrong, I take it so much more personally than when I have a partner kind of there to bounce it off of. So knowing that myself, have a bigger office space, but to clear it and set it all up again, it just is a barrier that I didn't want to have. So I knew there was a smaller yoga studio. Again, there's some yoga studios in my area that are huge. And these mega yoga studios, like they have 8 yoga studios in the whole city. I think a lot of us would be tempted, that's where I want to collaborate, but they're not in my zone. I'm a smaller business than that. I don't have like the kind of popularity that they would be attracted to. And that's a bigger ask. So I knew about this cute yoga studio that I'd never been to, but I'd driven by and I thought, oh, you know what, let me just call and see how much it would cost to rent the space and to see if I could hire one of their teachers to teach my yoga class for people. So I called and the owner answered and we just started chatting and I said, "Can we—" I basically told her my idea. It was so easy, so affordable. I think she charged me $100 to do a yoga class and use her space. It was a really— Again, I think sometimes we're afraid to ask because we think, "I could never afford that," but I could. I could do $100. I booked that. We kind of let it go and then we did that event together. And again, it was just such an easy call. It was just fact-finding. What is this? What is the price point? Is this even in my zone of something I can do? And then from there, we realized we like each other and that event was fun and like, let's do another event. And so I did workshops there and it started out as me just hosting them there and she was going to do a yoga class. But then I kind of trapped her and like, was like, stay the whole time and like be there. And again, it was that, nice to have someone. So and I even like in the workshop, it was like if I ran out of time, I had a plan, like we just do a little restorative yoga at the end. So that was nice too, because I had a buffer. So it's like I can talk and see how it flows. But if we run out of stuff, I have someone to help kind of bail me out. And so that's how I started that partnership with her and that relationship with her. And then we decided we're both gonna be on maternity leave again this fall. And I approached her, had this idea, hey, let's do a a little bit longer workshop series, let's do a program. And she was game. And so it like worked out perfect. And now we're collaborating on that. And so I think that's just to even reference that, like it started out super organic and just me reaching out and looking to kind of have someone help me with one piece. And it has kind of evolved into this really cool thing where I have kind of this partner who can work with me on this part of my practice.

Melissa Hall [00:07:58]:
Yeah. And I think it's also like if you do any kind of service-based thing, like this is such a smart way on either end, right? Like if you have some kind of a location, there's always people who want to do workshops or events or something like that. And if you don't have a location, there usually are people who have some type of office or suite or conference room or, you know, fitness space or whatever who are open to using their business, like, you know, basically making money outside of what they normally have scheduled, right? And so it's It's a really— if you're thinking about something new that you want to do or try out, it's a great way to try it out. And I also love that you really focused on your local network. You know, like this wasn't— I know, like being an online business owner, this is something you usually think of online stuff, but just, yeah, what is the space that you're driving by all the time? Or what is, you know, the place that you go to for some event? Or what is it that, you know, you drop your kids off at every single week, right? Like, Thinking about locally, how can you collaborate with people?

Amber Hawley [00:09:00]:
And I think actually what the smart thing about that is, is that you got an opportunity to kind of ease in and build the relationship. Because if you went straight for, hey, let's partner on a workshop together and you didn't know each other at all, you might not be the person that's actually a good fit, or they may have felt you like, know, they had a vision for something that was already your vision, right? And so there would be that competing thing until you get to the place where you're like, hey, we can really collaborate in this. And, you know, you get a sense of each other. I think that's a really smart way to ease into that kind of collaboration when it is a true cold call.

Leanne Peterson [00:09:39]:
Exactly. And it took the pressure off too, right? Instead of this big ask of like, let's do this huge thing together, it was let's start small. Let's start with one event, see how it flows, see if we like it. And then, like you said, we can see if there's chemistry there and that a business partnership and if she's someone I even want to have involved in my workshops.

Amber Hawley [00:09:59]:
Right, and like you're saying, and I think, I don't know if some people are going to be like, oh, well, don't limit yourself, reach out to those big people. I think what's smart in it is realizing where are you mutually beneficial? Like, do you have something that that, you know, 8-location yoga studio that they're looking for? I mean, maybe you do actually, and you know, but I think there's nothing wrong with saying, hey, I'm a sole practitioner and here's another sole practitioner owning, you know, business owners. And we're gonna reach out and see if we can make something happen. I think it's a great way to ease into if you've never collaborated with anybody.

Melissa Hall [00:10:33]:
Well, I'm curious about your thoughts on that, 'cause there is like this balance, right? I think it's smart what you're saying, like be realistic about where you are, right? Like, yeah, you're not gonna reach out to Brené Brown yet, just yet, right? You know, 'cause she's got, you know, she might be hanging out with Oprah next week. And again, we're not quite there yet. But there's also this idea of like, you can reach out to people who are maybe a step or two ahead of you, or people, I think even like in this scenario, like this yoga teacher, like she may or may not be a step ahead of you, but she has resources you don't right? have, That's, that collaboration was great.

Leanne Peterson [00:11:13]:
And you make such a good point because we almost put ourselves in that right? box, Like I have an online business, so I have to collaborate online. And you know, this program I'm putting together in Houston, my business coach had suggested, why don't you make it a digital program? So this will be a digital product, but it was formed by local people because it's easier for me sometimes to connect with local people. So you bring up such a good point that even if your business is online, it doesn't mean your networking all has to be online. There's a lot of opportunities right where you are, and there's a lot of people who will in your area, even if you're in the same city, they'll still jump on Zoom and do something for your audience. Like you can still take it back online, but it's like, you know, one of my biggest things for all of us is to start where you are. So start physically where you are. Start again, like I said, at the level you're at, because some of those great relationships too is when two people are starting a business or two people are scaling a business. When you're in the same place, there's a lot of, um, just kind of synergy, I think, that comes from that.

Amber Hawley [00:12:12]:
Synergy. I was just gonna say that. Yes.

Melissa Hall [00:12:18]:
Yeah. And it highlights that the business is really all about relationship building, right? Because this Everything. This isn't just customers. Like, I think you hear that a lot in relation to customers, but this is like collaborations and creating offers and creating products for your customer.

Leanne Peterson [00:12:33]:
Exactly. And you are so right. Like, we don't have to limit ourselves to people who are just at our level, but it's almost developing different relationships. So I can just jump on the phone and call someone who's around my level. If I want to get to someone who's like a little bit ahead of me or busier than me, it's almost like we're talking— I was thinking of this term fangirl. Like, we have to become fans of these people. For example, I was talking about this huge yoga studio in Houston. Well, I did want to connect with them and collaborate, and that is still on my list. What I did was I stalked out the owner who also teaches some classes. I've taken some of her classes, and then she offered a coaching program, like business coaching and all this. I'm thinking, "Hey, she knows more than me about business, clearly, because our businesses are in different places, and this is a great way to connect with someone in a different way who's in a different place. So I signed up for her coaching program. Now I'm getting to talk to her. You know, I got to talk to her an hour for 10 times. So I got 10 hours. She's getting to know me. And now if I want to say, hey, you know, I have this great offering, would you like to put it on your schedule? Well, she knows me and it's, it's not just some girl out of the blue. It's Leanne who's been coaching with me. My, and we have this friendship that we're building. Leanne wants to teach this class. I know Leanne. And so when I've thought about other connections around, it's always, okay, well, what am I going to do with them that will get me in front of them? I was looking at another studio. I'm like, okay, what classes does the owner teach? How can I start going to those so she starts knowing who I am? If I wanted to collaborate with a person who teaches mindfulness, I'd want to start going to mindfulness classes. If I want to collaborate with a salon, I'm going to start getting my hair cut there. Like there are ends. It's just knowing what's a quick call or a quick email and what is a relationship you want to build a little bit and develop so that you then— because again, then there's that mutual thing. Like we've been working together and yeah, it's mutual now.

Amber Hawley [00:14:46]:
Yeah. And that's something we talk about all the time, that building those touchpoints. And that's how you build those relationships with people that may seem, you know, for lack of a better term, out of your league, or like you're saying, a step above where you're, you're really, you do admire them and you know, like they do, they are at a different level in business, which there's no shame in that because there's always going to be people that are further along. But that's, I think that that's such a great strategy. I love the, I love how strategic you are about it. And I think that's really smart because that's the thing. If you approach somebody who's that busy, they don't know you from Adam and it's like you're not offering something that is obviously beneficial to them. And it's kind of like, okay, well, you know, it's not— the likelihood of it being successful is probably a lot less. So I think it's a really good idea and it's something we do talk about a lot on the podcast. So I think it's a great reinforcement for people. To think about what are my long-term goals and are— what who are the people I need to get in front of and spend some time nurturing those relationships.

Melissa Hall [00:15:52]:
And as far as like this, this new program, so you decided with this new program that you're going to use like a bunch of right? collaborations, So it's not just you and the yoga teacher doing all of the teaching, it's a bunch of other people doing complementary teachings. How did you determine like who you were going to reach out to and how like, how did you choose those people? And then how did you initially reach out to them?

Amber Hawley [00:16:17]:
We love a good stalking story. Like.

Leanne Peterson [00:16:24]:
I have many, many stalking stories.

Amber Hawley [00:16:27]:
So do we. We should— we should offline, we'll have to share those with each other.

Leanne Peterson [00:16:34]:
You know, and this is something that I'll share from my perspective because I have a definite style of my personality, and this would be based on people's personalities. Because I'm more jump in and figure it out as I'm in the water. Like, I'll start swimming to shore once I'm in. I can't like map it out beforehand. And so that's how my collaboration style is. So you have to know if you're comfortable with that. But I hope that even just by hearing kind of how rough of starts I've had, you'll be encouraged to start wherever because you don't have to have it totally polished.

Melissa Hall [00:17:10]:
To start.

Leanne Peterson [00:17:11]:
So this is actually funny that you asked that because, you know, I was just kind of like, hey, I want to bring in cool resources, let's go. And this— my yoga teacher friend is a Virgo. And she's like, whoa, like, what's our plan? What are the steps? So she got that. And then I kept going rogue and being like, oh, well, let's change this for this because this would be really cool. So what happened was one of my big people I wanted to bring in is I'm obsessed with Marie Kondo. And I had already Googled for my personal self Marie Kondo consultants in Houston. And I found out there's only one Marie Kondo consultant in Houston. So this is again, this idea of we can always just ask. Like we might have to modify our ask and we might have to update it, but we need a starting point. So we just want to ask. So I find this Marie Kondo consultant. I decide, hey, she has to be part of our program. And so I'm taking the lead on this part. So my friend Carolina has, she would do it totally different, have us way more together. And I'm just like, "Hey, I just called this Marie Kondo lady today to see if she wanted to be part of our program." And I'm to talking this, I called the lady and all I said, I.

Amber Hawley [00:18:21]:
Mean, it was a total cold call.

Leanne Peterson [00:18:23]:
Which is funny because when people are calling me, I don't like it. I'd rather you email. But if I'm trying to get ahold of someone, I want to jump on the phone. So I understand how backwards this is. You think I'd be respectful to that, but I'm not. I'm like, "I need to talk to you right now." So I just called and left a message. She called me back the next day and I was amazed how open she was. And she's like, I want to hear more about it, more about your budget, which is funny because I'm thinking, oh my gosh, that sounds very official. And Caroline and I have set this budget of like, and again, I'll just, we're being transparent here. This is how basic this can go. We're like, okay, we want someone to do a 2-hour workshop and we're going to pay $150 a workshop. Like, that is nothing in the speaking world. But our program, we don't even know if people are going to sign up. So to say that we're going to pay someone $1,000 to speak, like, we can't do that. So I call this woman back and I'm like, well, budget, like, we're thinking $100. She's like, well, I usually charge $1,000, but let me think about it. So she agreed to do our thing. So again, it's just like, just ask, see what happens. We could have figured it out if we had to, but We just asked, she was like, "I'm bored." Then we had another ask. We're like, "We want to record a video and podcast for our program so people kind of can get some tips and know all about you." Booked that. And really from there, I mean, we just met with her on Thursday and did a little Skype call. And it was interesting because we didn't know much about it. I just knew that I love Marie Kondo and that I was excited to bring her in. And we just kind of had this organic conversation and talked about it. And we all got on the same page. And I just bring all that up to say it can be so easy. It can be so easy to just— It was so easy to call and it was so easy to just put something out there and it was easy to chat with her. And we're talking about that synergy and that chemistry between people too. If it hadn't been that easy, that might've been a good indicator that maybe she's not my person because I'm someone who's, as you can tell, pretty open and carefree about things. I'm not super strict. If someone were really strict, they might not want to collaborate with me because my style might not line up. And then again, it's kind of jumping in and swimming. So I'm like, okay, well, I learned what she offered and how we're going to promote it through talking to her. And then I'll get the documents together before the workshop. I didn't have everything up front. I just tested the water. A, are people even interested in this? B, is our price point even reasonable to ask for a collaborator? And then just kind of go from there.

Melissa Hall [00:20:58]:
Yeah. And I love that you reached out over the phone too. It's funny because I feel like that's more casual now, you know, because things have changed where all business is email and you don't know, like with email, you never know if some of your email went to someone's spam. So you don't know if they're just busy or if they're purposely ignoring you or if they just never even saw it. Right. Whereas like if someone has a phone number, why not use that and just reach out? And I think if people do need a little bit more of that planning, right, thinking ahead, or if you're really nervous, like sit there and write out what you're going to say, you know, in your first, like, for your introduction, maybe, right? Like for your first couple sentences when they answer the phone, but then like just be open to what might happen. And I do love, you know, and we talked about this when you were, you and I were talking a couple of days ago, Leanne, that like, you're just, I love that you're just so open to, hey, I'm going to try it out. And it doesn't mean like it's a failure if it doesn't happen. It's just like, let me experiment. Let me try it out and see what happens. And I don't have to, like you said, know, you take it personally. If it doesn't work out, I'm just going to see.

Amber Hawley [00:22:04]:
Well, one, you are clearly an ENFP and a quick start. So I don't know if you've ever taken the Kolbe, but I have not.

Melissa Hall [00:22:13]:
I.

Amber Hawley [00:22:13]:
Yes. Okay.

Melissa Hall [00:22:13]:
I have. haven't taken the Kolbe.

Amber Hawley [00:22:15]:
Let me just tell you that part. I'll save you the time. But no, it's really good to take.

Melissa Hall [00:22:20]:
But I will.

Amber Hawley [00:22:21]:
So that's why it is so easy for you. But I for those people out there who are neither an ENFP or a quick start. I do think what you're saying though is it's a lot of mindset too. It's like this idea of it doesn't have to be hard and if it doesn't work out, that just wasn't the avenue it was supposed to go. And I think that's an important thing to hold on to when you're trying new endeavors or you're trying to be creative and make new things happen because it's— that can be the exciting part. And I know for a lot of people they get scared by that and it makes them nervous. And yeah, you'll figure out all the details by the time it goes live. Like, hello, that's what happens. But, but I think there's something about understanding there can be ease in this. It's just putting it out there and seeing what sticks. And then, then you build it from there instead of spending so much time ahead of time and not knowing, is this even viable? So I think it's a great thing for people to hear that.

Melissa Hall [00:23:18]:
Yeah. And even with all the ways you do that, right? Like I did a push, I don't know, maybe 6 months ago or something where for my business for therapists, I reached out to a bunch of podcasts for therapists to do interviews on paperwork. And I don't know how many people I reached out to who replied and were like, oh, I'm so glad you reached out because I have you on my list of people to reach out to. I've wanted to do an episode with you, you know, but they just like hadn't gotten around to it or whatever. And a few of them were like impressed because like they thought, you know, that my audience was like bigger than theirs. And I think for them that like I was the bigger ask.

Amber Hawley [00:23:53]:
Right?

Melissa Hall [00:23:54]:
And then I reached out to them and then they were like, oh, this is great. So a lot of times, even if someone's maybe not in that same way, like thinking about you specifically, you never know. Like when you reach out, you might be offering them just what they've been looking for.

Leanne Peterson [00:24:08]:
Exactly. And that reminds me of two great business advice I received. And one is related to cold calling. I went to this big business event and it had all the big people. I think this was someone really high up in Merrill Lynch, a woman who was really high up in they were kind of doing this panel and they were talking and she pointed out that maybe 4 of the 5 people on the panel had gotten their jobs through cold calling. And she said, you know, we all hear cold calling's dead, but she said, it's amazing because I'm noticing that we all just picked up the phone and called someone we didn't know. And that stuck with me because I want to point out too that while parts of this come easy to me, there's still that anxiety before I pick up the phone or send that quick email about collaborating where I'm like, Are they going to want to talk to me? Is this a thing? Like, so it's not even that, oh, well, Leanne does it because there's no fear. It's like, I've just learned it's kind of— Brené Brown says we need 7 seconds to get over, like push through. It's like 7 hard seconds and you're over it. And so, and there's, I think Mel writes The 5 Second Rule. So it's like that 5 seconds. So there's going to be that moment where you're like, what am I doing? And And so just like push call. And like you said, you might have a script written out, you might not, but just go do it and then see. So that was one really great tip I got that stuck with me. Another thing when you're thinking about collaboration, so if you're starting any business out, the best thing you can do is get in front of someone else's audience. That is the absolute best thing you can do because when I was starting out and doing workshops, no one would come. I had 5, 10 clients. I didn't have anyone to pull from, but I would collaborate with my acupuncture friend. I'd collaborate with a massage therapist I knew because they had people who trusted them. So if they said Leanne does cool work, people were likely to come versus just me on Facebook being like, "Hey, local event," and no one knows who I am. You want to get in front of other people's audiences, local or digital. And I think the thing is, sometimes we try to tell them what we can do, and we almost like really formulate something instead of going to them and saying, here's kind of what I have, what would be helpful for your audience? Like, I just talked to someone and they had gone to— their chiropractor had a mindful parenting thing. And so the chiropractor brought in someone to talk about mindful parenting. And it's like, because maybe that chiropractor saw I'm dealing with a lot of moms who could use a break. And so why not go to these people you think are cool and say, what does your audience want? What can I offer? Here's kind of my— some things I have, but I'm happy to modify and to meet a need that you have that I might not know about yet, but I could fill.

Melissa Hall [00:26:57]:
Yeah, we all do.

Amber Hawley [00:26:59]:
I love that. Yeah, I think— and I think those are— that is a great point that, you know, I too am a quick start ENFP, and you are, Melissa, as well, right? Obviously, I do a ton of local networking for my group practice, and there are times where I had to like talk myself into, okay, you're going to go deliver 3 of these baskets to people that you want to connect with beyond the people I already knew. And then like I had a reward for myself because it was like, or I can't go home until I've delivered 2 of these little things I put together because I don't like it. I'm like, I don't want to— don't I like when people just show up. Well, first of all, as a therapy office, That's not okay. I don't like when people just show up and, you know, like, I don't like cold calls. I kind of don't like that either. So it's like, ah, but at the same time, I knew I was coming in and just giving a little thing of value. It wasn't like I was trying to sell something. I was just trying to connect. So I was like, okay, I had to do a pep talk. I had to get myself in the mood. And I was like, okay, you can't go home till you deliver these two things and then you can go home. And so yes, I feel the fear. Like I get scared to make phone calls or send emails as well. And yet you feel the fear and do it anyway. And I think like what you said, the 5-second or the 7-second rule, which one, whatever one you connect with the most, you just have to kind of push yourself and use leverage to make yourself do the things that are a little bit scary and uncomfortable. So I love that advice.

Melissa Hall [00:28:27]:
Yeah, but it's like, it's, you know, different things like maybe I was nervous about before, but then like one of the things I did for, I don't know, a good 6 months was like every single week I did a YouTube Live and I let people know I was doing. So just all these different ways that you're putting yourself out there, you have to keep practicing it. And then at some point you just get comfortable with it. It's all like public speaking in that way, right? You have to get over it. And the only way to feel comfortable is to keep trying it out and then you get better at it too. It sounds like when you're thinking about who you're collaborating with too, and even Amber, you're using these examples, You're not just randomly collaborating with people or dropping off baskets at anybody's door, right? You're thinking about the people who are going to, who are serving your clients other ways, you know, and you're thinking about like, how are you meeting your clients' needs?

Leanne Peterson [00:29:11]:
I love that point. That is something I think we all hold on to. We don't know. Like we make up these things like, oh, they're not to going want to talk to me. Oh, I'm not a big enough deal. Oh, I'm not in the right place. We don't know. And it's kind of that there's this idea that curiosity and fear can exist at the same time. And I often think of that, like, how can I become more curious than fearful? So I'm curious what would happen if I called this person versus like, I know what'll happen. I know they're not going to want to take my call. I know they're not going to want my basket I'm dropping off. Like, that's— there's kind of one— we're going to feel terrified if we have already assumed they don't want to hear from us. But if we're like, I don't know. And That's how I'm on this podcast. I do a lot of calls, but if people don't have a phone, I just send an email. It's emails. I'm like, "Hey, I'm starting this business." Again, quick start. "I don't quite know what it is, but it's involving other therapists and I have a podcast that no one's actually listening to yet, but can you be one of the first people on my podcast and be part of this?" I got a response and then it led to— It was almost like, again, perfect timing. You were on my podcast. Months later I was on yours when my business had picked up more momentum. And then that opened up this opportunity. So again, it just started with an email of curiosity, what would happen? And then it was also me just letting it unfold instead of it being like, it has to happen now or it has to happen this way. It's kind of like, let me just see. And let's just, again, keep in touch and see what happens as it evolves.

Amber Hawley [00:30:53]:
I like it, people. You got to put yourself out there. It makes me think of that meditation, the don't know meditation. That's part of if you ever take like a an MBSR, mindfulness-based stress reduction kind of class where they go through the, you know, we can build these stories both positive and negative and we don't know, like to leave it open. Like this may seem positive and then it may end up not being something that we really were into or it and wasn't didn't really work with where we were going or it may seem inherently negative but that it ends up leading you to to exactly where you want to be. So it's kind of like keeping that open mindset and detaching from the outcome. And I think that's the way of getting past that fear. So I just, I think that's really great for people to hear. And hopefully it's of value to hear that, you know, a couple of ENFPs who really love to put themselves out there still get really scared by that. Like, if you do good work and you feel like you're proud of your basket, then you will not— that gives you more confidence in like, hey, like I'm going to push through this fear. I'm just going to do it because I know what I have to give you is valuable and very tasty.

Melissa Hall [00:32:01]:
Leanne, I am curious, like before we wrap up, like how did you— I mean, I don't know how well planned out is this thing? Like, do you know, you knew the Marie Kondo lady was going to be part of it, but do you have like other people in mind that you know you're going to collaborate with and did you reach out to them and did that look different than this other woman?

Leanne Peterson [00:32:21]:
Yes, because Carolina, my partner in this, just was more involved in that. But again, that's where utilizing our network even in that way. So I felt really strong at the Marie Kondo lady. I took that upon myself. And again, know, it, you I really hesitate in business because I get really— this is like a whole whole nother, nother thing of scarcity mindset and greed. But I'm like, I don't want to share with someone else. Like it was my idea and I want to do it myself and I'm going to take the money from this and all that. But it's helpful to have that person holding you accountable because I realize a lot also being an ENFP, being a quick starter, a lot of my ideas in the Enneagram, I'm the enthusiast. A lot of my ideas wouldn't get off the ground if I didn't have someone helping contain me. And so that's been a big, big lesson for me in business is yeah, I can— what do they say? If you want want if you to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Amber Hawley [00:33:22]:
Yeah.

Leanne Peterson [00:33:23]:
And that's been a big lesson for me in these collaborations is I need them, like, to really complete my full vision. I need to be more open to sharing because I'm getting so much benefit. And so I think we can close ourselves.

Amber Hawley [00:33:38]:
Yeah, I do want to support though. I think it is— this is something that women should be thoughtful about is the idea that Be thoughtful about your profit margins and what things cost. And like, if you were to offer this you person, know, way more than you could even afford, so you don't make any money, then that's not really smart, right? So you're still thoughtful about it. I think that that doesn't have to be scarcity mindset to say I have a budget. Besides, it's exposure for And at the her. same— because there's other benefits that aren't monetary, right? But I do love that you're also realizing like Okay, but at a certain point, know, you I'm going to make nothing because it's not finished, or I can make something because I did it. And not only that, you get the experience and the exposure, and, and that helps you grow. So I think it's finding that balance because I guess my, my thing is, you know, and this comes up for me too, I think women especially have that thing where they feel guilty about wanting to make money, or that somehow like they're being greedy because they want to make it profitable. And it's not that. It's like, I got to look at my real numbers. And let's be realistic here, no one's getting rich on a workshop. Well, except for maybe Brené.

Leanne Peterson [00:34:52]:
But.

Amber Hawley [00:34:54]:
This is our all-Brené episode. But they aren't. But it's that thing of like, I will make nothing if I don't finish this. So I, I absolutely love that. I love that you said that because again, I think there are people where they're like, okay, yeah, but I can't make this profitable. So I'll just try to do it myself. But it's really hard to get that done sometimes.

Leanne Peterson [00:35:14]:
Exactly. I love that point is we want to, and we want to always say we want to do things that are in alignment with us. Like you said, like if I'm giving so much because I think I'm not worthy of this, and I need to pay someone else to do it, that's danger zone. Because it's like, that's not a great place to be. But also if I'm like with with my partner, I know we're doing equal work. Like, we're, you know, we can talk about as if one person pays for something, it's coming out of the overall profit, like, but it also wouldn't be in alignment if I'm like, I'm gonna cut a deal with you because I do think very businessy. And so I would be— I could be like, I'll do 70/30 because I'm like, it was my idea and all this. And it's like, wait a minute, is that in alignment with me? Like what, like you said, before we get kind of external to other people, We have to sit with ourselves and say, what feels good to me? What feels right? What am I okay with? And then I can negotiate from that place versus— because again, like with the speakers, it's like, this is what feels good for me. I I can, can say I'm going to pay this much, my measly $150. That feels okay.

Amber Hawley [00:36:20]:
Please note that most places and major conferences don't pay at all. So the fact that you're paying because they're getting exposure, So the fact that you're paying is huge. And, and yes, we know that the time that goes into give a workshop or a training is, is a lot more, but there's the non-monetary benefits. So stop putting yourself down over that $150. That's more than most people. I mean, we're talking international conferences that don't pay, so you should feel good.

Leanne Peterson [00:36:49]:
There we go. There we go. There's some energy exchange here.

Amber Hawley [00:36:52]:
Yes. Okay.

Leanne Peterson [00:36:56]:
But I did want to for those that were say, asking, you and your collaboration, so I don't have to do it all. So the other guests we have going are people that my partner Carolina knew through her yoga world. So it's pulling in those people and getting those cool people. And, and so we have— oh, and she found her acupuncturist she really loves, so that we have her on board. So again, it was a personal connection that turned into a business connection, like wasn't getting acupuncture for this workshop. But while she's doing it, hey, let's pull her in. And then there was— there's a really well-known yoga teacher in Houston who has a big following. So we're like, hey, if we pull her in, we're giving her an opportunity to workshops, but we're getting in front of a different audience. So we— and here's the thing too, we created the program around that. So now we're doing like restorative yoga classes so we can bring this woman in to get her involved.

Amber Hawley [00:37:55]:
Evolve.

Leanne Peterson [00:37:56]:
And so we really kind of built it out on what we wanted to offer. And then also looking at what are opportunities to pull in. And again, not making this crazy. We're going to have 4 people doing workshops and then 1 woman doing the restorative yoga. So keeping it sizable that we can manage it, but also again, we want a really as big of an audience as we can pull in. So acupuncture is one whole section, this organizing houses, that's a whole nother section. This restorative yoga is a whole nother section. We're doing an Enneagram person. That's a whole nother section. So it's kind of how can we like do as big of a sweep as we can and get in front of as many audiences?

Amber Hawley [00:38:32]:
That's awesome. And if people wanted to find out more about you, where should they go?

Leanne Peterson [00:38:38]:
People can definitely jump on my website, leannepeterson.com. And then for kind of business things, my more businessy site is theinspiredtherapist.com, which is geared toward therapists, but you know, it's sharing all these kind of same tips and tricks because I think again, we're all, no matter what business we're running, we're kind of all running into the same things.

Amber Hawley [00:39:00]:
Yeah, that's awesome. And what are what are your, your.

Melissa Hall [00:39:03]:
Two podcasts that people could check out?

Leanne Peterson [00:39:05]:
Yeah, definitely. My podcasts are Take the Upgrade is my first podcast and has, that that's just great for everyone. It just has helpful tips and tricks. And I also talk about, I think of it as a very authentic a look into my life of what's coming up for me, what am I working through, how am I thinking about things differently, and then The Inspired Therapist is the other part.

Amber Hawley [00:39:27]:
Awesome. I love the name Take the Upgrade. I definitely am going to go check that one out because that sounds awesome. And thank you so much for coming on. I think this was very valuable. I, I I think, think our listeners are going to, you know, get some tidbits and I would love to hear what they get from this because There was a lot of stuff about kind of busting through fear and mindset stuff and, and putting yourself out there. And, you know, because we want you to collaborate, but in order to collaborate, you have to have a network. We want you to head on over to our website because we got some really cool freebies for you. We have some free tips on connecting at events, and you just have to go to mybizbestie.com/tips. In order to get those.

Melissa Hall [00:40:12]:
So easy. So very cool.