Healers Get Vulnerable

Many of Rebel Therapist's program participants and listeners are brilliant folx who feel intimidated by the idea of consulting for organizations, and yet you're the ones who have the gifts those organizations need.

It's part of my mission to help healers, especially those who have marginalized identities parachute into organizations, facilitate real change, make lots of money, and not lose themselves in the process.

This is part three in a 3-part series on getting those corporate gigs.

If you haven't listened to part one or two just make sure you also listen to my conversations with Femily and Kristen Meinzer.

Now, I'm so thrilled to introduce Dr. Sand Chang. They're going to talk about how they've followed their interests and passions to create a robust consulting business which brings in about half of their overall revenue.

You'll also hear how they take good care of themselves and stay true to their values in the process.

Before we dive in, here's little more about Dr. Chang:

Dr. Sand Chang (they/them) is a Chinese American nonbinary psychologist, author, DEI/organizational consultant, and trainer with more than 20 years of experience providing training and mental health services. Through compassionate engagement, they partner with organizations and teams seeking meaningful structural and interpersonal change. Dr. Chang's work is grounded in social justice, cultural awareness, and humility. Their areas of emphasis include trauma-informed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), LGBTQ populations, trans health, and body liberation related to racial justice, and eating disorders.

Here's some of what we talked about:

• Why consulting with orgs takes 40% of their time and brings 50% of their revenue
• Preferring the variety of working in many different ways and with different organizations
• How going to one conference with a colleague led to many more relationships and opportunities
• How DEI work has gotten better for them now that they get to decide who it's with and how they do it
• Why they work collaboratively with each organization to figure out how they'll co-create the best experience
• Using a set of filters to decide whether a potential project will align with their values.
• Creating packages rather than using an hourly fee
• Thinking about redistribution of wealth and how their business fits into it
• Why they chafe against marketing models that are based on funnels and social media
• Their reasons for not having a 5 year plan
• Their intention to be more and more themselves in every situation
• Some ways they harness rage in their work

Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me:

Takeaway #1:

Dr. Chang has built their reputation as a thought leader through leading trainings, writing a book, being on podcasts, their social media presence, word of mouth and more. They don't do much at all to go after these gigs. And that's been true for 3 out of 3 of the people in this 3-part series. Femily, Kristen Meinzer and now Dr. Chang. They've built their reputations as thought leaders in their very particular niches. Now those organizations are knocking on their doors.

Takeaway #2:

Dr. Chang is willing to say no and walk away from gigs that aren't right for them. They pause and listen to their gut about whether this is the right situation, even if there's a ton of money involved. This takes an ability to feel into their power and let go of scarcity, trusting that a better situation is on the way.

Takeaway #3:

Dr. Chang has had to learn to raise their prices. They've realized that the value of their work is way beyond the particular hours they're working for an organization, both in terms of the impact their work makes, and also in terms of the amount of emotional labor they are doing.

Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/155

Many of Rebel Therapist's program participants and listeners are brilliant folx who feel intimidated by the idea of consulting for organizations, and yet they have the gifts those organizations need.

I'm talking about you.

It's part of my mission to help healers, especially those who are queer/trans and/or BIPOC to parachute into organizations, facilitate real change, make lots of money, and not lose themselves in the process.

If you want in on this exploration, this is for you. I'm so excited to bring you one of my personal heroes, Kristen Meinzer.

Kristen is an award-winning podcaster, culture critic, royal watcher, and author. She currently hosts Movie Therapy with Rafer & Kristen, a podcast in which listeners write in with their quandaries, and she and her cohost Rafer Guzman respond with a mix of advice and viewing recommendations. She also hosts By The Book, a podcast in which she and her cohost Jolenta Greenberg live by the rules of a different self-help book in each episode. Her book, So You Want to Start a Podcast, won the Audie Award for best business/personal development audiobook of 2020. She was named a 2020 Woman of the Year by The Women's Center in Washington DC. In 2021, she was selected by the U.S. Department of State to serve in the U.S. Speaker's Program.

As you may have noticed, most of the work she does is NOT consulting. Consulting is only about 10% of her business.

If you'd like to bring your gifts to organizations as a side hustle, whether or not you want to grow that side hustle into a full time thing, listen up. You'll hear what worked for her, and what she's learned through mistakes to do differently.

Your gift is probably not the same as hers. You're probably not poised to be a world class podcast consultant. Your gift may be around communication or healing trauma or Diversity Equity and Inclusion or something else. As you listen, think about how you could be bringing YOUR gifts into organizations.

Here's some of what we talked about:

• Developing her primary consulting packages based on her years of experience
• Creating a valuable "prescription" document for each of her clients
• Find allies in organizations, especially if you're part of a marginalized community
• How she deals with the isolation and loneliness of being an entrepreneur
• Her mistake early on of giving away too much without getting paid
• How she sets up her pricing for individuals and for corporations
• The scary early months of starting her own business
• Her rolling to-do list and other productivity hacks

Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me:

Takeaway #1:

One way Kristen creates immense value in her consulting work is by giving her clients a document with plans mapped out in tangible steps. She calls it her prescription. This is a way she demonstrates the value she's delivered and it helps the clients make the best use of the consultation.

Takeaway #2:

Especially if you're part of a marginalized group, look for people in an organization who can advocate for you. Find allies, nurture relationships and don't try to do everything alone.

Takeaway #3:

Kristen shared an early mistake so that you don't have to make it too. She gave too much away without getting paid. Now she's careful to limit what she shares before she officially gets hired.

Takeaway #4:

A piece of advice Kristen would give to her past self who was about to start her own business: Believe it's going to be OK and don't overwork out of anxiety.

Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/154

Let's go get that corporate money. Shall we?

Many of Rebel Therapist's program participants and listeners are brilliant folx who feel intimidated by the idea of consulting with organizations, and yet they have the gifts those organizations need.

Yeah, I'm talking about you.

It's part of my mission to help healers, especially those who are queer/trans and/or BIPOC to parachute into organizations, facilitate real change, make lots of money, and not lose themselves in the process.

If you want in on this exploration, make sure to listen to the next 3 episodes. I'm so excited to kick this exploration off with Femily.

As a Gender/Cultural Studies MA with a big firm management consulting background Femily speaks at and advises Silicon Valley and other male-majority sectors and teams, like law, finance, and engineering – on gender, equity, and building an ally culture. Femily's popular, digital courses give ambitious women and nonbinary people concrete, evidence-based instruction on leading in today's male-majority world, rebelling against disempowering "shoulds," outsmarting all "isms", and making big life/business changes that really "stick."

Here's some of what we talked about:

• When you're starting out with corporate gigs, it's about finding a warm contact
• Get really clear on your niche and name a problem corporations are actually trying to solve
• Tie your services to money by showing them that your services will help them make or keep more of it
• Once you're known in your niche, corporations will be coming to you
• Put energy into creating your reputation as a thought leader
• Some things that work: Speaking, being on a panel, being a moderator, being on podcasts, networking
• An example of a 15K plus consulting package she's done
• Why she charges $400 per hour right now
• How to think about "convincing" corporations to hire you
• Do "fake it til you make it" in terms of confidence, but don't tone down your magic or your identity
• Nail your "I help" statement so that you're irresistible to a particular industry
• Her group program for feminists and queer people about how to step into the spotlight
• Why therapists should consider providing 1:1 consulting or coaching within organizations

Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me:

Takeaway #1:

It's probably going to be a warm contact that gets you in the first few doors. It's NOT likely to be advertising or cold calling that gets you started.

Takeaway #2:

Giving a talk does not usually lead to consulting gigs. Position yourself for one or the other.

Takeaway #3:

Niche hard. Figure out WHICH corporations you're interested in working with and solve one of their urgent problems. Ask yourself: "How can I be helpful to a very niche industry in a very specific part of the world?"

Takeaway #4:

Therapists and healers are the perfect people to do some highly specialized 1:1 or small group work with corporations.

Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/153

Thinking about making the flip to coaching? You might be excited about the liberation that comes with expanding beyond private:

Working from anywhere.

Working with folks from everywhere.

Breaking free of the limits of your therapy license (if you've got one).

Getting to create and serve in new ways.

If you're going to make that transition, should you do it quickly? Or slowly?

When I was making a transition from private practice to this business, I did it pretty slowly. It wasn't until about 2015 that I fully put myself into what's now Rebel Therapist. In internet years 6 years is a long time.

My guest this week, Dr. Lynyetta Willis, made the flip all at once. She had a thriving private practice, and for reasons you'll hear in this conversation, she decided to flip completely into coaching all at once.

You're going to be taking notes not just on how she's built her coaching business, but also on how she sets up her time and creates harmony between her business and the rest of her life.

Here's a little more about her:

Dr. Lynyetta G. Willis, psychologist and family empowerment coach, helps frustrated families break unhelpful patterns and cross-generational cycles so they can move from stable misery into peaceful harmony. She helps her clients and audiences learn to strengthen their parenting, partnership, and personal growth practices so they can feel harmony in their hearts and homes...and she is sometimes available for one on one business coaching.

Here's some of what we talked about:

• Shutting down a thriving therapy practice and starting a coaching practice
• Being completely mobile with her business
• Her answer to whether it's better to transition slowly into coaching or make a flip all at once (it depends)
• When your business gets out of harmony with your life
• Taking flex weeks and other ways of getting into harmony
• Creating a signature offer out of what she found herself doing over and over again
• Her business model, including both group work and 1:1 coaching packages
• How she approaches growing her audience and bringing in clients
• What we both learned from our experiments with Facebook Ads
• Her morning and evening rituals
• Consolidating tasks into theme days
• Her family of 4 plus their cat taking a trip in an RV!

Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me:

Takeaway #1:

Consider building down time into the rhythm of your business. Rather than waiting to burn out, look at how you can build time off into the structure of how you do things. Dr. Lynyetta takes a flex week at the end of every month.

Takeaway #2:

Do your rituals when they work for you. Don't worry about what self care is supposed to look like. Dr. Lynyetta is not a morning person, so lots of her rituals happen in the evenings. Pay attention to your body's natural preferences when you're setting up your life.

Takeaway #3:

Theme days are amazing. Dr. Lynyetta does her consult calls on Mondays. She's got a particular shape to each day of the week and that helps her focus and bring the needed parts of herself to each day. If you haven't tried theme days, I highly recommend giving them a try, especially if you're stretching into a new project.

Those are 3 of my takeaways.

What stood out to you? Send me an email at [email protected]. even better, include a voice memo so I can share your voice on the pod.

Tell me what stood out to you from this conversation and what it's helping you rethink in your own business.

Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/152

We're talking about building your team today. Have you experienced a nightmare with hiring or managing a team member? Or are you imagining a future nightmare because of what you've heard from your peers? Are you confused about what role you should be hiring for? Or whether it's time to hire?

Our guest, Tara McMullin, leads 2 successful companies, and she's about to share her experiences building and managing both of those teams.

A bonus treat for me is that she's an introvert, like me, so we get to lean into some particular challenges and solutions for introverted bosses.

If you want to hear an earlier episode with Tara from 2 years ago, head to episode 102, which I'll link in the show notes.

Tara McMullin is a business strategist, podcaster, writer, and producer. She's the founder & host of What Works, a platform for small business owners building stronger businesses. She's also the co-founder of YellowHouse.Media, a podcast production agency that helps small business owners produce standout podcasts to grow their businesses.

Here's some of what we talked about:

• How she has found her team members without the traditional pathways
• Why Tara and I agree that you probably shouldn't use a VA agency
• Finding low-energy and effective ways to introduce your new hire to your company
• Documenting your processes will help you with onboarding team members
• Why we should think about operations within our business and products as having huge overlap
• The liberation Tara experienced when she started hiring employees instead of contractors
• How the responsibility of running a team helps Tara show up in her business the way she wants to
• Strategies Tara uses to take time away from her team to do deep work
• Why you should create an organizational chart even if you're a company of one right now
• How Tara thinks about whether it's time for you to hire someone or simplify your business
• Why you might want to hire an extrovert if you're an introvert!

Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me:

Takeaway #1:

The team member you are looking for is probably already in your orbit. Tara has found her team members by looking to people she already knew or who were in her network.

Takeaway #2:

Document everything repeatable that you do in your company so that you can easily share it with a team member. We talked about using the platforms Notion, Clickup, and Google Docs, and most of all, using video through a platform like loom.

Takeaway #3:

Switching from hiring contractors to hiring employees made a big difference in Tara's experience within her company. She noticed an unexpected level of liberation and feeling supported by her team.

Takeaway #4:

Even if you're a company of one now, Tara recommends making an organizational chart. That will help you see that you are actually doing many jobs, and it will help you to organize your time, respect your energy limits, and get ready to hire your next team member.

Those are 4 of my takeaways.

What stood out to you?

Did this conversation help you avoid a hiring mistake? Are you thinking differently about your business? Are you surprised by how many jobs you're actually doing?

Send me an email at [email protected]. Even better, include a voice memo so I can share your voice on the pod.

Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/151

I've been paying attention to my guest's work for probably about 10 years. As soon as I heard her talking about following energy in your life, I was intrigued. It felt deeply right to me. And I also felt like.....well.....I wasn't ready for it yet. I wasn't ready to fully take in her ideas because I was a bit more in push, hustle and suffer mode. I think part of me believed that "following energy" would mean not getting my shit done. I thought maybe following energy would lead me to laziness. As the breadwinner, a sometimes depressed person, and someone with a huge vision, I thought following energy could be risky.

But I kept reading her emails and listening to what she had to say.

I've been noticing that I'm making a bigger impact, including more money, NOT by hustling but by getting into alignment and focusing on the most important things. Lots of my guests, colleagues and clients have been noticing in their businesses too.

And now I'm totally ready for Staci's message. It's right on time.

Staci Boden is a fiercely loving guide, energy healer, facilitator, ceremonialist and author of Turning Dead Ends into Doorways. For over 20 years, she's been teaching people how to follow energy as a way to navigate anxiety, transform codependency and relocate power inside. As a founder of 7Directions, a 19 year-old dance ceremony, Staci also holds 7Directions evenings, ongoing women's circles, retreat weekends and facilitator trainings across the SF Bay Area and now, globally online.

Let's dive into following energy in your life and business with Staci Boden.

Here's some of what we talked about:

• Discovering the practice of following energy
• Deciding not to become a therapist
• How she follows energy in her business
• Creating the 7Directions dance ceremony and community
• Following energy to create the offers in her business
• Creating a facilitator training
• Following energy in the pandemic

Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/150

You're about to hear how EbonyJanice Moore has dreamed herself free in life and business. You'll be different after you hear from her.

You'll hear the 80/20 rule that she lives by (and no, it's not the one you've probably heard of before).

You'll also hear how she identifies her trusted collaborators, why making millions of dollars is where she's headed very quickly, and how she builds and manages her team in a truly caring way.

Here's a little more about EbonyJanice Moore:

EbonyJanice is a dynamic lecturer, transformational speaker, and passionate multi-faith preacher focused on Decolonizing Authority, Hip Hop Scholarship, Womanism as a Political and Spiritual/Religious tool for Liberation, Blackness as Religion, Dialogue as central to professional development and personal growth, and Women and Gender Studies focused on black girlhood. EbonyJanice has a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Political Science, and a Master of Arts in Social Change with a concentration in Spiritual Leadership, Womanist Theology, and Racial Justice. She is the founder of Black Girl Mixtape, a multi-platform safe think-space, centering the intellectual authority of black women in the form of a lecture series, a podcast, and an online learning institute lead by black women scholars, and Dream Yourself Free, a Spiritual Mentoring project focused on black women's healing, dreaming, ease, play, and wholeness as their activism and resistance work.

Here's some of what we talked about:

• What her coaching programs are and how they work
• Why healing and liberation are a central to all of her programs
• Collaborating with other healers
• The 80/20 rule EbonyJanice lives from: 80 percent Internal and 20 percent Action. Literally.
• Her initial resistance to taking days off
• Her biggest ideas arriving when she is giving herself time for deep rest and dreaming
• The energy and focus she gets when she allows herself to work less
• Questions to ask yourself as you're assessing who to trust and collaborate with
• Managing and collaborating with a team of full time employees and interns
• Advice she'd give her former self about managing a team: Do more healing around your worthiness issues first
• Knowing she's on her way to making millions of dollars
• Her pricing revelation: that she was undervaluing the transformation she brings
• Sharing her wealth with the Black women she works with
• Being an example of what is possible within a liberated business

Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me.

Takeaway #1:

The 80/20 rule is to put 80 percent of your time into the internal work of healing, dreaming and resting, and 20 percent of your time into action. It will not feel comfortable. It changed everything for EbonyJanice.

Takeaway #2:

EbonyJanice says you need to trust yourself and your inner "mm!" when you're choosing your collaborators and other work relationships. There's an inner knowing, and it's our job to pay attention to it.

Takeaway #3:

EbonyJanice says you need to charge an amount of money that reflects the value of the transformation you are guiding folx through. She says: "I cannot charge you a hundred dollars to change your life forever. That is unfair to you because you could get it in your mind that this is just worth a hundred dollars, and then you could treat it like this is just a hundred dollars."

Takeaway #4:

Part of making millions of dollars, in addition to that she deserves it and her ancestors deserve it, is to show what is possible in a business when you truly care for your team and share the wealth.

Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/149

How do you build a team within a joy centered and decolonized business?

To answer this question, I've brought you none other than Thea Monyeé!

I'm gonna ask listeners who haven't already discovered Thea Monyeé's work to go listen to the Shaping The Shift Podcast and explore MarleyAyo and The Blacker The Brain and the Free Joy Experience. So go do all that and then come back.

The way Thea Monyeé runs her company is so brilliant.

The part I want to focus on today is how she builds her team.

In episode 27 of Shaping The Shift, she invited her team on to talk openly about how the company works.

It's a glimpse into what is possible with a team.

Before I dive in, let me share a little more about her:

Thea Monyeé is a licensed therapist and Oya priestess in the Ifa tradition, committed to creating healing opportunities to Black/Marginalized bodies through decolonization of joy, mental health, and pleasure. In addition to appearances on HBO, OWN, Fox Soul, and The Red Table Talks, she is the host of Shaping The Shift Podcast, founder of MarleyAyo, and The Blacker The Brain: A Mental Health Decolonizing Campaign, Conversation, & Cohort, co-host of Dem Black Mamas Podcast, and co-creator of The Free Joy Experience. She currently serves as a contributor on a policy working group supporting the objectives of the 2021 U.S. COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.

Here's some of what we talked about:

• Cultivating a decolonized work space
• Breaking out of the cycle of distrust and control
• The onboarding process MarleyAyo uses to unleash joy and resist the limits of capitalism
• Moving with change while also setting goals
• Using a seasonal rhythm with their company
• A reframe of how she'd "fire" someone from her team (it wouldn't be a firing)
• Finding her inner circle of entrepreneurs and leaders she turns to for counsel
• How they cultivate trust as a team
• The new web home they just launched
• Her new book, Blood & Bajareque

Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me.

Takeaway #1:

Creating a joy-centered, decolonized team is a process. We've all been living in this white supremacist way of doing things, and it takes a whole process and lots of time to learn and create a liberated way of running a company.

Takeaway #2:

Thea and her team use goals, but they work to use those goals in service of a bigger vision.

She works hard to stay out of the failure construct around not reaching a particular goal in a particular way.

Takeaway #3:

When they bring on a new team member, they pay attention to what brings this person joy, rather than starting with a job description. They co-create what that role will be based on what they're needing and what brings this person joy. In that way, they open up to new opportunities that this new person may bring.

Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/148

How do you move towards healing and liberation while creating the business of your dreams?

I wanted to explore this question with someone who centers these values in their work.

Asher Pandjiris is a white, queer, non-binary psychotherapist, parent to a human and two rescue pups, group facilitator and host of the Living in this Queer Body podcast. They live and work on stolen Nipmuc and Pocomtuc land.

Here's some of what we talked about:

• Always Coming Home, Asher's 8-week Group Program
• Embodied Testimony, Asher's 3-month Intensive
• How they create safety within their group programs
• Using different pacing in their podcast, workshops and more intimate group programs
• How Asher likes to work in different ways to use many parts of themselves
• How the podcast allows in Asher's artist self
• How Asher's participants find them
• Approaching well-known guests like adrienne maree brown and Jenna Wortham
• Finding rest and allowing themselves to do less

Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me.

Takeaway #1:

Asher creates safety in their groups by providing more guidance and more of themselves in the beginning to help the group get safe and coalesce. They also use breakout rooms into even smaller groups to build safety.

Takeaway #2:

Asher's podcast and email newsletter and instagram feed, the whole Living In This Queer Body ecosystem, is a creative act of service. And, along with word of mouth, it's how people find their programs.

Takeaway #3:

Asher has been in a process of doing less and finding more rest, and in that process has been grappling with their own internalized programming. I've been paying attention to this a lot in myself since Asher mentioned it.

Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/147

I invited someone who has created a sacred and beautiful business to share her journey with us. Get ready to slow down and listen to a thoughtful visionary who will help you think in new ways about your own business.

You may decide to increase your joy and embodiment practices after you listen! I know I did.

Introducing Dra. Rocío Rosales Meza, a Xicana/Mexicana muxer & mother. She is a Seer, energy worker, and healer. She has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, though she has chosen not to pursue licensure as a Psychologist because she is not aligned with the colonial field.

Her path is that of a medicine woman in an apprenticeship with the Q'ero Inca Nation, learning with Don Alejandro Apaza and Marilu Shinn. Dra. Rocio's work is intended to help folx, particularly, Black, Indigenous Womxn and Femmes of Color, decolonize their mind, to liberate their spirit. This is with the intention of bringing us back to the times of harmony, balance, and right relationship with all of humanity and our Mother Earth. Dra. Rocio's work exists at the intersections of decolonizing, wellness, and spirituality.

Here's some of what we talked about:

• Creating The Decolonial Healing Collective, A membership community and sacred circle of Black, Indigenous, Womxn & Femmes of color that embody the divine feminine and are "too" decolonial for the spiritual world and "too" spiritual for the decolonial world.
• Holding collective distance energy healings
• How she sets boundaries around time and energy using her body as a guide
• Managing her energy on social media
• Setting up a structure and container in her community that allows for fluidity and spaciousness
• Choosing what's most important and saying no to the rest so that she can be well
• The connection between how she parents and how she runs her liberated business

Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me.

Takeaway #1:

As we're making decisions about what we'll offer we need to get clear on what our priorities are. Dr. Rocío has some particular questions she asks herself with any decision in her business. Come up with questions you'll ask yourself about any opportunity or decision.

Takeaway #2:

Dr. Rocío has powerful practices that reinvigorate her energy and give her a sense of purpose. Since talking to her, I've been adding more practices to my day. I hope you're inspired by this too.

Takeaway #3:

Saying NO to things is necessary. If we don't say no, the impact will be felt somewhere. Dr. Rocío said no to everything non essential during much of 2020. Sometimes we think we can find a way to please everyone, and Dr. Rocío points out that when we do that, the impact is felt somewhere in our lives.

Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/146