Inside The Grant Podcast

Making dreams a reality is no small feat! Luckily, we learned our lessons the hard way so you can skip ahead to the good part.

Lesson #1: Fail Fast

Preparing to launch the Alaska Movement was a year-long process. Two and a half months in, she realized there wasn’t a succinct problem that needed to be solved. She called it quits which was hard to do because: ego.  😮  The only thing that would have been a failure was an unwillingness to make something hurt in the short term in exchange for a longer term gain. 

Lesson #2: Every Yes is a No to Something Else

Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should. The transition can be a challenge. However, if you’re in the very beginning of your career, often you need to say yes to a lot of things and the right path for you will become clear.  📈

Lesson #3: Invest in Yourself

It can be a huge investment for courses and events, but investing in yourself is the best ROI.  👤  Then, make sure that you’re actually drawing out the learnings over time. 

Lesson #4: Know Your Values and Let Them Guide Your Decisions

When we’re in a sticky situation, we fall back to values to make a clear cut decision. You can take the value and spin it into a question to help filter decisions.  ❓  

Lesson #5: Break and Reinvent Yourself Every Six Months

Every six months, take the time to think about where you are holding yourself back, where you are in your own way, and how you can get yourself out of the way.  

Lesson #6: None of it Matters if You Don’t Have a Viable Business Model

Have you seen a one page business canvas? If you can’t explain what your business does in one page, you’re probably not doing it in 30 pages either. Keep it simple. When you have a viable business model, things will work. If you don’t, things won’t work or be sustainable.  🌱

Lesson #7: Protect and Elevate Your Vibrations

Jen Sincero’s book “You Are a Badass” helped to make this lesson crystal clear. For Meredith, she learned about what it looks like to have healthier boundaries and protect her energy.  💫  Now, she’s super intentional about what all her inputs are from food to watching the news, and more. 

What’s a lesson that you’ve learned that you want to share with the world about what it takes to achieve your dreams?

Resources and links:

🔸  “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero

🔸  Global Grant Writers Collective

Want to learn more about the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective? DM us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/learngrantwriting/

🧡  The Team at Learn Grant Writing 

00:00 Intro

01:04 The business story

02:33 Lesson #1: Fail Fast

04:04 Lesson #2: Every Yes is a No to Something Else

06:50 Lesson #3: Invest in Yourself

09:22 Lesson #4: Know Your Values and Let Them Guide Your Decisions

11:22 Lesson #5: Break and Reinvent Yourself Every Six Months

13:33 Lesson #6: None of it Matters if You Don’t Have a Viable Business Model

15:38 Lesson #7: Protect and Elevate Your Vibrations

17:34 Recap

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by: Meredith Noble & Alex Lustig

Audio Edit by: Ana Castro

Connect with Us:

• Website: [www.learngrantwriting.org]
• Instagram: [@learngrantwriting]
• Facebook: [Learn Grant Writing]

The Ch'eghwetsen Method is a habit building system Meredith built to encourage healthy habits without being self-critical. Renee Warren, founder of We Wild Women, is to thank for getting this system out in the world.  ✋

For Meredith, she noticed that hunger and drive to always be doing her absolute best were in conflict with each other while training for a long distance mountain bike race. There was a lot of hurtful self talk and never feeling good enough while preparing. 

In an “aha!” moment, Meredith realized that all days are meant to be equal. She built a system to stop beating herself up. The Ch'eghwetsen Point System is a habit building system that is gentle. It’s not meant to be self-critical. Instead, it builds sustaining behaviors that make you feel healthy and happy.  😊

It looks like two columns of habits you want to build. Even weird ones like putting lids on things! Then, track that trend line.  📈  You’re looking for the trend line to be generally tracking up. If it’s going down, that’s an indicator to course correct. 

Often, there is one keystone habit that influences several others.  🧱  When you know what it is, you can prioritize it. 

Like audiobooks and podcasts? Listen to Meredith’s book, “How to Write a Grant: Become a Grant Writing Unicorn” for free here: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/free-audiobook

How to Build Your Own:

1. Write out habits you want to build on a piece of paper.
2. Wait until you’re happy with the list and then laminate it.
3. Get yourself a simple journal where you can use a half page to track.
4. Give it a go!

This only takes 5 minutes to do! If you have a strong morning or evening routine and your day goes bananas, these AM and PM routines function like a reset. Remember: progress is better than perfection!

Having a checklist allows you to save critical thinking brainpower for activities that actually move your life forward.  🚵

Recently, a huge awakening about health, lots of transition, and an episode of The Ezra Klein Show helped Meredith to see that we can’t keep working at the pace we’re going.  🙅

Two key takeaways from the episode:

1. We’re all working a second, unpaid shift.
2. Henry Ford’s innovation in manufacturing the Model T.

Ultimately, the way we live and work is overdue for a system overhaul  🔧  like Henry Ford completed for the Model T.

Meredith’s wake-up call was when she lived through a tiny house gas leak explosion. We all have wake-up call moments in our life. What have those moments been for you? If we’re paying attention, we can do something about it before it becomes a full-fledged disaster. 

This accelerated this drive for a slower way of operating while still delivering an amazing experience to members in the Collective. The first experiment was Deep Work Wednesday.   📅

Ultimately, achieving success in your life has less to do with the technical aspect and more about becoming the person you need to become to have the thing you want.

Let us know if you apply the Ch’eghwetsen Point System or any Deep Work experiments!

Resources and links:

🔸  We Wild Women

🔸  Ch'eghwetsen Point System Checklist Template 

🔸  “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right” by Atul Gawande

🔸  “Stop. Breathe. We Can’t Keep Working Like This.” :// The Ezra Klein Show

🔸  YouTube video: Living through a gas leak explosion. Walk through it with co-founder, Meredith Noble. 🤯

🔸  Podcast episode: Co-founder Meredith Noble Lived Through a Gas Leak Explosion. Here’s The Story.

🔸  Global Grant Writers Collective

Want to learn more about the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective? DM us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/learngrantwriting/

00:00 Intro

01:15 Can you Relate to This, Type As?

03:25 What is Ch'eghwetsen Point System

08:00 What is Your Keystone Habit

09:27 Why the Name “Ch’eghwetsen”?

10:19 Build Your Own Checklist

13:06 The Power Behind Checklists

16:00 We Can’t Keep Working Like This

18:30 Meredith’s Wake Up Call

25:30 It’s All About Behavior Change

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by: Meredith Noble & Alex Lustig

Audio Edit by: Ana Castro

Connect with Us:

• Website: [www.learngrantwriting.org]
• Instagram: [@learngrantwriting]
• Facebook: [Learn Grant Writing]

A gas leak explosion in a tiny house derailed the original schedule to get this podcast episode posted, but it’s finally here!  🎊 

📚  “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters” by Priya Parker

Alex loves gathering. "We spend all this time thinking about the beginning of events and we don’t spend time thinking about the end. This book talks about how we intentionally gather…including the beginning and the closing." Parker has encouraged us to think more deeply about how our Collective members can feel connected!  ✨

📚  “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art” by James Nestor

We have Alex’s husband to thank for this! Stand out stat: you get 18% more oxygen into your body when you breathe through your nose versus your mouth. #gains  💪

Alex always opens up our coaching calls in the Collective with a breathing meditation. Breathing in shorter on the inhale and longer on the exhale allows you to get out of fight or flight and into a space where you can be present.

📚  “Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance” by Edgar Villanueva

For Meredith, this book was eye opening to the colonial, saviorism type narrative that is very common in foundation funding. This is a very important trend for modern grant writers to be tracking as the most progressive and interesting foundations are going in this direction.  🧭

Curious how you could get into grant writing and build a career in it? Here is a free training on how to do that without volunteering or having prior experience: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writing

📚  “Crazy Brave” by Joy Harjo

One of Alex’s picks: “The writing is gorgeous!” Joy’s autobiography, but written through time and space as if it’s not linear. 

📚  “We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power” by Rachel Rodgers

A book that arrived to us through the Unicorn led Book Club in the Collective. Meredith goes to money church  💰  every Wednesday morning because of this book! 

Rodgers talks a lot about the time buy back principle and how that can apply in multiple areas of your life. Alex’s time buy back: paying someone to handle snow  ❄️  removal. Meredith’s time buy back: hiring a local woman to prepare healthy lunches!  

📚  “Pussy Pedia: A Comprehensive Guide” by Zoe Mendelson

Don’t freak out about the title! This book is packed with fascinating research and beautiful graphics. 

📚  “How to Write a Grant: Become a Grant Writing Unicorn” by Meredith Noble

This book is a distillation of the most important information you need to know about grant writing. There’s now a hardcover available! Alex also wrote two chapters in this edition.  🪄  If you read it, would you please leave a review?

Like audiobooks and podcasts? Listen to Meredith’s book, “How to Write a Grant: Become a Grant Writing Unicorn” for free here: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/free-audiobook

Books next up on the list include:

🔸  “Me and White Supremacy” by Layla Saad

🔸  “All Over Creation: A Novel” by Ruth Ozeki
🔸  “You Are a Badass” by Jen Sincero

🔸  “Coming Into the Country” by John McPhee

Resources and links:

• Video walk through of the house that exploded 
• Listen to the podcast episode of the gas leak explosion
• “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters” by Priya Parker
• Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art” by James Nestor
• “Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance” by Edgar Villanueva
• “Crazy Brave” by Joy Harjo
• “We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power” by Rachel Rodgers
• “Pussy Pedia: A Comprehensive Guide” by Zoe Mendelson
• “How to Write a Grant: Become a Grant Writing Unicorn” by Meredith Noble
•  “Me and White Supremacy” by Layla Saad
• “All Over Creation: A Novel” by Ruth Ozeki
• “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero
• “Coming Into the Country” by John McPhee

Want to learn more about the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective? DM us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/learngrantwriting/

While you’re at it, let us know what books you’re reading!

Timestamps

00:00 Intro An Insanely Delayed Recap of Our Favorite Books From 2021

01:22 Book #1: “The Art of Gathering” by Priya Parker

02:37 Book #2: “Breath” by James Nestor

04:07 Book #3: “Decolonizing Wealth” by Edgar Villanueva

05:19 Book #4: “Crazy Brave” by Joy Harjo

06:00 Book #5: “We Should All Be Millionaires” by Rachel Rodgers

08:38 Book #6: “Pussy Pedia” by Zoe Mendelson

09:40 Book #7: “How to Write a Grant: Become a Grant Writing Unicorn” by Meredith Noble

10:13 Books We’re Excited About Reading

11:54 What Are You Reading?

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by: Meredith Noble & Alex Lustig

Audio Edit by: Ana Castro

Connect with Us:

• Website: [www.learngrantwriting.org]
• Instagram: [@learngrantwriting]
• Facebook: [Learn Grant Writing]

Meredith Noble, co-founder of Learn Grant Writing, shares what happened when she was in a tiny house that had a gas leak explosion. In this podcast episode, Meredith covers:

🔸 Background on why she moved to Valdez, Alaska to build a company.  🏔️

An Alaska woman at heart, Meredith was able to feed her soul while doubling down to create a successful company. 

🔸 Quick history on the last two years at Learn Grant Writing.

Learn Grant Writing has evolved greatly in the past two years and the team is deeply proud of where the company is at today. 🧡

Want to learn more about the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective?  🦄  Check out our website here: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/

🔸 A walk through of the house that exploded.

If you’d like to see the walk through, watch this YouTube video.

🔸 How she's doing physically and mentally.

With many thanks to Ressel Yu’s Body Code Experience offering, Meredith is recovering well (as well as one can!) from the explosion. 

🔸 What she has learned thus far.

The explosion served as a visceral illustration of what it looks like to work (or do anything) at an unsustainable pace. Meredith has been reflecting on what it looks like to change the way the Learn Grant Writing team approaches work. 

Resources referenced:

Grant Writing Unicorn Ressel Yu

More questions about the Collective? Feel free to DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/learngrantwriting/  

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro Meredith Noble Shares What it Was Like to Live Through a Gas Leak Explosion

00:43 Background on Why Valdez, Alaska

03:35 Alex Joins the Team 

04:35 Going Through a Break Up

09:55 Beginning of the Gas Leak Story Specifically 

12:00 So Much Snow!

12:45 Going Into the House That Exploded

18:44 Is Meredith Okay?

26:21 Ressel Yu Body Code experience

30:30 Closing Reflection

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by: Meredith Noble & Alex Lustig

Audio Edit by: Ana Castro

Connect with Us:

• Website: [www.learngrantwriting.org]
• Instagram: [@learngrantwriting]
• Facebook: [Learn Grant Writing]

Dr. Christie Edwards, Alex’s mom, is living and breathing the Unicorn Lifestyle. 🦄 She’s living an awesome life and is passionate about serving her clients as a Doctor in Natural Medicine. She first earned her B.A. in Zoology to serve animals. Then, she went back to school for further study (right around the same time that Alex graduated high school). Christie became the owner of a packaging store business where she learned a lot about business operations, marketing, and connecting with others. 

Steve, Alex’s Dad, likes to say that “no one could make a packaging store business fun except for Mom”. ✨ Christie redecorated the store and cultivated a place for connection. It was also important for her to become involved in network marketing which built up her confidence along with helping the store’s bottom line. 

Curious how you could get into grant writing and make a business out of it? Here is a free training on how to do that without volunteering or having prior experience: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writing

After an “aha!” moment, Christie knew it was the right time to shift careers to become a Doctor of Natural Medicine. Her passion for nutrition and health helped her family for years. Going back to school online in her late 40s was a unique experience that required motivation and flexibility with work, but it was worth it. She’s now in her fourth year of business and has a cute, cozy office inside a pilates studio in Lone Tree, Colorado. ⛰️

It only took a few months before her business was self-sustaining. The business has grown exponentially each year without any social media (there’s hope for us yet!). It helped to have so many people in her immediate circle supporting her and engaging in the business. She also implemented boundaries with certain relationships to help her stay on her path. 

Other tools that helped her stay motivated include meditation, listening to creative visualizations to combat limiting belief patterns, and having an intrinsic WHY. 🧡

Dr. Edwards is all about the Unicorn Lifestyle and to those considering a career shift she says, “Just go for it!”. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is a huge step toward growth. It’s important to continue moving forward and to always keep learning.

Want to learn more about the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective? DM us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/learngrantwriting/

Timestamps

00:00 How Alex’s Mom embodies the Unicorn Lifestyle

00:27 Meet Dr. Christie Edwards! 

01:58 Why did you decide to become a business owner?

03:49 How did you know it was time to shift to a new career?

04:40 What was it like going back to school in your late 40s?

06:15 How long did it take you to be fully self-sustaining?

07:24 How do you motivate yourself and use tools around you so that you can continue pursuing your dream?

11:50 What would you say to others who might be later in life if they wanted to pursue their passion?

Links

Positively Whole Health

Learn Grant Writing Instagram

Learn Grant Writing Website

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by: Meredith Noble & Alex Lustig

Audio Edit by: Ana Castro

Connect with Us:

• Website: [www.learngrantwriting.org]
• Instagram: [@learngrantwriting]
• Facebook: [Learn Grant Writing]

Karisa Coe, member of The Grant Writing Unicorn Collective, conducts an informational interview with Meredith. The timing is divine as The Collective is in the midst of an informational interview challenge. Karisa is a recent college graduate from Texas A&M University who is working towards becoming a freelance grant writing consultant. She reached out to Meredith for an informational interview to learn more about the why and how behind entrepreneurship. 

Curious how you could get into grant writing and build a career in it? Here is a free training on how to do that without volunteering or having prior experience: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writing

Meredith is known for saying, “My forte is turning ideas into reality”. How does she not get overloaded and lost? In the ideation phase of anything, Meredith recommends not limiting yourself to thinking within boundaries and not thinking too technically about cost and timeline. Creating an environment for creative brainstorming is key. Then, ask: “Who am I serving?” Project management comes into play here to break your vision down into actionable steps.

Alex is an integrator while Meredith is a visionary and they feel that there is an opportunity for people that identify strongly with operations and project management to become integrators. Meredith and Alex are in the process of examining whether integrators can be trained up from scratch or not. They’re conducting several informational interviews with female CEOs.

For Meredith and Learn Grant Writing, the values of the business are the values of herself. These values include taking responsibility, leadership, and working hard, but recognizing that today is all we have. Since Alex has become part of the business, celebrating wins has replaced working hard. Values are what you fall back on when you’re reflecting on how to handle a situation. A question can be used as a decision making framework and then the values help nudge that to the finish line. 

For those just starting a career, Meredith strongly suggests doing informational interviews. These interviews provide insights, little bits of wisdom, and connection. Informational interviews allow you to authentically and genuinely build your network with people you want in it. 

Several qualities are helpful to become a successful entrepreneur. These include problem-solving, failing fast, having a growth mindset, and staying focused. 

With Karisa’s final question, Meredith reveals her dream of owning a property in Spokane, Washington. Two books that have been helpful for her in developing and sharing her ideas are “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and “The Mom Test” by Rob Fitzpatrick. 

Resources referenced:

• Meyers Briggs Type Indicator
• “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill
• “The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers and Learn If Your Business is a Good Idea when Everyone is Lying to You” by Rob Fitzpatrick

Like audiobooks and podcasts? Listen to Meredith’s book, “How to Write a Grant: Become a Grant Writing Unicorn” for free here: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/free-audiobook

Timestamps:

00:00 Karisa Coe Interview

00:28 Intro

01:25 Meet Karisa

02:00 How to pay a grant writer?

04:06 How do you not get lost and overloaded when turning ideas into reality? 

07:54 What are some of the questions you’re planning to ask other women CEOs? 

09:00 Meyers Briggs Type Inventory: are there massive trends with grant writers? 

11:20 How do your personal core values influence your business values?

15:30 What advice would you give to a recent college graduate just starting their career? 

18:11 What’s the most important quality you look for in someone who wants to be an entrepreneur?

21:00 What’s the third ball you want to kick?

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by: Meredith Noble & Alex Lustig

Audio Edit by: Ana Castro

Connect with Us:

• Website: [www.learngrantwriting.org]
• Instagram: [@learngrantwriting]
• Facebook: [Learn Grant Writing]

In this episode, we sit with Meredith, Alex, Jared (Alex’s husband), and Tobias. We celebrate the work wedding of Meredith and Alex as Alex legally becomes part owner of Learn Grant Writing. 

The four gather at an AirBnB for a weekend away to honor the occasion. As is tradition for Meredith and Alex, tarot cards are drawn for each of the four individuals. The cards pulled by each person pertain to their personal lives and inspire thoughtful reflection. “Anything that manifests in your business is tied to your personal life.”

Jared reflects on his skepticism of Alex joining the business. While originally cautious, Jared has since gladly been proven wrong. Back when Alex first joined, the primary focus of the business was grant writing consulting.

Curious how you could get into grant writing and build a career in it? Here is a free training on how to do that without volunteering or having prior experience: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writing

The team transitions to reading Promises inspired by the following prompt: “What Does Our Truest & Greatest Business Partnership Look Like?”. Alex and Meredith aim to uphold a business partnership that is vibrant, safe, and balanced. They promise honesty and clear communication as they continue to challenge one another to be their best selves.

The promises inspire another major question: should Alex and Meredith get matching tattoos? DM us on Instagram if you think so: https://www.instagram.com/learngrantwriting/

Meredith and Alex explain the paperwork to be signed that legally mark Alex as part owner of the Limited Liability Company (LLC). The pair are Amending and Restating the Operating Agreement now that Alex is part owner. Meredith serves as Chairwoman, President of the Board, and Treasurer under this updated agreement while Alex serves as Vice President and Secretary. 

Finally, Meredith and Alex reflect on the weekend away. Alex and Meredith both appreciate how they were able to be comfortable and allow everyone to love them for them. All in all, it wasn’t as sparkly as anticipated, but it was exactly what was needed.

As Meredith and Alex consciously make the decision to be in this business together, they resolve to continue following their intuition closely. There will be a vibrant celebration with cake and food with everyone they love. To be determined on when that happens, but the celebration of Alex sharing ownership of the business is certainly coming. Cheers to “forever in business, forever”!

Resources referenced:

BossBabe Podcast

“Slicing Pie: Funding Your Company Without Funds” by Mike Moyer

Want to learn more about the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective? DM us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/learngrantwriting/

Timestamps

00:00 Learn Grant Writing’s Work Wedding 

00:40 Welcome to the Learn Grant Writing Work Wedding

00:55 Background Story: What is a Work Wedding?

02:50 How Alex Joined the Learn Grant Writing Team 

06:08 What Does Equity Mean in a Business?

07:10 Slicing Pie (Method by Mike Moyer) 

12:00 Toast to the DIY Career Path

14:00 Drawing Tarot Cards

30:05 Jared’s Perspective of Alex Joining the Learn Grant Writing Team

38:35 Reading Promises: “What Does Our Truest & Greatest Business Partnership Look Like?”

47:00 Should Alex & Meredith Get Matching Tattoos?

48:00 Signing Paperwork: Amending & Restating business Operating Agreement

54:00 Work Wedding Reflection

59:00 Cheers to being business partners!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by: Meredith Noble & Alex Lustig

Audio Edit by: Ana Castro

Connect with Us:

• Website: [www.learngrantwriting.org]
• Instagram: [@learngrantwriting]
• Facebook: [Learn Grant Writing]

The Mission Makers belongs to Kim and Bob, unicorns extraordinaire.  They created this business to fill the void of programs they are passionate about not receiving the proper funding. Kim is also very involved with the YMCA and currently working as a developmental specialist dealing directly with the grant writing for a large city campaign project.  Truly a team in everything they do from serving on boards together, exercising, and being business partners. They play on each other's strengths and also know when it's time to call it a day!

The Mission Makers is growing, already having 15 clients, and some of the challenges they face include keeping tabs on every project. They overcome this challenge by implementing many of the time management tools taught in Learn Grant Writing and believe that if you implement these tools from the start, you are able to keep your focus on the most important tasks.  

Curious how you could get into grant writing and build a career in it? Here is a free training on how to do that without volunteering or having prior experience: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writing

Creating and developing partnerships  has been the proudest accomplishment of starting The Mission Makers. Kim and Bob's work with nonprofits in the past allowed them to understand the trials that a nonprofit goes through. However, working with an overview perspective has allowed them to connect nonprofits  all over the country with similar goals in order to create a bigger impact. 

Kim and Bob appreciate Learn Grant Writing's commitment to current grant writing needs. The course content, feedback, and bonus trainings evolve as the grant writing world continues to grow. The funding strategy, prospectus, coaching calls, and community have been an absolute game-changer for their business!

Want to learn more about the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective? DM us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/learngrantwriting/

0:29 - Welcome to Kim and Bob Yarnall

2:12- How did you get involved with Grant Writing?

4:03 - Why did you choose to from Mission Makers?

6:32- What makes Grant Writing not feel like "work"?

9:29 - Kim explains her new role with the YMCA

11:59 - What is it like to work as a husband/wife duo?

15:37 - Mission Makers biggest challenge 

18:57 - Mission Makers proudest accomplishment

23:43 - Discussing pricing and funding at a beginning level 

25:00 - Key Takeaways from being a part of the collective 

29:59 - If you're considering taking the course advice!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by: Meredith Noble & Alex Lustig

Audio Edit by: Ana Castro

Connect with Us:

• Website: [www.learngrantwriting.org]
• Instagram: [@learngrantwriting]
• Facebook: [Learn Grant Writing]

We unicorns 🦄 sidestep the chaos and pressure of designing the entire year by breaking it down into bite-sized chunks. We feel less overwhelmed and more inspired to build the life of our dreams 🌈 when we divvy up everything into threes. 

Ask yourself...why do we plan? 🤔 

Planning ahead gives us a roadmap to success, helps us to avoid the feeling of everything being on fire, 🔥 and is ultimately an energy management tool. 

We find great satisfaction in knowing that we've done everything in our power to make the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective an amazing, transformative experience. We divide that larger goal into smaller manageable pieces, starting with three rocks that ground us in our larger vision. 🔮 

Interested in building a life you love? Here is a free training on how to build a career in grant writing without volunteering or having prior experience ➡️ https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writing 

Our "three rocks" 🧗🏽for Q1 of 2022: 

1️⃣. Rebuilding the original grant writing course, From Start to Funded so those of you only wanting a technical grant writing training, have an affordable option. This will be a great way to test if grant writing is for you.

2️⃣. Adding Phases 6 & 7 to the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective. Phase 6 is scaling to $100K a year as a consultant  and Phase 7 is building to a $250K a year consulting business. If that seems crazy to you, hang on! It's possible! 

3️⃣. Migrating to Circle, a new community platform.

We continue to get granular from our target objectives 🎯 by separating our rocks into three weekly objectives. From there, we go even deeper and set three daily objectives. 🤓 

By simply setting three goals at a time, we can avoid burnout, make time for rest, and commit to meaningful work. It's all about the power of three! 🥉 

Want to speak with someone in the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective to get their perspective? Shoot us a DM on Instagram and we can connect you ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/learngrantwriting/ 

Excuse the snoring dog 🐶 ... sleeping is always on his daily three! 

Time Stamps 

0:00 Choose Quarterly Planning over Yearly Planning 

0:44 The Power of Planning Ahead 

1:58 Manifest Your Dreams With Clear Intentions 

5:55 How Do You Want to Feel at the End of Q1? 

9:14 Use the Big Three Framework to Make Quality Decisions 

13:45 The Three Rocks of Learn Grant Writing 

21:54 Calendar Mapping to Create Energetic Sustainability 

24:32 Build the Life You Desire From the Ground Up in Asana 

26:31 Feel Productive and Complete

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by: Meredith Noble & Alex Lustig

Audio Edit by: Ana Castro

Connect with Us:

• Website: [www.learngrantwriting.org]
• Instagram: [@learngrantwriting]
• Facebook: [Learn Grant Writing]

Join us for January's 21-Day Informational Interview Challenge! 🔥 If you are considering becoming a grant writing unicorn in 2022, now is a darn good time to join. 

Learn more here ⤵️ 

https://www.learngrantwriting.org/grant-writing-training

🔸 What is an informational interview? 

🔸And how do they help me get clients as a freelancer? 

An informational interview is a conversation with someone who interests you to gain knowledge about their organization or their industry. It is also a conversation to understand if they have a need that you can help solve. This is you 90% listening and 10% talking. It's the least scary form of networking on the scale of networking scale. If you want to have a career you love, it means taking ultimate, radical responsibility!

 If you're thinking about a career in grant writing in 2022, join us in the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective and our 21-Day Challenge. All you need to do, is join the Collective by January 10th and you can participate!  ⤵️

https://www.learngrantwriting.org/grant-writing-training

What questions do you have about the challenge or informational interviews? DM us on Instagram (@learngrantwriting) or shoot us an email. 🧡  The team at Learn Grant Writing 

00:00 - How do informational interviews help me get clients? 

00:27 - What is an informational interview? 

00:50 - Objective of informational interviews 

01:32 - Why are informational interviews important? 

2:00 - How to get clients without going to conferences or marketing on social media 

2:20 - Process of asking for an informational interview 

02:49 - How to uncover a client's pain points 

03:09 - Funding Strategy Overview 

04:06 - How a Funding Strategy Can Increase Your Win Rate 

04:30 - Example of a grant writer's success 

05:33 - How you can start as a freelance grant writer with no experience

06:33 - How funding strategies lead to paid grant writing work 07:12 

07:12 - The Organic Networking Framework 

07:30 - Challenges grant writers face in networking 

09:00 - How Meredith landed her first grant writing job 

09:49 - Two main mistakes freelance grant writers make

14:20 - What is the 21-day challenge? 

14:45 - Beating overwhelm as a freelance grant writer

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by: Meredith Noble & Alex Lustig

Audio Edit by: Ana Castro

Connect with Us:

• Website: [www.learngrantwriting.org]
• Instagram: [@learngrantwriting]
• Facebook: [Learn Grant Writing]