Tad’s Travels | marketingforhippies.com

guerilla gift giving

By: Tad | Published: December 16, 2011 · 4 Comments

Last weekend, I did something that felt wonderful.

I gathered some of my favourite people and we went out and gave gifts to strangers on Whyte Ave in Edmonton.

I thought you might want to try the same kind of thing so I thought I’d share what we did and what we learned.

Why did I do it? I saw a video that inspired me.

It’s about a man who, on his 30th birthday went and gave gifts to 30 people in Sydney, Australia.

You can watch it here (might make you cry):

Then, I created a facebook invitation that said this:

The Grand and Gallavanting Guerilla Gift Giving Gathering

We’re going to come together to wrap gifts and then go out onto Whyte Ave and spread some love. And maybe some free hugs.

I want to do the same thing and spread Christmas cheer to our fellow Edmontonians and then come back together at my place to share stories and drink some drinks.

Yes?

Hells yes.

PLEASE BRING:

– anything you’ve got at home you’re not using anymore that could make an AMAZING gift for someone else (e.g. an old football or frisbee you’re not using right now, old CDs, books, that sweet shirt that someone else could love). Bring as many as you’d like – but be choosy. Only really great stuff. Something you’d be thrilled to receive.

– wrapping paper, boxes etc.

– a bit of a potluck – any food or drinks to tide us over while wrapping.

WONDERING:

– could anyone film this and edit it into something youtubeable?

People gathered at 6pm and were welcomed in from the cold with a hot cup of spicy apple cider. They brought snacks and drinks and we got right to wrapping up gifts. Is there a better way to spend two hours than in the company of friends wrapping presents for strangers? I doubt it.

We headed out around 8pm to Whyte Ave, a main street in Edmonton and began handing out gifts to strangers.

In the end, we weren’t able to get it videod (alas) but! here are some photos (and then some lessons below):

Four Lessons Learned:

Supplies: Have extra scissors, tape and wrapping paper as the host.

Stick together as one group: I noticed that I felt more comfortable giving the gifts with more people and having more people added so much more fun and celebration to it. It made giving the gift a shared event – a bit more magical for the giver and the receiver.

Designated photographer (or video): if you’re going to do it, why not record it so you can share it with people after and spread the love and maybe inspire other people to do the same.

Slow it down: my second reflection is how vital it is to have folks like Olivia Joy Love and Dolphin Kasper with their t-shirts and signs engaging people with hugs first. Some people were a little taken aback by being offered a gift out of the blue. “What charity are you with?” they would ask in suspicious tones. It’s probably important to establish a little trust and safety first by stopping to chat and engage with them. I think the ideal order of things is 1) have your ‘free hugs!’ people engage folks (think fun pink spoons) 2) this sparks a conversation where they say something like, ‘what’s going on? what is this about?’ 3) Offer them a gift. I noticed that when we slowed things down so it was less ‘drive by’ gift giving and more about really creating a moment and a connection it felt better. Foreplay makes gift giving more pleasant for everyone. Says my friend Olivia, “It’s all about engaging strangers in an enthusiastic way. Obviously when a ‘gang’ of lantern yielding, hugging and gift giving guerillas swoop in on someone, the experience can be overwhelming but explaining away the magic can often take away from the fun of it all as well. I loved watching people open their gifts in front of us. That was so much fun. For the most part the reactions were of genuine amazement and we made people feel so great with the unexpected nature of receiving….I really felt that people really received well overall- which is nice to see.”

| Categories: becoming a hub, Tad's Favourite Things, Tad's Travels - Tags: building trust

loss

By: Tad | Published: October 28, 2011 · 16 Comments

I am in Thailand.

And this post has nothing to do about marketing.

It has to do with how much our love matters in the world.

And how much it is missed when it is gone.

Her name was Kylen. I met her through some community events in Edmonton. She had the most radiant spirit. I saw her so occasionally at the Black Dog. But we’d always be excited to see each other and sit down for a drink together and talk about life. Try to catch up on the past 6 months. One of those.

I loved her.

I loved seeing her. I left every interactions feeling uplifted, enriched, loved and, somehow, more special. She had this sparkle in her eyes. So full of life. Such a capacity to have people know they were needed and wanted in the world. She grew upwards like a tree, the beautiful sap of this world being raised up from the Earth in her – and yet so grounded. I left our conversations a bit more comfortable in my own skin.

The other day, I heard word that she was missing.

Today, I found out that she committed suicide.

Like so many others (too many others) she reached her limits of how much suffering her heart could contain. Like my friend Tooker Gomberg. Who I still miss.

She was 20 years old.

I don’t know that I have anything to say here. Except that I miss her.

That suicide is not like any other kind of death.

That we can’t possibly over estimate the importance of kindness, empathy and compassion in this world. That we can’t possibly imagine the amount of pain that the people around us are in. I certainly had no idea with Kylen.

That judging and trying to fix others doesn’t help them. At all. Or us.

That every ounce of healing and wholeness we can bring to our own hearts matters. Because it makes us more available to be present for others.

That listening with our hearts matters (and that advice rarely does). That making someone a cup of tea and listening to their worries with kindness probably matters more than coaching them or telling them what we think they should do.

That no mother should ever have to lose her children.

That we, as a world, can do better than this.

That illness is not personal but collective. That a disease is carried by a whole community – even if it manifests through one person. We all have cancer – some people just carry it for us. It just shows up through them (for whatever reason). But it’s not just about them. That suicide says so much about our culture and our planet at this time. That suicide is a bitter flower that grows out of the shared root system of unresolved grief.

That grieving can, somehow, make us more whole. That Elizabeth Kubler Ross’ words are true:

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

That the answer to so many of the world’s problems is to love even more, to make our hearts bigger, even more generous.

That pain can, somehow, be transformed into beauty. And oh Kylen. May all this terrible pain we all feel give birth to so much beauty.

That we need each other so much. That we are a part of each others’ hearts.

That sometimes it takes a long time to heal from grief.

That time doesn’t heal wounds (or make them disappear). It deepens them. Like rivers deepen the valley. Until they blend with the landscape.

That, somedays, I have no kind words for the universe.

That, if you’re struggling, I hope, so much, that you have someone you can reach out to for healing.

That I dream of a world full of grandmothers who, when your heart finally breaks, will invite you under the covers in their bed and hold you as you fall apart.

That, sometimes, it’s not going to be okay.

That life will break you.

That sometimes, we lose the very best parts of us.

That there are some people we will always remember. No matter how briefly we knew them.

Rest In Peace Kylen.

I am heartbroken.

| Categories: Tad's Rants, Tad's Travels - Tags: empathy

tad’s fall 2011 tour begins friday (plus a movie premiere! and a hotbox! and thailand!)

By: Tad | Published: September 16, 2011 · 6 Comments

Well, it’s finally come.

Tour time!

So, over the next six weeks you won’t be hearing as much from me as you normally do.

Friday morning, at 8am, I leave to go to a five day retreat based on the work of Byron Katie (very excited! is that true? yes.)

Then it’s off to Winnipeg to lead a daylong workshop for holistic practitioners and to be a featured guest of their “Making an Ethical Living” workshop series (see the poster here).

Then I go to Nova Scotia for the premiere of Gaelic movie I was in last summer before I skip down the road to Halifax for my workshop there.

The next stop is England and Scotland. Woot! I’ll be spending a lot of money at the Doctor Who Experience. Yes. I. Will.

Then it’s Toronto for the final workshops of my tour – including a brand new workshop I’m calling The Hot Box until I come up with a better name.

And then I go to Thailand for a meeting of a non-profit I’m a part of.

I hope I get to see some of you in person as I make my way about.

warmest,

tad

p.s. If you’d like to listen to a free interview with me click here.

If you’d like get cool posts like this in your inbox every few days CLICK HERE to subscribe to my blog and you’ll also get a free copy of my fancy new ebook “Marketing for Hippies” when it’s done.

| Categories: Tad's Travels

winnipeg, taxis, pricing and the $2000 bowl of soup

By: Tad | Published: April 15, 2011 · 6 Comments

Today I want to talk about word of mouth marketing, pricing, one of Canada’s coolest restaurants and a bowl of soup that cost a restaurant $2000 to serve (because they served it twice . . . don’t worry. I’ll explain).

I woke up today in a strangers apartment.

I told the story of how this happened in my blog post yesterday.

It’s a good life. I travel around the country trying to help good people and then good people are really helpful to me. Community feels good. Especially when it’s this odd community of strangers. All of us knowing we’re in it together and doing our best to reach out our hands to help other people who are up to good things.

Lesson #1: People go the extra mile to support good things. It strikes me how important this is for word of mouth and client loyalty. . . what a pleasure it is to spread the word about people and businesses that aren’t just in it for the bottom line but for the community.

Right now, it’s 3:59pm and I’m enjoying a Dragon Bowl at Winnipeg’s Mondragon Cafe. It’s a good example of this dynamic.

Mondragon is a political bookstore and vegan restaurant located in Winnipeg’s historic exchange district. The word Mondragon comes from the Euskadi (Basque) town of the same name meaning “Dragon Mountain” in English. Located in Northern Spain, Mondragon or Arrasate in the Basque language, is known for its extensive network of workers’ cooperatives, and has been the subject of numerous books and articles.

Inspired by this and many other examples of alternative economics and workplace democracy, our bookstore and coffeehouse is organized as a workers collective. We have no manager, and all worker members, regardless of starting skill or seniority, earn the same rate of pay. We call ours a “participatory” workplace, after the participatory economic model developed by co-authors Robin Hahnel and Michael Albert, and we feel that this structure is consistent with libertarian socialist principles.

It’s such a good business. They’re not trying to build an empire. They’re just trying to do something good. It’s noble. And it inspires people. And it makes people feel good about talking about it.

And feels good to support.

I’ll never forget my friend Jaime Coughlin taking me to Truro, Nova Scotia to lead a workshop for some local farmers. It was the only local/organic restaurant in town. And the owner told me that recently one of the people eating there had pulled her aside and said, “Say . . . I noticed you were short staffed and I was wondering if I could volunteer and help out a bit. You know, come and serve once a week for a few hours.” This is what happens when people not only love what you’re doing and how you’re doing it . . . but why you’re doing it.

When your business is really truly based in doing good things – people are waaaaay for lenient with mistakes you might make and far more likely to lend a hand to help make your business thrive.

Lesson #2: Experiment with your pricing.

Earlier, someone made my day by sending me these words:

“Last night, I read through the page about your upcoming live events, and it got me thinking about how I might make my group program even more affordable. I had a follow-up call scheduled with a woman who really wanted to do my program but felt that she couldn’t afford it. I asked if her if paying for it in 6 installments instead of 4 would help her, and she said that would make a huge difference. So I set it up that way and she’s in! That’s nearly $800 and a lovely client that I would have missed out on if I hadn’t considered more payment structures. So I wanted to thank you and let you know.”

(Note: If you have someone you’re following who you admire. Send them some appreciation. You might be amazed at how seldom they get it and how much it might mean to them. An author you love? Let them know. People are more accessible that you think. Be specific. Share how it impacted you.)

The biggest shift in my business was when I started to do most of my workshops on a Pay What You Can basis. It’s being extremely profitable for me.

Could you do that? Could you let people pay over time? Could you take some trade? Get curious about this. Sometimes a simple change in the payment structure can result in a major increase in business.

Lesson #3: When you lose a client you lose all their future business.

This seems obvious.

Earlier today I called United Cab in Winnipeg to order a cab. They were having a hard time hearing me (frustrating for them I’m sure). But they got the address and when i gave them my phone number (my cell from Alberta) the lady I was speaking with (whose tone had been kind of rude and impatient to my ears) said, “you don’t have a local number??“

“No,” I said. “I’m staying at someone’s apartment. I don’t know the local number.”

I could hear her let out an exasperated breath. I was getting annoyed.

“Should I call another cab company?” I said.

“Fine.” Click. She hung up.

So I called Duffy’s cab. And entered their number into my phone. They get my business from now on.

But imagine if the woman had said, “Sir. I’m having a hard time hearing you but don’t you worry! We’ll figure this out and get you a cab. I’m sure you’re in a rush.” And she’d spent an extra minute or two. I would have felt so great. And told everyone that day about the nice cab lady.

But her hang up has likely cost that company a few hundred dollars. Had a friend who used to eat at a local vegan restaurant in Edmonton on Whyte Ave. He ordered a bowl of soup. The soup was terrible. He asked the server if he could exchange it for another soup. The server took it to the kitchen, only to have the same bowl of soup carried back to him by the manager. It was placed back firmly on the table in front of him with the words, “You’ll finish this bowl.”

Amazing.

He was pissed. He wrote them a letter telling them, “I have been a regular to your restaurant for the past few years. I come ___ times per week. I spend $____ on average per meal there. I bring friend with my _____% of the time. And, because of your rudeness, I will be boycotting your restaurant for the next six months. This decision has cost you $600.”

In the end he boycotted it for a year and a half. And shared his story with a lot of people. Including myself. And I noticed I wasn’t going as often. So, let’s easily assume that this one decision cost them $2000.

Hardly worth a bowl of soup is it?

| Categories: Case Studies of Inspiring Business, Tad's Travels, word of mouth

winnipeg, wounds and three lessons from my tour

By: Tad | Published: April 15, 2011 · 5 Comments

12:51pm: I’m sitting here in the Calgary airport on my way to Winnipeg where I’ll be leading a little workshop tonite for green and local businesses and a full weekend for holistic practitioners.

I’m sitting here because I missed my flight due to bad weather. Oh Alberta.

But WestJet reminded me of why I love them so much. I was feeling cranky about missing my flight and then I hear, “Theodore Hargrave? Theodore Hargrave?” I look up thinking maybe I’d left something on the plane. But it’s a cheerful WestJet lady coming to me with my next flight already booked and a $10 meal vouchure. Impressed. WestJet I love you for little touches like this.

Tour Lesson #1: Take good care of your clients. It feels good to not be forgotten – but remembered, valued and taken care of. It’s an awful feeling to feel like you slipped through the cracks.

12:31am – Twelve hours later here I am in Winnipeg. I’m staying in the apartment of a lady I’ve never met. She heard that I might not have enough people to justify the costs of the trip so she said, “You can stay at my place and I’ll stay with a friend this weekend if it helps your costs.”

It saved me $350 at the hostel. And I have a place to myself in Winnipeg. which. feels. amazing.

This trip has been such a funny thing.

Last Monday (10 days ago) there were three people registered in my weekend workshop and as of now there are 18 paid people (plus three guests).

And as near as I can figure it – here’s what turned it around . . .

I sent them this email:

hey there winnipeg friends,

okay. so here’s the important update . . .

at this moment I don’t have enough people to come out to lead my
weekend workshop – “Marketing 101 for Holistic Practitioners” (April
15-17th).

(and that’s alright – sometimes it’s just not the right timing).

but! the situation isn’t without hope.

I want to invite your support and give it one last, good old college
try this week for a few reasons:

- posters just went up last week
– myself and some others have worked really hard to pull this together
– I hear Winnipeg is a last minute town and I suspect there might be
some folks who are on the fence
– there’s still the ad in the Aquarian
– alex baisley was just in town and talking me up a bunch so that could help.

here are THREE ways you can help:

1) personally email your holistic practitioner friends (I’ve included
an email below you can send out)

2) spread the word via facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=190533860968657

3) sign up if you’re on the fence or just haven’t gotten around to
RSVPing: http://www.marketing101forholisticpractitioners.com/weekend.php

I’m going to make the decision about whether or not to do it by friday
afternoon at 4pm MST – so the sooner I hear from you the better.

again – if the timing just isn’t right at this moment – that’s
wonderful. I’ll come back in the fall. If it comes together magically
– that’s also wonderful. There’s no pressure at all to attend or
spread the word – but there is a timeline on the decision and your
help could make a huge difference.

Thanks to all for the immense warmth and support I’ve received thus
far. And I hope you’re enjoying spring as much as I am. Fi.na.lly.

For more info or to register:

http://www.marketing101forholisticpractitioners.com/weekend.php

warmest
tad

p.s. Below is an email you can send to your friends. Thanks so much !

Hey there,

Just wanted to give you a heads up about a workshop happening in
Winnipeg the weekend of April 15th. It’s a weekend long marketing
workshop for holistic practitioners and life coaches. And it’s run
totally on a pay what you can basis. You attend the whole thing and
then pay whatever you want at the very end of it.

Thought it might be up your alley.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.marketing101forholisticpractitioners.com/weekend.php

And you might want to sign up asap because right now it’s on the fence
of whether there are enough people to make it work. He’s making his
decision Friday, April 8th at 5pm CST if there are enough people to
make it work.

Let me know if you decide to go!

And that seemed to make a big difference. Hooray for people really wanting me to come to Winnipeg.

Tour Lesson #2: Tell the truth. If you don’t have the numbers – just be honest and tell people and let go of it working out. People might just rally. And then hustle.

And then tonite, I led a little workshop at Hollow Reed here in Winnipeg. I was here leading a workshop last October and was completely charmed by the place and the people running it.

Tonite we had an intimate little group of seven people who were all just the cat’s pajamas.

A highlight of the evening for me was when we were talking about this whole question of niche.

Because it was a small group we could go around and have everyone share what niche they wanted to fiddle with. One woman – a spiritual counselor – shared that she felt kind of stuck.

winnipeg workshop 300x225 winnipeg, wounds and three lessons from my tour

participants of the winnipeg workshop

“I love to work with the entire family to help them resolve things. Get everyone together. But, I feel like a bit of a fraud because I wasn’t able to do that with my family. I’ve done all I can but they’re not wanting to fix things.”

I could feel where she was coming from. How can you promise to take someone on a journey you were unable to complete yourself. If you’ve ever tried to position yourself in that way – it’s really stressful.

“Well . . . maybe,” I offered. “Your best niche is to work with people who’ve been unable to heal the difficulties in their family and are now left with trying to heal themselves and deal with the realities of that. And maybe you might even end up working with the whole family down the road . . . but why not start with those people? That’s a path you’ve absolutely walked down yourself.”

Her eyes widened, “I could do that and feel so authentic about that . . .”

Tour Lesson #3: Your deepest wounds are your truest niche. I felt a bit like I was channeling my colleagues Alex Baisley or Jeffrey Van Dyk. Jeffrey often speaks about how your truest niche is often to be found in your deepest wounds (go watch the video!).

There’s a landscape each of us know intimately through our own life – and she knew this one. She’s the perfect guide for someone else’s journey because she’s already done it herself. When we’re in that sweet spot there’s no need to posture or feel scared of being found out. We’re standing firmly in the strength of our wounds. We’re authentic.

We’re offering our own experience and wisdom (gained from hard won experience) to the world.

What a beautiful thing.

| Categories: Niche Marketing, Tad's Travels - Tags: authenticity, niche

the journey

By: Tad | Published: January 22, 2011 · 11 Comments

I’ve just woken up in Kelowna at the International Hostel (that’s me in my room to the right). It’s pretty great. And the other hostelers here have my gratitude for ending their Beer Pong competition at 11pm.

I’m here because I’m leading my Marketing 101 for Holistic Practitioners workshop and last night was the first part of it.

I asked one of the participants to hold my iphone so we could record something I’ve been wanting to record and share with you all for a couple of years.

It’s all about something I call ‘The Journey’ that you’re taking your clients on.

This piece is something I’ve learned from so many people: Jay Abraham, Bill Baren, Mark Silver and Robert Middleton. It’s become such a core part of my philosophy and perspective on marketing.

Here’s a photo of what I was drawing since it’s kind of hard to see in the video.

What do you think?

| Categories: holistic practitioners, marketing philosophy, Tad's Rants, Tad's Travels - Tags: building trust, empathy, holistic practitioners, relevance

I’m on the cover of a magazine!

By: Tad | Published: October 29, 2010 · 6 Comments

So. I’m on the cover of one of the leading holistic magazines in Ottawa.

Cooler than this. For once in my life, I’m on the cover with Dan Millman (spoke to him on the phone once – very nice man).

How did this happen?

Hubs! The whole reality of hubs never ceases to amaze me; how much easier it is to build a business through partnerships and relationships than going it alone.

One of my clients Arria Deepwater connected me with a woman named Heather Garrod from Ottawa who runs a business called Planet Botanix. Heather decided she wanted to fill my events for me and spread the word. And somehow Tone magazine got wind of this – and now I’m on the cover. It comes out Monday.

I’ve never done anything like this – ads or used holistic magazines and so I’m curious what the response is going to be.

Excited!

Heather has almost single handedly filled the Ottawa events already.

Having never been to Ottawa before to lead workshops I figured I’d be lucky to get 20 people out. You know – first time in town etc. But Heather already has 35 people registered for Nov 27th and three people signed up for Nov 28th and we had to find a bigger space that can hold 50 people per day.

So, the first day is almost full and the article hasn’t even come out yet. Woot!

| Categories: Tad in the Media, Tad's Travels

Tour Stop #2: Winnipeg (day three)

By: Tad | Published: October 6, 2010 · 1 Comment

Morning Yoga Jam Crew

Day three in Winnipeg was so full of non stop amazing things.

Jeff and Beth and I were still basking in the glow of the past two days of sold out events at Hollow Reed.

The day started with a ‘yoga jam’ of myself and three friends. Super fun. We each took turns leading a bit of yoga. For my turn, I led us in an improv comedy game of telling a story one word at a time.

Then it was off to The Tallest Poppy – our caterer for the secret Green Grub and Gather party we were hosting that night.

At The Tallest Poppy, we have made an absolute commitment to preparing our food with love.

For us, “love” means that the food we serve is produced and sourced locally wherever possible. OK, we live in Winnipeg, so in winter, obviously, produce will come from other markets. But when it is available, we will source our food locally. It means that our meats are purchased from Frigs Natural Meat Market, because their meat is raised naturally, locally, and has no antibiotics or growth hormones. It means our coffee is Black Pearl, beans roasted in our neighborhood, with care to ensure that the coffee is always rich and flavourful. Our eggs are free run.

Then we wandered over to Aqua Books for lunch. It’s a super cool used bookstore/restaurant in Winnipeg. I could spend too many hours in bookstores. It’s true.

Then it was back to Jeff’s place to prepare for the party that night.

11ggg2 300x225 Tour Stop #2: Winnipeg (day three)

A Scene from the Winnipeg Green Grub and Gather

Which brings us to the topic of parties – and how they relate to marketing. I did an interview about how you can use parties to market yourself and you can go to read it here.

Jeff and Beth and I invited who we thought were the key hubs in the Winnipeg green and holistic scene. You can view the invite and list of attendees here.

The party started at 7pm and folks slowly drifted in. And then at 8:30pm Beth Martens led us in a beautiful kirtan style, call and response song. And then we did a go around circle where everyone had one minute to introduce themselves. By the end of the circle everyone was buzzing with ideas and possibilities for collaboration. All the while enjoying the incredible food from The Tallest Poppy.

11gggfood 225x300 Tour Stop #2: Winnipeg (day three)

A Mediocre Picture of the Amazing Food From The Tallest Poppy

| Categories: becoming a hub, Parties, Tad's Travels

Tour Stop #2: Winnipeg (Day Two)

By: Tad | Published: October 2, 2010 · 3 Comments

What. A. Day.

My day started off with a massage. I’ve decided this is a great way to start ones day.

After that, I grabbed lunch with my friend Amber at the legendary Mondragon Cafe. Says there website . . .

Mondragon is a political bookstore and vegan restaurant located in Winnipeg’s historic exchange district. The word Mondragon comes from the Euskadi (Basque) town of the same name meaning “Dragon Mountain” in English. Located in Northern Spain, Mondragon or Arrasate in the Basque language, is known for its extensive network of workers’ cooperatives, and has been the subject of numerous books and articles.

Inspired by this and many other examples of alternative economics and workplace democracy, our bookstore and coffeehouse is organized as a workers collective. We have no manager, and all worker members, regardless of starting skill or seniority, earn the same rate of pay. We call ours a “participatory” workplace, after the participatory economic model developed by co-authors Robin Hahnel and Michael Albert, and we feel that this structure is consistent with libertarian socialist principles.

Amber is a realtor and getting into the focus on ‘green real estate’. She’d been at my workshop on Thursday night and we got to talking about this whole niche thing.

As we spoke she tossed out that she was thinking of focusing on ‘single women in Winnipeg’.

“I would focus on that group instead of making ‘green real estate’ your thing. ‘Green real estate’ is how you do what you do but it’s not who you’re trying to reach. But ‘single women in Winnipeg’ is a pretty clear group – with lots of subgroups obviously – but it’s a great start. It meets my criteria for a niche market – a community of people with a shared set of needs and experiences. There’s so much you could do with it.”

As we munched on our food (I got their Dragon Bowl which was alright and she got their Burrito) we explored things you could do with that kind of group to become a hub for them. You could . . .

host a shopping day – rent a bus and show women all the places to shop to get amazing things for their homes at a bargain and meet shop owners
host a series of fun self defense classes for single women
negotiate a wicked deal with a gym or yoga studio for your clients
host relationship/dating workshops
host workshops on ‘how to make your home safe’ (since single women are more concerned about this than single men)
host a ‘how to green your home’ workshop. My sense was that women are more likely to care about these issues.
host a workshop with a local feng shui expert – or get your clients a ‘free consult’ with one as part of the package in working with you.

And so many more things.

It’s what I always find – once we find a niche – there’s an endless stream of ideas.

After lunch, I wandered down to Hollow Reed to receive a consultation from Chad (he’s amazing FYI – book a session if you can).

And then my old friend from Edmonton, Jackie Avent, and I went to the Winnipeg Green Drinks. This was exciting for me because I help to host the Edmonton Green Drinks through e-sage. They host it at this place called the Lo Pub – which is a vegan, local food pub. Pub food – but local and vegan. Very cool. Sadly I couldn’t stay long because I was hosting my second workshop at Hollow Reed that night.

And it was such a great workshop! Again – an amazing group of folks (pictured on the right). The folks who ran The Aquarian (a spiritually and politically progressive newspaper) were there. It’s an amazing thing – it’s already been going for twenty years – they were so ahead of their time. Other folks were into local food, performing arts, yoga, furniture business. A real motley crew.

I invited Beth Martens to sit on the hot seat that night (something I’ve only just started doing with my workshops and I really like it).

I asked her which target market she wanted to jam on.

“People who have someone in their life who is struggling with a serious illness like cancer.”

“And are you wanting to help the person with cancer or the person who’s helping them?“

“Both, in a way. I’m a cancer survivor myself, so this is close to my heart.“

“Okay. Sometimes that can be a good strategy. Sometimes people won’t reach out for help themselves and you need to reach out to the people most affected by them. Instead of trying to sell bride’s a ‘stress relief’ CD – sell it to the bridesmaids. You know?“

I pointed out how incredibly important empathy is in marketing – the ability to speak to people where they’re at vs. where we wish they would be. I invited the group to speak to the typical experience of a caregiver. “What’s it like to be them?” I asked.

The answers came: stressful. exhausting. overwhelming. you can begin to resent the person you love. hopeless – you want to help them more but don’t know how to.

“And if you could wave your magic wand – what result would you most want them to have?“

The answers: peace, a sense of control, feeling connected – not so isolated, understood, a sense of direction and hope, a sense of being okay no matter what happened.

I asked the group what kinds of offers she could come up with for this kind of group. And they delivered a bunch of great ideas:

a spa day or weekend for the caregiver where they could be pampered and connect with other caregivers who were in a similar boat and not feel so alone.
a workshop on how to deal the stress
a communication workshop so they can relate to these people better

“And what would the hubs be? Where would you find these people?“

support groups for specific diseases
other holistic practitioners
doctors

“So Beth,” I said. “Let’s pretend that you were to focus only on this group – and not saying you should – but can you see how this would develop a reputation and help word of mouth? Imagine it, a practitioner is talking with a client and the client is going off about how hard it is to be supporting his wife. And they say, ‘Oh! You need to talk with Beth Martens. She specializes in this.’

This is why having a specialization is one of the top ten things a practitioner needs to become a trusted advisor.

But check out my workshop in a single picture – this is what my whiteboard looks like at the end of my workshop. Pretty much everything I cover in my full weekend The Radical Business Intensive is captured here.

Tomorrow we’re having a secret party! I’ll tell you all about it soon.

| Categories: becoming a hub, holistic practitioners, identifying your hubs, Niche Marketing, Tad's Travels - Tags: becoming a hub, empathy, holistic practitioners, trusted advisor

Tour Stop #2: Winnipeg (Day One)

By: Tad | Published: October 1, 2010 · 3 Comments

Thursday Night:

I am in love with Winnipeg.

My old friend Jeff Golfman picked me up at the airport today (arriving from Tour Stop #1 in Calgary yesterday.

And he drove me straight to Woolsley.

IMG 0455 Tour Stop #2: Winnipeg (Day One)

My friend Jeff's loft.

Woolsley is the cool, hippy neighbourhood in town. It’s full of old quaint houses and big old trees that are covering the streets and yards with their beautiful autumn leaves.

I am completely charmed.

Winnipeg: will you marry me?

But, it gets better.

I’m staying at Jeff’s 5000 sq ft. office and loft apartment (pictured on the left). It’s gorgeous and the perfect space in which to relax and catch up on emails. And Saturday night we’re having a secret party here! Woot.

Tonite I led my first workshop at the incredible holistic center that is Hollow Reed Holistic (pictured here). The Hollow Reed started five years ago as an herbal apothecary. It’s run by Chad Cornell (a Master Herbalist) and his wife Nancy Hall and overflows with the best and most welcoming community vibes. Two months ago they opened up a broader holistic center with a group of other practitioners and they’ve got this neat little workshop space.

They’ve clearly become a hub in Winnipeg for cool, holistic things.

Chad Cornell

I showed up earlier today to check out the space and make sure everything was okay – only to be warmly welcomed by Kalee who worked there. And then Chad (pictured to the left) came out of his session and made me some amazing tea blend to help with my cough. Plus this incredibly bitter root to chew. It’s terrible tasting so it must be good medicine!

And then at I led my ‘Marketing 101 for Green and Local Businesses‘ workshop to a packed crowd. We got 30 people in the space – and I don’t think we could have fit too many more folks in there.

I talked about Niche Marketing, coming up with Irresistible Offers, Hub Marketing and Word of Mouth.

Part way through, I invited Chad to come up to the front to be ‘hot seated’.

I asked him to share his ‘top three target markets’ he’d come up with during an exercise before the break. They were:

1) People really into natural medicine.

2) People who are ready to do the work.

3) People willing to pay for the work.

I asked the group, “Which of those is the clearest?“

They unanimously voted for #1 – people into natural medicine.

11winnipeg2 Tour Stop #2: Winnipeg (Day One)

Presenting at Hollow Reed in Winnipeg on Thursday Night

“Numbers two and three,” I pointed out. “Are great as criteria of your ideal client. They’re qualities you’d want in any client. But they’re not ‘target markets’. They’re not communities with shared needs or experiences.”

This is a huge distinction that most people fail to make – they confuse the ‘best client criteria’ with what a ‘niche’ is.

Your best client criteria are things like: they show up on time, they pay on time, they refer people, they do their homework, they refer people, they are open to feedback etc. It’s all the things you expect of your clients.

A niche is something like: doctors, lawyers, backpackers, vegans, Doctor Who fans, Buddhists, Burners, Crafters etc.

Big difference.

A niche is a tribe. The rest are the things you’d want in any client.

So, then we explored the first group: people interested in natural health using my philosophy of ‘Big Circle: Little Circles’ (which I promise to write about soon). I asked the crowd gathered to list all the specific groups that would be into natural healing. And the group delivered: holistic practitioners, yoga students, meditators, folks in the native community, folks in the Indian community etc.

I asked Chad to pick one of those more specific groups. He picked Yoga Studios.

So, we started to explore what kinds of ‘Offers’ he could make to connect more deeply with that crowd.

11winnipeg3 223x300 Tour Stop #2: Winnipeg (Day One)

Presenting at Hollow Reed Thursday night.

Jackie Avent, a friend of mine there, came up with a great idea of him going to Yoga studios to offer workshops on ‘cleansing’ since he works so deeply with herbs. I thought that was a great idea. If he even did one presentation per year at every yoga studio in town – he’d be connecting with a whole new crowd of people. And, if he came up with some sort of ‘next step’ offer for people after the workshop that could get them into his studio that would be great.

That ‘next step’ could be as simple as inviting them to join his email list, or offering them all a free 30 minute consult with him (and the chance to upgrade when they book), or perhaps it would be an invite to another workshop at his space.

And, on the theme of ‘becoming a hub‘ I also offered the idea of his hosting a gathering for all of the yoga studio owners and teachers in town to come to his space for a party or an intentional conversation around ‘how do we get more people in Winnipeg doing yoga?‘. And he could be honest about his intentions, ‘Yoga students are great clients for us – so, the better the yoga scene is doing – the better we will do.’

It was a beautiful night.