We see it all the time. Few people show up at our events with no skills, training, qualifications or gifts to share, expecting to build a business out of thin air with nothing special to offer. Instead, we tend to meet professionals who excel at what they do, but they have little knowledge about how to build a business.

Dirk Schultz was no different. When he arrived at Speak-to-Sell Live last year, he’d been a leading coach and trainer at an exclusive high-end health club for over a decade. He had developed and run highly successful results-driven programs, had a number of certifications under his belt, and he was a well-known local athlete with a loyal following.

Whether working privately with individuals or driving corporate wellness initiatives, he was already a master at helping clients achieve their goals and reach their full potential. But what Dirk didn’t know was the business side of things. That’s what he was searching for — business savvy was the missing piece of the puzzle.

We find this to be common among entrepreneurs, especially in fields such as health and wellness, fitness, healing, nutrition, yoga, and coaching. If you’re anything like Dirk, your focus has been on helping your clients reach their goals and educating yourself in the best practices, methodologies, and toolsets available to do your job. But you’re often missing the business component because it simply isn’t taught within your certification programs.

Dirk’s clients loved him and he loved what he did, but he was ready to reach a new level of success and was hungry to discover what it takes to build a profitable business. So that’s why he showed up Speak-to-Sell Live eager to learn.

At first, he wondered if he was at the right event when we started raving about the wonders of Planet Sassy, as many of the men in our community initially do — Are these people serious entrepreneurs? Do I really want to be associated with all the “sassiness” they’re dishing out? Does this apply to me?

But we piqued his interest when we presented the Event Profit Secrets training, which really spoke to him — yes, he did in fact, want to learn more. And soon thereafter, he was all about the sass — got out of his own way, and began truly listening to what was possible for him.

He was all ears, soaking up the success stories from Planet Sassy alum — a diverse group of high-achieving men and women from a wide range of industries, all of whom were thriving in entrepreneurship, in large part because they had joined our business mastermind.

“I saw the bigger picture and I saw the whole thing. And I was like okay, I’m all aboard. Call me a Sassy, just let me into the business mastermind. — everything that’s being offered, it was a complete package of what I’d been looking for for a couple of years.”

Although he was new to entrepreneurship and new to the whole idea of what a business mastermind had to offer, Dirk decided to take the plunge.

But after that, things didn’t exactly go as planned. Because in the world of entrepreneurship, that’s how roll.

He started off with a business partner. But she decided to go a different direction, almost immediately after he joined the mastermind. So then he was on his own and feeling overwhelmed. Understandably, he started worrying that he’d made a terrible mistake by investing some of his startup money in a business mastermind. “What the hell am I doing?” he thought as self doubt began creeping in.

But instead of allowing the uncertainty to derail him, as it would have in the past, he decided to lean into the mastermind. He chose to start using the resources, participating in small group sessions, and taking advantage of extra one-on-one coaching available exclusively to members. “I got the sense that sometimes you all wanted my success more than I think I had the confidence in it.”

Soon, Dirk began breaking through his limiting beliefs. “I’ll be honest, at first I was resistant about that because I’m like I don’t have anything to contribute, I’ll just sit for the calls and then I’ll bow out. But then, again leaning into the program, leaning into the mastermind, when I felt that resistance I was able to bust through that. And I was surprised how much I got from each experience, even if it was just from holding space for someone else.”

With growing confidence, he plugged into the structures and systems laid out in the program curriculum and connected with his newfound community of fellow business owners. Every challenge or obstacle he faced, he was able to turn to the material or to fellow mastermind members for encouragement, accountability, services, and referrals.

As we like to say, you can find everything you need on Planet Sassy!

Entrepreneurship can be a confusing and lonely endeavor. Taking your business to the next level is much easier when you’re surrounded by people who are ready, able, and invested in helping you make things happen. As Dirk realized, being in a mastermind enabled him to, “step out from behind the busyness of creating and start doing.”

Here’s what happened when Dirk shared the progress he’s been able to make in the mastermind with his co-workers and peers: “They’re like, ‘holy sh*t!’ They’re like, ‘you did all this?’ I’m like,’ yeah.’ They’re like, ‘this must’ve taken you a lot of work.’ And it has been. But with the structure, with the guidance of the mastermind, it’s been easier.” And we’re like, “we love to hear that!” Because making entrepreneurship easier is exactly why we do what we do.

A mastermind group is not just a course or a series of classes. It’s not just a coaching program. And it’s not just a networking group. It’s all of those things combined and much more. Our mastermind members, like Dirk, make a commitment to themselves and to each other. They brainstorm together, share knowledge and insights, and hold each other accountable. They put the curriculum into practice, and then share mistakes, experiences, and develop best practices as a team.

Napoleon Hill defined a mastermind as, “The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”

When people join a business mastermind at Planet Sassy, we know they are putting a lot of trust into us. They’re coming to us with a dream, coming to us with a burning desire to build a business doing what they love. And we take that responsibility seriously.

“Someone asked me, during this last retreat, are you going to sign back up? It’s not just a yes, it’s kind of a hell yes! Because I cannot not see myself, from what I’ve learned so far, not being a part of it.”

Congratulations, Dirk! We’re honored to have you on Planet Sassy.