EP 264: Leading A Growing Community With Rebelle Founder Shannon Siriano Greenwood

The Nitty-Gritty:

  • The “fetal position” moment that led Shannon Siriano Greenwood to start Rebelle
  • Why belonging, inclusivity, vulnerability, and authenticity are the top values the community leans into
  • How the details and design of each event help bring the values to life
  • How she sees her role as a leader within the Rebelle community
  • How she’s managing the growth of Rebelle so that she ensures its values continue on

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Stepping up as a leader takes a willingness to walk a fine line.

On one hand, you become a leader because there is a community, an organization, a group, or a movement that you care passionately about. Your leadership is an expression of belonging at the same time it is a question of possibility.

On the other hand, as a leader, you have a responsibility to set the tone, to hold others accountable, to make decisions for the group, and set standards. Your leadership is product of always being a few steps in front of the rest of the group.

Whether you’re leading a team, a community, your current clients, or a bevy of customers, every small business owner is a leader. Which means you—yes, you listening right now—are walking this fine line whether you realize it or not.

This month, we’re examining leadership and specifically how we lead with our values—and turn those values into systems and action.

One way that we, as leaders, can make sure our values are known and that our actions support the kind of culture we want to create within our businesses, is by recognizing our role as members of the group we lead.

If you’re leading a team, you’re a member of the team.

If you’re leading a community, you’re a member of that community.

If you’re leading a movement, you’re a member of that movement.

Yes, you have a role and responsibility that is separate from that—and often takes up much more of your time and attention. But you’re in it, too. And that’s important.

Last week, Erica Courdae shared that one of the ways she leads is by modeling how she wants her values to play out. She shows up and does the work just like she wants her staff to.

This week, my guest Shannon Siriano Greenwood, echoes something similar. When I asked her how she views her role, she told me that she sees herself as much as a member as a leader.

In my own business and The What Works Network, this is also how I’ve learned to see things. If I model the kind of behavior I want to see play out, others will follow my lead. If I show up as a member in our community, others will mirror what I do.

That’s not how I used to operate, though. I used to think that being a leader meant distancing myself from the people I lead. It meant being different and doing differently.

What I’ve learned is that being a leader is both/and.

I’m both a member of my community and the one that sets the standards. I’m both a member of my team and the one that makes the plans. If I’m careful and thoughtful, I can do both.

And now, it’s time to get to this week’s guest. I’m thrilled to bring Shannon Siriano Greenwood back to the podcast.

Shannon is the founder of Rebelle, which started as a conference and grew into a whole community of women who believe they have the power to define, design, and create her own version of success.

Shannon and I talk about how she became the leader of the Rebelle community in the first place, how she and her team design each event to bring their values to life, and what her role is within the growing community and event series. We also talk about how Shannon is ensuring that the values that make Rebelle great are represented as the community grows.

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Mighty Networks powers brands and businesses – like yours! – that bring people together.
With a Mighty Network, online business owners just like you can bring together in one place:

  • Your website
  • Your content
  • Your courses
  • Your community
  • Your events online and in real life
  • And charge for them…all while building YOUR brand.

Visit mightynetworks.com to see more examples of brands bringing people together and taking their businesses to the next level.

Cover of What Works book by Tara McMullin

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EP 299: How To Design Your Own Sales System

EP 299: How To Design Your Own Sales System

This week, I’ve got 4 more stories to share with you from small business owners who have intentionally done things their own way when it comes to sales and selling. They’ve found what truly works for them–even if it bucks the prevailing wisdom or would make a bro marketing expert role his or her eyes.

These stories come from business coach Ashley Gartland, marketing expert Amy Lippmann, designer Mel Richards, and work reinvention coach Lydia Lee.

Listen for how they incorporated these same considerations into finding their own unique sales systems. They designed their systems with personal values, strong relationships, reduced anxiety, and agency in mind.

EP 298: Creating A Less Harmful Sales System with Wanderwell Founder Kate Strathmann

EP 298: Creating A Less Harmful Sales System with Wanderwell Founder Kate Strathmann

This show is called What Works for a reason.

Sometimes it’s a declaration: this is what worked for this small business. And often, it’s a question, “What works?”

Today’s episode is very much a question, many questions, really:

What works when it comes to selling when you want to avoid manipulative or exploitative practices?

What works when your values conflict with many of the best practices of selling online but you still want people to buy your stuff?

What works when it comes to sales in a business that is actively anti-racist and anti-capitalist?

And even more bluntly: Can you even sell things without causing harm or perpetuating harmful systems?

My friend Kate Strathmann is the founder of Wanderwell, a bookkeeping and consulting firm that grows thriving businesses while investigating new models for being in business.

Recently, Kate took a bit of a detour from how she’s used to building her business, which is 90% referral based and fueled by deep relationship- and community-building. She decided to offer a small group program called the Equitable Business Incubator as a way of exploring anti-capitalist business practices and how they apply to the small businesses we’re building.

To fill the program, Kate need to sell differently.

Which led her to asking the question: Can you even sell things as a anti-capitalist?

While that might not be your specific question, I have a feeling that you too have wondering how you can effectively sell your offers without causing harm, perpetuating harmful systems, or damaging relationships. And that’s why I knew Kate and I needed to explore this topic on the show.

This is a conversation about what a kinder, less harmful sales process could look like—and it probably contains more questions than answers. But I’m confident those questions can help you find the answers that are right for you and the sales system that you want to build to make your business stronger.

We start out by defining what we’re really talking about when we talk about capitalism and anti-capitalism. Then, Kate shares how the Equitable Business Incubator came to be and how she ended up selling it. And then we dig into what makes many of the sales formulas and best practices being taught today problematic—and how to think differently to create your own alternative practices.

Now, let’s take a look at what works for creating less harmful sales systems!

EP 297: Selling A New Program With Proof To Product Founder Katie Hunt

EP 297: Selling A New Program With Proof To Product Founder Katie Hunt

Today’s guest is Katie Hunt—who is a member of the former group and serves the latter group.

Katie is the founder of Proof To Product, which helps creative entrepreneurs run and grow thriving product-based businesses. She works with designers, illustrators, and artists to help them develop in-demand product lines and get them sold in stores all over the world.

Not long after the pandemic threw her business and the industry she serves for a major loop, Katie and her team launched Proof To Product Labs to provide a completely digital, ongoing support opportunity for business owners when they needed it most.

And that launch was a smash.

Katie and I get into all of the nuts and bolts of how she adjusted the offer to meet the moment and how she warmed up her audience before the campaign, as well as the exact mix of emails, podcast ads, and social media content she used to sell the offer when it went live. We also talk about how she sees the sales system evolving in the future and how the offer has been received now that people are using it!

What Works offers in-depth, well-researched content that strips away the hype of the 21st-century economy. Whether you love the podcast, the articles, or the Instagram content, we’d love your support