Building an Engaged, Thriving and Fun Community:conversation with with Meghann Conter

Keri Norley

On this episode of the Wealth Alchemist Podcast I have my beautiful friend Megann Conter on the show with me. She is the founder of The Dames a community of six to seven figure women in business and C suite execs. This woman knows how to build a safe, fun and loving community that only gets better as it grows. She shares her experience on building a community that spans five continents and how she embeds her values into create a thriving, growing and engaged community. She also talks about the death of business cards stabbing and how to open up to power partners to grow your business. If you are a person who wants to build your own community or be able to get and give more within the communities that you are already a part of this show is full of gold for you. Please enjoy the show. Hello and welcome to this episode of the wealth Alchemist Podcast. I am Keri Norley your host and today I have Megan concert with me. I'm already laughing because before even introduce her to you she's one of the funniest people I know she's one of my dearest friends. She's Megan uses her power to connect, elevate, entertain and celebrate extraordinary women as the CEO of the dames, a global community designed specifically for what for women running and leading six and seven figure businesses. She believes that anything can be accomplished through fearless collaboration, laughter fun and love. Once a burned out over network CEO she is now the global ultra connector for women who thrive in the space where self worth and net worth align. Learn more about the dames and Megan at the dames.co and that is all so freakin true. It is so good to have you on the show. As I said Megan and I actually I'll give them how we know each other. We actually met through our kids at school so our kids went are in the same grade together in class. And when we moved to Colorado actually her stepdaughter was one of the first friends that Robbie made, and they are still friends to this day It has brought us together it has brought us in community in so many ways. She is a dear friend in my life a beautiful person to collaborate with. I absolutely adore this woman. And it is an absolute honour to have you on my show. So welcome. It's about time you got here.

Meghann  Conter  03:43

The feeling is so mutual. It has just been ever since day one so much play and fun and joy and yes, collaboration and I have hired you know, as my coach you have been part of the games for I don't how many years? Have you been here now? I can't remember. Yeah. It's been a few years since I've been in the group. Yeah, a few years now. And it's just been so great to have you in my life personally and professionally. And you just bring it bring me way more joy every day. Thank you.

Keri Norley  04:14

So today I wanted to talk to Megan because Megan has I have watched her build this over the years. And it's been an absolute amazing experience to watch actually. And so one of the things that she does and she said it in here so freakin well is build community and not only community but an engaged, loving, kind, collaborative community of people who are really working together to support each other in growing their businesses. And she has a very, very unique way of doing it. And so I really wanted to have her on her show on the show to actually explain like what's, how does she do this because especially now more than ever in the world, right? We have these online communities being built and like people are more separated than ever and so bringing us together and community has become even more important, I think, for us to be able to thrive in life period, regardless of if you have a business or not. But also, there's a lot of people in the world who are growing their following growing their influence, it doesn't mean that you also grow your community. And so I would love to have you start to kind of dive into how that you've done that, and I'll, you know, guide you through some questions, but first, let us know, like, why did you what was the inspiration for you and starting the games in the first place?

Meghann  Conter  05:26

Yeah, so I started my first my, my marketing business back in 2009. And really went through a grand series of evolutions, as I know that you understand. And I had, like, you know, five different business names with five different logos, and just kept changing and shifting and evolving. And all of those businesses were definitely in my zone of competence. And they were I was very good at the things that I was doing in market marketing, and coaching and branding, and etc. And it wasn't filled with a lot of ease and flow. For me, it was a lot of work, it was a lot of deep, intense, having to remember things all the time, and having to manage a lot of details and having to really be absorbed into someone's business, which I loved playing Tetris in business, and helping helping women really get the most out of their marketing foundation. And it just wasn't easy. So when I sort of looked at that, and said, there's this spirituality element that's coming into my life, and in this element of spirituality and consciousness, I'm learning how to trust in my intuition and listen to it, and follow it. And so when I got this universal download for this community that was, you know, initially here in Denver called the Denver games, I thought, Oh, well, that sounds fun. And it was initially built as a lead generating community for my marketing business, and a way for me to gather together all of my power partners, all my friends, all my clients, everybody together in this space of a very different kind of community. So it was kind of both of those worlds coming together the spiritual and the human world, which still to this day is something that happens for me all the time. It's this bridge that I am that I understand, know that you understand. And that really was the inception, just trusting in my intuition and saying, Okay, I'm going to have these community events, and they're going to be reverse mullet style. So we're going to have humour in the front business in the back. I was bored at the time by most of what was available out there in community. And I thought, you know, let me just check in with some other ladies who are experiencing see if they're experiencing the same things. And of course they were. And they were also really in a space where they wanted to be surrounded by their peers who are going through similar challenges and celebrating similar accomplishments. And so that's when Denver dames was born as this community locally for women running six and seven figure businesses to laugh, learn and grow together in 2017. So that was 2015. In 2017, we'd gotten our proof of concept, I knew that it was working. And another big universal download came in for me. And it was, it's time to make this an international community, it's time to expand this baby, and to give it, you know, ultimate infinite expansion powers. And so that's when I rebranded to the dames, we started to build our online membership platform, and really launched that in December of 2017. Moving into 2018, where we really started picking up steam because I now had a vision and it was clear, you know, it was this international community of women all around the world, supporting one another, helping each other as we grow from six to seven figures. Another guiding light for me was the fact that 2% of female owned businesses get to that seven figure mark, and that is always depressed me. And I don't like to be depressed. So I like to create solutions that make me happy and make everybody else happy. And to me, it's not about the seven figures as anything other than what we can do with that money. Right? It doesn't mean that that person who's running that business is any more significant than anyone else. But we can certainly achieve our epic missions easier. Once we get to that level and beyond. We can create sustainable company cultures that are dynamic, and we can employ so many different people, we can really as women, change the paradigm and make it into this this universe full of women who are running powerful businesses. So it's really part of this overall paradigm shift that I'm seeing that I've seen ever since 2017. So we really started picking up steam began launching chapters outside of Denver, and getting virtual members all around the globe who qualify. Based on that six and seven figure business and are a culture of collaboration fit, so I am sure you have more additional questions. But just to give you a fast forward to today we are 500 members across 37 of the United States and on five continents with 10 chapters in different markets and growing so it's all coming true. And that vision that I have is still right there in front of me and it held it holds me and it pulls me every day.

Keri Norley  10:26

It's so amazing. It's so amazing. I remember when I was just sitting here thinking actually like I must have I must have started playing around in the games or coming to the first events when you first came into like it being the dames because I don't remember being Denver names. And then it was like I mean, I think about that that was soon after because you spiralled with me 2019 which is when you hit your first international Emma came in Ozzie, of course in her first international while you were spiralling with me and that was 2019 so like that's pretty amazing.

Meghann  Conter  11:01

Yeah, I mean really amazing. We haven't we didn't even become a legit business until 2019. So that's when we formed the games as a separate entity and then a little celebration for me is that in December 31 2019 I actually officially closed my marketing business and at this point at this point, but listen to me catching my point I only work with clients if it brings me ultimate joy and if I'm really guided to but it's a rarity I'm fully invested and fully embedded in the games and growing and scaling this business with keeping our community at that culture of collaboration level and really growing that I have to say as a person

Keri Norley  11:47

who's witnessed you and helped mentor us like you know not mentor healing work and spiralling and all these things for you with you it's been an absolute joy to watch you let go of that because you said it like you were so unhappy You were so stressed out like I just saw it your whole face has changed as you've let go of this because you don't have all this you know minutia to deal with it's still a lot to deal with running this company this company but like the joy that's in your face and in your heart now and and the collaboration that happens now and the way that you are creating time in your schedule as somebody who was a slave to your calendar before. I mean like To me that is hugely and I say this because we're gonna start talking about community but I'm gonna say this especially because when you start leveraging community like this, and I don't mean it and like uh, you know, take advantage of like, you start to build community like this, your time gets leveraged and I know for me where I'm working with my programmes is like I will have two programmes at this point like this is what I'm looking at two programmes that are gonna move forward building community and I'm like, wait, I have to work a couple hours like a week to hold like like it plus a Facebook group and other things that go around it. But like, I don't show up for one on one calls. I don't have to do my calendar. I don't have to. I could have all this. Like what? And like, my whole body breeds of like yes, and this is what we've been working towards both of us for a long time. And and I say this because I invite this conversation and for everybody else, like the power of building community means freedom in your schedule, and joy, and like literally reducing lines on your face, and happiness and less stress and more health. It is so freakin powerful. And not only that, but then the other piece of it is like what happens for everybody else within it is so huge. I think so many people depend on this one on one aspect of work because that's where they think they have to be and that's where they're going to get the most power with their clients. But like Hello, community and coming together like there's like I don't know everything you don't know everything. Nobody here knows everything. And we bring people together like the power of actually the masterminding and the connections like that. It's it's

Meghann  Conter  13:47

exponential. Yeah, it's priceless. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And it's even just the transformation that I've gone through. Sometimes I wake up and I'm like, Whoa, I used to have a 100% dependent on me one on one business that required me to be present in order to make money at all times like and a lot of hours a day. Like you said I worked my ass off, wait freakin too much, and was had the stress to show it. And then I'm now waking up and I have 100% recurring income. And it's, it's a space of total like, I had to let go of the old for sure I had to like let that old me that had to do XYZ so that this new me could be born. And all the way along. I was trusting in my intuition that was telling me Keep going. Keep building this thing like this is where you are moving. This is growth. This is scale. This is how you make impact on 1000s and then 10s of 1000s and then millions This is how you do it. And trusting in that letting the old me follow what fall away was so important. And I think it's interesting because you said building community And there's the conversation to be had around like, building community doesn't have to mean that you have to start your own community, it can be that but you can join in community that already exists and still be building community. Yeah, you can have your own power Partner Network, you can build your own, you know, girl, tribe, whatever you want to call it, or, you know, crypto community or community of doctors or community of whatever. And it doesn't have to be you building a whole big community. But it is key to have that support system around you. And as you grow as a woman, women for centuries have needed the company of other women, it's been much more fulfilling. And communities have thrived when women can support one another in being the best versions of themselves. And that's been proven time and time again. And I see that every single day in the dames every day.

Keri Norley  15:56

Every day totally. Okay, before I ask the next question that I want to ask you something that you just talked about was talking about how you had to let go of your old self to be able to step into this new self. And like you say, it's so like, Oh, it was so easy. To have the depth of my own self. And I think and I want to bring this attention here, because this is a place that most people, most entrepreneurs, at some point have to go through multiple times, let's be honest. But when we hit these points, like I was saying to you, even for me, like in the place I'm at, you know, you and I both know that during this last year, a lot of death to let go of a lot of things have not served me to be able to step into this place. It's not easy. You know, and I think a lot of people and I think this is where a lot of people, especially the spiritual community, they stopped, but especially because they're like, oh, there's a roadblock all the signs telling me No, oh, this is too hard. It's supposed to be easy. And I want to go like, Hello, woman wake up. It's not easy. You know, it's not easy, you're gonna have to go through these really uncomfortable times. And when you ask, especially when you're intuitively guided people look at me all the time, like, Well, how do you know it's your intuition that I'm like, I just trust it. It is not. And oftentimes, people think that intuitive hit is the easy one. It's often the hardest one. It's like, I don't want to do that you have to do I don't want to do that. You have to do that. Like oh, so can you just share a little bit about your experience of that piece of moving through it? And what that was like for you like every time you had to say yes to something that was like this is really frickin uncomfortable. 

Meghann  Conter  17:22

Yeah man I think that there will be a book that I write at some point about that journey. And I'll try to have to remember to go back in my mind and find all those those points. But I can tell you that it started for me when I was 2012, I was in a retreat. And I learned that I didn't love myself, and that I had always been getting love from the outside. And that began my self love journey, which was really the catalyst for everything else that started to change. Because that old me was like, a separate person. It wasn't the self. And so I had to come together to understand the the, the big self and little self, were one person, but allowing that to actually come together. And man, we could go, you go in so many directions with this. But then from that point, realising in you know, there was a lot of like bumps, I hit my head 15,000 times I got walloped by spiritual two by fours, and run over by tractor trucks. And, you know, there were times when I was just like, I don't even know what this is, I'm getting these messages. And I'm not sure what the hell I'm supposed to do with them. But I'm just going to kind of ignore that. And I'm going to follow the experts. And I'm going to watch their models, and I'm going to duplicate it, and I'm going to grow my marketing business the way that the other the others tell me I should. And that's why it took so dang long for me to even get to a six figure business was that I was getting a seeking everything from the outside as opposed to sourcing it from the inside. So when I started to learn how to tap into my intuition and learn how to listen to it, and learn to trust it and learn that, yes, there are times when you're going to get these downloads of these messages that you're like, what, like in 2017, when I when I got the very clear message, build an online community, that's virtual so that you can have mostly virtual events. And yes, you'll still do these connection events in person, but build this full virtual community. I didn't even know why I did that until March 15. of 2020. Oh, yeah. And that was driving then, three years later, right? I then that's when it was like, Oh, that's why my intuition was so strong in building this and no matter what I had to do it, but to answer your question, there are those moments that you come into, and I like humour. So for me, that's where things go to. There are these moments where you feel like you're wearing frozen underwear and a brass bra and you're standing outside and 30 degree below weather and you're squeezing yourself through the eye of a needle that you don't really want to go through but you have to go through and you know you have to go through it and you don't know what's On the other side but you know that there's so much freedom on the other side so you finally decide okay, I've done this before and I didn't die so I think I can do it again I know I can do it again okay I'm gonna do it again and the first several times the first 100 times it's really uncomfortable and it does get easier quote unquote from the standpoint that you know you're not going to die or probably not going to but it doesn't get easier from that standpoint of cat This is uncomfortable and here I am with this. frickin frozen underwear again, how did I get here again, but allowing yourself to continue to go through the eyes of those needles with everything that you spiral into and the journey is that you're like, how am I here again, why am I having issues with this again? Why is relationship coming up in my you know, in my book me list, why can't I get this? It's because it's part of your path. And so you get to choose to either deal with it now and heal from it and shed the old you to embrace the new you or get hit by it 10 times harder the next time it comes around. So I think I took us on Mr. toads wild ride there, but there's no like linear path with any of this. And you if you think there's a linear path, you're probably just confusing yourself. And following that intuition is what's the the key to all of this. And no matter how crazy it seems, following those, those hits that you get beautiful,

Keri Norley  21:29

thank you. Thank you so true. I 100% with you in the frozen panties, of course. And the brass bra. Brass, bronze apparently. So okay, so let's talk about community and how you have ultimately created the dames and help some others be able to do this for themselves again, whether and I love how Megan you said it, like whether it's tapping into other communities that they're so even joining in the dames if this is the appropriate path for you. or creating your own or both. Right, you both. So when you started to think about the games, and i and i and i love how for you that it was like you knew because of the seven figure mark and it's and it's something that drives you and it's it's such a huge value or part of the dames right like to allow people and I and one of the things I've said to Megan for years around, this is like the place to come to celebrate, right? Because so often in the world, we are cut down when we have our successes, right? And so I know that's a huge part of your value within this group. But like if other people are sitting here really thinking like, okay, I want to create community, what are ways that you could think of where you can support you could help people with right now like what what are some of the things that they could look at values? Or how they would build it? Or what's the, when they first start to think about it? Where are the first

Meghann  Conter  22:46

steps? Yeah, so I was lucky enough to have the marketing background that I have, and work with clients to create their own, you know, their own businesses, their own products, services, their own communities, and really doing that from a space of understanding themselves first. So that's where you got to, that's where you've got to start, right? is truly tapping into that alignment with your core, which is in the form of your values, your vision and your mission. And I don't mean this from that standpoint of like something, you have to check off your list like, yep, I have to do this, because it's got to go on my website. This was a journey for me for years to really, as I evolved and grew and changed in my business, to get very clear on what drives me no matter what well fun, love, intuition, growth, and flexibility drive me every single day. Those are my top values, and fun and love, were at the forefront of everything. So I knew that the damage was going to need to be built with those two values, as you know, the foundational elements. So everything that we do is built on that we have the fun side of the events and everything that we do in the community, we've got the love that comes from this space of hugging, and energetically hugging and virtually hugging and really seeing each other seeing each other very clearly. And then we had this mission of getting more women to the seven figure mark and getting more women into the C suite. And we have this vision of a world of women coming together to really truly create those dynamic company cultures achieve their epic missions, and to be able to be a sustainable employer. And that's those are the things that have driven me from day one. And those are not just something that sit on a shelf. They're imbued and embodied in everything that ever you want. And that's the filters that we make decisions based upon in the team like do we do this? Do we not does that filter through any of our company values, which are a little bit more deep now that we've we've explored it even more but everything goes through those filters and the standards that we've built to make decisions as to whether we move forward with one objective or another. So knowing those three elements and then knowing your target market. I knew from day one who we were here to serve, I was very clear on that. And I also experienced a lot of female business owners being really scared to declare who it is that they're here to serve. And it pains me because it takes them 10 times longer to make the significant changes that they're here to make. And that's what I knew from day one was that when I declared this particular market that I'm here to serve the six figure woman bringing the seven figure woman in front of her so that we can, we can see that it's possible, and we can be that too. And then bringing the education, the resources, the power, partner connections, all together to be in support of that woman, as she's growing her six figure business to seven. I knew that from day one, that's key to building any community. Because people recognise that they are either that that's for them, or that that's not they come to an event and they see the humour. And they're either, you know, bounced right out, or they're like, Yes, finally a community where I can say fuck, and I can say shit, and I can, you know, I can cry. Yes, there is this like laughter element. And then there's the crying element, because personal growth is like really embedded in there. And so is spiritual growth, and to an extent, and so is professional growth. And this is a space where I can truly be myself and be vulnerable and share what it is that's going on for me. And creating that ecosystem that's made up of a lot of different ingredients is what is key to building high quality community that will grow.

Keri Norley  27:56

So true it's interesting I love that you say that around a claiming claiming your market and i know i mean you know my journey with it right? The first time we met she's like, what do you even do?

Meghann  Conter  28:56

Yeah, I knew that it was growing in you.

Keri Norley  28:58

And even throughout this last couple years, like there's been iterations of who it is that I help and what I do and every time that I step more into and every time that you even just claim it for that part, like you're like okay, this is what I do now. And then you find out like even with stuff when I was working with like, Okay, I'm gonna help Trust Fund babies I was finding out was like, actually, this is not an easy market to help and I knew when I was going into it, this wasn't going to be an easy market because how do you know like, do people have trusted maybe so when I came in today, I'm just like, Alright, let's work with financial planners who have this and it was really like it was a quite an interesting thing to meet the resistance of it. And I was like, Alright, I gave it a go. I tried this. And it's not that I'm not open to that now. And it's not that I'd never go there again. But it's like I gave it this like really good crack for a while, like coming in and talking about it a lot. And it was like there still was met with a lot of like resistance around it. And so I was like, Okay, I tried it. This isn't as easeful as I as I you know, I didn't think would be useful in the first place. But it also was like well, it also was a really really, really beautiful it still is to anyone who wants to have this nation can make your way into I like I said, I still don't think that it's away from me, I just think it's not my only thing anymore. And I think that more and more people have been like will come for this exact reason. But it isn't the only thing. And it took me standing in it though, testing it out, seeing the reaction to people, I mean, like, Ah, well, they're excited. But that doesn't mean that they're going to send me anyone. And it was really to me fascinating how many financial advisors would speak to me that like, Oh, my God, they are my biggest pain in the ass clients. I'm like, I know, I've been one I understand. That's why I want to help your client. And and yet they had the resistance to actually having an part of it may have been like, I didn't describe it well enough. But when I described it, they all totally got it. That thing, but I was like, and that's okay. Like, I don't regret that I don't regret standing in that I don't like it really helps me evolve into where I am now. And, and I think it's a really important piece to say that because it's okay to try something and have it like, that's flat, that's not working, let's shift this, maybe it's the language I'm using, maybe it's the

Meghann  Conter  30:59

Yeah, until it comes out of your mouth, you don't even know if it's gonna hit for you. Really, I mean, if you're nexternal processor, like you and I are, like, we have to be able to say it out loud. And we're thinking about these things in our head as we're evolving. And that's, you know, that's part of it is that there's this balance between the spiritual and the human that you and I talked about, which is, you know, in my intuition, I was being guided, it was like you specifically need to work with these six figure women who are growing to seven figures and have you know, it's the the first 10 million in in revenue, like the six and seven figures is that first 10 million. And I'm like, okay, and I needed to get that outside confirmation, which I did. You know, in the beginning, I did several focus groups where I really, I said, Okay, here's what I think, are all of our needs, but I want to make sure that it's everyone else's needs to so I asked all the hard questions, and I got clear on what's this ecosystem that I need to build for these women so that they feel like, yes, this is home for me. Yes, these are where my this is where my needs are going to be met in community. And so that's what you're doing as you've been evolving is like testing it out and saying, Is this it? Not quite yet? Is this it? Not quite yet. And it's a it's a process, it's a journey.

Keri Norley  32:15

And it's the feedback comes by claiming it right, the feedback comments by like, because they need to know as I say it, then I'd have someone would come in, I want to have this conversation with you. And then maybe be like, well, what have you thought about this? Have you thought about this, like, because that's where and that's where you get the feedback. But if you don't decide that this is who I'm going to help at this point in time, and be willing to be like, Alright, I'm going to bring myself in, then you lose a lot. And also, as far as community goes, people don't know who you are like to come like you're not holding a pillar for who to come, right. And so even now, like as I talk about crypto stuff, and financial sovereignty, I mean, I'm not talking about how I can help you in the fiat currency. And you know, or not go talk to a financial advisor about that, and I have many of them within the dams that are freaking amazing, who would educate you on that, and I would have no problem sending them that way. But like, we have to hold a pillar for what it is like that we fully stand for. Otherwise, it it

Meghann  Conter  33:08

otherwise there's nothing for people to see. Like if you're not holding that pillar, or a flag, or whatever it is you want to hold, hold and what should we hold it should be something like a bat signal, but like, I should hold a dame signal or something, holding that thing and saying this is what I'm standing here for. People just don't know. Right? They don't know where to go.

Keri Norley  33:31

So once they've built that so one of the things Megan was talking about was values and she's so true like when you go to a dames event, especially like the in person events, and last year when we had them online, but like the big events that you have and I will explain the difference because you have quite a few different types of events. There is always a comedian there's always some sort of comedy thing that's there Meghan is an improv players frickin hilarious more you hang out with her I'm surprised we haven't had accidents yet from you. They'll come I'm sure she I usually can't get through a conversation without one and so there's always like she's doing improv to explain things there's always so much fun that is had you can't go to an event with Megan there and not laugh if it's a dangerous event. And so like this is the part of like So then once we've built this community and we've created the values that are important for you like then we have to embed them into the community and so I'm curious like besides values right because you've also created a space of safety and as this group has grown, like I'm gonna guess because there's now what you say 500 members now right? Like she's not kidding when she says love and and personal development because I know I have I have seen the posts that have come in from women that have been like or shares in groups or whatever that have been like, Oh my God, my staff is falling apart. This is going on like an everything is wrong. My marriage is this the data that I like, you can feel the tears coming from the woman, and it's this really beautiful safe space and then the next part, there's never one There's never one comment, that is anything besides love and like, absolute, like, even if we don't know what to say to the person, we're just like, Oh my God, this sucks. I'm so sorry for you sending you love, right? And then there's other people who will come on and be like, okay, I've been here, do you want to get on a call? Like, it's so giving and so safe? And so I'd love to hear like, how have you been able to as it's grown? Because I think a lot of people lose that in the growth, right? A lot of people lose that in the growth. And I know there's a lot of people who are fear growing community, because we lose that ability to be safe and create that. So I'd love to hear like, how have you created this community this way? from the top down?

Meghann  Conter  35:39

Yeah, so from that, there's sort of like the internal aspects, and then the external aspects, right. So from the internal aspects, it's building a team that I've had that have supporters, that has always been a service first mentality, and has been a very loving team, right. So they are not only within, in our team for each other, but also externally to our, to our clients, to our members. It's always been this, like, we have this culture of service, we have this culture of love of contribution. And in finding our chapter presidents as we grow and expand, it's finding others that share that same love of others that same relationship value of really wanting to build community and being in eight connectors. So we are a community of innate connectors and presenters who love to be loved to be of service but who love to also understand and help others understand that Gosh, there are some really hard times that we're all going to go through and personal growth is so important, I think so many business communities like cut people off at the neck as it relates to their personal growth and so for me, all of the things that I experienced pre dames, I knew that I was going to change and completely flip the script you know, it was like I would go to retreats or I would go to certain events and I would feel like this mounting tears just coming up into my throat and feel like I am the only person who's dealing with this and if I cry right now I'm going to be the biggest asshole and people are going to and that's how I was received when the tears would come in I would need to cry I was like oh my god this is like the worst place to do this and I felt like the worst person so I knew that as we're growing as business owners and as women business owners, we need to have that safe space to be ourselves we need to have that safe space to let whatever emotions we have come up because we are women, we are women with emotions and we need to be able to receive and give in a space of equanimity and in a space of love and support and if we don't create that space of love and support then we are those assholes. So that has just been part of the culture that I've embedded into the training of our chapter presidents of our team members the the brand foundation that's documented that shows everyone what our recipe is for how we build this culture and how we're continuing to build this culture and it continues to come out more and more but it's this you know, it's the the messages that we repeat over and over again like you can only grow as much prefer professionally as you're willing to grow personally. And that collaboration is the new you know, move over competition collaboration is where everything is at. So it's it's a whole bunch of elements that I knew I needed to keep right in front of us and I continue to keep right in front of us that's the key to not letting it get diluted and not letting it go unseen and really so that's from the inside the external is you know, for me it was always surrounding myself by those who supported me and could really validate me but also could say, hey, this seems a little off like maybe you should try this and so growing the community from the very beginning it was always like Hey guys, I'm an open book and I need you all I need your feedback. So if you see something that seems off or if you see something that like just doesn't feel quite right and I'm missing it I give you full permission to tell me and I give you full permission to give me that that feedback as I'm growing this and so that's Yeah, I mean it's just been like I want to know these things because I'm I'm one person and my team are some people and we hear things and we talk about them we make sure that we're building the best community possible but I can't see everything and there are some feedback that when it comes in I'm like Yep, that's not for me. Boom. You know, yeah, that's not the kind of community I want to build. You're absolutely right. We are not going to be you know, this is not a space for selling one another year services. That's exactly correct. We are an anti business card stabbing, anti hunting organisation so if you're here, in need of you know, hunting for animals clients, this is not your pond, go find a different pond deficient. So it's Yeah, I hopefully I and yeah,

Keri Norley  40:08

it is it's like it's ultimately what I'm hearing you say is that you know your values and it's like in every way that you can and I say this for anyone who's growing their communities like whether it's through your trainings and so like I said, Megan has live events, but also every month there's like, for growing, it's growing, but there's at least four events every month more than that, because we have a happy hours, the happier hours, you know, power partner trainings, there's the the million dollar business woman every month. So we get to hear from one of the seven figure business women who are amazingly inspiring. There's skills trainings that are by the, from the communities, so there's so many different ones. And even in the skills trainings, like there's a framework that if you're not going to live into this framework, and show up this way, then don't do a freakin training for us. And so all of the values, it's not like I have to be a comedian to do a six figure training. But like for the most part, though, and even then, like, I don't know, anyone there that hasn't gotten some for some form of way of showing up being funny in some way, shape, or form. And so it's like, imbued, it's like knowing the values and saying, how does this come into. And I think this is important when you start to look at, like the way that you develop your programmes, the way that you develop your curriculum, and the way that all of that happens. And of course, like you do the best you can, wherever you are, you know, like, and then it can always evolve, right? I the trainings were not the same four years ago as they are now the space that was held was not the same as it was four years ago now. And it's evolved and it's, it's even better than it was, it was even better in the way that it's shown up. But like start wherever you are to just like even if you just start to look like these are my top values. Okay, how can I put that into my programmes? How can I show up like that online? How can I? And that is, and how can I show you that within other people communities?

Meghann  Conter  41:50

Totally, it's your it's your values, but it's also what message do you want to broadcast out there, and being very clear on that, and making sure that it shines through in everything that you do within your organisation and outside of your organisation when you're marketing it. So it's having that consistency and message where I'm not reinventing the wheel 10 times a day, I'm saying the same thing 10 times a day, and my team is saying and my chapter presidents are saying we have the same messages that are going through because new people are hearing it and new people are hearing it at different layers at the deeper layer. And so I just want to say something about when you're building community, and you are the leader, it's my belief that the most important quality of a leader is his vulnerability, and transparency. Authenticity is one thing, but transparency is another. And people have said to me, you know, like, wow, it's amazing that you'll get on a call, and you'll start crying if you need to cry, or you'll, you know, if your, whatever needs to happen, you allow it to happen. And it's because we're not all together all the time. Like we don't have our shit together all the time. And if we give off this perception that we do, it just dishonours everybody else around us, because then they feel fucked up, when they have moments come up that they get brought to their knees, you know what I mean? And so for me, it's this being that person who falls on my face and says it and says, Wow, I've gone through a really tough period of time, or I don't know where the heck I am right now. And sharing that means that I'm giving other permission, other people permission to be wherever they are, whenever they are, and to really feel good about

Keri Norley  43:29

themselves. And it shows up in the community too because I know I've gotten on calls with other dame's and both ways it goes like I'm like someone's like, how are you? I'm like, actually, I just want to cry right now. Like it's a fucking hell of a day and I don't know what I'm doing. And they're like, you just met this person. And then all of a sudden, you're really good friends because like, instead of it being like, I'm gonna sit here and pretend that I'm in business and it's also perfect like, No This thing is blowing up in my face and and then they might have a solution. Right? It's like we don't and it's so it's so beautiful because it's because from it comes from you all the way down. Now the last piece, which is I know, your favourite piece that I want to drop into is the part around how you built it. So ultimately, you know, through power partners, and this is such a huge part in collaboration. So Megan's talks about this already throughout this conversation, the importance of collaboration and how the dames is not about throwing a business card at somebody. It's about collaborating and so I would love to have you drop into wherever you want to go with this because I know Megan could talk literally there are multiple power partner trainings and collaboration trainings within the dames have in and of itself. But this is exactly how she has grown it and how she has helped support hundreds of other teams to grow their businesses as well inside of the games and externally so go ahead talk tell tell us the things you want to say.

Meghann  Conter  44:46

Exactly so I feel like I need to do this part with an accent just so that I can come in and like at least have dropped into at one time throughout this you know throughout this interview because otherwise I wouldn't be myself. So so honestly I am an only child. And so for me, I wasn't born with community in my house, yes, I had my parents, they were great. And when you're a kid, you don't want to hang out with your parents all the time. So I had to go out and curate my community, I had to find my, my people, and then bring them in, right. So I would create little businesses, and I would create parties, and I would create, you know, fun experiences for my friends to come together. And that is, that was me as a youngster building community. So that's where I came from was like, if I have this community of people around me to support me, I can do anything. So when I did start the games, it was this space of, Okay, I, I have this new concept. And I have this community of people, business owners around me that I've already built. And I want to, I want to tell them what my idea is. I want to tell them what my idea is, that sounded like I'm often clamped, we'll have a collapse. You have this, this idea for this community. And I need to know that I'm not crazy. So I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to see if, like, what people think about it, etc. But from the very beginning, what I learned in old networking in the paradigm of old networking was accumulate as many business cards as you can go to as many events as you can get known, just meet as many people as you possibly can, and then maybe someone somewhere in there will need you need to hire you, as your marketing as their marketing coach, or something, or they'll come to a workshop or whatever. And that's, that's what network they find if they find your business card at the bottom of the pile. Right, exactly. Or if you maybe did a little bit more follow up and due diligence in front of them on Facebook. So you know, you could have a prayer that you would remember that.

Meghann  Conter  46:52

And so that's what I you know, that's what I was doing for a long time. And I just got to this point where I was like, holy crap, I am burning the candle at both ends, I'm networking, morning, noon, and night, because I think that this is important, and I really crave it, and I crave this community in this. But man, it's not translating to a whole lot of chatter for me at all. In fact, like the only thing that's really doing is maybe filling these 47 or 97, or $127 workshops that I was doing at the time. So I like to say that I entered into the networking witness protection programme, I put myself on a networking cleanse. And I said, I've got to change this, somehow I was part of a mastermind group. And they taught a concept that was similar to the power partner concept that I teach. And so I started playing around with it tinkering with it playing with, okay, what if I mixed this with target marketing and some other marketing concepts? You know, how could I pull this thing together and create this different way of doing things that works for me, and therefore would work for others. And so in my little tinkering shop for about 18 months, that's where I was really experimenting with different concepts and relationships. And all the while I had been building this power partner network of people that I knew liked and trusted, and who really understood what I was doing in my business, and I understood what they were doing. And I would support them. So anytime that they had, you know, a course coming up or something coming up, I would share it for them online. Or if they had, you know, a new they, they took a new direction, I would introduce them to potential clients, or I would introduce them to other power partners that I think thought could help them, or I would share with them a resource, and I just started serving other people and really figuring out, okay, you know, this feels really good for me, I'm doing a lot more here doing this service than I am just going to an event and, you know, maybe possibly running into someone that this person needs at some point in time. And instead now I'm getting to know these people really well. And I understand and I know when I'm sitting in front of their potential client, I'm like, you've got to talk to Carrie, like this is an immediate thing. So I would make introductions, and beautiful things would start to happen immediately. Right. So that was really the inception of what started this this power partner concept. And when I launched the dames, it was my power partners that brought their friends. And I would say, hey, my nucleus of my community, these are the kinds of women I'm looking for to come to the dams Who do you know, that's a dynamo woman that's running a six or seven figure business and wants community and doesn't want to be business card stabbed and doesn't want to be no offence, but, you know, bombarded by 57 multilevel marketing companies and one night and, and please bring them to the next event. Here's a personalised invite. I mean, it started out grassroots, you know, it was like, graphics that I created and social media events and that's how we built it. But each time, more and more my power partner network would show up and would bring people to these events. And that's really the inception and to this Day, we still at 500 members knock wood but I don't know why I did knock wood we still have not done any paid advertising. We have been building and growing based on our power Partner Network people referring people in watch, you know, watch this space to see what the sky's the limit when we do turn that that outside marketing juice on. But really it's it's helped me create such a cultivated network and it will continue to be that way even if we do any kind of paid advertising. Because we have ways of using our application and our roundtables to filter people filter the right people in so that we have quality over quantity. So that power partner concept is now something that we teach to all of our members. It's individually different based on your business. Even being able to identify who your best power partners are based on your business, your target market your goals is different and it's personalised to you and your company. And then what you do with that we have you know, ways of helping you really build relationships that are long lasting and that do create referrals for you and that you create referrals for your power partners that do create opportunities for masterminding those challenges that you're going through in business. Those relationships do create business bestie relationships like you and I have built they create all of these amazing things but they start from this nucleus of being strategic about the way that you network and connecting with certain types of people and then seeing if there's an energetic resonance to move forward with building these long term high quality relationships that result in you know, infinite amounts of leads that you generate for one another and so much satisfaction just from the relationship and the masterminding and everything else that comes along with it

Keri Norley  51:52

so so true and it's also like to come back to and I know we have to wrap up but to come back to like what you were saying what we were talking about and knowing who we who we serve as a community This is the same thing and I know that for me like when when we look for power partners and I say this to like wrap this to help people know exactly kind of what you're talking about. It's like if you are in sales yeah right if you're in sales you're gonna need a marketing team so like who are the people that you can work with if you're in real estate you're going to need some people who are like lawyers you know and so for me even part of like the journey of oh wait trust when babies aren't 100% but there's more that I talked about it it was like wait a minute 67 figure people in business they've really done a great job of growing their money but they don't know how to hold on to it. And most people look at me like yeah, you're right. And so then that became like a really clear like Oh, so that's what I'm doing right? I can I can do that. And there's a lot of you in the world right so that now people know like this is if this is the thing right? So I can now say to people Okay, so your business coach, your clients are doing freaking kick ass now. And they're making more money but like they don't energetically know how to hold it. So then here Carrie, let's work with him energetically on this piece right? And so people know and it's really specific. It's really specific. It's not like I just help every single person do all the things

Meghann  Conter  53:11

right and it what it just give another clear example for people if you think about yourself and your business and where you serve your clients and you look upstream from you, and you think who else have my clients worked with before they come to me and then you think downstream from you who do they need to work with after they work with me on both the upstream and the downstream side that's one place we have four ways of identifying power partners but that's one of the four ways you can think about who could those power partners be so like Carrie said, you know, we if you know what your focus is and you know what your gift is and you know who your target market is it's much easier to identify who your best power partners are that are already working with your clients and you're already working with their clients and now it becomes this this understanding of Okay, we need to help each other out by cross referring business and really identifying each other's gifts and understanding what are the times that I need to say hey, you need to work with Carrie and and so much more.

Keri Norley  54:11

So much more. All right, so tell people where they meet up with you how they find you. I know that I'm an affiliate for the games I don't even remember how that works. If I have a link to I have a link for it. Do I have a card

Meghann  Conter  54:26

that goes in the show notes.

Keri Norley  54:29

We'll put that link into the show notes that you guys can find it

Meghann  Conter  54:33

to you that you're like

Keri Norley  54:33

yep and and how do they reach out to you otherwise if they want to know more about the dames if they want to find you on social medias? How do they reach out to you

Meghann  Conter  54:41

yes if you love social media we are at the dames co so the dames co that's our handle on Instagram. We have a LinkedIn page and then our Facebook page as well. And then if you would like to experience the names you can come to the dames co forward slash Roundtable. If You are a woman who runs a six or seven figure business or in a director VP or higher position of a large organisation. We have these great experiential virtual events that you can come and experience the reverse mullet experience the the business community side of things and that's the best way to find us and if you want to connect with me personally just use use Karis name or the wealth Alchemist in your friend request Feel free to friend request me on Facebook or LinkedIn. I will accept you if you haven't said where this is coming from because I have way too many people that have reached out and I just got through doing a cleansing of the friends list not too long ago and I don't want to do that again. So let me know where you're coming from and I'd love to connect with you.

Keri Norley  55:47

I love that you said that. And is there anything else you would like to leave anybody with any other quick last minute thoughts

Meghann  Conter  55:53

just follow your knowing follow your intuition follow that voice that that however it communicates to you if it's auditorily visually, the inner knowing whatever it is, get very clear on that and follow that because it will it won't guide you astray even though sometimes it feels a little crazy. That's the truth that's in you. And it won't it will bring you so much joy and satisfaction if you just listen to it.

Keri Norley  56:19

So true. Thank you Thank you Thank you my dear beautiful friend Megan. It's been an absolute pleasure and honour to have you on here this has been so full of like people just listen to any piece of this you guys seriously this has been so full of gold nuggets to build your community to really show up and and create that what you desire in your business and in your world. I'm so grateful for having you on here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Carrie,

Meghann  Conter  56:44

this was a blast. I appreciate you.