← Courage & Clarity
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Welcome to the Courage and Clarity podcast. I'm your host, Steph Crowder. I'm a former sales training director who's helped thousands of entrepreneurs earn a living doing something they love over the past 10 years. On your journey, you'll need the courage to be bold, to take risks, and to do what looks crazy on paper. You'll also need the clarity, the brass tacks, simple strategies that actually work. And on this podcast, we deliver both in equal measure. Oh, and by the way, we've got absolutely no time for BS gross marketing tactics or get rich quick schemes. Just sustainable business strategies for good humans with big dreams. If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. Let's go. All right, everyone, welcome back to the podcast. I am so excited to welcome Renee to the podcast. Hi, Renee.
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Hi, Steph. So great to see you.
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It is amazing to see you today. Thanks for hanging out with us. All right, Renee, tell the good people all about you, your business, and how it is that you earn your living.
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Hi, my name is Rene Paul Gaultier, but people call me Renee in English. And I'm primarily a violinist. I'm a performing musician. I'm a violinist with the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, and I'm also a musician's coach, so a performance coach for musicians wanting to perform better. And I got into coaching kind of in a sort of a way that I would call I followed the breadcrumbs that led me to it. When I moved to Chicago many years ago, I started teaching at the college level, and I was noticing how my students were really struggling with practicing. And at the time, I was doing a doctorate degree at Northwestern University and decided to center all of my research and my doctoral work around developing a system that would help them practice. And subsequently, you know, one thing leads to another, and things were shifting. I mean, I wrote that dissertation, yes. But my work with my students started to turn towards also more of the mindset piece of it. So not just practicing, but practicing in the right mindset and making it fulfilling and something that feels meaningful and connected to their life. And I had created what I had in my mind as a course. And those who operate in academia will understand that it's very hard to get anything going in academia. There's a lot of red tape. So if you want to get a course going, there's just so many meetings and so many objections. And at that time, I had some friends and colleagues who had started to venture in the online coaching. And I thought, wait, wait a second. Maybe I could do something like this. And I already had a podcast, so it kind of all started to merge really well. So I started my podcast in 2018, which was a platform where I would, again, it was with this desire to serve all of my students, to have these awesome conversations with high level musicians that I would get to then share with them and talk about concepts that I didn't always have time to cover in lessons. And then I brought all of that work to the online coaching sphere in 2020. And so I'm still a performer, but I'm also very active as a coach. And it's been so rewarding to work with people, and I just adore everything about it.
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That's so cool. I love it. I always love, you know, working with you. And I have a lot of clients like this, which is really fun, where it's like you're in the coach role, but you're also out there practicing what you preach. Right. Where you're out there going after your own auditions in your musical career. So it's really fun to watch the way that the work that you do with your clients cross over into. I still remember the day that you came into our community and you're like, I got, I got the. I won the audition. And it was so fun to kind of see the way that you get to use those tools in your own life as well.
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Yes. I love it because I. I was giving a presentation yesterday and I was telling them, like, I get it. I live this life. That's what I do. So everything I share with you is not just a concept that lives in my actually implementing it. Right.
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Awesome. Okay, so when we. Let's kind of just rewind the tapes to when we first started working together. You. I'd love to kind of just go to that moment when you first looked at the mastermind and, you know, started evaluating it, wondering if it could be the next right move for you as you were looking for a business coach and looking for that next level. Tell us a little bit about what was going on in your business and, and what made you take that leap, what you hoped to achieve.
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Yes. I had been following you for quite a long time, and I was getting so much value just out of the podcast. And as someone who also works for full time, when I spend time on my business, I can't waste a minute. And I hadn't had a business coach for, you know, up to maybe even two years at that point. And I had one before which was super helpful. And I know now it's. Why would you go without a coach? Just not smart business decision. And I had, I do have a program that had been successful in the past, but the launch that I had before didn't really seem to reach people in the right way. And because I am so busy, I didn't have time to start looking for all of the answers myself. So you were launching at that time and I forget if it was an email or a post. And it just really resonated with me in terms of. Yes, that's exactly the kind of support I need right now. And I mean it pro, you know, it delivered on all of the promises in my case. So. Yeah, we can dive into this if you want.
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Yes, absolutely. Before we do, let's talk. Tell us just a little bit more about your program. So for those listening, you may already know that the Mastermind is called sold out group programs. And so tell us a little bit more about like give us the name of the program and tell us, you mentioned that your maybe previous launch wasn't necessarily doing what you needed it to do. So just give us a little bit more detail about like what you were trying and then we can kind of go into what you implemented and how it, and how it, how it changed things for you.
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Okay, sounds great. Yes. The program is called Music Mastery Experience. And I launched it for the first time in 2020 and I had a beautiful cohort. So it's a small group coaching program with a maximum of 20 people at one time and because it's really hands on and involved and it's for musicians who are looking to change how they're practicing, how they're performing, but also with a really huge life coaching component where we're tackling. Why are you afraid to practice? Why is it so frustrating? Why is it so heartbreaking when you're having a bad practice day? Why are you so afraid of hopping on stage? And how can we master performance anxiety at sure, the preparation level, of course, but also at the human level. And so it's sort of a mix of how to be a musician that has all of the skills to prepare and a human who has the tools they need to operate in under stress and this. So I had launched it six times before I started working with you. And the first two, three launches were great, beautiful cohorts. And every time I, you know, I love all of my clients for sure, but it had sort of the best way that I can put it is maybe it had stopped hitting the mark. Yeah. And the, the thing that was really helpful for me was to have sort of this guidance in terms of how to find my voice again and figure out how to really design a launch pad that, that was targeting the people that I wanted in the group the right way. Yeah. That's what I really needed support with.
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Yeah, absolutely. I, I. Some of my earliest memories of working with you, Renee, were really just kind of trying to figure out what, like, how to kind of pull all of that greatness. I see this a lot like all that greatness that's happening with clients. I think for people like you who have so much experience and so much depth in the coaching relationship, like, once the clients are yours, it's like, no problem. We're gonna be rocking and rolling. But it's really a matter of how do you convey that publicly. Right. To somebody who hasn't worked with you before, the question is, like, how do you make that genius that's happening behind the scenes come to the surface? And then also, like, one of the other things we run into is how do I say all of this without feeling self promotional and without just feeling like I'm repeating myself over and over again? So I remember when we first started working together, we really started using my Buzz Blitz framework. Yes. Which, you know, teaches you exactly how to execute a five or six week launch. You know, it's usually somewhere in there, just depending on dates. And we started crafting, you know, what was exactly your challenge going to look like because you wanted to do a challenge for your launch event. And then, you know, what are some of the hooks and the angles that we're going to use? What are the exact emails we're going to send? How are we going to describe this program? And what's really interesting that I think a lot of people might be surprised to know is with clients like Renee, I'm not usually doing major surgery on your offer. Right. Like, that's actually not really where we focus. Typically, the offer itself is great. We really just focused on changing the positioning and how we're talking about it and organizing again, organizing your genius and organizing your brilliance into a framework that actually makes people want to buy. And so we really used the Buzz Blitz process. I would you correct me if I'm wrong, but I would say, like, textbook, like, we really just implemented it. And tell us about your experience using that and what the results were.
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Yeah. I mean, and let me back up just a little bit is before I join. Right. I joined before it started, and there were all of the tools on the platform that I could consume before it even starts. And that was so helpful. There were a couple trainings on targeting, you know, tweaking your message when you're talking to your audience, that was really helpful. And the 90 day plan was so great. And getting my ideas organized and setting really achievable goals with a step by step method on how to do that, which was really great. So then when the program started, I mean, first of all, it was so great. And also, you know, I have rehearsal schedules, so I miss a lot of the life coachings. But you have the private podcast, which I listen to religiously and there's. There was so much value for me coming from you coaching other people.
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Yes.
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And inside of the platform where we can get coached and ask questions anytime, I would just post and say I'm, you know, really agonizing over this email. What could, like, so the, the support was so instant, even if I couldn't be there in person to all of the coaching sessions. So that was really great. So in itself, the platform, the support is great. And so when we started the buzz blitz, which is great because you have a blueprint of exactly what to do. So for me, that was invaluable, just to have no doubt about what I need to do because I'm really good at executing things. But I'm not a business expert, I'm a musician. So trying to learn what a business person needs to do, that's a lot of time. So I had the blueprint just for me, which, you know, done for me, which was perfect. And so I don't know if your audience realize English is not my first language, so sometimes I get lost in my, in my turns of phrases.
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But no, I would never be able to tell. I'm always amazed.
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So the bus blitz. Yes, and it started with the challenge and it was so great because I think it's easy at times to get lost in what we think they want or we get really excited about something we want to share and we think, this is so cool. I want to tell them about this. This is awesome. So I had presented to you a plan of a workshop of a three day challenge, or maybe even more no three day challenge. And you looked at it and thought, well, this is very nice, but let's realign things. Like what does your audience need? And then I think you encouraged me to do a survey to actually ask them what they want. And then I tailored my challenge around this. And your guidance in how to organize it was, was really great. And the people in, in the program resonated with it so much. So the challenge participants, they loved it. Many of them ended up Enrolling. And I still hear about the challenge in our coaching session and how helpful it was so to sort of have you guide me back to really picking the right topic and then once the topic was picked, how to organize it in a way that worked for them instead of what I thought was cool, right. That that worked. And so already, just even before the launch had started, it was designed so much better than previously.
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I think there's a lot of. Really. I remember that moment with you, and I see this a lot. It's like, my favorite part of my job is watching the light bulb go off of when I returned the feedback to you. Cause that's a big thing we do in the program, is you can send in your stuff to me, I review it, I send you a video back. I. I, you know, suggest, like, I'm deep in the weeds, helping you figure out exactly what to say and how to phrase it and how to position it. And we really simplified your challenge. I think when I think about what you had, and this is. This is the case for most challenges and webinars and things like this that I see is typically, we're just trying to do too much with it. And one of the biggest things I do is I just really pair it back so that it can shine. And I just remember when I returned that to you, you were like, oh, my gosh, this is it. Right? And it made so much more sense and was so much more doable. I think sometimes when we talk about. When people hear these conversations, I want to make sure they. They know that this is not us. Adding tons and tons to your plate. I'm actually mostly taking things away. And then it makes it clear, right? So when I gave the feedback to Renee, she was like, oh, my gosh, this makes so much sense. And so that's the number one thing I see is, like, how do we simplify it? I think when you are. And I scale this in my own business as well. To your point about having coaching, I have my own coach for this reason. When it's your own business, you're so close to it, you really can't see what needs to change. So when you get somebody with a fresh perspective who is trained and has been doing this for a long time, I'm really able to cut through that clutter and just say, hey, this is the part that people need. This is going to attract them and bring them in. So I just kind of remember that moment of relief you had when you're like, perfect, this is it. Like, I can go teach this I feel so much clearer. You.
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Yes, yes. It's like the grocery store. I think sometimes I have a list of what I need, and I hate going to specific grocery stores because I know I'm gonna have to be all over the place. And then there's other stores where you walk in and you know exactly where everything is, and you're in and out in five minutes.
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Yep, that's.
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That's how it felt in. In how specific we were able to get quickly. And then we had something that really was applicable to the. And really resonated with the potential clients and the challenge participants. So that was awesome. And then to have the very detailed calendar of launching, it was so easy. Again, if the wheel exists, why should I reinvent it? And if you don't have the wheel, then you have to. But thanks to the program, I had a calendar.
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Yeah.
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But then it's. I just plug it into my own calendar. And you had templates of a lot of emails or guidelines to follow on how to create our own emails, how to generate the content that is helpful for, you know, in my case, podcast listeners and also newsletter readers. And so for me, it was precisely what I needed so that it would fit my very busy schedule, because the launch period was a really intense period in my career as a musician. It was right. Coming right out of that big audition, and at that time, I was working with the Chicago Symphony as well, so the schedule was so busy, and that made it possible. And then it ended up with such a beautiful result as well. Where the previous launch, I had three clients sign up for that, you know, what I call MME6. And they're wonderful, and I love them. But for that last launch, I went to 15 incredible clients, and these were all just perfect fit for the program. And it was just so wonderful to see that really sort of blossoming from 3 to 15.
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Yeah, I love that that's a 5x increase in your enrollment. And another amazing thing I heard you say was during a really busy period of your life, like, that's one of the big things I've been focused on recently too, as I think about. You know, I have this class coming up at the time of this recording called double your launch. Right. And I know that when I was trying to increase my results, I mean, you five extra results. Right. So double 3x 4x 5x. We always think we're gonna need to have so much time and, like, you're gonna have to clear the calendar on your whole life to be able to create that result. And so in this class that I'm teaching, I'm talking about how, you know, you can do it in less than 20 hours per week. In your case, you did it in a very busy time in your professional life. You know, coming off of this audition, being with the symphony orchestra. So is there anything you wanna add or comment on? When it comes to some people out there who might be thinking, like I don't have a lot of time, like they might be thinking now is not the time for me to work on getting better at launching and getting more clients. Like maybe I can't handle it because I just don't have the time in my life. What are your thoughts?
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It's 100% possible. I mean, I live deep in the suburbs, so you know, commuting is a four hour block in my day usually. So I listen to the content while I'm driving. Could not be easier. Right. I listen to. Or sometimes I'm live in the coaching from my car. Yeah.
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Which is totally fine.
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And then, you know, there's so many done for you templates in there that you could just plug in and play if that's the expression. I hope it is. Yes, yes it is. And then sometimes I make up stuff and you know, I'm just saying if. And I have kids. So, you know, it's like it's. There are so many different levels of support that you can get inside of the program that it's. And you know, the other thing too is when you're really busy, you can't miss the things that are important. And I think that's what has been very invaluable for me too in the coaching is you see the things I don't see. And I remember one time I asked to get some feedback on my social media and I'd been struggling to feel like I was really resonating with people. And you know, you looked at it in five minutes later you had three major, you know, things that you had noticed about my social media where I thought, oh my gosh, how do I not see this? But she's absolutely right. It's so simple, it's so basic, it's so powerful. But we can't see everything because we're so emotionally involved in our businesses and this set of eyes that has an objective point of view on things is so important. And I feel like, I mean, the busier you are, the more you need a coach, I would think. Yeah, yeah.
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And to your point of, you know, just to add a little bit more to what you get in the program when you have buzz blitz at your fingertips. You know, Renee mentioned calendar and email templates. We have like over 55 different email templates you can use. And on top of that, if you don't want to use templates, I also have trainings to teach you how to make it your own and like, what the principles are that make these things work. But I think especially if you identify as somebody who's a busy person with not a lot of time, I. Because same, you know, I have kids too, and it's like life is very busy. And I always think to myself, you have, you really can't be messing around. Right. Like, if you don't have that time when it's time to get down to work, it's time to get down to work. We can't be trying to like, spending our work time being like, what am I supposed to say? And spiraling out. Imagine being able to just like have that sort of starting point that you can, to your point, just plug into your business. And I think too, sometimes people think like, oh, it's going to be like, I'm too busy to, to pull off a launch like this. I have noticed after working with many clients, it's much harder emotionally and also financially to be under enrolling in your programs. Right. To feel like you're not hitting your goals. I'd much rather you be hitting your goals and serving your clients. That's going to act paradoxically, that actually gives you time back in your life when you hit your goals because you're not spending all this time agonizing and freaking out and trying to figure out like, what to do and being in, in an existential crisis and wondering if you should shut everything down and walk away. So I think I'm, I'm really glad that we had the opportunity to talk about like being someone who has a very full life and still being able to 5x your enrollment results inside the program.
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Yeah, 100%. Yeah. Because I think that without coaching, the way I experienced it was, sure, you can find answers out there. You can get a free downloadable thing from someone and watch a YouTube video, but it's not really coherent and it's not streamlined. And then it doesn't provide you the. What's the word I could use is, you know, when I show up for coaching with you, you listen to me and you remember things about my business. So there's a cohesion about it that doesn't.
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It's customized.
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Exactly. And then I have certainty about a way to move forward. And to me, that is so Self regulating to have this certainty about. Okay, there's a procedure here to follow and it's not like piecing together things that ultimately led me to a somewhat incoherent result. So this sort of, this container, I don't know, brought me a lot of peace and you know. And clarity.
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Yeah.
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And courage.
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Absolutely. Absolutely. Just one more question here before we start to wind things down. I bet people out there are wondering, so I'll ask for our people. When you think about going from three clients to being able to enroll 15, what do you think is like the number one thing that changed? Like what do you think the difference was as far as how you were showing up?
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Yeah, I really think it's the alignment that I was in with you, you know, are also a life coach. So you're able to catch things when someone is spiraling and you're able to bring us back to more of a place where we're breathing and we're centered. Yes. So there's the person who's launching is then more centered and aligned and to use that same word, you know, I felt a cohesion about things so that alignment. So I think it was me being in alignment and having all the tools that I needed and all of that was inside of the container. So that life coaching portion was so helpful because there's been times when I was in, let's say in the program where it was simply business, but if as a person I'm spiraling, then you don't even implement the tools the right way because you're not in a state to make the right decisions. And so I think this component of having everything in one place, like someone who gives you the tools you need but also helps you as a person leading a business, I think that's, I think that's what it was for me.
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Yeah, I love that. I think it's so well said that you can have. And we have plenty of, as we've touched on, we have plenty of strategy in the program. But you said it so well, which is like when you're disregulated or in a. You're out of alignment, you're going to try to leverage the strategies but they're not going to work because you might not be doing them correctly. You're not thinking clearly, you're doing it frantically. And so a lot of times people try to out strategize mindset problems or out strategize dysregulation and that's just never going to work. And that's a great way to keep Spending money on the wrong problem. So it is very fun. In the program, we do lots of strategizing, but you are someone, Renee, that I appreciate when you sometimes when you come to calls, and this happens a lot with a lot of different people. We start out with a strategy question, and then by the end of the conversation, we're, like, totally over in a. Oh, actually, this is what's going on in my brain. So let me go address that. And then, lo and behold, once we address that, the strategy problems kind of fall into place. Yes.
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Yeah. You're really good at catching those things. You see? You see the problem that's behind. You see the real problem behind what I think is the problem.
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Yeah, for sure. Well, if. If you were kind of to speak to people who are listening right now who are considering. You know, we have an enrollment period coming up for the mastermind. They're thinking about joining at the time of this recording. For folks who join, you get to be with me as your business coach for all of 2026, which I think is kind of a unique opportunity. Renee will be there. She's continuing on with us as well. What would you say to. To folks who are making this decision and are kind of on the fence about it?
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Oh, yeah, I understand. Because. Right. It's a big decision. Yeah. But at the same time, I feel that the things that can appear scary is they're usually the things that we might need the most. And I mean, there is so much value in the program. I mean, you know, I emailed you, I think, a week before you sent the re. Enrollment emails and was worried about having missed that window, because as soon as you sent that, I was like, yes, I'm in. Send me the invoice. I feel that for me, for sure. I feel that I, first of all, made my money back many, many times. Yeah. So as a business investment, I feel like it was, for me, a very wise decision. And I feel that the time that it's saving me, the energy, the agony that it's saving me, it's been worth every penny many times. And that is just. I don't know. I wouldn't do without it.
- [27:49]
B
I love it. I love it. Well said, Renee. Please tell the good people out there if they want to come check you out, if they want to see you on Instagram, like, where. Where can they hang out with you online?
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I'm everything. Mind over finger because I'm a musician. But music. Music lives in your head before it goes to your fingers. So. Mindoverfinger.com I'm mind over finger on Instagram, Facebook, everywhere. So this is where they can find me.
- [28:16]
B
Amazing. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to hang out with us and share about your journey. It has been so much fun. I appreciate it.
- [28:24]
A
Thank you so much, Steph. And thanks for everything that you do for us.
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All right. We are wishing you the courage and the clarity to go after what you love.