AJV (00:00): Welcome to our latest episode on the Influential Personal Brand podcast. This is AJ Vaden here, one of your co-hosts. And I am uniquely excited about today’s interview because we have really chosen to do a super selective conversation, really built for the coach community that’s a part of our audience. So coaches, speakers, consultants, authors, trainers, like we serve all of you. But this is like really built for this unique piece of our audience that is growing and growing and growing. And it was a decided choice to do this. So if you are a coach, this is for you. So don’t tune out. Like this is the time to like double down and tune in because this is really built to help you be a better coach, better serve your clients, and do it in the most effective and efficient way possible, using some awesome technology. AJV (01:03): So that is what this is about. That is why you should stick around. Now, you should want to know who’s going to be talking about all this awesome stuff because it’s not me, , it’s not me. This is a newer friend of mine. Her name is Minal Mehta, and she’s the co-founder and c e o of All Takes, which is an amazing technology platform that we’re gonna talk about today, but we’re gonna talk about so much more. Before we get to this awesome technology, all takes, which if you are watching this this episode is not being recorded on Zoom like we usually do, it’s actually being recorded on all takes. So I’ve gotten the awesome privilege to be testing this out and going, wow, like, is this what it could look like to be a coach in the future? So it’s been a really cool thing. AJV (01:52): But Minal has also worked at so many of the powerhouse platforms and tech companies from Amazon to YouTube to LinkedIn. There’s so much, so much wisdom and smarts. She’s just really smart behind this conversation. But then made it, she made a decided decision to tailor to this unique coaching community, develop her own technology, which is what we’re doing right now. And really why, like why did we, why did you decide to do that? And how is it gonna benefit so many people in this coaching community? So I can go on and on and on, honestly, cause I think there’s so many awesome things that I have learned about you and this technology and why you do it. And I love the heart behind it as much as I love the technology itself. So, without further ado, Manal, welcome to the show. MM (02:42): Thank you, aj. I’ve really enjoyed meeting you. I enjoyed your mission and I’m really excited for this conversation. AJV (02:51): Oh, this is gonna be so awesome. So here’s where I wanna start, is I wanna just talk about the rise of the coach, right? We are in an era where in our last conversation I shared this like statistic that I just stumbled across. Like if you just go and do a super, a, a simple LinkedIn search and you just type in coach, right? There is over, I think 1.2 something million people just on LinkedIn mm-hmm. , who self-identify as coach. Mm-Hmm. , it’s the second fastest growing industry in the world right now. It’s forecasted in more than 20 billion just in the US this year. There is a ton happening in this coaching sector, which is for the size that it is, and the weight that it carries is completely unregulated. Mm-Hmm. , right? Which means no certifications are required, no education is required. Mm-Hmm. about may change, but there is this time that we live in where there’s a rise of the coach. And so I’d love to hear your thoughts about why that is MM (03:52): Awesome. And I think there’s just so many things that have come together to make this happen. So, on one hand, all of us just lived through one of the craziest fla swan events in our time. The pandemic and mental health became an imperative. And as we thought about our mental health, we started going deeper into who we are, what we care about, how we show up in this world. And there’s no better person to take you on this journey than a coach who’s been there, done that, been in your shoes, gone on that journey before you, it is tailored and targeted for you. And so I do believe that people are really excited about working with very specific coaches in this moment in a way that’s never happened before. We’re all very open to both taking care of our mental health, but also really going deep and understanding who we are and showing up in the way we want to show up because mm-hmm. , you only live once and this is our moment. And all of this became so evident during the pandemic On the other hand, sorry, go ahead. AJV (04:52): No, go ahead. I’ll, I’ll reserve my thought for a second. MM (04:54): I was gonna say, then on the other hand, people who went on this inner journey realized that they also wanna be entrepreneurs. That, you know, the era of being an employee I think is also changing. You know, I myself was an employee, as you mentioned, I worked at Google and YouTube and LinkedIn, and here I am an entrepreneur. Because I do think people are looking deep inside themselves and, and trying to figure out what kind of life they wanna live. And many people are choosing the route of becoming an entrepreneur. Many people are being called to serve and share their knowledge and their wisdom with other people. And I think, like no other time before, both of these trends are happening at the same time. So we’re in this like precious moment where people need the services of coaches, coaches are being called to serve. Many coaches use the services of other coaches because it’s so interconnected and we all believe in our own growth and the growth of the planet at the same time. So we’re in this unique moment where everything is building on each other. And as you said, this is the moment the rise of the coach. It’s happening. AJV (06:02): Yeah. You know, it’s, it’s so interesting because I hadn’t like quite connected the parallel of, you know, the rise of this coaching industry with this rise of the entrepreneur community, right? Mm-Hmm. , and it’s mm-hmm. it’s an entrepreneur solopreneur, right? It’s like, but these people who are going, yeah, I don’t wanna go back mm-hmm. to whatever that was. I don’t wanna go back to that. So do you think that those are really intertwined mm-hmm. , it’s like people are saying, Hey, I wanna become a solopreneur and the profession I’m choosing is coaching. MM (06:32): I think those are very intertwined because I do think a lot of people are also realizing the expertise they have to offer. And it’s a great way to get started on building out a business that is uniquely you, right? If you go back to owning who you are and being who you are, and showing up in this world in your truest, most authentic form, then there’s no better way to do it than coaching because you, you are your business and your business is you. So I do think people are choosing to live the life that they want, and many are saying, I’ll become a digital nomad. I’ll become a consultant, all of that stuff. But I do think being a coach and serving global audiences from the comfort of your computer is something that is appealing to a lot of different people right now. AJV (07:15): Yeah. That’s, that’s such a great insight. I hadn’t quite connected those two until you said that. And, you know, you said something else that made me think about this. And you know, I have been in the coaching, speaking, training, consulting world for a significantly long time compared to how old I am, . And, but I started really early, right? This, like, this was like the career I jumped into at 21 years of age. And I remember being in my late twenties when I, I’d been doing this already almost eight, nine years at this point. And I was at a b and I meeting, I don’t even know if they still have those, but a B and I networking meeting. And somebody had said so what do you do? And I said, oh, I’m a coach and a consultant. And they kind of gave me a wink, wink, oh, so that you’re unemployed. AJV (07:59): And I was like, no, no, I mean, I’m a coach and a consultant. And they’re like, like, you actually do that. And I remember like, I remember just hearing that and there was like such a assumed insignificant component of that. And then you fast forward to today, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a coach mm-hmm. mm-hmm. or who isn’t looking for one, and that’s over the span of like 10 years, right? It went from, oh, you mean you’re unemployed to, I don’t know anyone who isn’t looking for one. Mm-Hmm. has had one needs one want, one has one. Mm-Hmm. . So there’s been this like evolutionary change of the weight and the importance and the value that is on this industry. Mm-Hmm. specifically mm-hmm. . And so I would be curious to know, because this is the community you’ve chosen to serve with this awesome platform that you have built well, what do you think it is that coaches need to know or need to do to be better coaches today? MM (09:01): Mm-Hmm. , that is a great question. And I think some of the work that you guys do at Brand Builders group as well, I think the power of coaching versus therapy and all these other modalities that are available to you is that coaching can be super niche. Like, who are you going to serve is like super important, right? Because the power of coaching is I get to be with a coach who has been in the shoes that I want to be in in many ways. Like coaches go back and serve who they used to be. And so this, this industry is fascinating because there can be a coach for everyone, and it’s like, you’re not competing with each other because you are serving a very unique audience. So I think the first thing coaches need to be really, really clear on is who are they serving and how are they serving that person? MM (09:48): Because that is their unique edge. So that’s like table stakes. I know a lot of coaches work on that. I think the second thing that I’ve realized is being part of this, this movement almost at this point in this industry and this community, as you’ve said, is that there’s a difference between coaching and building a coaching business. And I don’t think people realize that upfront, right? That like some people said, I’m really good at mentoring them, so I should become a coach. And that’s great, you have some content that you can share, but going from, I have some content I can share to really becoming a coach and then like really launching a coaching business. Like, that’s a whole journey. And I don’t think people realize that you need the mindset, skillset and tool set to make that happen. Many of of us have been employees like to switch from an employee mindset to an entrepreneur mindset, to a solopreneur mindset. MM (10:41): Like, how do you run your business? That’s like number one, there’s a skillset set to building a business, right? I’ve spoken to so many coaches who are like, well, can you just market us? And I’m like, no, because you are serving your niche audience. You need to speak to your audience. I cannot speak to your audience for you. So you have to learn how to market yourself and how to sell your services. So like, you’ve gotta learn how to build that business, right? So that skillset in addition to the coaching work that you do, and then of course, there’s the tool set as a client of many coaches, I will admit the level of service varies not so much because the coaches are better or worse. Like most coaches I’ve worked with are excellent, but just the way they deliver their coaching is so different. MM (11:26): Like, I, I mean, I feel like I’ve gone through coaching programs where they’re like, here’s a zoom link. Oh, and the calendar invite is sent. People are scrambling to find the zoom link to meet after the zoom link. Where’s the recording? I can’t find the recording. Did someone take notes from that previous session that I can lean into? Where do I register for the next thing if I need to subscribe for your ongoing community? I don’t know where to find it. And like so much of my my experience as a client sucks because of the way you choose the tools, right? To, to kind of share your coaching expertise with the world. And so that’s your tool set. Like how do you actually create the right tool set to be able to build out your coaching business? So I think like anyone embarking on this journey today and say, find your niche audience and then make sure you do the work and your mindset, your skillset and your tool set to, to reach where you wanna reach. AJV (12:24): Yeah. I think that’s, that third thing is probably, probably the most common thing that I hear. It’s like, I love them and it’s like the content is great and they help me, but, but man, it’s like it’s a cluster. Mm-Hmm. , , it’s a cluster. It’s so disorganized that it makes me disorganized. Mm-Hmm. . And it’s like, I can’t find the notes. I never got the notes. I’m not sure if we’re on, I got the calendar invite, but I don’t have a zoom link in the invite. And it’s, it’s the disorganization that creates a little bit of chaos, even if the coaching itself is really awesome. Yes. and that’s what kind of comes back is being a great coach and building a great business aren’t necessarily the same skillsets. MM (13:00): Yes, exactly. AJV (13:02): Exactly. those are, that’s really helpful and insightful specifically for all of you coaches who are listening of going, man, it’s like, do you have the organized systems to put all the pieces together to make it easy and consolidated mm-hmm. for your clients mm-hmm. , right? And I think that’s kinda like where the technology discussion has been ever increasingly important to help improve efficiencies and effectiveness in this organization thing. So in your opinion, when you have lived in this world for a really long time, and I think this is like a, probably a good opportunity to share some of your background mm-hmm. and all the different technology platforms that you have been a part of and what you like, what is your background actually, because , like, you’re not just like building this in theory that you’re actually building it mm-hmm. . So you’re, that’s take, it’s an incredible skillset that is very rare. MM (13:58): Yeah. So I’m gonna take a little bit of a journey here with all of you. So I have a degree in computer science. I believe in the power of technology, right? Technology is my friend. I’m a technologist at heart. And the journey that I’ve gone on is a long journey and a short journey all at the same time. But I will start my journey almost from well after college. I, I worked at Amazon for a brief period of time. AJV (14:23): Well, you’re also being super humble right now. It’s not that you just went to college and got computer science degrees. It’s like you have a computer science degree from Stanford. Mm-Hmm. . And then you have an a d from Harvard. So let’s not forget those really important details. MM (14:41): That’s true. I will share the details. Thank you AJ, for helping me out here. So I have a computer science degree from Stanford. I actually came into Stanford thinking I was gonna be pre-med. I came from India. I chose Stanford because they gave me the most financial aid. I actually had no idea what Stanford really was. This was back in the day. And I came in 1999 and they gave me more money than anyone else. I’m like, I’ll try it out. And it was literally one of the best happy coincidences of my life. And I think that just taught me, right? Like, things show up in front of you and it’s up to you what you do with them. And I was very lucky to go to Stanford. I was very lucky to discover computer science at that period of time, right? The.Com era and all of that, and the power of technology and where technology can be used for good. MM (15:22): I then went and worked at Amazon where I, for those of you who you who used Amazon in sort of like the 2005 to 2010 timeframe, like everything before that buy button on the product detail page was managed by my team. So I’ve touched search on the product page and the homepage for a brief period of time. Navigation, I changed multiple times. And so I truly love making life easier for users online because I do believe in the power of technology. But when you think about how a user interacts, it marries, you know, technology, psychology, like our own feelings as we interact our own needs as we’re solving the problems. There’s like this very interesting moment that comes together when you deliver an interface to a user. So that was Amazon. I then went to business school. I went to Harvard as you mentioned, aj, and that was also a turning point in my life. MM (16:18): I, as part of my time at hvs, I really got involved in the career, the career community out there, the career center, like I was part of that. I led various programs for that. And so I don’t even think we’ve talked about this, but a couple years later I reached out to HBS and I’m saying, I said, you need to hire me as a coach. And they said, you are 25 years younger than any other coach we have on staff, right? Like, just go back to that time . And so we can’t hire you as a coach. We love you. We know what you’re doing. We know what you stand for. You know us, but we can’t hire you as a coach. And I said, every one of your students is gonna wanna be a product manager, and no one’s gonna want to talk to somebody who hasn’t been a product manager. MM (16:59): So you need me, I’m a product manager. I guarantee you 30% of MBAs are gonna try to be pro product managers in the next five years. And so they said, yeah, you’re right. Like we’ve looked at the data . So they hired me as a coach and they hired four more exactly like me after that. So that was, that was to your point, right? Like the coaching industry, it’s like going through such a change. And that was my first experience of coaching a niche because I’m like, I don’t wanna coach anyone and everyone. I don’t wanna look at your LinkedIn profile and your resume, and if you’re in interviewing a j and j, that’s not me. But if you wanna build a career as a product manager in tech, then I’m your person because I will work with you to make that happen. So that was happening in parallel while I also realized that I wanna help people with their careers at scale. MM (17:45): So I joined LinkedIn, and at LinkedIn I managed all of LinkedIn groups and LinkedIn messaging. So any member to member communication anything that had to do with building community like that was my area that I worked on. And you know, I think we’ve, we’ll talk a little bit about the power of community, but community is so important to all of us. And yet finding and building the right online community is really, really, really, really hard. And I got to learn a lot about that. Working on LinkedIn groups, the incentives that work, the incentives that didn’t work, all of that. From there, I went to Google. And at Google I worked on a different segment for, for the, you know, five years that I was there. Between Google and YouTube, I worked on what they called the next billion users, which is all of the high growth emerging markets. MM (18:30): So people who are rapidly coming online, getting their first mobile phone, don’t know what to do with the data, and how do we give them the best introduction to the internet possible. Because, you know, like these are literally baby internet people coming online. Never. Like we, we’ve been in the internet, we’ve been in the internet for like, you know, 15, 20 years by that point. And you talk about somebody like jumping in in this moment. Yeah. And how do we transition them online? So really got to understand the needs of these users. And at YouTube especially, it is the largest segment of users, the fastest growing segment of users and really understanding all of their needs and helping them with that. And all of this ties together because I was doing the career coaching at hbs. I was going through my own journey of inner growth. MM (19:19): Everybody has that moment. I think every coach has that moment that they deal with where they just go deep inside themselves and like turn themselves inside out and like, push forward. And all of this was happening as I was working on the next billion users. I had two kids around that time. It broke me in ways I didn’t expect it would break me cuz I have an incredibly supportive spouse. But it was a shift in identity, a shift in how I worked, a shift in how people treated me. And I found myself yeah, like really doing the inner work to stay true to me. It was hard work to just stay true to me when I worked in like from the outside, some of the best environments in the world, right? You work at Google, that’s incredible. Like, you know, 1% of 1% of people get into Google or whatever it is, right? Like, this is even harder than getting into HBS or Stanford. Like how can you complain about that? But there was a moment where I was like working so hard to keep the balance between the internal and the external. So pandemic happened early in 2021. I decided there was time for a change and I decided that I should go into coaching full-time. And I actually started this YouTube channel that no one can find right now. But I still my . MM (20:36): But the, but what was happening is all these women were breaking around me. 2 million women left the workforce during the pandemic in the US alone. And my friends came to me and they said, all I think about all day is, is this all there is to life? I put my kid in front of Zoom school, I cook lunch for them, I take care of them. I’m working, I’m working harder than ever before. People are expecting more from me at work. I have no time for me. Is this all there is to life? Highly educated, you know, very lucky women, like high achievers, very smart, very lucky women. Like is this all theirs to life? And they said like, you, you don’t seem to be breaking. Why is that? And I said, well that’s because I did my breaking and I did my rebuilding and I have like my center. MM (21:22): And they’re like, well, you should teach that. And so that’s what my YouTube channel in some ways started being about. And I wanted to become a coach to really help burnt out women in tech really find their center and their joy. And this will become relevant soon. But I wanted to do that. I started creating this content and then as I started doing it, the technologist in me reared its head again and said like, you are a coach for one type of person. There’s a coach for everyone. How can you use your skillset and tool set to make that happen? And that’s how all takes was really born, right? Like every coach should be able to connect with their clients deeply in an organized way, in a connected way, in a loving way, and really help them transform. And I wanted to make that happen. And and that’s the, the platform that you said today. I AJV (22:10): Mean, it’s like, this is why I wanted you to tell the story for anyone who is listening is, I think so often technology can be built, not, not from this standpoint, not from this usage standpoint and or not just technology, but businesses, right? Mm-Hmm. . And this was really built for, it’s like, no, I am doing it and I have this skillset and I know how to make this better because I’m doing it mm-hmm. and I need, and it’s like, part of that’s identifying the problems of, again, back to what you said earlier, the skillsets that often make you a great coach are not often the same skillsets that make you a great business owner or a business builder. Mm-Hmm. and the organization and the experience often is what keeps your clients and helps you get new clients. And if that part’s not working, the God-given talents and gifts that you have aren’t even being used because you’re spending all your time trying to figure out the stuff that you shouldn’t even be having to figure out. MM (23:05): Exactly. Exactly. And I find actually a lot of coaches use that as an excuse to not grow their business. MM (23:12): , I don’t know if you see that too, aj. It’s like, no, I need to create my mailing list. I need to set up my ClickFunnels, I need to do this, I need to do that. And all of a sudden they’re spending like more than half their day on just kind of like tying all this technology together. And in my deep and long journey, I realize that productivity or the illusion of productivity is its own form of addiction. And I see many coaches like doing that, right? I’m doing the work, I’ve created my Zoom account, I can now connect my email to my Zoom and like, I’ve just like, but they, they’re spending all this time doing that instead of sharing their gifts with the world, like attracting the right client and serving the right client. And it breaks my heart. And then I’ve talked to coaches who are like, I spend all this money on hiring a developer first, a designer, and then a developer to build my website or to build my, I’m not gonna name other tools here, or maybe I should, I don’t know, but like AJV (24:09): . MM (24:11): But like at a point where you need to hire a designer and a developer to take care of a software that is supposed to be quote unquote easy to use. So that, like I’ve heard coaches say, I have no profit because that’s what I’m doing. And I’m like, what is going on? This is not where you should be spending your time Definitely at all. Or your money. Like yes. Like you can always do with a little bit of help, but like, you shouldn’t be paying somebody a full-time salary to manage your technology stack AJV (24:40): The basics. Yeah. You know, there’s a, a level of this that we would say it’s, it’s what we would call creative avoidance. Mm-Hmm. , AJV (24:48): We do, we do the work that needs to be done instead of the significant work that must be done. Or it’s a level of priority dilution. Mm-Hmm. , right? Mm-Hmm . It’s like you get caught up in the mundane and you lose sight of what is the real priority which is serving clients. Mm-Hmm. , right? That’s the priority. But we get caught up in the monotony and all the insignificant things cause they have to be done. So we lend our attention that way versus this. And I think this whole backstory, this conversation has kind of led us to this point of like, technology can be used for good and it can actually help you strengthen relationships, build deeper community, stay organized, and allow you to run a business that kind of runs itself because you don’t have to do 14 little things. And as a cotu coach, if I just remember my former coaching days, this is what it looked like and I know many of you can relate to it because it’s what it looks like for you today is I would get a client, then I would send out 12 monthly calendar invites all manually cuz they were on different days and different times due to schedule conflicts. AJV (25:49): I would set up the zoom link, put it in there, I would then have to set up a Word doc where I kept some coaching nuts and I would probably keep that Dropbox. Then when I did the Zoom, I would then have to download this link because they client wanted the recording and then I would have to store it somewhere on this Word doc because they would often lose it because I sent it in an email. And then I would have to keep track of this word doc and this thing, and then I’d have to keep all of the notes. And then they didn’t want the notes in an email. They wanted those in a consolidated document, but they wanted me to email that consolidated document every single time. So it was the top of their inbox. And that’s just a part of the list, right? AJV (26:27): And so you kind of go like, whoa, the amount of administrative operational work that it takes to even do one call is quite extraordinary. And that doesn’t even count if they reschedule last minute or cancel, but still wanna do it and on and on and on. I know that those, those of you listening can relate to some of that because I know you do it. I know some of you and I know you’re doing it. And there’s a better way. There is an easier way. So before we talk about all takes and the awesomeness that you have built and that you’re launching out into the world, I’d love to talk just about like how does technology or how can technology, and this is, you can talk about, I’ll take specifically here, but how can it actually make the coaching experience better for the coach and the client? MM (27:15): Yes, absolutely. And I think technology is a tool, right? Like, I know I’ve heard from many coaches that they just wanna throw their laptop out the window when they’re dealing with technology . So technology is a tool. Technology is a tool like any other tool and it can be used well or used poorly, I think in terms of being used for the coaching experience. I personally think one of the biggest differentiators is really finding something that takes care of all of your workflows for you, right? You don’t, you want something simple, you want one place to do, whether you’re doing a cohort or a community or a webinar or a workshop or a one-on-one. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was like one place to do all of these things versus I use YouTube live for this and I use Instagram live for that and I use Zoom for this and I use email for that and I use Dropbox here and then depending on what modality like I have to, so I can, I can’t, I’m sorry, I can’t do group coaching because like that is a whole different tech stack that I don’t wanna, wanna take care of, right? MM (28:11): So that’s the first level because as a coach, we are all growing. Many coaches start out one-on-ones, but then they do groups like whatever it is that you’re doing, you want a platform that can handle all the things that you wanna do. The second thing I would say is then in the doing of those things, it needs to be really easy to set things up because if it’s not like then you’re going back to exactly what AJ described, right? Like that creative avoidance of like setting up your technology so it works perfectly and then feeling really good about you got that done, but you didn’t actually move the needle forward for your business. And so having something that you can do really easily to set up any of these modalities, in fact, the sign of truly great technology is that it all feels so familiar regardless of what you do. MM (28:52): And I think this is where all takes shines and where some of our, the other coaching platforms out there, it’s like depending on if you’re doing a community or if you’re doing a group, like the user interface is completely different. It feels like everything has just been tacked on and so you don’t know how to use it. And then you get to your clients, most of you probably have repeat clients, like they come to you for a webinar and then they join you for a group or they join you for a subscription and they need to relearn the language of the thing every single time. And so giving them a super, super sim simple language to start with, and then keeping that, that language of the website really consistent for them can go a long way in making sure, sure. Making sure that they engage with you. MM (29:34): And then the thing that is the [inaudible] the the icing on the cake is can you build connection online? You know, over and over again. Like people, coaches are like, I wanna live anywhere. I wanna work from my laptop. I want to meet my clients wherever they are. But I miss those days where I could see them in person, where we could talk to each other in a conference room when we could go for a walk with each other. And there’s something about that connection that’s really important. And I don’t, having worked on communities for a large part of my career, I don’t know that being online can fully replicate that energy exchange that happens in person, but at all takes, that is one of our guiding stars, is how can we make this online experience feel as real worldly as possible? And so if you see, if you’re watching this, you’ll see that we live in a white background, not a a dark background, right? Because when you’re sitting in a room, you’re sitting in a clean, well lit space talking to a person not in a dark room where it’s like, actually that would scare me if I was sitting in a dark room with a group of people . MM (30:40): You know? But you don’t, you don’t think about that when you’re there and then you leave zoom feeling, oh my gosh, like I’m feeling a little down, a little depressed. Yeah, you’ve been sitting in a freaking dark room, it makes no sense that you’re sitting in that dark room. So something as simple as that. Like other things are like, we have these like expressions that we share. We have this hard expression that I’m sharing this confetti. We’re building more, if there is more than just the two of us, like at all takes you sit in a round table and have a conversation. And I say that my kids sit in circle time. They’ve sat in circle time since they were two years old. There’s something about sitting in a circle that calms our nervous systems down. We understand it, we get it. And so that combination of the expressions, being able to emote with other human beings and sitting in a circle where, you know, where every person is sitting like people are really vulnerable and open in those settings, which is exactly what you want to build real world connection online, right? MM (31:35): So I think technology can be used in a, a variety of ways to not only make your life easier, but to make that connection with your client or client stronger. And then if you have a group, then even making the connection between your clients stronger, because that is a whole another level of unlock that you can, you know, you and your clients can experience. So I’ve spoken a lot about all takes, but I do think like those are the things like great ease of use for the coach, ease of use for the client, one place to do everything. Don’t manage your technology everywhere. Connection, connection, connection. Super important. And okay, my connection is unstable. I don’t know AJ if you can hear me. Let’s see. All right. I’m gonna hope we come back. Okay. So AJV (32:24): I, you pick it up where you said I, I’ve talked a lot about all takes, but MM (32:29): I think Yes, yes. So I’ve talked a lot about all takes, but I think really like the, the things you’re looking for in your technology are ease of use, ease of view, ease of use for you, for your client. One place to do everything. Not like, you know, 50 different softwares that you have to use and pay for by the way to do all the things that you need to do for connection, building that connection with your clients, even though you live in this world that is very like all over the place right now. And the last, last, last, last bit I’ll add because I do believe in the power of community is having a community of people that can help you. Because one of, one of the things I’ve heard from a lot of our coaches is that they feel very alone as they start their businesses. And I think with the brand builders group, aj, you guys are building a community of coaches that can go through this together. But you know, any platform that can give you the right community of people who believe that all boats rise at the same time, let’s help each other to make this happen, I think is really critical as part of this journey. AJV (33:33): I, I mean I think there’s all of that is so true and accurate and I would just say as someone who is using a bunch of different technologies right now as we try to consolidate, right? I think that’s like one of the big benefits that I have seen in all takes is it’s the consolidation of lots of different things that you’re using manually mm-hmm. and you’re consolidating them to make it easy. So it’s, it’s easier for you the coach, but it’s easier for your clients. And you know, it’s like I, right now it’s like most of our team does their coaching calls on Zoom mm-hmm. , but we have what we call these little file repositories, right? And these file repositories is a somewhat sophisticated way of, we’ve put all of our different frameworks together in a way that are editable for every single one of our clients, but those live on SharePoint, right? AJV (34:25): Wow. Then we create a client playlist in YouTube for every, a private playlist for every single client that we have, 600 playlists for every single client so that we’re not just recording something once and then letting it drift off into the, you know internet. But it’s a, we, we, we keep those for us, for to review for training for our team, but for the client and the coach. So it’s like even us at this stage of going, we’re trying to consolidate all of this, and that’s the nice thing. And I can only show, I will share this on my behalf of going, like, our team has been on the hunt for like, how do we make this easier mm-hmm. one for our coaches, and if it’s easier for them, it’ll be easy for our clients. Mm-Hmm. . But it’s like, if it’s easier for what we call strategists, it will be easier for the client. AJV (35:14): And it’s how do we consolidate conversations? I e chats. So not everything is going back and forth in email all the time because that’s exhausting. We have enough emails, we don’t need more emails. Mm-Hmm. the, the documentation, the notes that come from the call, right? Mm-Hmm. then it’s recording from the call and then it’s the scheduling of the next call and the reminders of that. And I think those are the things that I have, have all seen in all takes that they, that’s just not present in teams. It’s not present in Zoom. There’s, and that’s what most people are using, right? There’s what is, what’s the, what’s the Google space? Yeah. Yeah. It’s like, and people, I get those links sometimes and I’m like that it’s not present there either, right? And there’s like all these different things, but that’s really like this really cool consolidation effort that all takes has, so why don’t you just like walk us through, like as a coach, right? Mm-Hmm. to me it’s like what is all takes gonna do for me? Yeah. MM (36:13): Yeah. So I think all takes is gonna actually do with all the things that we talked about, right? And I’d say that we are in, we are like our coaches in the state of permanent growth. And so one of the things actually before I even go into the specifics is I will say that we are such believers in what all our coaches are doing, that if you give us feedback, you’ll see oftentimes that the platform is implementing that within the next few weeks. And so, like one of the things we look for is in our coaches is people who are actually willing to give us the feedback and build the platform that they want, right? So I’ll start with that as one of our key principles. But if you are a coach the way you would use all takes is you would come and we’d create for you what we call your business page. MM (36:55): It’s one place where all of your offers can be consolidated in one single place. Your offers can be one-on-ones with you know, with as many clients as you have. Each client has its own space. It can be a group offer that you have multiple group offers that you have. It could be webinars, it could be courses. No matter what you’re doing, you have a business page where all of these offers can live. Each offer can be public so visible on your business page or unlisted. So if I’m doing, you know, AJ’s coaching me and we have a one-on-one relationship and we have a space that only she and I can access with our playlists and our recordings and our chats and everything, that can be unlisted. So no one else can find it. She and I can find it and everything we have lives there, but no one else ever needs to see it or find it unless we share the link with that person. And so you can create any type of offer when you go into each specific offer. First of all, your clients can register for an offer directly from our website, so no more Eventbrite plus Zoom, which some of our coaches use, which is really weird cuz Eventbrite wasn’t meant for this use case, right? Event freight is great for, I’m organizing a meetup and I need to sell tickets, but not, not a MM (38:06): Coaching call. Not a coaching call, but a lot of our coaches I’m hearing use Eventbrite to manage their registration. So with all takes with any of your offers, the registration page is super simple. The client has all the information they need, images, videos, if you have videos when any meetings are gonna take place, the description of the offer register button, when they register, they can pay directly through all takes. And so you don’t have to build a separate payment processing thing out there. Once they are registered, they then get reminders for when their various meetings are happening, so you don’t have to send out reminders, right? And then once they register, they get into that space, that locked room that only people who’ve registered for that locked room have access to. And that locked room has three key components, which we believe actually constitutes the majority of coaching. MM (38:56): You have your live sessions, you have any content that needs to be shared between coach and client or clients. And then you have the conversation history that happens between coach and clients. And it’s really simple. There’s three sections. Anytime people need to attend a live session, they go to the live session area, they click on it, they’re in this round table. Anytime they wanna see content, it’s right in that content section, whether it’s like agenda or recordings, course content or anything in between. And then any conversation that has been had in that community is in that chat section. And so not only is there one space, just like imagine like if, if we had a coaching group meets at, I don’t know, green Library room 1 0 5, and we all end up there and all the information about all of our coaching is stored there, that is the feeling you get when you come into one of our, our spaces. MM (39:46): But that space, unlike, you know, green Library 1 0 5, like stays with you. So anyone who has access to that space has access to that space forever. And so your your clients aj, who want access to that playlist six months down the road, like they know exactly where to go to find it. And there is no email back and forth. It was just the space that we shared that has the memory of everything that’s happened. And so I think that’s where technology can be used for good, right? Like the real world is great to build connection, but to like have that history privately because I think the world has also gone too far in terms of what is shared publicly. Like that’s, that’s basically what all takes is. And I think we have a community of like-minded coaches that are helping each other learn and grow while while they use these tools and really grow their coaching businesses. AJV (40:34): Yeah, I think that’s like the, like I think that’s like a huge part of this. It’s where technology can really be such a super beneficial asset to you is going, technology’s never gonna replace the human element mm-hmm. . but yeah, it can replace so much of the chaos Yes. Like it can eliminate a lot of the manual things that are, are quite honestly sucking up a lot of your time. And, and I just think about, I remember, you know, in my thirties I would often have 40 coaching clients that I talked to on a every other week basis plus speaking plus consulting clients. And so I was forced to have just a super tight regimented system, but then I would be left after hours with all of the administrative operational things of did I get the email out? Where are the notes? Did I download the links? AJV (41:27): And it’s like at some point you’re going, I’m tired like I wanna do good work, but I’m tired. Like there’s a lot of stuff there. And that’s what I love about All Takes and why I wanted to have you on the show is part of our responsibility at Brain Builders Group isn’t just to teach strategy and introduce you to ideas and concepts. It’s to go here are tools that we have found that we think can help you. And all takes, just like Brain Builders Group is not meant, meant for everybody, but it’s meant for the person who’s going, oh, I didn’t know that existed. I’ve been looking for this. And that is why I wanted to introduce this to you, our community, our audience of going, this is a tool that can help. And it’s not the only tool, but it is a tool that does the things that I can’t think of other tools exactly like it. AJV (42:16): I can think of ones that do lots of these things individually mm-hmm. , right? So you’ve got lots of learning management systems that host your content, but you can’t host calls on ’em. Mm-Hmm. , you’ve got places you can host calls and recordings, but they don’t have the other piece. And this is, I think the benefit is it was built by coach, with the coach in mind. Mm-Hmm. , right? And that is the benefit of this, of taking the power of technology and going and how can I help this really niche group of individuals coaches build better businesses so that they can serve their clients better? And you probably wouldn’t do this, so flagrantly, so I will, and it’s like if you’re a coach, go to all takes.com, request a demo, go see it. Don’t just take this conversation, work for it. It’s like I, I don’t get affiliate fees, I don’t have a referral partnership with all takes, even though maybe I should, I’ll be a great promoter. AJV (43:07): But I don’t, I’m doing this because genuinely it’s like our, I’ve had our team request, like formal demos in addition to our conversations. It’s like we need tools that allow us to do better work and this is a tool that could really help you. So go to all takes.com, request a demo and check out the work. Now I will say, and I’m watching the time cuz we only have a couple of minutes left, there is something else that you’re doing right now that is also pretty cool. And before we bounce, because this is like so timely to when this is all happening, I want you to tell people what you are MM (43:41): Doing. Okay? So we are doing something really fun and a little bit scary for me. So remember how I said I wanted to become a coach at some point and then I build a technology, which by the way, in addition to everything AJ said, the role of technology is not to increase your cortisol levels. It is to decrease them. And so it’s not just all the work when you go to a place like you wanna feel like this place is taking care of you. And that’s one of the things we do at all takes, right? But putting that aside I wanted to become a coach and I’m starting this company and I was like, how does this all come together and how do I bring people along who want to build out their coaching businesses who are serious about making this change and making it happen? MM (44:25): So we’re doing this thing called the Making of a Coach challenge and our head of sales and you know, she’s also sales marketing and mindset coach. Her name is Mary Diaz, is gonna coach me into becoming a coach. We’re going to do our coaching calls on this platform live. We will share it with everybody. We will share my mindset shifts in addition to the tool set and skillset shifts that need to happen. And within eight sessions or 30 days, we expect the coaches that go on this journey with us and do the work to be able to enroll paying clients. And whether it’s a workshop or a cohort or one-on-one, whatever it is that you wanna do, like we’ll, we’ll guide you on that journey to making this happen. And you’ll get to see me do it with you and in front of you and share with you like how I’m feeling. MM (45:12): Cuz this journey is one of like great grit. And the, the more you can have the tools, the technology tools of course, but also the mindset tools to make this happen and the community that pushes you forward, that that’s something that can only be a superpower that you have. So sign up for the making of a code challenge. If you go to all takes.com, there’s a banner up top click on that banner, there’s a landing page with all the information. You click yes I want in and I’ll take you down that process. We’re looking forward to welcoming the right people with open arms on the other end and holding you and supporting you as you build out this business that you’ve always dreamt of building. AJV (45:55): Yeah. And I would just encourage that because this episode was really designed to tailor and to reach the coach community that’s a part of our audience. And doing this life, this thing called life. We were not meant to do it alone, right? And this is a great opportunity to come alongside other people who are doing what you are doing or what you wanna do and be a part of the evolution of what does this look like and how do I come along and be a part of this journey with a group of people who are doing what I do or doing what I wanna do. So highly encourage what a cool thing to get to be a first, you know, kinda like a firsthand seat too. And also get to do the work too, right? It’s what really creates this really awesome engagement and starts to build some really amazing community, which we all do need, we all need. AJV (46:47): And there’s additional competition here. There’s enough for us all. So come along for the ride. That’s what this is all about. So I’ll put all the links in the show notes. So you’ve got different ways to connect, but thank you so much for coming on and one, just the background and the wisdom and the experience you have. Like we didn’t even scratch the surface of all the things that you could be talking about. Because at the end of the day, this all has culminated in this awesome thing that you’re doing right now for a really unique group of people that we happen to get the privilege to serve. And this is an awesome platform with major benefits to everyone’s involved. So I’ll do one last call to action. Go check out all takes.com, request the demo, see if it’s a fit for you. And Manal, thank you so much. We are so honored to have you on the show and I cannot wait to talk to you again soon, everybody else. I love ya. We’ll catch you next time on the influential personal brand. MM (47:47): Thank you aj. Okay. All right. I’m gonna stop the recording and I will, yeah.