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EP 272 - Linda Mixermind | Otter.ai

EP 272 - Linda Mixermind

Ellen Yin31min

Ellen Yin

00:00

You're listening to cubicle the CEO episode 272, if you're looking for more collaborations with established entrepreneurs next year, or have ever asked if I would host a mastermind, I recorded this for you. Spoiler. I'm not hosting my own mastermind, but this is the next best option if you want the opportunity to be in a close proximity virtual container together in 2025 plus an in person meet up in Mexico. I'm telling all my business besties to get in this room, and that includes you. Today, I'm joined by my friend Linda Sidhu. You've heard her on the podcast multiple times. Linda is the facilitator of the mixer mind, and the mixer mind is the pure mastermind that I'm a part of. I hate even using the word mastermind, because it's so much more than that. It's not at all like your traditional mastermind. So any preconceived notions you have about what a mastermind looks like, what the investment looks like, what the experience looks like, I want you to just toss that out the window, because Linda is going to blow your mind with the amazing experience that she has curated for mixer mind members. I've actually been part of the mixer mind this past year in 2024 I've already rejoined for 2025 and brought some of my close friends along with me who I've personally invited to join this container. But I also wanted to open this opportunity to all of you listening to our podcast, because I know there's so many of you listening to this show who I may not personally know. We may have never chatted one on one before, but that doesn't mean that you wouldn't be a great fit for this opportunity. So I didn't want to gatekeep this, and Linda gave me permission to share this conversation that we recorded for her private podcast here on cubicle to CEOs that you could learn more about the mixer mind and see if it's for you. By the way, after you listen to this conversation, if you want to experience a preview of the mixer mind, you can come to one of Linda's open houses, November 20 or 21st we'll make sure to include the link to sign up for your preferred Open House date in the show notes. So just check that out. It's a great way to actually get to experience the magic of the mixer mind in real time for yourself, so you can meet who you're going to be spending time with in 2025 again, the link to sign up for the open houses on November 20 or 21st will be in the show notes. I also will be including the direct link to join the mixer mind, if you meet all the qualifications that we talk about in this episode, and you feel like it's a really great fit, you don't even need to go to the open house, and you're like, I'm just ready to do this and be part of this, then you can lock in your spot in the mixer mind, by November 26 for an epic 2025 again, the link to directly join the mixer mind, by November 26 will also be in the show notes, so make sure you check there for all of the important information and links. All right, enjoy this conversation with me and my friend Linda. Welcome to cubicle to CEO, the podcast where we ask successful founders and CEOs the business questions you can't google. I'm your host. Ellen Yin, every Monday, go behind the business in a case study style interview with a leading entrepreneur who shares one specific growth strategy they've tested in their own business, exactly how they implemented it and what the results and revenue were. You'll also hear financially transparent insights from my own journey bootstrapping our media company from a $300 freelance project into millions in revenue.

Ellen Yin

03:34

Hey, Linda, I'm so excited to be sitting down and chatting with you, because, you know, one year ago today, we were talking about who we wanted in the room for mixer mind. 2024 and now a year later, having been part of it and having met so many amazing new friends and reconnected with ones that I've been, you know, in the industry with for a long time, it's just so exciting to be back here planning for mix your mind. 2025

Linda Sidhu

03:56

I know I'm so thrilled. We were together just two days ago, actually, here in Seattle, and you were like, I'm really excited for mixer mind 2025 and it was funny to hear those words, because it literally felt like yesterday, where we were working on the first, you know, co creation of this community together. And here we are looking at 2025 so I'm so excited,

Ellen Yin

04:19

I know Time really flies. And actually you, I'm glad you brought this idea up of co creation, because it's one of the things that attracted me to the mixer mind, when I was thinking about what containers I wanted to invest in and be part of this past year. And of course, going again into 2025 I plan to be part of, and already have signed up for mixer mind 2025 and this idea of co creation, where you you know, were talking to people who had signed up for mixer mind and asking them, who else do you want to be in the room? And this being a way for everyone in the mixer mind to kind of CO create with you and help co curate with you that the right people in the room. And that's one of the things I. Love most about how you structure your group differently than most other masterminds, where it's not just selection from the top down, it's truly a group effort. So let's talk about that a little bit like, what other ways, how is the mixer mind different than a traditional mastermind? Yeah,

Linda Sidhu

05:15

it's so funny. Yesterday I got a message and somebody was saying, you know, I already signed up for a mastermind. We'll think about it next year. I'm not really interested. My plates full, and immediately I was like, Oh man, what a missed opportunity. Because it's actually not really just a mastermind. It is so much more than that, and it's at a really good price point as well. So great question to kick things off. Masterminds, you typically are with about 1520, people. You sign up with an expert. The expert is the one that typically gives guidance. Yes, sometimes you actually join for community, but I think I look at the mixer mind completely different. First of all, I never wanted to be the expert, the only person that people sought to for advice. I truly felt, and this is where I think it really helps the mixer mind stand apart. Is when I originally thought of this idea. I thought we were all experts. I thought we were all very smart entrepreneurs. So why wasn't there a place where we could all be seen and heard? And so instead, it's the, you know, the community. It's all about the community. The rising tide lifts all boats. We are all experts being peers, right? Like, where we can actually talk truth, what's going on behind the scenes, and I think a lot of that stuff you don't get in a typical mastermind. The other thing is, is we have peer to peer pods where you meet on a monthly basis. This really kind of helps you get through the entire year with every single season you're in, whether we're launching, whether you're not, but it's really a great place to go deeper on a more intimate level with people who are equivalent to where you are in business. We also have larger group sessions where it's behind the scene, panels where we have experts share on a specific topic. One of the topics we talked about this year was live events. You were actually on one of the topics of conversation at the very beginning, where we talked about speaking and gaining visibility. The way I actually pick the topics is based on research from the community. So back to your point, like the community tells me what they want, and I respond and create it for them. So it's community first. It's all about our peers and rising together, whether it's deeper connections, collaborations and everything in between.

Ellen Yin

07:34

I love that, and that was another thing that, again, really drew me to wanting to be part of mixer mind is, is the opportunity to both go deep, like you said, with a select few individuals in those monthly peer to peer pods, but also have the breadth of access to such a diverse network. And when I say diverse, I really mean in all its forms, like in terms of the type of businesses, our backgrounds, our unique skills and expertise. And I really, really look forward to the quarterly panels that you referenced, where we get to kind of go deep into a specific topic, but different speakers are featured every single time, and getting to really peek behind the scenes at someone else's business, but not just one person, multiple people, multiple peers, every single quarter, I think, is invaluable, and really speaks to the strength of what you were talking about. This being a peer mastermind, not an expert, led mastermind by one person, which honestly most of the time, I think with traditional masterminds, it ends up just mirroring more of a coaching program. Not at all, not at all what a true mastermind is, right? Like a coming together of brain power from multiple peers. So I'm so glad you. You distinguished that for us and with the peer to peer pods too. I know this year, you kind of experimented with switching up the pods every four months or so. So we got to rotate and experience three different groups. And again, really dive deep with like five to seven individuals each time, but then rotate throughout the different seasons. Is that something you're planning to bring back to mixer mind, 2025, 100%

Linda Sidhu

09:10

I always researched my audience, and over the summer, when I did the survey, peer pods was one of everybody's favorite part of the mixer mind. And I love the behind the scene panels too, like that actually came up a lot like people love hearing behind the curtain what's really going on. Those kind of sessions so interesting enough. I am keeping everything pretty much the same. The only thing I'm doing is I'm adding more support. So I'll be offering ways where the community can have a little bit more support to collaborate. They can have support to get their resources known things like that, where I'll be doing a newsletter for the community, specifically for our community. I'm also going to be doing a fun Spotify playlist for all the collaborations, so we can hear each other in the different podcast interviews that's happening. Behind the Scenes. There's so many fun ideas I have for more support, so it's geared towards that this year that's

Ellen Yin

10:05

amazing. And I definitely want to dig into some of the best collaborations we've seen happen in the mixer mind this past year as inspiration for next year in just a moment. But first, I want to kind of again, help people better understand who is the right fit for the mixer mind. Right? So how are you vetting who is actually joining to make sure that people are set up for collaboration success, and so that you can help facilitate the right connections happening inside the group? So

Linda Sidhu

10:33

this is a great question, and it was something I thought about last summer, and I had the idea to create rules, R, U, L, E, S, I feel like I can't say that word rules for the community. And one of the biggest rules I had in mind was the opportunity to give and receive. So this meant that in order for you to collaborate, you need to be able to have something to showcase. I mean, most importantly, as basic as like a free resource or a freebie of some sort to share with other people so they can get on your email list. But in bigger ways, you also should probably have some type of platform to shine the light on other entrepreneurs. So what I mean by other platform, it could be an engaged email list of 3000 people. It could be a podcast like you have. It could be a group coaching program where you bring in somebody to do copy Critiques. If you're doing copywriting right, it's just a way to shine the light on another entrepreneur. So that way you're also when with a true collaboration, you're giving and you're receiving. What I don't want to see is people coming in just for visibility opportunities. I do want to say, though, there are some people that it might make sense to join the mixer. Mine for that, you know, they are really ready to go with their business, their mindsets, right? And they want to take advantage of every opportunity there is. And so if you're that entrepreneur that's guns a blazing, ready for visibility opportunities, it might also be for you, but keep in mind, like you're gonna want to reciprocate and give value back to

Ellen Yin

12:07

absolutely and I think you do such a great job of really providing fair opportunities for everyone to have visibility inside the mixture mind, especially in those at large sessions that you were talking about earlier, Where everybody in the mixer mind comes together for those quarterly behind the scenes expert panels. But as well as, and I just realized, as we're talking about this, another visibility opportunity you haven't touched on yet is all of the expert workshops that are sprinkled all throughout the year. Can you tell us a little bit more about those? Yeah,

Linda Sidhu

12:37

I feel like I left off a few things. So we have the expert workshops. We also bring people together for an in person retreat, which I'm sure we'll get into as well. And we have a big collaboration. We do together for the pot of gold as well, but talking about workshops. So again, based on feedback and what's going on with the industry as a whole, I will decide the topic, and then I'll decide the person who should be given the opportunity to share what's going on with the community. So again, when I do a survey, when you first enroll in the mixer, mind, I look through every single survey, the cream will rise to the top. But one of the questions is, what type of workshops Do you want to learn this year? For example, we ended up having Laura Belgrade in the beginning of the year, where she talked about her three top emails that sold out her launch. People are launching in the mixer mine. That was a really juicy conversation. Another one was I felt like it was just peppered with speaking. People want to learn to be a better speaker. They want to gain visibility. So I had Helena Bowen, who's known as a TEDx speaking coach, come in and share how to create a keynote speech. So these workshops can be invaluable for your business at every stage, because even when it comes to speaking, I know Veronica Romney and I had a conversation. She was like, if I could just hone in on a call to action at the end, or maybe talk to someone about the beginning, or get tips from that, it's still gonna make me better and better as an entrepreneur. So yes, like, it is so fun to have these workshops, and I typically actually have people come in who are in the community. It's very rare that I have somebody outside of the community come in. It does happen, and it is usually a workshop based on what people specifically want to know. Like, a great example of this is Laura sprinkle, who came in to talk about affiliates and partnerships, and it was based on feedback. You actually gave me that feedback, and it was a really good conversation to have. So if we don't have a go to person in the community, I try to figure out who is the best person to learn from. That's

Ellen Yin

14:36

amazing. And the workshops have been so invaluable, like you said, because it just further emphasizes the point that you brought up earlier, that we are all experts in that community, and everyone has something that they can bring to the table to share with others, whether it's in a behind the scenes panel, or whether it's in one of these individual workshops that they get to share with the entire group. And then, of course, also in the peer pods, there's. Much gold in the pure pods and what's shared in those more intimate Hot Seat settings. And I think you know, with with you keeping the mixer mind intimate, I know this year, you're hoping to cap around 150 people. It really does allow for enough people in a sizable group where you can kind of find someone for every need in your business, or for every resource or collaboration that you may be looking for. There's a lot of opportunity there in the mix of people, but also, again, those opportunities to really go deep and be intimate inside the peer to peer pods and those you know one on one relationships. So love that we we just talked about how important collaborations are and how you are fiercely protective of making sure that the people who join the mixer mind are ready to both give and receive. Let's talk about some of the most creative collaborations you've seen mixer mind members do together this this past year. What were some of your highlight collabs that you want to shout out?

Linda Sidhu

15:56

Okay, so great question. So one of the ones that first comes to mind is April and Holly. They met at the beginning of the year, and Holly was doing a retreat in Texas, and was looking for somebody to come in to speak to her mastermind lo and behold, April's in Texas, and she was available that weekend, and so she came in to serve Holly's community. And from that point forward, they evolved into creating a long, lasting, mutually beneficial partnership. And that's what I'm really trying to cultivate in the community we talked about that before, where I call it the magic match. It's like the some of the people that you meet are gonna really be powerful partners for your business. And so Holly and April really embodied this. And so they had one collaboration that led to a different collaboration, where was multiple touch points of giving and receiving, and now they have been able to create a long term partnership. So that's something that I thought was absolutely beautiful chef's kiss, and, you know, completely behind. Because what I don't want to happen is just things to be very transactional, like an email swap. For an email swap, you can do that, but I like to create and this is why I create the pods. The way I do typically, is I focus on people's ideal clients so that we can make it a triple win. So the majority of the time, you're placed in a pod with people who have similar audiences as you and why this is a win from the get go is because we're putting the audience first, and then we're trying to create partnerships where it's like a triple win, a win for the audience, a win for both entrepreneurs. And so depending on how the pods go, there's always like a fun theme. Now, of course, there was a bunch of women that were actually in Europe over the summer. You know, gem of bottom Carter was in France. We have Sophia in England. We have Sally and Tasha were actually at the same Greek island. So I actually put them in their own pod, because I felt like they were on vacation time, you know what I mean. And it might be more beneficial for them as they were all on the same time zone and traveling and doing different things. So depending on your pod, that's kind of like there's always, like a little theme that goes into it. But specifically, I try to think of the audience first. Another fun example is, I guess I could bring up you and how you've been able to sponsor some summits. I think you sponsored Paula Crossfield Summit. You also helped with Gemma bottom Carter's AI Summit, and there was also one coming up with Brenna McGowan and you so that's fun, because you guys are thinking of creative ways to help each other's businesses. You know each business out, and so I think that's a very powerful collaboration that happened, too. I'm curious in your pods, did you see anything else come about, like behind the scenes too?

Ellen Yin

18:43

I mean, I feel like there's, there were so many collaboration opportunities on both a big scale and a small scale. And I'm glad you mentioned, actually me sponsoring some of those events, because, like, Gemma, for example, was in, I think, my first pod or second pot. I can't remember which one now, but we got close because of that. And I actually saw Gemma in in Europe this summer. It was the funniest story. I remember posting this in the mixer mind, like I literally the day we got into excellent Provence, which is where she had been living for about a year. I went to, we just my husband and I went to a coffee shop. We sit down, and literally, I hear Ellen, like, as I'm sitting down. I'm like, Who the heck knows me here in France, and I turned to my right, and there is Gemma literally sitting at the next table, and it's so funny. So, you know, just these amazing moments of in person connection. And then I was actually even thinking, you know, I've been able to hire some of the members in the mixer mind for support. Like I, you know, hired someone for my upcoming launch, to write, rewrite my sales page. I know you've hired so many people, and even this podcast we're recording right now, it's with the help of Haley Gaffin, who is an amazing Podcast Producer and podcast strategist, and she's part of the mixer mind. So there's just so many and a bunch of members in the mixer. Mine actually came to my my brand partnerships retreat at the Oregon coaster. This year. So, yes, so many different types of collaborations I'm seeing happening in the group all the time. And one of my favorite collaborations we did across the entire community during this year was actually the pot of gold. I know you briefly mentioned that name. Tell us what the pot of gold is. Why is it so exciting? What are we doing with it next year?

Linda Sidhu

20:18

Yeah, the pot of gold was this concept I came up with to offer a collaboration for the entire community. And you know, I think we had about 80 individuals participate last year, and so I wanted to make it a low lift, and just asked for one email to go out to your community so we could showcase all of our resources, and the rising tide lifts all boats. And it was absolutely incredible. We ended up having 1500 people sign up for the pot of gold. And what made it unique? You know, a lot of people might be familiar with the term bundle, and it appeared like a bundle, but I wanted to make it different. I actually put different pots together for your business. So maybe one pot was about business strategy, one pot was about mindset, one pot was about lead generation, and I tried to curate it. So as you're an individual that's opting into the pot of gold, you really focus on the one thing that's going to move the needle in your business. And so that's what I did, and I thought it was a really good success. And I think I started to see other bundles be presented that way. So it's like, obviously it was a good idea, and people like to kind of take the same idea for their own things and apply it. But it was very successful. We'll be doing one again next year, and I do remember people saying that individually, they had three to 400 people sign up for their own resource. So it was a way to spread the wealth, you know, encourage people to see different resources and whatever they needed help in they were, you know, able to get that help. So it was really beautiful.

Ellen Yin

21:58

I love that. And it was so cool to see that such a large majority of the mixed rank, because there was about 100 of us, I think, in the group this year, and for 80 people to step up and contribute a resource, either a paid resource that they made free for that specific, you know, promotion, or just a really valuable free resource. And to see so many like 80 people take part in this and then that list growth individually is huge. So I am so glad you put the opportunity together for us and that you're planning to facilitate all that again. And I gotta say, like those of you who are not part of the mixer mind that are listening to this, Linda really just goes above and beyond. Anytime she puts together a collaboration for us, like even with this pot of gold, she invested her own money to hire, actually, someone in the mixer mind as a Vera, I believe, shout out to write the entire sales page. So like none of us had to, you know, invest additional time or resources into that, she hires people to, like, create the emails and the graphics and like all these things, to just really set all of us up for success and maximum growth from a collaboration like this. So I just want to thank you for always investing your own time, your own resources, into making these group collaborations as successful as possible. Thank you. And to end our chat today, I feel like we've covered a lot of the different, you know, parts of what makes the mixer mind so special, the peer to peer pods, the behind the scenes, expert panels, the workshops, the you know, community wide collaborations and individual collaborations. But of course, this is top of mind for me, because we're headed to Cabo next month for the mix of mine, 2024 retreat. And I know this in person, time is what so many of us have been looking forward to all year. And I know you're planning to also include a retreat next year with mixer mine 2025, so I don't know too much about, you know what? I know a lot of it's a surprise for us. But tell us a little bit about this, this retreat, this in person component, and why it's so important to have that, in addition to the virtual, you know, connections we've been making together all year, yeah,

Linda Sidhu

23:58

well, to your point, back when you met Gemma in person in France. I can think of multiple ways where other mixer mind members met up with each other, like Tasha and Sally were at the same Greek island. They work, worked out the same mornings with each other, because they were like, Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're here. We had the Vancouver girls meet for coffee. We had people meet in Las Vegas. So obviously there's this huge component of wanting to meet people in person. And I heard it loud and clear from the feedback I was receiving that people wanted an in person retreat. People really, really feel like, I think, what does it say? Like, if you want to make money, host something virtually. If you want to make millions, host something in person. I think I read something similar to that lately, and I'm thinking, Yeah, that's actually really true. And so you cannot take away all the advantages that come with meeting somebody in person and having that deeper relationship. And when I have a purpose of the mixer mind, the purpose is, are we connecting and collaborating? On a deeper level. And so every decision I make goes back to that one question and that one purpose of the group. And so that was a huge component of it. So next year, we're going to be doing another retreat in Mexico. You know, actually, while this airs, we are actually going to be flying home from our retreat in Cabo. And the cool thing about this retreat based on feedback, again, because I like to respond to what the community wants. There's no keynote speakers. It is literally going to be small groups, curated conversation, where we're going to go deep so we can really get to know each other. I also am doing a catamaran tour, a dinner cruise, where we're going to have an experience with each other. And I think anytime you can experience each other, that's where the magic happens. 100%

Ellen Yin

25:47

yes, I'm so looking forward to it, literally counting down the days on my calendar. So it's going to be such a magical experience. I hope everyone gets to be part of it. Who's who's listening next year, and if people are listening and thinking, wow, this is a group I really want to be part of. I think I can contribute a lot, and I also think I can receive a lot of value from being part of the mixer mind. Where should they go to learn more and to enroll for the mixer mind? Yeah,

Linda Sidhu

26:13

great question. So the best way to experience and get a taste test for the mixer mind is our upcoming open houses. We have one on Wednesday, November 20 and we have one on Thursday, November 21 and you can experience what it feels like to be part of the community. We will replicate what a group session looks like, essentially, and then you can partake in it, and you can see if this feels like something that feels in alignment. The other thing is, is I always have an open door Voxer policy, where if you want to reach out to me personally, you can also Voxer me, and I can we can start a conversation. A lot of people did this last year. You introduced me to people that I didn't know yet, and the questions I asked them is, tell me more about you. Tell me more about who you serve and what are your goals for the next year. And based on their responses of those three questions, I could really tell that person, are they a good fit? Are they not? Would they have success? Is it worth a return on investment? Will they get that and whatnot? So you can also Voxer me. We'll put the link below where you can contact me personally and we can start a conversation

Ellen Yin

27:21

amazing. Well, all those links and information will be below, so make sure you sign up for an open house. Make sure you reach out to Linda. She's just such a fun person to chat with. So regardless, you should connect with her on Voxer, I think. And this last note, I forgot to see it in during our conversation, but I think it is important for listeners to understand one of the other standout pieces of the mixture mind is actually that investment piece and and really making the ROI very realistic for every single member who you know, who really shows up for the year. So traditional masterminds, as we all know, if you've listened and you've been part of a traditional mastermind, they're usually upwards of $10,000 20,000 I've even seen $100,000 masterminds out there. The mixer mind is nothing like that. Linda, are you able to share with us what that investment does look like? Absolutely

Linda Sidhu

28:10

So, because there is a retreat component, we're gonna have two price options. One is, if you just want the virtual experience, you're looking at 3497, and we'll have payment plans available as well to make it more affordable for a monthly payment. The other option is, if you do want to go to the retreat, we are going to ask for $500 per ticket. So it'll be an upgrade to just the virtual only, and that will be 3997, but it's really, really great pricing. Honestly, that's part of my policy is like, you know, keeping the price point at a no brainer price for the type of people who are interested in joining. And then even if you want to do a mastermind, you still can have your cake and eat it too. This is completely different, and it's absolutely amazing. So

Ellen Yin

29:01

so accessible. I remember when I first heard that pricing last year it like it did, actually blow my mind. And then when I would tell my friends about it who I wanted to come be part of this with me, it blew all of our minds too, because it's just so different than everything else you see out there. So thank you for making such a wonderful experience available to all of us for under $4,000 for the entire year. That's incredible. And I can't wait to see who we all get to bring together next year in 2025 thanks, Linda.

Linda Sidhu

29:29

Thank you so much. Yeah, I cannot wait for the co creation to happen. And thank you again for sitting down with me and chatting about it today. I appreciate you so much.

Ellen Yin

29:39

Thanks for joining us today. If you want to get a teaser of what the mixer mind is like, just a reminder, you can sign up for one of the open houses on November 20 or 21st the link is below in the show notes. You can also directly join the mixer mind at the link below in the show notes, if you have any questions about the mixer mind and my experience as a member inside this group. Feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram at Miss Ellen Yin, I'm happy to answer any of your questions, or if you want to directly be connected to Linda, I can also introduce you to her via Voxer, and you guys can voice chat back and forth. So if you want a direct connection to Linda again, just send me a DM at Miss Ellen Yin, tell me your Voxer handle, and I will set up a three way intro so that you can get to know Linda and ask her your questions yourself.

Ellen Yin

30:32

If you love today's episode, send it to a friend. Tag us on Instagram at cubicle to CEO, or give us a five star rating at rate this podcast.com/cubicle, to CEO. You can also access bonus episodes on our private podcast by joining the C suite, our flagship annual membership providing exclusive cash savings content and an offline community for small business CEOs. Check out the link in the show notes to join us.

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