Pioneers Club Podcast #2: Live Event Highlights

M: This is the pioneers club podcast. 

P: The community podcast for driven entrepreneurs & leaders. 

M: Here you can connect with like-minded people, create a sense of belonging and gain more agency in your daily life. 

M: Hi, my name is Monika and I’m your host. I help entrepreneurs & leaders with big ideas go from…

P: And I’m your co-host, Patrick. I help people bring stories to life.

Looking back on the first ever Pioneers Club Live Event

M: So, as promised…

P: Yeah, let’s talk about the very first Pioneers Club Live Event. How was it for you?

M: Well, I, honestly it’s already been like 3 weeks since we met there…

P: It’s been a while! It took us a while to get back together actually.

M: It took a little bit of time. But, I am still as hyped and excited about it as I was the day afterwards because it was just such a beautiful experience and so refreshing. I loved the people who joined us, we had all kinds of pioneers and entrepreneurs from all kinds of industries. And they were really gracious with each other. They were opening up so quickly. They were sharing lessons learned, where they are at in their journey. But also struggles, challenges, and opening to others to share their experiences and also get feedback. Ask them about how they are experiencing certain things. It was just such an honest conversation.

P: That was very refreshing actually because it impressed me that people that just got to know each other, they hadn’t seen each other ever before, and then they were just talking about what’s challenging them in their work, in their daily lives. And, it was so… I wouldn’t say weird, but refreshingly weird, that people actually talked like this to each other.

M: Yeah, so the complete opposite of networking events! Just like we said, right? What we are intending to do. The complete opposite of it.

And they were so generous as well with their insights that they shared then. If somebody opened up about a question or a challenge that they are experiencing, the others would instantly jump in and give their own opinions. And give their own experiences, sharing openly and honestly what helped them or how they approached this topic or whether they experienced it in the same way. So, I found it very easy to go from one topic to the other, as well, because people were just chiming in and having this exchange.

P: So it was way better than anticipated. Because we were both a bit like, Okay, so, we really hope this is good, but we don’t know how people will react to actually asking them to share what’s not that great. About what they’re going through right now, their challenges, issues that they have. So, yeah, I’m positively impressed by everyone who was there.

M: Yes! I was so nervous before that. It’s just a very vulnerable place to be in, to ask someone to be very open & honest about the good and the bad. And they did it in the most impressive way as well! It just showed their strength and I was impressed by every single one who joined us, no matter which stage of their journey they are at. It was beautiful to see.

Why we need a support network

P: But, let’s take a step back. Because for some people who might not know our very first podcast, who might not know our event that we did… So, basically, what we set out to do was create a support network for entrepreneurs so they can exchange their experiences, talk to each other, and I’d like to see getting to a better version of themselves with someone else.

But, I think we quickly need to talk about what a support network actually is. Because the word can be quite intimidating. Because some people might think it’s this huge thing, complex thing, where you have to talk about certain issues, problems, and whatever. But, we actually talked about how simple it can be and how basics the needs and benefits can be.

M: Well, I think it was a very interesting question that was also raised that evening. Where one of the participants actually said that they don’t feel the need to have a support network. They are just blessed to have friends and people that they can exchange their experiences with anyways. And I had to chuckle at that because it was this notion of: do you need something or do you just enjoy having something?

And with a support network, just like you said, it’s oftentimes this intimidating thing because people feel as if they are admitting that they need support, that they are too weak, that they don’t handle things by themselves. Which is maybe a sign of our individualized society where we have forgotten that we are simply social beings and that no one works alone. And that no one works well in isolation. We know from psychology, isolation is one of the biggest risk factors for people to actually lose their agility, their mental resources, even intelligence has been shown to be affected by isolation. 

P: So, would you say that just engaging with people is a very basic way to help us?

M: Definitely. We need exchange with other people. It gives us orientation in our reality, it gives us feedback about where we are standing. It defines our role in relation to others, in relation to the world that we interact with. Because no one of us doesn’t interact with the world around them, you can’t isolate yourself so far… Or, even then, it’s a decision that you made with respect to society, I guess. 

A support network doesn’t have to be labeled as such

So, a support network basically… If

• you are blessed enough to have a support network that you don’t need to name this way, but you know that you just have these enriching people around you,
• these friends that give you emotional security & safety,
• the peers that you can talk with, who are doing something similar and that you can exchange your experiences with so you don’t have to learn everything everything the hard way by yourself.
• you have the mentors that enrich you and they see your potential and they give you advice on how to go further.

If you have all of that and you don’t name it a support network, go for it! You don’t need the support network per se with this name. But actually, everyone of us needs these kinds of interactions, this exchange, and the support that we get through such relationships.

P: So you just don’t label it a support network, but you just… you basically still have it.

M: Yeah, maybe. I don’t care what you label it, I just care that you have it.

The benefits of having a support network

P: But, what would be a benefit, or what are the key benefits, when we talk about… well, we’re labeling it a support network now, this is what we’re going for, this is what we’re trying to give people. If someone doesn’t have that and even if it’s just parts of that: what can they get from what we are trying to offer them?

M: Okay, so I’m going to give you four specific benefits. 

Benefit 1

One benefit, just like I addressed a little bit right now, is that a support network supports you extremely with resources. And these resources can be other experiences that they have made, case studies that you can apply to yourself, real resources like connections, like introductions to other people, practical resources, like monetary and whatever you need to actually achieve your goal. But also insights as to having feedback how they would approach a situation etc. So they enrich you with a multitude of options, let’s phrase it like this.

Benefit 2

The second point is, a support network is helping you to spot your own blind spots which is very easy to happen if you’re an expert in something and you’re doing something, so you are in the trenches. It can be very difficult to view yourself from an outside perspective, so it can help you point you towards situations, the aspects that you might have missed. Or they can tell you, Wait a second, isn’t there a parallel to something that you have already done? So you can reference something that you’ve already achieved or done and learned from. So it can help you mirror yourself back.

Benefit 3

The third point is, it helps you build confidence so much so because we really have the worst level of judgment towards ourselves. Because we just know what we don’t know, we know that there is so much more to know. And from an outside point of view, people can give you this feedback of – wait a second, you are already giving me so much here. There is so much value in what you’re telling me right now, how you’re approaching the situation. We couldn’t possibly do that for ourselves. 

Benefit 4

And the fourth point that I would address is, just from a resilience point of view, it’s an integral, environmental protective factor when it comes to stressful situations and dealing with shame, dealing with challenges, dealing with physical stress really. Like relieving stress. Your support network, the people that you connect with and that are there for you in these moments, can raise your resilience to a significant level.

P: But it all means that you have a very open communication with that support network.

M: I would hope so. Sometimes a support network can also allow you to just ease into it and… not just sometimes, ideally it would allow you to ease into it and you are allowed to observe how others talk about something, how others do something, and this already is a huge level of support.

Major themes & topics of the evening

P: So, going back to the benefits that you just talked about, and when we think about the event that we had. We had great people there, sharing some challenges and some issues that they either went through when they started their enterprise and their companies or that they are going through right now. What would you say were universally applied challenges? So, even though they came all from different industries, I for myself saw something that everyone was talking about. But what were your major points that everyone was talking about on that evening?

M: So, I would like to give one point, which was more of an observational point. Which was a universal experience of relief. There, people were talking openly about challenges that they overcame or challenges that they are dealing with right now, and there were just these smiles, you know, turning up on people’s faces and people openly expressing as well, it’s so refreshing that everyone is going through that…

P: And finally I can talk to somebody about it who knows what I’m talking about!

M: And who doesn’t judge me as well because they know, Well, yes, I have that too. So, it was such an easy atmosphere I feel. 

But when it comes to the specific challenges, I think we already went a little bit through our highlights and, for me, it’s six specific points that we addressed at this event. 

One point is the topic of self-doubt and second-guessing of oneself. 

The second point is comparing yourself. 

The third point then is guilt-free resting. I know from my clients as well, huge topic! How do you actually turn off?

P: It’s self-care, it’s important.

M: It’s, well, self-care is a little bit of a bigger topic then again. But this resting part as a very productive part of being high performing is so misunderstood in our hustling idea of entrepreneurship.

Now, the fourth point then, was the discussion about what do you need along this journey when it comes to your risk aversion or inclination to take risks, but also your need for security. How do you balance that and specifically, how do you plan for that in the short term, but also in the long term?

P: So, how does it affect your daily operations, how do you deal with projects coming in, not in a, like, stable manner that you can plan with that. Like, I have three projects next week or next month. So that’s what people were talking about, I guess.

M: Yes, it was also a lot about the topic of anxiety. Having anxiety about the future and the responsibility to actually be the one to decide how you are going to set your business up for the next months and which risks you are willing to take. And how to base this in reality while also dealing with the emotional and mental part of that. Which was a very interesting discussion and we are going to go into this in one of our next episodes.

And the fifth point, then, was communication as key skillset for every entrepreneur. We talked about how we are all experts in something, but the longer we do what we do, we realize it always boils down to having communication skills. Be it with your stakeholders, at first it’s partners and customers, afterwards it’s your own team. How transparent do you want to be, etc.? So I loved that question, I love that topic.

P: You would think that we actually don’t have to talk about it anymore, but it always comes up, right? Communication is… It sounds so stupid, but communication is key.

M: Yes. It really is. And interestingly enough, I know when I studied entrepreneurship and economics, it was always like “Ah, communication is this bla-bla topic”, right? And, the longer that people are in their professional journey, the more I hear back from them like “You know what? The topic of communication is coming up again.” So, now it gains in importance.

But, for the sixth point, before we go into every single topic there… The sixth point and challenge that we addressed there was actually the discussion of how do you structure how you sell your worth and your skills, and the transitioning of one concept, which is the concept of trading time versus money, and actually kind of setting yourself up completely anew. Saying, “Okay, this was our past chapter of our business. Now we’re starting into a new chapter where we are building something that is scalable, that is not defining me and my worth by the hours that I work.” A very interesting discussion.

P: But I guess, a very complicated discussion. Goes hand in hand probably with the new way of work, all the troubles and tribulations we had after Covid. So I think it’s a very very complicated issue that we are going through there.

M: Yeah, so this trading time versus money and how to transition from one concept that you have always worked with, maybe for many years already. And how to step out of this paradigm, of this concept, and shift into something new and set yourself up for a new way of working… Very entrepreneurial again, right? You are in your journey and then you have this pioneering moment again.

One of the most agreed upon themes: self-doubt

P: Yeah, I think all of those struggles or challenges, they were quite interesting because basically everyone had a story that they could relate to. So they all knew what they were going through. And I think it’s really interesting to see different people from different backgrounds and different industries talk about something that all of us can relate to. I think for me, though, the one universal point that everyone really knew what it was about – even though they dealt with it completely differently – was the self-doubt and how do you deal with that.

Because I think we’re constantly bombarded with “How do you do better?” “How can you be better?” “Are you even able to do all of that?”. So it’s every other point coming into this discussion, the comparing, your own pricing, and everything, it comes into this self-doubt point that makes it so hard. And I think, that was really great that people actually talked about how it feels for them, how they dealt with it, or how they are still dealing with it. And really amazing was that there was a discussion about: so how did you go through that, I’m having this problem right now, and then they just sort of had this discussion just among our participants, even without us. It was them talking to each other about how they deal with that. That was a really great part.

M: And that’s the power of a support network, right? You didn’t need the coach, or the organizer, or the host, or whoever to moderate every step and translate things and break things down. But there was already this exchange which is one of the most important parts as well about when you deal with self-doubt or self-second-guessing and if you’re struggling with recognizing your own worth. It can be difficult to overcome it by yourself because you don’t have this mirror. And, connecting with a peer, who is actually making it lighter for you, because they see you for what you are presenting in a different way compared to what you constantly compare yourself with. 

A starting point to dealing with self-doubt

P: So, you probably don’t like this question now. But is there something – a short tip – that you could give people when they are in a situation right now that they are doubting themselves about something?

M: Well, we’ll go into more detail with this in our next episode. But a quick insight that people could very easily implement is something that I always start with with my clients when it comes to the topic of self-doubt or second-guessing. And this is to stop and observe yourself. 

One week, two weeks, you don’t need to go into a months-long trial now. But, the important thing is that we really start observing ourselves in these moments of self-doubt and then really write down what happened exactly in these moments, also the second before we spiraled into the typical emotional pattern. 

P: So, I guess that actually takes a lot of practice? ‘Cause when you do this for the first time – and I remember when we did it in our session way back – I remember it’s not that easy to actually write down exactly what’s going on, because you’re a little bit overwhelmed. So, how do you approach that the first time or is it just that you say, try it?

M: Well, of course it’s easier if someone guides you through it because I have the levels of dimensions which are important to address or observe in these moments. And it’s also easier if you are just talking and someone else is taking notes for you.

But like you just said, it becomes a practice! The more you do it, the easier it becomes and the more fun it becomes as well. Because in the moment that you are overwhelmed, you suddenly have a task, something that you can do that will help you afterwards to overcome this moment. And in this way you are already more solution-oriented.

So, you have this practice of: Okay, while I’m suddenly noticing that I have this negative self-talk running again, I can instantly recognize, “Wait a second, which phrases am I repeating to myself?” And then, on Friday maybe, you sit down at 9am, self-care practice, and compare your notes, and find patterns, and find things that repeat themselves. Every time that you have this negative thought, these three things happen in advance. And I promise you, usually it starts way earlier than the moment where you spiral into self-doubt. Usually you are already somehow overwhelmed or insecure or stressed or something happened that makes you less resilient. 

And then you are empowered to actually know what to address and how to address it.

P: So it’s a starting-off point into that journey of finding out why you are doubting yourself.

M: Yes. I always tell my clients, “Become a little scientist.” You need to become your best friend and observer in this case, so you can actually shift out of how you did things until now.

Outlook to the next episodes

P: So, those challenges that you were just telling us about, and we dug a little deeper into just the self-doubt, but that’s what we’re going to talk about in our next episodes. That’s basically our road-map.

M: Yes, and I can’t wait for it. We will share our road-map and the topics that we want to address with you in the following weeks. But we want to hear from you too and we want to hear your stories. If you are willing to open up and share with us as well, this would enrich the whole conversation and make it so much more human. Which is exactly what we need in this space, right?

P: So share your experiences, connect with us and join us on this journey. 

M: You will find all our social handles, so you can connect with us on Instagram, on LinkedIn, or via our website. You will find all the details in the show notes. We can’t wait to hear from you and have these conversations with you as well.

P: So, thanks for joining in today and see you in the next one!

Your Host:
Monika Lerch
Linkedin: /in/monikalerch/
Instagram: @themonikalerch

Your Co-Host:
Patrick Öffl
Linkedin: /in/patrickoe/
Instagram: @amikifilms