Co-creating a Community for Meaningful Work

Inside the Impacters Co-op Inaugural Meeting

Seven weeks ago - on August 12th, 2024 to be exact - the Impacters Co-op kicked off with our first Monday meeting.

A dozen of our founding members introduced themselves, and then shared their ideas, hopes, and vision for the co-op. 

One thing was clear. We’re not just creating another mastermind or networking group—this hits different.

Using the transcript from the meeting, and with a little help from Coachfully.AI, here's a peek into what we’re doing together.

Supporting Action & Accountability

People’s reasons for joining the co-op varied, but almost everyone wanted to take more effective action to make their most meaningful impact in the world. 

Being a solopreneur can be lonely. Having a group that supports you is a game-changer.

Edwin Jansen, the co-op’s initiator, shared that he most often heard people wanted support in taking action with accountability. As in: “How can I be more accountable to myself and my mission?”

With this as the key need, the co-op has a core practice. 

Every Monday, each member posts “My Action & Accountability Plan” (MAAP) for the week in our online Skool community. 

Then we have our Monday MAAP Meeting and post in Skool so we can support, encourage, and advise each other. 

The purpose of the weekly practice is simple: to make it fun and engaging to take action, make progress, and be accountable.

The Weekly MAAP is the practice everything flows from. 

Members are encouraged to write their actions as an “implementation intention” — a written formula popularized by James Clear that is proven to increase your chance of success by 2-3x. 

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I will do (behavior) in (specific context) to (achieve goal). 

Then for deeper commitment) we add:

If I do/don’t take this action, I will (immediate reward or penalty).

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Growing our Success

The Impacters Co-op exists to fuel both personal and business growth. So how will we do that?

Brittany shared a common need: “I'm here because I want to reach people, hone in on my story, and learn how to sell it.” 

Kaia Maeve Tingley, who helps Impacters build websites and marketing plans, shared her strategy: 

“How do you find your target audience? Know yourself and your soul purpose. Know what your sacred gift is to bring to the world. And then how do you align that with the people that are most ready to engage with that as your audience?”

Kaia also shared a challenge that got a few heads nodding: “My Achilles heel is… I can sell for other people, but I have a really hard time selling for myself.”

Matt Bennett, who leads a mission driven business in healthcare staffing, reflected a related challenge: 

“It’s always easier to get help from the outside. I’m so entrenched and in the weeds, it's helpful to have people step up on the balcony and look at what you're doing. Hopefully, we can create clarity for each other.”

In his intro, Harry Duran shared how his podcasting production company Fullcast aligns with the co-op’s ethos:

“The change we want to make is that heart-centered business owners stop trying to do it all themselves. Trust in a supportive partner that speaks their language and focus on creating compelling transformations. We will know we are successful when we are helping awakened souls create consistent quality content and feel 100% supported and guided through every step.”

Making our Most Meaningful Impact

In his introduction, Edwin shared the genesis story of the Impacters Co-op: 

“If you’re a solopreneur who wants to make a living out of making a difference, you have to figure out how to get paid for your work. The problem is that no one is giving you advice or help with your business or marketing. No one gives a shit about whether you hit your goals. So I thought, let’s create a community that provides support and encouragement for people to do their most meaningful work in the world.”

This is exactly what Michelle Payan was looking for. Originally a Pharmacist who started working with children in hospitals, Michelle became so discouraged with the healthcare system that she went back to school and got a Master's in healthcare transformation. 

In her study Michelle “learned different methods and modalities that can actually improve health,” and this led her to found Kairos Therapeutic Retreat, which is a community that empowers cancer survivors to thrive after the trauma of treatment.

Michelle’s story of disillusionment, and re-focusing on “being the change” was another common thread within the group. “The world is on fire” as Erick Godsey often says, so we all have a moral imperative to use our special gifts and knowledge to make a positive impact in our work.

Edwin pointed out that what Michelle went through was what Bill Plotkin in The Journey of Soul Initiation calls “The Five Phases of Descent to Soul.”

This is the process where a person, symbolized by a caterpillar, enters the cocoon for ego Dissolution and Metamorphosis into a butterfly, to begin the Enactment of their soul’s highest work.

This is a harrowing process, filled with the anxiety, doubts, and fears of not being able to live up to the great potential which the Soul Encounter promises. 

Then Angela read out the famous quote from Marianne Williamson, which serves as both inspiration and an imperative for all Impacters:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Making a Living from Making a Difference

For Ronald Conn, an intuitive consultant and designer who channels images like an “oracle of illumination”, having success in today’s market is all about finding “that core group of true believers.”

As he tends to do, Ronald put his finger on what that means:

“I see a decentralized future full of micro-communities. Impact-driven solopreneurs sharing stories that engage with people's dreams is more compelling than a media-saturated world full of generic content. Serving your own core community lets you do powerful things and make a great living. I’m here to use my skills and deeper awareness to help Impacters build these communities and, hopefully, build one for myself too.”

Tobin Dalrymple transitioned from being a journalist to corporate marketer back in 2009,  “right when Hubspot and content marketing was just entering the fray, and the key idea was that good marketing educates and helps people. It should never be about you. It's always about the customer.”

This marketing philosophy has remained at the heart of Tobin’s work, especially now that he runs a B2B agency called Pilgrim Content that produces educational podcasts and videos and makes him “proud to be a marketer.” 

Edwin mentioned that this idea of sales and marketing being noble work is “something you're gonna hear me talking a lot about,” as it connects with the Hero’s Journey, and is inherent in the marketing framework called Storybrand.

He explained Storybrand as:

“Humans are storytelling animals, and the Hero’s Journey is our core story. Your customer is the Hero. You are the Guide. Always make it about your customer, and you're helping guide them up the mountain that you know how to climb.”

Creating a Caring Community

Everyone in this inaugural meeting was also committed to building a collaborative and supportive community. 

All co-ops share the values of: self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. This also came through in a few of the shares. 

Kaia said, “the thing I'm most excited about is joining forces to help each other.”

Dustin Swartz, an impact investor, expanded on what this means to him: 

“I believe that if you have honor you don't need luck. When we have the right people and honor involved, everybody can rise. In the word impact is the word ‘pact.’ By agreeing to amplify one another, we agree to make a pact to be honorable.”

Kerry Dobson, who helps authors turn their books into group programs, said “I want to be able to give back as much as I get,” but also: “How do we hold each other safely while also still encouraging us to go forward and take that bold action?”

There is a tension between having a core practice of weekly action and accountability to make our greatest impact through business success, and navigating the inevitable doubts, fears and challenges that need to be overcome along the way.

After Brittany admitted she was “terrified” and then bravely volunteered to do the first intro, Edwin commented: 

“Vulnerability is a leadership aphrodisiac. When someone admits that they're scared, it makes us want to lean in. We want to support and follow you because you’re courageously sharing what we’re also afraid of.”

The purpose of a cooperative is to serve its members, and for members to help each other. The only way that works is if there is safety for members to be honest, authentic, and real. 

In her intro, Angela Wetzel openly shared the story that led her to becoming a trauma informed relationship coach, and that she’s “here because I really felt like I needed to be here.”

And Dustin made the comment that many were thinking: “I know that I will learn a lot from everyone.”

It’s clear from all the shares that the co-op members are not just looking out for ourselves. 

We’re in this to play a new game of win-win-win capitalism where value is created for everyone who plays.

Bonus from our Divergent Meditator

Anna-Victoria has been a spiritual teacher for over 10 years, focusing on reclaiming ancestral ceremony, developing intuitive abilities, and harnessing both quantum as well as regenerative energy. Check out her guided meditations on her Youtube channel, and writings on Substack. 

Here is a 20 minute divergent meditation Anna-Victoria generously recorded so you can get in tune with your heart and meet the soul of the co-op.

What are your reactions to what we’ve shared here? We’d love to hear from you!