So, my first album EVER was Shaun Cassidy and Hey There Lonely Girl was one of my favorite songs.

It actually really sums up how my experience as a solo entrepreneur has often felt. It can be a very lonely existence. Just me and my laptop and the rest of the world on the other side, but no way to easily and quickly reach out to other people who understood what it was like to be me when I needed to get out of my head, get some quick feedback, or even just wanted to share something funny.

As solo entrepreneurs we aren’t in an environment where we have others around us to be our cheerleaders – or CHAMPIONS - and lift us up when we aren’t able to do it ourselves.

We get stuck in our heads in these cycles of negative self-talk that keep us frozen spinning and that can last a LONG TIME!

I’ve found that recognizing the cycles can be difficult because we’re so hyper-focused on what’s not working and what we’re doing wrong. BUT…

Once the cycle is recognized, it can be broken in moments.

For me, acknowledging the cycle and the issues behind it to another human being – even without any feedback from them – breaks me out of it.

Now, I’d love to be completely self-actualized and be able to do it all by myself all of the time, but I’m not there yet.

Even in the world of social media, the things I needed to share or get support with were not something for the general public AND the cool organizations or programs that I found who could support, cost $$$$ and were out of my budget.

I once quit a Mastermind program because the leader started introducing strategies and techniques to manage our energy - such as EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique also known as tapping). It wasn't practical. It wasn't serious. Manage my ENERGY? I needed to grow my business. How is something so woo-woo like this going to help my business grow?

I just couldn't see it! AND... BOY did I NEED it!

I hadn't yet stepped into the woo. I thought that everything good that would happen would come from me efforting it. Clients and money just didn't come out of thin air because I asked for it. If I was struggling to have success, then I was the cause because I was DOING something WRONG or I wasn't DOING the RIGHT things.

AND I was tired. Deep down I wasn't believing in myself and the universe felt that energy.

BUT then it happened...

I had punted my taxes to October because I didn't have the money to pay in April. It was mid-August. The October deadline was coming and I needed $8,000. I didn't have it and didn't know where it was coming from. The pipeline was DRY! All of the ideas I could come up with for money would fill some of the gap but were not likely to cover the full tab.

I need $8,000 by October 15th. I need $8,000 by October 15th. I need $8,000 by October 15th.      I need $8,000 by October 15th. I need $8,000 by October 15th. I need $8,000 by October 15th.

I said this over and over in my head. I shared it with my SCORE coach and other trusted confidants.

I was out of ideas. Then the opportunity came along and it didn't even look like an opportunity at first.

An executive from a pharmaceutical company had invited me to connect on LinkedIn and NOT bothered to provide a note explaining why he wanted to connect. Pharmaceuticals, healthcare, not one of my target markets - wasn't interested in those industries at all. BUT, he was local so I sent a reply asking for more information about why he wanted to connect.

Well, he was looking to hire a social media consultant for 20 hours a week to help with LinkedIn and Facebook and wanted to know if I was interested.

But, that wasn't how I worked - I had a team that did much of the implementation and I focused on the strategy. People didn't hire me by the hour; they bought my service.

I explained the difference and he liked that approach. After a month of discussions, a proposal was approved that would equal close to $50,000 for a year with the first payment being... $8,000.

The check arrived on October 11th BUT it was from Montreal, Canada. The bank was going to need to hold an international check for 2 weeks. Luckily I had a great relationship with my branch manager and he took a risk because of how long I was with the bank and released the funds sooner and they landed in my account just in time to forward them to the IRS by the October 15th deadline.

The universe had conspired in my favor!!! I had told it what I needed and wanted and it provided it in a way that I NEVER could have EFFORTED myself. Yes, I was smart about manipulating the opportunity when it presented itself to me to my best advantage. BUT that opportunity was looking for me and NOT the other way around as had been my modus operandi to that point.

That's when I first realized that it wasn't just about WHAT I DID. It was about what I ATTRACTED.

I stepped into the woo...

I didn't even know that I was "manifesting." And, I definitely did it from a very low vibration because I was scared and desperate. The universe - or God if you prefer - chose to show me that there was something more; that there was another way. And that was the first step on the path that has brought you and I here today.

It's a lot harder to raise and maintain your vibration ALONE. It's a lot harder to hold onto your positive mindset inside your own head filled with sub-conscious negative self-talk programs ALONE. It's a lot harder to consistently take the right actions that lead to success but that don't give immediate positive feedback without someone else to encourage you to stay the course. It's a lot easier to do it in a group.

Crystal Clear Champions is an Achievement Circle. It operates with the same end goal of an Accountability Partner but with NONE of the negative and judgmental connotations that come with it. 

It is a portal for you to put out into the universe that which you want to manifest and achieve while having a community hear you and support you in a heartfelt manner to encourage you to grow.

It's a space that brings together like-minded entrepreneurs to champion their own initiatives AND find external champions to help out when their own strength and fortitude may be waning. You're never alone; all you have to do is reach out and you will find support - even if all you need is to be heard. Often, that's enough. 

Are you afraid it won't work? Are you afraid to put yourself out there? Are you afraid people will make fun of you or judge you for where you're at with your entrepreneur journey?

Believe me! I understand and I've been there. As entrepreneurs, we create a façade that often makes us look - to us - more successful than we really are. I sometimes used to think after I got compliments for what I accomplished, "if they only knew what a mess I am behind the scenes and that if the good stuff didn't come so easy to me, then I'd be an abject failure."

Luckily, I did have a small group of trusted entrepreneurs that I could be real with and that I could  get affirmation and validation from when I really needed it - sometimes. I say sometimes because I often didn't put myself out there as much as I should to get their help.

If I had a group like this, I KNOW I would have accomplished so much more so much quicker!

That's why I'm creating it! To help others have the support that I wish I had and still need sometimes. I'm going to be in there with you being open, vulnerable, and supportive!

This group isn't going to magically make you a better and more successful entrepreneur - you still have to do the work and show up. It is a commitment, but it's not a big commitment.

If you have a planning tool that you already use for your To-Dos, all you have to do is copy/paste into the group.

Each week there will be a post that goes out for everyone to comment on to add what they want to manifest and be accountable for. Just add your comment. At the end of the week, there will be a post asking you to share what you achieved. Here's the thing... since it's virtual, if you don't feel like fessing up to now achieving what you set out to, that's OK. Way easier than accountability groups I've been in in the past where I had to speak and admit to the group that I didn't do that. No shaming here! But, if you're stuck, you can use the monthly live events to get my help getting you unstuck.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!