302: The Power of Getting in the Room

Melissa [: 00:00:00

Have you ever asked yourself what is the true benefit in getting out from your office, getting out from your day to day routine, and actually showing up in person to connect with other like minded entrepreneurs? On my flight home from HoloBox this February. It got me thinking about the women that were in Mexico with me all have been amazing humans. I have kind of collected throughout the years of strategically networking and showing up and getting into rooms over the past six or seven years to really grow and expand. And it got me thinking I need to do an episode that really reflects on the power of getting in the room and the power over the past couple of years of what getting in the room has done for me. I think this is a really timely episode at the beginning of the year when you're looking at your calendar and you're trying to make maybe some space for personal growth, but also, like, your network, my friends, is your net worth. Your network is your net worth, and that's what we're gonna be talking about today. So I hope you guys enjoy this episode. Need some effective tactical advice that actually helps you get results and makes a real difference in your life and business? You've come to the right place.

Melissa [: 00:01:24

If you're finding yourself here today, it means you're getting ready to gain serious traction in your business, rapidly multiply your income and impact, and you're ready to make it happen while living all out. Guys, I'm Melissa Hennault, your trustworthy corporate dropout turned 6 figure business burnout turned happy and healthy CEO of a multimillion dollar online business. And you're listening to the Burnout to All Out podcast. On this show, we're serving up innovative growth strategies, simple implementation methods to put them into practice, and action stimulating inspiration tailored specifically for the modern entrepreneur. Let's dive in. So today's episode is really about getting in the room. I was thinking about it on my flight back from Hollabox, which is a group of female entrepreneurs that I have lovingly collected over the years from masterminds and live events that I have invested in, and they have become my closest friends. And it brought me to this podcast episode for, specifically, the entrepreneurs in the room who are growing a business from home, you have the freedom to work a business from your computer without travel.

Melissa [: 00:02:53

It is actually a double edged sword to be that solopreneur, to be an online business owner, because there is obviously incredible benefits to working from home. I have a sick seven year old who's home with me today with a fever. He may pop in here, and that's one of the benefits of being able to work from home. What I will say is that being a solopreneur, being an online business owner, even if you have a larger team, when you work from home, you can be siloed from growth. You can be siloed from exponential ideation sharing and quantum growth in your business because you just aren't getting into the right rooms to expand. And so that is what today is all about. I brain dumped a lot of different categories. I reflected on my time as an entrepreneur and a couple of moments of the profoundness of just being in the room live, like, just being in the room live.

Melissa [: 00:03:51

And this comes off the heels of already in January, been to Nashville for a mastermind that I am in with Amy Porterfield. I just came back from Hollabox with my girlfriends who are all entrepreneurs. And next week, I'm hopping on a plane, and I'm headed to Miami where I'm going to be networking with a lot of founders and CEOs on the East Coast. As I'm expanding my network on the East Coast, I have found that I have a pretty expansive network on the West Coast, even though I'm an East Coaster. And it's because of all of my initial investments and mentors. And the first six years of entrepreneurship, were all West Coast Mentors. So what I realized this past year is I'm like, Man, I need to expand my network on the East Coast and actually reduce some travel. It was really nice to just fly an hour and a half to get to Nashville instead of four hours to get to California.

Melissa [: 00:04:44

But yeah. And then I'm actually hosting my own live event for my clients and my mastermind in March. So we're gonna talk more about this. But even though I work from home, even though I have the freedom to be home, and believe me, I spend way more time with my family than I ever did in corporate traveling and being gone all the time. There is no guilt to being gone for a couple days, a couple times a month because there's so much time I get with my family. As a matter of fact, next Monday is president's day. I cleared the calendar, and I'm spending the day with the kids. The following week, they've got a half day, and I've cleared the calendar.

Melissa [: 00:05:21

I'm spending my time with them. And so it is wildly important. So hear me, some of you who have fallen into the trap of convincing yourself it's super convenient to solely be at home, working on your business, and not have to leave the house. I'm here to tell you, you are missing out on massive, massive expansion by not getting into the rooms. So let's talk about this couple of reasons I continue to invest in showing up to events and networking. By the way, I'm actually an extroverted introvert. I actually need my downtime. It is not a natural state for me to actually just show up at events and be proactive and make new friends.

Melissa [: 00:06:06

It is not how I operate, but I know how essential it is to my business. As a matter of fact, this trip to Miami next week, I don't know a soul except for my mentor. And I actually invited my personal energetics and spiritual mentor, Sam, to come out with me. So she's flying in from the West Coast so we can show up together because, again, believe it or not, it's not my natural state to just proactively show up, but I know how important it is. So here's the thing. Couple of things we're gonna talk about today. Number one is the quantum leaps that happen by being in a room of collective entrepreneurs and being able to state what you're feeling limited in, self limiting beliefs, and getting people's perspectives that are different than yours can radically change your business. We become our thoughts, and we are really good at seeking evidence for what we believe.

Melissa [: 00:07:08

And if you're in a silo at home, you've already told yourself what you can and can't do. So great example of this is last year, my mastermind that I held, I'll never forget one of my clients. We broke everyone out into small groups to do some problem solving amongst each other, sharing their biggest challenges and opportunities. And in the group, I witnessed this one client in our mastermind sharing what she was gonna do this year. And in a matter of four sentences from someone else in the group who said, have you thought about this? I've seen you really light up about that. And maybe you could move forward with this as an initiative in your business. Guys, literally four sentences that turned into a half a million dollars last year in a business and would not have happened had someone in the room not observed and made a couple of comments, getting out of the silo, getting out of a room by yourself, and getting in the room. Same thing for me.

Melissa [: 00:08:12

A couple of years ago, I used to not invest in ads at all. I still firmly believe that LinkedIn is the foundation of lead generation with ease with the highest ROI for entrepreneurs. But once you have revenue running in your business, this was the new story, right? So let me share with you prior to getting into a room and seeing where people were being really successful with spending on ads, I'd always told myself I don't invest in ads. Everything's organic. And we were running a million dollar a year business. And that was the year I invested in a new mastermind, came into a live event. And what I witnessed was other people in the room who had similar what I call conversion rates. They were launching and converting about the same amount percentage wise conversions into their business, but they had chosen to also invest in ads and not just go the organic route.

Melissa [: 00:09:09

And what it did is it exponentially grew their business because they already had a proof of concept product that was already converting organically, just like I was, drawing in an audience, converting and creating a business of a million in revenue per year, Witnessing that someone else went first and invested gave me the confidence. This is where you can borrow confidence. The only way this happens is by being in a room and seeing in practicality how it's working for someone else. Sitting down with them, talking to them eye to eye, hearing about their business, and being like, oh my gosh. Like, they're no different than me. Their business is really not that different than mine. So we can borrow each other's confidence to then make calculated risks that I never would have done before. And here's how this paves itself forward.

Melissa [: 00:10:04

That was a couple of years ago. Now we stand as a multimillion dollar a year company, hands down, deciding to take a risk on investing some of the income in my business into ads because I had a proven product that was converting, made a massive difference in the revenue of the company because then we had a broader reach to a broader audience. And so where this comes full circle is me being in Nashville this past month in breaking out in person in a live event, breaking out into small group, talking about people's challenges, and someone in the group was talking about their income cap. And they had an income cap of what they'd ever seen in their launches, and they have them probably, I think, about a $2,000,000 a year business, proven conversion rates. Guess what? Never had invested in ads before, ever. So this is where the beauty of it paves forward. I'm able to say, gosh. I was in your shoes.

Melissa [: 00:11:03

Let me tell you what happened. I had a proof of concept product just like you have. It was converting beautifully organically. There was no reason not to take a risk and invest in ads. And so this is how live events and masterminding works. We're able to gain confidence through peers who we relate more with. So how many of you can attest to this? Sometimes when you go to a live event and the speakers on stage sound really awesome, but there can be a disconnect between you and the speakers on the stage. Sometimes you put the speakers on a pedestal because you're like, great for them, but they're not like me.

Melissa [: 00:11:45

So they're inspirational, but maybe not relatable. That's what I love about investing and getting in the room because in the seats are your peers. And I guarantee you, you're probably not the smartest, richest person in the room. If you are, you invested in getting into the wrong room. And so I like to call these pacesetters. Setters. So this is number two. So number one was quantum leaps in your business through problem solving with peers that see things differently than you.

Melissa [: 00:12:13

Number two is that there's pace setters that can create what's possible for you. Every year, I'm identifying pace setters who are a couple steps ahead of me, but relatable. So it's one thing to have my mentor, Amy Porterfield, who did like 17,000,000 last year. It feels like a huge stretch from where I did just about four last year. But the pacesetter in the rooms did, like, seven or 8,000,000 this year. I mean, like, two or three years ago, they were no different than me. Then that shows you what's possible, what's within reach. I'll give you an example of this.

Melissa [: 00:12:53

This podcast that you're listening to right now or maybe you're streaming live with me over on LinkedIn, this podcast would not have existed if I hadn't shown up to a live event. How about that? So I showed up to a live event, very first live event I ever attended. So first time I ever invested in myself as an entrepreneur, it was one of the greatest investments and some of the closest friendships to this day. But there was a woman in the room that I became fast friends with, who we are dear friends till this day. And we went on our journey together. And a couple of months later, after really spending time with her and getting to know her, she launched a podcast. Now up until that point, there was a story I was telling myself. Maybe you are too that, oh, launching a podcast seems really complicated.

Melissa [: 00:13:43

Oh, my gosh. It seems so difficult. That's on my bucket list way down the road. Well, then my good friend, over a matter of days, launches her podcast. And I'm like, holy shit. If she can do it, so can I? I'm no different than her. So it's borrowing that confidence by pure influence that they're no different than you. They just set the pace a little bit further ahead, and now you're taking radical action that you wouldn't have in a silo previously.

Melissa [: 00:14:17

Because if you're just working from home and you're not proactively seeking to collaborate and meet and network with other entrepreneurs, you don't know what your actual ceiling is. You have an invisible ceiling that you're giving yourself because you don't know what's actually possible because you aren't seeking out to see what's possible. Is this making sense? Okay. So, obviously, I think that this one goes without saying, but I'm gonna mention it anyway, Is attending live events, strategically finding live events for entrepreneurs and business are one of the most profound ways to stay up to date with the latest business strategies. So I know that I came home from this recent live event and had so many notes about strategies in 02/2025. What types of sales strategies are working? What types are not? What types of leadership strategies are working in the online space? What types are not? Legal guidance in 02/2025. So these are things that getting in the room, hearing from industry leaders, and then the dynamic ability to not just ask them the question, but there to be this kind of ping pong back and forth dynamic conversation? Priceless. Priceless with the personal development and growth for your lid as a CEO.

Melissa [: 00:15:40

Now the next one I wanna talk about is that you're just one connection away from a new business collaboration. I say this a lot. You're just one connection away from a new business collaboration or really a totally different business. And you're also just one connection away from potentially a vendor or consultant that could radically change your business. I have so many stories on this that I could do a whole podcast on it. But a couple of examples would be I was in the room and was networking and met someone who was an expert in the Enneagram space. Ultimately, as my business was scaling as a new business owner, realized that I needed her to come into my team and assess everyone's Enneagram and do a full workshop on how we understand how we each operate, how we operate under stress, how we operate when we're healthy. And it was so powerful.

Melissa [: 00:16:37

And just without going into a rabbit hole with it, I wouldn't have even known about the service and breakthrough for my team had I not shown up. I wouldn't have had that personal connection. Couple of other examples. I was in a room where we were all griping about the rates on processing fees. Anybody in the online space watching me right now and your stomach churns every month when you see how much you're paying and processing fees. I'm in a room where someone owns their own processor company and knows their stuff and sits down and looks and reviews what the rates were paying and offers to sit down with us and offer us a much better deal and a much better experience. So to this day, this was three years ago, we moved over and are doing business with this person, all from meeting them in the room. And it's a very boutique, high touch, phenomenal relationship versus working with these big box companies like Stripe or PayPal, right? Attorneys, right? The attorney support referrals I've gotten as your business scales.

Melissa [: 00:17:45

It's not a bad thing, guys. This is just business. The bigger the business gets, the more complicated it gets. You need a great attorney. You don't want to end up in a legal situation and then try to find an attorney. And so the power of networking and being in the room with other entrepreneurs is the power of these referral bases for vendors that people have significant histories and results with. The last one I'll say on this with business collaborations and vendors is even financial support. I found my CFO through being at a live event and being connected to their financial services, and it all spurred from breakout sessions and conversations around money management and p and l, things that are not going to happen at light speed through a computer screen.

Melissa [: 00:18:35

It's through the dynamic conversation of being in a room and knowing a person and being connected to that person in the room and then bam, quantum leaps in the organization of your business. The other thing I wanted to talk about is when we talk about one connection away from business collaborations is like true collaboration. So what I was just talking about is really finding vendors who could support my business. But the other thing I have found through showing up and networking at live events is meeting people who I can collaborate in the future in my business and have them bring value to my clients as well. So a great example of that is Preston Smiles. How many of you guys know Preston Smiles? The first time I ever met him, I was at a live event. He was facilitating. That gave me direct access to him to then walk up to him after the event and get into a really great conversation.

Melissa [: 00:19:29

Long story short, I have him every year doing different segments in person in live events. We're having him actually just next month in Miraval with our mastermind clients. We had him in Austin last year, but he does a lot of virtual work inside of modern entrepreneur for me. And the law of reciprocity, he actually has me speaking to his group next week. And so that creates for both of us this cross pollination of networks to expand both of our networks for business because we have very parallel businesses that one could argue, oh my gosh, it's almost like you guys are competitors and we absolutely are not. Like, we find that our clients love to go back and forth between us. Mel Abraham is another great example of someone that I met him through being in a room. And this is where the uncomfortable is what makes growth.

Melissa [: 00:20:30

So I heard him in a room and from paying to show up being at the table. And I made sure before the event was over to go shake his hand, look him in the eye, make sure he remembered me. And then shaking in my boots later, asked him to be a guest on my podcast, and he said yes. And from there, we became dear friends. And he's showing up and speaking at my mastermind next month. And he's also speaking in Miami at my burnout to all out live event. Why? All because I showed up. All because I showed up and got in the room and was willing to make the introduction and ask for what I needed.

Melissa [: 00:21:15

This is like a top tip I have for all of you that invest in coming to events is a lot of you are coming to events, but you're not maximizing it. Do not be afraid to ask for what you need. I have found that those of us who show up and speak, we have servant hearts. We wanna support entrepreneurs who are growing and expanding. So ask. Also ask how you the law of reciprocity. How can you give back? How can you create value? Sam is another great example. How many of you guys know Sam, my spiritual mentor, met her at a live event, reached out to her afterwards, asked if we could collaborate.

Melissa [: 00:21:56

This is where the magic happens. Not on Zoom, not on social media, in the room. In the room. It's also where I met my CIO, Jackie Dinowitt. We were in a group together. So I just can't underscore the power of business collaborations through getting out of your office, getting out from behind your computer, doing the uncomfortable, and strategically showing up at the right room. And then also finding your next mentors. Like, every mentor I've invested in has been through a referral and experience of someone in the room that I have met who's getting the results I desire, who's speaking really highly of the person they're working with.

Melissa [: 00:22:37

The last thing I wanted to hit on here as far as the power of live events, and I didn't say this from the beginning and I should have, but being an entrepreneur can be really lonely personally and professionally. Personally, a lot of people don't get what you do. Am I right? A lot of people just don't get what you do. And you're obsessed with your business. You think about it all the time. And many of us are not blessed to live in a neighborhood or a community surrounded by people who think like us. And it's really, really important that we make really powerful social and emotional connections with other entrepreneurs, not only professionally maybe be isolated, but also personally inside your house. Do you live with any other entrepreneurs? Probably not.

Melissa [: 00:23:28

My husband had no idea what I was really doing, and he'll admit to this for the first couple of years. He was scared shitless the amount of risk I was taking, the amount that I was investing because he's an employee. So there was a lot of tension in the household of what are you doing? What are you investing in? How much money are you making right now? Is it predictable? How are we gonna manage our budget based off of what you're making? This is really driving me nuts. I would have these huge months, and then I wouldn't make any money. And then I'd have another huge month. And then I and a lot of times, our loved ones have no idea what we hold. They have no idea what we hold as owners of our company. It's like a whole another family holding the operations of a business that feeds and houses other people is a lot of responsibility.

Melissa [: 00:24:13

So we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves, and it can feel really, really lonely if you don't create super authentic relationships with other entrepreneurs that you can share vulnerably when shit hits the fan. You can share vulnerably when you make a huge revenue goal and not be judged, but rather be celebrated. Emotional connection is vastly important. And I actually heard someone say this the other day. They were like, well, Melissa, what's easy for you? You've got kids at your age. It's easier to relate to people who've got kids, and I feel like it's harder for me. I believe that's a story you guys are telling yourselves. So two of my closest friends do not have children, and they live in different parts of the country.

Melissa [: 00:25:07

We have so much in common and are so supportive of each other in our businesses that I challenge some of you. What is the story you're telling yourself? Why do you not have authentic, close relationships with other entrepreneurs? And if the story is, well, I don't know where to find them. There's no one around me. That is on you to find them. They're not just gonna land in your lap. This is where I will say till the cows come home. Some of you may believe in this or not, but I pay to find my friends. Now what does that mean to pay for your friends or pay to find your friends? It's not nearly as selfish as you actually think it is.

Melissa [: 00:25:51

I invest my money to get into specific rooms that are specifically curated for specific types of people that I know have a lot in common with me and can expand me. And they're not just gonna fall into my lap in Charlotte or Davidson, North Carolina, working from home every single day will never happen. And I promise you, your willpower is not stronger than who you surround yourself with. And so what I learned very early on was my biggest expander in business is being strategic and getting into the rooms, making the friends and being the one who becomes the friend, not waiting for people to make the invitation to me. And this brings me to my trip to Hollabox. I've had a couple people ask, oh, how did that trip come about? I wish I was invited to something like that. If you wish you were invited to a girl's trip to Hollabox of high level entrepreneurs, create the group, invite the group. That's what I did.

Melissa [: 00:26:52

I didn't wait for someone to say, hey, Melissa, do you wanna come hang out with us? I took the initiative. I decided one day these curated events that we pay to go to are amazing. But actually, what I'd really love is there's a couple of people I've met throughout my journey that have become really close, and I want us to just all disappear to an island for a week every year and have blank space to have conversations that are not scheduled, that aren't curated. And where I'm going with this is I didn't sit around and wait for somebody to invite me to something like this. And I also have to set my ego at the door and think maybe none of these girls will come. Maybe they'll all say I'm too busy. But I did the work to nurture the relationships with these women. And this is something you can all do, is I actually created a group text, and we have a name for it.

Melissa [: 00:27:47

We actually are renaming it because we've already agreed we're all going to Egypt next year, but be the one that starts the conversation. I can't tell you how valuable emotional and social connection to good people daily is, and it's as simple as creating a group thread that you own. We now have what we call waffle Wednesdays, where we just jump in, and it's a quick video for us all to stay so connected, and it's not more than two minutes. We just talk about what's going on in our life, whether somebody's having surgery or somebody just had a baby or somebody's going through a divorce or somebody just made their first million dollar month. It doesn't matter. But I love opening up my phone on Wednesdays and finding out about Waffle Wednesdays and being so connected with my dear friends and supporting them when they're in the thick of it and celebrating with them when they have these wins, and they motivate the shit out of me about what's possible. One of our good friends was just on Mel Robbins freaking podcast. You talk about a pacesetter in the group.

Melissa [: 00:28:53

I'm like, shit. Six months ago, she wasn't on that podcast, and now she is. She's no different than me. This is what I mean about getting yourself into rooms, surrounding yourself with people who can set the pace for you. Be the one that takes the lead. Maximize the time you're together. Guys, don't just sit behind your computer as a solopreneur and think that you're gonna expand at quantum rate. We have to get into the rooms.

Melissa [: 00:29:24

The last one I'll say and then I'll wrap up is the ability to sidestep disasters because you've witnessed someone else experience it. Whether when you come to a live event and you're hearing stories and you're connecting with people, there's been many times I've heard scenarios and situations that were an absolute disaster, and I was able to learn from it before it happened to me so that when it came to me, I was able to sidestep it. There's power in that too. There is power in that. I really challenge you all to get your ass to events, not any event. Be very strategic about where you're going, who's gonna be in the room, and then get intentional about who you're connecting with and how you're gonna stay connected. I met someone and had a deeper conversation with them this past January and realized at the mastermind event that I was at, she is just brilliant in real estate investment. She lives in Puerto Rico.

Melissa [: 00:30:29

She travels across the world with her three children and has a nanny and a home her nanny is also homeschooling. And talk about a pacesetter. Talk about showing me what is possible. We got along so well talking about spirituality and doctor Joe. And before I know it, we have a scheduled call next month because we just felt the energetic match, and she's invited me to this big live event that we're gonna go to together later this year with Tony Robbins and his advanced business mentorship. None of this would have happened sitting here in this office. None of this. None of the expansion.

Melissa [: 00:31:04

I can say that three fourths of the people I work with have hired would not be collaborating with if I didn't show up and get into rooms. The growth in the business, the intellectual knowledge, the personal development not happen if I didn't get to the rooms. Not at the pace. Okay. So I thought this was just a really timely podcast since I just got back from my girls trip in Hollabox that I spearhead, and I just got back from Amy Porterfield's mastermind, and I'm headed to Miami next week. I'm encouraging you to get into the room. And if you don't know what room to get into, this is your chance. If you're listening to this now, we actually have a live event event bundle that we're running right now that includes two days in my hometown of Charlotte where two of the most incredible human beings, Sam Harper and Tracy O'Malley, are flying in, and we are facilitating two days of massive breakthrough in the inner work that is actually necessary for business development and business growth.

Melissa [: 00:32:08

And then in that live event bundle, we're also including a live event ticket to Miami in October this year, where Mel Abraham and Sam Harper and Kelly Roche are gonna come speak with me, and we are going to foster this network expansion. We are gonna foster business growth. We are gonna foster personal development. And at the core of it, it's about taking what you think is possible and just blowing it out of the water, taking your ceiling, making it your floor, and creating quantum growth for you and your network. So if that sounds like something, if you're like Melissa, you've really given me a swift kick in the ass to attend some live events, but I don't even know where to start. Start with us. Start with us and let it just snowball. Come hang out with us in May.

Melissa [: 00:32:55

Come hang out with us in October. See the magic unfold. Alright, guys. I hope you enjoyed this episode and can't wait to see you again for the next one. Thanks guys so much for listening in on today's podcast episode. And I can't wait for you to see my upcoming guest in the next episode. You are going to love this keynote speaker. Hey, here's the deal.

Melissa [: 00:33:22

If you like this, please subscribe and leave a review. And you want the latest online business growth strategies and exclusive LinkedIn pro tips sent straight to your phone? Text the word update to (704) 318-2285. That is text the word update to (704) 318-2285. Can't wait to see you guys. Come find me over on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, wherever you like to hang. Cannot wait to hear how you are enjoying and applying what you're learning. You guys reach out to me over on social because I love hearing what's resonating with you. When you reach out to me and you send me those personal DMs, they really do impact the content I continue to bring forward to you.

Melissa [: 00:34:13

So again, come find me, melissa underscore hinault over on Instagram, melissa hinault over on LinkedIn and Facebook. Can't wait to see you guys over there.