Meet Lisa Mininni, President of Excellerate Associates and Founder of the latest CoWorking and Conference Center
What makes you unique and how did you get to be a best-selling author and top business mentor in your field?
To answer this question, it’s best that I share with you a life-changing moment (and what has become my widely-known Signature Story) that brought me to where I am today, coaching people, like you, on improving their personal and professional results.
One cold December day, I was driving down the freeway wondering if starting a business (and writing a book) was the “right” decision. Just several months earlier, I had completed 18 years in the Corporate world dismantling a division where I worked as an Executive. I was thinking back about what a successful corporate career I had as an executive navigating significant organizational change through mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and closures. Frequent promotions and exceeding goals and expectations were frequent for me but starting a business was an entirely different challenge.
At that moment I saw something pop up from the freeway and I instinctively crossed my hands over my face and waited for what I thought would be a painful moment. All of a sudden I heard a big whooshing sound and dinging going around in my front seat. I placed my hands on the steering wheel to see a shattered windshield, a softball-sized hole in the windshield, and a 4 ft 5 lb semi-truck’s tire iron in the front seat of my car. I navigated to the side of the road and eventually landed in a parking lot off the main freeway. I called the police and while waiting for them to arrive, I got out of the car to inspect the damage. There was a 6 inch gash in the steel hood of my car that, thankfully, changed the trajectory of the tire iron.
When each one of the three police officers came on scene that day, they said, lady, you’re on this earth for a reason. Just moments before, I had been asking if starting a business (and writing a book) was the right decision. I got the answer from three officers who said I must be on this earth for a reason.
At that moment, I made a commitment: to make sure I utilized my best talents and learned all I could about marketing, networking, and developing who I was as a person. But I didn’t want others to struggle like I had struggled with this new change. So I put my education and quality improvement background to work. I wrote down the steps I was going through, solutions I found, and wrote Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets to Navigating Change (which became a best seller). I also developed various systems and programs that helped thousands of people create the framework for their change. But that wasn’t enough.
I decided that I would use my innate talents and became an expert on how to build a sustainable business in alignment with who I was. I didn’t want to work 80 hours a week doing it. I had already done that and been there. I had the marketing and I had networking.
But I was missing something. The systematizing and monetizing to have the business work for me, not me for it. I had an “ah ha” moment.
Soon I learned about those systems that would fill my practice with 71 new clients in less than four months. Soon many entrepreneurs heard about my success and began to ask me about these systems and I made a commitment to show entrepreneurs how to increase their income, with less effort, and on purpose. I’ve been asked about what the “on purpose” means. What it means is that we all have special talents, wiring, and gifts and if we can use them to do work in alignment with who we are, it’s not work! But our natural wiring can interfere with building a sustainable business.
For years, I showed people their natural wiring, and now it is part of an important formula for The Entrepreneurial Edge SystemTM that is a framework that shows business owners how to get their preferred clients faster and more efficiently than ever.
We all have those tire iron experiences that wake us up, get us stuck, or prevent us from seeing all of the possibilities and reaching them. It took many years, but I did what I do best: empower others to live life fully.
I have an innate talent that connects seemingly disparate ideas and create systems and use it to help others see these connections.
You have quite the experience working with various kinds of professionals and organizations, but first, what are the characteristics of your preferred client?
We (and by we I mean my Lab Licensees and I) work with high-achieving small business owners and executives. You might be a preferred client if you:
- Are ready to make changes in your life and business.
- You are ready to do things differently to get different results and are open to new ideas.
- You have tremendous potential but you realize that you need someone to assist you in achieving improved outcomes.
- You are someone who needs support, a framework, systems or guidance to stay focused.
- You are a self-starter, who is proactive and has a high sense of urgency who can implement what they learn.
- You’re open to learning about your natural hardwiring and a brand new way of thinking about how you attract clients.
How would you describe the attributes of your preferred clients?
I, along with my Lab Leaders, work with high achieving, proactive professionals who are ready to move forward, want to grow their business and do what they say they are going to do. They are typically contribution-conscious, heart-centered, achiever types and who may need to do things differently to regain their momentum or get clear about their direction.
They accept feedback, are innovative in finding solutions to their problems, and implement what they learn. They are open minded, proactive, and willing to do what it takes to create a business and life of their dreams. They willingly let go of outdated and self-limiting beliefs and are open to the possibilities.
Who are your clients exactly?
- CEO’s/Presidents who own their companies, including:
- Consultants/Training Companies
- Event Planning Companies
- Financial Planning and Advising
- Franchisors or Franchisees
- Health and Wellness Companies
- Independent Businesses
- IT Services
- Manufacturing
- Mortgage Brokers
- Marketing/PR Companies
- Organizational Consultants
- Real Estate Brokers
- Service Companies
- Training Companies
- Staffing/Virtual Assistance Companies
What types of industries do you work with?
We have worked with thousands of clients in both for profit, nonprofit, and a variety of industries including legal, hospitality, health care, manufacturing at all levels including Executives, Managers, Directors and Entrepreneurs, just to name a few.
Our services include: coaching, mentoring, consulting, and training. Depending on the best solution, we may mentor you, like in our Profitability Lab and be a sounding board. We may guide you (as in The Entrepreneurial Edge SystemTM a framework you work through). In Premier Coaching, we may be using a developmental coaching model to ask you questions that helps you think through your stuck point and realize outcomes that you may not had considered.
Further, we take a systems approach to profitability. Every industry has a system and it is important to look at how your systems are interconnected. This includes what we refer to as your Inner Entrepreneur. When you take a systems approach, you’ll notice a shift in the framework with “your being” in your life, your career, and your business.
What makes you and your Lab Leader Licensees stand out from other Business Mentors?
It’s not just about the bottom line nor is it just about developing yourself as a person and uncovering your unique talents. It’s having all of that work together. This is part of systems thinking and it works.
We have experience with complexities of sophisticated infrastructures.
Our sweet spot is working with small business owners who have a growing business or practice. What’s great about having worked with/in both small business and large infrastructures, is it is helpful to have someone who has had those experiences to help understand exactly what it takes to make the infrastructures work as the business gets bigger.
Additionally, we are passionate about development coaching in a business system. We subscribe to the coaching model where the person being coached has the Power, Accountability, Authority and Responsibility over the results they achieve. We work together and with a developmental coaching approach, the person being coached develops their competency to help with their own problem solving.
As a Master Certified Business Coach (MCBC), Lisa Mininni has learned how to ask questions to uncover what’s underneath the surface so the person being coached surfaces awareness, new distinctions, and takes action. When the coaching is over, the person being coached has developed the competency to do things for themselves. As a coach, if she always prescribe things for the coaching clients, they will never learn how to do it for themselves. You have to develop your own problem solving and competency for achieving the results so you can achieve them over and over – that’s a true measure of success and we’ve done our job.
There are times when the Person Being Coached needs guiding. We focus on the uniqueness of many facets of your unique talents (and wiring), the systems, and how you create a synergistic flow in your business aligned with who you are.
When you work in alignment with who you are, it’s not work! ~ Lisa Mininni
This approach and philosophy empowers our clients to fulfill on their contribution, build a high-performance team, and enjoy a successful business.
Is there a type of professional that your coaching programs won’t work for?
If you are not ready to take action on what you learn, are skeptical, or do not meet your commitments and promises, these programs would not work for you.
Another type of person that won’t do well is the chronic complainer or people who make excuses for not getting things done. But, if you are one of these people who is not ready to let go of the self-limiting excuses or stop the chronic complainer behaviors, there would not be a fit and there are other resources we can refer you to.
The Excellerate Associates programs offer a range of products and services with varying investment points. However, they are not for those who have no income and are financially distressed. We devote a considerable amount of time to organizations that support people who are in need of no cost services and make a point to publicize those free or low cost events so that you can attend.
The Excellerator, our free e-zine notifies you of all events. Please join it to keep up to date on these opportunities. Each week, you receive a free video that covers such topics as mastering your inner entrepreneur, systematizing and monetizing your business, or executing your business blueprint.
Do these programs work?
Yes. They work because the approach is decidedly different from most business coaches or mentors. The developmental coaching works because you experience a developmental model to help you develop your capacity and capability. Additionally, we show you the marketing and developmental systems that have worked for years and create staying power for you.
You see, it’s all about connecting the internal, external, financial and developmental systems in your business.
What is the Entrepreneurial Edge SystemTM?
The Entrepreneurial Edge System is designed to bring about a transformation in creating a new level of skill around creating a profitable business. Grounded in a Systems Approach, it gives you an awareness of how each component of your business is interconnected and is our signature program taught at our Wake Up Profitable Boot Camp for Business Owners.
From that awareness comes a fundamental shift in the way you do business. This shift is not a one-time event, but an ongoing access to a new distinction in sales effectiveness and profitability. The Entrepreneurial Edge System offers a practical methodology for producing extraordinary breakthroughs and outcomes.
Alumni find themselves able to exponentially increase their results because of this new way of looking at all of the pieces of their business and put them together in a flow that works.
At the Wake Up Profitable Boot Camp, you will be taken through three transformational steps:
The first step is called Mastering Your Inner Entrepreneur. It is a unique combination of understanding your vision, purpose, hardwiring and Preferred Client ProfileTM. With your Preferred Client ProfileTM, you learn the exact formula for how your clients find you, choose you, and buy from you.
The second step is Systematizing and Monetizing where you create Mesmerizing Marketing, position yourself in the marketplace, and learn the exact way to bring in multiple income streams, including recurring, passive and leveraged income. You also discover how to create the systems IN your business so you spend more time working ON your business.
The third step is Executing Your Business Blueprint. You learn how to make the connection between your vision, mission, purpose, hardwiring as well as your Marketing Mix, Action Plan, Metrics and more into a working system that so you know how you get from where you are today to where to want to be.
At the Wake Up Profitable, you’ll learn to create your business from the inside out and bridge the gap between believing and reality. You’ll also learn the secret system to Sealing the Deal authentically. You’ll discover how to reverse the sales process so your prospects choose you rather than you chasing them.
What Results Can I Expect with The Entrepreneurial Edge SystemTM?
The Wake Up Profitable Boot Camp Live Event
The Live Event is held in the Spring and Fall.
In just 2 days, you’ll learn to create your business from the inside out and bridge the gap between believing and reality. You’ll learn how to leverage your time and resources by systematizing and monetizing your business and your marketing as well as how to develop your business blueprint that brings all of the moving parts of your business together. You’ll learn ways to expand your revenue streams to make your business work for you, not you for it.
What else will I learn in The Entrepreneurial Edge System?
These are just some of the results you can expect from the Wake Up Profitable LIVE Event:
- Identify the exact preferred clients and pull them in consistently.
- Make your services stand out in the market place and in your industry.
- Create a Business Model that accurately identifies how you provide value and bring in revenue.
- Identify your Organizational Team that identifies the organizational you’re working toward.
- Create mesmerizing marketing that compels your preferred client say, “Yes, that’s exactly what I need. I want to work with you!”
- Create Your Business Blueprint immediately to keep you focused and leverage your resources so you’re learning to leverage your time.
- Create a range of product offerings so your clients stay longer and get better results.
- Create your own Internal Marketing Mix. This is your unique formula for continuously marketing your product and services.
- Close the sale authentically by understanding your unique human wiring mix (which is distinct from behaviors).
- Set up referral systems, create powerful referral partners and strategic alliances. These systems work without you having to be there bringing in more income continuously.
- Get proven techniques that bring in clients.
- Make more money than you’re making now, while enjoying a life that you create.
- Implement systems so you consistently market your services easily and can finally stop struggling to get clients, for good!
May I contact some of your former clients to see what it’s like to work with you?
Absolutely! We encourage you to. Please visit Testimonials and read all of them. You may find yourself connecting with someone because they are in the same industry, line of work or because of their results. Feel free to email or call them and ask about their outcomes.
How quickly can I expect results?
While ever
y person’s results have different timelines, it depends on how much you put into the programs. Virtually all clients see results within the first couple of months. It also depends on where you are in your business. You must implement the system for it to work. It’s not a quick fix; however, all of my clients who have diligently applied the systems approach have grown their businesses and teams far more than if they tried to figure it out themselves.
Will I get a return on the investment I put into these programs?
Yes! Many clients excitedly report that they get a return on investment with their first client. Why? They spend less time getting the client because they have improved their sales funnel, offerings, and identify clients who pay them their asking price.
What it would cost you in time and energy to do exactly what you’re doing today and get the same results?
I hear two things from my clients. First, they get these “Ah Ha” moments and move their business to places they didn’t think possible. Expect to get a lot of those moments as well as resources you’ve been looking for and haven’t found until now. After all, you’re investing in more revenue, more profit, more clients and yourself: not just more information.
Second, once they implement the system, they create incredible momentum and see those financial results. Actually, with just a few tweaks, my clients have reported upwards of 200% improvement from one year to the next.
As a result of what I’ve read and heard, what are my options for getting started with you?
To get started with attracting and keeping more clients, generate multiple income streams, and create financial independence, set up a Discovery Session.
This is a two-hour, one-on-one session to determine which program is best for you and your business. What’s great is that you’ll also get your own hardwiring report so that we can determine the best way to structure your business for maximum productivity and profitability.
