THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Ron Reich:
Hi, this is Ron Reich, Miriam’s business coach, and you’re listening to the Inspiration Place podcast, with Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman:
Today’s episode is brought to you by my new quiz, “What’s Your Art Marketing Personality?” To help you determine the best next steps to market, and sell your art. Whether you’re an emerging artist, or you’re already a rock star ready to sky rocket your career, I want to help you. To take the quiz, go to schulmanart.com/quiz.
It’s the Inspiration Place Podcast with artist, Miriam Schulman. Welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast, an art world inside a podcast, for artists by an artist where each week we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the art. Now your host, Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman:
Hey there, this is your host, artists Miriam Schulman, and you’re listening to episode number 79 of the Inspiration Place podcast. I am so thrilled that you’re here. Today, we’re talking all about the more you lean into your own unique, quirky personality traits, the more art you’re going to sell. To join me to discuss this, I’ve invited my business coach, since creating your heroic character is one of his main teaching frameworks. So, in this episode, you’ll discover why the way you position your art with your heroic character directly impacts the prices you’re going to be able to charge for your art, how to tap into your heroic character as an artist, and finally, we’re going to chat about the power of masterminding, in order to surround yourself with people who lift you up.
Miriam Schulman:
Before we get there, I wanted to make sure you knew about my quiz, because it’s perfect for today’s topic. Today, we’re talking all about your heroic character, and the quiz will help you start to unpack your artist personality. It only takes a few minutes, and the results are highly personalized. To take the quiz, head on over to schulmanart.com/quiz. All right, now back to the show.
Miriam Schulman:
Today’s guest is a sought after marketing strategist and consultant, a former lawyer. He’s been selling online for over 10 years, and that’s in online years, so it’s like dog years. Speaking of dogs, he’s launched over 50 of his own products, including dog training, and in other variety of niches, and he later became the secret weapon behind many of the biggest names in the industry, including a few of my favorite guests on this podcast, like Todd Herman and Denise Duffield Thomas, as well as the coach to other guests who have been on the show. I’ll be sure to link up all those episodes in the show notes, but what’s most important for you to know is that he is my business coach. His current focus is in helping emerging experts scale from six to seven figures, through his proprietary genius profit system. Please welcome to the inspiration place, Ron Reich. Hey Ron, thanks so much for joining me here today.
Ron Reich:
Thank you so much for having me. I’m very, very excited.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, what most people don’t know is I have you to thank for the artist incubator, which people absolutely love. You would laugh at this that I wrote this note to myself, banter about Colombia, his dog, or his haircut. So, could you please tell everybody about your haircut?
Ron Reich:
So, I got a haircut today, and actually my main reason for getting my haircut is because my girlfriend, she actually lives in Colombia. I’m actually going to be heading there later on today. So, I wanted to make sure that I look good for her, and it just so happens that she likes my hair. She likes that long in the back, but she liked that a little bit shorter in the front. It just so happens that when she was looking at examples of what she wanted my hair to look like, the best one she came up with a picture of, our favorite actor, Bradley Cooper, who I know you are also a big fan of. So, when I was at the hairdresser today, I told the hairdresser, “This is exactly what I want my hair to look like.” She did a very, very good job, so I was very excited when we had our last meeting earlier today, that, “Hey Miriam, I got my Bradley Cooper.”
Miriam Schulman:
I actually had to Google Bradley Cooper haircuts to see which Bradley Cooper haircut you were trying to emulate.
Ron Reich:
Yeah. Exactly.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. No, I figured out which one it was actually. I had a lot of fun looking at pictures of Bradley Cooper. Today, we are going to talk mostly about the heroic character and why it matters, but before we get into that, you know what I would love if you can go over, the hierarchy of why people buy. I learned this totally from Ron by the way, so thank you. Basically, there’s different ways you price things. People buy something because they want the thing. So, in our case they want maybe something to put on the wall, and so they go to home goods and they buy a mirror to put on the wall. If they’re just filling a need, that’s going to be the lowest price. Then, maybe now you can walk us up the ladder, of how you can charge a higher price, based on the heroic character.
Ron Reich:
Essentially, there’s three levels of why people buy things. The first level is they want the thing. They have a problem. So, for example, they need something on the wall, so they’re buying a painting for the wall. They’re hungry, so they’ll buy spaghetti, for example. So, that’s the thing they want. That’s the first level. The second thing is they’ll buy more for the benefits, of what it’ll actually do for them. That’s more than just scratching the itch. So, for example, in the comics of spaghetti, if you’re trying to sell more expensive spaghetti, they might buy it from a five star restaurant for example, because that gives them the experience of maybe it’s higher quality food. Maybe, maybe not, but in their head it’s higher quality food, but they’re also paying for that experience, of eating spaghetti at a fine dining restaurant, for example. So, they’re going to pay more money than that.
Ron Reich:
So, this might be the same as like… Okay, instead of buying just a painting to fill something on the wall, they’re buying that painting because they love the way it looks, because it really lightens up that side of the room, for example. The third level, and the most important level, is they’ll actually buy something because of who you are, if you’re the person selling it. They’re essentially buying the person, for example. So, the person who can sell the most expensive bowl of spaghetti in the world is probably some five-star spaghetti chef in Italy or something, who’s known for making the best spaghetti in the world. Because he’s famous, people are going to do that. He might have a restaurant where he’s charging, who knows, $500 for a thing of spaghetti, and then this is the exact same thing where with art, it’s the perfect example, because there are artists that are selling things for the millions and millions of dollars.
Ron Reich:
This is much more in your world than I would, but I would imagine that there might be an artist that’s sold a painting for $1 million last night, where there’s probably analogous paintings that are probably just as “good” in the eyes of many people, but this person, basically, because he’s done a good job of promoting himself, he or she has done a good job promoting themself, building a certain amount of celebrity, he’s able to make $1 million for a painting, when obviously there’s a lot of really talented artists that can’t sell any painting, for example.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, so like Picasso, but also contemporary artists. Ashley Longshore is a perfect example, and she’s been on the podcast. She’s built basically a celebrity status for herself, so that’s how she’s able to command such high prices for her art.
Ron Reich:
My number one virtual mentor, Dan Kennedy, who maybe you’ve talked about on this podcast before, what he says is that as you move up the pricing ladder, they buy not so much for what you do or what you offer, but for who you are. It’s basically the exact same thing. They buy because of that celebrity.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay, so now that we’ve established that you need celebrity… I haven’t talked about Dan Kennedy on this podcast but maybe I should, but what I have talked about on this podcast is that when people buy art, it’s because they have a strong connection with the art, or with the artist. A lot of times, to command the highest prices, it’s with the artist. So, now that we’ve established why heroic character is so important, first of all, let’s define what you mean by heroic character.
Ron Reich:
I like to really use the superhero analogy. That’s a thing that people really, really understand a lot, but really the real opportunity these days for making a lot of money as an artist, or in any field for that matter, is to be what I call a micro celebrity in the eyes of a targeted bunch of your ideal clients, essentially. None of us can be Picasso, or Kim Kardashian, who’s this mega celebrity to the world, but to be a celebrity to a few thousand people, 10,000 people, that’s something that really anyone can do. The idea here is you want to be able to position yourself really as a larger than life character, as a “super hero” in the eyes of your target audience. When you’re able to do that, essentially everything in your business just goes a lot better.
Ron Reich:
This is where you’re able to charge higher prices. This is when you’re able to get better opportunities. You’re going to be invited to show your art in more places. There are people who used to not pick up your calls that are going to start picking up your calls, for example. That’s really why this is important, and we’ll walk through a specific framework that I have, going step by step how you can essentially create your own heroic character persona, so you can become a micro celebrity in the eyes of your audience.
Miriam Schulman:
The thing that you’re talking about, when you’re saying superhero, I don’t want people to misunderstand. It doesn’t mean that you’re inflating anything. It’s really more about leaning in to your own quirkiness, and blowing that up larger than life.
Ron Reich:
Best way to think about this is actually, when I was younger, I used to be a big fan of professional wrestling. WWF, Hulk Hogan, Randy Macho Man Savage. Have you ever watched wrestling before? I’m curious.
Miriam Schulman:
Not that kind of wrestling. So, my son was on the high school wrestling team, college wrestling, but that’s very different.
Ron Reich:
So, you’re familiar with the idea of professional-
Miriam Schulman:
I get it. Yeah.
Ron Reich:
When professional wrestlers are learning how to become professional wrestlers, because they all have their gimmicks, they all have their personality. So, in wrestling school, they say take your existing personality, and multiply it by 10. That’s essentially the shortcut to creating your persona. So, it’s really the exact same thing when it comes to what we’re talking about right here. It’s not about being someone you’re not, but it really is amplifying… So, it’s amplifying more or less everything. This is one thing I want to make sure we get across. It’s not just amplifying your best qualities. It’s really amplifying all your qualities. The more you are a three dimensional character in the eyes of your audience, the more they’re going to be connected with you, the more powerful you’re going to be.
Ron Reich:
Superheroes, if you think about Superman and Batman, the truth of the matter is that Batman is a much more popular superhero than Superman. The reason why that is is because Batman is way more interesting than Superman. He’s a human being, his parents died, he has all these flaws and things like that.
Miriam Schulman:
I never thought about it that way before, but you’re right, he is more interesting.
Ron Reich:
Yeah, where Superman is basically perfect. He was modeled after Jesus, literally. He’s based off of a flawless human being, so he’s harder to relate to, for example. Mainstream examples, it’s almost as self evident, but the most famous celebrities, the reason why we like them is because they have flaws, and things like that, because they have trauma. I read US Weekly every week, I’m a subscriber. This is why we like reading about their divorces-
Miriam Schulman:
Right, or watching the real Housewives.
Ron Reich:
Exactly that.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, because I like to watch pretty New York women have problems.
Ron Reich:
Exactly. Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, but if they were just showing me their prettiness and them having fun, it would be so boring.
Ron Reich:
100%. 100%. One of my favorite examples of a celebrity usually smashing it, Kylie Jenner. She’s the youngest female billionaire ever, essentially. The thing about her is that one of the reasons why she’s really well known, she talks about her problems. She’s a young single mother. That is way more interesting than if you just compare her to her sister, Kim. Kim is a little bit more of a goddess type figure, for example. Does that make sense?
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Ron Reich:
So, again, it’s all about being multi-dimensional character, not just being, “Oh, I’m awesome. I’m awesome. I’m awesome.”
Miriam Schulman:
Let’s talk about your hero character traits.
Ron Reich:
Okay, so my less than awesome categories. So, my vulnerability that I talk about is how when I was held back from the second grade, and that was very traumatic for me when-
Miriam Schulman:
I didn’t actually know that.
Ron Reich:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
I missed out on that story.
Ron Reich:
Yeah, so that was when I was five years old and that was really, really traumatic for me. So, pretty much for my entire life as a result of that, I really felt like something was wrong with me, that I wasn’t good enough, that I wasn’t smart. That’s how I became really ambitious. That’s why I decided to go to law school, and become a lawyer, because I thought that would be proof. That checked a box that I was a smart person. Things are better now, as you know, but in the past I talked a lot about my struggle to find love, for example. This has been an ongoing struggle with me for quite a while where I was like, “Things are really good on my business front for example, but things are really good when it comes to my health and my fitness and things like that, even my family, my other, my friends, everything was good,” but that was the one thing in my life that was missing. So, that was the thing that I would talk about, and it definitely made the people that pay attention to me more-
Miriam Schulman:
So, it makes people relate to you.
Ron Reich:
Yeah, yeah. For sure.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. Yeah. When I first started getting online with the online art classes, I would look at other people who were doing well and I thought, “Oh, I’m nothing like them.” I would try to water myself down, and not show those things, and that’s actually the reverse of what you’re talking about. When I started to do better, it was when I leaned into, “So, yeah, I’m not from the Midwest.” Good, I’m the New York artist, right?
Ron Reich:
Right, exactly.
Miriam Schulman:
I’m Jewish and I have this New York accent, and so I’m kind of funny, and I talk about, like you said, my struggle. So, like that I lost a father when I was very young, how I didn’t have a lot of money growing up. Then, all of the things that lead me to being an artist, people want to know your dark side, and your dark stories, your messy side.
Ron Reich:
Totally. Yeah, yeah absolutely. It’s all about the, getting connected to you, that’s really what it’s about. The truth of the matter is is that there’s a lot of people selling art there. Anyone who’s looking to buy art has a lot of options. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and at the same time there’s a lot of artists out there. If you are an artist listening to this, there are definitely more artists who are more skilled than you, that have more technical skills than you have. There are definitely artists, 100%, that in the eyes of other people are more creative than you, that they’re better at your genre than you. Thus, really the only way to stand out, your only actual real life competitive advantage is the fact that you are you, and you can get people connected to you specifically, versus the thousands of other artists who are not you, that don’t know the things we’re talking about right now.
Miriam Schulman:
Do you have a way to help people uncover what their heroic character traits are?
Ron Reich:
Funny you should ask that.
Miriam Schulman:
Good, okay.
Ron Reich:
It’s essentially a formula that I can look at. We can actually talk about the two of us as examples. That’ll be fun, as we go back and forth on this. So, thing number one is what I call your defining characteristics. That is when you really want to think about yourself. I think about this as if you were a caricature. Imagine that there’s your audience, they’re all in a room, and you were going to fly on them with your cape as Super Miriam, or Super Ron. How do you want them to view you? In my case, the character that I like to play to the world, which is of course based on truth, is I’m this quirky marketing genius. That’s my thing.
Ron Reich:
So, there’s two parts of it. There’s the quirky side of it, and there’s a marketing genius side of it. So, there’s this fact that I talk about marketing type stuff, I give people million dollar ideas, just off the cuff for example, but I’m also this conversation is… Fortunately, I don’t have to act to do this. I am awkward and things like that. I’m not a professional speaker, so that’s the quirky side of me. I have a weird way about explaining things sometimes. So, that comes across. So, in your case, you mentioned, your defining characteristics are a lot of it… I know what I would say, but how would you define what your defining characteristics are?
Miriam Schulman:
My New York humor, first of all, I lean very heavily into that. I love making people laugh. It’s really the way I show up in the world. I’m very practical and grounded, and yet I have this other spiritual side, so it comes across in everything I do. So, if people are wondering why does this even matter and how does it show up? It’s not just about you have the self knowledge about it, but this is going to show up in the way you write your about page, and every story you tell on Instagram, and all of these things ends up being opportunities where you’re going to be expressing your true you. When we times 10, it’s never that you’re lying or exaggerating it, it’s just you’re really opening up to it. Would you agree with that, Ron?
Ron Reich:
Yeah, yah, absolutely. Absolutely. So, I like to think of it as a statement, right? So, I’m the quirky marketing genius. So, you’re essentially like the-
Miriam Schulman:
The brainy artist.
Ron Reich:
Yeah, like the-
Miriam Schulman:
I made that up just now, but it’s probably correct.
Ron Reich:
But it’s like the New York thing, too.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes.
Ron Reich:
The brainy New York artist, for example.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes. Yeah.
Ron Reich:
Within that, you do have your sub things, so we have the spiritual side as well, and we’ll talk about some of those.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, then I don’t hide the fact that I’m 51. I don’t hide the fact that I’m a mom. I keep everything out there, because it’s all opportunities to connect with people.
Ron Reich:
Yeah, absolutely. So, the way you actually do this, the steps are, you want to come up with your defining statement. I’m the quirky marketing genius. You’re the brainy New York artist. That’s step one. Then, step two is you want to think about what are the five things that you want people to know about you. If you were going to be on a 30 minute podcast, or if you were going to do a 30 minute presentation in front of our group of people that might want to buy your art, what are the five things that you definitely want people to know about you?
Miriam Schulman:
So, the way you put that is perfect, because it actually I was on a podcast this morning. Our mutual friend, Tracy Matthews. So, she wanted to know my quick story. Well, people really don’t like to listen to podcasts when you go on for 10 minutes about your story. So, in three sentences I tell people, “Oh, I was in corporate, but when 9/11 happened, that’s when I decided I would become an artist.” So, that whole thing is really what I want people to know about me in two seconds. They get really a big picture of who I am, and what I’m about, and why.
Ron Reich:
Absolutely. Absolutely. This is for anything, and this is just a thing that works. Once you figure these things out, as we’re talking about here, is anytime you’re showing up in the ways you show up, whether it’s being interviewed, or if you have your own podcast, or if you do things on social media, you have your own blog, think about yourself. Not to get political, but think about as a politician who is always on message, the idea that you have your five things, as well as a few of the other things that we’re going to be talking about a little bit later in this podcast, but the idea is that if you look at any good politician, they had their message, they have their five to seven to 10 talking points. If they’re really good at what they do, they always bring it back to the thing that they want to talk about it.
Ron Reich:
Which, yeah, it’s frustrating as viewers, a lot of times. We would want the politician to say something, but in real life it’s self evident. This is the thing that works. The reason why said politician is running for president, or why that guy is becoming a governor or whatnot is because he has the discipline to stick to his talking points, for example.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, and then also the point of you not afraid of being slightly polarizing. Not everyone’s going to like my New York accent, but the thing is is you want people to love you or hate you, because there’s no money in the middle.
Ron Reich:
Exactly true. Yeah, the classic statement that you’re going to attract to the degree you’re willing to repel. That is completely correct, absolutely. Even for myself, this isn’t exactly easy. I actually, personally, there’s a couple of things where I get on my soapbox about, but really when it comes to the marketing type things that I don’t like about the industry or whatnot, but yeah, even myself, when it comes to politics, I don’t actually take sides on that.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s something that I don’t talk about publicly, because there’s a lot of my audience on both sides, and I just feel that art is a place where they can be connected, and I don’t want to create a disconnection over political views. So, they can disconnect from me for a different reason.
Ron Reich:
Totally, totally. Yeah, 100%. I do know that there are people who are in the same industry that I’m in, helping online marketers grow their businesses who do talk about politics-
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, artists as well.
Ron Reich:
That actually does help them, and it’s very obvious.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. Yeah.
Ron Reich:
So, there’s power to that, for sure.
Miriam Schulman:
The reason I don’t, though, is that I’m always preaching that I want my artists communities to be places of refuge from that.
Ron Reich:
That’s awesome.
Miriam Schulman:
So, then it wouldn’t make sense for me to broadcast my own viewpoint, and then expect my audience not to.
Ron Reich:
Yeah, for sure. That’s part of your overall character as well, your values. You believe that art is this inclusive space, for example.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s right.
Ron Reich:
That’s amazing.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s true, right, that art brings us together. It’s that Brené Brown feeling, that there’s things that connect us, and art is definitely one of them. So, whether you are connected to somebody else because you are an art collector, and the art makes you feel connected to the greater world, or you are an art student and you feel connected to other people who are also learning to paint. So, art is a huge connector, just like music is and a lot, a lot of other art forms.
Ron Reich:
Yeah, yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. Is there anything you want to add about heroic character? I know there’s so much to cover. We’re not wrapping up yet, but I do want to mention that Ron has a whole free Facebook group around this topic, called…
Ron Reich:
Yeah, it’s Heroic Profits for Mission Driven Entrepreneurs.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes. Artists, you are an entrepreneur, so this is for you.
Ron Reich:
Yeah. So, just yeah, search for that on Facebook, and just request access. Yeah, and we’ll get you into the group.
Miriam Schulman:
Then, you’ll see his Bradley Cooper haircut, plus other things.
Ron Reich:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Ron does a lot of free training inside that Facebook group. So, if you’re interested in this topic, you will definitely get a lot out of that.
Ron Reich:
Yeah. I did a five day challenge, which was called the five day epic launch challenge, which really, is a five part video series that really goes into really granular detail about all the things that we’re talking about. So, if you just go into the group and search for the word epic launch challenge, like put it in quotes, you’ll be able to get access to that.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. Then, even if you don’t join the group, whether you do or not, what I want to challenge people to do is based on what we talked about today, thinking about your own heroic characters. Do you have the hashtag, Ron, because I was going to suggest one if you don’t.
Ron Reich:
I actually do not have one.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. So, here’s what I want you to do, my friends. Ron, you’re not on Instagram, are you?
Ron Reich:
No.
Miriam Schulman:
No, okay. You can tag me, @Schulmanart, with the hashtag #heroiccharacter. I would love to hear what your heroic character traits are, and I will share those onto my IG stories. So, that is your marching orders.
Ron Reich:
The other important things to map out are your quirks. We mentioned that a little bit. So, really, those are the things again that make you more of a multidimensional person. So, what are one or two things about you that have nothing to do with your expertise, or you being an artist, but are interesting that people are going to relate to. So, quick shortcuts, hacks for this, are anything you’re obsessed with. For example, if there’s a physical food you’re obsessed with for example, or if there’s a TV show you’re obsessed with. You mentioned the real Housewives, that’s something for example. Pets are really, really good, like I have my dog, Trevor. Hobbies are really good. If you have a certain hobby that you’re known for. Basically, think about those kinds of things. What I would encourage you to do is have one or two then, as your main quirks, that you want people to know about you for example.
Miriam Schulman:
So, recurring themes.
Ron Reich:
Exactly. Yeah, so in my case, I’m known for my dog. I have a lot of pictures of me and my dog. I’m also really into a hobby. I do fitness, and I do a lot of half-marathons, into that kind of stuff. On the opposite, which is interesting, I’m also really into Nutella, so I’m obsessed with Nutella. I’m addicted to Nutella. So, those are the three main things that I’ll kind of-
Miriam Schulman:
It’s a good thing that you’re addicted to fitness, too.
Ron Reich:
Exactly. So, yeah. We’ve got a little bit of a juxtaposition there, which all those things are good. That’s more interesting. It’s cool. It’s more interesting that I’m a fitness dude who’s into Nutella.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes it is. We know what your kryptonite is. It’s Nutella.
Ron Reich:
Exactly. So, yeah. Those are quirks. The other thing I would encourage, and we chatted about this a little bit a second ago when you’re talking about art bringing people together, are what are your values? So, really what we were talking about there is that’s what you stand for, and of course what you stand against. Of course thinking back to superheroes, right, Superman, he stands for truth, justice, and the American way. Myself personally, my top three values are excellence, connection and autonomy. I’m all about getting better and better every day, and it’s not just about getting better, it’s also about connecting with other people. Those things are really important to me. Then, autonomy. I have a little bit of that rebel side of me, marching to the beat of my own drum, for example.
Ron Reich:
So, I attract people like yourself, that align with similar values. So, I would encourage anyone listening to this, map out what are your three to five? There’s two things, two parts to this. You want to map out your three to five core values that you’re going to be showing off to the world, but you’re going to get better results if you make sure that your values are things that basically align with your target audience, that those are things that they ideally essentially agree with, and have very similar values.
Miriam Schulman:
I would say as long as you pick values that are very authentic to you, you will attract the audience that shares those values.
Ron Reich:
For sure.
Miriam Schulman:
Do you agree with that?
Ron Reich:
I do.
Miriam Schulman:
For me, I didn’t set out to say, “Okay, I’m going to talk about my woo side because I see that a lot of my audience is woo,” or whatever, but because I talk about it, I attract those people, because they’re interested in what I have to say.
Ron Reich:
Yes, that is correct. At the same time, when you’re talking about your values publicly, there are certain values that help you build your brand, if you talk about them, more than other brands.
Miriam Schulman:
Do you mean because of what your niche is?
Ron Reich:
Sometimes, people they’ll give you their extras and what their values are. They’ll give me five, and then it’s two to three that I’m like, “Oh, that’s not really helping very much.”
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, okay. it’s not useful.
Ron Reich:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
We both said, or at least I did, that I felt that my political views are not useful as a character trait ,because I do not want to-
Ron Reich:
Let’s say, for example, you actually were really passionate about a certain political issue, and that really aligned with your values.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Ron Reich:
That was really legitimately one of your top three things you believe most of the world, in this context, I would say, “Yeah, don’t talk about that,” because as we’ve discussed, we don’t think that’s really the best thing for you to talk about publicly. Whereas, the other one you mentioned, when we chatted about here, you believe that art brings people together, right?
Miriam Schulman:
Right.
Ron Reich:
That’s something you really believe in, and when you talk about that publicly, your ideal clients, they’re going to nod their heads. They’re going to be like, “Oh yeah. Oh yeah, totally. Awesome.”
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, yeah.
Ron Reich:
Does that make sense?
Miriam Schulman:
Yes. Yes, it does. The example I gave was actually an extreme example, because it wasn’t just that the value wasn’t useful, but I felt like sharing it would repel my ideal customer, just because I’m about bringing people together, not about debate.
Ron Reich:
These are front of the house values. So, if you have a value that you really believe in, but you actually think it’s either not going to be helpful for you, or you think it’s going to repel your ideal audience, even if you really, really believe in it then I would encourage you not to-
Miriam Schulman:
I’m Jewish. I don’t hide that I’m Jewish, but it’s not really something I talk about a lot, because it just doesn’t matter.
Ron Reich:
Yeah, exactly.
Miriam Schulman:
That, I think, would be a good example of something that, yes, it’s very important to me but not really, only because I’m not creating Judaic art. Now, if I was creating Judaic art, that would be a whole different story.
Ron Reich:
Totally.
Miriam Schulman:
So, we are getting towards the end, Ron, so I wanted to make sure, and I know you have so much to share… I’m so glad that you jumped in there, but that’s why I want people to go check you out. So, we’re going to chat really fast about masterminds. I am in Ron’s mastermind, which I love, because I am surrounded by other brown hair women, have the same values as I do. It’s awesome. All the people he attracts are just like me. I look around the room.
Ron Reich:
Oh, that’s funny.
Miriam Schulman:
So, I really wanted to talk about, what would you say is the number one reason why somebody should join a mastermind?
Ron Reich:
The main reasons why people want to join masterminds are for anyone who wants to really get to that next level, oftentimes you do need really specific insights and coaching, really specific to your specific situation. It’s a pretty competitive environment out there, and there really is no one size fits all solution that’s going to really get you to where you want to get to, if you have really, really big goals. So, really mastermind type groups, and when you’re in a small environment with not a lot of people, you can get more individual attention. That’s one of the best ways to really get that customized feedback, and training that you need to really get to that next level.
Ron Reich:
So, that’s one reason. The second reason is there is something magical about being with a group of peers that are either at your level, or at a level above. There is this energetic aspect too, like when you’re in this environment, not only does it cause you to stretch yourself, but also oftentimes you see people who are doing really, really awesome, who are in these groups, and then you realize that they’re normal people just like you. They don’t have superpowers, they don’t walk on water, and that gives you that confidence to really, really go out and do it.
Miriam Schulman:
I see that both in the group I’m in with you, but I see it also in my own group, the Artist Incubator, how artists, maybe they’re afraid to try something. Like you said, when somebody else hosts an open studio, and then makes a couple of thousand dollars, they’re like, “Wait, I can do it too.” So, it just helps you see what’s possible, because a lot of times you don’t feel it’s possible, because you don’t have examples of it in your day to day life. You think that’s for other people. That’s the power, really of surrounding yourself, in addition to world-class coaching. Then, I just want to share the difference between ours, because there’s going to be people who are listening who are maybe not a fit for my Artist Incubator, because I help artists who their goal is to make between 50,000 to a 100,000 dollars. Ron is about helping people who have already passed that, wouldn’t you say that, Ron?
Ron Reich:
Yeah, yeah. To be honest, yeah, starting things from scratch isn’t really my superpower. So, I’m really good at taking something that’s working and really getting that to the next level. Yes, that’s why I like when they already made their first $200,000, $300,000, and really help them grow from there.
Miriam Schulman:
I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s somebody listening who fits that category, because I am aware of the people who listen to the podcast. There are people who have studio online businesses, and things like that. So, if you’re listening, and you want to hang out with me and Ron, you can apply to the A Player.
Ron Reich:
There you go.
Miriam Schulman:
So, like I said, you can check out Ron at ronreich.com. On his website, you’ll see how you can apply, whether it’s one-on-one, or join us in the A Players, or go to Columbia this summer. You can do all that. Find out about that, or check out his free Facebook group, Heroic Profits for Mission Driven Entrepreneurs. Don’t forget you can get some insight into your unique artist’s personality using the quiz I developed over at schulmanart.com/quiz. It is based on my experience with working with artists at all levels, so when you’re done with the quiz, you’ll actually get personalized action steps to help you move your art career forward. All right, Ron, do you have any last words for my listeners before we call this podcast complete?
Ron Reich:
If you’re listening to this and you’re thinking when X, Y, Z happens, then I’m going to be able to really put myself out there, I’m really going to be able to go for it, the truth of the matter is that there is no magical permission fairy that’s going to give you the permission to go out and do it. The faster you realize that, that really it is up to you, that you already have everything you need, that the person who is five steps ahead of where you want to be is no better than you, no smarter than you, isn’t a better artist than you, really the faster you can get that, and just be willing to put yourself out there and make mistakes and be vulnerable, et cetera, et cetera, the faster things are going to be going to thrive for you.
Miriam Schulman:
I love that. Thank you so much for bringing it today, Ron. We’re going to make sure that we also post your handsome face in the show notes too, so people can check out that haircut for themselves. All right.
Ron Reich:
I appreciate that.
Miriam Schulman:
All right guys, thanks so much for being with me here today. I’ll see you same time, same place next week. Make it a great one.
Thank you for listening to the Inspiration Place podcast! Connect with us on Facebook at Facebook.com/schulmanart, on Instagram at @schulmanart, and of course, on schulmanart.com.
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