Nothing is More Powerful than the Right Relationships with the Right Group of Like-minded Entrepreneurs
Action. Accountability. Access.
It’s all yours…
Introducing…
Rise25 Inner Circle
Launching December 2016
Rise25 Inner Circle is a small, exclusive group of professional service entrepreneurs and business owners who want to “scale up,” move away from trading hours for dollars, diversify their income & create multiple sources of revenue, and have a bigger impact.
“One of the best groups I’ve ever participated in.”
Andrew Warner
Founder, Mixergy
4 Requirements for Acceptance
Rise25 Group may be for you if …
1
You Are a Seasoned Entrepreneur Already Earning Multiple Six Figures, But You Want to Scale Up Further
Rise25 Group is for seasoned business owners and entrepreneurs earning multiple six figures, 7 figures and 8 figures in gross revenue per year. Most members have a background in the professional services and want to “scale up,” shift from “one to one” to “one to many,” diversify their income, move away from trading hours for dollars, and have a positive impact on the world using emerging digital tools such as webinars, podcasts, books, or growing an email list.
Some ideals you have are…
- You don’t want to be a slave to your business.
- You want to work smarter, not harder.
- You want to scale up, but not at the expense of your family and friends.
- You recognize a business is meant to serve a lifestyle and not the other way around.
The 2016 Entrepreneurs’ Retreat in Sonoma, California.
2
You Are a “Giver” – You Believe When you Give, You Get
Rise25 Group was founded on the belief that when you give, you get. Two quotes highlight our approach. As Zig Ziglar once said, “you can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” And Oprah Winfrey said, “Surround yourself only with people who are going to take you higher.” When you combine these two principles, you get Rise25 Inner Circle.
You understand when you join a group of your peers, the best way to help yourself is by diving in and being helpful to the other members. We’ve found you will learn just as much (if not more) from discussing other peer’s issues, challenges, and opportunities because we all have blindspots and face similar obstacles. Therefore, we’re looking for members who are going to be active participants and roll up their sleeves to help others.
3
You Have a Sense of Humor and Like to Have Fun
Richard Branson said “Some 80% of your life is spent working. You want to have fun at home; why shouldn’t you have fun at work.”
We believe you can work hard and laugh at the same time. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and believe people who take themselves too seriously deserve a wedgie.
But let’s make one thing clear: you’re going to get tremendous value out of this group. The first and most important objective of this group is to help you to achieve massive progress in your business. The goal of the group is to make sure you accomplish your goals. But you won’t be bored to tears at the same time.
Austin Mastermind Retreat, conducted by John Corcoran and Jeremy Weisz.
4
You are an Action Taker
We care tremendously about our members’ success and consider it a personal victory when you succeed.
We want to make sure our Inner Circle members take action and listen to the expert advice from the group. Sometimes we feel that we care just as much if not more about you succeeding so we want to make sure that you are invested in your own success.
Lill Gentry at the Austin 2015 retreat at Travaasa Austin.
What Types of Business Owners Join Rise25 Inner Circle?
Here are actual past attendees at our 2 ½ day retreats, and the results they achieved after attending our events.
Tim walked away with 4 new clients and a $100K+ new business concept.
Tim, Business Systems Consultant
ProfitFactory.com
Tim Francis enjoyed success consulting to some of the biggest names in Internet Marketing. He had a problem, though: nearly all his company’s revenue came from him consulting, making him a bottleneck. Tim needed to find a way to shift from hours-for-dollars.Tim considered a wide range of options, finally settling on creating an online course.
Tim decided he would create an online course which would teach entrepreneurs how to recruit, hire and train a great executive assistant, a skill he’d honed for years while consulting to CEOs. Determined to get feedback on his concept, Tim arrived at the Austin Retreat in November 2015 prepared with a particular question.
After explaining the idea behind his proposed course, he asked his fellow attendees: “What would I have to change about this course for you to be so excited you’d give me your credit card right now?” Taken aback, the crowd went silent.
After a few moments of silence, an accomplished entrepreneur from Nashville broke the tension: “OK, Tim, I’ll go first. Love the idea of getting an Assistant. Hate your delivery. I’m already overworked. I don’t have time to study your 10 hour course, then spend 4-6 weeks trying to implement it, then 2-4 weeks training the Assistant, only hoping I got it right.”
Around the table, most Entrepreneurs echoed the exact same sentiment. Humbled, but still committed, Tim asked a different question: “OK. Let’s scrap the course altogether. If you want me to do it all for you, and you could have anything, what would you have to see for you to give me your credit card right away?”
In rapid fire succession, the audience rattled off: do all the job advertising for us, screen all the applications as they come in, give everyone a Kolbe test, Kolbe-match them to us, find the best match for us, then train them and onboard the new Assistant for us.
Tim replied: “I’ll do you one better: I’ll even certify them, and I’ll create an online community of certified Assistants so they can all help each other instead of them always asking you, their Entrepreneur, for help.”The room was buzzing. Everyone was excited. This was a service they’d pay for.
And pay they did. Ultimately, four fellow attendees all handed Tim their credit card and signed up for the Beta launch of his service, Great Assistant, bringing Tim $4,000 in sales immediately and a live test for his new business concept.
Since then, Tim hired a full-time program manager for Great Assistant, and brought in over six figures in revenue from the first 12 months of running the program. His team is on-pace to match 200 Entrepreneurs and Assistants in 2017.
“$3,000 from one email to a small list – less than a week after attending”
Matt Inglot
Owner, Web Development Agency
Podcaster, Freelance Transformation
Matt Inglot came to our Austin 2015 retreat. He ran a successful web development agency which he had systematized and delegated so that he could earn over six figures per year working about 5-10 hours per week.
His focus at the retreat was on growing and monetizing his then-new podcast and community of freelancers, Freelance Transformation. At the time, he had about 400 email subscribers. Using advice from Sherpa Dan Kuschell and others in the room, Matt came home from the retreat, sent one email to his email list, and made $3,000, nearly completely paying off his investment in the event.
Here is what Matt had to say:
Chris Johnson
Founder, Simplifilm
“Man, it was one of the best events I have been to. There was a lot of knowledge in the room, a lot of humility. There was people who’ve been in the online business for 20 plus years, doing it forever. Some of the most successful copywriters in the world… There was just so much great energy and a lot of people giving great feedback. Anytime you can get into an event like this, where there are a lot of great people that have your best interests at heart, you owe it to yourself to do that.”
David Garfinkel
Master Copywriter Co-Facilitator of Mastermind with Copywriting legend John Carlton
“I’ve been in Masterminds for 16 years and this is clearly one of the best I have ever been in. If you have a business that you’re running or that you’re thinking of adding to your existing line of business or work, this is a tremendous incubator as well as a high level peer group and the advice is something you really couldn’t buy from a consultant. And I know I’m a very high priced coaching consultant. I could have come up with some of the ideas but certainly not all of the ideas for the people who were here.”
Omar Zenhom
Host of “Best of iTunes” podcast $100MBA Co-Founder, Webinar Ninja software
“If you are thinking about going to an event like this, I would say, don’t think about it. Just go ahead and pull the trigger. Because worst case scenario, you’re going to make some great friends. You’ll definitely learn something. You’ll definitely get some perspective. Even if that perspective is, “I’m doing a great job and I should continue.” Sometimes we need to hear that from other people to understand that you’re doing the right thing. I think that there’s tremendous value in going to a mastermind like this and so much to take away and learn.”
But let’s just be clear about one thing:
Rise25 Inner Circle is Not for Everyone
It’s not for you if you are “just starting out.”
It’s not for you if you are still “looking for an idea.”
It’s not for you if your only goal in coming to the event is you are “looking for investors or funding” for your business.
Why Should You Apply?
Do you come from a professional services ground but you want to “scale up”?
Would you like to diversify your income, shift from serving clients “one to one” to “one to many,” and move away from trading hours for dollars?
Do you get overwhelmed with different options for growing your business and struggle to figure out what to focus on next… confused about your options… only to find months have gone by and you aren’t any closer to achieving your goals?
If you get excited about setting an audacious goal for your business which is achievable in 12 months of focused, disciplined effort, and you want a small group that will hold your feet to the fire to achieve that goal (while supporting and encouraging you with the tools, strategies, relationships and accountabililty you need), look no further.
If you want help setting specific, concrete, and measurable goals, a small group of other entrepreneurs to hold you accountable, and incredible all-inclusive retreats at luxury locations with your peers, then this is the group for you (membership includes all meals for 2.5 days, alcohol, excursion, and event – transportation to the resort and your hotel is separate). You get personal time and specific feedback from guest Sherpa entrepreneurs who have built 7- and 8-figure businesses, then Rise25 Inner Circle is for you.
If you want to “up your game” by connecting with influencers, thought leaders, and guest “Sherpas” who have built businesses from scratch to 8 figures and beyond, then Rise25 Inner Circle is for you.
Rise25 Inner Circle is designed for 6, 7 and 8-figure entrepreneurs from the professional services like consultants, lawyers, financial advisors, chiropractors, but who are ready to have a positive impact on the world beyond their hometown using emerging digital tools such as webinars, podcasts, books, or growing an email list.
People join Rise25 Inner Circle to set meaningful and measurable goals, to be held accountable for making consistent progress on those goals and for the camaraderie of belonging to a small and exclusive group of other entrepreneurs who have shared goals and drive.
What Is Included?
That’s not all…
Here is the complete package of what you get:
- Accountability and camaraderie in a small group of other driven entrepreneurs during a 12 month sprint.
- 12-months as part of the Rise25 Inner Circle during which time the group will help to support you and hold your feet to the fire, making sure you achieve annual, quarterly and monthly goals you set in consultation with the group and John and Jeremy at your first in-person retreat.
- Monthly group calls where you will share what you’re working on and get feedback and strategic advice, set goals, review past commitments with the group and set future commitments.
- Private Facebook group for Inner Circle VIPs only, where you get support and feedback on new pricing strategies, hiring employees, creating joint ventures, new webpages, offer, or anything else related to running, growing, or “scaling up” your business. Inner Circle VIPs have raved about this aspect because you can get real time feedback and do not have to wait for the monthly call or retreat dates.
(Value $1000/yr) - Three incredible, 2 ½ day strategy and planning retreats at luxury, 4-star resorts which are all inclusive, excluding your hotel room (basically all you have to do is to get yourself to the resort and cover your hotel room and we’ll cover the rest – all meals and drinks, all materials, all group excursions and experiences). During these retreats, you will work with other driven entrepreneurs to review challenges and opportunities with the group, set goals, and have incredible shared group luxury experiences. There simply is no substitute for face-to-face bonding to develop lifelong relationships with other smart entrepreneurs. (Value: $10,000+)
- Connections to A-list influencers and VIPs who attend our events and serve as our Sherpas at our retreats. In addition, John and Jeremy have an extensive rolodex and will introduce you to the right person at the right time so you can bypass gatekeepers and jump to the top of the priority list. This is why we are so choosey on who is accepted into the group because we take our relationships very seriously. (Value of a key relationship = PRICELESS)
- Trainings with guest experts who will come in and lead a webinar to our group in between the in-person retreats, as well as access to private membership site with recordings from ALL past events, including private talks by Noah Kagan, Ryan Holiday, Dan Kuschell and more (people paid over $10,000 to access all of this)
- An unforgettable closing retreat once per year at the end of the 12 month sprint as the culmination of the program, which will include the awarding of the coveted “Golden Goat” award (yes, it is just as prestigious as it sounds).
Ryan Levesque
Funnel Specialist and Best Selling Author of Ask
“John and Jeremy are both world-class, and you put on a world class event. So Awesome.”
Adrienne Richardson
Facebook Expert
“It was worth every penny and more…and I know it will continue to pay off for a long time to come. Not just in monetary ways but through the relationships that have been built.”
Robert Hartline
Founder of Call Proof
“These guys freaking lead a great retreat…I have so many ideas from that event I had trouble sleeping for a few days after until I wrote them down and now I’m getting them done one at a time.If you are considering an event with these great guys don’t think about it DO IT!”
How To Apply
Jeremy Weisz, John Corcoran, AppSumo/SumoMe founder Noah Kagan, and bestselling author/media strategist Ryan Holiday.
Step 1
Submit Application
Fill out short application.
Step 2
Phone Interview
Talk with John or Jeremy or a team member to see if you’re a good fit.
Step 3
Team Review
John and Jeremy will review all applicants and choose who is best for the group.
What Makes Rise25 Inner Circle Different from Other Entrepreneur Groups?
Late night discussion around 1am, continuing the conversation after group dinner, with (head of table to clockwise) Eric Douay, Dan Kuschell, Jeremy Weisz, John Corcoran, Bill Bricker, and John Lombard (everyone else was sleeping)
At many other conferences and events aimed at entrepreneurs, you get long-winded speeches filled with platitudes. At our events, you get time to work on your business, with dedicated feedback and strategy sessions where the entire room will be 100% focused on you and your business.
We are also the only entrepreneurs group that that features a unique “Sherpa” format with seasoned, 7 and 8 figure entrepreneurs who will sit alongside you all day in the retreat room providing feedback, advice and strategy.
We also take the time before the retreat to meet with you one-on-one to strategize how best
The feedback you receive from members is from real world experience and not a theory read in a book. This advice alone will deliver insane value, shortcut your learning process, and could save you years of wasted effort pursuing flawed or inefficient strategies.
Unique “Sherpa” Format with 7 and 8 figure entrepreneurs giving YOU feedback on YOUR business
Each live retreat will include our VIP ‘Sherpas’ – entrepreneurs who have been to the ‘mountain top’ and come back down to help others get there.
Our Sherpas serve a role like judges on American Idol, but with more constructive feedback, less infighting, and without the awkward sexual tension between Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. The Sherpas will be in the retreat room with us, providing feedback on your individual business. In the past, these sherpas have even offered one-on-one sessions during the retreat so you can get even more personalized advice in confidence.
You’re Not Going to be Doing Yoga or Sitting Around the Campfire Singing “Kumbaya”
With Rise25 Inner Circle, you must be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Everyone’s time is valuable and we will be making the most of our time together, whether it is on monthly accountability calls or in-person retreats.
You will also be getting coveted face time with our Sherpas — all 7 and 8-figure entrepreneurs — who are volunteering their time to help you. Many of our Sherpas would normally charge $10,000 or more for a day of consulting, if they even offer consulting.
At the same time, we recognize that relationships are forged not just around the conference table but also around the pool table, over drinks, in a cooking class, or bellied up to the bar. That’s why we always build in plenty of opportunity to relax and unwind and get to know each other over dinner, group activities and great late night conversation sessions.
3 Incredible Luxury Planning and Strategy Retreats Over 12 Months
With Rise25 Inner Circle, you get three, 2 ½ day retreats where you will be immersed among other like-minded entrepreneurs 100% focused on working together with you to help drive your businesses to higher and higher levels. At these life-changing retreats, you will learn what is working today, make “course corrections” that save you tens of thousands of dollars and years of wasted effort, forge critical connections with other high-level entrepreneurs and VIPs, and “slingshot” your way to the highly profitable and satisfying business you’ve dreamed about.
Monthly Accountability Group Calls
You will also get monthly group calls where you will review your past commitments, set specific goals for the next 30 days, and get feedback from the other entrepreneurs in the group. This is not a typical group call where someone lectures on a general topic and you get to passively sit back and listen….You will bring your specific goals and what needs to do be done in the next month to get ahead.
Monthly “Office Hours” with One-on-One Help
You will also get access to John and Jeremy’s private email inboxes and monthly “Office Hours” when you can set up a time for a one to one call with John or Jeremy.
Priority Access to Exclusive VIP Dinners
You will get priority access, subject to availability, to VIP dinners and lunches John and Jeremy throw at conferences during the year. John and Jeremy typically put together 2-4 VIP dinners and lunches each throughout the year at conferences or other events they are attending, or when they are visiting a new city.
You Will Leave with a Specific Action Plan; You Will Not Leave with a “Jumble of Ideas” and Unfulfilled “Inspiration”
When you leave most events, you are left with a “jumble of ideas” and no specific action plan. You may have been excited and inspired, but that inspiration quickly fades. Ultimately, you don’t turn that inspiration into action, progress and results.
At our events, the last group activity we do together before breaking for our culmination dinner and trademark concluding roundtable with the Sherpas and VIP guests, is each attendee distills down the firehose of ideas they got from the prior two days down to a specific 12-month, quarterly and 30 day goals. Then we distill that further down to three specific action steps each person will commit to taking prior to the 30 day group accountability call.
Then we go over each person’s plan as a group, with feedback from the rest of the group and the sherpas, which helps to further clarify each person’s specific objectives and the activities they will focus on.
Chicago Dinner with (clockwise from left) Pat Flynn, Andrew Warner, John Lee Dumas, Dr. Jeremy Weisz, Jonathan Fields, Mrs. Jonathan Fields
San Diego Luncheon with (L to R, back row) Tarek Statico, JJ Jordison, Frank Bria, John Corcoran, Chandler Bolt, Ryan J. Williams, Matthew Kimberley, Omar Zenhom of $100 MBA podcast, Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income, Dr. Dave Stachowiak, Colleen Taylor, Wes Chapman; (L to R, front row), Nicole Baldinu, Jacob Sapochnik, Clay Hebert, Grant Baldwin, Kate Erickson (from Entrepreneur on Fire)
San Francisco Dinner with (L to R) John Corcoran, Bryan Lemos of CreativeLive, Michael Port, Andrew Warner of Mixergy, Nicole Baldinu & Omar Zenhom of $100 MBA podcast
San Diego Dinner with (clockwise from top left) Robert San Luis, Linda Lotich, Bob Lotich, Sheila Baldwin, Grant Baldwin, Jeff Rose, Joshua Vial, Natalie Sisson, Mandy Rose, John Corcoran, Jordan Harbinger, Neville Medhora, Pat Flynn, Noah Kagan, Dave Stachowiak
But What If We Made an Already Irresistible Offer Even Better?
For the “founding members” of this inaugural Rise25 Inner Circle, we decided to create a special package of bonuses. Our goal is to make this first year an absolute out-of-the-park home run for everyone who joins, and we will stop at nothing to make sure that your results exceed your wildest expectations.
It’s unlikely we’ll include many (if any) of these bonuses in year two and beyond.
If you apply and are accepted, we will have these exclusive additional bonuses:
Bonus #1: Immediate Coaching
If you apply and are accepted, we start work immediately. We begin working with you to set your big goals for the 12 month sprint, as well as specific actions you should take now, before the first retreat even happens. We will also get started with any relevant introductions to influencers, VIPs or thought leaders we know who could help you achieve your goals. That means a private call to go over the game plan for all of this.
Bonus #2: Access to our Rolodex
We are very protective of the relationships we’ve built, which have taken years and even decades to build up. However, we are only going to admit into this group people who we’ve vetted and who we trust implicitly, and therefore we will gladly open up our Rolodexes to introduce you to the VIPs and Influencers, thought leaders and bestselling author/speakers who we know and who you could benefit from knowing, where there’s a good fit for an introduction.
Here’s the type of insider connections we share exclusively with the Rise25 group
It really is about “who you know.” We share opportunities with the Rise25 community.
Bonus #3: Your Case Study In Front of 70,000+ Followers
We are determined to help you succeed anyway we can. Sometimes you just need that extra boost to get the ball rolling. We can still remember how the doors seemed to unlock when someone of influence help spread the word about our own projects. And now we want to return the favor and “Pay it forward”.
Here’s the deal: If you’re willing to put in the work – we will help to spread the word of your finished platform, book, website, online course or other project through our social media channels and give you the option to be featured as a case study to John & Jeremy’s 70,000+ email subscribers. It’s how we can give you the boost you need.
Bonus #4: “Dream 25” Joint Venture Strategy Session (First 10 Members Only)
We will do a strategy session with you where we will identify 25 people who you could potentially collaborate with and do a joint venture. These joint ventures could include partnering together to create a live coaching program, promoting a digital course, collaborating on podcast appearances, or more.
As a result of our direct introductions to our extensive networks, we have arranged for our members to appear on top-rated podcasts, cross-promote one another’s group coaching programs or digital programs, and even form businesses together.
When you combine that with the “network effect” of the people who join Rise25 or who know Rise25 members and alumni, it creates a very powerful asset which will continue growing in value in the years to come.
Bonus #5: One-on-One Coaching Sessions with Sherpas (Priceless)
At our retreats, we will make our Sherpas available for one-one “speed coaching” sessions with you, subject to availability. In the past, we have had attendees who have said that these one-on-one coaching sessions have exceeded the entire cost of attending the event, even if you were to set aside everything else from the retreat.
Attendee Eric Douay meeting one-on-one with Sherpa Rick Cesari, the marketing mind behind George Foreman Grill, GoPro, OxiClean, Sonicare Toothbrush and the Juiceman Juicer
Retreat Dates & Locations
December 6-8
2016
April
2017
July
2017
Join us at the Beautiful Travaasa Austin in Austin, Texas, December 6-8, 2016
An “Insane” Risk Free Guarantee…
At our last event, we made an “insane” guarantee that people said we were “crazy” to offer, and which was unprecedented in the “live event” space…
We said “we are so confident of the value that if for any reason you feel you did not get at least 3x the value you paid to attend the event, then we will work one on one with you to make sure you have tripled your investment, or we will refund 100% of your money AND reimburse you up to $1000 for travel and expenses.”
How many refund requests did we get? Zero.
So, our guarantee this time is similar.
If you are accepted and you come to our event in Austin, you can try it out for yourself with zero commitment. If you decide the group doesn’t feel right, or you don’t see the value, or you don’t like when John wearing a funny orange hat or you don’t want to make the commitment, then we both go our separate ways. We won’t hold you to the commitment of the rest of the year and you won’t pay another dime.
Not only can you stop your commitment to join the group but if you do not feel the event itself was worth your time and money then we will even refund all the money you paid for that one event.
We can make this risk free guarantee because we are so confident, based on our past events, that if you come, you will absolutely want to stay.
John & Jeremy say: “If you can’t recoup 3X your investment in the first year, we’ve both failed.”
Featured Sherpas Include:
What is a Sherpa?
Each Entrepreneurs’ Retreat features designated ‘Sherpas’ – highly successful entrepreneurs who have been to the mountain top and have come back to help others get there. Each Sherpa will be present in the retreat room to provide specific feedback and advice to attendees — advice which they often would charge thousands of dollars to private clients.
Chad Rubin, E-commerce Samurai
Chad Rubin is cofounder of Skubana which is one of the most powerful operations platform in e-commerce. It helps sellers save time, money and automate workflow. He also runs an 8 figure Ecommerce company and created the software to fill the need he had.
Chad is the author of Cheaper, Easier, Direct: how to Disrupt The Marketplace and Create Your Own E-Commerce Empire.
Gini Dietrich, Digital Marketing Expert
The founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a digital marketing communications firm based in Chicago. She is the author of Spin Sucks, co-author of Marketing in the Round, and co-host of Inside PR. She also is the founder of Spin Sucks blog and Spin Sucks Pro.
Gini runs one of the top PR blogs in the world and speaks all across the country on business and communication. Her content is practical, actionable, and results-driven.
More Sherpas – To Be Announced
We always like to create a WOW experience so we have some surprise guests and tricks up our sleeve.
PAST Sherpas Include:
Rick Cesari The $2 Billion Dollar Man
Rick Cesari is a pioneer in direct response marketing and television advertising. After Cesari and his brother Steve took out a home-equity loan on their mother’s home to fund the creation of their new business, Cesari Direct has gone on to help sell more than 2 billion dollars worth of products. Cesari has directly been involved in the launch of over 30 brands including the Sonicare toothbrush, OxiClean, the George Foreman Grill, GoPro camera & many more.
Today, Cesari Direct is is a consumer marketing agency, specializing in short and long form direct response television, media buying and online marketing. Cesari’s company was responsible for taking GoPro camera from less than $1 Million in sales to over $500 Million in sales in under 5 years.
Rick is the author of Buy Now: Creative Marketing that Gets Customers to Respond to You and Your Product.
Dan Kuschell Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, CEO of Genius Network
Dan Kuschell is the CEO for Joe Polish’s Genius Network. He’s the founder of Growth to Freedom™, ProsperityBasedLiving.com, & creator of Millionaire’s Mindset.
He has built many companies over his years as an entrepreneur, including one company he built to over 175 employees and $15 million+ a year in sales.
Dan Kuschell has owned multiple companies and has over 22 years of experience helping businesses grow exponentially.
Kevin Waldron: from $0 to $24 million/year and 240+ employees
About Kevin Waldron
Kevin Waldron immigrated to the U.S. from Scotland in the mid-1980s. Without a college degree, the only work he could find was with a disaster restoration company — literally cleaning up other people’s messes — where his boss was a raging alcoholic. After watching his boss make money while drinking all day, Waldron decided “if he can do it, I can do it better.”
Starting with a shoestring budget and just an 800 square foot warehouse space, and with no real business experience, Waldron grew his company into a regional powerhouse with 5 offices and over 200 employees and $24M a year in sales. He credited his business coach of 17 years, Patricia McDade, with helping him to grow the company.
After he finally sold the company in 2010, Waldron became a business coach himself. Today, Waldron does leadership coaching, helping business owners with sales between $2 million and $10 million scale upwards to $20 million and beyond. One of his recent coaching programs costs entrepreneurs $50,000 per person to participate in.
Andrew Warner, Founder of Mixergy
While still in his twenties, Andrew Warner used credit cards and ingenuity to found and build a $30+ mil / year (in sales) internet business with his younger brother.
After selling his interest in that business, Andrew went on to create the top-rated business podcast Mixergy, through which he helps ambitious entrepreneurs to learn from a mix of experienced mentors.
Mixergy’s headquarters in San Francisco served as the venue for John and Jeremy’s first-ever Entrepreneur Retreat in April 2015.
Past Sherpas and VIP Guests Include
Noah Kagan, Founder of AppSumo & SumoMe
Ryan Holiday, Best Selling Author & Marketing Strategist
Ryan Levesque, Founder of Ask Method & Best Selling Author
David Gonzalez, Entrepreneur & Founder of IM Party
Highlight Video of Past Retreat in Sonoma
What to Expect at Each Live Strategy & Planning Retreat
TUESDAY
You’ll arrive on Tuesday afternoon, December 6th, and pull up to the beautiful, 4-star Travaasa Resort and Spa, located in Austin, TX and is rated as a Top 10 Destination Spa. You will be provided gourmet breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day as well as lifelong relationships with other like minded entrepreneurs.
Tuesday night there will be a welcome reception and dinner where you will meet, connect with, and bond with your fellow attendees. You will have already been provided with a briefing packet consisting of information on all the other attendees so you are already familiar with who you will be meeting and their businesses.
The goal of this first dinner and the briefing packet is to accelerate the bonding and familiarization process so that everyone gets to know one another’s business so we can get to work immediately the next morning.
WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday morning, after a good night’s rest and a hearty breakfast, we will gather in the retreat meeting room. You will be provided with all the writing and strategic planning materials you need.
Our time in the retreat meeting room will be divided into two parts. First, each participant will be given 5 minutes to share the something that is working really well in their business. You will hear cutting-edge strategies and time tested tactics which are working today in the trenches.
This is also your opportunity to give back to your fellow entrepreneurs by sharing a strategy, tool, tactic or practice that has produced great results for your business, and which the other entrepreneurs can implement in their businesses.
Second, participants will be given a “hot seat” where the other members of the group will give specific feedback and suggestions for how you can break through your current challenge(s). We will be joined in the retreat room with our two VIP ‘Sherpas’ – entrepreneurs who have been to the ‘mountain top’ and come back down to help others get there.
Our Sherpas serve a role like judges on American Idol, but with more constructive feedback, less infighting, and without the awkward sexual tension between Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul.
Not sure which challenge to focus on? Not to worry. You will have already completed a strategy session with us ahead of time to hone in on the specific challenge you want help with.
Later that day, we’ll have a group activity/excursion where you will be able to connect with your fellow attendees in a more casual environment. We will have a group dinner fit with all the trimmings where the group can talk business and continue to forge relationships.
THURSDAY
On Thursday, we will continue on in the retreat meeting room, and later on in the day we will experience a private Q and A and fireside chat with our special Sherpa entrepreneurs.
The event will conclude that evening as we whisk you away to a special location where we will enjoy our trademark Rise25 Entrepreneurs’ Retreat Closing Party/Dinner and Roundtable.
We will be joined by additional VIP guests at this concluding party, who will then participate in our group roundtable discussion.
You will come away from each retreat with new insights, clarity, an action plan with specific steps to focus on next, and lifelong relationships with a dozen other high-level entrepreneurs – all of whom are going through, or have gone through, the challenges you are experiencing. You will have a new group of friends and colleagues on your speed dial who you can depend on to help you as you continue to grow.
This is a rare opportunity for you to take a step away from the day-to-day and work on the long-term vision for your business.
Chris Johnson
Founder, Simplifilm
“Man, it was one of the best events I have been to. There was a lot of knowledge in the room, a lot of humility. There was people who’ve been in the online business for 20 plus years, doing it forever. Some of the most successful copywriters in the world… There was just so much great energy and a lot of people giving great feedback. Anytime you can get into an event like this, where there are a lot of great people that have your best interests at heart, you owe it to yourself to do that.”
David Garfinkel
Master Copywriter Co-Facilitator of Mastermind with Copywriting legend John Carlton
“I’ve been in Masterminds for 16 years and this is clearly one of the best I have ever been in. If you have a business that you’re running or that you’re thinking of adding to your existing line of business or work, this is a tremendous incubator as well as a high level peer group and the advice is something you really couldn’t buy from a consultant. And I know I’m a very high priced coaching consultant. I could have come up with some of the ideas but certainly not all of the ideas for the people who were here.”
Omar Zenhom
Host of “Best of iTunes” podcast $100MBA Co-Founder, Webinar Ninja software
“If you are thinking about going to an event like this, I would say, don’t think about it. Just go ahead and pull the trigger. Because worst case scenario, you’re going to make some great friends. You’ll definitely learn something. You’ll definitely get some perspective. Even if that perspective is, “I’m doing a great job and I should continue.” Sometimes we need to hear that from other people to understand that you’re doing the right thing. I think that there’s tremendous value in going to a mastermind like this and so much to take away and learn.”
Your Founders & Facilitators:
John Corcoran & Dr. Jeremy Weisz
It all started with a simple idea. Entrepreneurs are stronger together.
The Beginning:
John and Jeremy have a shared background as professional service entrepreneurs who have managed to diversify their business revenues and move away from trading hours for dollars by building platforms for themselves.
The first Rise25 retreat was held in March 2015. Jeremy and John put together a one-day mastermind for great entrepreneurs in the SF area prior to attending the Mastermind Talks conference they were both set to attend in Napa Valley. With just three weeks notice, they threw together an event which included such notable guests as Mixergy founder Andrew Warner, Art of Charm podcaster Jordan Harbinger, and master copywriter David Garfinkle.
Their mission is to bring together like-minded entrepreneurs from professional services backgrounds who want to scale up their businesses, spend less time trading hours for dollars, and diversify their revenues.
John Corcoran is an attorney, writer, and a father, and a former Clinton White House Writer and Speechwriter to the Governor of California.
Throughout his diverse career, he has worked in Hollywood, as an early employee at DreamWorks, working for Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, and he has worked in the heart of Silicon Valley, advising startup entrepreneurs. He owns his own boutique law firm in the San Francisco Bay Area catering to small business owners and entrepreneurs.
He is the creator of the Smart Business Revolution blog and podcast. After trying unsuccessfully every different possible strategy for growing his website (from SEO to social media), he finally struck gold in 2015 with webinars, and hosted 83 live webinars during 2015. Using webinars and other strategies, John quickly built an email list of 40,000+ email subscribers.
John’s writing has appeared in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Art of Manliness, Lifehacker, Business Insider, Get Rich Slowly, and numerous other publications, blogs and websites. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife Nicole and their three young boys.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz is an entrepreneur and founder of a Chiropractic and Massage facility, a podcast host and producer, creator of an industry-leading chiropractic classifieds website, and nutritional supplement company.
Over the years, he has created numerous additional businesses to diversify his revenue sources, ranging from his work as host of the InspiredInsider podcast, to a nutritional supplement business and ecommerce business, online courses, and a classified website for chiropractors.
He has been profiled in Forbes on building up multiple businesses and in each case, he has built and streamlined and systematized the businesses in order to move on to new projects and spend less time working “in” his businesses.
He is the father of two young girls, age 5 and 2 and lives in the north suburbs of Chicago.
Rules
This will be a highly curated group, and the community is only as valuable as the people who come together in the group. Everyone who is accepted will be chosen because they are a good fit. You will be expected to come prepared to meetings and retreats with basic knowledge of the other attendees and their businesses.
Discussions are confidential unless a member explicitly says the discussion can be shared beyond the group.
FAQs
What do I get with my membership?
A: When you join the Rise25 Group you get an exclusive small group of other driven, giving entrepreneurs who will hold you accountable (and who you will hold accountable) and two seasoned entrepreneurs (John and Jeremy) who are 100% dedicated to your success and will open their rolodex with mentors and connections to also make sure you succeed. If you want to set big goals for yourself, achieve massive change or growth in your business and make sure you execute on what you promised yourself, then this is the group for you.
You get monthly accountability calls, monthly office hours where you can schedule one-on-one time with John or Jeremy and get personalized feedback, access to both John & Jeremy’s networks (we are both incredibly well connected and we will be introducing you to influencers we know), and three amazing, 2 ½ day luxury group retreats where we will be 100% focused to help you plan, be accountable, mastermind and strategize. (Not to mention amazing food and lifelong friendships)
Our retreats are held at 4-star, luxury resorts because we believe when you’re comfortable and relaxed, it helps to facilitate an atmosphere of long-range planning and deeper reflection which is so rare in the day-to-day hustle of running a business. If you’ve been to boring conferences with speakers droning on, well, our events bear no resemblance to those. We will be rolling up our sleeves and expect you to as well.
What happens at the end of the 12 months?
We are big believers in listening to feedback in our own respective businesses and for Rise25 Group, so we will be gathering feedback on how to improve the group going forward. Our goal is to serve you better and to bring in more like-minded entrepreneurs over time, thus increasing the value of the group and the connections over time.
Do I get One-on-One time with John or Jeremy?
Yes. We will have dedicated office hours each month when you can schedule a call. John and Jeremy are all in with you and the group and are dedicated to make sure you succeed.
What is included at the retreats?
Your membership includes all-access pass to the three 2 ½ day retreats at four-star resort properties. During the retreats, you will be treated to first-class service including gourmet meals during the event, drinks, all written materials, a secret group activity/excursion, and of course relationships to last a lifetime. All you need to do is get yourself to the resort and cover your lodging (we will have a negotiated discount rate) and we’ll cover the rest.
Why is the group called “Rise25”?
A: There is an old saying “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Used in a business context, we interpret that saying to mean when you help everyone, you will benefit as well. We will all Rise together by helping one another and holding you accountable.
Also, we all say we want to get more done in the 24 hours we have in a day. One day John said to Jeremy…”I feel like I get more done and it is almost like I have 25 hours in the day because of our network of relationships.” Jeremy said, “that is it John! That is our name!”
Our group can effectively be the “25th hour,” helping us to accomplish more in the time we have. Oh, and Rise25.com was available and do you know how hard it is to find a 6-digit domain? Seriously. It’s not easy people. We have a document 14 pages long of name ideas to prove it.
Where should I stay?
A: We strongly recommend staying on site at the venue in order to fully experience and enjoy the event, and we will have negotiated discount rates so that you can do this.
Who else is in the group?
A: Typically at our events we have entrepreneurs who run businesses that provide a range of professional services, from web development to wealth management to consulting, Facebook ad management, and coaching. We’ve had solopreneurs who run businesses that do multiple six figures of revenue on up to 8 figures of revenue with up to 100 employees. Our members are interested in having a bigger impact and using new digital tools like webinars, ebooks, an email list, a podcast, to create that bigger impact.
While all of our members will be seasoned entrepreneurs doing at least multiple six figures of revenue, the amount of revenue doesn’t matter as much as a good attitude and willingness to follow through on new approaches, implement new strategies, and focus on achieving results.
Am I even ready for this?
A: If you are not sure if you are a good fit, we encourage you to apply anyway. Do not be intimidated by other members or past attendees. You could be the perfect fit to round out the group. Remember: as Teddy Roosevelt said (to paraphrase) the credit goes to the person who puts him or herself in the arena.
Don’t disqualify yourself out of the gate. We’re looking for a diversity of different types of entrepreneurs and what is more important than what is in your bank account is your attitude and willingness to contribute and help your fellow attendees.
I am concerned that I would join the group and come to the events, get lots of great ideas from very smart people, and then “spin my wheels” trying to implement them all.
A: This is exactly what we help people to avoid. Our Rise 25 Framework ensures you put in place small actionable steps to achieve your large goals and we keep you accountable and focusing on execution.
One of the things we do as a group is during the afternoon of day 2, after everyone has had their hotseats and also time to reflect and absorb them, we as a group distill all the ideas we’ve gotten into annual, quarterly and 30 day goals for each person. Then we distill that down further into 3 (just 3) actions steps which each person will commit to between now and the 30 day accountability group call.
Then we go over these goals & action steps as a group and with the sherpas in the room so everyone can weigh in and provide feedback on the goals & action steps each person set. It’s amazing to watch this process unfold and really helps distill down a jumble of ideas into a specific action plan. In addition, at past events we’ve had the Sherpas also do one-on-one coaching with the attendees (subject to availability) after this point to further review and crystalize the right plan of action for each person.
If you are worried about “spinning your wheels” – don’t worry. Our mission is to make sure that you follow a specific path and we’ll guide you back if you get off track.