Monthly Archives: June 2017

It was New Year's Day 2012, and Allison Fleece was feeling unmoored. On a whim, she e-mailed a group of her most intrepid friends. "This time next year," she wrote, "I want to be standing on the roof of Africa." The following winter, she was on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, exhausted and giddy, with nine women beside her. She turned to Danielle Thornton, a climbing buddy who would soon become her best friend. "This is what all travel should be like," she said.

The next year, Fleece and Thornton headed back to Kilimanjaro this time leading a group of 29 women from 11 countries on the first trip of WHOA Travel, their fledgling adventure-tour company for women. In their previous lives, Fleece, now 31, had been an education advisor and Thornton, 34, a creative director at an ad agency. But a few months after their Kilimanjaro expedition, they'd quit their jobs, Googled how to form an LLC, and launched a travel business. WHOA stands for Women High on Adventure or Women Hooked on Awesomeness, depending on whom you ask.

It's one of the latest additions to the growing list of women-only adventure companies outfitters that cater to a generation of female travelers who prefer surf weekends and mountain-climbing expeditions to the spa weekends of old. The idea goes back to the late 1970s, when women who'd come of age in the era of second-wave feminism began starting scrappy adventure programs, outdoorsy relatives of the feminist music festivals and conferences that were then sprouting up around the country. By the late 90s, upscale operators had joined the fray, courting luxury travelers often widowed or divorced retirees who had the time and money to travel but didn't want to be the loner in a group of couples. More recently, with a certain demographic of women rebranding feminism as less a political calling than a lifestyle choice one focused on personal empowerment and self-care female-centric travel companies are retooling and expanding once again.

"We were around back when women-only travel was kind of a joke," says Jennifer Haddow, who seven years ago took over Wild Women Expeditions, a Canada-based company founded in 1991. "People didn't really see why it was valuable." Now veteran outfitters like Haddow are diversifying their offerings to take advantage of a growing market. Wild Women has added horseback riding in Mongolia and cycling, trekking, and rafting in Thailand to its original roster of kayaking and canoeing trips in Ontario and British Columbia. Adventure Women, a 35-year-old Massachusetts company that changed hands last year, has begun catering to younger clients with its "adventurettes" bespoke getaways, like long weekends of riding, river floating, fine dining, and massages in Montana, for women who don't want a traditional bachelorette party in addition to its bucket-list journeys to places like Ireland and Nepal.

Some lifestyle companies outside the travel industry see all-female trips as a way to extend their brands. REI's recently expanded Outessa program brings women to different U.S. mountains for long weekends of yoga, hiking, and bonding. The sporting-goods giant has also ramped up its backpacking- and camping-centric REI Women's Adventures, which offer rugged outdoor experiences in locations ranging from Africa to America's national parks. For the crystals-and-Coachella crowd, the bohemian apparel brand Free People operates FP Escapes. Its wellness-focused itineraries, including superfood cooking classes in the Andes and yoga workshops in Yelapa, Mexico, come with cleanses, meditation rituals, new-moon ceremonies, and Instagram-ready accommodations like tepees and tree houses.

For some upstart outfitters, personal growth is as central to the mission as having fun. Damesly, founded last year, emphasizes professional networking and skill building, combining volcano hikes in Iceland and surfing lessons in Hawaii with workshops on topics like video editing. Fit & Fly Girl's health-focused retreats come with daily workout classes and nutritious meals. Explorer Chick has several offerings for beginners to develop wilderness survival skills and learn backpacking basics.

But for all the attention these programs devote to women's individual well-being, many also emphasize social responsibility and making lasting connections in the places they visit. "You can't just show up to sell women stuff. You have to be participating in the communities and engaged in their issues," says Wild Women's Haddow. "Clients respond to authenticity." For her company, that means striving to partner exclusively with women even in places like Nepal, where female guides are hard to find and supporting social-justice groups. On its Morocco trips, Adventure Women brings guests to a women's textile cooperative outside Fez to speak with the artisans about their lives and work. Before its Kilimanjaro treks, WHOA puts guests up at a nonprofit hotel that funds a primary school for area children; travelers' fees also help sponsor two local women to join the group on every climb. The company operates a similar program for its Machu Picchu treks.

Despite the wide range of experiences offered by these companies, all tend to attract travelers who, whatever their age or background, have reached a turning point in their lives. If you can handle whitewater rafting down a Peruvian river or summiting a 10,000-foot peak, a cross-country move or a divorce doesnt seem quite so insurmountable. Physical challenges expunge emotional pain, and many women find it more comfortable to tackle them in the company of their peers, even if theyre strangers.

Kelly Luck, 42, booked her Kilimanjaro trip with WHOA after a grueling battle with breast and thyroid cancer. On a cold, clear night this past March the 8th, International Women's Day Luck summited the mountain with 30 other women. "I don't think I could've done this with my husband," she says. "Being there with this powerful collective of women was the only way for me to go. It makes you so strong."

The kind of sisterhood Luck and Fleece both found on Kilimanjaro is one that more and more women seem to want. "We as a gender are done compartmentalizing ourselves," Fleece says. "We like to go out for a nice dinner in heels, but we can also put on hiking boots and camp on a mountain for seven days. And women are realizing that there are others out there who want the same thing."

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Why Women Are Booking More Adventure Travel Than Ever - Travel+Leisure

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. More than 80 home service business owners, including plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors, from across the U.S., Australia and New Zealand attended the CEO Warrior Circle Mastermind event Unleash the Beast June 13-16. This was the first event to take place at the new CEO Warrior 10,000-sq.ft. training facility.

CEO Warrioris a business consulting, training, and mentoring firm, providing tested and proven methods to defeat the roadblocks that prevent small to mid-sized businesses from achieving their ultimate success. The new training facility houses three separate training quarters, so different events can occur simultaneously. In addition to the Warrior Fast Track Academy and CEO Warrior Circle training events for business owners, there are new one- and two-day course offerings in leadership, sales, marketing, service management and customer service for staff members of all levels.

CEO Warrior Circle event draws business owners from the plumbing, HVAC and electrical industries.

This is going to take our warrior movement to the next level, said Mike Agugliaro, founder of CEO Warrior. We can now offer 10,000 square feet of the greatest business training on the planet. I saw a need for more training that would make a real difference and help business owners become warriors at home and at work.

According to Shayna Shadowen, owner and office manager of Service Detectives, Energy, Illinois, workshops are meant to help you better yourself personally. Shadowen has attended seven CEO Warrior events, starting in May 2016.

Shayna Shadowen and Judy Giannone.

Mike really helps you to face your fears and personal roadblocks head on, explained Shadowen. Every exercise is about learning and growing and bettering yourself. It doesn't matter if you have a service company, a dog training company, or a consignment company, it all boils down to becoming a better you. Then you take back your growth to your business and apply the practices in your everyday life. Your company can't fail.

What Mike has created in this CEO Warrior event is powerful beyond measure and this is built for serious CEOs interested in moving the needle of their service businesses, said O.P. Almaraz, CEO of Allied Restoration Services Inc., Los Angeles. After being a part of CEO Warrior for four months, my company had a record breaking $1,000,000 month. Mikes mentorship has propelled me to grow from $4 million to a projected $6.5 million in my first year. There is nothing more powerful than a changed mind.

Breakthrough limiting beliefs

Contractors stood holding a cup filled with water for as long as 25 minutes. This is tougher than what you realize.

The Warrior Circle event, Unleash the Beast, featured a combination of training sessions on leadership skills, proven business strategies and personal empowerment exercises. The CEO Warrior training system has a unique approach, inspired by Agugliaros straightforward style and martial arts training, to help business owners create mental focus, strategic thinking, resiliency, respect and a warrior spirit to take their own businesses to the next level. Business owners participated in personal empowerment activities such as fire walking, fight training and board breaking exercises.

This is a roll-up your sleeves, get dirty and get information type of event, said Agugliaro. Everybody has a bigger purpose in life, but at the end of the day, most people are not doing the things they need to do to fulfill their bigger purpose. When the attendees leave, they can take strategic steps to change their businesses, their relationships and their lives.

Agugliaro lead individuals through a meditation practice at the beginning of the event, so each person could dig deep and uncover within themselves unconscious barriers that are affecting their lives and businesses.

After the meditation practice and before diving into the first days empowerment activities, Agugliaro asked business owners to focus on a few critical ideas presented during the event and to focus on only those few not the many of ideas and to be candid during the event and play full out. Agugliaro also instituted that each team use a talking stick to improve communication.

Often times, people try to communicate a message when there is distraction happening, said Agugliaro. This can create confusion, which can be a shared issue. Once confusion is shared this can lead to delusion, and now the confused employees are stuck. Often people in this position end up frustrated and may even get angry this is a bad place to be.

A talking stick is a foundation for improved communication. The talking stick first creates boundaries only the person with the talking stick can talk, explained Agugliaro. Without boundaries you end up with something like Animal House.

Tuesdays empowerment activities consisted of the Weakest Link and breaking boards. The Weakest Link challenged business owners strength and balance. Business owners stood holding a cup of water with foam numb chucks for as long as possible. During the board breaking, everyone wrote down on their boards what is holding them back in business and life (hopefully they were able to uncover these barriers during the meditation earlier in the day). Agugliaro then lit the boards on fire each person taking their turn to break through their board with their bare hand, thus breaking through their limiting beliefs.

Candace Roulo breaks through a board on fire with assistance from Mike Agugliaro.

Motivation was key during these empowerment activities. At one point a business owner told their teammate, I have your back I am not going to let you fall.

After the activities Agugliaro asked, What would it be like if you said that [I have your back] at your business? How would that change the overall culture?

At the end of the day, teams shared their thoughts on what they learned the first day of the Warrior Circle event. Some of those thoughts include:

The second day of the CEO Warrior Circle Mastermind event, teams had more activities to complete, which included a fire walk at night.

Walking on fire is an amazing parallel to life, said Almaraz. Every human being was born with an immense amount of potential, yet somewhere in our adolescence we shirk ourselves to fit in. We condition our minds to think that we're not good enough or not worthy, so we stop trying new things. The inward self-reflection, before the firewalk, writing down our own limiting beliefs, and acknowledging our past does not determine our future this part of the fire walking practice is the ultimate game changer. And walking over hot coals, something that seemed impossible, is now my reality. And if I could do that, I can certainly breakthrough my past limiting beliefs!

I had my biggest breakthrough when we did the fire walk, said Kelley McKay, president of McKays Heating & Cooling. I had to be fearless to walk across the 1,200 degree coals, and when I entered that state of mind I realized that's the state of mind I should be entering when it comes to growing my business.

Dean Jackson talks marketing at the CEO Warrior Circle.

Create an experience for the customer

During the CEO Warrior Circle event, Agugliaro had a guest speaker, Marketing Guru Dean Jackson, visit to talk business and marketing strategies.

Jackson said business owners need to stop thinking of their business as one thing, but as three separate divisions: the Before Unit, During Unit and After Unit.

During the Before Unit we are looking to get into the customers home for the first time here and get them into home management, explained Jackson. While in the Before Unit you need to think with the end in mind. What is it that you want to do? What kinds of clients would you love to have? Here you identify your dream clients and target audience and figure out the range of budget for the Before Unit. How much would you pay to get these clients? Its important to narrow your focus here (segment and avatar) and select one target at a time.

Then there is the During Unit, when contractors deal with jobs all day long and create the experience for the customer, then they go to the next job. Jackson advised that contractors should look at all the customer calls that come in on a daily basis to find out how many are emergency calls and how many are proactive calls (when a contractor goes to a job to prevent emergencies from happening).

The During Unit is the core experience you have with the customer, said Jackson. Establish that when they have a need they will call you. While you are in their house you need to establish additional opportunities.

According to Jacksons and Agugliaros book Breakthrough DNA The Service Code; 8 Profit Activators You Can Trigger in Your Business Right Now, this is delivering a dream come true experience designed from the clients/customers perspective and providing an after sale service (even after you have already been paid).

Also while in the During Unit you need to establish that you are the customers plumber/HVAC tech for life. You need to say to your customer, While I am here lets do an HVAC audit. At this time contractors can point out potential issues that are coming down the road, which can be dealt with in a proactive away before there is an emergency.

You need to have the mindset that you will take the customer under your wing and give them opportunities to prevent problems, said Jackson. If you have a lot of repeat business this means that you are the customers person to call back. You created some sort of impression for this to happen. The greatest asset is being an incumbent in someones home.

And last, but not least, there is the After Unit, which focuses on nurturing lifetime relationships.

The After Unit is a thriving part of your business, explained Jackson. These customers already like and trust you.

According to Jackson this is where you nurture customers and referrals.

You always have to generate referrals, explained Jackson. How and why do referrals happen? The reality is people refer companies or other people they know because it makes them feel good. We are wired to share things and steer away from bad things.

My biggest take away from this event came from Dean Jackson, said McKay. He gave us a new way to think about our business. He explained a before unit, during unit and after unit. Viewing each individual step and creating a timeline of each step has opened my eyes to new ways of delivering the ultimate customer experience.

Brian Kurtz was also a guest speaker at the event. Kurtz has been a serial direct marketer for over 35 years. During his career, he was responsible for the mailing of close to 2 billion pieces of direct mail and the distribution of millions of impressions and promotions on a wide variety of offline and online media.

To download and read Breakthrough DNA The Service Code; 8 Profit Activators You Can Trigger in Your Business Right Now visit: http://breakthroughdna.com/.

CEO Warrior

CEO Warrior teaches business owners how to achieve wealth, freedom and market domination by using the tools and skills Mike Agugliaro, founder of CEO Warrior, used to build his home service business into a $32 million-plus business in 10 years. The Warrior system uses a unique approach to training, inspired by Mikes straightforward style and martial arts training to create mental focus, strategic thinking, resiliency, respect and warrior spirit to take business owners to the next level. CEO Warrior targets the specific areas each business needs to address, eliminate, enhance or add in order to reach their business goals and attain what every business owner want in the end: financial independence. For more information about CEO Warrior, visit CEOWARRIOR.com.

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Contractors Unleash their Beasts at CEO Warrior event held in new training facility - Contractor Mag

Cafe Nine celebrated the start of summer with an evening of rebirths, as Virginian cellist and composer Wes Swing returned for his second performance this year flush with new music, a novel appreciation for synthesizers, and an album fizzing with a message of revival.

Swing is a splatter-painter in the music industry, concocting musical palettes that mix classical with pop, indie with folk, as part of an emerging trend in the field of strings. His stylings infuse classical instruments with the splendors of modernity.

Its kind of like indie-classical meets dream pop, Swing said of his music, though cautioning, weve struggled a lot with genre.

At Cafe Nine Wednesday night, Swing showcased hits off his new album, And The Heart, released earlier this month on June 2. It brimmed with lyrical and melodic confidence. He offered a form of musiccello indie folk popthat you wont find many other places.

He began the concert bathed in shadows and dim red and green spotlights, resting his cello companion across his body as he plucked a tune of tranquility and called out soothing lyrics from the first single off his new album, Mirrors. Eyes closed, rocking gently from side-to-side, Swing transformed the space around him as he invited the audience to enter a musical dreamscape.

Tinges of sadness and hope, optimism and resilience, spanned the evenings set list, as Swing presented songs like And the Heart, The Next Life, and Missing Winter off his freshly released album. Accompanied by a bass and a violin, he paired the new set with a favorite from his first album, Instrumental 1 and a clever cover of Bjorks Unravel.

The new album comes six long years after the release of his first album, Through a Fogged Glass, in 2011, and tells a fierce tale of personal empowerment and loss of identity.

The formation of Swings second album occurred after the artist struggled with a hiatus from music. Combating a wrist injury that conflicted with his cello playing and a weighty spell of depression, Wes Swing at one time found himself disengaged with his musical calling.

I had a lot of difficulty before I wrote the music, Swing said. I was living in San Francisco, quit music basically, and was dealing with depression I just wasnt productive at all. It was when I started to feel better, that the music came out.

Swing crafted And the Heart in 2014 and 2015. He conjured up Mirrors while flying on a plane, a peculiar setting that inspired Swing with the emotions it brought out in him.

I was feeling like myself, he revealed. I was feeling confident and happy, and it had been a long time since I had those feelings so deeply.

As his friendliness with music reformed, another partnership opened up in Swings life. Swing teamed up with old friend and guitar champion Paul Curreri, who led production for And the Heart. Curreri had suffered a recent wrist and throat injury that halted his performing career, forcing him to consider production instead.

It was kind of an interesting thing, Swing recalls. He and I had the same wrist and throat injury at the same time. He cant play anymore. This album for both us was coming back to music. In a way, redefining who we are as musicians.

Swing is gearing up to release a music video for Mirrors with a dance he choreographed himself, and continues to compose songs hes hoping to record early next year.

I feel more comfortable in my own skin, he said, and I know what I want more in recording and life.

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Cellist On The Rise - New Haven Independent