(A digression from the posts I’ve been doing.]
Last week, I sent out a summer issue of my newsletter — and I’ve realized, with a shock, how little I talk about my newsletter here.
[Pause while Greg communes with himself about how he might improve his way of doing business.]
You can read my latest newsletter here. And if you’d like to subscribe and get it by email, here’s where you do that.
What’s in the newsletter?
A terrific photo of my little son, nine months old. (And crawling at light-speed, though that’s not in the photo.)- A lot about my latest blog posts. (Though if you’re anything like a regular here, you’ll already know about them.)
- A lot about the branding workshops I’m teaching, and about my consulting practice.
And there, in the third bullet point, is what I’d most like to stress right now. Though Rafa — you’re looking at his photo — is the most wonderful thing in my life.
I’ve talked about the branding workshops here, and of course promoted them. They’re an amazing success, so far, at least. I’ve done three, plus a fourth as a consultancy, with someone whose schedule prevented him from joining a group workshop. I’ve had participants from the US, Canada, South Africa, and Australia. My most recent workshop, in fact, was entirely for Australians, and was funded by an Australian donor, who believed so strongly in what I do that he wanted to guarantee that the workshop would happen, even if I didn’t get enough participants to make it worth my while from individual fees.
What happens in these workshops? An extraordinary kind of personal empowerment. I ask people to go into their hearts, and describe how they’d like the world to see them. Then we look at the materials they currently use, and ask if these materials present the desired picture. Almost always, they don’t.
But then the exercise of starting (at least) to find words and images that would present the picture from the heart — that turns out to be thrilling for the people who do it. The testimonials I’m getting are humbling. People tell me they feel as if they’re on fire, that they’re excited, that new possibilities have opened for them.
Which I have to say thrills me. And my consultancies are working in similar ways. But I think I’ll save that for a future post. Except to say that I have three new consultancies brewing right now, and while of course they might not happen, all three involve unique people who do unique things, in three different countries. If just one of these projects ends up happening, I’ll feel blessed, quite beyond whatever money I might make, or whatever professional boost I’ll get.
One last word about the branding workshops. I’ve just repeated the link I gave earlier.I’ll be giving more workshops in the fall. Click the link if you’d like to know more. Or, of course, feel free to email, if you have questions. Or if you’d like to sign up. ($200 US for three 90-minute sessions.) Or if you’d like to speak to me about consulting.
And don’t forget the newsletter. You can subscribe here.
Here are testimonials for the branding workshops (of course given here with the permission of those who wrote them):
“I find that I’m thinking about my own marketing in a comprehensive way that I was unaware of before.” (Bruce Kiesling, composer, conductor, and teacher)
“Signing up for Greg Sandow’s branding workshop was a no-brainer for me. The experience itself exceeded even my highest expectations. Greg has a special ability to address critical issues in a tangible way that affect all musicians and artists. Musicians of all backgrounds can benefit a great deal from these workshops, and the no-nonsense way that Greg approaches the future of classical music. This was an exceptional experience.” (Haley Rempel, Flutist & Artistic Director, Aurelia Productions, Canada)
“Thanks a lot for the wonderful experience of participating in this workshop. I am honoured to have been in the company of yourself [and the other participants], and to have had the benefit of your wonderful ideas and comments on my work. All your input kickstarted a lot of new ideas and initiatives and made me think in a totally new and different way about what we’re doing and how it should be presented to our ‘tribe(s)’. I’m very excited at the possibilities of rebranding our concert series and other marketing and recruitment efforts for maximum effect.” (Jaco van der Merwe, School of Music & Conservatory, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa)