Harper's Circle Wrap-Up
Yesterday was the last day of Harper’s Circle.
A concept that I came up with back in November 2019 with the help of Jess Scheer sitting on my couch in my Chelsea apartment (RIP).
“Circle!” we agreed, “Harper’s Circle!”
I loved the name, the idea and the concept of bringing solopreneurs together after five years of exclusively working individually with clients. I’d never facilitated a group before yet figured it was worth giving it a shot for a 6-month commitment.
When the group started in January 2020, I had them set goals….short and long term, with the intention of holding each other accountable and supporting each other in achieving these goals.
Little did we know, weeks later the world would shut down and require everyone to pivot and redesign their businesses and lives indefinitely. Our group quickly went from very goal oriented (mastermind-ish) to a business support group. Of course there were still goals – yet they were new, and often less aggressive give the uncertainty of the time we were living in.
I’ve been anti-hustler mentality ever since I started prioritizing my health ten years ago. I never embraced the masterminds, communities and programs that had taglines guaranteeing that you’d have a 6-figure business or 5-figure months by joining. It always felt phony and over salesy to me. While I’ve always been an extremely action-oriented person, my goal as a facilitator was to meet the members of the group where they were while trying to motivate and push them out of their comfort zones.
There were weeks and months of the group trying to figure out where to spend their time and energy, having unlimited time and minimal energy. Everyone was so incredibly supportive of one another, celebrating small and big wins, providing each other with advice when asked and brainstorming ways to move forward during a time where it was hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
I never thought there’d be a time in my life where I’d be running a business group during a pandemic and we’d be discussing marketing strategies and our love of Dr. Fauci in the same conversation.
A few months into running Harper’s Circle, I asked for feedback from the group as I was creating the next iteration and wanted to make it even better.
Every single person without influence from the others said “for this group to be longer than six months…”
I was truly shocked. I knew they found it valuable yet didn’t realize it was so valuable that they didn’t want to leave. And that they didn’t have any feedback for me.
And so, I continued the group for another six months and launched another group in May 2020.
In our time together, members of Harper’s Circle:
Wrote books
Launched new websites
Launched new businesses
Offered new services and products
Started doing silly Instagram Reels even if they hated them
Hosted Instagram Lives
Quit full-time jobs
Wrote endless blog posts, articles and newsletters
Collaborated with each other on virtual events
Made more money than they’d ever made before
Were guests on podcasts and launched their own podcasts
Delegated and outsourced work to freelancers and virtual assistants
Got vulnerable on social media and within the group
Took breaks from working so much to prioritize their mental and physical health
And so, so, so, so much more I’m forgetting.
And so for the last two years, the groups have gone through several iterations. People leaving and coming. Merging the group to make it one group. Constantly asking if there’s room for improvement or changes they want and being told nothing yet wanting the group to continue and stay the same.
I loved watching the bonds that were built between members of Harper’s Circle. Most of the women in the group haven’t met in person (several I haven’t met either!) yet we’d talk every other week in session, connect via WhatsApp and I’d find they were communicating separately outside of the group (which truly warmed my heart).
Back in 2020, one of the women in the group acknowledged that I knew more about her life than most people and yet, “you don’t know what my legs look like, I could be a mermaid.” I was thrilled to meet her and other members of the group in 2021 and confirm she wasn’t a mermaid.
As members joined the session every other week, I saw from their facial expressions whether they were having a tough day or were energized to share something new that happened in their business. I created a space for each of the members of Harper’s Circle to be themselves , and not hold back.
After then after 2.5 years of running the group, there were shifts in people’s lives and businesses that led to us deciding to end the group. It was extremely bittersweet.
So yesterday, in our final session, I asked each of the current members to share what lessons they learned from being a part of Harper’s Circle and here’s what they shared:
Value of taking risks
Importance of community outside of your industry with generous and kind people
Continue moving forward no matter what
You don’t have to know everything right now, it’s okay to still be figuring it out
Benefits of feedback, suggestions, support and brainstorming
Feeling of having a team of co-founders as solopreneurship can feel isolating
Value of accountability and accountability buddies
Big things take time
There’s nothing wrong with asking for help
Being a solopreneur doesn’t have to be a lonely process
Celebrate your wins! Big and small.
Ask for what you deserve
Don’t be shy about marketing yourself, nobody else is going to do it on your behalf
It was an emotional ending to years of seeing each other several times a month (two sessions + a guest speaker session as well as many one-on-one sessions). In the last few minutes, I surprised them by bringing several past members of Harper’s Circle to join and share what lessons they learned from Harper’s Circle and how it’s impacted their business to date. I couldn’t help but think I was hosting a reality tv reunion show for a minute – it was really sweet watching the expressions on their faces as new boxes popped up on Zoom.
This is a group of women who are extremely dedicated to the work that they do. They’re passionate. They’re hard working. They’re creative. They’re silly. They’re compassionate. They’re kind. They’re all making an impact on the world, personally and professionally.
While it was hard to put the words together at the end of the session yesterday, I do feel that I’ve given them each a wing and it’s time for them to fly and see where life and business takes them after our time together. I know they’ve learned from me, each other, themselves and our guest speakers.
We were fortunate to have an incredible roster of guest speakers throughout our time together – sharing their knowledge on topics that I’m not an expert on and knew would provide value to each of their businesses. Thanks to the amazing women who donated their time, energy and knowledge to Harper’s Circle. The group and I learned so, so much from each of them
Thanks to Gemma Leghorn, Heidi Landis, Michelle Blue, Lillian Ruiz, Liz Entin, Mallory Gothelf, Mary Sabo, Kat Short, Diane Lang, Amy Mednick and Gaby Kassin for putting so much time and energy into Harper’s Circle for the last few years.
For now, I’ll remind you to start somewhere.
I really had no idea what I was doing when I started the group 2 ½ years ago and now I have an incredible group of women who I’ve built a circle with and watched them grow and expand personally, professionally, together and independently.
Don’t get hung up on perfecting everything – there’s always going to be room for improvement.
Take a step, see what happens, take another step…
And build or join a supportive community to help you along the way.
**I’m not sure if there will be another Harper’s Circle. If you’re interested, please join the waitlist here.