The Art of Collaboration

What an amazing conversation with Joanne Whelan, who's known as the collaboration expert. She's a visionary strategist, TV, radio, and podcast host, and and a three time number one international best selling author. She has transformed how experts amplify their digital identity, blending innovation with practical strategies for success.

As a pioneering industry inventor, Joanne is passionate about simplifying achievement through collaboration and masterminding. She inspires individuals to do what they love and love what they do while mentoring them to reach their highest potential. Her philosophy is clear. Collaborating should be simple, easy, fun, and prosperous.

So with that said, here's Joanne Whelan. Well, welcome everyone to the Power Up Your Life podcast brought to you by GoBundance Women. I'm Kelly Resendez.

And I'm Mandy McAllister.

And we have an amazing guest today, Joanne Whelan. Welcome. How are you?

Terrific. How are you?

Doing great. Excited to have you here. And just to start, give us a little bit about your story and your career and where you are.

Well, I've always been a connector, but I didn't always realize I was a connector until I started taking those tests, what you wanna do when you grow up. And everything kept saying I'm a connector. I thought, well, big deal. Everybody is. Because a lot of times, whatever comes natural for you, you believe it's easy for everybody. So that was a big And I thought, next, well, what do you do to monetize if you're a connector?

And because it's you know, you're always introducing people and connecting them. I was doing global alliances when I was 19. I started selling helicopters all over the world. So it was just natural. But, again, if you wanna start a business, I would be able to make money doing that.

So that's when I created link to expert fifteen years ago, and it's a way for people to be able to find an expert, check out all their credentials, and hire them in minutes because it always took us months when we did it the traditional way where you introduce them and then you, you know, they'd ask you all these questions, and you'd have to get people to send their bio or their book or their, you know, all their credentials to that person. So I thought, well, if we could just have it all in one place, they could just log in, see everything about that person, and know if they were the right fit.

And a lot of times, it was a a committee or a board of directors that was making the decision as well. So each one of them, wherever they were in the world, could see it by logging in instead of, like, I used to fly somewhere in your own near conference room with them, and everybody would give me their ideas. And it was always interesting to me to see how different people value different things about people for their projects. And so you really didn't always know what they were, but that's why we created it where they can actually have 40 different pages full of stuff about themselves so that different people that different things were imported to them, they could see, you know, write off. So that's my story.

But, actually, since then, just only a couple weeks ago, I went on a sabbatical because I've been doing them to expert for fifteen years, and I just thought I needed a break. And I have to admit, Kelly, you really, really helped me when I did that. And you said when you took one, it was so worth it. Right? Changing.

Yeah. How did you know you needed to hit pause and just reevaluate? Like, what was the big for you in knowing, like, I've already created a successful business, but I need to take some time to really reevaluate?

Well, I think for me, I was going back and forth because of the fact that, you know, I was just not knowing if I wanted to continue doing this. And then what really happens, next was the technology. Again, we created this 15 ago. And back then, everybody said to me, you're ten years ahead of your time, and they couldn't even relate to what it's like and, you know, to have something this vast.

I mean, you know, because there was we we reached 65,000 people every two weeks with information from a newsletter, but also during those two weeks, we would be sending a new email blast, social media, all kinds of so it was really, like, a lot of moving parts. But also when you create something ten years ago, fifteen years ago, the technology gets old. So all of a sudden you realize, okay. Because we put lots of Band Aids on it, if you will, to make it even better. But sometimes you just can't even put another Band Aid on. So that was kinda like the straw that broke the camel's back that I knew we had to stop, and we are, you know, evaluating it.

Most people tell me it'll take another year to build something similar. And so I don't really know. I'm just being upfront with you. I said Yeah. You know? I I just feel like I just need a little more time to think.

And, actually, you're gonna laugh, but not think, you know, because I know that thinking and coming up with all these ideas and what we could do next and how this would be better. But sometimes I think you have to also just get quiet and know that you'll find the answer and no versus just always thinking you have to figure it all out. Mhmm. Your mind wants to figure it out, but sometimes you have to get into your heart and know within your heart and your soul what is next. Because when you're a connector, there's multiple aspects of it.

Like, it's the do energy versus the be energy. And you're just you're being and you're, you know, trusting that that answers will come if you're willing to get quiet. It used to stress me out to get quiet because I I guess I was afraid of of what was gonna come. So, you know, high five to you, and that's a real actionable step for anybody listening that if you feel like you're forcing, forcing, forcing, that getting quiet can really help you find an answer or a next straight step.

So, you know, I also fancy myself a connector. You know, when you're talking to a connector about becoming better at what it is that they're doing, give me a couple actionable tips for someone who thinks they're a connector. How do I get better at it? Or someone who wants to be better at it? How how do they improve their ability to connect people?

That's a real good question. And I have to admit, I just talk to people, and I I while they're talking, I kinda think, I gotta introduce you to this person. Wow. You really get along with this person. Wow. And you two would be great, you know, collaborating. So how can you get better? I don't know. When it just comes natural, it's not like I'm always thinking. I love it.

But how do you have an idea? Sometimes, though, when you're not even talking to that person, but you try to think of like, I used to always think of, like, ways that we could all work together, but try to figure out which of the people I know would be best for this particular project that we could put together.

So that was more intentional than just somebody is saying, okay. You'd be perfect. You got to meet Mandy. You know? And so maybe it's more doing, like, an intentional thought of doing a project together, how do we get all work together?

Yeah. Definitely. That's amazing. And I think for a lot of us that networking comes naturally. For the people that it doesn't come naturally, it's just a matter of, like, setting the intention of, like, finding out what you're working on, who do I know that you need to know, and then making those introductions. And that's just a it's a great start there.

So being somebody that's been in business for a long time, one thing that you've done is also created a lot of, you know, I would say, influence in podcasting or other things. How do you suggest somebody build influence as a leader? You obviously don't have 65,000 people that you can connect without having influence. Right? Like, how did you build influence for yourself?

Well, my secret sauce is really that I also connect with connectors. And so that's it's a 65,000. I really don't know 65,000 people. But way back when cell phones came out, I did remember going to the store in that NetTel in the nineties. And as they don't there's something wrong with my phone. I can't add any more people. And they did tell me, you never knew people knew more than 800 people. I can back then that was the limit.

So, I mean, I do know a lot of people, and I think everybody in my phone that's only about 2,400 now, I think I could sleep on any of their couches tonight if I needed a place to stay. I'm not saying I can live with them, but they would probably know me well enough to know that I could stay at their house, and maybe they'd give me a meal or something.

But the the point is that you really truly, have to just do it. Like, for an example, when when I quit corporate, since twenty years ago, I remember my mentor told me, Joe, you really got to get out there and know who's who in Tampa. I live in Tampa, Florida. And he said, because you don't have a travel budget anymore that because I've grown over a million miles in 200 cities. I used to be always on the road. That was one of the reasons I left that just because it was exhausting.

But the point is, you know, I became what they called the networking queen, but it wasn't like I really wanted to do it. But I just found different types of networking groups that did different things, and I would just go check them out because I I do fight feel like you have to try them two or three times before you know if they're really your tribe. Mhmm. Sometimes you go there and the speaker, for example, will not resonate with you. So sometimes you have to try that.

But I also found after being the networking, I mean, sometimes going to four networking meetings a day, breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and evening events just to try to get to know who is who at Tampa. Because, also, there is a better way rather than just show up and hope to meet somebody that you will connect with. I find try to check out who's gonna be there and see if you can even ask them ahead of time if you can meet with them because Sure. You can waste a lot of time because most people are there. They're just there to sell you whatever they're selling.

And I'm not saying that's bad because you're wanting to work with them too, but I felt like I really wanted to figure out how we could work together and collaborate, not just sell them. Most of them were in, like, network marketing back then and all that stuff, and nothing against that. I just mean, I just didn't wanna do that. You know? And that's fine. The

the pre homework really helps. You know? Yes. Know what you're what you're going for.

I love this idea, and it's the same thing that you kinda said before, the setting of an intention for, you know, whatever thing you're moving into and then just, you know, storing that away for a rainy day.

As a a female business leader coming up over over the last number of years, you know, there are times when you feel stuck. You feel like, oh, gosh. I've hit this wall, and I don't know what to do next. What well and you're in a major one right now, it sounds like. Right?

So what have you done up to this point when you've you've not known what to do quite yet? And and do you need to kinda get yourself unstuck? What do you do? What's an actionable thing?

Well, three things that I really am back into, and I have been over the years, but they come and go, you know, sometimes. But really just getting alone time and, you know, letting go, journaling, affirmations, things like that. You know, reading books that aren't always just self help books but more interesting, you know, instead of, you know, only self help books.

And so just doing that and and, actually, it's weird, but not even having the scheduled routine of everything is so timed and if you, you know, you have to be here then and this that is kinda nice just to have no agenda for the day too. It's it's really interesting to me to see how much other things you could do or do nothing and still be okay because I have a hard time with that.

I was always raised by two work at home. It's that they can't I felt like their hidden motto was do something productive every given second. And so it's, you know, challenging to not feel lazy if you're doing what I just said.

So thank you for asking. But, yes, I I would recommend this, trying to be quiet and be okay with just being with you for a while and Right. Even or even not thinking or just reading, like I say, a novel or something.

Yeah. That's great. I love that. Well, what would you say is something that's unconventional that you've done in your career that just kinda goes against the grain of what most people have told you to do?

Well, I'm a lot older than both of you, and I would back in the day when I started traveling, I was usually the only woman in the meetings. I mean, I've been in meetings with 50 men. And, like, one time over at NASA, this guy next to me taps me and says, could you get me some coffee? I said, well, you have to wait. I'm gonna be doing the next presentation. So, I remember looking here. I'm like, well, anyways, that and I usually was the only woman in first class because I always got upgraded because I was always on a plane.

And I go there with some cute women that I think were there for other reasons, and I'm not knocking them. But, you know, they just were gorgeous, and that's I'm not to talk against gorgeous women, but and they were usually twenty years younger than the guy. This, again, you know, was years ago. But and then it goes even the rental car place, it was weird, but it's usually the only woman renting the car. So that was different.

And and but I'm so grateful I did it because I feel like it helped other women get brave enough to do it as because a lot of times, you know, they would tell me that they're scared. They they don't wanna try it, but I'm just one of those people that I I feel like if somebody tells me it can't be done, I'll prove it can be. And maybe that's crazy, but, anyway,

I I think that's Yeah. Just tell me I can't do something. Wanna bet? Let's let's go make it happen.

Totally. I love that you took on this this kind of badge of if you can see it, you can be it, and you wanted to be that example for these women. You know? And a lot of us at GoBundance Women were have been the kind of lone wolf, the lone woman in whatever thing that's happening.

And the reframe that I use is, you know, I I there's a lot of dudes that I know that are equally as smart as me that don't get as many speaking engagements because I look different than them. How lucky am I to get to represent our gender in this way? You know, it's it's however you look at it.

So I I totally applaud your, coming up in the way you did and and, you know, maintaining exactly what you needed to move it forward. So you've had a couple of you you talked about being in corporate, and now you are the the leader of this big business and you're moving into your sabbatical time. That's a lot of kind of different shifts. Right?

Once one thing that we see a lot is there's an identity associated with being the corporate leader and an identity with the big business owner. And now this identity of someone who's, like, needs a pause and is taking this pause, and I'm really proud of you for taking that pause. Talk to me a little bit about the identity shifts and how you've really worked through those things.

Well, leaving corporate was a a big identity shift because of the fact that, you know, when you're especially used to like, I was always on a plane flying somewhere. Because it was back in the day before we had Zoom and everything where you physically visited people, and you physically took them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. One time, my son was asked what time I mean, what his mom does, and he says she eats because, you know, I told Omar, you know, just had lunch or dinner or something with a client. Once I'm in Vegas, I had three breakfast meetings, a lunch meeting, a dinner meeting, and, of course, a party all in one day. Because back then, we also had trade shows that you physically went to because you couldn't see everything online.

So that was really interesting to leave, and I can remember when I left, I felt like my body was still moving inside because I was so used to going, going, going all the time that that was weird. But it was also all of a sudden, you don't you don't have that title anymore. It's like, oh my god. What am I gonna do? And even when you're starting a business, you know, I mean, you start from nothing. Mine was literally a blank piece of paper. And so then you don't really even know what to tell people, you know, that they're doing.

And even now, I I have to admit, you know, sometimes, you know, I get lots of phone calls and people ask me to come work for them or, do something with them. And I'm flattered, but it's like, I need more time to really know what I wanna do. And, like, one of the things that I've always, had in the back of my head and I tried to do a lot with lead to expert, but I've been blessed to get many downloads, and I have over a 181 streams of income that experts can do.

So I wanna figure out how to also help people because a lot of people, they are stuck on one stream of income or two, and I'm not even knocking them, but they don't realize how easy it would be to parlay that into other streams with what already they're doing. So I don't know. I'm telling you guys on here. It's not really a secret, but that's something that's really been in the back of my head for years. And because I was so stuck on link to expert and it took a lot of my time and effort and energy, then I'm thinking maybe this is what I'm supposed to do to help women and men because they can both benefit from it. But it really is sad to me to see how most people don't do it.

So I don't know what is gonna come with that, but the meaning, the identity now, how do I transition from being a link to expert person, whatever, to multiple streams of income. And it's kind of intertwined, but I don't know. It is as interesting that you asked that because I really do believe that we get caught up in our identity. And if we don't be careful, it drives you to keep doing maybe what you don't really wanna keep doing.

Oh, that's so good. That's so good. And so many people, you're good at it. Right? So you're good at something, and so you think that you should keep doing it when really, you know, we are made for more.

So, you know, you've had an opportunity to work with countless business owners and people that are trying to scale their business, connect with more people, build opportunity. How do you see, like, people sabotage themselves? What do you think the top ways are that a business owner has been sabotaging their own success when when you see their potential of being able to get to the next level?

Good question. Because I think we all do it to some extent. And a lot of times, it's from either when you were younger or even recent, and, you know, you have people say things like, who do you think you are? You know? Like me, I grew up in a small town. Most of those people never left the state of Pennsylvania, and a lot of them never even left the county. And when they heard that I moved to Florida and then that I traveled, you know, every week somewhere. They thought I was crazy, but I had to constantly fight that too because they would just think that was insane. And they still do, like, when I go there for family reunions or whatever.

So you have to be careful what other people think doesn't affect you because a lot of times, they really want you to stay the way you are because they're comfortable there. So you have to recognize that that might be their comfort zone, but that doesn't mean it has to be yours. And so we have to be so conscious of not doing something because we feel like they're gonna think we see for it is what we used to call it, you know, instead of thinking you have stuff or whatever. So just be know that if you know that you wanna do something, just do it. And don't worry because everybody gets nervous, and the only way you're ever gonna get over it is by just doing it.

And, you know, like, when I we started our TV radio podcast show, I have to admit, I I mean, I was like, I I don't know if I can do this because it's all, you know, also video. And my producer that was also my cohost, thank god, but she told me that she would do it with me because every time I was asked to do a TV or radio show myself or, you know, then later podcast, I woulda had to do it myself. And that's another thing. Maybe partner with somebody else that somebody has the experience with it so you can glide with them instead of swapping you feel like, you know?

And even if you do, don't I mean, I read so many books about podcasters. You just really have to fake do it to you fake it till you make it because and you're gonna keep learning from doing it. But if you never do it, you don't even know what, you know, you could could be.

Yeah. Right. If you're not embarrassed of the first couple episodes, you waited too long to launch. I believe that and I believe that to be true about this this sweet podcast that we're on.

So, Joanne, you are just a joy. I I think that you set such a strong example for female leaders. I I'm so grateful for the energy that you bring.

You know, one thing that we really believe at GoBundance Women is we want women to be prepared with their ask so that they recognize that thing when they see it. So I'm curious for you. What is an introduction or a resource that changes the ballgame for something that you're working on so that our listeners and Kelly and I might serve you?

Well, what I found over the years, it really is important. I used to think I could convince people to become collaborators, you know, because I love collab didn't wanna disconnect with people. I wanted to figure out how we can help each other. That's what Kelly and I were working on before I went to one sabbatical. How can we, you know, work with GoBundance and link to expert?

But I also found that if you're not a collaborator, it's not natural, so it's hard for them, and they don't always wanna learn. Let's put it that way. I'm not saying they don't wanna do it, but it it is a different mindset. And so, like, if you can find other people that are already collaborating in my world, That is the key because they already understand the value of all of us, all three of us in the on this call, for example, have a true win win win instead of just thinking what's in it for me.

And they don't even mean to be uncollaborative. They just haven't just think about it also. When you're in corporate, like, when I was in corporate and I was in sales, what did they do? Not just did we have all these competitors that we had to sell against, but they were always post who sales every day. Mhmm. So you're trying to beat your coworkers in selling more. So it's, like, such a competitive world so that it's not like they didn't wanna be collaborative, but most of them were never taught that it's cool to be a collaborate.

Yeah. Definitely. I love it. You have shared so much today. I mean, the biggest thing I think is the courage that you've had to pause and recognize that you either need to innovate, you know, the the platform, or maybe you're gonna do something different, and that takes just a tremendous amount of courage. Mandy, what about you?

Oh, I I love the get quiet because, you're never going to hear a message or download from God if you're not willing to get quiet or journal or listen. And that's a lesson that I keep learning over and over again, so thank you for speaking it again into my life, Joanne. So any of our listeners that wanna get ahold of you, what's the best way for them to get in touch?

My email probably is the easiest. Jweiland@link,link,2toexpert,extert,.com. Because I still have that email. And, also, if they wanna text me, (727) 243-9453. (727) 243-9453.

Amazing. End up filling up your phone book, Joanne. You give your phone number away.

Yep. That's awesome. Well, Joanne, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us on the Power Up Your Life podcast, again, brought to you by GoBundance Women. For any of you out there that wanna power up your business, head over to powerupyourlifenow.com for just a long list of resources that are gonna help you build authority and influence.

So thank you again, Joanne, and feel free to share this episode. Give us a review as well, and we will see you on the next Power Up Your Life podcast.

Thank you. I will. Thank you.