It all began with a Skype call.
“So, you know, we have been talking about doing a project together for some time. Maybe we should actually do it?!”
“Ammm, yes! I’d love that. What should we do?”
“Maybe something for people who want to run an online business…”
“Yes! Maybe something for people who want freedom… And fun… And travel… And lots of money and time!”
“Basically a lifestyle redesign.”
“Hell yes!”
— Hayley and Vienda
As the start of any project, the beginnings were very humble, and quiet small. But as the months went on, our vision grew, evolved, changed and finally manifested into The Gypset Adventure: a 6 month journey, complete with a digital eCourse and live mentoring, ending with a live 3 day event in Bali, came to be.
We have spent the last few months pouring our brains, hearts and souls into it, to bring this project to life. As many of you would know, building a heart-driven business and creating something that sits beyond the conventional – creating things that feel so big – means we are called to rise. And challenged.
It is here, when we are most stretched, that we learn about courage and what we are truly capable of.
And that feeling – as scary as it is; as much as it makes you question if you’re ready – is also incredible exhilarating and exciting. It’s part of our growth; as women; as business-owners; as gypsetters. It’s when we are most scared, that we know we are leaning in the direction of our dreams.
And now, we are almost ready to begin. The Gypset Adventure starts in 9 days = on Wednesday the 1st of July.
It’s taken a huge amount of support from our loved ones, an incredible team, and endless online resources, all of which we couldn’t have done this without.
OUR TASKS
Breaking up our tasks was a truly natural, symbiotic encounter, where we each stood in where our strengths, knowledge and talents most lie. Both of us naturally lean in certain directions, so it wasn’t hard to decide who does what.
- We both equally write, create and record the content and lessons for The Gypset Adventure. Most of this is done by using shared Google Docs; Soundcloud and Vimeo.
- I write our email copy; and manage Soundcloud, and the WordPress site where all the content sits. I also manage the Teleseminar operations, during our live mentoring calls.
- Hayley sends schedules and send out all our emails through Infusionsoft, sets up and manages Teleseminar and Vimeo, takes care of our finances, and manages to consistently (magically) tie up all the practical and admin type loose ends.
OUR CHEERLEADERS
Both of our partners, and friends have been undying supporters. When there was tears and frustration they came with soothing and uplifting words and embraces. When there was breakthroughs and quantum leaps in the right direction, they celebrated with us. They lent us vehicles, drove us to meetings, and jolted us alive with coffee when we needed it. They brought us wine, packed us toasted avocado sandwiches, and stood by us as we went through the highs and lows of the creative process. Every step of which has been so exciting — we felt so alive — and simultaneously curios, to discover how it would all unfold.
OUR INCREDIBLE TEAM
Amanda Lukac — Someday Seeker
Amanda is our tirelessly optimistic and ridiculously talented graphic designer. From creating intros and outs, to editing videos, to designing eBooks and PDFs and creating all our imagery and fonts, Amanda has been crucial to every part of The Gypset Adventure. We changed our minds and redesigned the structure half a dozen times, and she was incredibly patient, professional and truly an angel every step of the way. Not to mention, Amanda’s work is like: Woah! Amazing! Every, single, time.
If you’re looking for a designer to work with, contact her. She’s rad.
Michelle Swan — Eyes of Love Photography
If, for humans, the eyes are the window to their soul; then, for online programs, photography is the window to their essence. Something that Michelle captured so beautifully with such ease and grace. She came down to Byron Bay one weekend, and we spent an afternoon together, eating ice-cream, swapping dirty jokes (ok, not really, I was the only one telling dirty jokes), stealing the spotlight at various cafes and having impromptu costume changes behind bushes. Without these playful and fun images, The Gypset Adventure would be one bland white space, with a lot of words. Michelle turned the entire essence of our eCourse into one of laughter, joy and fun.
Kirby Amour — I Heart Blog Events
Some people have an eye for practical structure and detail. Kirby, having over 10 years of experience managing bands in the music industry, is one of those people. I have never had those skills, and knowing that she has this covered, is like a massive sigh of relief. We are still in the very beginning stages of development for our Gypset: Bali retreat, as part of The Gypset Adventure, at the end of December, and i absolutely cannot wait to watch this exciting event unfold. (The venue we have already picked is so fucking awesome!!)
Tracey Gobey — The Bootstrap Assembly
Tracey is one of those ridiculously-multi-passionate-type-creatives who just seems to be damn good at anything she puts her to. This woman flies true gypset colours, original from South Africa, via Australia, and has been everywhere else in-between. I seriously have no idea how she does it, or where she finds the time, while she is spending an entire year (and maybe more) right now, gypsetting around the Americas like pro, and then still turning out creative work for our Gypset: Bali retreat, plus running her business, all at the same time. Phew! To say this woman is some kind of wonder, is an understatement. Plus, she just got the most awesome tattoo ever. But you’ll have to follow her on Instagram to see that.
OUR ONLINE RESOURCES
This is where we get all technical. A short rundown of what we have used to get The Gypset Adventure program on the road:
Instant Teleseminar
We use this for all of our live mentoring calls, that take place every two weeks. They consider themselves the premier online web call system. After researching a heck of a lot, it seemed to be the best option, and it’s been very effective and useful so far.
Vimeo
Vimeo is a video-sharing website in which users can upload, share and view videos. This is where we upload and share all of our videos from, because through Vimeo, we can keep them private and personal.
WordPress
Each Element is sitting in password-protected pages on a WordPress site, that only our gorgeous gypset tribe on The Gypset Adventure can access.
Soundcloud
I am quite in love with Soundcloud, and it is here, where we store all the audio lessons that our gypsetters download and listen to wherever they want, and wherever they are.
Infusionsoft
Something that Hayley likes to call ‘Confusionsoft’ – this is an incredibly powerful (maybe too powerful!) automatic email scheduling program, which means all our gypsetters get our emails and the content for The Gypset Adventure right on time, as we release each Element.
Google Drive
Google Drive is a cloud storage service… Essentially, it’s a beefed-up version of Google Docs. We share and store our documents, photos, music, videos, etc. all in one place. It syncs with our mobile devices and your computers, so if one of us makes changes, we both can automatically see them, in real-time.
Garageband
We use Garageband to record and compile all of our audio lessons, to be easily uploaded onto Soundcloud and downloaded as an MP3 that can be listened to anywhere, even from iTunes.
Dropbox
An online storage space, this is how we get all of our audios, photos and videos to our amazing graphic designer, in the (almost) blink of eye.
Phew! And that is all I have to share with you in this fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse of how The Gypset Adventure eCourse came to be. Join us, if you dare!
Photography by Eyes of Love.