Camille L. Miller With The Natural Life Business Partnership/Soul Professional Business School

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Association Leadership Radio. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here another episode of Association Leadership Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Camille L Miller, and she is the Strategic Soul Aligned Business Design for Midlife Visionaries. And her organization is the Natural Life Business Partnership and Soul Professional Business School. Welcome.

Camille L Miller: Thank you. Lee. How are you today?

Lee Kantor: I am doing well. I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about your business. How are you serving folks?

Camille L Miller: Um, so I am a strategic business designer, but I work very Strategically with solid visionaries. So they’re usually very logically brained and they’re in corporate structures. So doctors, scientists, lawyers, CPAs, engineers, lots of teachers right now. And they’re in a job. They did the thing, they made the title. And it just doesn’t make their hearts sing anymore. So in this next chapter of life, they’re like, okay, I want to do work that has more purpose and impact and gives me the lifestyle as I want. And I am usually hired as their thought partner in figuring out what that looks like, taking an assessment of what are their strengths, what are their weaknesses, what do they want to do? Who do they want to serve, and help them design a life that they can take into retirement? And I call it wisdom to wealth. So and they usually do that into retirement.

Lee Kantor: And to be clear, when you’re saying soul, it’s not s o l e it’s s.o.u.l.

Camille L Miller: It’s s.o.u.l. Yeah. We say like your soul’s purpose, your destiny, what you want to do. So it’s this blending of very logical and spiritual, but more purpose driven, I would say.

Lee Kantor: So what was your path to this point? Why did you why did it become important to you to build a community around this thinking?

Camille L Miller: Yeah. So my background is actually in not for profit management. And the job I had before I created this company, I was a CEO for the State of New Jersey, for the Northeast Organic Farming Association, and it was in that role that I met incredibly spiritual people that were in these very corporate jobs. But I felt like they left a piece of themselves when when I was meeting with them. Right. They were eating organically. They were doing all this, these healthy things. They were living a spiritual life. And then they kind of left that at the doorstep of their corporate job and then went and did the thing and then had a different life. So they were like living two different lives. They weren’t in alignment. And I saw that a lot, like a lot, a lot. And that job was defunded in 2015, and I was kind of deciding, well, what is next for me. And I knew money wasn’t really my motivator anymore. It was impact. And I was like, how can I help other people bring their gifts to the world in a way that feels in alignment, that they can still make money, they feel very happy and satisfied. And that’s how I ended up creating. The original umbrella company now is called the Natural Life Business Partnership, and it was, um, a global mission to bring everyone together and just have conversations across borders about, um, spiritual and financial potential when we’re just being authentic in life.

Lee Kantor: So when you’re having these conversations with these folks that are maybe struggling with, Um, you know, their day job and their their dream job. Um, how do you kind of provide, like, what kind of services are you providing to help them maybe ease out of one and into the other?

Camille L Miller: Yeah. So the biggest program that I have, I run what’s called the sole professional business school, which we launched, not this, this past summer. Um, and it was it’s really to teach, like, MBA style business fundamentals through a soulful lens. So if you’re designing a business, one of the one of my signature programs in that school is called the Business Accelerator and Mentorship Program. So I’m literally doing an assessment with you and then building the business out with your mission statement, your vision statement, your unique value proposition, your messaging, your branding, your client, mapping your funnels like literally building the entire business and teaching you how a business actually runs, how we do cash flow statements and PNL statements. So it’s an MBA style education, and I should say I have been an adjunct professor in university teaching MBA students. Um, and that’s why I was able to do this, to take that education and weave it into actual business strategy, like really work with people that want to do this.

Lee Kantor: So what’s an example of somebody who, you know, was an accountant and now they’re an artist? Like, do you have stories you can share? You know. Oh don’t.

Camille L Miller: Name.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, yeah. Don’t name the person. But maybe explain where they were at and where they got to.

Camille L Miller: Right, absolutely. Um, and some people stay in their field. They just do it differently. Like, I worked with a psychologist, an MD, and they really believed that their clients or patients, then the patients Were better off if they also used sound healing. So we had to incorporate sound healing. Now insurance doesn’t cover that. So that’s a big jump. And sometimes they have to leave medical licenses behind and become coaches or advisors or called something else. Um, but they um incorporated not only the talk therapy but sound healing into their practice. Right. And now they can be a coach or a guide. I had another therapist who has become a writing coach. Um, they had at least 25 New York best sellers. They wrote under a pen name, and they decided that this is what they wanted to do going forward and not be the therapist, but be a writing coach. So that’s, you know, another one that did that. I’ve worked with an attorney that was doing, um, uh, real estate contracts, but really wanted to be an environmental science, right? So they had to reorganize their life, kind of close down one of their practices with another partner, open up their own practice, and now is in a world of, um, wetlands and organic agriculture and hop farms and doing the work that they love.

Camille L Miller: So it’s it’s not always leaving what you’re doing, it’s how you incorporating it into your next step. We have financial planners that leave big organizations and then start maybe giving help in sustainable companies, or only working with women or something like that. So it’s really narrowing their focus sometimes. It’s not always completely stepping out, but we have both and it’s really how the other person wants to design what that looks like. Usually they’ve always had an inkling of what is possible or I shouldn’t say what’s possible. I should say an inkling of what they might want to do, but not understand how that could be possible. And the biggest time when they come to me is how do I replace my salary? Because that’s what I really need, right? So sometimes we’re also working on exit plans, which we do a lot of times with teachers that come to work with me in the fall because they’re planning on June to exit. Right. So we have to work on an exit plan and building up the new career to let the old one go.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody who’s listening is maybe in that point of transition, or is considering that point of transition, what are some ways that they can test? Is it possible even to kind of, um, dabble in this a little as maybe a side hustle to see if there is any traction? Because like when you made the leap from, you know, working at the association to I’m going to do my own thing here. Um, at some point somebody has to buy something. Um, so how do you kind of test the waters to see if if what I dream of or what I think I dream of is actually something the market will purchase?

Camille L Miller: Yeah. So for most people, not myself, because I just took the damn leap all my own. Uh, but for most people, when they have a full time job and they need that salary, we do it as a side hustle. Like, we build up one as we let down the other. And most jobs will let you go like three quarter time, half time if you’re in a senior position. And those are usually the people that I work with. Um, you know, and we do it slowly and we test the waters and we test packages. But I’ve also designed thousands of businesses over the last ten years. So I usually have an inkling of this has worked before. This is, you know, usually how we set them up. Um, although it’s, um, very individualized for each person. Um, so that’s usually how we do it. We usually have like an exit plan as we build one up and people can go out there and try it. You know, sometimes it’s nights and it’s weekends as they’re testing the waters and seeing what works as we test packages and pricing and we test it all. So, um, yeah, it’s.

Lee Kantor: Is there, um, kind of a common fear that people have when they’re looking for this soul based, um, oh, gosh experience. And they’re, you know, they, they haven’t kind of, um, done this before. And it seems like a leap that might be too far. Is there some mistakes you see them making? Um, kind of consistently, or is there a common thread that you see like that that they’re struggling with?

Camille L Miller: Yeah. The biggest one is the fear. Fear that, uh, people don’t make money doing this. It’s kind of a limiting belief. Not kind of. It is. It’s a limiting belief. Like people don’t do it this way or no one will pay me for doing this because their specialty. They’ve always been paid doing something else. Right. So usually it’s a common belief and we have to work to get them over that. Right. So it’s really an inner game as much as it is an outer game. Right. So the inner game has to believe that you are worthy and deserving of whatever you’re creating, right? But we’re creating real businesses. We’re not, um, we’re not creating things that are kind of like airy fairy. We’re creating actual coaching or consulting or advising businesses. Um, and we do determine a market ahead of time.

Lee Kantor: So you’re not just so you’re not.

Camille L Miller: Just throwing spaghetti at a wall.

Lee Kantor: Right? So your client isn’t somebody who’s like, I want to be, you know, the next Banksy or the next Dave Chappelle. Like, they’re not trying to be, you know, kind of an artist in that sense. They’re more looking for a more fulfilling job in kind of a similar place they were, or in an area they’re interested in.

Camille L Miller: Um, sometimes they switch completely, sometimes they go, uh, it’s just like a dovetailing of who they are and who they want to be. Right. If you’re if you’re I see it a lot in like, an attorneys and CPAs. Um, if you’ve always done like the numbers or law and that’s what you know, and you still love a piece of it, we can bring it over to the next business. You may still be doing law, but doing it in a different way or doing it as your own firm. Right? So sometimes it’s just creating your own business in a way that feels in alignment with you, like taking the clients that you want or going into an area of expertise that you prefer. Right. So it’s different for absolutely everyone. And sometimes people come to me after they’ve tried something for a year or two, and they just really haven’t had traction. It’s because they are lacking the business fundamentals or a real strategy on how do we actually do that? How do I find my clients? Where are they? Right? What is my messaging? What is my branding? Because most people didn’t go to business school, right? They don’t they don’t really know how to run a business. Right. They’re throwing, um, money into programs and things that they probably don’t need, right? Like lots of social media. And they may have lots of followers, but no one’s actually coming in and being a client. Right. That’s a big problem. Right? So those are the things that we have to talk about and understand, because it’s really it’s right. It’s running a business in a very different way. And if you’ve been getting a paycheck your entire life, there’s a lot to being an entrepreneur. And it’s scary. It’s scary and it’s lonely, right? Because you have to have a support system that’s saying, okay, sometimes you have bad months, sometimes you have great months. The idea is to get it steady, right, and to create all those things along the way that keep you afloat.

Lee Kantor: Is there a trigger or a kind of a point that people reach where they’re like, oh, I better contact Camille. Like, is there something that happens where they’re like, like a near-death experience or like, oh, is this my legacy? I’m just going to be an accountant. And like, that’s not what I’d like on my tombstone. Like, are there certain things that are triggers that people say, hey, you know, life’s got to be more than this 9 to 5 that I’m at.

Camille L Miller: Yeah, it’s mostly in midlife, like they’re contemplating or they’re showing up for work every day and they just hate it, right? Or they’re missing a piece of their life. We did realize that during the pandemic, a lot of people went through this and they’re just like, I don’t want to go back. I didn’t realize how much I was commuting or how much I was missing my family or my friends or all of this other things. And I think that has grown over time. We’re seeing mass exiting now. We’re also seeing a lot of younger people. So my target market used to be like 48 to 62 people that have made the money and they’re like, yep, I’m ready for something new in my life. And they have that security, that financial security. Now I’m seeing people in my 30s coming into my programs. They’re just like, I’m not doing this anymore. Um, so it’s usually that curiosity, that awakening to there’s got to be more to life than this, or I really want some more time to myself or with my family, or I want to start to travel or live somewhere else in the world. We have a lot of digital nomads coming out now. Um, a simpler life. Um, so it’s usually that type of thinking that starts it all, and at some point they get introduced to me or my services, or it could be someone else’s. Maybe they’ve tried programs. Um, you know, and and that’s I find that they usually get introduced to me and they hang out in our community and they meet people that are doing it because we have a very free community, part of our soul professional movement, uh, that we represent. It’s like 28 or 29 countries right now of people doing this. And we’re all micro entrepreneurs, so they’re usually solo entrepreneurs, or they have very small teams and they’re doing really great things in the world making big impact. And they’re like, hey, I think I want to I want to try this. What’s possible over here? And that’s usually how they start.

Lee Kantor: So then so walk me through like what. So I go to your website so professional.com. And then what’s what should I do next.

Camille L Miller: So I always recommend that people start over in our free area. They can come to free masterclasses that I do every single month. Uh they’re also on YouTube. So if you can’t be there live, you can go see all of my work. And it shows how I talk, what I think about what my core values are. Um, so you can see what this community is all about. We also have free networking every single month. We have a free Facebook group. So you can start to have conversations and talk to people that are doing it, um, and see what’s possible. Um, there’s an online learning academy where you can take, um, courses. I have a really great one that, um, was just put out a few months ago. It’s called Corporate to Calling. It’s a 28 days. It’s called the Corporate to calling 50 manifest the life and business of your dreams. In 15 minutes a day, it goes over 28 days. And every day you have, like, a 5 or 10 minute video and an exercise that’s really thought provoking. So like journaling, right? And it goes through your assessments of your strengths, your weaknesses, your purpose. What do you think that you might want to do? Who would you want to serve? And all of these questions that at the end of 28 days, you have a pretty good idea if this feels in alignment for you. And then, of course, from there we can start to build a business. But it’s a very inexpensive way to really go through the process. Um, if someone was working with me personally, I always start with, if you were to win the lottery today, what would you do tomorrow? And it’s in that answer that they’re telling me their life dreams. And that’s where we start. It’s like, let’s build a business that allows you to do that today.

Lee Kantor: So. So there’s a bunch of stuff that’s free that people can sample and experience, and then if they want more in depth or more personal care, they can pay for a different services and different there’s different levels of membership.

Camille L Miller: Absolutely. Yeah. So they can go into the school, they can see all the school programs. If that’s where they want to go. They can, you know, start very simply in an online class. And all of those online classes have access to me as well where I’m answering, they can go into free communities and just ask questions. Right. So my mission here is to really help other people bring these gifts to the world, because I feel that they’re needed. Uh, so we try to make it as easy as possible for people to explore what’s possible.

Lee Kantor: So are you finding that there’s a real hunger for this, that the people are just getting kind of frustrated about being on this hamster wheel, and that there has to be more.

Camille L Miller: Yeah, yeah, more and more. I mean, 100% of my work is word of mouth. And the the thing that I hear most is, oh, my God, I didn’t know you existed out there. Right. So they’re finding that belongingness, right? They’re finding that purpose. And when you’re surrounded by other people that are all doing this together, there’s a comfort to that, right? It’s like a big soul family and across borders, right? It’s really about being a more global citizen and serving people around the world with your gifts. So and there’s a big comfort in that.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wanted to learn more and have more substantive conversation, what’s the website one more time?

Camille L Miller: Uh, soul s o u l professional.com, and they can look up everything they need.

Lee Kantor: Well, Camille, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work, and we appreciate you.

Camille L Miller: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: All right, this Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Association leadership Radio.