Paleta CalmQuality

Full transcript: Paleta CalmQuality on London Real

0:05 This is London Real, I am Brian Rose. My guest today is Paleta CalmQuality, recent graduate of the Business Accelerator. Welcome. Thank you for having me. Tell us a bit about you. Where are you from, what do you do? My name is Paleta, I’m from Switzerland originally. I moved to London 3 years ago, pretty exact, in November 2014.

0:28 I’m a movement artist, I’m a choreographer, and I came up with a fancy name for what I do, El as well, is personal creative movement coaching. I work with artists, performers, singers, yeah, who want to kind of get in touch with their own movement when they perform, be more comfortable on stage and feel like they’re not performing something that doesn’t represent them or what they’re about, but really to be connected and to be authentic within the performance.

1:02 Okay. And I’ve seen you in some pretty high-level marketing campaigns. What’s some of the work that you’ve done in the past? Well, this year quite a big campaign came out that was with Nike, Nike Women, where I was involved. It came out early this year, and yeah, it was quite big. My face was kind of like everywhere around London, in Oxford Street, around the world actually. It was a worldwide campaign, in New York, in the Nike stores everywhere.

1:32 It was the campaign that FKA twigs did in collaboration with Nike. Super grateful until this day for her to involve me in this project, because I believe a lot of work that I’ve been able to do this year came through the exposure I got from this project. And you were in music videos as well as the pictures and all that? Yeah, yeah, it was a commercial as well, a campaign in video and pictures, and yeah. Okay, quite big.

2:04 And talk to me about professionally and personally, before you joined the accelerator, like, what was going on? What were the kind of things that you were thinking about, conversations with yourself that led you to us? Mhm. Well, before the Business Accelerator, this year was really busy for me, with amazing things I believe.

2:26 Like I said before, coming from this campaign that I was involved in, from the exposure I continued to collaborate with Nike on different projects. I was able to travel to different places for workshops. People got really interested in me teaching classes, more movement and dance space, but also really for the yoga.

2:51 Yeah, and then I wanted to join the Business Accelerator for a while, literally when I discovered you and when I discovered the Business Accelerator. I was like, “Okay, this is what I need to do, this is what I want to do.” But number one, I didn’t have the financial resources at the time, and two, I was, yeah, this year I was really busy, and I felt like I need to be in the right space within myself to say yes and to go for it, to commit my time and to really be fully present with the Business Accelerator.

3:30 Okay, and why London Real? Why London Real? Because, I mean, I connected with you when I found you, and I was just like, yeah, I really connect with the way… The first time I saw you was when you were interviewing Ido, because I was doing research on Ido, and then I found the interview, and I was like, “Wow.” Obviously I love what Ido is talking about, feel really connected.

4:01 But then I was like, “But hold on, this guy is so good in interviewing.” And the way you were bringing yourself into the interview, and not just as a listener and then you talk and give me everything. You involve yourself in the conversation. You were like, “This is…” and “Oh yeah, I experienced this,” or “I have, you know, I have come across this, what do you think?” It’s a conversation, like you’re in there.

4:25 And I was like, I really like the way you go about your stuff. So I’ve done more research, you know, I came to the Super Focus Group. This is when we first met. That was in September 2016, yeah, early September. And we met and I just was like, “Okay, I really feel you.”

4:48 And then it was, yeah, at the time I was already kind of looking into some business stuff. I was like, “I want to create something of my own.” But I looked into weird things like affiliate marketing, you know, this kind of like passive, and the income just goes in the background as you do whatever you do. And yeah, I just didn’t feel connected. And then I found out about your Business Accelerator, and I was like, “Okay, this is more of my lineage, this is more of what I believe in.” Definitely.

5:21 Okay, talk to me about the first two weeks in the accelerator. The videos, the two live calls, the Facebook group, all the people around the world that are in your class. Tell me about that. Yeah, well, for me, for example, the vlogs, the videos that we had to post up, 10 vlogs in 10 days, I have done that already a year ago, before I met you in person, before I met you at Super Focus Group.

5:51 Because I saw you put that out as a challenge. You said that it’s part of the Business Accelerator, but as a challenge, put up 10 vlogs in 10 days. And I was like, “Okay, let me put myself into this challenge,” because I knew I had to get over myself in order to put my message out there, to just be myself, and to stop thinking so much about what other people think about me or what I do.

6:16 So I was like, “Okay, challenge accepted, let me do it.” Oh, and then I did that for 10 days, and then I left it, and I didn’t really do any more videos talking on camera. And then, yeah, I started doing something that’s called Sunday Ritual, where I literally just, yeah, talk to the camera, for things that are on my mind, things that I, you know, that I experience, that I believe in, that help me in my life.

6:50 And I started to put these up as a Sunday Ritual, like five minutes. So I kind of prepared myself for these vlogs that come up in the Business Accelerator. And it’s not, still not like, “Ah, it’s easy,” and it’s just… but it made the process a bit more comfortable, to just put up the camera and talk, and to also find my way of being natural in front of the camera.

7:15 I think it takes sometimes, like, you look back at your videos, you’re like, “Oh, I’m stiff,” you know, like, “I’m not even being me.” And, yeah, I feel like it prepared me well. I enjoyed the process of the videos.

7:30 And the first two weeks, you know, that I think for me was really difficult, because I was like, “What is my business? What is my business?” Like, “I’m just being me, and like, how can I put CalmQuality into a business?” You know, I didn’t really see it. And even though I had ideas of what products can be, of, you know, all of this stuff, but I didn’t really come around with what is the business behind it.

8:03 Meeting all the classmates in the Facebook group that we have was amazing. It was really new for me as well, to, like, I had to push myself a bit to be more interactive, because I’m not naturally someone that goes on Facebook and really just reaches out and be like, “Hey, hey, you know, I love what you do,” or “Hey, how are you?” I’m not naturally like that.

8:33 But I learned through the course, definitely as well, that this is good to do, also to start a conversation and to find out how many like-minded people are around. And yeah, even if you do different things, that you still kind of pull on the same string: you want to get things done, let’s get this moving, I’m done with being on the seat and sit back and just watch, I’m ready to do, I’m ready to create, I want to do things.

8:56 Mm. When did it start to become clear what your business was going to be, or what your product was going to be? I believe, I’m not going to lie, it is still in the process, I can say that. But it became much more clearer as I started to reach out to my audience, and to start understand what do they want more to hear from me, what is it that they need in their lives at the moment.

9:28 So I started to ask questions on Instagram, mainly, because I believe that this is where I have, you know, the most following. And I started to ask what are they going through, single biggest challenge, as our teacher taught us, you know, in life. In my personal case, I see my audience as creatives, you know, young creatives who kind of want to create something of their own, who want to stay true to themselves, who don’t want to sell out to the industry, because it happens very easily.

10:09 So I started to understand this is kind of what people want more of, to get to know me and what I do: to stay grounded within myself, to stay true to who I am, and with what I do, and with what I create. And how was the webinar, when you had to actually sell that product? The webinar.

10:34 To be fair, at first I was a bit like… the week building up to it, it was a bit stressful. But then on the day itself, or two days before, I started to calm down, because I was like, it doesn’t, it doesn’t bring me anywhere if I’m nervous about it, if I’m going to freak out about it. But let me just reconnect, be me, and do what I like to do.

11:03 Talk to these people, talk about what I’m passionate about, talk about the things that I experienced and that I believe is going to support them on their journey. That’s kind of what I focused on. So it was a really, really cool experience, to be honest, and I feel like it’s, it almost probably will be the same, the same process as with the vlogs. The more you do it, the more you get comfortable.

11:38 And I mean, I had an incredible turnout on my webinar. I had 25 people joining me who showed interest in what I do and what I have to offer, and I made 17 sales on this first webinar. So I feel like it was not even about the sales for me, to be honest, or how much money, that whatever, you know, what it was.

11:55 But it was really about kind of this confirmation that yes, I’m on the right path. I’m on the path of sharing what I believe in, and it resonates with people, and they believe that it will support them on their journey. That to me was like, “Wow, okay.” Everything that has been building up over years, of what I, you know, prepared or understand as CalmQuality, is coming to its fruition.

12:20 How’s that feel? It feels great. It feels, it feels very overwhelming as well, to be like, “Okay, now it’s actually, you know, it’s there.” And at the same time also, I’m very aware still that I’m in the beginning. You know, I’m in the beginning of creating something big. I’m still learning, I’m still understanding, but I have already come a long way.

12:59 And it’s kind of that feeling of, yeah, the universe is giving me signs, I’m doing the right thing in a lot of ways. And you went on to do another webinar, or you went on to just do more sales? Yeah, I did not do a second webinar, because I felt like I had a… not that I was, you know, “That’s enough, I don’t need to do more,” but I just felt like, okay, I’m aware that in this course we do things like a first experience, and then we have it as a tool to come back to it and do it again and again and again.

13:31 So I wasn’t going to spend… because my webinar went well, I was like, “Okay, let me leave the webinar.” But I did two more Facebook Lives, which was a cool experience as well. I’ve never done it. And amazing that I get so much good feedback from my classmates as well, that, you know, they really enjoy my Facebook Live.

13:57 And I also reached out to people, specifically, who have been supporting my work, who have been asking me about, “Can you come and teach classes? Can you come here and do that? Can you come there? How do you this?” I reached out to these people and offered them, you know, the course, as like, “This is what I’ve been working on for the past six weeks, and I now have something to present you, to offer you, which I believe will be beneficial on your own journey.”

14:20 “And take you, you know, if I can’t be there in person to teach you a class, or you could come, you know, we can have a conversation like that, then I have this course and you will get more of me, we will be interacting.” So I reached out to people. Okay, and how many courses did you end up selling? I ended up selling 38 courses. 38? Yeah, it’s quite a lot.

14:45 So, and you won the prize in the group for the most revenue, right? I think so, yeah. You think so? Okay. And so now you’ve got 38 students you’re taking through your course as we speak? Yes. What’s that like? Great, really cool. I feel like it’s now, because we’ve been in the process for like seven weeks full on, of learning, of creating, of doing things we’re uncomfortable with, of like fighting resistance.

15:17 And, you know, just doing things I had no clue about, learning about stuff, which I enjoyed, but it was not always easy. And now I get to do what I really enjoy. I get to interact with these people. Like, I created a Facebook group as well. People are posting up, you know, their introduction videos, their weekly tasks to hold them accountable, and it’s amazing to see, you know.

15:41 And I’m interacting. They are asking me questions. I have my 15 minutes one-on-one calls with most of my people who are in the course, and I’m really enjoying it. And I really feel like, okay, now I can finally give, you know, I can finally give what I’ve been building up. And it’s, yeah, I understand why you are so passionate about what you do and the way you share it. Nice.

16:11 Tell me about your classmates on this course. You’re meeting like 70 of them this weekend. Yeah. What’s it like to go through the course with Team Rose, but just with the whole class of 150 people around the world, all working on different businesses? Yeah, yeah. Even when you say, say it, it’s kind of crazy. 150 people around the world working on their businesses, going through the same thing as you, you know, facing the same stuff as you do.

16:37 So to think about it is crazy, but at the same time so powerful, really, really powerful. And again, I’m not naturally a person who is like, “I want to be part of this community, I want to be part of this community,” and, you know, fully engage myself. I’m always kind of like taking a step back, observe, and just kind of go my own route. It’s been, that’s kind of my life.

17:02 But it was really, really amazing for me to understand and to see how important and how beneficial this community, the support of everyone, has been through this process. To really have people… you know, like the people around you, they support you in what you do, but they don’t necessarily understand if you have a question about something, or “Can you quickly help me out, how you did that?” or “Can you help me with this?”

17:38 They would be like, “Oh, I don’t, you know, I have to do my own research.” But the classmates that you are on the course with, they immediately know what you’re talking about, can respond immediately. I had that like three times, where I reached out to people, asked a specific question, because I saw how they did it on their website, or, you know, on their… yeah, mainly on the website, actually.

18:03 To quickly help me out with a little thing that I just didn’t figure out how to do. Immediately responds. I mean, so, you know, so giving. Everyone is very giving, everyone is very supportive of each other. And it also pushed me to give more, you know, to be more on point with responding immediately, because I know sometimes it’s just that little answer you need to move on in the progress.

18:28 And I really feel that this was beneficial for me in the process now of having my own course, to really let them know that this group that we create, and the community that we create, the people who go through the same process as you, are very, very precious. And you build a connection that you don’t necessarily build with someone else. Doesn’t mean it’s better or worse, but it’s just very unique, and yeah, very supportive.

19:00 And meeting them in person? Yes, was cool. I love, I love meeting people in person. Again, I’m a bit overwhelmed because we are so many, and yeah, I get like… but amazing. And Team Rose? I mean, taking it to the next level. Yeah, very… I mean, all of us, and some individuals specifically, really pushed that we were on top of our game, you know.

19:40 Yeah, yeah. I don’t think without, without like kind of the Olympics and like the kind of, you know, the group, you would be so much on getting your stuff done as I was in this process. You guys won gold. Congratulations. Thank you. What’s the biggest lesson or takeaway from this whole course for you? Just, you know, overall lesson that you think you can use? Mhm.

20:05 There’s a lot, there’s a lot, to be honest. And I think for me, on a personal level, it definitely has to do with what I’ve talked about before: to be more, to be more outgoing, also in general, not just with, you know, the business now, but using, for example, social media as a platform to spread your message, and to not hold back.

20:35 Because I believe in my message, I believe in CalmQuality, so why wouldn’t I share it with everyone? You know, kind of like, get over myself. This is definitely a big takeaway. Yeah, the importance of the community, to really cherish the people you have in this course, and also in the course that I create, like I said, to pass that on, is parable.

21:08 Okay. What about you? If we walked down the street and bumped into Paleta that didn’t take this course, what is she like? How is she different than you right now? If she didn’t take the course, she would still figure out a way to make the money to get on this course, I can say that. So she was going to make it happen either way. Yeah.

21:32 And but how are you different now that you’ve taken this course? How am I different? I think I’m going to take it a little bit further. How am I different since I really first came across London Real, to be honest, because it’s a bit deeper for me.

21:55 I was, when I first moved to London, you know, it was a bit of a struggle for me to kind of find: What am I going to do? Who am I as an artist? Who am I as a person? And what do I want to create? What is my intention? You know, I didn’t really have a clear vision of that. I started to put myself in a box, so people would know what to hire me for.

22:16 And, you know, and I didn’t feel like this is me, as a… this doesn’t represent me, this doesn’t represent my creative potential, it doesn’t represent what I’m about in life, you know. So I was, when I came across London Real and watched a lot of episodes with amazing, of your guests, some of the amazing guests that you had on the show… Here we go.

22:45 It just kind of like was a push for me, a little bit, to, you know what, you need to stop pretending. I need to start being, you know. I think this is quite a powerful thing that I keep saying to myself all the time, like, “Stop pretending. Stop chasing something that you’re not. Stop chasing opportunities just because this is what other people do, this is what you do as that.”

23:10 What do I want? How can I be me and still create something special, and attract opportunities that are aligned with what I believe in? You know, so London Real took me really through that process, through, you know, the amazing information that the guests had to share. And I started to make certain changes in my life, you know, to get back in rituals, and just kind of like creating my life again.

23:44 To be the artist I am today, to be the person I am today. And I feel like through this process I was already really prepared for the business acceleration. I also believe there’s a reason for me that I was doing it right now. The whole year I was kind of travelling, you know, and being out and about and doing things, amazing things.

24:09 And then, you know, it turned out that literally the last two months of the year, three months, I will be in London. I’m not doing any other projects that I have lined up, and you launched the course again. So it’s very much aligned. It’s very much, “Okay, this is what you need to be doing right now.” Also kind of stop, stop finding excuses to not take it to the next level, because you’re ready.

24:37 I’m ready to take it to the next level, and I feel like the course was just, yeah, it was another proof that I am ready. Does that make sense? Mhm, you are ready. What are you going to do in the next 6 months? What does CalmQuality look like, say, by June? By June, yeah. What are you doing?

25:06 Well, CalmQuality, it’s definitely still the process of really getting it out to a wider audience. Much like for you London Real is, CalmQuality is my take on having an impact, and having a positive impact on the world. So I believe very much in this process, that it starts with you, it starts with me.

25:30 I want to share this approach to people, that they need to understand, if they want to have changes in their life, they need to start looking inside. Stop looking outside all the time, start looking inside. In the next 6 months, definitely, I will be focusing on sharing it to a wider audience, let people know what CalmQuality is about.

25:54 I want to collaborate also with different artists, different movement artists, different creatives who understand and who are interested in that approach, in that holistic approach to artistry. You know, I want to develop my course. Now is like the first time, right, and there’s so much work for me to do on this course even. I want to improve, you know, the feedback that I get from the people on my course, I will improve all of what I’m offering.

26:24 I’m definitely coming down to creating my prime product, understanding what it is that people even want more of from me. And yeah, just continue to be on that pace that we are on right now. I really want to keep it up. It goes so quick, that we fall back into, “Oh, you know, I’ll do it tomorrow,” “Oh, I have more time left.”

26:54 The accountability doc on the course that we had with you was… I want to create my own accountability doc for myself, to stay on point, to get things done, to take CalmQuality to the next level, to where it needs to go. And there’s so many ideas I have for products, you know, not only online, definitely online, yes, but also in-person events, you know.

27:27 We can talk about retreats, we can talk about intensives. I can focus on the CalmQuality approach just for dancers. What does that mean? How do you bring the, you know, the quality in your movement, in your performance, really to shine? How can you connect to that? I can talk about people who have nothing to do with dance, who are not even, you know, they don’t perform, and I could do a retreat for them.

27:50 How do you connect deeper within yourself? How do you understand what it is really that you really want in your life? How can you be you? How can you be authentic? How can you calm down and stop being like, “I need to do this, I need to follow that, I need to go there,” but to listen to yourself, to listen inwards, to understand what it is?

28:14 So not talking so much the live events, you know, it continue the journey online, create more or better content online, collaboration. I told you that as well, I’m interested in doing public speaking about CalmQuality, also to help understand what is that spirit, what is that approach of CalmQuality. So I think that will be something I really want to get into as well.

28:45 That’s a serious six-month plan. To someone who’s not sure if they want to take the Business Accelerator, they’re thinking about it, and don’t know if it’s worth the time or worth the investment, what would you tell them? Yeah. The first thing I would say, like, of course, if you’re already thinking about it, do it. Okay.

29:10 But then I would take it a step back and be like, really think: is it the right moment for you? Without being like, “Oh no, I have better things to do,” or “I have, you know, something else might come up,” to find excuses. But to look inside and be like, “Okay, I’m ready for this next step, so let me do it. Let me take on this challenge and get things done and just do it,” you know.

29:41 I believe, of course, you say you cannot have a specific idea of what your business is, you know, and you offer all the tools to get through the course with no idea, to have a successful business. But I also think, like, take some time to understand what it is that you want to create in this world, you know. What is it? How do you want to impact? What do you have to share, to help and to serve other people, in whatever way you feel like is right?

30:15 But connect, and then know your intention to go into the course. Even if you don’t have the specific idea, but know your intention, and you’ll be fine. You have everything that you need offered from you. And any final thoughts? Any final thoughts? Yes. Well, I’m just, I’m very, very grateful. I feel very grateful for the course, I feel grateful for the people I met on the course. I cherish the experience.

30:46 It’s not been, it’s not been easy, but I’m just, yeah, I feel, I feel content also within myself at the moment. I feel content with what I do, with where I’m taking things, where I’m pushing myself. So I feel, I feel good. And if you are going to say your last words, then I’m going to say mine as well beforehand.

31:17 And yeah, in the spirit of what I do, I want to encourage people: practise your calm and execute your quality. I like that. Well, good. Well, you got 12 months, while we’re watching, to make it all happen. So I’m expecting big things from you, even bigger. And congratulations on the execution, and, you know, winning the gold within the gold.

31:40 And it’s just great to see you put it down and make it happen, because I know even in week two or three you were struggling with “What’s my product? What’s my product?” And that’s a natural, you know, process you go through, and you’ve figured it out. At least you’ve done something, and now we can learn from it. So I always did expect big things from you, and it’s nice to see you realise them.

32:06 So thanks for being on the course. Thank you so much. And I look forward to the future of CalmQuality. Me too. All right, as you know, we say it’s about the journey, so I wish you well on yours, and make us proud. Oh, definitely, thank you.