Breaking the Mould – what’s next for Lisa Messenger
Lisa Messenger, the entrepreneur for entrepreneurs, is breaking the mould yet again after announcing the closure of the Collective Hub print magazine in March 2018.
Never one to rest on her laurels, Messenger has shaken things up in electing to close the print magazine, and in turn has taken some time off to plan her next big entrepreneurial move. woman with drive spoke to the innovator on all things Collective Hub and what is next for the Lisa Messenger brand.
You recently announced that Issue #52 of Collective Hub would be the last. Why was the decision made to close the magazine?
Haha THAT is way too long a question to answer here. But essentially I have always said since the day I launched, hold your vision 100% clear, but don’t become attached to the platform or the delivery mechanism. Be able to move with the times. Be where people want you, on a platform they want you, at a time they want you. What sort of disruptor and innovator would I be if I stayed stagnant? It’s imperative I keep moving and staying ahead of the trends. It takes courage but oh my goodness, I am so so grateful for how it landed. Our community are awesome!!
Looking at the Collective Hub as a whole, what are the main interest points for your consumers and how will you keep delivering these?
Well the very first thing I vowed to do was get out into regional Australia to truly connect face to face with so many inspirational and courageous entrepreneurs and start ups that often get forgotten. I plan on a lot more of this this year.
For fans of the magazine, what resources can they access to get their fix of entrepreneurial inspiration?
There will still be the website, all our social channels and my books. I have five in the set already since I launched the mag in 2013 and a sixth – Risk & Resilience coming out in September this year. We also have digital masterclasses and I’m currently recording all my books on Audible. I’m spending a lot of this year connecting with the community, providing a lot more cross platform resources, and educating myself for what I think will be a pretty big tech play.
The Collective Hub has such a loyal following across all of its platforms. Are you feeling any pressure to produce something special in this next chapter?
Not yet. I recently spent a glorious three weeks in Bali just coming back to me. We must always look at and revisit our purpose (read our review on her fifth book, Purpose, here) and not be dictated by external factors or ego. Right now I feel really comfortable leveraging all our existing products and connecting with a lot more people through face to face events. But more so really spending some time educating myself and attending a lot of global conferences and reconnecting with some of the extraordinary contacts I made. I’ve had businesses for 16 and a half years – it’s good to just pause for a bit. I believe it’s only from this space of stillness that big things can be born again. I’ve successfully done this twice so I know the mindset I need to get into.
In your video you mentioned that the decision and process of closing the mag has taken about 18 months, and throughout that period you have had sleepless nights and a bit of anxiety as well. How has your outlook changed since closing the magazine?
Business and being an entrepreneur – or indeed anytime we choose to play a big game will kind of be a duality for the most extraordinary thing you’ve ever done and the most terrifying thing you’ve ever done. And yes – I scaled too quickly really and pushed everything so that it did result in a lot of anxiety and sleepless nights. What I’ve learnt is that bigger isn’t always better. And when you’re a big thinker and a visionary, it’s imperative to have that operational 2IC to run alongside you and make sure you don’t sink the ship.
Another of your many projects is a brand new book called Risk & Resilience, as you mentioned earlier. Can you give us more of an insight into what the book will be about?
As with all my books, I consciously chart the journey of whatever I am experiencing at the time. I vowed to live my life out loud supporting other entrepreneurs. So this book is very much about the past 18 months and what not to do when scaling a high growth global business.
For more information on Lisa’s Digital Masterclasses and regional tours, visit http://collectivehub.com/collective101/
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