We were lucky to catch up with Dorsey Standish recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dorsey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

One of the first successful clients we onboarded in our new Covid-friendly business model was the law firm Haynes & Boone LLP. The firm was a self-described conservative, old-school group and had never brought in any sort of mindfulness or proactive firm-wide mental health programming before. Our first virtual session in May 2020 had over 100 attendees and the coordinators got unexpectedly positive feedback even from skeptics. After the success of that first initial session, we have grown to engaging them in weekly 20-minute mindset sessions designed to support resilience and overall wellness in the legal profession. Several key partners and associates have stepped up to be champions of the weekly wellness sessions, and it’s become a place for team members to say hi to each other and wish each other well. Haynes & Boone has become an advocate for Mastermind, providing testimonials and referrals. They’ve also engaged Mastermind to provide wellness training to new hires.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m a former mechanical engineer turned mindfulness teacher and corporate wellness consultant. I started my career as an engineer and project manager at TI, traveling the world, working on new tech products, and climbing the corporate ladder. As much as I loved my company and colleagues, it just wasn’t the best lifestyle for me and I found it hard to have work-life balance. I knew I was not alone, so I stepped away from the corporate world and stepped into the wellness world, and began a deeper study of mindfulness and meditation which led me to UT Dallas where I earned a Master degree in Neuroscience. I’ve always been a bit of a science geek – so what better way to indulge my passions than studying the brain and the science behind stress, resiliency, and their connection to mindfulness?!

Our science-based, research-backed approach at Mastermind sets us apart from many other mindfulness and meditation service because it allows our clients and students to really understand the brain, how it works and what is required to protect and care for this vital organ that supports so many other parts of the body. Ironically, up until the past two decades, the brain has been one of the least studied and understood organs of the body, and each year we learn more and more, so our work is not only relevant and impactful, but also constantly evolving. Our pivot during COVID has really opened new doors and allows us to take our teachings to larger more diverse audiences, and really make an impact on the daily lives our clients – so as a recovering corporate professional this makes me very happy!

Our core offerings are corporate wellness programs, a neuroscience-based mindfulness certification and public speaking for companies and special events. In the near future we’re also working to expand services to schools, non-profits and other industry-specific groups where individuals operate in a high-stress environment and could benefit from these lifelong life skills that build resiliency and mental strength.

We believe that in today’s challenging, ever-changing environment – made even more uncertain these past years by COVID – our work can help people manage uncertainty, connect with their own inner strength, and ultimately thrive in their personal and professional lives.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Happy clients are always the best marketing. Just last week I got a call from a new potential small business client based in South Carolina. The company president said that his employee told him they needed to “get Mastermind.” Apparently his employee’s sister worked at a company that Mastermind partners with and loved the content and mental wellness support we provide! We find that these warm referrals are more likely to try and buy our services.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

March 2020 seemed like the beginning of the end for Mastermind, which at the time was an in-person wellness events business. As Covid spread and things started to shut down, we were getting calls nearly every day from corporate clients who needed to cancel our upcoming planned offerings. I remember calling my dad after yet another client cancellation and saying, “I don’t know what we’re going to do.” In the period of uncertainty and initial lockdown, I spent a lot of time journaling and reflecting, acknowledging my fear and also aware that this challenge could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It was — within a week of shutdown, I was supported by friends, family, and long-time clients who started hiring Mastermind for virtual mindfulness sessions for themselves and groups of their friends. We decided to seize the time of uncertainty and mental health challenges due to lockdown to reach people virtually with offerings such as “Finding Peace Amidst Covid-19.” Corporations also started reaching out to hire us in order to support their employees with mental health solutions. One-time sessions turned into monthly contracts as employees clamored for healthy ways to come together and stay well. Our corporate business ended up tripling in 2020 and laid the groundwork for long-term partnerships with companies nationwide. Covid not only transformed our business model but also made the mental health conversation public, made folks more open to virtual offerings, and forced companies to search for sustainable ways to support and retain employees. Amidst a time of challenge and suffering for so many, we were grateful to be part of the solution and stay partnered with those companies to this day.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mastermindmeditate.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mastermindmeditate/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mastermindmeditate
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/mastermind-meditation

Image Credits
(c) Kate Chiu, Allyn Media