• Mark & Shannon, Co-Founders of BigImpactHQ™ in Austin, Texas, have embraced a model they call “Spiritual Partnership” that puts intimacy ahead of business success… most of the time.
AUSTIN, TEXAS - While statistics on the co-entrepreneur divorce rate are scarce, one Marriage.com report places the rate for entrepreneurs at 43 to 48 percent, due in part to cash flow problems. One particular couple, a.k.a. Mark & Shannon, Co-Founders of BigImpactHQ have found a path of putting personal growth before business success… and it's making a “big impact.”
Consider the 24/7 togetherness, the disagreements over business decisions, the juggling of work and family, and the worries over the bottom line. How could that not translate into arguments, bickering and a sexless marriage?
Mark & Shannon Grainger met at a business conference in 2012. Shannon was the event producer and emcee and Mark a businessman in attendance. With a shared value of personal growth and interest in public speaking, Mark and Shannon felt an instant connection.
Fast forward five years and their company BigImpactHQ had created a movement with over 3000 women attending their annual live events and launching over 600 women experts as speakers who have a system to monetize their message.
“I remember when I proposed to Shannon on stage in front of a room of almost 300 seminar attendees… the place erupted. It was electric!” said BigImpactHQ co-founder Mark A. Grainger.
Mark proposes to Shannon on stage. Watch the video
“Being a couple in business allows us to support our clients from both the masculine and the feminine… It's a recipe for success that captured the hearts and minds of 10s of 1000s of women from 12 different countries,” he said with his charismatic tone.
“Those first few years weren't just a whirlwind romance," Shannon commented… “it was also a meteoric rise for our business. From packed rooms and constant travel on the speaking circuit, it wasn’t long before the stress began to take a toll on our joy… our marriage and even our sex life.”
When the boundaries of marriage collide with two home offices and the stress of business, couples find themselves in a precarious situation. According to the Inc article, The Start of a Business, the End of a Marriage, the nearly missed payrolls, the stress of cash flow… and personnel problems are pressures that follow you home… especially into the bedroom. The Inc article continues, Though there has been scant research on the topic of entrepreneurs and divorce, many founders say that the overwhelming pressures and demands of launching a company have wreaked havoc on their marriages. What's worse, a failed marriage can all too easily destroy even a thriving entrepreneurial business.
Shannon, who while small in stature speaks with the grace and grit of a modern day woman leader continued… Even with years of personal development experience and so many tools in our toolbox, Mark & I started bickering constantly…. I found myself resentful and angry at Mark all the time. And he was just as pissed off at me.
Even with couples counseling and pivots to Mark & Shannon’s business model the “passion to problem” dynamic continued for years. Pulling from the work of one of their most respected mentors, Gary Zukav, Mark & Shannon agreed to work on making the spiritual growth of each other more important than the financial growth of the business.
The BigImpactHQ movement has reached 10s of 1000s of women from 12 different countries. “While success in business and marriage is always a process, moving from a mindset of business first to spiritual growth first, we learned we can use our triggers with each other as access to our own power,” said Mark. We also started using the amazing work of Alison Armstrong to help us determine more effective roles at work and in marriage. By understanding who was the Provider/Protector or Supporter/Enhancer in the different areas of our business and our lives… we began to see how we could work together to play in our own genius zones. It’s been hard work, but the love we carry for one another is greater than the love for our business.”
Quickly adding to it Shannon said, “Being focused on “spiritual partnership” and identifying who was the provider and protector of sales and the supporter and enhancer of operations was wonderful… but it still wasn’t enough… we needed more. A lot more.
The years of up and down emotions, connection and disconnection, success and deep disappointment in one another lead to an inability to communicate effectively. Their days were defined by overwork and disconnect and both knew if it didn’t change, both the marriage and the business would crumble.
“We had created patterns that kept us from truly hearing or trusting the other,” said Shannon. “So we signed up for an Imago Dialogue retreat and it made all the difference.”
In the Imago Dialogue, created by Dr. Harville Hendrix is where both parties agree to a basic ground rule: to talk one person at-a-time. This gives you a person who is speaking, the “sender”, and another who is listening, the “receiver.” Imago Dialogue involves three steps: mirroring, validation and empathy.
Mark & Shannon help BADASS women experts and founders who are frustrated and overwhelmed by the complexity of their business adopt a more simplified business model called the Million Dollar Message and to date, it's been the fuel behind their clients’ $100 Million revenue growth. Spiritual Partnership seems to have its perks.
Mark and Shannon Training Women Experts (and a few conscious men) On Growing a 7-Figure Business
We “dialogue” almost daily. It’s become a ritual, a practice that allows me to process my feelings and finally be honest and truthful with Mark… knowing that it’s safe to share how I feel,” said Shannon. And of course, Mark eloquently concludes, “We love each other deeply… and we love our business… and the incredible story and impact it allows us to have on the world.. We’re doing amazing, transformational work and fulfilling our calling together. Living your dreams is fucking hard work… and our dream is to have a thriving marriage and prosperous business… Some days we do, others we don’t, but it’s so worth it. Being in “Spiritual Partnership” and learning how to love one another through it all is an AWESOME journey that we continue to choose each and every day.”
The Purpose of BigImpactHQ is to usher in a new era of social, economic and corporate responsibility by awakening the power of voice in women leaders all around the world so together we can usher in “A New Earth.” Join the movement by unleashing your voice and visit https://bigimpacthq.com/ for speaking and business growth resources. Or discover your own speaker blueprint at www.SpeakerBlueprints.com
About BigImpactHQ:
BigImpactHQ™ elevates and amplifies the voices of Successful Business Women with a proven formula that empowers them to speak up, turn tragedy into triumph and move from victim to victor - ALL while getting paid a fortune to change the world.
About M&S:
As the Co-Founders of BigImpactHQ™, Mark & Shannon have worked with some of the world’s biggest brands including AFLAC, Marriott International, Porsche, Harley Davidson, Clear Channel Communications, Anheuser-Busch, Arbonne and doTerra. And while they love supporting women in corporate take a seat at the table, their greatest gift is in supporting business women to monetize their message and make a bigger difference with their voice. Their signature event, “MILLION DOLLAR ME$$AGE! 3-Day Speaker Experience For Women” brings together 6 and 7-figure business women for 3 days of speaker skill drills and lessons in the Art of Feminine Influence & Persuasion”. With over 3,000 women in attendance since 2014… BigImpactHQ™ is gaining a reputation for being the headquarters of women’s empowerment across the globe… helping their speakers build 7-Figure Businesses, generate wealth and impact millions of lives - all through the power of Public Speaking.
Media Contact
Company Name: BigImpactHQ
Contact Person: MARK A. GRAINGER Co-Founder | CMO
Email: Send Email
Phone: 925-305-0648
Country: United States
Website: https://bigimpacthq.com/
