Business Mastermind
“No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind [the master mind].”
In its second year, the USCR Business Mastermind offers a combination of education brainstorming, peer accountability, and support in a group setting that sharpens your spiritual business skills.
Rev. Dr. Ahriana Platten provides a monthly course, followed by a Q and A to discuss what was learned and how it might be applied.
The Business Mastermind is a great way to improve your business acumen, learn new ways to look at the spiritual importance of a community’s business activities, and to get to know others in the region and across the Unity movement.
Host
Rev. Dr. Ahriana Platten
Business Consultant
businessmastermind@unitysouthcentral.org
Ahriana’s professional background is quite unique. She’s worked parallel career fields for more than thirty years, spending half her time as an entrepreneur and business consultant, and half her time in spiritual leadership. She has led international development teams in North American, South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
Ahriana is the founder of asoulfullworld.com, a global wisdom community. She’s an award-winning author who helps people master the art of living an authentic, purpose-driven, passionate life. She’s often referred to as a wisdom keeper, a practical mystic, and a leading-edge coach for visionaries, influencers, entrepreneurs and spiritual leaders, Ahriana believes there is nothing more important than creating a meaningful life and having real impact on the world, and she loves to provide tips and tools for discovering your sacred calling.
A former Ambassador for the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Ahriana is featured in the acclaimed international docuseries, “Time of the Sixth Sun.” She has traveled the world to explore its cultural differences and human similarities, speaking to religious and indigenous leaders from over 250 tribes and traditions, and her weekly newspaper column is seen by 120,000 readers each week.
Publications
The Changing Story by Rev. Dr. Ahriana Platten
Rites and Rituals – Harnessing the Power of Sacred Ceremony by Rev. Dr. Ahriana Platten
Dates & Times
Content Session: 1st Wednesdays @ 11 AM to 12 PM CT
Q&A Session: 3rd Wednesdays @ 11 AM to 12 PM CT
Dates in 2025
Content Sessions
January 8: Envisioning the Year Ahead
February 5: Creating a Thriving Volunteer Culture
March 5: Ethical Decision-Making in Leadership
April 2: Problem-Solving and Thinking on Your Feet
May 7: Marketing with a Mission
June 4: Leading During Change
July 2: Financial Stewardship and Abundance Mindset
August 6: Sacred Space Design and Maintenance
September 3: Spiritual Leadership in Action
October 1: Successful Hiring, Training, and Retention of Staff
November 5: Storytelling for Community Connection
December 3: Reflecting and Planning for the Future
Q&A Sessions: January 15, February 19, March 19, April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, August 20, September 17, October 15, November 19.
Calendar
Subscribe to our calendar so you do not miss these or any events.
Meeting Location
For convenience, we will be meeting on Zoom. Please arrive early to check your technology.
Cost
There is no set fee for any of the events. However, we appreciate your consideration for a suitable love offering.
Business Mastermind Topics
Strategic Spontaneity
Change is coming. It’s the one thing we can rely on – and it often happens so fast that we must act spontaneously to address it. Are you preparing your community for the spiritual growth that comes from change? Early conversation can make all the difference!
How Spiritual Business Differs
Spiritual business is different from other business because it’s all about people instead of products. In our January session, we explore the seven energy centers of your spiritual business, and learn how to create good systems and processes, while honoring the people we serve.
Social Action
Empowering people to engage in social action gives them the opportunity to act as the living expression of the Holy. How do you choose your social action direction? What projects will be meaningful to your city? Can you build a tradition of service, inside your building and out? These questions and more will be answered in this video.
What Are You Teaching Next Year?
When planning your next year’s teachings, do you ever consider what YOU would like to learn? Your passion is contagious. Think about what will challenge your community and grow your own soul!
A Plan for the “Holidaze”
The holiday season is at least six months long (Halloween to Easter). How do you create a cohesive journey for your community that begins with the underworld, death, loss and grief and ends in resurrection? Ahriana gives you pointers on designing this path for your community.
The Big Marketing Picture
Target demographics. Strategy. Tools. Talents. Objectives. Impact. Analysis and Branding. There are so many words to apply to your marketing process. Ahriana explains what they mean and how to use them to design a long-term marketing plan that works.
Volunteer Participation
Why do people volunteer? What makes them commit to helping? How do you avoid losing volunteers, and how is volunteering one of the ways we help our congregants grow spirituality? All this and more in this session.
Powerful Employee Retention
What is your staff’s experience working for you? How do you attract and keep great employees, and gracefully release those who don’t perform? What is the character and personality of your work-related culture? Find out in this session!
Budgets and Strategic Planning
Strategic planning is the process of analyzing what makes you unique in your marketing. Strategy is about being unique — not being “the best”. How are you different? What do you emphasize in order to attract the people who fit well in your community? How do you strategically measure your impact using financial business outcomes, attendance outcomes, social action outcomes and others? Ahriana discusses all this in this session.
Conflict Resolution
We reward outrage with attention. The silent majority often goes unheard. Conflict is inevitable. In this session, we learn to:
Set boundaries
Be curious about conflict
Deal with Blame
Create connection
Core Values
Not the core values of your organization… but YOUR core values! What do you want people to know about your personal core values? How do your core values, and good communication around those values, build trust in your community? How do you both evolve and maintain tradition within your community? Why is your evolution strongly linked to the trust factor? This and more will be covered in this session.
What is Leadership?
In the first session of our business mastermind, we discuss agreements and confidentiality, expectations, and why working with others is so powerful when it comes to growing your leadership skills.
FAQs
Can I earn CEU credits by attending this support call?
Yes! Unity Worldwide Ministries (UWM) will accept any hour attending our support calls as CEU credits. The recording and reporting of such hours to UWM remain the responsibility of each individual. Ethics and Inclusivity CEUs are earned as the topics are specifically offered. For any questions, please contact UWM directly.
What’s the difference between the two meetings a month?
The first meeting addresses a specific topic of interest to introduce common business practices and what works well in ministry. The intent is to inspire the immediate practical application to get some personal experience.
Then, the second meeting, is an opportunity to engage in a Q&A, which allows participants to reflect on their experience and get some valuable feedback from the host.
For whom are these meetings intended?
Primarily, these meetings are designed to address the business challenges in ministry for ministry leaders, such as the leading minister, the board president, treasurer, administrative manager, etc.
You can ask yourself the question who in your ministry could benefit from learning more about the business aspects of ministry?
Are these meetings confidential?
Yes and no. The first meeting, focusing on presenting a particular topic will be recorded for later use while the second meeting (Q&A) will not be recorded to ensure a safe space to discuss real-world challenges and opportunities.
I can’t meet at the time and day the meetings are held. Are there any recordings I can watch?
Yes, the first meeting will be recorded. However, it is not clear yet how we are going to make the recording available. We will update this FAQ once we made a final decision on the videos’ distributions.
Are there any other calls or meetings that provide ministry support?
Yes, USCR offers several calls and meetings to provide specific support in various areas. Check out our calendar to learn more about those regular events.