Today we’d like to introduce you to Verónica Márquez.
Hi Verónica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a researcher and the founder or Between Us – a global community that offers gatherings and communication courses to help us turn triggerting topics and conversations into opportunities for deeper connection. How it all statrted? Back in 2018, I was experiencing a lot of insecurities and fear in my life. I had two small children and I felt lost in my career.
I wanted to know how other women coped with their self-doubt so I invited a group of friends to come to my home to talk about “self-confidence.” We all shared our honest stories and listened to one another. Little by little, we realize that we were experiencing similar things, but in isolation.
Through word of mouth, the gatherings started to grow and soon it became a global initiative. Fast forward 4 years, and we have now facilitated close to 500 gatherings in almost 40 cities worldwide. Each month we explore a different social topice.g. fear, failure, sexuality, belonging, trust, etc. and then we write an article with our learnings. We are currently writing our first book.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I first invited my friends for a “Women’s Circle” to talk about self-confidence, fear, and social media everyone enthusiastically replied and the first 3 dinners were filled right away.
After that inicial success, I sent another email —to a long list of contacts—inviting them to the next three dinners. After all the amazing feedback, I was expecting an avalanche response. I even said in that email “I apologize in advance if I can’t accommodate everyone”. But… Only 2 people replied. No one else.
At first, I took it personally and felt ashamed. My inicial reaction was to give up and forget about this idea.
But something in me told me that I needed to try once more. So I sent an email with the subject: “Help me solve a mystery!” Where I vulnerably shared how surprised I was that no one had responded and asked if this was due to a lack of interest or something else.
You can probably guess the result of that email. Multiple replies. Fully booked dinners and eventually the true beginning of Between Us (inicially called Dinner Confidential).
Also… When the pandemic started, we had to pivot all our dinners which were in-person to virtual. And my business partner left around the same time. That was a hard time.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work is about understanding human behavior and how we relate to one another so we can find ways to connect in more honest, open, and kinder ways.
I worked for 10 years in innovation/brand strategy as a qualitative researcher where I traveled around the world interviewing people about their needs, struggles, and aspirations as it relates to finance, health, media consumption, family, beauty, and much more.
I’m also trained in Executive Coaching, Neurolinguistic Programing, and Gabor Maté renown program on Compassionate Inquiry. I’m a reiki (energy healing) practitioner and an active meditator. I’m a combination of both worlds: the analytical and the spiritual.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m looking forward to finishing our first Between Us book! The book it’s a true collaboration, written by many of our global facilitators.
I’m also excited to conduct a global qualitative study around disagreements, where we are inviting couples and “pairs of people” to have a real argument following a “healthy disagreements” process we have designed.
Our mission is to change the paradigm around how we have hard conversations. So we can all experience the deep connection that we desire — even when things are complex, even when we disagree, even when the topic it’s a triggering one. Because it’s not our lack of care, it’s our lack of skills that keeps getting in the way.
Pricing:
- Dinners are free, donation-based, or charged a small fee to cover the food expense. We offer dinners all around the globe.
- Our communication programs range from $55-$500
- 1:1 and team coaching ranges from $100-$250 a session
Contact Info:
- Website: https://everythingbetweenus.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everything_betweenus/
