We’ve seen it time and time again; Community, or lack of, can make or break an organisation in it’s idea or startup phase.
We all HAVE a community already without really knowing it, and that community is constantly having an impact on you and your organisation, for better or for worse.
We’ve seen magical things happen when we get a community of business builders together. Simply being in the presence of others who are also going for big goals, is one of the most powerful things you can do for your business. Whenever our High End Hustlers crew get together, no one can get a word in edgeways and the building literally shakes with the amount of energy (and noise!) that’s in the room. Our ladies are sharing massive wins, latest goals, and are collaborating on ideas and promotions – it’s powerful stuff.
We’ve also sadly seen the opposite of that, when a business or person doesn’t have a community around them to back them up. It takes a hell of a lot of effort to get a startup off the ground, especially without a community of people sharing your wins with you and helping you spread the word about your business.
The effects of isolation
Isolated businesses struggle to gain traction in the early phases, lack social proof, and the people running these businesses are much more likely to quit early because they feel alone and overwhelmed. Without a community they haven’t got their ‘go-to’ people to bounce ideas off, to ask those tricky questions, or to celebrate with.
Audit
They say you become most like the 5 people you hang around with, and your community is made up of those people.
Take a moment to think about who the 5 people you hang around with actually are (10 if you want to dig a bit deeper).
Are they helping or hindering you?
Are they pushing you to spend time in your business, or drawing you away from your biz?
What values they stand for?
What messages they’re giving you about your business?
What skills do they offer to you and your business?
Are they actively contributing to your life in a positive way?
Get conscious about community
The beautiful thing about community is that you can choose who to have in your inner tribe at any time. Now that you’ve audited your community, you may find some gaps in your community that you’d like to fill. These gaps might be around skill sets, business phases, or general positive vibes – and it’s now your chance to seek out some humans to fill those gaps!
TAKE ACTION
It’s time to actively seek out some amazing humans and to bring them on board as community members! Start consciously noticing who you’d like to have as part of your community, and engage with them. Whether that’s online, or whether you email a local business owner and ask them if they’d like to have coffee sometime. It’s up to you to invest time in this as part of growing your business and your network, and trust us, the results will be worth it!
