The Importance of Genuine Community Building
Genuine community building as a woman in business; how to do this in alignment and why this matters to ALL service-based businesses.
When I was asked to be the December feature for this incredible magazine and we came up with this topic, I really wanted to make sure I give you as much value, in the simplest breakdown possible, that allows you to take action straight away.
So, before we dive in I want to start by sharing my community beliefs as a business owner and woman. The reason I say belief, is because we all have different beliefs and that is part of the magic, but the reason these are my beliefs, is because they have shaped the fundamental success of my business, and the same is true for so many of my clients. So these beliefs are my truth and I truly hope they help you with your business, growth and success too.
Belief 1: The heartbeat of your business is the PEOPLE.
Without the people, you have no service-based business.
Your service is being invested in – BY PEOPLE. So this is my firm belief and core truth around successful, sustainable services based business – if you want to create long-lasting success, you must know that the heartbeat of your business is the PEOPLE.
So prioritise that. (And I’ll share how later.)
Belief 2: Balance.
You have to recognise that building a business that offers a service, is all about balance. For me, I put this balance into an equation;
You must be willing to invest as much effort and time into your community and people.
As you expect them to invest and trust in working with you.
So when you think about building a community, nurturing and connecting with them CONSISTENTLY matters more than just that initial growth phase, especially if you want people to invest in working with you.
(More on this coming later)
Belief 3: It is your job to understand what your community wants to consume VS what they are willing to pay for.
No two businesses are the same, so following someone else’s method or templates or scripts won’t create the same outcomes in your business. WHY? Because you are talking to unique individuals, not copycats of one another. So, it is your responsibility to understand your community, this is a huge part of being a successful, intuitive and responsive business owner.
How you can master this, you guessed it, coming!
A Little About Me
Before giving you the breakdowns to be able to action this and implement this from RIGHT NOW, I want to just take this moment to introduce myself to you a little further.
My background is in education. I have a first-class honours degree in teaching and education and was a teacher in secondary school for a decade. Teaching, engaging and ensuring people understand what I am saying is literally in my blood! So ensuring you are able to understand, take action and use what I share below, is fundamental in the work I do.
Aside from that, I have been running my own business (now 3) successfully for the past 6 years and have supported hundreds of women in transforming their businesses, income, work life balance and success. But what I will say is that it is never down to templates or cookie cutter ideals, every single one of my clients gets bespoke support based on their business and this article will be no different. This is going to give you an overview, different approaches and you can choose which work best for you and then act from there.
The HOW’s
How to prioritise community building
In order to fully prioritise community building, these are the 3 questions you need to be able to answer YES to at the end of every month (and here is how you can make this personal to how you show up in your service-based business)
– Have I added value without expectation to my community this month?
Examples; live training, blogs, articles, email newsletters, interviews, challenges, podcasts, youtube videos.
– Have I had genuine conversations with my community this month?
Examples; question stories on instagram, live Q&A sessions, answering DM’s or messages, personal outreach to your community, member spotlight, rewarding community members, sharing them online.
– Are you showcasing your authority in your community consistently?
Being the authority without selling is key, this is where you build real trust.
Examples; running interviews with clients or past clients, hot-seat coaching online, running giveaways, free sessions online, showcasing your insights, sharing top tips, ‘try this’ content.
How to ensure the balance is there.
First and foremost; if you expect people to invest in working with you, you must expect yourself to show up first!
So think about your offer and the investment cost to the potential client – do you feel your current level of value add, visibility and authority showcasing is equal to the investment level?
Are you doing what you can to build the bridge between follower to client in your content, visibility, value and community nurturing?
Knowing your community.
How can you truly understand your community and identify the difference between a follower and a potential buyer?
YOUR ability to connect and your ability to listen.
One rule I live and teach by; follow the momentum. This is what you need to be doing to identify the difference between these 2 groups; the follower and the potential buyer.
When you share content, create content, show up, ask questions – what is gaining the most traction? Where are people most engaged? How are people responding?
When you temperature test your audience, run soft launches, run waitlist offers, create offers for different times of year – how well do they sell? How easily do they sell? How much response are you getting?
THIS. This is the key to being able to truly understand the patterns within your community and respond effectively.
So what to do next?
- Write down your 3 next steps from reading this and what you know you can improve, refine and master.
- Follow me on instagram to not miss a beat on how else I can support you.
- Do something TODAY to act on what you have read. Once you have the list (step one) ACT on it TODAY.
The Number One reason people don’t achieve their goals is execution – so take action TODAY!
Then tag me (if you follow step 2!) so I can celebrate with you and send you a cheeky reward. You will get access to my business success bundle for free. I want to reward you for taking this action TODAY.
It is time your community became the priority and your business started to see the impact of that right now.
About the Author
Name: Samantha Hearne
Professional Title: Coach & Mentor
Bio: Samantha is a qualified teacher, coach and mentor, as well as best-selling author and podcaster. Samantha supports women who run serviced-based businesses and are now ready to make them more successful, profitable and efficient. Samantha works with women to ultimately make more money and work less hours, in the most aligned way for each client and each business.
Website: https://thebulletproofwoman.co.uk
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