Find calm launching an online community in 2021
As a community-builder who just celebrated my first year as an online business startup, I know the challenges solopreneurs have starting out on this journey that starts off as exciting and can lead to burnout.
Last year the US hit a 13-year high for new business applications, according to the US Census Bureau data and this article that also lists 50% of startups survive their first year in business. That means 50% of solopreneurs end up closing the virtual doors and going back to working for someone else.
So how does someone become one of the survivors? I think it starts with finding a bit of calm in the process of launching a community if you are one of the hundreds of creators wanting to launch a course, cohort, program, or membership.
In 2020, The Mighty Networks, a platform designed to give creators and brands a place to build and grow online communities, has about 100 million users and 10,000 paying Mighty Network Hosts. I’m proud to be one of them.
The past year has been a bumpy one for me on the journey and what I’ve learned the most is that instead of creating, building, and launching with complicated sales funnels, Facebook ads, tons of content, scheduled events, or even an actual Mighty Network fully set up — I just needed to ask people IF they want to gather, how they want to gather, and what would be helpful in our network to support them in transforming.
One year later, after trying to do all of the above-mentioned things, I realized that it is a lot simpler than I made it out to be — the online business industry has created unrealistic sets of standards and all anyone really needs to launch an online community right now is a few people who want to virtually hang out together.
So many people I talk to say that they need to have a gigantic email list, ads, funnels, and automation before they launch. If you are building a community, the only thing you need is people who are interested in the conversation you are having inside your space.
Without validation, creators can “Build it” but no one will “COME” into an online community that they don’t know they need.
So my best advice for anyone who is looking to build an online community on any platform is to talk to people on the phone, in Zoom, in person (since we can do that now) and on social media and ask them if they want to gather, what they can do together, and what would be helpful and that will lead to not only a sense of calm — but also leads to a solid plan for staying open after that first year.
About
Creator of Find Calm Here LLC — As a consultant, designer, copywriter, and strategist, I help creators find calm building, launching, and growing their community.
Inside the Find Calm Here Community, I bring together Mighty Network Hosts who feel overwhelmed with launching a community, cultivating contribution, and creating an onboarding plan with the tools, resources, and support they need to find calm so that they can confidently create a community on the platform.
Find Calm with building your Mighty Network with tools & resources that I use with my clients to help you have a successful launch, grow your membership, and tackle any challenge with the support of peers in a safe space that’s affordable and enjoyable.
On the Find Calm Here Podcast, I interview Mighty Network Hosts who’ve found calm through the process of building, launching, and growing their communities.
