You’re a six (or seven!) figure business owner, and you’re killing it. But sometimes you feel like you’re doing it all alone. It can be difficult to find people who really understand what it’s like to run your own business. Believe me, I get it!
That’s why we’ve created a community for CEOs who want to scale their business from five figures to six figures or six figures to seven figures. The community members have supported each other through a pandemic and now through the economic challenges that the world continues to be faced with. In spite of the “interesting” times we are still in, the CEOs in our community at the Quantum Revenue Expansion FB group are thriving, and you can create your own thriving community too.
Building an online community is one of the best ways to connect with other CEOs and also to grow your own business.
Let’s begin with where to build this community.
Facebook! Why? Facebook is the most used social platform worldwide with 2.91 billion monthly active users. 36.8% of the world’s population use it monthly and users spend an average of 19.6 hours a month on Facebook. There are 1.8 billion people who say they use Facebook Groups every month. There are many other platforms you could use, but for the purpose of this article, we are going with the ease of Facebook.
Here are a few tips to help you build the online community you’ve been thinking about:
Have A Clear Vision: Before anything can happen on social media platforms, there needs to be someone leading them–a CEO like you! You get to design the experience your community members will have when they show up in your world. You get to choose where they begin and what their journey will be like. How do you want them to feel when they arrive? What can they expect? What would be an amazing outcome from joining? From start to finish, you get to design an amazing experience!
Size Doesn’t Matter: One of the biggest myths in business is that you have to have a large list to grow your revenue. I once heard a coach say that if you just had 250 qualified people on your list you could grow a seven-figure business. That has stuck with me over the years and has given me the freedom to stop focusing on bringing in thousands of people and instead focus on the person I can help who is right in front of me, right now. While our Facebook group of CEOs is small (less than 500), it’s a group that we are connected to—we know them and they know us. So if we invite them to a free webinar or share a resource, they don’t feel like they are being “sold” to, they feel like we are serving them, which we are!
Find your people: To create a thriving community, it’s important to create a group that either includes people you want to be connected to (referral partners for example) OR potential customers or clients. Create a list of the attributes, values, and desires of your desired community members, and be crystal clear on the problem this group will solve for them or the need it will meet.
Take advantage of research tools like Google and search keywords: communities + topic(s) similar to yours.
Begin building a bond: Open communication between all individuals is vital for your project to continue to move forward. Once you’ve found some potential members reach out to them and introduce yourself and invite them to be part of your community.
Create a safe space for connection: To make the most of your group, create a safe place for connection. That means you have the rules for the group clearly written out inside the group. Create guidelines that will keep everyone focused, respectful of each other’s differences, and serve as a reminder of the group’s purpose.
Set the tone: As the leader of your community, you play an important role in setting up and maintaining its tone. You can choose either a lighthearted or perhaps a more serious tone, whichever best suits best how you want your community’s environment to be.
Be welcoming: One of the most important things to do is to make your members feel welcome. Take the time to greet new members and encourage them to introduce themselves so they feel connected to the other members. This is easiest to do when you give them a simple bulleted pointed format. For example, they might share their name, the company they are with, and the problems they solve for their clients. By being open and inclusive, you let people know that you’re happy they found a place where they can network and encourage each other. Encourage participation within your newly founded community of like-minded individuals.
Be active and involved: A thriving community requires that its members be active within the group. Start conversations, share resources, and ask questions to help build discussions. Hosting events or meet-ups also helps get people engaged with their local area so they have a better understanding of how it works as well. The more you put into this group; the greater the return will be.
These are just a few tips to help you get started. Creating a thriving community takes time and effort, but it is definitely worth it. When you have a group of business owners who understand and support each other, you will flourish and so will they!
Do you have any additional tips or suggestions for creating a thriving community? Share them in the comments below! And if you’re looking for more business advice, be sure to check out our Facebook group, Quantum Revenue Expansion!
