Your startup can invest in the best asset right now.
When it comes to determining which investment is best for the business, we juggle with a lot of different ideas. Is it a computer program? Is it a hire? A game of strategy? Where should you be spending your time and money to see the return?
If you are a startup, the best investment you can make right now is not an expensive marketing campaign or a Chief Marketing Officer. It is not a new storefront or a nicer website. What kind of investment can you make now that will help you later?
There is an asset that will. The best asset of your startup.
It is possible to create a steady stream of income for your business. During economic downturns, protect your business.
Help you save money on marketing and sales costs. Over time, compound in effectiveness and size.
The asset is community. This asset can be acquired for time in exchange for no price tag on it. Consistency and commitment is what it is, not fancy tools or an expert hire.
A community that has a shared purpose of helping womxn entrepreneurs overcome their biggest challenges, or shared values like only buying eco-conscious beauty products. I am talking about real community where you talk with your audience and they talk with each other.
The anchoring creates a magnetism to your business. You will be able to build a fan base that will buy whatever you release and you will benefit from a steady stream of income because you have a community that is constantly talking about you. People find a go-to place with shared purpose and values because they can visit it frequently to fulfill their deepest desires. You have figured out how to anchor people to your business if you can create a home for your audience.
Your community’s commitment to your brand will result in marketing and sales cost savings for your business because you no longer have to spend money on aggressive lead generation. You can start reaping the benefits of organic growth through referrals from your most loyal customers who have great things to say about you. Even though the hosts are talking about random things here and there, they are still socializing in your home and always bringing the attention back to you and what you have to sell.
It is easy to get started with community, and it is the best investment any small business owner can make. There are three steps to begin your build. Building a community is 101
To start building a community for your business, you need a shared purpose or value system that is potent. The test of a potent purpose or value system is by measuring how many people it moves, and your mission should get an excited response. 1 A mission with a response.
There are 2. You can build a home. Missions that provoke excited responses are usually very divisive and opinionated.
Make it known that this is where you share your deepest, richest conversations and where your community can do the same by consistently showing up in this space. You can find a place that your community can call home. Is it on your social media accounts? Is that a Facebook page? What is a community space you have created outside of a social platform?
There are 3. The fire should be put out. This home shouldn’t be a place for surface-level conversations that anyone can find on the first page of a search result, and this space should be where you’re able to express opinions that feel uniquely yours, and not like copy written by a marketing consultant.
It takes thoughtful responses to extinguish the fire. A one-word response would be awkward if you were to drop them during a conversation, but you should feel the same way when interacting with your community online. In the beginning, you have to spend a lot of time stoking the fire. Always start conversations with those who comment on your posts by asking prompt questions. You need to act like that person at the party who always starts a conversation and brings life to it.
When your community hits traction, you will start seeing payouts from the asset you have built. Solid numbers will show thePayout in the form of sales, audience size, conversion %s, all of it.