I’m popping this here as an accountability post for myself to make sure I actually sort this and make a decision before moving forward with anything else. As I was working on the onboarding and member journey today, I have found that the difference between free and premium could become a bit of a messy ‘grey’ area if I don’t have really strong and consistent boundaries. Seeing as it’s more of a support and knowledge sharing community, over being clearly defined products or services that I’m selling, I am feeling that it could be hard to define what should be Free and what should go into Premium as people ask questions. If I’m honest with myself I’m not sure I could comfortably answer with “upgrade to premium to get the soap recipe”! While I would love that everyone could have this knowledge for free, that’s not going to help us to get our trees planted and bills paid. I am confident that I can definitely bring value to this space and create a special and safe space for members, it’s just a little harder to define with specifics - especially when one of my super powers is holding space and meeting people where they are at. (If only I could do this for myself 😅). So, I am currently sitting with that, for my type of quirky community, Freemium may not actually be the ‘right’ fit. This is me, pondering out loud that perhaps a paid community with a free trial could be my way forward. I will sleep on this and revisit it in the morning - hopefully with the clarity that a good night’s sleep can bring. Thank you everyone for holding this space for me.

If you spend much time talking with @Sybil Hall, one thing becomes pretty obvious. She likes to try things. Communities. Books. Journals. Offers. AI. Different business models. Different ways of reaching people. She describes herself as an innovator. And during our Behind the Build conversation, she said plenty about the value of starting, experimenting, researching, watching what happens, and being willing to pivot. But then she said something that made me sit up a little straighter. She turned that advice back on herself. At some point, she realized she also needed to: Stay in her lane and make this one better. Oof. 😂 There’s a difference between changing direction because the evidence is telling you something and changing direction. After all, the next idea looks more exciting. And sometimes, if we’re honest, those two can feel remarkably similar. 😂 That became one of my favorite questions from Sybil’s build: Am I considering this next move because I’ve learned enough from what I’m building now...or because something new feels more exciting? That wasn’t the only place Sybil made me think. We talked about why she isn’t chasing 1,000 members. Why free makes sense for one of her communities and paid makes sense for another. What happens when you’re building publicly and it feels like nobody is paying attention? Why so many of her customers have come through relationships she’s built inside Skool. And why disappointing results don’t necessarily mean you made a bad decision. Sometimes they’re simply information for the next one. There’s a LOT in this Behind the Build. Which is exactly why I don’t want you leaving it with a list of 14 new things to do. 😂 Inside the full case study, we’re trying something a little different. As you move through Sybil’s build, I’ll invite you to think about your build, too: 🔨 Is there something worth testing? 💭 Something worth thinking about? 🛑 Or something interesting that you can deliberately leave alone?

I am inside the build of a community that has gotten married! I began Ask Lynne in June and then opened The Halls, some of you will remember this! Then I took a mental health hiatus and came back to find that the Halls had fallen silent. I was so grateful to my friend who had take them over, but now she too is struggling a bit! Last week I suggested to her and the members of The Halls that I could bring everything into Ask Lynne and this has been going smashingly for the past - oh I do not know, can it really only be 4 or 5 days? Here is where I need your help/idea/brilliance. Ask Lynne has a vast Resource collection in the classroom. 14 individual resources packed with needed material for what I was doing. NOW - the founders from the Halls are joining us and my VIP offers a course in the classroom too! I need to condense and I have been but it has not been easy. Is it ok to put 3 courses together that once lived alone? AND more importantly Can I successfully put more than one offer in a course space and have them both under the umbrella of one course name and then the offers live on separate pages? We all know that most people scroll on their phones. How do I place my resources, my offers and the mini-ad type courses so everyone gets seen. I am staggering them now and moving them around daily. Help, ideas, wisdom? @Donna Thornton @Todd Thornton and everyone else too! Thank you in advance for your ideas.

I am shifting my new group info over this week and struggling on deciding on my new community cover image. Do any of these three jump out to you? Open to other ideas also! Thanks so much Skoologists 🙏

Well, this makes me happy. ❤️ Welcome to Skoolology, @Kathryn Zabinski! Kathryn and I have known each other for a long time, so seeing her walk through this particular door feels pretty special. I’m really glad you’re here, my friend. Now I’m curious...what made you decide to come hang out with us over here? 😊