About a month ago, I started building my Skool community. I didn't have a big audience. I didn't have a paid offer. I definitely didn't have everything figured out. I just committed to showing up every day. Here's where things stand after 29 days: 37 members 184 visitors 31 signups 16.8% visitor → signup conversion 97% engagement The numbers are still early, but I learned a lot along the way. 1. Networking beat content (at first) I expected YouTube to bring in most of my members. Instead, most of my early growth came from genuine conversations inside Skool. Commenting. Helping people. Jumping on calls. Building relationships. Content is starting to help now, but relationships came first. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Clarity is a growth strategy When I launched, my positioning was too broad. The more conversations I had, the clearer my mission became. That's why I even renamed my community to 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯. Once I knew exactly who I wanted to help, creating content and talking about my community became much easier. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Discovery calls are market research I had around 𝟭𝟱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 this month. Only one was a sales conversation. And honestly, that was enough. Those conversations taught me more about my audience than hours of guessing ever could. Every call helped refine my messaging. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Engagement starts before people join I used to think engagement was about posting every day after someone became a member. Now I think it starts before they even join. If someone already knows you, has talked to you, or has seen you helping others, they're far more likely to participate once they're inside.

Let's close the week gently, thinking about your own community, and a reframe that took me a while to believe. Generosity and sustainability are not opposites. They're partners. The most generous thing you can do is build something that lasts, because a community that survives keeps giving long after the free-forever version would have burned out and closed. Charging fairly isn't the opposite of caring. Sometimes it's how the caring gets to continue. What would shift for you if you saw earning a living from your work as an act of generosity toward its future, not a retreat from it?

Welcome, @Jessica Cosci ! We're so glad you're here. Thank you for the kind words. It means a lot that our conversations in @Yvonne Green Yvonne's community led you here. Your goal of helping members feel confident enough to start conversations themselves is one we're passionate about exploring. I think you'll find a lot of kindred spirits here. Looking forward to learning together!🫂

Welcome, @Tyler Rohm ! So glad you found us through the Directory. Congratulations on building a community with a clear purpose and a place where your members can feel like they belong. That's a strong foundation. Wishing you all the best as you work toward your first paid member. Looking forward to learning together and hearing what you're discovering along the way! 🤗

Today's live session is shaping up more like a mastermind, so I've extended it to a full hour. Yes, it's about Growth Boost, but it's so much more than that. We're getting into community strategy: how and whether you should adjust your approach once you factor in the bigger trends reshaping things. Any success I've had in business has come from looking at where the market is going, not where it sits today. My favorite quote comes from Wayne Gretzky, who credits it to his father: "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." That's what this hour is for. Figuring out where the puck is headed for your community, and what that means for the moves you make now. Come live if you can and bring your questions or drop questions below in comments. Implementation guides go out later today for anyone with access.