There is a whole discussion on this topic right now. Most people spend days comparing Skool, Kajabi, and Circle and tens of other community platforms before starting up. Features, pricing, integrations, the whole spreadsheet. Then 90 days in, they're frustrated because they still feel they picked the wrong platform. And then a random YouTube influencer might be suggesting them to move to another platform just for the sake of affiliate commission. This is a typical information overload most creators suffer from while deciding the community platform. If you're in the middle of this decision right now and can't decide whether to pick Skool or Circle before you look at another comparison chart, just ask yourself: "what's the one thing that, if it breaks, kills my membership? Retention? Organization? Tech overwhelm?" That answer is your shortlist. Also, I still suggest to start with a Skool community and keep building it step by step. But if you are still unsure, I have shared some useful articles below: Here are some good articles to read through if you need more clarity around picking up your community platform: 1. Skool and Circle compared side by side: https://withhimanshu.com/skool-vs-circle/ 2. Skool Review (full version): https://withhimanshu.com/skool-review 3. Circle Review (full version); https://withhimanshu.com/circle-so-review 4. Building a membership website: https://withhimanshu.com/build-subscription-website-guide/

None of these skills are really learned with money. You do not need to join a school (and there is no school) to master these 4 skills. However, these are critical for survival in the new world as a single person business owner: 1. Charisma: Ability to attract people through your 'vibe' aka energy. No matter how strange it seems, energy is the most important element people feel drawn towards. 2. Articulation: Mastering your ability to speak and write your thoughts clearly 3. First-principle Thinking: Breaking down complex ideas into simple, first-order elements 4. Persuation: Not manipulation; Your ability to shamelessly talk about your products, services and way of looking at the world without feeling guilty of it.

In his words "I used to be a School teacher in Kansas.. after 3 months on Skool, I have matched my former monthly paycheck as a teacher! When I first developed my course, I was trying to decide on whether to sell it static on my own website or launch a community on Skool. I think I made the right decision! Here are the main sources of my Signups - YouTube (organic) - Facebook/Instagram Ads - Facebook (organic) - Skool (organic) I started with an organic funnel from my channels. After a few tweaks to my About Page, I saw my conversion rate stay consistently above 2%..that gave me the validation I needed to scale it with Facebook ads. I am going to use these funds to continue to do a conservative scaling of my facebook ads." Read stories from William and other 187k Skool creators for Free

To build a successful community, you don't need 1,000 fans. You need 10 true regulars. (Credit to David Spinks for this idea... It's brilliant). This may contradict what most people imagine about communities — spaces with hundreds or thousands of people actively contributing and forming relationships where everyone is engaged and involved. In reality, only a small percentage of your members will actively participate. You don't need a lot of active members to get conversations flowing; you only need the right few. When new members join your community and see dozens of new posts and hundreds of new comments every week, they won't know if all that activity is coming from ten people or 100 people. However, getting to ten true regulars is not easy. My recommendation: Start with three. Get to the point where you have three members who are coming back every day (or most days) and posting and commenting. You probably already know the three people. A lot of successful communities have the same founding story: "It was just me and a few friends in a group, and it slowly grew from there." Who are you already talking to about the topic of the community? What three people would you text first with a question? You've already validated that they're motivated. They could be your founding members. Ask them if they'd be interested in joining a small group of friends who are interested in the same topic. Once you get them together, start conversations, discuss interesting articles, and share learnings. Be yourselves, the same way you would in a private text conversation. Be weird, tell jokes, have fun. It's that kind of organic, quirky core that can spark a thriving community. Slowly invite more people, but don't invite too many at once, or you'll smother the flame. Be selective and keep curating. Once you have 3 true regulars — reward them, make them feel special, hang out with them on Zoom 1on1, meet them in-person — give them what they need so they can continue being a role model in your community.