Christine Didn't Just Build a Community. She Rebuilt Her Business.

Brenda Rigney

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18d (edited) • 📚 Learnings

Christine Didn't Just Build a Community. She Rebuilt Her Business.

When

@Christine Vabre

first came to me, she was doing what so many online business owners believe they have to do.

She was creating content for Facebook.Growing her Skillshare audience.Driving traffic to her website.Trying to keep multiple platforms alive—all while teaching watercolor and serving her students.

Like many entrepreneurs, she was working hard to stay visible.

But visibility wasn't the problem.

Her business was spread too thin.

Over the past year, Christine made one powerful shift: 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗦𝗸𝗼𝗼𝗹-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁.

Instead of trying to send people everywhere, she started sending everyone to one place—her community.

That single decision completely changed the way she runs her business.

Today, 80% of the members joining her community come directly from Skool.

Think about that for a moment.

Instead of constantly chasing attention with endless content creation, the platform is bringing qualified people to her.

That means she spends far less time marketing and far more time doing what she's truly passionate about—helping people discover the joy of watercolor.

But the biggest transformation wasn't just where her members came from.

It was what happened once they arrived.

Without distracting ads, algorithms, or competing notifications, Christine is able to build trust much faster. Her students get to know her. They engage. They stay. They experience her teaching instead of simply scrolling past another social media post.

And when trust grows...

Sales follow.

Christine shared that nurturing people inside her community has led to roughly four times the sales she experienced with her previous business model.

That's what happens when you stop renting attention on social media and start building relationships inside a community you own.

My favorite part of Christine's story isn't the sales, though.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲.

Today she's running a thriving business while working just 25–30 hours a week.

Instead of living on the content treadmill, she's spending her time where she creates the greatest impact—supporting her students, growing her community, and doing work she genuinely loves.

When she recently reflected on her journey, she said something that perfectly captures what so many community owners discover:

"𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆."

That's exactly why I believe so deeply in community-first businesses.

Christine didn't simply build a successful Skool community.

She built a business that gives her more freedom, stronger relationships with her audience, and a model that continues to grow without demanding more and more of her time.

And that's the kind of success I want for every entrepreneur I work with.

Check out Christine's Skool Community.

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Christine Didn't Just Build a Community. She Rebuilt Her Business.