Recognizing Your Community

Many authority-builders tend to view creating a community-based business as the holy grail.

The advantages are many. You compete on great work and outcomes, not price. You spend your days with clients who want to be part of the club and become apostles for your brand. Marketing and sales are about building and cementing ties, not advertising.

But it takes guts—and consistency—to develop a community. You have to stand for something and demonstrate it with action. Every. Single. Day.

It means saying no to the misfits and one-offs, even when the revenue is tempting. It means investing in giving, with no expectation that it will be reciprocated directly (try explaining THAT to your accountant).

It means deciding who is in your larger community: for whom do you happily (maybe even playfully) work best?

My “people”—the ones I bond to like flypaper—have big ideas. They think. They create. They are willing to take leaps, even when it scares them. They make mistakes, dissect them and try again.

They care—deeply—about what they do. Even when they have a big presence, there is a natural grace and humility about them. They know that while money matters, people—and serving—matter more.

It’s easy to know “my people” when we cross paths—how do you recognize yours?

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