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Today we’ve posted Part 4 of our 5-part podcast miniseries, Finding Community. Sean’s talked about replacing negative inputs in your life with positive ones, and he’s explained how to find people pursuing greatness in your field and grow alongside them. Community is key. The question is: should you join an existing community, or start one from scratch? The answer is in today’s episode. Before you start a community, seek one out. Starting your own community is tremendously rewarding. It’s also a lot of work. If you can, find an existing community in your field and join it instead. But don’t just join the community… pour yourself into the community! - Show initiative. - Pretend like you’re getting paid to be there. - Act like an owner. - Help the people around you. Do these things, and watch the community organizer take notice. When you add massive value to a community, the organizer will want to promote you… and that’s just for starters. Sean hires his team members out of the Community—hey, that’s how I got my job! And why wouldn’t he? You can see who’s in there every day, providing value. Act like the community manager, and you might end up getting paid to be one. When should you start a community of your own? If you can’t find an existing community in your space… start one! It’s worth the effort. Communities are where the magic happens. All the best things in your career will come out of community. People don’t like the word “networking”, but all it really means is building relationships with people. And that’s what people do when they’re in a community. They: - Form partnerships. - Tackle projects together. - Set up weekly calls. - Form mastermind groups. - Hire each other. - Recommend or promote each other. There are many benefits to being a part of a community. Starting a community from scratch is always an option, but expect it to take YEARS of effort. You're much better off joining a community that already exists if you can find one. Should a community be free or paid? Whether you start a community or join one, paid communities are the way to go. We’ve all been in free Facebook groups or hashtag-oriented “communities” on other social networks. We’ve seen how much noise there is for how little signal. And the trolls! Don’t even get me started. It takes time and resources to run a great community. If it’s going to stay vibrant, a community needs investment. Whether it’s yours or someone else’s, if you want a community to last, invest in it! Paid membership doesn’t just keep the lights on, it also keeps the quality level high. - The people looking to troll aren’t going to bother joining. - The people who aren’t serious will congregate elsewhere. - Instead, you get the people who are committed and willing to invest in themselves. Paid communities are much more likely to be higher in quality. But if you're thinking of creating your own, don’t start a community for the money. A community is a good investment. A paid community is great, but you don’t start one for the money; start a community for the people. The point is to attract great people so you can all grow together. Sean invested the money he made from his community over the years right back into the community! He’s focused on continually improving the member experience. A great community is a long-term investment. A high-quality experience that’s worth your time. How do you find your people? It takes a long time of consistently producing content to create a community. Sean has spent years putting out quality content which has attracted incredible people to the Community at seanwes. The seanwes Community is where you’ll meet like-minded creative professionals from all across the world. Get 24/7 support, whether you want to: - Grow an audience. - Get more clients. - Start a podcast. - Sell your own products. - Launch an online course.