Whether you are a solopreneur, a growing SME or running a sideline business, joining the right business community could make the difference between success and failure.
Nobody can really succeed on their own (and why would you want to?) So, why not tap into, and learn, from an ecosystem of people who are on the same journey as you?
Choosing to be a small business owner takes resilience, vision and hard work and it can often feel difficult, lonely and like everybody else seems to know all the answers that you don’t.
That’s where being part of a good quality growth community comes in.
Knowing you have a place where you can collaborate, share knowledge, get wellbeing support and access genuine growth opportunities, will definitely put some wind in your sails.
What is a growth community?
A growth community is a network or group of people who share common growth goals and/or aspirations.
For a community to really deliver, it is essential that participants share a similar value system and that they are all travelling in a similar direction.
What do we mean by a value system?
People who share a value system prioritise the same core beliefs and principles. Things like collaboration, gratitude, reliability and inclusivity. It’s not necessarily about being like minded or having similar opinions, it’s more about the belief system that guides how you interact with others. People who have similar value systems tend to work more easily and effectively with each other and are better aligned in their approach.
Other key elements of a growth community
Being clear on how the community works together is also essential, so that everybody has the same knowledge and expectations.
Growth communities thrive on offering mutual support, knowledge sharing, identifying opportunities and helping each other to be accountable.
In essence the goal is to ‘grow together’ by valuing collaboration over competition.
Why should small businesses bother with growth communities?
Finding a suitable growth community will not only make your business ownership journey more enjoyable, it will make it more successful too. Here’s why.
A growth community will give you access to a shared pool of knowledge
Why completely reinvent the wheel when you can simply learn how others have done it before you?
When you’ve got to know people in your community, and you begin to trust their expertise, you can tap into all kinds of insights, strategies, suppliers and tools that would have taken you months to come up with on your own.
You can also learn from their mistakes too!
Good quality growth minded people will always be open to sharing their knowledge and it could deliver significant competitive advantage for you.
How a growth community helped Kate scale her business
Kate wanted to scale her business but wasn’t sure whether automating or outsourcing was the way forward.
She arranged a few meetings with trusted people in her business coaching group and asked them to share how they ramped up to the next stage. They were able to share suppliers, concepts, and even a few learnings, that gave Kate a head start instead of fumbling through her own trial and error.
Within a year she had been able to double the size of her business by implementing a combination of automation and outsourcing saving her time and money along the way.
A growth community will help you build proactive connections and partnerships
One of the most unexpected outcomes of interacting in a growth community are the opportunities to forge genuine friendships.
When you’re hanging out with people who have similar beliefs and ways of working as you, you’ll quickly find that you’ve moved from business connection to business friend before you know it.
But even if you don’t get to the heady heights of genuine friendship, you are still surrounded by quality people who are keen to share introductions, referrals and open up opportunities for collaboration.
When small businesses work together they become way more powerful and can compete on bigger stages. This is increased tenfold when the people you are collaborating with share your value system and approach.
How two small marketing agencies used collaboration to grow
When two small marketing agencies who were part of the same business networking community got chatting and discovered they were both turning away clients due to limited capacity, they started collaborating instead of competing.
One specialised in branding, the other in content marketing. By referring clients to each other and co-creating service packages, they expanded their offerings without growing their overheads and gained some larger, more profitable clients.
Within six months, both businesses experienced increased revenue, improved client retention, and grew their reputations —all by working together in partnership.
A growth community will help you stay motivated and offer you wellbeing support
Being a small business owner can be very isolating – especially if you’ve started to take on staff. You can’t vent how you’re feeling to your employees.
If you are a solopreneur it can be lonely in the office on your own and it can also stifle innovation and creativity too with nobody to bounce ideas off.
Being in business is like riding a never ending roller coaster. There are big highs and big lows and its hard keeping a strong mindset when there are things not going to plan or not enough sales coming in.
Having access to a growth community can be massively reassuring. They are your people.
They can pick you up, dust you off and remind you why you started this business ownership lark in the first place! They can lend an ear or be a shoulder when things are feeling hard and they can dance around the room with you when you land that exciting new client or hit that profit target you’ve been chasing.
They GET you. They are there for you in the good and the bad. They keep you motivated and are there with advice and support when you need it most. They don’t let you give up.
A growth community will help you increase visibility and credibility
Taking the time to hang around people who share your desire to grow is a no-brainer. If you are an active member of your growth community, you will gain a reputation for being someone who adds value and helps others and they will in turn help you. (Our brains are literally programmed to reciprocate when people help us!)
Relationships are built on trust, so demonstrating you are good at what you do, and that you do what you say you’re going to do, will ultimately pay dividends and establish your reputation.
By tapping into this high quality community you’ll get access to places you’d never get to on your own. You’d be surprised how people are connected – not just in their business life but in their personal lives too.
A growth community will help you stay focused and accountable on your growth
Being part of a growth community will encourage you to show up consistently and keep you focused on being an active member. How often you participate depends on how the community is run. It might be a monthly catch up, a goal setting thread on a forum, a mastermind session or a weekly or fortnightly formal meeting.
The fact is that if you communicate your growth aspirations and goals to people on the same journey as you, they will help keep you accountable. They can take actions to help you get over hurdles and give you a friendly push when you’ve taken your eye off the prize.
It’s easy to get distracted from your growth plans when you’re bogged down in the day to day ‘stuff’. Having access to a community of growth minded individuals is definitely your ticket to success.
How can small businesses get the most out of growth communities?
It’s not just about ‘joining’ a community it’s about how you interact with it. You need to engage with the right intentions if you want the big benefits.
Showing up
You can’t just dip in and out randomly. If you want to build and leverage trusted relationships you need to be seen to be reliable and consistent. Make sure that you can fully commit to what’s required. And always show up as your best self.
Be open and a good listener
Be open to opportunities in whatever shape they take – you never know where they will go -including working with people who are in the same industry.
Actively listening to people will always pay dividends. Drill down, ask open questions, learn about people and how you can help them. Don’t make it all about you!
Share your experience and knowledge
Share your experiences and what you’ve learned along the way with other people – including your mistakes.
Help people and give value
Enter your growth community with the desire to serve. Help people where you are able and give as much value as you can. When everyone is doing this everybody benefits.
Be genuine
Always show up as your genuine authentic self – don’t try to be something you aren’t you won’t be able to keep it up. If your value system fits the group it will feel easy to settle in and enjoy your time there. Otherwise, members will quickly see through you and the trust will evaporate. Growth communities are about proactive connection.
So, why do small businesses need growth communities?
In essence it’s the smartest thing they can do. Why would you want to struggle alone when you could be surrounding yourself with the people who get you and want to help you be successful?
Finding the right people to hang out with, who share your value system and feel like your counterparts on this journey, will not only make the whole thing way more enjoyable but it will feel easier and be more effective.
And the perfect growth community will shower you with knowledge, experience, support, motivation, accountability, introductions, referrals, collaboration and some awesome friendships.
What’s not to love about that?
How can I find a growth community?
Growth communities come in all shapes and sizes. Whether that’s online forums, social media channels, business networking, coaching groups or whatever works for you.
Try searching for niche groups on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Slack, Circle etc. Some of them are invite only but it’s worth doing thorough research.
Ask your friends and business connections what communities they benefit from and ask for an invite.
If it’s in-person communities you want then try some keywords in your internet browser and see what comes up. It’s also worth searching for networking directories and chatting to people at business networking events.
It’s definitely worth trying out a few different ones before you commit.
What to consider first
Start by thinking about what kind of growth community you want to be part of.
What do you want to achieve from it? Learning, support, networking, partnerships?
What kind of growth are you looking for? Business growth, personal growth or both?
And really importantly, how much time, energy and financial investment do you realistically have to offer a community?
Get a shortlist
Ask around for recommendations and try a few out. And don’t forget to ask the people you meet in these exploratory sessions for more recommendations.
Then get a shortlist and start some conversations with people in those communities.
Ask yourself:
Do they share my value system?
Do they appear to be growth minded?
Do they follow through with the things they said they were going to do?
Do I believe they can help me achieve my aspirations?
If you can’t find what you’re looking for then consider starting your own growth community!
Start small with a handful of people who appear to share your vision and values. Define your goals, how often you’ll meet and where. Be clear on what you all want to achieve and start building some proactive relationships.
Want to see what a growth community looks like in action?
Back in 2020, Nicky Thomas founded The Growth Community. A place where growth minded business people work together to support each other’s success.
The community has a strong value system focused on growth mindedness, gratitude, collaboration, knowledge sharing and support. Members often comment on how genuine everyone is and how genuinely they want to help each other.
If this sounds interesting, the best way to get a feel for The Growth Community is to visit a friendly business networking event – either in person or online. You can visit up to six times a year so there is plenty of opportunity to get to know people, have some good conversations and see if it’s the right growth community for you.
There is never any pressure to join The Growth Community, but those who do, get access to our unique Member Only meetings where we get deeper into the conversations that help each other to grow. Members also take advantage of being part of a wider community where they can build partnerships and collaborations and access more learnings and support. and laughter. Works like a dream!
Try some Growth Community relaxed but very purposeful networking?
Find a location that suits you. And don’t forget you can visit us up to SIX time a year for free!
Further Resources
Keen to explore the right networking options for you? Why not have a read of some of our other blogs in our library.
Identify the right networking format for you
How to get the most out of your 121s
Ways you can build trust with your connections
Learn more about Growth Community member only meetings
Why member only meetings add value to membership
