As the sole providers in their households, single entrepreneurs share unique challenges that not everyone can relate to. And with no partner to share with each day, isolation can creep in – especially when you work from home. That’s why intentionally building community as a single entrepreneur is so important.
So how can single entrepreneurs build sustainable communities that will grow, change, and shift through the transitions of life? In this episode, Pam and Teri talk about different ways we can meet our needs for personal and professional community. They also and share of their favorite communities throughout their lives.
What life-giving communities are you a part of? What do you give to and receive from your community? Comment below and let us know!
How Single Entrepreneurs are Building Community
What We Talked About
- The challenges of building community as a single entrepreneur [00:00]
- Attracting a community around your individual culture [02:25]
- Growing, changing, shifting: How to sustain a community through life’s transitions [04:24]
- What are you lacking? Finding a group that meets your business or personal needs [14:09]
- Transitioning away from a community as you move into a new season [15:33]
- Finding in-person connections with like-minded people [17:38]
- What are you bringing to the group? Being a valuable member of your community [19:58]
- Our favorite communities throughout our lives [26:59]
- All you need is two: Community comes in all sizes [33:49]
- Your team as a community [35:57]
- This or that: Community of people in your season of life or multigenerational group [36:50]
Starting a Community of Like-Minded People
- “I’m talking about your business Facbook and making it a place that can be really life-giving for you, that you don’t have to necessarily be the leader of. The idea is that you build a group that’s self-sustaining, where you build the cutlure of, ‘We give and we recieve,’ and the group just kind of operates. And you get to be in that group and around those people and fill it with people who give you life and who you can ultimately serve with your business. I think that can work really well and help fulfill one piece of that need for community.” – Pam
- “I think you need to have people. It could be two people, that you have your very own mastermind that you do with two or three peers and you guys get together once a week. Or it could be something more formal with a coach. It could be something just fun, like you have your hiking group, and that’s what you do. Either they’re business owners or they’re just girlfriends, you do your thing and you go and you blow off some steam. – Pam
How Communities Change Through the Seasons of Life
- “If you look back on your life, there was lots of different points of community that were right for that time and not right for another time.” – Teri
- “Maybe it’s a good idea to be in a community where there’s a lot of people living very different lifestyles and you can pull from who you need to pull from – and give – during that time period and know that your group stays the same, whether that’s a mastermind or something like that, but you’re going to move maybe closer to another member for a while because that’s where you’re growing.” – Teri
- “You can also hand off a community that you build. If you’re a person that no longer needs to be the leader of that business, you’re going to see the leaders rise above in groups and community. They just do.” – Teri
- “Recognize what’s a long-term thing that it’s not just based on the fact that we’re single together, or we like tennis together, but it’s because our hearts are connected and entwined and we’re going to be friends no matter what the situation is.” – Pam
- Valuable members of groups – valuable members of community – give and take. So you use the group as a resource to vent, to brainstorm, but you also are there to give to other people. – Pam
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