Repost : Community Ascension : December 2024
I want to share about community ascensions. As an aside, there are many ways to look at the model. This is another way. I've been on several calls over the last few days with owners who are struggling to keep their focus on one or the other community while talking strategy. I hope these analogies will help you consider what you are offering and to who. "FREE" community - First way to look at this is like the community you choose to live in. I grew up in a small community where everybody knew everybody. I hated it. Everyone assumes to know everyone's business and/or really does know everyone's business. So when I could, I moved to a bigger community. And when I got the chance, I moved somewhere that was a better fit overall for my personality. Phoenix - dry heat, very hot, Western America, chill vibes, active lifestyle. YOUR "free" community is a container for the people who match your vibe. They chose to be in your world. They want to learn with you and they want to learn from you. You're doing cool shit. I want to learn or do that cool shit. Let's do cool shit together in this community. You see them in the park. You wave as they are bringing their rubbage bins in from the curb or getting their mail from the box. You see them at the grocery or the stuff market. Think same zip code. We're meeting at the park for the annual picnic and we help each other out with stuff. We're hanging out in the community. "PREMIUM" community - Now we call each other on the phone - one on one conversations. Maybe you come over to my house to help with a project. I go to your house for a project. Maybe we're inviting families to each other's house for a backyard BBQ. We call each other friends and we're cool like that. We're still learning together but now we have projects we do together. "PREMIUM PREMIUM" community - We're best freaking friends. My bullshit is your bullshit. Your bullshit is my bullshit. I know where bodies are buried and we have the stash for bail money. American reference (sorry expats & foreigners) think Good Girls. We are hardly ever seen apart because literally... BESTIES. And secrets have to remain inside jokes because nobody else will probably get it. We've been through these other stages together and now, we just think too much alike. We're going on vacations and spending holidays together because we have now become family. My kids call you Uncle Dilbert even though your name is Ruth because of some crazy game night mishap in Clue.