Wondering how building a community can help your business grow? Guest expert Tara McMullin joins us on the podcast to help answer this question.
“What’s the best way to serve a community and make money at the same time?”
“How do you attract the right members and ensure that they stick around and engage with other members?”
“What platform should you be using for your community?”
These are all good questions.
Let’s find out now…
When it came to identifying someone qualified to share some real insights into all things community-related, there was one individual that immediately came to mind – Tara McMullin (formerly Tara Gentile).
In this candid conversation with Tara we dive into her background, the unconventional path that led to her discovering her purpose-led business (and recently pivoting away from services and online training towards community building as her business model).
Whether you’re wanting to build your own community, or find the right community to help you accelerate your business and personal growth, in this interview Tara shares some key lessons (and mistakes) all business owners need to pay attention to.
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- How community building can benefit a business and make it more efficient, effective, and impactful.
- Why the “make money online” business education industry and “guru” business model fails to serve the people it claims to serve.
- How to start an online community the right way (and why your first members should join for free)
Tara McMullin (formerly Tara Gentile) is on a mission to turn today’s small business owners into tomorrow’s economic powerhouses. She’s the founder of CoCommercial, a platform for helping small business owners work together to overcome daily challenges, solve big problems, and achieve even bigger goals.
She’s also the host of What Works, a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of successful small businesses and shows you what’s working in marketing, operations, time management, product development, and more. Entrepreneur named it one of 24 top women-hosted podcasts for business owners.
Tara is also a sought-after speaker, educator, and a bestselling Money & Life expert on CreativeLive. Tara’s work has been featured in Fast Company, Inc, DailyWorth, Forbes, and The Huffington Post.
Find out more about Tara’s work at CoCommercial and request your invitation by going to cocommercial.co.
Tara recently got married to her husband Sean at beautiful Glacier National Park in Montana. USA.
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In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- How getting married changes your relationship (and how Tara and her husband decided to have their wedding) [05:07]
- If Tara had all the time and money in the world what she would be doing [07:06]
- Tara’s favourite quote (it’s hilarious!) [10:11]
- Tara’s greatest mentor in life [12:24]
- The failings of the traditional business education industry and how Tara’s team is working to fix it. [14:05]
- From religious studies to burning out at Borders Books, becoming a mom, blogger, educator and eventually CoCommercial. [17:46]
- How Tara got tired of being a “guru” and burning out on the system that got her to that point. [22:28]
- Why business owners struggle with asking for help and getting the right kind of feedback that will actually be helpful for their growth. [23:40]
- The fear of being seen [26:03]
- Tara’s biggest challenge with running her business today [27:15]
- The biggest challenge in Tara’s relationship with her spouse [28:13]
- How community building can benefit a business and make it more efficient, effective, and impactful. [31:02]
- How to start an online community the right way (and why your first members should come in for free) [34:00]
- Common pitfalls small business owners and new community builders fall into [36:49]
- How to create a self-policing community culture [38:55]
- Our podcast launch contest details (Enter at foundersconnect.co/win) [41:27]
- How to migrate people from Facebook to your community platform (and overcome resistance) [42:20]
- The difference between what you need to do to attract members, and what you need to do to have them keep coming back to your community. [45:50]
- When 2 weirdos come together aka. the moment Tara new that her now-husband was the right person for her. [48:53]
- Common interests that bring Tara and her husband closer together [50:57]
- Tara’s best tip for building sexual intimacy with your partner [52:53]
- How Tara and her husband navigate money talk, and the challenges of shifting money mindset. [54:04]
- One valuable lesson that Tara is teaching her daughter about money [57:00]
A-Ha! Quotes from This Episode:
Culture isn’t established from the top down. It’s established from the bottom up. [email protected] Click To Tweet
What makes someone try something new? What makes that worth it? Get into the motivation of your customer. [email protected] Click To Tweet
What’s way more effective is helping people to understand when they should be using your community. [email protected] Click To Tweet
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- Cocommercial.co – Get answers, overcome obstacles, and get back on track so you can focus on growing your small business. Enjoy a risk-free 30-day trial of CoCommercial.
- 1-page Community Strategy PDF worksheet
- Podcast Giveaway: Win 1 of 3 Prizes in The Epic Entrepreneur Growth Bundle Giveaway ($5,000 worth of tools and resources!)
- Read our free guide to developing financial intimacy with your spouse and take control of your finances as a couple (click image below).
Transcript:
Click here to view the full transcript
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