A community of two // Positioning and peace of mind // False fears and getting started
A year or so ago, while starting the authors’ community, I was extremely concerned about appearances and price tags. I was hugely worried about someone taking the leap, paying their money, and being the first one to arrive.
I took solace in an approach from the fellas over at Tropical MBA (paraphrased from distant memory):
Before charging for our community, we asked ourselves how many smart people would need to be there for the group to be worth a dollar per day [$30/m].
And we figured that with 100 smart people already there, it would be very much worthwhile for the 101st person, so we got those first hundred in there for free, and then we started charging.
I followed a similar approach, giving the community as a free bonus to folks who bought early access to my book. After about 100 of those, the group shifted to be a standalone product with its own monthly subscription.
This made me more comfortable because expectations were lower. But at the same time, it also meant that those people were less interested in the community (because the expectations were lower). Which maybe isn’t the best possible messaging to be sending to new customers.
. . .
A couple days ago, I opened up a cluster of paid spaces on this site for folks who are interested in deeper conversation about the OOC stuff.
This time, it was paid from the very first member. Which created a 36-hour window when the community contained exactly two people (including myself).
And you know what? It was awesome. Great conversation, great insights, great fun. And when the second (and third) person showed up, stuff was already happening.
. . .
So: was I just being silly the first time around? Am I bluffing and blustering this time? And what does this mean about getting started in general?
I don’t know the answer, but it does make me think about two things.
The first is about positioning. My authors’ community was originally positioned as an answer (“I’ll help you do it”). Whereas this latest one is positioned as a question (“let’s figure it out together”).
I’ve been increasingly aware that if I position my stuff in a way that doesn’t feel authentic, then I feel a tremendous amount more Resistance. But when the stuff I’m putting out is positioned in alignment with my feelings about it, then I’m able to show up and happily say, “Hey, yep, it’s just me in here, so let’s jam.”
I don’t necessarily think my original fears (about charging for the authors’ community at day one) were wrong. I think they were a correct reaction to incorrect positioning. Maybe if I’d acknowledged what I was feeling, I would have found a way to fix the positioning, and we’d now be six months further ahead with it.
The second thought is about doing things that don’t scale. For example, in a community, strong peer-to-peer engagement is the system running at scale. But maybe I was too focused on the future, and maybe I overlooked that it might be better to just prime the pump by showing up and being present.
Comments (8)
> I've been increasingly aware that if I position my stuff in a way that doesn't feel authentic, then I feel a tremendous amount more Resistance; when the stuff I'm putting out is positioned in alignment with my feelings about it, then I'm able to show up and say:
I feel seen by this. It's like me and this nearly 1 year long side project I'm doing and now looking back increasingly it feels like this.
Basically, I was trying to serve an audience that's close but not exactly the type I wanted to serve.
Thank you 🙏
Yes, you don’t want to be seen as a pariah or MLM’er that’s my biggest fear.
But figure this out together is actually a very open and vulnerable mentality: yes, yes, yes.
The resistance to position oneself as an expert when one doesn’t know all the answers, feels insincere. Right?
The scale, the fail for me: I’m constantly worrying that the stuff I’m working on is shit (not just bad, but shit).
Excellent. Thanks for posting. I'm in a similar position and asking similar questions.
And I guess I'm late to the party here... What does "OOC" stand for?
outcome oriented community there’s a YouTube video and explainer by Rob
Here /c/ama/bootstrapping-an-outcome-oriented-community
The harsh self evaluation reminds me of this quote from Ira Glass:
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me.
All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.
A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.
Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work.
It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Wow. That. That hit hard, painful but in the best of ways. Really thankful for your immensely thoughtful reply. 🙏
I ain’t quitting, but I’m not doing the volume!
And build in public is essential, right? For the feedback and support?
(I’m screenshotting your answering, this is a massive turning point)
Additionally, your comment on your positioning too future focused, that’s I feel a commonality among all entrepreneurs. Showing up is the main thing, regularly showing up.
> you don’t want to be seen as a pariah or MLM’er that’s my biggest fear.
YES same here 😂 once i resolve this i think all blockers disappear
Lol, yes 🙌
Actually, inspired by Rob’s comment above, I recently decided to read the “Minimalist Entrepreneur” Sahlil Lavingia.
It really helped!