Hey, thanks for joining for another week of New Venture Weekly.
This week we’re going to look into how you can create (or join) groups to help achieve a common cause.
For example, starting/growing a business, boosting social media engagement, learning new skills, or just staying consistent.
These aren’t just standard Skool communities or Telegram/Slack groups. They go much further and actually help people achieve an outcome.
I think these are some of the best types of communities out there and there are endless possibilities, so let’s jump in!
🗞️ Things worth checking out
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💡 How to Start & Monetize an Accountability Group
🗂 Overview:
The American Society of Training and Development found that people are 65% more likely to reach their goals when they have someone holding them accountable.
You might be familiar with accountability groups or engagement groups but for those who aren’t:
Accountability Groups:
Purpose: These groups aim to help members achieve their goals by creating a structured environment where members can set goals, share progress, receive feedback, speak to like-minded people, and learn from each other.
How They Operate: Typically, these platforms allow users to join small, focused groups where members commit to regular check-ins and updates on their projects or tasks. This peer pressure and support system encourages consistency and progress.
Engagement Groups:
Purpose: These groups are formed to boost the visibility and performance of members’ social media profiles through coordinated engagement activities.
How They Operate: Members of these groups agree to engage with each other's content (like, comment, share) to enhance the content's performance in social media algorithms, leading to higher visibility and potentially attracting a larger audience.
Co-Working Groups:
Purpose: Co-working groups are designed to provide physical or virtual spaces where individuals, often freelancers, entrepreneurs, and remote workers, can work alongside others. The goal is to replicate the office environment's social and professional stimulation in a more flexible and often creative setting.
How They Operate: Members have access to physical and/or virtual environments where they can work, collaborate, join sprints, meet new people, and so on.
⭐️ Examples:
Build Space: This is a free online and irl group that helps you build/create whatever you want over 6 weeks. In 2022, they raised $10m from a16z. You’ve probably seen them on social media at some point over the past few weeks. Here’s a bit more about how it works.
Hamptons: Started by My First Million’s Sam Parr, Hamptons is a group for high-growth founders. The average founder’s company revenue is around $23m a year.
Marketing Max: In one of his recent newsletters, Max spoke about using an engagement group for Twitter and how it grew his impressions by 52%. It’s one of his Twitter growth strategies that has led to him getting 60 inbound warm leads a month.
Ramen Club: This is a co-working community of founders that helps you build a bootstrapped business to $5k/m. Here’s a list of some of the companies that have come through the community.
Dip.chat: This is an accountability group for developers. The founder also just recently launched Cowork with Friends.
You can find a list of some more here.
👎 Problems:
Accountability Groups
Procrastination: Helps members overcome delays and maintain steady progress on projects.
Isolation in Solo Endeavors: Provides a sense of community and shared purpose among individuals working independently.
Lack of Feedback: Facilitates constructive feedback and advice from peers, which is crucial for personal and professional development.
Inconsistent Goal Achievement: Encourages regular check-ins and updates, fostering a habit of consistency and milestone achievement.
Engagement Groups
Low Social Media Reach: Boosts the initial engagement necessary to enhance visibility on various social media platforms.
Algorithm Disadvantages: Helps content appear more favourable to social media algorithms through increased user interactions.
Slow Audience Growth: Speeds up the process of building a follower base by increasing the frequency and reach of interactions.
Limited Organic Engagement: Provides a structured approach to receive likes, comments, and shares, which might be hard to achieve organically for new or smaller profiles.
Co-working Groups
Unsuitable Home Work Environments: Offers a professional and well-equipped workspace for those without a conducive home office.
Networking Challenges: Provides a platform for meeting professionals from various fields, enhancing opportunities for collaboration and growth.
High Cost of Private Office Space: Reduces the financial burden of renting a dedicated office by offering shared spaces that come with flexible terms.
Work-Life Balance Issues: Helps delineate clear boundaries between work and home life, which can blur in fully remote or home settings.
🧐 Opportunities:
Opportunity: Combine All Three Groups
Problem: Independent professionals, freelancers, and creators often juggle multiple platforms and communities to meet their needs for networking, productivity, and visibility.
Solution: A combined service offering accountability, engagement, and co-working solutions provides a streamlined, more effective approach to professional development and daily work.
How it works:
Members sign up to 1 platform/app
They fill out their profile and get matched into suitable groups
They participate in regular check-ins, goal /progress tracking, and so on.
Each group member engages with the other members’ social posts. It could also come with AI and automation features to make this easier.
Members also get access to physical and virtual office locations with in-person and online meetups, lectures, 1-1’s, socials, events, etc.
You can even take this a step further and add:
Personalized Analytics Dashboard: Members get advanced analytics on their productivity, engagement activities, and network interactions. This data can help them make informed decisions about their professional strategies and personal growth.
Online Courses and Certifications: Incorporate educational components such as courses, webinars, and certification programs focusing on key skills like digital marketing, project management, or software development. This could enhance members' professional growth and make the platform more comprehensive.
Structured Mentorship Matching: Implement a mentorship program where experienced professionals can offer guidance to newer members. This could be facilitated through one-on-one sessions, group mentorship, or peer mentoring circles.
Integrated Job Board and Project Marketplace: Develop a marketplace where members can post and bid on freelance gigs, collaborate on projects, or find co-founders for startups. This would leverage the community already using the platform for networking and collaboration.
International Co-working Retreats: Organize international retreats and co-working holidays that allow members to work and learn in different cultural settings. This can be an attractive offer for digital nomads and those interested in global networking and cultural exchange.
How would it make money?
There are a few different options for pricing models that you could apply and it depends on the costs and how you want to build it:
Free: Buildspace doesn’t charge anything and instead makes money from sponsorships.
Monthly Subscription: You could charge a tiered monthly subscription that gives access to a certain number of benefits. For example, Marketing Max pays $497/m for the engagement group he uses.
Pay-Per-Use: Users pay for some services only when they use them, such as booking a desk or private room in a co-working space or attending special webinars or workshops.
Event-Based Pricing: Charge for special events or guest speaker sessions that are not covered under regular subscriptions.
To keep people engaged and accountable in the groups, I recommend a monthly subscription. If it’s free they’re more likely to give up early - although Buildspace seems to have found a way around this.
🗂️ Niches:
Here are some examples of niches you could use accountability groups for:
Religious accountability
Entrepreneurs
Weight-loss
Running
Fitness
Learning a new language
Learning a new coding language
Studying
Designers
Dropshippers
Developers
Growth Marketers
Indie Hackers
SaaS Founders
Architects
Lawyers
Engineers
Doctors
Property Developers
Writers
🛠 How to Build:
Here’s an interview from the founder of Buildspace on how he started Nights & Weekends at Buildspace.
Market Research
Identify Your Audience: Determine who your primary users are and understand their needs, preferences, and current solutions they use.
Analyze Competitors: Look into existing services that offer similar features separately. Understand their offerings, pricing models, and user feedback.
Start Small
Minimal Viable Product (MVP): Don’t go and raise money or rent expensive locations. Start small with small online groups and slowly expand as you get feedback and improve processes.
Initial User Group: Start with friends or people in your network. No need to spend money on marketing in the beginning. Get a small group of Beta testers first.
Iterative Development and Improvement
Iterative Updates: Based on ongoing feedback, continuously update the platform. This could involve enhancing the user experience, expanding the features of the co-working component, or refining the engagement group mechanisms.
Community Building: Start building a community around your platform. Engage users through regular newsletters, community events, and active presence on social media. This not only retains current users but also attracts new ones through word-of-mouth.
Scaling and Expansion
Gradual Scaling: As the platform stabilizes and user base grows, begin to scale your services. This could mean adding more sophisticated features, expanding the virtual co-working capabilities, or even beginning to explore physical co-working spaces if demand justifies it.
Funding for Growth: Once you have a stable user base and a proven business model, you could try and get external funding to accelerate growth. This could be through venture capital, small business loans, or partnerships.
🚀 How to Grow:
Content Marketing:
Create valuable content that addresses common pain points of freelancers, remote workers, and startups.
Offer free resources, tips, and guides on productivity, community building, and professional growth.
Social Media Marketing:
Utilize platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram to share insights, behind-the-scenes content, and success stories.
Engage with your audience through regular posts, stories, and community discussions.
Email Marketing:
Build an email list by offering signup incentives like free ebooks, webinars, or trial memberships.
Send regular newsletters with industry news, platform updates, and special offers.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization):
Optimize your website content for search engines to attract organic traffic.
Target keywords that potential users might search for, like "best co-working spaces for freelancers" or "how to increase social media engagement."
Referral Marketing:
Implement a referral program that rewards users for bringing in new members.
If you make the business valuable enough people will do this without you asking.
Partnerships and Collaborations:
Partner with other businesses and platforms that serve similar target audiences, such as freelance job boards or professional development tools.
Collaborate on events, webinars, or content that can benefit users of both services.
PPC Advertising:
Use targeted ads on Google, LinkedIn, and Facebook to reach specific demographics.
Community Building Events:
Host webinars, workshops, and meetups that provide value and facilitate networking among members.
Offer free or discounted access to these events as part of the membership perks.
Influencer Marketing:
Collaborate with influencers and thought leaders in the freelance and remote work communities.
Have them share their experiences using your platform to their followers.
PR and Media Outreach:
Reach out to bloggers, journalists, and media outlets to feature your platform.
Share stories about how your platform is making a difference in the lives of its users.
Video Marketing:
🔥 Free Stuff
(Bookmark these)
Want to grow your business? Here’s a database of tools that can help.
Want to promote your startup for free? Here’s a database of free places to promote your startup.
Want to turn your idea into a business? Check out this business idea checklist.
Want to differentiate from your competitors? Check out this Differentiation Strategy Guide
Want to run ads for your business? Use these proven psychological ad positioning strategies.
🤯 Recommendations
TLDR News
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Bootstrapped Growth
The best strategies, tools & resources to supercharge your SaaS growth.
Every Tuesday, you get 3 marketing examples, 2 free resources, and 1 growth strategy breakdown.
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