When you think about the word “Community”, your first thought may not be associated with your business. If it wasn’t, keep reading. Trust me, it’s normal for your top priorities to be growth in sales and increasing your social media following right now. And yes, you can definitely use social media as a way to connect and interact with people, but developing a community requires much more than just accumulating a specific number of followers on Instagram. My hope is that after reading this, you’ll be inspired to include creating AND building community in your current business goals.

There are three different levels I want to invite you to explore within your business. The first one being the active pursuit of being involved in your local community. It’s been proven that consumers prefer buying from and recommend businesses that take part in their communities and give back to important causes. There are so many ways you can participate in your area whether it be having a consistent presence at your neighborhood’s farmers market, choosing a non-profit to give a percentage of sales to, sponsoring an elementary school’s silent auction, doing a pop-up shop at the trendy retail store down the street, providing a fundraiser opportunity for a youth sports team, or even volunteering your time to clean up a nearby park (& so many more ways). All of these options allow for multiple benefits including brand awareness outside of your current circle and personal familiarity with your business. Meeting and interacting with you (or your products and services) allow potential customers to get to know, like, and trust you which is essential to them becoming a buyer. When you make this portion of your business a priority, you are not only being intentional about your brand’s character, but sharing your brand’s culture with others who commonly seek out a sense of mission & meaning.

The second level of community is specific to your business and its customers. Being able to authentically connect with your past, present, and future customers is the absolute best marketing plan you could have. When you think about growing your business, most assume they just need to acquire more new followers/customers, but really being able to WOW your current and past customers is going to help you grow just as fast, if not faster. After all, these customers already want or need what you’re selling and believe in it enough to make the purchase. The potential of them returning for more or referring you to a friend or family member is so much higher if they feel satisfied and valued. Being able to create a safe and trusted space for your customers, whether that be in person or online, will be so beneficial for both parties involved. Not only can you get a deeper understanding of what your customers want, but they also feel heard. When customers have an exceptional experience (before, during, or after their purchase), they are motivated to leave you a review, engage on your social media, and spread the word about you which is so critical since 97% of [online] buyers read reviews before making their purchase.

Lastly, I want to discuss community as the foundation of Harvest Pursuit. As an entrepreneur myself, I definitely had a lot of challenges and doubts throughout the journey of building my business, but I am very grateful I am surrounded by other creative, like-minded, professionals who offered support, resources, and knowledge. Knowing how much of an impact that supports made on me and my growth, I have made it the foundation of my business. Being able to connect with others beyond my personal network has been a trial and error experience though. The typical networking opportunities or social media how-tos for engagement haven’t always felt genuine or resonated with my ideal clients. Once I got a little more bold and creative, I opened the door to some valuable partnerships and collaborations (outside of landing some new clients). There are tons of entrepreneurs who are eager to team up and work together with parallel businesses. Making progress towards a shared mission is the most motivating force a professional can feel. Even if we won’t ever work together, being a small business that supports other small businesses is important to me so I do my best to find ways to promote others. That may look like sharing their posts on my IG story, partnering up for a giveaway, doing a spotlight on my “Feature Friday” post, purchasing a product (for myself or as a gift), or even referring a customer/client. Being able to establish a strong working relationship with others is one great way to increase your high-quality leads. There are a lot of people who may not even know you that well but want to see you win.

I know I barely touched on these three levels of the community. There is so much more to it, but I plan to continue sharing more through my social media and my work. Keep in mind, a lot of what is discussed in this blog is considered “smart business” in seeking growth, but my intention in sharing all of this is to shift (or strengthen) your mindset and heart posture towards your work and everything that surrounds it. In doing some brainstorming and preparation for this blog, I came across this quote that just felt like the perfect ending to this entry.

“A community is important, not just because of what it can do for your business, but for what it can do for the people who make up your business.”
-Andrew Thornton, Allegory Gallery

*If you read this and are interested in connecting more with me or my network or just discussing more ways your business can grow in the area of COMMUNITY, please reach out and I would be so happy to support you. HarvestPursuit@gmail.com