Last week I was invited to give a presentation as a guest expert in my friends’ Sonia and Melissa’s community for location-independent therapists, LIT. Sonia asked me to share my experience of running a membership community. Usually, I’d freak out, like “what me? what do I know about this?”. But this time I decided to skip the imposter syndrome rabbit hole and instead I got quite excited to share what I have learned from running my membership community, the DNG Inner Circle, for almost 4 years. It’s such a wonderful opportunity to talk about a business model that has been working so well for me, personally.
Individual lifestyle also plays into this. Do you have a family and like to only work only part of the year? Then running a group program a few times a year could work well. You get the gist. And it also doesn’t make sense for every type of personality, as mentioned above.
And this informs how I run everything inside my membership. It should never feel like a diluted version of a 1-to-1 program or service. Instead, everything is built around the community. That’s why I get quite protective of the membership community “business model”.
Why Running a Membership Works For Me
When I launched the Inner Circle, I hadn’t been diagnosed with ADHD yet (that was still years away). But without realising it, the structure and consistency of the membership model have been really beneficial not only for my productivity but also for my mental health. And of course, I am a super extrovert, so chatting with my members on live events 4-6 times a week (sometimes even more) is a total pleasure to me. It’s my happy place. 🥰 But I am also fully aware that running a membership is not a model that suits everyone. 🙅♀️ I can’t imagine many of my introverted friends loving this much social time during business hours every week, for example. That’s why I always cringe when I hear “experts” saying that everyone should add a membership to their business as an additional income stream. It’s just more of the same old cookie-cutter type advice that I find so misleading and often even dangerous. Because holy hell, absolutely not everyone should run a membership!How to Tell if Running a Membership is Right For You
First of all, it simply doesn’t make sense for every type of business or service. If you deliver a transformation that is finite (for example if you teach people how to pass a specific exam), then there’s no need for your clients to pay you every month in an ongoing membership. Or if you best support your clients by working 1-1 with them, then they won’t necessarily benefit from a community. Individual lifestyle also plays into this. Do you have a family and like to only work only part of the year? Then running a group program a few times a year could work well. You get the gist. And it also doesn’t make sense for every type of personality, as mentioned above.- Do you love fostering community? And working with people in groups?
- Do you love consistency and having to show up every single month for the same people?
- Do you like creating content every month (and yes, live content counts too)?
Why Running a Membership isn’t Right For Everyone
That’s also why I have seen so many very successful memberships close down over the years (one was making well over $300k per year!). 😲 The founders realised they simply do not enjoy this business model. And that’s totally fine. We don’t all need to do the same thing, even if it’s trendy right now. And every guru is telling you to start a membership community because recurring income is the second hottest ticket in the online business world besides “passive income”. Yeah, the income might be recurring, but so is the work.A Membership Isn’t Just a Low Cost, Low Value Offer
Another thing I often hear is that people consider adding a membership community to their business because their ideal clients can’t afford their 1-1 rates. (I’d wager that maybe they aren’t so ideal after all?) By offering a “lower cost, lower value” one-to-many option, they figure they can still “capitalise” on those clients and get their hands on that sweet, sweet recurring income. However, I think this is potentially very problematic. Because if we see a membership community as a sort of “consolation prize”, something “low cost, low value” that we tack onto our business in order to not lose sales, then how valuable can it truly be? Personally, I look at it completely differently.The True Value of a Membership
For me and my business, the value of my membership is the community. Sure, I personally create a lot of content for my members in form of live events, challenges, mini-courses, and more, but the true value doesn’t lie in “hanging out with Jenny” (although I love it of course!). The true value is in being part of a whole community of women who are living the same lifestyle, who share similar values about what it means to be location independent and a business owner. To be able to tap into the hive mind, learn from each other (not from just another “expert”), and to support each other long-term through the highs and the lows of running an online business. 🎢 And this informs how I run everything inside my membership. It should never feel like a diluted version of a 1-to-1 program or service. Instead, everything is built around the community. That’s why I get quite protective of the membership community “business model”.It’s Not Just an Income Stream, Either
Because to me, it’s not just a business model, it’s a living, breathing community of incredible individuals, not just an “income stream”. As you can maybe tell, I look at memberships quite differently than many people in the online business world. That’s why I roll my eyes so hard when one of the leading “membership experts” bombards me with adverts for his $3000 course(!) teaching… how to run a membership. Yeah… without running one himself. You can’t even make that sh*t up. And that’s also why I was so excited to talk to a whole community of location-independent therapists and hopefully inspire them. I can only imagine what wonderful communities they could build, to support the mental health and well-being of digital nomads, break down some big taboos, and yes, also make mental health accessible and affordable in new ways to people.The Moral of the Story: There are No Cookie Cutter Business Solutions!
The moral of the story – same as 90% of all my stories – is: don’t just do what the so-called experts tell you to do. (even me, I’m not an expert, but still, feel free to ignore me!) We are all unique and different and have different skills, strengths, weaknesses, ideas, clients, offers, backgrounds and life situations. There will never ever be a one-size-fits-all business model that works for everyone. And that’s the beauty of it too! So to wrap it up, I’m gonna break another fundamental rule of business: I’m gonna give you not 1, not 2, but 3 calls to action (CTAs), because I don’t know what you need most today, right?- If you want to be part of such an awesome community as described, then you’re in luck because that’s what the Inner Circle is! Our doors are currently open (but will close in the near future for some rebranding work!), so check it out and come join us!
- If you’re looking for mental health support from a therapist who gets your lifestyle, then check out Sonia and Melissa’s LIT directory here > > (if you’re a therapist check out the community!)
- If you read all this and think a membership is exactly right for you, and you’d love me to help you brainstorm, plan and build it, then check out my 1-1 consulting sessions here. I’ll help you design something that truly fits you! > >
