The first episode of The Online Community Show is officially live. This podcast is focused on real conversations about online communities, community building, trust, traffic, and connection. Not just the biggest success stories, but the full range of experiences from people who are actively building communities right now. In this first episode, @Eric Howell and I introduce the show, share how we met through Skool, and talk about why online communities are becoming one of the most important places on the internet in 2026. Here are a few of the things we get into: • Why social media often feels less social today and why communities are filling that gap • How online communities create real human connection in a world full of AI generated content • The difference between traffic tools and nurturing tools when you are growing a community • Why podcasting can become a long term trust builder for your future members • How overthinking and perfectionism stop people from starting communities or creating content • Why testing, experimenting, and learning together is one of the biggest advantages of communities One of the biggest ideas we talk about in this episode is that people are looking for something real again. When most social media feeds are filled with algorithms, ads, and content from strangers, communities create a place where people can actually talk to each other, build relationships, and learn together. We also talk about something that many creators misunderstand about podcasting. A podcast is not mainly a traffic tool. It is a trust builder. Someone might scroll past dozens of short videos and forget them instantly. But when someone spends thirty to sixty minutes listening to you talk, they begin to understand how you think, what you value, and whether they trust you. That is where communities grow. We already have 3 more episodes recorded with upcoming conversations featuring @Matthew Burns, @Victoria Gallagher, @Artin Asghari, & @Ethan Brits, each bringing a different perspective on building, growing, & running online communities.

If you make money through Skool and are getting ready for taxes, the biggest thing to understand is where your tax information actually comes from and how it is handled. Skool does not issue 1099 forms. Stripe does. Skool uses Stripe to process all payments. Because of that, Stripe is the platform responsible for tax reporting. If you meet the reporting requirements for your location, Stripe will generate and send your 1099 for the income you earned through Skool. You will not receive a 1099 from Skool support. It comes from Stripe. Whether or not you will receive a 1099, you can still access everything you need inside Skool to stay organized. If you are looking for invoices related to money you earn on Skool, you will find those under payouts. You can go into the community you own, open the group settings, click on payouts, then select any individual payout to view the invoice tied to it. Or you can go to your profile settings, click on Payouts, and see all of your payouts in one place. This includes both your community payouts and your affiliate payouts. If you are looking for invoices related to money you pay on Skool, those are found under Payment History in your profile settings. This includes community memberships, one time purchases, and your monthly subscription payment to run your own community. You can also customize your invoices by adding your business name, address, and tax information. This is available on the settings wheel in Payment History. Once you update that, it applies to your invoices automatically. This helps keep everything consistent when you are organizing your records or sharing them with your accountant. If something is not showing up correctly, you can reach out to Skool support. To make the process go smoothly, be sure to submit the support ticket under the name of the community you need help with. Explain the issue clearly, include a screenshot if you have one, and share the correct information it should reflect. You can submit your request here: https://www.skool.com/support

If you are new to Skool, one of the most common questions is what the difference is between Skool and Skoolers. Mark Novikov, Creator Success Manager on the Skool team, recently started a YouTube channel and shared this video explaining what Skoolers is, how it is different from the Skool platform, and what you get access to inside the Skoolers community. What is Skool? Skool is the platform. Skool is where all communities are hosted. When you create a Skool account, you can start your own community, invite members, post content, and choose whether your community is free or paid. Your Skool community is your space and you decide how it runs. What is Skoolers? Skoolers is a community for Skool owners. Skoolers is a private community inside Skool. It is only for people who own a Skool community. Skoolers is not the Skool platform itself. It is a place where community owners talk specifically about building, growing, and managing communities on Skool. That difference matters. Skoolers is where people share what is working on Skool, what they are testing, and what they are learning as they grow their communities. Posts in Skoolers should always be related to Skool or community building. Promotion of your own community or unrelated topics should stay inside your own Skool community or a community on that topic. Inside the Skoolers community, there are a few key areas worth knowing about. The Classroom This includes Skool 101, created by the founder and leadership team. It walks through how to use Skool, how to set up your community, how to get members, how monetization works, and how to reduce churn. Skool News Weekly updates that cover new Skool features, product changes, and platform updates. This is one of the easiest ways to stay up to date on what is changing inside Skool.

I've seen a lot of people in Skoolers mention they've come from either the Hormozi launch or from seeing the Meta ads.. I want to know where you guys first heard about Skool?? Was it a creator/community owner? Hormozi?? Ads???

If you want a community where people stay, connect, and buy… this is where it starts. I really believe in the message of this video, so much so that I made this the first video in every community I own, so every owner, admin, and support role will have this vital information. So before you worry about loads of content in the classrooms or sales tactics, you need this in place first. It’s simple, but most people overlook it. And when they do, their community never really takes off. Watch this first. Use it to shape how you build and lead your community. And if your community is already running, use this as a reset to spark stronger connection and retention starting now. After you watch, tell us in the comments: Are you actively helping others make friends in your community? If so, what’s working? If not, what’s one thing you could try this week? If you want to do me a huge favor, I’d appreciate you liking it on YouTube and sharing it with another community owner or team member you know. It helps spread this message, and more communities need to hear it. 🥳 Bonus points if you tell us your thoughts on Pineapple on Pizza!🍕🍍