To build a successful community, you don't need 1,000 fans. You need 10 true regulars. (Credit to David Spinks for this idea... It's brilliant). This may contradict what most people imagine about communities — spaces with hundreds or thousands of people actively contributing and forming relationships where everyone is engaged and involved. In reality, only a small percentage of your members will actively participate. You don't need a lot of active members to get conversations flowing; you only need the right few. When new members join your community and see dozens of new posts and hundreds of new comments every week, they won't know if all that activity is coming from ten people or 100 people. However, getting to ten true regulars is not easy. My recommendation: Start with three. Get to the point where you have three members who are coming back every day (or most days) and posting and commenting. You probably already know the three people. A lot of successful communities have the same founding story: "It was just me and a few friends in a group, and it slowly grew from there." Who are you already talking to about the topic of the community? What three people would you text first with a question? You've already validated that they're motivated. They could be your founding members. Ask them if they'd be interested in joining a small group of friends who are interested in the same topic. Once you get them together, start conversations, discuss interesting articles, and share learnings. Be yourselves, the same way you would in a private text conversation. Be weird, tell jokes, have fun. It's that kind of organic, quirky core that can spark a thriving community. Slowly invite more people, but don't invite too many at once, or you'll smother the flame. Be selective and keep curating. Once you have 3 true regulars — reward them, make them feel special, hang out with them on Zoom 1on1, meet them in-person — give them what they need so they can continue being a role model in your community.

A lot is said about building community on Skool. People inside Skoolers have been sharing screenshots of making hundreds of thousands. Most of these creators have been making content for a long time. Or some of them have built successful businesses in one way of other. Following these creators without noticing the other side is almost a scam. As a new creator you might feel overwhelmed and confused and try forever without knowing why is it even working for them but not for you!!! WELL, THERE IS A REASON... It would be a lie if platform itself is enough to make money, whether it is on Skool or Circle or any other alternative. It is NOT the platform but the other invisible elements that evenutally create results. Essentially, 3 elements: 🔱 Niche Influence: Most traffic movement on the internet is not from off-internet to on-internet. It is happening from one platform to another. So your audience is already hanging out in different places. You must find a way to be visibly influential in those circles. And there is one incredible way to build a Niche Influence... 🔱 Service: When you are new in market, you are a nobody. No one cares how good you are at what you do. So essentially you do not have any influence in the market. Forget selling anything, you wouldn't even read from someone who you do not trust. So when you are new, start at bottom. Be at service. It is a great way to begin. But if you are at service, it doesn't automatically mean it will convert into a profitable hustle. For ensuring it turns out well, you need to have one last element... 🔱 An evolving subject matter expertise: If you are an entertainer, you can also make a lot of money. In fact, more chaotic world becomes more money people spend on entertainment. However, to be successful in education business you need to be an evolving subject matter expert. Essentially, someone who is leading the path as the market evolves.

Most community builders obsess over engagement. Better content. Better events. Better onboarding sequences. And the community still slowly dies. Not because the product is bad. Not because you stopped caring. But because there's one thing nobody talks about — and without it, even the most "engaged" communities collapse. I've seen it happen to a community that was once valued at $5 million. They had everything dialed in. Except this one thing. And it dropped to $100k. The thing? They stopped bringing in new people. And this is the same mistake I have made again and again in all projects I have failed. Sounds obvious when you say it out loud. But most of us are spending 80% of our energy on retention while barely thinking about acquisition. And that imbalance quietly kills communities — sometimes over months, sometimes over years. I wrote about this — what I call the New Blood Principle — and the three specific ways to actually fix it (without cold DMing strangers or running paid ads you can't afford). If you're building a community and wondering why it feels like you're treading water, this one's worth a read: https://withhimanshu.com/the-new-blood-principle-community/ PS: Here are 7 strategies to make money from your community if you are yet to monetize: https://withhimanshu.com/make-money-from-your-community/

There is a whole discussion on this topic right now. Most people spend days comparing Skool, Kajabi, and Circle and tens of other community platforms before starting up. Features, pricing, integrations, the whole spreadsheet. Then 90 days in, they're frustrated because they still feel they picked the wrong platform. And then a random YouTube influencer might be suggesting them to move to another platform just for the sake of affiliate commission. This is a typical information overload most creators suffer from while deciding the community platform. If you're in the middle of this decision right now and can't decide whether to pick Skool or Circle before you look at another comparison chart, just ask yourself: "what's the one thing that, if it breaks, kills my membership? Retention? Organization? Tech overwhelm?" That answer is your shortlist. Also, I still suggest to start with a Skool community and keep building it step by step. But if you are still unsure, I have shared some useful articles below: Here are some good articles to read through if you need more clarity around picking up your community platform: 1. Skool and Circle compared side by side: https://withhimanshu.com/skool-vs-circle/ 2. Skool Review (full version): https://withhimanshu.com/skool-review 3. Circle Review (full version); https://withhimanshu.com/circle-so-review 4. Building a membership website: https://withhimanshu.com/build-subscription-website-guide/

Go to search bar and type: "let there be cat" and hit enter. Perfect if you are building a community and getting bored ;) You're welcome