@Virgel Nel surprised us by creating a magazine cover for Skoolology. So, of course, I had to return the favor. 😂 But while I was creating his, something interesting happened. I realized a magazine cover is actually a pretty good branding test. You don't have much room to explain yourself. You have to communicate quickly: 💙 Who is this for? 💙 What do they care about? 💙 What do you want to be known for? 💙 What should this community feel like? And here's the part that really got me thinking. Virgel had to decide what stood out about Skoolology. I had to decide what stood out about Singular Vision. That's different from writing your own About page. Your brand isn't only what you say about yourself. It's also what people have come to associate with you. So here's a little experiment if you want to play with us. Upload a photo of yourself, your community name, and your community description to ChatGPT and give it this prompt: Create a magazine cover for my community using the photo and information I've provided. Treat the cover as a branding exercise. Capture who the community is for, what they care about, the change they want, and the personality of the community. Make it look like a real lifestyle or business magazine, with a strong masthead, feature headlines, smaller cover lines, and visual details that reinforce the brand. Don't just repeat my description. Interpret what this community should feel like to the right person. Then don't just look at whether you like the design. Look at what it reflects back to you. 💚 Does this feel like us? 💚 What did it pick up that we're communicating clearly? 💚 What did it get wrong or overemphasize? 💚 What's missing that you thought was obvious? And maybe the biggest question: 💚💙 If someone else created your magazine cover based on what you're putting into the world right now, would it match what you want to be known for? If you try it, bring your cover back here. But also tell us what you noticed. 🐼

There’s a funny thing our brains do when we’re about to do something that matters. They ask for more certainty. One more course. One more answer. One more tweak. One more person to tell us we’re ready. It can feel responsible. Sometimes it even looks like preparation. But I wonder how often “I need to know a little more first” is really our brain finding a very respectable reason to stay with what feels familiar. 😂 Because sometimes the next thing we need to learn isn’t available before we move. It’s waiting on the other side of doing. So this morning... What are you waiting to know before you make your next move? And is it something you truly need to know... or something you can only discover by moving? ❤️🐼🎋

Well, this makes me happy. ❤️ Welcome to Skoolology, @Kathryn Zabinski! Kathryn and I have known each other for a long time, so seeing her walk through this particular door feels pretty special. I’m really glad you’re here, my friend. Now I’m curious...what made you decide to come hang out with us over here? 😊

We are almost eighty days in, and with a new month about to start, this feels like a good moment to stop and ask rather than assume. We would love to know three things. 💚What has been most useful to you in here so far? The thing you would actually miss. 💚What would serve you better than what we are doing now? Something we could change, drop, or do differently. 💚And what do you wish existed here that does not yet? Tell us the honest version, not the nice one. 🤗 This space is for supporting you as a builder. We'd rather build it around what you tell us. Anything is fair game. 🧡

When @Jenny Rader-Bakos opened Rooted & Wild, content was NOT the problem. She's been a chef for 16 years. She can teach you how to save money on groceries. Get dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Make tofu out of pumpkin seeds. And apparently... make ice cream out of potatoes. 😂🥔🍨 Jenny had plenty to share. But when she started building on Skool, she discovered something... Great content doesn't automatically create a great community. At first, Jenny admits she was treating her Skool a little like Facebook. Post something. Share something useful. Wait for people to engage. And... not much happened. So she started changing the way she built. 🏗️ SHE GAVE PEOPLE REASONS TO COME BACK Jenny began creating rhythms inside Rooted & Wild. Mention Mondays. Deep Dive Tuesdays. Watched and Rooted Wednesdays. Tweak It Thursdays. Raid the Refrigerator Fridays. She started hosting live workshops where members could actually cook, learn, ask questions, and see the person behind all those recipes. And she became very intentional about something deceptively simple: When someone comments, Jenny responds. Not because she needs another engagement point. Because someone walked into the room. And she wants them to know she noticed. Slowly, something began changing. Jenny wasn't simply publishing anymore. She was creating participation. 💬 AND THAT CHANGED THE QUESTION This was one of my favorite parts of our conversation. Because when engagement isn't happening, it's easy to think: What should I post next? Jenny's experience suggests a different question: What are you giving people to DO here? Comment. Cook. Experiment. Ask. Show something. Come to a live. Try a recipe. Raid the refrigerator. 😂 The content still matters. But now it's doing a job. It's creating an experience around which people can connect. 🥔 YES, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE POTATO ICE CREAM. Because I think there's a community-building lesson hiding in that bowl, too. 😂