Transform your mission into a movement Why Community Builders Need an Experimental Mindset Hi Reader, When I saw Anne-Laure Le Cunff on the speaker list for Kit’s Craft + Commerce conference in Boise, it sealed the deal. I've been an OG fan of her Ness Labs newsletter and was delighted when her book Tiny Experiments hit the shelves earlier this year. Meeting her in person was even better than I imagined. She's every bit as lovely as she comes across in her writing—generous, thoughtful, and...
2 months ago • 6 min read
Transform your mission into a movement Your Community is a Garden, Not a Building Hi Reader, I've become a little obsessed with summer dahlias here in the mountains. So earlier this spring, I decided to try growing my own. I picked out my first dahlia tubers (more than I needed—just in case!), took a deep breath, and hoped for the best. To my delight, they're coming up. This weekend I spent time repotting them into bigger containers, adding fresh soil, giving them water and nutrients, and...
3 months ago • 5 min read
Transform your mission into a movement The Analog Advantage: Why Human Connection Wins in an AI World Hi Reader, If there's one word I didn't expect to carry home from an online creator conference, it might be this: analog. Analog (adj.): not digital or computerized. Think vinyl over streaming. Board games over Xbox. Farmers markets over automated Amazon deliveries. A little slower, a little more tactile, and charmingly human. My messy analog draft of this newsletter from my seat in 14F. Oh,...
3 months ago • 5 min read
Transform your mission into a movement You're Not Behind—You're in the Blade Years Hi Reader, There's a moment in every meaningful project where the pace slows, the outcomes blur, and the growth curve feels painfully flat. You're showing up, doing the work, adjusting the sails—and still wondering: Is this even working? That stretch has a name: The Blade Years. My friend Bobby Martin studied 172 startups for his book The Hockey Stick Principles and found that nearly all successful companies...
3 months ago • 5 min read
Transform your mission into a movement The Counterintuitive Truth About Free Communities Hi Reader, Sometimes stepping back is the most strategic move we can make. If you've been a subscriber to Community Matters for a while, you may have noticed that for the first time since starting, I didn't write to you in May. Normally I wouldn't mention that—but I think the reason matters. It was an unplanned, but valued timeout. In his book Click: How to Make What People Want, Jake Knapp writes that a...
3 months ago • 5 min read
Transform your mission into a movement Turning Quiet Members into Engaged Contributors Hi Reader, If you're building a community, chances are you've wrestled with two big fears: Will enough people join to make it sustainable?And once they do—how do I keep it alive? In almost every conversation with community founders, one theme comes up again and again: What do we do about the quiet members? The ones who joined with enthusiasm but have drifted quietly into the background.The ones who aren't...
5 months ago • 4 min read
Transform your mission into a movement Getting Out of Your Own Way (Even Just a Little) Hi Reader, You know that feeling when you’re almost ready to launch something — a new offer, welcome series, community refresh — and suddenly, the doubts flood in? “It’s not quite ready yet.” “Maybe after I tweak the onboarding again…” “What if no one comes?” Or that moment when a longtime member quietly leaves — and you find yourself wondering if it means you did something wrong. If you're nodding right...
5 months ago • 4 min read
Transform your mission into a movement Understanding your community through the Reach/Revenue Matrix™ Hi Reader, It happens more often than I can ignore. A community builder reaches out after creating something truly thoughtful — a membership, a coaching program, a gathering space for growth and connection. They've done the work. They've shown up consistently. They've created something real and valuable. And it's not growing. Not the way they hoped. They're exhausted. Quietly wondering: Is...
5 months ago • 6 min read
Transform your mission into a movement Why most community advice misses the mark Hi Reader, Quick reminder that tomorrow I'm revealing the strategic framework that separates successful communities from those that fade away. ➡️ If you haven’t registered for Community 2.0, there’s still time. Why this workshop matters:While most community "experts" focus on content calendars and engagement tricks, I take a different approach. I'll share the crucial business decisions that determine whether your...
5 months ago • 1 min read
