Community and a sense of belonging are two essential elements in the self-employed life. In this episode, my guest Joshua Greene and I look at why and how community, especially in business, has changed in recent times. We first talk about the concept of a "wavy" career path – a descriptor which suits a lot of us self-employed folks – and why someone on a wavy career path might need community even more than someone with a more traditional (linear) career path. We explore the critical importance for a "businesses of one" (e.g. a self-employed solopreneur) to be inspired and lifted up by others – which is difficult to do without a community! Other topics we discuss include feeling connected vs. feeling lonely, the unexpected importance of "loose ties," the burden of making decisions alone, and how having a community can actually make your business itself better. And of course, we talk about the solutions that Joshua's company Groove aims to provide to solopreneurs to give them access to supportive community.

As the co-founder and CEO of Groove, an online coworking community and mobile app for solopreneurs, Josh is building on his passion for community to help transform the way people on wavy career paths (solopreneurs, freelancers, creatives) can find support and human connection to help them accomplish great things.

Josh believes in work-life harmony — how we work shapes how we live, and vice versa. He experienced this firsthand as an exec at WeWork in the office of the CEO working across the business. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Josh and his co-founders saw that the world had changed, along with our traditional work systems. Groove was created as a response to that and is here to support the next generation of solopreneurs as they break open the ideas of how we can connect and work on energizing projects.

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Everything you need can all be found at jeffreyshaw.com.

Joshua Greene, thank you so much for being here!

Remember, you might be in business FOR yourself but you are not in business BY yourself. Be your best self. Be proud and keep changing the world. Guest Contact –

• Groove.ooo
• Joshua Greene on LinkedIn (@in/GreeneJoshua)
• Joshua Greene on Twitter (@Stalk_Josh)
• Joshua Greene on Medium (@Joshua-Greene)

Contact Jeffrey –

• JeffreyShaw.com
• Books by Jeffrey Shaw
• Business Coaching for Entrepreneurs
• The Self-Employed Summit
• Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share!

Valuable complimentary resources to help you –

• The Self-Employed Business Institute — You know you're really good at what you do. You're talented, you have a skill set. The problem is you're probably in a field where there is no business education. This is common amongst self-employed people! And, there's no business education out there for us! You also know that being self-employed is unique and you need better strategies, coaching, support, and accountability. The Self-Employed Business Institute, a five-month online education is exactly what you need. Check it out!

• Take The Self-Employed Assessment! — Ever feel like you're all over the place? Or frustrated it seems like you have everything you need for your business success but it's somehow not coming together? Take this short quiz to discover the biggest hidden gap that's keeping you from having a thriving Self-Employed Ecosystem. You'll find out what part of your business needs attention and you'll also get a few laser-focused insights to help you start closing that gap.

• Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! — Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO!

Host Jeffrey Shaw is a Small Business Consultant, Brand Management Consultant, Business Coach for Entrepreneurs, Keynote Speaker, TEDx Speaker and author of LINGO and The Self Employed Life (May 2021). Supporting self-employed business owners with business and personal development strategies they need to create sustainable success.