Friends, it's Friday, and I have an announcement that is going to sound very silly: I left my house this week. If you work from home, you know. I typically hit my desk and that's it, all day, coming up for air, more coffee, and bathroom breaks. But this week I had coffee out with a colleague, got sun on my face, and remembered what the hustle and bustle does for you. And I want to be honest about the other side of it too, because it is hard for me to people.

In this entry:

• The desk-coffee-repeat rotation of working from home

• Coffee with a colleague, and the whole-body good of being out in the world

• The honest part: peopling takes activation energy, even when the people are wonderful

• The paradox: the thing that drains me to start is the thing that fills me up

• Something to noodle on: when's the last time you left the house for no urgent reason?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, working from home, founder wellbeing, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.

On Thursdays, we take Bucky to dog training. And let's be honest about what dog training actually is: it's not training for the dog, it's training for us. The whole game is consistency, everybody on the same playbook. And friends, I've been sitting with that all week, because I'm actively trying to become a better leader and get my processes in place, and I feel like I run out of time every single week.

In this entry:

• Thursday dog training, where Bucky is thriving and the humans are the project

• Why the dog isn't confused because he's a bad dog (the team hasn't agreed on the playbook)

• The quiet work that keeps losing to the loud work

• What puppy training taught me about building processes: ten minutes a day, not a magical free week

• Something to noodle on: what's your quiet work, and what's its ten-minutes-a-day version?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, leadership, processes and consistency, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.

We just wrapped my last Founder's Table call, the mastermind Circle has been hosting for a few of us community builders all summer. And the final question we sat with, what would you tell yourself at the beginning of this?, cracked something open. Because at the start of the summer I felt like I was talking to the void. And remember that email I cried about at my desk in Entry 005? It's signed, friends. I can finally tell you.

In this entry:

• The last Founder's Table call, and the question that landed hardest

• The talking-to-the-void season: plugging away while everyone else gets their flowers

• The news: I've officially signed a partnership with Circle 🎉

• Co-hosting weekly live AI sessions with Mathilde, Circle's head of community, through August and September

• Something to noodle on: what would you tell yourself from the beginning of this year?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, partnerships, the long game of being seen, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.

Today we're talking about being tired. I've found myself going, going, going, and by the end of the day I'm exhausted, physically, emotionally, mentally, and just not the person I want to be. So I made a plan, and here's the fun part: I recorded this last week, and the changes start now. As you're listening, it's already happening. And I want you to be my accountability buddy.

In this entry:

• The checked-out-by-evening feeling, and deciding to change it

• The new morning: a real workout, Bucky's walk, and something in the morning that's for me

• Curbing the people-pleasing reflex of replying to everything immediately

• The confession: I haven't really been eating dinner, and that changes now

• Something to answer: who's with me? What's your one change?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, founder wellbeing, sustainable routines, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.

We kicked off the challenge inside the community this week and held our first live session, and it did not go the way I planned. I set it up as a co-working session, mic on, ready to help everyone through their voice guides. And then the questions just... didn't come. Friends, we went and innovated ourselves right out of anybody needing our help. So strange, right?

In this entry:

• Our first live challenge session, and why live sessions are some of my favorite things

• The interactive workbook (and the fill-in-the-blanks Molli made even cooler)

• What it feels like when nobody needs you, one part sad, one part excited

• Something to noodle on: where could you bake the help in so people don't get stuck at all?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, live sessions, member experience design, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.

Friends, it's Friday, and I have a confession: I've been having trouble with work-life balance lately. This is a season of growth, the diary just launched, client projects are humming, exciting things are rolling out for the team over the next few weeks and months. And nobody warns you that everything going right is still weight. By the end of the day, my brain just hurts. Does anybody else feel like this?

In this entry:

• The stress of success: why good stress is still weight your nervous system has to carry

• The dream coming true and the exhaustion, both at once

• My very simple weekend plan: the farmers market, the pretty flowers, and (let's be honest) a dress

• Something to noodle on over the weekend: what could you do to make space for yourself?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, founder wellbeing, seasons of growth, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.

We had a fantastic hot seat inside coCreator Society this week, and I'm still thinking about it. Partly because the conversation was so rich. Partly because it called me out a little bit. A member is transitioning between community managers after four years, and here's what a handoff like that exposes: everything your CM knows that was never written down.

In this entry:

• The four-year community manager handoff that turned into a systems conversation

• Everything a good CM carries that lives nowhere but their head

• Making the next transition a non-event: people come and go, knowledge shouldn't

• The moment my own advice called me out (add it to the to-do list, officially)

• Something to noodle on: what exists only in your head, or your CM's?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, community managers, systems and documentation, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.

I've been having some hard conversations with clients lately. Good hard, but hard. They're all circling (no pun intended) the same question: what is community actually worth? And one client's little sentence, "I wouldn't pay that much for that," has been sitting with me all week, because I've seen it everywhere. I've felt it myself.

In this entry:

• The client whose members keep voting yes with their wallets, while the founder hesitates

• Why community value is so hard to point at (you can't screenshot belonging)

• The real consulting work: helping founders see what their members already see

• Something to noodle on: what does your community make possible that members couldn't get anywhere else?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, membership pricing, the value of connection, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.

This week has been kind of a tough one at our house, and it's for the silliest-sounding reason: our dog walker relocated, suddenly. I know how bougie that sounds. Stay with me. Because between the Instagram-influenced puppy, missing our sweet Harper, and a week without help, this entry ended up being about the thing I struggle with most: asking for help at all.

In this entry:

• The puppy, the sudden relocation, and a week without the help I'd finally allowed myself

• Why hiring that first dog walker was emotionally hard, not logistically hard

• The pressure on female entrepreneurs to do everything, all at once, beautifully

• Something to sit with: what are you white-knuckling that someone else could carry?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, the founder life behind the business, asking for help, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.

hit my desk around 6am most mornings, iced coffee in hand. In this entry: the Christmas gift that ended up changing how I build my weeks. An Oura ring, some stress data that did not lie, and why my almost-call-free Mondays are now one of the most productive days of my week.

In this entry:

• Why I stopped packing Mondays with back-to-back calls

• What my Oura ring's stress data showed me about stacked-meeting days

• Gated Mondays and 6am mornings, where the actual building happens

• Something to noodle on: where are your protected pockets of focus time?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, founder routines, focus and sustainable growth, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.