The Community Experience

#051 Do you ever think about how childhood impacts your interests as an adult? Many community builders grew up feeling like outsiders, but seeing the world through a different lens can often lead to a passion for bringing people together. Our guest today, Elisabeth Tuttass, is half Korean and half German. She moved to the US as a teenager, not speaking any English. Like Jillian, she credits her childhood for her interest in diversity, inclusion, and building communities. Elisabeth is now the Head of Community at Grid110, a startup accelerator and nonprofit that supports underrepresented entrepreneurs. This is a fascinating interview. We get into everything from using feedback loops that guide community strategy to understanding engagement styles and connecting with your members on their terms. Elisabeth and Jillian also discuss Zoom alternatives, making online meetings more engaging, and transitioning from in-person communities to fully remote. Listen in for a great new perspective on community! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx051.

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#050 Today’s episode is a behind-the-scenes look at a massive online community success story. We’re very excited to have Willa Tellekson-Flash joining us to discuss Public.com. Willa is the Director of Community at Public, an investing platform valued at $1.2 billion with a community of over one million members. She even made the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Marketing list as a result of her amazing work! We talk all about creating safe spaces that encourage conversation around touchy subjects, outlining effective community guidelines, and empowering a small team to enforce the rules and manage a diverse user base. Willa and Jillian also discuss attracting and onboarding new members the smart way and working closely with other departments to shape company strategy. We know you’ll enjoy this one, so listen in for some great tips and tactics you can apply to any growing community. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx050.

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#049 Are you creating with authenticity? Many of us lose track of what lights us up when we focus on engaging with and providing value for others. But work without a personal touch is often seen as bland and has less impact. So how do you explore your creativity and learn to connect with your audience more effectively? Your local community might have an answer: art parks. Our guest today is Alex Bryant, the Executive Director of the Ix Art Park Foundation in Charlottesville. The Foundation manages a free mural and sculpture park and several community-driven series including weekly markets supporting entrepreneurs and creative empowerment programs. In this episode, we look at creativity as a tool that can enhance our lives and help us expand our reach digitally and locally. Alex and Jillian discuss forming online communities around local institutions, bringing different people together, healing division with art, and providing safe creative outlets for your community members. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx049.

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#048 Here’s an understatement: There’s a lot going on in the world right now. In this episode, we allow ourselves to take it all in and come out on the other end surprisingly full of hope. So, how do we navigate challenging times as community leaders? We have tips aplenty! Our guest today is Tim Salau. Tim is the co-founder of Guide, a SaaS learning and talent development platform. He is also a keynote speaker shaping the discussion on the future of work and leadership. We start the interview with some fantastic examples of brands doing community the right way. Tim and Jillian go into a deep dive on the support community style and debate whether there's value in every brand having a social media presence. Tim is a pragmatic optimist whose audience members are digital nomads, so we get some excellent advice for community leaders on how to think globally and act locally. Despite tackling a few heavy topics today, this chat was a blast! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx048.

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#047 “Disruptive” companies are “growth hacking” their way to “changing the world” left and right. Their offices have the free kombucha to prove it! But is that what employees actually want? If you were to ask them, you might hear more about, you know, childcare. In this episode, we talk about workplace communities with keynote speaker and best-selling author Adam “Smiley” Poswolsky. We tackle the future of work, corporate culture, and why belonging is the secret to engaging your community members. Our chat starts with the “quarter-life crisis” and breakthrough that lead to Smiley’s search for meaningful work. We then talk about human connection, loneliness, giving people permission to be playful, and how friendship can save lives. Also, Jillian makes a surprising confession today. It turns out she's been spreading her message of kindness through vandalism! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx047.

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#046 We’ve seen many people quit their jobs and start new careers recently. But, when it’s teachers looking for opportunities outside the classroom, there’s a stigma attached to it. This means that support and resources are in short supply and many people end up staying in jobs that affect their health. Today’s guest, Daphne Gomez, left the classroom to work for an Edtech company. She talked to a lot of struggling teachers as part of her new role, and she just knew she had to create a safe space for them. In this episode, we get an inside look at how the Teacher Career Coach community works and how it’s changing lives. We also learn how Daphne’s course and podcast fit into the business. You’ll be happy to find out about the Teacher Career Coach Jobs Board. It's how we found our newest community manager at SPI! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx046.

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#045 “Our fears imagine our enemies. Most of the time our enemies are not our enemies, and we create ill will when oftentimes there's goodwill.” Today, on one of our most quotable episodes, we explore the dark side of community. Things get scary as we discuss cults, tribalism, and division. Dr. McMillan, a national leader in the theory of sense of community, gives us the tools we can use in our personal relationships, communities, and society at large to heal division and find ways to work together. We start with the experience of living in a commune and dive deep into the science to learn about mirror neurons and digital communities from a clinical perspective. We also talk about celebrating differences, valuing opposition, and the dangers of shutting down debate. Dr. McMillan describes himself as grumpy, but we have a lot of fun in this episode. Have you accidentally started a cult? Listen in to find out! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx045.

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#044 “Hustle! Crush it!” We’ve all heard the productivity propaganda. But what if you’re a new parent and you’re still being told that you can have everything without giving anything up? That's all that today's guest, Sarah K Peck, heard as a new mom working at a tech startup. Wanting to document her real experience and meet people going through the same thing, Sarah did a series of interviews. The resulting podcast raised $30,000 before it even launched and, by accident, a business was born. In this episode we tackle the future of work, rejecting hustle culture, and being a woman in business. We also go deep on community. We discuss everything from onboarding and setting expectations to pricing and the three things you need to do to run fantastic online events. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx044

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#043 Connecting people is valuable. So why are community builders burning out and not making enough money to get by? Today’s guest, Tatiana Figueiredo, teaches people how to scale communities into profitable, sustainable businesses while avoiding burnout and sleazy sales tactics. This conversation was a blast and we covered a lot of ground. You’ll learn about the three levels of connection you need in a community and how to balance them out. We put our psychoanalyst hats on and talk about childhood experiences and how they might lead to an interest in bringing people together. We also dissect the freemium model for communities and why, most of the time, it fails. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx043.

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#042 If you’ve attended any virtual events you’ve definitely seen it… Hosts ask harmless questions and immediately find themselves face to face with a yawning chasm of awkward silence and not much else. So, how do you go from “crickets” to online events that are as powerful as anything you’d attend in person? Jan Keck, our guest today, is a virtual events facilitator and just the right person to talk to us about creating deeper connections online. You’ll learn how to build trust through micro-engagements that allow virtual event attendees to safely open up. Jan’s tips will turn Zoom into an opportunity instead of an obstacle that leaves you feeling drained at the end of the day. You’ll also find out more about Jan’s fabled “ice-melters” that create magical moments online. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx042.

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