Entrepreneur communities are an important aspect of a business person’s life. These communities not only help you get more business, but they also help you gain visibility and learn important aspects of running a business.
It doesn’t matter if your business is a local or a national brand. Similarly, a business being online or offline does not have a bearing on the importance of being a part of a business community. The pandemic hit us hard and it tested the businesses however it was seen that businesses that were a part of a community or a larger eco-system handled the lull better as compared to other businesses.
What is the need of an Entrepreneur Community?
As humans, we are a social being. We inherently wish to share the high’s and low’s of our business. It is important to feel valued and we can’t expect all of this from our family and friends. While they are our strongest cheerleaders they might not understand the works of your business. Similarly, they might not have the experience or depth in your business to advice you about it. It is in times like these that entrepreneur communities are helpful.
- Entrepreneur communities expand your network.
- You learn from other businesses and their experiences
- You make connections that cheer you and mentor you
- Your network is your net worth
- They teach you to dream big and support you along the way to achieving this dream.
Finding the right entrepreneur community for you
Not every business community might be right for you. A business community by definition means a group of people who own small or medium-size businesses and want to increase their reach using the community.
Community beyond promotion
Find an entrepreneur community that goes beyond promoting. Groups where you have dedicated days for promoting your business and then the rest of the time you are waiting for the right enquiry might not be a great fit. A community that believes in promoting each other’s business for greater good is what you should aim for. A group that focuses on networking rather than just promotion is something that works better for any business.
Exchange ideas beyond business
Business communities that meet regularly and discuss things other than just business have room for growth and add value to every business entrepreneur. Meeting to discuss how external factors are impacting a business can give greater insights and even help devise solutions around various common problems like navigating pandemic, increase in costs or embracing virtual environment for a brick and mortar store.
Learning Skills
As a business owner you might be an expert in your field like technology or product sales however you might not be an expert in other fields like finance, compliance or online marketing. A community of entrepreneurs from diverse fields can help you get a handle over these topics. For eg: A helpful session by a Finance expert from the community can clear multiple doubts of others. Similarly a lawyer can offer useful advice on do’s and don’ts while crafting business emails.
Make connections
An entrepreneur community is not to find your next client. While it is true that you might find a couple of clients in-house, your energies must be directed towards leveraging their network for better visibility and greater connections. It is also a great place to find collaborators for your business and to learn about suppliers in your industry, such as this soft gel manufacturing company for those in the healthcare business. When you build up your network of connections, you will be able to make use of lots of people’s wisdom, as well as share your own, in order to help you grow as an entrepreneur and make your business the best it can possibly be.
Find a community with common drivers
Entrepreneur communities for women, tech groups or other profession based groups; social good communities etc. can be a great area to find your network. These communities come together for a reason other than business expansion. Such communities can open avenues, expand horizons and help you find people with common interests.
There are a lot of online and offline entrepreneur communities that are helping SME’s thrive in India. As a business owner myself, I have seen the benefits of such communities –be it in my business or stories of other entrepreneurs. With greater digitization these communities are now on your WhatsApp, Zoom meetings, online communities or good old offline meetings. Whatever the mode of communication, join and work your way in these communities to gain friends, mentors, clients and collaborators for life.
As an effort to pass on the good deed, I am creating a helpful series for woman entrepreneurs who are new in business or wish to take their business to the next level. I am creating a series #HerCohort and getting experts from diverse fields to explain the businesses nitty gritties. If you wish to know about it, please fill this form – https://forms.gle/a8Q5kiH9zYjVUtLj8 and stay tuned for updates.
Growth Matters Forum is a community for business owners to explore ideas, streamline growth and create an impact. Join the community here.
The advantages ofEntrepreneur communities are plenty. Also giving the right focus and visibility. Your post was a plethora of info on this topic.
I agree that entrepreneur communities can play a vital role in providing needed support to newbie entrepreneurs. they help in expanding network and making new connections. I loved the idea of new series. looking forward to next posts for getting more insight.
An entrepreneur community is totally blessful as it can be. And your blog has giving us enough insights to join the right one.
I have watched a couple of your interviews. Entrepreneur community is a big plus for the new comers. Knowing that they have people to lookup to us a satisfying feeling .
I have no knowledge about business community . I love your blog ,it is very informative. Business community surely going to help entrepreneurs.
Yes if one has a community then a business can flourish like anything. Small entrepreneurs and MSMES can truly flourish by reaching out to more people and also with creative discussions and problem solving.
Learning is something that we should keep doing. People who pull us down are the ones who have stopped learning or getting out of their comfort zone. A good community is very important to help you improve and succeed.
Definitely, being a part of the community helps us in many ways. From making connections to learning skills to just finding the right support at right time, everything is there what you seek.
I know that every individual needs a community to learn, grow and feel valued. But I was not aware that there are communities for entrepreneurs as well. And, if there are such communities then every business owner should be a part of them. Thanks for sharing how the entrepreneurs can find the best community for them.
The importance of the community can never be doubted, I agree. Such communities help us get through a difficult situation and also work as a guide for the future. Honestly, entrepreneur community is something that is new for me too 🙂
Agree with the point. The entrepreneur communities can play a vital role in support to new entrepreneurs. They help in expanding the network and the connections. Gather more relevant consumer details.
Community always help.us to reach a goal and with entrepreneurs when the journey starts alone the value of community is also more important. I liked the point that we get to learn from community too. We also believe in it.
Such an informative blog. Finding the right community is really important and helpful to connect with the right people.
Entrepreneur communities help in uplifting each other nd at the same time offering knowledge exchange and support. This was an insightful article on the same.
Entrepreneurs community helps in supporting other small business and they help them to grow along with them and level up their business too
Thanks Neha. I was looking for an opportunity like this. I have signed up the form. Looking forward to associatng further.
I have a community but was not growing. I hope.your classes will help it grow.