As I reflect on the success of my business in the last year and a half , there’s one thing that continually stands out. My community. I couldn’t gush more about how amazing every single one of you has been during my journey. My community helped push me to start my own business because they saw the value in the work that I do. They signed up to be my first clients and continue to be some of my strongest supporters. They joined my team and helped me get the work done. They spread the word about the work that we do at BD and send new business our way. In fact, my business has been running for the past 1.5 years entirely off of word of mouth and I couldn’t be prouder of the community that I have.

My point here isn’t to brag about the awesome people I’m surrounded by (and yes, you are!), but to showcase how pivotal my community has been in building up my business. Community is truly everything and no one does anything absolutely alone. With your community, you’ll go far.

What is a community? Your community can be anything from the friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers that you interact with frequently, to your online community of supporters for your business or nonprofit. All of them matter. Here’s why building your community is important.

They help you grow

As I mentioned above, my community advocated for me to start my own business. They believed in me more than I believe in myself most of the time. They come to you with ideas and inspirations and always help with challenging you on your next adventure. Your community will help you grow. Most importantly, listen to your community. When you listen to what’s happening in your community, you’ll learn how you can help them grow too!

They lift you up

There are moments when running your own business feels like a constant uphill battle. There’s an internal struggle of wanting to give up and go back to clocking into that 9-5 sometimes. I’ll admit, the benefits in corporate and city jobs are always so tempting to me. Whenever I have those days, I definitely turn to my community and vent. Usually it’s just to be heard, but I always appreciate the words of encouragement and even the bursts of inspiration that come out of these moments. Build your community because they help you when you need it most. Let them uplift you.

They give you a sense of purpose

Serving your community gives you a sense of purpose. At least it does 100% for me. I have so much joy and excitement when I hear about people doing work they’re passionate about, whether it's running their own business or helping people through their nonprofit. That spark that I see in their eyes as they talk about the work they do, invigorates me. It gives me purpose for why I do what I do. 

Start small and live big. Your community isn’t always about having the most friends, the biggest email list, or the most followers on your social accounts. It’s about having true, meaningful relationships with those who you can help have a positive impact in their lives, and in turn, they’ll fulfill your life in so many special ways. You can read a previous post about how to establish a powerful brand (which can help you with building your community!).

Make it yours, 

Brittany Danyelle

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