The elusive golden ticket in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory is at the core of my most beloved childhood movie. This magical film is full of landscapes where the impossible becomes possible right in front of your eyes. As a kid, I loved Charlie’s kindness and wished I could join him along the chocolate river! I cheered when he received the final gift that would save his family. 

Wonka's wild world taught me that nothing you dream is impossible, making this film a perfect metaphor for successful entrepreneurship and achieving your vision. What we need to achieve our aspirations and seize our “golden ticket” is to build a thriving community. If we successfully create our tribe, we can guarantee business prosperity (and as much chocolate as we want!) for years to come.

As Seth Godin defines it, “A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea...A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”

So how do we create a community that benefits our business and each other? We first need to understand what the “golden ticket” is and discover the three foundational principles for building a thriving community. Sweet!

The Real Golden Ticket

We know establishing community is key for our business to thrive, but what is the real golden ticket in the entrepreneurial realm? 

Your email list!

Through years of developing my personal brand through community building, I’ve learned that a well-developed email list is vital for connecting with your clients. Since I took the entrepreneurial dive into the world of podcasts and coaching, I’ve found that the highest percentage of my customers and clients consistently come from this source. 

Of course, social media is crucial for growth, but what if it disappeared? How would you contact your community? If you don’t already have access to them through their inbox, stop what you are doing right now and get on it straight away. You need to start collecting your clients’ emails today and immediately begin nurturing your relationships with them. 

My next blog looks at how to build your email list, but for now, let’s concentrate on the three principles for achieving a thriving community.

Three Principles for Creating a Thriving Community

1. This is a relationship

You wouldn’t try to court your significant other by just asking them on the first day, “Hey, sugar, do you want to marry me?”. They would look at you like you’re crazy! No, you gotta date them, wine and dine them, get to know each other, and build mutual trust over time. And no way would you date for a few weeks, “ghost” them for six months, and then show back up looking to continue the relationship where you dropped off, like some kinda playa! You have to cultivate the connection for them to grow consistently. The same applies to your business's budding community. 

Consistently cultivating a positive relationship with your tribe is a must! 

By communicating with your tribe routinely and taking time to get to know their needs, you build reliable, mutually beneficial relationships. Share content that fulfills their needs, and you will gain loyal followers and have a positive impact. 

Some essentials to keep in mind when establishing a good relationship with your community are:

• Keep a consistent schedule for your posts and interactions. If you are maintaining a Facebook page or Instagram account, post your content on the regular and respond in a timely way to messages. 
• Make sure to give a friendly welcome to any new members of your tribe through a welcome email.  
• Nurture a sense of community amongst your tribe members, so they feel a sense of community and belonging. Keep it real!

2.  Bring Your Community Together Under A Specific Theme

To organize and create an authentic community, you need to gather the members together under a specific theme. To do this, you have to understand your community's biggest pain point and what benefits them most. This requires keen observation and analysis of your target audience. 

Ask yourself:

• Where does your target audience hang out? 
• Do you have a clear picture of who your ideal customer avatar is? 
• What is their main question?
• What are their likes and dislikes?
• How can you help support them on their journey? 

When building a community space,  have clear answers, so a distinctive theme is evident. Communities created around a well defined common goal or need will allow the right members to find you and stay. People desire to accomplish things that serve their own interests and resolve their personal problems. So the most important value of your community must be based on your audience's likes, dislikes, and desires.  

3. Bring Massive Insane Value

That’s right! Go over and beyond for your community. You need to show up for them consistently as you would for someone that truly means something to you. 

Ask yourself: 

How are you providing value for your community? 

To begin, you need well-developed principles for your company and a community that speaks to the person you want to attract. If you nail this, the right client will feel the connection and wonder how you got inside their head. Once you identify that core group, work towards connecting with other like-minded people by using specific language to communicate what your community is all about and to differentiate. Base this on principle #2, the theme of your community. 

Once you figure your group out, you can focus on providing valuable and tailored content for them. If you want this to be an advantageous relationship, you need to wow your clients with quality content on a fixed schedule. You need to deliver relevant content that answers the questions pertinent to their situation and interact strategically to stay connected. Again, keep it real and be sincere. 

As your community develops, you can expand the tiers of information into free, paid, and premium items. This way, your community can access you based on their changing needs on every level of their journey. This article provides a great real-life example of a female entrepreneur anticipating her tribe’s needs and scaling her business.

Connecting With Your Tribe and Scaling Your Business  

Living your dreams and capturing the golden ticket is all part of the entrepreneurial quest. By strategizing and creating the right community through treasuring your client relationships, basing your tribe on a clear theme, and providing them with insane value, your endeavors will thrive. The steps laid out here will keep you moving forward to accomplishing your goals. Soon you will be living it up in the Chocolate Factory of your dreams.

You got this boo! 

If you’re looking for a few more tips on organizing and elevating your enterprise, check out my free 9-module course that shares my favorite business tools to help streamline your processes. Sometimes, adding the right amount of sugar makes the most delicious candy.

Join our tribe and stay up to date with methods for expanding your business and overcoming burnout and stagnation by connecting with our email community today!