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Podcast Summary: The Jasmine Star Show - Episode with Lindsey Schwartz
Episode Overview
Title
How to Create a Community That Sells For You
Host
Jasmine Star
Guest
Lindsey Schwartz
In this episode of The Jasmine Star Show, host Jasmine Star engages with Lindsey Schwartz, a speaker, author, and community builder. They discuss the transformative power of creating a community that not only rallies around a shared purpose but also drives sales and business growth. Lindsey shares her insights on building a brand that fosters a supportive environment, which ultimately contributes to her significant business success.
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Key Concepts and Discussions
The Power of Community
- Community as a Sales Channel: Lindsey emphasizes that the success of her business is largely due to the community she has built, which effectively sells her services for her. This approach contrasts with focusing solely on traditional marketing tactics.
- Ownership and Participation: When community members feel like contributors, they are more likely to introduce others to the community, creating a cycle of growth.
Steps to Build a Community That Sells
- First Step: Start by nurturing connections within your current audience rather than fixating on expanding it.
- Creating Ownership: Involve community members in decision-making processes, making them feel a sense of ownership within the community.
- Feedback Loop: Lindsey shares that asking for and implementing feedback is crucial for fostering engagement and loyalty.
Personal Journey
- Transitioning from Health and Fitness: Lindsey reflects on her journey from the health and fitness industry to building her business, Powerhouse Women, emphasizing the importance of personal growth and overcoming self-doubt.
- First Event Success: Lindsey recalls her first event where about 100 people showed up, leading to the realization that there was a strong desire for connection and community.
Growth Strategy
- The Importance of Cultivating Culture: The culture within her community is a blend of empowerment, authenticity, and vulnerability. This culture encourages members to express themselves freely.
- In-Person Events and Connections: Lindsey advocates for the importance of in-person interactions, stating that they enhance the sense of community and connection among members.
Key Takeaways
- Community Over Audience: Focus on building a community rather than simply growing an audience. This leads to stronger relationships and better sales conversions.
- Be Patient and Listen: Understand the needs of the community before launching new products or services. Patience is key in ensuring that offerings align with community desires.
- Embrace Imperfection: Accept that mistakes will happen (e.g., a typo on a book cover) and use these moments as stories to relate to the audience.
Future Vision Lindsey is expanding her community efforts and evolving her events to accommodate growth, showcasing the importance of adaptability in business.
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Closing Insights The episode wraps up with a reminder that anyone can build a successful community by prioritizing relationships, listening to their audience, and fostering an environment of support and encouragement. Lindsey's journey illustrates that personal growth and community building can lead to impactful and profitable outcomes.
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References and Links
For full show notes and more, visit
[The Jasmine Star Show Episode 373](https://jasminestar.com/podcast/episode373)
Connect with Lindsey Schwartz
- Instagram: [@powerhouse_women](https://www.instagram.com/powerhouse_women/)
- Podcast: Powerhouse Women
This episode serves as a motivational guide for entrepreneurs seeking to establish a thriving community that not only supports its members but also drives business success.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:0010 years ago, I made the decision to build my personal brand that was elevated, yet approachable, and reflected who I was, not just what I did. I created my website with ShowIt because it's true drag and drop freedom so you can easily build and update your site. Plus, their real human support team, game changer. Want to try it for yourself? Head to jasminestar.com forward slash show it for a 14-day free trial and first month free when you subscribe.
0:38Welcome back to the Jasmine Starr Show, where we talk about business scaling growth. I am so excited to specifically focus today all things, I was going to say community, but I'm changing it. I'm literally changing it mid-sentence. Edit. Yeah. No, no edit. Like we just go, like we just let it roll. Oh no, we're just editing live. We're editing, we're live editing because I look at you and prior to us recording, all I feel and hear is success. And so I really want to focus on this aspirational idea of success, but then also focus it and keep it in the tenets of community. Now, here I am. I just jumped right into it.
1:12Welcome to the show, Lindsay Swartz. I am so happy you're here. Like this has been years in the making. I know. That's how it feels when you're dropping in with friends. You're like, oh yeah, that's right. We're like creating content and this is, we have to like be professional, but not. Yeah, no. I'm like, girl, if you came to this show to be professional, you came to the wrong show. I will say, I will say prior to us officially starting the conversation, We met two and a half years ago, right? Was it two and a half years ago or was it a year and a half ago? Well, the first meeting, I told you this when you were on my podcast, was when you popped in at Lori Harder's event, but officially met.
1:43It was a little over a year ago when we had that walk with Lori. Okay, let's go back there. Let's start there. Okay, so let's start there. Lindsay and I had met in passing a few years ago here in Newport Beach, but a mutual friend of ours, Lori Harder, reached out. Yes, we love her. Love her. She says, Jasmine, let's go on a walk. And so Lindsay, Lori, and I decide to walk in Corona Del Mar, California. And I don't really know Lindsay at the time. And then probably about 20 minutes into the walk, I think to myself, I need to have this person in my life forever. And one of the things that I found like so profound is that we sat around and we just talked about the realness of business and how it's not so glamorous and how we, for better or for worse, don't always show the stuff that really needs to be talked about.
2:24And I said that having not realized that you do that so well and you do it on the inside of a community. So I really wanted to have you come on the podcast today because I want you to talk about what people see, success. And at the time of this recording, you were having one of the biggest launches, one of the most successful, an apex. One of the biggest apex in your career at the time of this recording. And so hats off. We're not going to get into specifics, but let's just say it's 50 % bigger than anything she has ever done before. Like that kind of success, right? I look at this and I'm like, oh my gosh.
2:53But we know it's deeply rooted and grounded in sharing the journey. So when we talk about community, it's this big word. And then you and I, five months ago, were in Laguna together. And I was like, Lindsay, nobody does community like you. Like, I just want to get into your brain. And so instead of me being entirely selfish, I want you to come in and us to have a conversation that I'll learn from, but then like a lot of people are going to learn from too. So talk to us about how you started. Like, when did you become such an evangelist? How did you own it? How did you step into it? What qualifications or no qualifications did you have to do this?
3:25Let's start about why community was the benchmark and then how that community has really scaled your business. First of all, like this is just a shout out to having friends who make you celebrate the thing, the big moments. Because I sat down and I was like, yeah, we're tracking about 50 % more for this launch than last year. And then her face just froze in like that proud friend. Yeah. Are you proud of this as well? And I was like, oh, yeah, let me not just step over that. Like how are you not twerking right now? I don't know. I mean, like I'm wearing a skirt. So after. But thank you for, you're such a champion for women.
3:59You're such a champion for your friends. And that moment I'm going to remember forever before we even started. And yeah, so Powerhouse Women really started on accident. I think a lot of us end up stumbling into these businesses that were realizing I need this. I was looking for community and entrepreneurship. Couldn't find it. Couldn't find a lot of people who were talking about the hard stuff. And it was early enough in my journey that I was still really telling myself a lie that, well, who am I to start that conversation? Eventually did. I wrote a book that ended up inspiring this little event.
4:31It was little at first, and it's grown into this global movement. But when I tell the story through the lens of community, what I tell people is that I have always had a pretty small audience, small email list, small social media following compared to the results that we get. But I never once saw the size of my audience as a problem. And I think there's too many entrepreneurs that I mentor, that I know you mentor, who we get so focused on. I just need more audience. I need more eyeballs when they're not actually nurturing and creating connections in the audience that they have. So I knew deep down without even knowing that I knew that I just had to think differently, that it wasn't a problem that I had a smaller audience.
5:13It was just a different way of thinking about the people who were paying attention. And what I now look back and realize I've always done without realizing I was doing it. And this is always the differentiator that I talk about when it comes to an audience versus a community, because I do think they're different. They are. Is that when I'm building my audience, which that's an important part of business, we want people to know how amazing you are. But when you're building your audience, you're really asking yourself this question of how do I get more people to connect with me? want to follow my brand, want to know what I'm about.
5:45That is step one. We need people to know what you're doing. But when you go a level deeper and you start to now ask a question that starts to foster community, you start to look at your audience, the people following you through this lens of, well, now how do I get more people to connect with each other? And I was sharing with you before we turned on the cameras and everything, one of the reasons our launch has gone so well isn't because we exponentially grew our email list. Right. I wanted to go jump in and be like, okay, what was the tactics? How did you list built? What is the ad retargeting?
6:15What's the ad spend? What's your ROI? And you're like, Jasmine, they're selling for me. And so, okay, there's so much to unpack here. Let's save that as like that juicy morsel, like that point they're selling for me is the amuse-bouche to the main course. But I want to back up for a second. I really want to like hone in on a couple of things you said that really will help people on their journey. You had said you struggled with who am I to start these conversations. And then you decided to write a book. And that book didn't have to be a New York Times bestseller. Although it absolutely should be there in New York Times Square having its own thing.
6:51It should. It didn't need to be. And then on the back of a book that didn't need to be anything, somehow found a home for a small group of people to connect. And so if there is somebody who's listening and you're starting with who am I to do this? Or why would I start these conversations? And then you decide to do something that regardless of the impact, regardless, it has enough connection points to get a small group of people in a room that a few years later were at this point doing big numbers, big events, and big communities. So I just want to hold space for the who am I and then to become, look what we've done.
7:36And so I wanted to sit there for a second and then I want to go back and go back into that first event. Because at the time of this recording, we're coming off like one of your biggest events, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people all paid to get in a room to be around each other. But it doesn't start there. Like people see that on social and they're like, I'll never do that. Let's go back to that first event. What are you thinking? Where you at, the purpose of it. I mean, let's go there because we're going to be meeting people at different points in their journey. And this is my favorite part of the journey to talk about, because I take a lot of responsibility for the fact that I know how my brain works.
8:09And I look at people's success now on social media and I forget that they had their day one. I forget that they had their first event, their first thing that no one showed up to, all of those moments that we all have. And for me, I wrote the book to prove to myself that I could. I was coming out of a season, building another business in health and fitness, and I was just feeling restless. I knew that wasn't for me forever. And now looking back, I realized I'd never really challenged myself. I was playing within the sandbox of what I knew I could control, what I knew I would be good at. So I wasn't growing.
8:40And then I wonder why I was feeling so restless, wondered why I couldn't figure out why no one was like discovering me, right? Like that moment where you think you're showing up big and you're not. You're playing so small because you're playing within the realm of what feels comfortable or what feels like you can control. So writing a book was the last thing I had any qualifications to do. That's when that question of like, who am I to start this conversation came from? Because I remember so clearly being contacted by who's now my editor and publisher. She was putting together a program for entrepreneurs who wanted to get their message out in the form of a book.
9:14You had to pay to be a part of it. So this wasn't like me being discovered, okay? I wasn't like in the mall and Tyra Banks is like, Girl, you're smizing. Your book is going to smize. This is going to be a hit. I paid a lot of money to be a part of that program, a lot of money for me at that time. But I remember saying to her, you know, I mentor all these women in health and fitness to build businesses. And every single conversation kind of sounds the same. It sounds like, Lindsay, I'm so inspired by what you've done. I would love to fill in the blank. And they would start to pour their hearts up to me, these visions they had, these dreams they had.
9:47And every time I would hear them. Like, you know, when you hear the ideas in your community that you're like, that needs to exist. Yes. And before I could even say that in the next breath, they would tell me why they weren't ready or they didn't feel like they knew the right people. They felt insecure or they were afraid. And every time I stopped and I would go, wait a minute, did no one tell you? Yeah, we all feel that way. So it's like the very thing you think is making you inadequate and saying, that's not for me. That's actually how you know you're going in the right direction. And I'm telling this story to the woman on the phone.
10:18And she says, Lindsay, if you don't write that book, who's going to? And I was about to give her a list of all the people who would be more qualified than me to write that book. And I heard it. Like I heard that moment where I had an opportunity to choose a whole new future. And I said yes to writing the book. I finished it. But even saying that skips over an entire year of coming up against myself every time I wanted to quit. Because I tried to. I wanted to quit more than a few times. I was petrified of someone reading the book. I literally, that was my worst fear was like, not am I gonna hit New York Times bestseller is, oh gosh, are people gonna actually buy this and read it and judge me for it?
10:55Right. So anyone who's sitting there with that feeling of who am I to do this? I don't know why, but I feel like I should move toward this idea. And all I can focus on are all the reasons why not me. I just had to wake up every day and choose to ask a better question. why not me like why not me and what could happen on the other side of me finishing something that I don't believe I can do so the book comes out it actually had a typo on the cover which is perfect for the recovering perfectionist and I love to tell that because it's like what we think is our worst fear now becomes the best story that I get to tell on stage and the publisher said you should do a book launch event and I said well let me see if my friend And Sally over here will let us use her living room.
11:43That's how small I was thinking. And we went on to expand the vision a little bit. And I remember there were 100 people who showed up that first event, which that's big. That actually is. That's huge for a first event. And I didn't know half of them. Okay. And that's when I started to realize, wait a minute. People want this message. They're really craving this same conversation. If I'm brave enough to be the one who keeps showing up and creating the spaces where we're having it, it doesn't all have to be about me. And I think that was the ultimate freedom was realizing that all of us are just starting the conversations.
12:17We think that all the focus is on us and it's not. We're just the brave ones to go first, to start the conversation that starts a bigger movement. And then it becomes about something so much bigger than you. And that actually gives me so much permission to just be imperfect because then I'm not so worried about without people looking at me as like the end all be all. Okay. So the typo on the cover leads to an event, leads to a hundred people being not in Sally's living room. Not in Sally's living room. And then there's a point where you decide that there is a business here. But where is your mind at at this time?
12:55How do you go from, I was able, the book was able, this group of women was able to do X. And then how do you say there's a business here? What is the process of starting a business after realizing that the unqualified is doing something that's pre-qualifying? Yeah. I just like have so much love for the version of me. Thank you for taking me back there to her. I remember standing on stage at the end of the event and an event is a very great opportunity to introduce another offer. Yes. And I remember standing on stage at the end and just waving everyone off and just being like, that's literally it.
13:25That's all I got for you. Ta-da. And they're like, when's the next one? I was like, nope, this is it. This is a fiend. But I left that day and I knew I felt something different. I knew I felt myself step into a different version of me. So I sat on it for a little while. Women were asking, OK, when's the next one? And it took me until maybe early the next year, so maybe five, six months later to say, OK, what if we did that again? Still not really making a profit from it, like basically covering my event costs, which that was great. And it wasn't until year three of doing this event. Mind you, I had a whole other business that my identity was very tied up in.
13:59Got it. I had a lot of success. I was put on magazine covers, had speaking engagements. My heart and my soul were screaming at me, this chapter is ready to close, but you have to trust me. You have to trust me that if you go all in on this new idea, it can take you to places this other world never could, but you're not going to get the certainty until you make that decision. So I made the decision, went all in on Powerhouse Women in 2019, year three, and that's when I realized I was like, there's really something here. I think I knew it all along, but I was willing to admit and take the brave step of pursuing it as like the real business it could be.
14:34Okay. So we go back and we realize that there's times in our lives where we have found success and or security, and then we have to make the decision to change. And you're not going to know the results of that unless you, it is contingent, that you go all in. And so then you make a decision around 2019, which is just a few years ago, to go all in and decide that this thing will take you to levels you've never been. And I genuinely, like people are listening to me like, why are you so dramatic? I'm really, I don't know. I'm literally asking Lindsay these questions because I'm dying. Is there a freefall between I'm leaving the thing that has become so much of my identity into the next thing?
15:14And then what does the freefall look like? What are you doing during this time? Or is it like it's a free fall, but hell yeah, I have this rocket pack or like, where are you at? Because so many people are listening and they're like, they know that what you're saying, the thing that is keeping them shackled, they know they need to let it go. And then there's not the next thing to step into. And so where are you at and speak to that person? Yeah. Okay. So here's what my version of this looked like, which I think will relate to some of you is I was getting the guidance for a good year before I made the decision.
15:41And when we ignore the prompt to take the action, a bigger prompt comes and then a bigger one. So my former business was a network marketing company, very team-based. And a lot of my people-pleasing tendencies had to be worked out there. So my free fall was I'm going to disappoint so many people. Got it. And because I had ignored, ignored, ignored, by the time it got to making that decision, There were some things that kind of like got a little messy, like an explosion type of feeling. Even in that moment, I was like, I know why this is happening. It had to hurt. It had to feel like something was ripped away from me in order for me to listen.
16:22I don't think it had to get to that point. But what I was avoiding was this thought that I could somehow also avoid disappointing people by following my truth. And by trying to avoid disappointing people, it actually ended up probably causing more hurt for me, for others than it needed to. and I had to take responsibility for that. But it also really taught me some powerful things that now coming into building a new company, I knew my own patterns to look out for and make sure I wasn't bringing those into the new thing that I was building. Because I would have ended up with the same dynamic, right?
16:54The same dynamic of people relying way too much on me, teaching them to rely on me so that I could feel important and not empowering people in the way that I wanted to. So you decide to step away from the network marketing. And then do you have another business plan? Like, do you know where your revenue is coming from? Like, go back to that person. The beauty of network marketing is I didn't have to totally cut off the income. So I want to be really clear about that. Plus, I was in, I'm married, still am, not was, still married, to an amazing partner. So I had dual income. And I think that's important to speak to because there might be some of you listening who are like, this is all great, but I'm relying on me and me alone.
17:33So because we had made the plan for me to make the transition, there was a good year before it actually started. Before I had the first offer that I was like, ooh, got it. This I feel really good about. Good for you. So there was always a plan, but it didn't turn out and it never does exactly the way that I thought. What I ended up doing was just doubling down on what I'd always done well, which is obsessing over the community and really listening. But at this time, are you saying, oh, it's community? Or are you saying there's a group of people here who want something. Like your thoughts back then.
18:04Okay. So there's a group of people who want this thing and you're just like, I'm going to continue to give and continue to give and continue to give without asking. Yeah. Cause you want to know what do they want? Yeah. And so there's people right now who are like, oh, well that's a lot of giving. Yeah. And your response to that would be if somebody's in your shoes or if they want to make it off and they're not quite sure what it is and the amount of giving that you did, like what do you say to that person? Have it make sense? That's such a great question. You know, It's going to be different based on where you're at financially.
18:34But I knew that I wanted this to feel different. So I never allowed myself to put the financial pressure on needing to monetize something. Because it would have made me force something that probably could have worked. I'm great at sales. I'm great at marketing. I know how to sell a vision. But this felt very different to me. So I waited. And it really ended up being a small coaching container at first. And then I got a lot of feedback from those women. And we were still doing the events. And we were starting a podcast. We were starting to grow the community. But I started with small containers where I wasn't bound to, oh, I have to do this forever now.
19:05Because I think I still was very much figuring out where that was going. But I've never launched something that I didn't already have built in demand for. I am extremely patient. And I will build it to the point of like, Lindsay, if you don't offer me that. I've had women say like, are you going to finally do a mastermind or not? I am like, I'm pissed at you for not offering me this thing I can buy. But it's because I'm listening intentionally and I want to know that I'm ready and so are they. Got it. I'm willing to be patient because I know that the money will come if the vision is coming from a place of very much being led, being led by the community first.
19:42Does that make sense? Absolutely. Absolutely. I think it's Elizabeth Gilbert when she writes in Big Magic that we can't put the pressure on this love affair that we're having. Like it has to just be because the minute that we put pressure on monetizing our dream or our passion is the minute that we strip it of its fullest potential magic. And so there's people who are listening and they're like, well, that's great that you had dual income and that's great that you were able to sustain the way that you have. I kind of just want to like go back and talk a little bit around how I did the same thing, but totally different.
20:09And so instead of having that plan, I just saved, I had saved enough to where I was comfortable to say, I don't need to put pressure on the thing that I'm going to do until this time. And so there is a way of doing it. That's probably a little bit riskier, but having a plan in place, I think is the thing that change it. So I just don't want somebody to say, well, that just works for her. And so like the biggest high level thing is I am going to make sure that I'm pouring into a community until I know that I have the offer right and they're ready and I'm ready. And so there are people right now who are looking at what you've done and they see this community.
20:40We're going to get to what happened with the event. Cause that's just like the juicy stuff. But how does one start like with all of the things and the places and like, what are your thoughts on, you know, I know you can do groups in a variety of different ways. And I know there was like a time where it's like Facebook the thing? Do you still think that's the thing? If somebody who's starting right now with a limited budget, where are they going to start groups? What do you recommend? Such a good question. I'm going to answer this from a completely biased standpoint because I still believe in in-person connection wholeheartedly, especially in a world where let's talk about just the boom of AI and everything that it offers us, which is beautiful.
21:14I think what it makes us value actual connection just as much. It's not an either or, it's both. And it makes the authenticity and the in-person connection even more valuable. So even now I'll consult with businesses that are product-based businesses that are nothing like mine about the value of building a community element around their brand. And here's what that can look like. I think when I say in-person connection, people think, oh, a 500 % event. No, but if you have whatever you sell, think of what about your brand messaging is the unifying factor? Like what do you want to unify people around?
21:50You and social curator unify people around solving a problem, around this aspirational identity of like the business owner they want to be. And when you can start to get clear about that and weave that into your messaging. So it's getting clear. What do I want to unify people around? Starting to infuse that into your brand messaging and just looking for those natural opportunities to connect people. Both online, offline and offline can look like maybe you take a really small demographic of your customers. you bring them together. You can, I am the queen of balling on a budget. I feel like you and I like have this, like, there's like this part of us that like, I will always be like the girl from the Midwest who was raised by the savviest mother of all time who could stretch a dollar farther than anyone.
22:35And I love that. That makes me a really great business owner. So could you find, let's say you don't have your own space, connect with another business owner who wants to bring new eyeballs into their space. See if you could co-host some sort of a little happy hour event, go to Trader Joe's, get the two buck chuck. No one will know. And could you put something together that starts to bring your brand to life? Like the actual heart and soul of your brand to life, capture all of it as content, every single element of it. Because here's what I noticed. And I noticed this a lot with big brands, like let's say Revolve, for example.
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23:08I am not on whatever A-list you need to be on to be invited to like their really cool trips that they do. But I feel like I know what their brand is about because I watch people get to experience the brand in a tangible way. And I don't have to be there. In fact, I'm more of a homebody anyway. I'd probably decline that invite. But I watch their brand come to life. I know something more about their brand and the community around it because I'm watching it. I don't even have to be there. And I think that's what people confuse is if I have an in-person element, that's what I would prioritize first, if I were starting all over again today, no matter what business I was building, I would look for the connection points and specifically how can that be done in small ways in person and then make sure that you're really maximizing those opportunities and turning them into content that makes the wider community feel like they're a part of it.
23:58Okay. So this is so good and so crazy. And like, I'm just like, okay, in person, this is awesome. So I know like a little bit of a tangent. You have actually hosted events, helping businesses think about hosting their live events. So you've structured a live event, teaching people how to create live events. Is there anybody, is there a story? Is there an example of what you've seen? What you had just said was reach out to like-minded businesses, do things on a budget, connect people, start creating that visual brand identity based on what other people are doing and posting and sharing. Is there any other example of somebody that you've seen and said, wow, that was exactly what we said.
24:34So genius. Well, what's so ironic about the event we did about events. Yes. We did it in January of 2020. Stop. You didn't know that. So Lori Harder, our mutual friend and I, we were like, yeah, 2020 is the year of events. At home. That didn't age well. At home, in the comfort of your home. But what was beautiful out of that is we thought we were teaching people how to host events. We were really teaching them all of these little nuances of how to connect, how to collaborate with each other, how to reinvent when the thing that you thought you were going to do doesn't happen. But I think there's so many different examples.
25:06And for whatever reason, just go with me. Okay. This is like what's, what's actually coming to mind is, so this is a, let's go big, big example. And then like small, close to home. Yes. But I want to like start, keep pointing out these nuances. Cause this is the stuff that I noticed as a business owner. There were all these concerts this summer. I don't know if anyone knows there were like these big concerts, Taylor Swift, Beyonce. You literally watched how their community all know how to show up in that space. I didn't even need to be there to know what their community norms were or are. I study those examples.
25:42I'm not Team Swifty or Team Beyonce. I will never say, but I watch how their communities carry that culture forward. Absolutely. And that is so intentional. So let's then take it back to an example of, let's say, again, like a product-based business. Okay. So I may have, I'll use a friend of mine, Kelly Kuzman. We actually just did a collaboration scent. So I don't have a product-based business. I don't plan to launch products. We came together, collaborated, did a pop-up event at an event. Someone else was hosting. I mean, this is powerhouse women, but we could host that at someone else's event, launch our collaboration scent.
26:21And what people don't, I think, realize is we all benefit when we bring our brands together. right like when we come together and it's with the purpose of elevating everyone involved so if i'm the host of the event which sometimes i am it makes me look good that i have these amazing brands collaborating at the back of the room they get all this photo video all these opportunities so i think it's like thinking through the lens of who can i collaborate with who has the resource that i'm missing in this situation is it a physical space do they have a list that you don't have Do they have a really beautiful eye for social media and creating content and that's not your strength?
27:02What do you bring to the table, even if it's a charcuterie board, literally? And how can you create an opportunity to bring together your audience, their audience, so that you're cross-pollinating? Yes. But it's like it creates an energy that people want to be around. They want to be a part of it. So you have your first event. You decide six months later, you're going to be doing another one. and then at some point the earth shakes underneath you and you say, I'm going to go out on my own, but you had a plan, you have a dual income. And then you're saying, I'm gonna double down on connecting with people so that they can connect with each other.
27:36So you become almost like a concierge of sorts. Let me start collecting different things, different ways for people to connect. And then there comes a point where you make an offer. And is that offer out of the ballpark? How do you feel? This is an entirely different iteration. This is a different way for you to show up within your community. So I kind of want somebody at the end of the episode to start off with the who am I to do this? Every up and down that has brought you to this point, which we know you're still on the climb, but dang, it looks so good. Like it looks really, really good. Oh, it's a hot mess sometimes.
28:10Of course. Oh, yes. Of course. Lots of tears. Of course. You know, it's like there's that scene with like Tom Hanks and like Geena Davis and he's like, there's no crying in baseball. And I think to myself every time that I'm just like, oh, I'm at a dark spot. I'm like, there's no crying in business. And I was like, yes, there is. There's a lot of it. There's a lot. We just don't show it on the outside. Okay. So you make this offer to a community and what's the response? Like, let's go back there. Okay. So first offer that I would consider the first formal offer was, I called it a mastermind. It was like a six month kind of group coaching program.
28:43Which on a side note, one of the things that you had said, and so for anybody who's listening, who's like dipping their toes in like business. I couldn't endorse. I couldn't. Everything you did was to start coaching. To me, that is, I mean, it takes a lot to build trust, but once you start there, you get so much data analytics about that user. There is an immediate cash infusion. There is a way to scale that. No, that's probably not scalable over time, but it's like the perfect place to start. So you start doing coaching on the inside of this community, but it's more for people who are ready at that point.
29:11And then you make an offer that is a mastermind. Yeah. Okay. And I want to be clear too, because I know masterminds now are, there's so many different options. I created a mastermind for women who were a few steps behind me. I wasn't trying to coach people who were doing a million dollars a year because I wasn't doing a million dollars a year at that point. So I had a handful of people say, Hey, if you ever launched something like this, I'm in, just let me know. Okay. So this goes back to the point of, are you making yourself in your journey visible so people can see you ask how to work with you.
29:42And then I still held off until I was ready. Got it. Until I had tested it a little bit more. And something that I'm really passionate about is even when I have the validation that like, okay, maybe three people were saying, Lindsay, will you create some sort of a mastermind? I wanted to make sure, sure. And also I wanted to give myself the best opportunity to launch that in a way that people would notice. Because again, small audience, I don't have a 10 ,000 person email list at that point. We probably had a thousand person email list. And so I did a one day mastermind. I called it a mastermind day.
30:15End of 2019. Charged a couple hundred, maybe$300 for it. Found a partner. This is how my brain works. Found a new Airbnb that was launching, that was looking for some exposure. Worked it out with them to use the space for free. Sold tickets to cover all my costs. Hosted a one day mastermind. At the end, I said, for 2020, again, because I just like to do things in 2020. For 2020, I'm going to be doing a mastermind, limited spots available. And I filled almost all of it from just hosting that one day mastermind. How many people were at that one day mastermind? Maybe 25. And I think we probably filled like 20 spots in that first mastermind, something like that.
30:53So I filled probably about 15 from the initial people who were interested. I want to go into like the nuances of this. So I've done the same thing when we've launched like product collaborations. I'll test the offer first. I'll do a pre-sale or like my course that I sell. I did it live, like taught the whole freaking thing live the first time to test the concept and get clear about what it actually was before I went all in, before I invested a lot of time and energy. And I wish I knew more about that at the beginning because I think I would just see the people with the big programs or the big masterminds and think, well, I'm not there yet.
31:30Right. So it's like, what's the smaller version of it? Can you test it? Can you gain interest by testing it? And then even just give yourself a more powerful launching point to make that official first offer? because I knew if I were just counting on my small email list or my small social media following, people would probably be like, oh, that's cool. Lindsay's doing a mastermind. But here they had just been to a day that they invested in, yes, but they didn't have to pay that much for it and they got to experience it. So when I went to say, hey, I'm doing this, it was an easier yes because they were already bought in.
32:08They felt the community that I create. They felt a connection to my coaching style. And without realizing that that's what I was doing, that's how I've launched almost everything I've done from that point. But that was the very, very first like official, official offer. So then how do you get people to invite people into your community? Because that's one thing that I've seen so clearly from an outsider's perspective is yes, you're very good at what it is you do. But I have, and I say this like genuinely, I have yet to see a person gather an audience who immediately says, hey, you need to come here.
32:43How do you get these other people to say, you, you, you, come with me? And not only are you saying come with me, it's like pay, buy a ticket and come with me. What are you doing? How did you get to that point? Yeah. I've spent so much time dissecting this because I want to be able to teach it. I do think part of it is a natural gift. I think I'm a natural connector. I love connecting people. It's my favorite thing in the entire world. Right now, I want to like overhost this room and like make sure everyone has a snack. And like, that's like my personality. Your Midwest is showing. I know my Midwest is showing.
33:15So I sat down over the last year, like literally to create formulas around how I could teach this to someone. And what I honed in on that I think is part of this. Number one, there's a really fun culture. So I've spent a lot of time getting clear on the culture. And honestly, it's just kind of like an extension of if you like cut me open, it's like the things that I love, the things that I think are funny. It's very empowering. It's all based in personal growth. It's based around this aspirational identity. Who do we all want to become? And knowing that this is the place that you're going to be loved on your entire journey to becoming that version of you.
33:47So the culture is number one. Because I always say it's like, imagine if you, now I know you and I are more homebodies, but imagine for people who like parties, if you're invited to a party. Those rare creatures. They're so weird. But you get invited to this party and you walk in the room and no one's there yet. There's no energy. There's no vibe. There's weird music and there's no snacks. And there's like one person having a dance party by themselves. I think you're describing my nightmare. Like this is literally a nightmare I've had. Versus let's say you're invited to a party. You don't really know anything about it, but you go and you're like, oh, like the music is good and the people seem really chill and great snacks.
34:20Like this is amazing. There's an energy that just pulls you in. You just want to know more about it. So I think it starts with having something really building an energy around your brand that when people invite their friends, they're proud to. And they're like, oh my gosh, you're going to love this in here because I feel like I'm at home here. But then the second piece is looking for opportunities to make people feel a sense of ownership. So from the beginning, and my team will even tell you this, I am very clear about like, I don't want my face all over the social media page. Like people need to come to our website or social media.
34:54They need to see community. They need to see other people that look like them, that they resonate with, stories that they connect with. The leader, because I do have an important role in this, asking for feedback, which I do incessantly. And then when I implement people's feedback, letting them know I'm implementing it. So it starts to create this feeling of like, oh, this isn't Lindsay's community. This isn't Lindsay's event. This is ours. Like, oh, I feel like I have some ownership. So if I repeat it back and tell me if I'm wrong, you are empowering people to having ownership in your community when they ask for something and then you deploy it?
35:30I mean, not always. Let's be honest. Let's be real, right? Yes. So that's the signal, right? Yeah. Okay. Let's give like a tangible example. I'm trying to be general so that those of you listening aren't getting caught up in, well, I don't have a podcast or I don't have a live event. So one example is when I host a podcast, we have a text community where - Well, hold on. You didn't give the name of your podcast. We had to shout out the podcast. Everything is under Powerhouse Women and very easy to find. And so the Powerhouse Women podcast, this question was submitted by Heather and oh my gosh, I, and then I'll share like how I know Heather if I do personally know her.
36:00And people will always say to me, even like at the events, they're like, you literally call people by name, but it's because I'm paying attention. I know I can't see everyone, but again, so you noticed, right? Oh, for sure. So what people are seeing as they're seeing, that's the culture here that you're seeing, you're known. I may not know every single name in the room, but I'm going to use the names that I know. I'm going to use the questions that are inspired by our community. If you're launching a product, throw it on your Instagram stories or send it to your email list and ask them to vote on like their favorite branding or packaging.
36:33Even if you know which one you're going to go with now, when you launch that product, it makes them feel like, oh, I voted on that. Let me pay attention. So like, where are those opportunities? It starts with the culture, having a fun culture that people want to invite their friends. But I think when people start to feel like it's their community too, not just yours, they feel like this natural tendency to invite other people like them to be a part of it. So step number one is culture and step number two is ownership. And you're reflecting the ownership by way of listening to what they're saying, giving them shout outs, personalizing conversations when you can.
37:07Yeah. I feel like there's three. Is there a third part? I'm like, if you're not doing those two, you know, then it's, but it really kind of builds like that. So the connection, the ownership piece is key. And then, you know, there's this whole other side to it that as I built out, you would love it because you love to nerd out on these things with me. Like I have like an actual framework around this. And the third piece is because I also like things that all start with the same letter. So there's the culture, the connection. The third piece, because I had to think of a C word, I just call it the climb, which which is do people see that there's a pathway to continue growing with you?
37:42Do you love that? I love it. I mean, give me some alliteration. It's like, see, it's like you give me a framework, you give me alliteration, because I'm just like, because you know what I'm doing? I'm thinking in content. Like I'm thinking this podcast is going to exist. And I think that there is a reel here talking about somebody who's like, I need something tangible. I want to look at something and walk away. And you think in community and I'm thinking distinctly in content, but the value around that, like teaching somebody those three Cs to say, this is what you can do. But I actually really do want to go back.
38:06And you had said, well, if you're not doing these two things, you're right. Why do I need to make it more complex? It's like, you want to start a community? Start learning one person's name. Yeah. And I will say, I will say is that I had the opportunity. We met at the top of 22. Yeah. Summer. Oh gosh. I know. It feels like forever. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I feel like we've known each other a long time. Okay. So we met in summer of 2022 and this is, no, mind you, this is us getting to know each other. This is us really kind of figuring out who the other person is. You invite me to speak at Powerhouse Women event.
38:40I go to Arizona. And one thing that I thought was really, really indicative was the fact that in a room of 500 people, anybody who rose their hand, like you said, oh, Jamila. Yes. Oh, Anna. Yeah. Okay. And I'm sitting there being like, she doesn't know everybody's name in this room, but anybody who rose their hand, you knew their name. And you were even on the spot able to say, oh, you should connect with Rosa. And I'm sitting here being like, how are you doing this dang thing? And one of the things that you had said in addition to that was ownership. And I think that what people are doing as they come into the room, if they see somebody, and this is before I spoke on stage.
39:21This is before I spoke on stage. There was a lot of people in the room who knew I was, and there was a lot of people who did it. I did not walk into a room where everyone's like, everybody knows my name. No, this is not cheers whatsoever. And so people are coming up to me like, hi, how are you? And at this point in time, I'm like, oh, should I be the speaker to be like, hi, how are you? I'm here to speak. No, they were like, how are you? Like, you're not talking to anybody. How do we connect? And I was so blown away by that culture and that ownership that you had created. So of the first two C's executing those a hundred percent.
39:52And so when we get to this point and we see what it is you're doing and someone's like, okay, I really want to start creating community, but what's in it for me? What's in it for me? I applaud that. I applaud that. Like we're not in business for a charity. So let's talk about what you're doing right now. You come off an event where 600 plus people are in a room and I have to tell you, there is not a dress code, but there's a dress code. I did not get the memo. I spoke at this event and I think I'm speaking at a female entrepreneur event. So I show up in a freaking khaki dress. It's green khaki.
40:22It's cute. It had a collar. It had a collar. And here's the thing. It's fine. This outfit would have been fine at 99.9 of any other events. But I get to this event and it is literally like Barbie and Ken just had their way. I mean, we are seeing like installations. We are seeing balloons. We're seeing signage. We're seeing everybody come in and it literally looks like they're off a catwalk in Miami. You see bold colors. You see women doing the most. And I'm like, oh God, this is a fashion event. Like, how did it get there? Like, how did people just start saying, like they show up and it's like, it's like sequence.
40:58Like, how did it get there? How did people start saying, oh, this is my place. Like, this is where I need to be. I even remember like calling you just to check in before the event, like any questions. And I was like, and just so you know, I will be very extra. And I didn't get it. So permission granted. I know, I didn't get it. I didn't get it. But I should probably say that this year, Now, if you're listening to the audio version of the podcast, Lindsay has chin-length blonde hair. Yes. And we met wearing, like, sweatpants walking along the beach. Like, so, when I go, I show up and the queen is wearing a lime green suit.
41:32Sequin blazer dress. Sequin blazer. Oh, was it a dress? It was a dress. There were shorts underneath. There were skorts. Because I remember you were dancing. And I'm like, there's just no way you were dancing in a skirt, baby. No, no, no. But you have, I think, was it like a 17-foot long braid? It was three feet long, but I mean, probably like with the magic of television looked about seven. Yeah, I had this braid down to my buttocks and it was so much fun. And so I get there and here's a space that you have created that, and I have spoken at a lot of events. This event is its own thing. It's its own microcosm in the event space where people feel seen.
42:08And I will say, because it means so much to me as a brown woman. I walked in this room and it looked like United Color Bennington ad. Like there wasn't one color that was represented more. It was as if there was like a 23 % division of like black to the widest of white. And I walk in and everybody says hello and everybody follows up with each other and everybody supports each other and everybody's positive with each other. How does this play out in business? I'm like just having a moment of feeling emotional, just how much I really love what we've created so much because that's something that has been intentional.
42:46It's something that matters a lot to me and it matters more than just the color of our skin or the color of our outfits. It's like, do women really know they have a place within what we've created? and I want to talk about the fashion because we didn't really, we got distracted by the braid, but I want to say this because Hannah, my business partner and I were just talking about this beforehand because we were reflecting on this year's event and how it's so wild to me that a big conversation leading up to it is, I can't wait to see what Lindsay's wearing. I can't wait to see what this woman's wearing.
43:16And that for me is, again, when I go back to the culture, I want to keep pointing out these things that my own journey has involved a huge transformation in my style and learning to express myself and learning that this woman I want to become, there's a way she dresses and I can tap into that by experimenting with my style. And I just share that openly with the community and it becomes like these trending hashtags. We have a hashtag style your higher self and it's like this invitation and it becomes part of the fabric of our culture. So you can actually kind of tell who's there for first event versus like their...
43:50If you're wearing khaki, it was your first event. It was your first event and we love you. Or we were talking about like the blazers, like the women who are like, oh, business event blazer. Got it. But like, how beautiful is it to create a space and intentionally create a space where we want the most self-expressed version of you to show up? That could be sweats. It could be a ball gown. But even that is intentional in creating the culture piece that we were just talking about, because people know that this is a space, their fullest expression, the boldest version of them is welcomed. But then in the first five minutes, we'll probably have you in tears facing some of the stuff that you haven't been willing to deal with that's getting in your way.
44:32So it's equal parts aspirational, it's equal parts authenticity and just vulnerability. And connection happens in that point when you can give people permission to be the biggest version of themselves and also talk about whatever it is within your world that's just hard. And they don't get to talk about that openly with everyone in their life. It creates this connectivity that cannot be manufactured. People can feel it. So we talk about those things. And I think that the greatest way or the strongest way or very empowering and inspirational way to close the conversation would be at the polar opposite of where we started.
45:08We started at the beginning. We started the origin story and we talked about the peaks and the values and the learnings. And here we are after one of your biggest events and 50 % bigger than what you did last year, which is pretty incredible. And I'm sitting here talking about, okay, well, what was the strategy? What was leading up to it? And if you could, if I had to put a pressure point, what is somebody who looks at that journey and says, okay, how did you get a 50 % larger conversion in one year? It's not gonna be something you're gonna find on a spreadsheet. I think the hardest thing is I want people to know that they can do it too.
45:41But we, when I say we, my business partner and I have had to understand that we have something different and we treat it different. So we love to learn about funnels. We love to learn about like the tangible things that have to happen. We have to know how to grow an audience. We have to know how to like master copywriting and all of that. But at the end of the day, the thing that moves the needle, the reason we've been consistently able to outsell the size of a small audience goes down to those three points. We have one of the most amazing cultures that you will find in a community. And it's a wide open door for anyone to be a part of.
46:13Not the cool kids club. You can't sit with us. It's like, no, really, come sit with us. We'll pull you up a chair. The connection. There's a natural connection. So even I was saying to you right now, yes, my emails are going out and I've got social media stuff out there working for me, but the community is doing the rest. Because sometimes the woman who's on the verge of saying, yes, I'm going to join this course, I'm going to join this program. I can say all the things in the world, but it's not till her girlfriend says like, no, you're ready. Come on, let's do it together. That she's going to invest in herself.
46:44the connection and then presenting a really clear pathway for people to grow with us. The climb. That's right, baby. Last week. Miley Cyrus. But even that piece, I'm learning so many things. It's not that, oh, I have to have a membership, then I have to have this, and then I have to this next offer. They continue to grow with us because they watch me continue to grow. So they see that, oh, this is a different Lindsay than last year. We lost the braid. Now we went with a short, blunt bob, and I had fake bangs this year. But it's not about just the fashion. It's who I've evolved into because of the inner work that I do year round.
47:18And people feel that they're in a space that's different because my energy and my team's energy went first and created a space that feels expansive and aspirational. And it makes you want to grow. I couldn't think of a better way to close the conversation. I want to say thank you. And for people who are listening, who have a desire to be part of that type of culture and community and watch your climb, where do they go? How do people connect? And hold on, I was being all professional. I should say I was on your podcast a couple of months ago and then your community, I don't think I have seen people repost stories about a podcast than when I was on your podcast.
47:59And I'm not sure. I'm not sure, but I think it's disproportionate to how big the podcast is to the waves of people who were reposting this podcast. So it was a good podcast too. Well, thank you. But I think as the community, I mean, they're just like hyping. They are a powerhouse woman hype squad. So where do people go to find more about this hype squad? And then if you have found this conversation, powerful, impactful, life-changing, how do they connect with you on social media? I want people to reciprocate as well. Oh, I love that. Well, the podcast, our Instagram, our community is all powerhousewomen, powerhouse underscore women on Instagram.
48:33That's where you'll find us. You can easily find me through that channel and connect with my personal page. But I think that we're just at a really cool point of evolution where really investing in our podcast and serving more there, really looking at what does the future of our events look like? So you're joining us at the perfect time if you're just finding your way here. It's going to get real fun. And you're going to outgrow your venue. Oh, we already did. We're next level next year. heck yes oh my gosh i'm so happy for you thank you for being on the podcast thank you for sharing so generously a story that people can sink their teeth into with action steps to say i might not be the most qualified but i do know that i have something to say and i want to serve people really well and as long as i take each consecutive step pouring back into the community there is a business and a very very successful business on the end of it thank you for being here i appreciate you
49:26you
From the publisher
“Jasmine, they're selling for me…”
That’s what my brilliant speaker/author/master community builder of a friend replied when I asked her questions about her ad spend, list-building, and marketing tactics.
The answer to her wildly successful business wasn’t more marketing…
It was that her community was selling for her.
You see, when you make people feel like they are contributors to the community, they take ownership and eventually start to introduce the community to new people.
And honestly, I’ve never seen anyone create this kind of community culture quite like Lindsey Schwartz. In this episode, Lindsey graciously shares her insights (and her three-part framework for retaining members!) so y'all can build a community that sells for you, too!
Click play to hear all of this and…
[00:03:06] How Lindsey scaled her business and improved her launch numbers by 50% by leveraging community.
[00:04:04] The mistake that most entrepreneurs make when it comes to community building.
[00:05:20] The very first step to building a community where your members sell for you.
[00:11:13] How a typo on the cover of Lindsey’s first book turned into a great thing.
[00:13:51] How Lindsey transitioned a passion project into a successful business (and overcame the challenges and emotions of people pleasing while doing so!)
[00:17:19] How to draw the line of “too much giving” when it comes to building a community.
[00:20:36] How to plan, structure, and host your in-person event.
[00:25:37] The importance of collaborating with other brands and leveraging each other's resources and audiences.
[00:28:06] How Lindsey created and marketed her first mastermind with a small audience.
[00:33:53] What it means to build a brand with “inviting energy” that makes people feel at home and CRAVE more.
[00:34:49] How you can involve your audience and community in decision-making to create a culture of ownership.
[00:37:24] How to make a free community PROFITABLE.
[00:45:16] The three main factors that have contributed to the consistent growth and success of Lindsey's business.
For full show notes; visit: https://jasminestar.com/podcast/episode373
You know that feeling when you find a platform that just works—and you never have to worry about switching? That’s been me and Showit for the past 10+ years.
I built my website with Showit because it gives me total design freedom.
If you’re ready to build a website that works FOR you—and not against you—head to JasmineStar.com/showit for a 14-day free trial + first month free when you subscribe!