The decision to join a business community (or communities) is an important one. Starting a business is a challenging journey, and we all need a team around us – this is something we talk a lot about on our blog.
But joining a business community is one thing. Learning to make the most of it is another. If you don’t, you just end up lurking around the sides of something, and your time and money is wasted.
Ask yourself – How many times have you joined something and then gone along to one or two events, perhaps collected a few business cards, and then let things slide? Or never fully set up your profile in that directory that came with your membership? It might even be that the community wasn’t the right one for you in the first place, so you never quite felt comfortable getting involved.
We want to make sure that our community isn’t like that. We want to make sure that our members get as much as they can from their time with us, and make the most of everything that is on offer.
So how do I make the most of the Tabono community?
As we said at the beginning of this post, the decision to join something is a big one, and ensuring that you are making the most of your business community is vital. We think that we have created something special, and also something rather unique, and we want you to get everything you can from it. So here are our top five tips for making sure you can do exactly that:
1. Do your research
This is an important one. Before you join us, or indeed any community, do a bit of digging! Who are the people who actually run it and do you think you could relate to them? Are they likely to welcome you and support you to get the most of your membership? What kind of people are already members of the group? Is it a ‘suited and booted’ kind of group, or does it have a more relaxed feel? And what are the benefits of joining? Are they things that would actually benefit you and your business?
2. Introduce yourself
Whether your first foray into the community is in person at one of our co-working events; or through our LinkedIn group, introduce yourself! I know it can be very daunting to speak up, but we pride ourselves on being friendly, relaxed and welcoming. And especially if we know you’re coming along, Chloe and I will be ready to take that first step with you.
3. Get yourself on to LinkedIn.
Especially if you’re ‘settled’ on Facebook, and perhaps consider yourself as somewhat ‘technologically challenged’, the idea of launching yourself onto a brand new technology platform probably doesn’t fill you with that much joy.
But we’re here to help!
Our online community is based in our LinkedIn group, and we want our members to make the most of it. So if you need a little help getting set up, just let us know.
4. Ask questions, and learn
We are firm believers in lifelong learning. None of us have all the answers and none of us know everything there is to know. But we can learn from each other. So if you have a question about something; need advice on a particular issue; or even just want a little feedback or someone to keep you accountable, then just ask, either in person or in our LinkedIn group. Chloe and I, and our panel of Experts, are all there to help.
5. Help us grow
Whether a business community is in its infancy, or whether it is much more established, there should be opportunity to help it to grow and to evolve, and again, this is a key part of the Tabono philosophy. If there is something in particular that you are looking for from a business community, tell us. We want to know. And if we possibly can, we will build it in. We want you to be part of our evolution.