There are so many memberships out there in the online world. Some are amazing, some are mediocre and some promise the earth, but don’t deliver. So, as a small business owner, what are the benefits of joining a membership, what do you need to look for and what pitfalls can you avoid?
Why join a business membership?
As a small business owner, it can be easy to find yourself juggling all of the balls, especially at the beginning of your business journey. As well as providing your services or products and dealing with clients, you will most likely be marketing your business and managing your social media, admin, finances, book keeping and website too – a pretty huge task for anyone! Outsourcing may feel a bit beyond you financially and a membership can be a lower cost option for support.
Running a business single-handedly can also feel lonely, with no colleagues to chat with, bounce ideas around with or ask questions of when you come unstuck with something, or when you just need a bit of advice or encouragement.
There are different types of membership available that can help with some, or even all of the above. I’ve been in a few memberships which have been very valuable to me on my business journey and the feeling of being able to ask for advice and learn from others have been key factors.
What types of membership are available to small business owners?
Here are just some of the main memberships that I have come across on my business journey:
Social media – for help with content planning
Marketing – for support with marketing ideas
Business – providing group training and support with business strategies
Networking - for access to regular networking sessions
Website – to help with website tech and functions
Mindset - to help with focus and self-care
Holistic - offering the opportunity for networking and co-working, along with advice and encouragement and the opportunity to learn from others in the community.
How to increase your chances of finding an affordable membership to help you and your business
1. Think about where you are now and where you want to be in 6 months-time and beyond
2. Identify your biggest areas of need right now, eg. networking opportunities, social media support and being around others who understand the challenges of being a small business owner
3. Shop around – look at what’s available to meet your current needs, do cost comparisons and ask current members about their experience. Do your cost comparisons based on which elements of the membership you will actually use. For example, if you only want to attend the networking sessions in a holistic membership, does the monthly cost divided by the number of networking sessions still provide excellent value for money, even if you don’t attend the co-working on offer, etc?
4. Ask if there is a trial session or a trial period available – the best way to check out what’s on offer in a membership is to try a free session, or to try the paid membership for a few months
5. Find out more about the person behind the membership, their experience and approach. Is it suited to you and your needs?
Pitfalls to look out for
Memberships that promise you’ll achieve 6-figure months, when they know nothing about you and your business
Memberships that insist on you signing up for a whole year, without a trial period
Memberships that require attendance at all sessions and also require you to refer a certain number of other members each month
Consider the time commitment. If you are looking at joining a membership focusing on teaching you new skills, also factor in the time needed to digest the training information and to go away and action it. Have you got that time available right now? If not, maybe the membership is one for later down the line.
Why I started a membership
As the host of my Facebook group, Parenting Business Connections, I could see the connections and collaborations forming on the posts. I thought it would be great if I could introduce people via Zoom too, so I set up free Zoom networking sessions, with 4-5 people for 40 minutes. Within 2 weeks, I realised that the demand for these 40-minute free sessions outweighed my capacity to host them on a long-term basis, so I moved to offering a low-cost membership instead. This started with weekly, 1-hour sessions, with free taster sessions, to ensure a constant stream of new people for members to meet. That was nearly 3 years ago and the membership has constantly evolved to meet the needs of our community of small business owners.
What does my membership offer now?
Taking on a more holistic approach, the membership now offers:
weekly networking sessions (in mini-breakout rooms of 3-4 people for 15 minutes)
weekly business brainstorming sessions for advice and support
weekly co-working sessions for accountability and focus
a members’ only Facebook group for peer support
opportunity to do a 10-minute speaker slot
chance to do a takeover day in the main FB group, where there are over 2,000 people
All of this for just £24 a month! That’s just £6 per networking session, with all of the added extras too!
It’s important to me that our membership community is accessible, so I’d rather have more people at this price, than less people paying more. We’ve had members join just to attend the weekly business brainstorming sessions or to be part of our community!
"It's the best networking group I've ever been in! Much more genuine connection and support" (S.F)
"Jumped on to the co-working as a last minute decision after networking and it has enabled me to focus on a task that I was putting off for a week" (I.K)
If you’d like to know more, join our free Facebook group, Parenting Business Connections and find the link to register for a free networking taster in the 'Featured' posts. https://www.facebook.com/groups/parentingbusinessconnections
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