I'm closing my membership next month ⛵️

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I decided to close my marketing membership Growthtrackers.

I’m going spare you the full story on that because it’s not relevant to this issue.

The “too long didn’t read” is that Growthtrackers was successful for me and its over 55 members for nearly two years. It’s now time for me to take a break and pursue other ventures.

So, I’ve been compiling a list of recommended alternatives and today, I’m sharing that with you.

We’re looking at marketing, sales, operations and general hang out spots where entrepreneurs are gathering.

As small business owners, we simply can’t hire experts to do everything for us.

The next best thing is becoming part of a group moving in the same direction.

When you join a program or community, you gain:
⛵️ People who know more than you about a topic
⛵️ People who can make informed recommendations on your unique situation
⛵️ People who can refer, collaborate and promote your work
⛵️ People who will cheer you on (you think you don’t need this, but trust me, you need this)

I use the sailboat emoji intentionally here. We’re all just out there on our little boats. Charting our own courses and sending radio signals to each other as the conditions change.

As Grandma Roman would say on our boat-centric family vacations—even on the day my uncles woke up to find one of the boats sank—“Isn’t it nice we’re all together?!”

Below you’ll find my top recs for places to dock your boat this summer: communities, memberships and programs you should consider joining.

P.S. If you are looking for the behind the scenes on Growthtrackers, watch the video I made on membership lessons learned in January.

P.P.S. Growthtrackers may come back in different form so never fear my experiment-loving friends! The winds are everchanging.

Choose your next community

Best for consultants working with high ticket clients

Pollen
I learned about Pollen from brand strategist Brandy Cerne, I’ve done a couple talks for them and you’ll find me hanging out in here the most. They are my number one rec for anyone leaving tech or corporate setting to go solo because they are a high caliber community (read: you’re likely to get referrals if you’re good at what you do) and they prioritize events.

✅ FOR you if: you’re self-directed, you know how to ask for what you need, you prefer live events
❌ NOT for you if: you don’t yet have a good audience/offer match, you want a linear step by step

Best for small businesses who need marketing help

Her Brand & Co
I’ve heard rave reviews from two entrepreneurs who worked with Mari and Jess of Her Brand & Co. They offer a COMPLETELY FREE marketing platform and paid programs like a 10 week marketing accelerator. One founder I trust said they’ve been an excellent partner for her as she’s navigated launching her e-commerce business. (Sidenote: they’re women-focused)

✅ FOR you if: you like a step by step, you want knowledgable and personalized recommendations, you want to skill up fast
❌ NOT for you if: you just need community and accountability

Best for consultants and freelancers who need sales help

Penny Blackmore’s Sales for Freelancers
Penny comes as a trusted recommendation to me by Dana Publicover who I’ve known for years. Penny’s program covers finding clients, pricing, position and building your sales process. It’s not open for enrollment right now, but follow her because she runs it throughout the year and tell her you’re interested so she knows!

✅ FOR you if: you like a step by step, you notice you’re not closing as many deals as you could, you’re not so keen on marketing
❌ NOT for you if: sales is not your main issue or you’re not selling high ticket services

Best for small businesses who need operations help

Streamline Mastermind
Ariana Tenine and Devin Lee launched this mastermind to support business owners who have been making money the hard way. If your email inbox, calendar, workflows, and tools are wasting your time, you should get in here. Devin’s been a guest speaker in my membership many times and her systems brain simplifies my life regularly.

✅ FOR you if: you struggle with systems, you know you could do things more efficiently, you have a validated marketing and sales plan
❌ NOT for you if: you’re mostly in validation mode

Best for community and accountability

The importance of finding your people cannot be overstated. Hard to pick one winner in this category because it depends on who you want to be in the room with so here’s my top five:

This Mother Means Business: Laura Sinclair’s community for entrepreneurial moms created out of the demand for her very popular networking calls.

Exit Five: Made for B2B marketers and not as entrepreneur-focused but likely a great place to find clients and tap into the inner circle of B2B SaaS everyone is talking about.

Bootstrap Creators: LaShonda Brown’s membership is best suited for people who have a video-centric marketing strategy but I cannot recommend it enough to anyone exploring YouTube, TikTok or the creator path.

Being Freelance: Steve Folland is always posting the most fun behind the scenes from his well known group. Mainly for UK-based entrepreneurs though the group is online.

Groove: Virtual coworking app Groove doubles as a great way to network with creatives and the team there is constantly throwing cool virtual events like monthly planning.

Want even more ideas? I compiled a full list here.

Did I miss a fan fave? Reply and let me know what to add!