Today I’m chatting with my friend, Amber Housley, and this is a FUN ONE, guys! Amber and I have known each other for years and have both worked together professionally. I designed her lovely website and she’s been my coach in her successful mastermind and membership community.
We talk about multiple things in this interview, but a big focus is on how to build a successful membership community OR a mastermind program in your business. She’s done both well, and there’s a lot of overlapping principles to creating a successful business with these offers. So, if you’ve been thinking that starting (or joining) a mastermind/membership is something you’d love to do now (or later), you’ll want these tips!
Amber and I also discuss motherhood and business tips, gardening advice, corporate life, and so much more. You guys are gonna LOVE this one!
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Trip down memory lane with Amber Housley:
For over a decade, Amber worked in the corporate world before she went out on her own and began to build a successful mastermind. She was a marketing strategist and account executive, directing campaigns for Las Vegas casinos and resorts.
Amber also spent some time at an influencer e-commerce company managing the digital marketing teams for influencers like Brene Brown, Ali Edwards, and the ladies at A Beautiful Mess. This led her to serve for a few years as Director of Marketing and helped lead the product development and brand for Cultivate What Matters.
She dabbled in entrepreneurship since age 4, but started her first real business in 2007, working in the fringe hours around her day job. Over the years, Amber has taken her various businesses (things like blogging, graphic design, photography, designing luxury weddings, event planning, retreats, coaching, and consulting) to multiple six figures.
What strategies and tips do you have for anyone wanting to create a membership community or a mastermind?
Amber knows all about how to build a successful mastermind AND membership community. She has both and they are amazing. I’ve been a part of each of them, and was a founding member of both! Her Blooming Business Inner Circle is a monthly membership community that is an all-inclusive marketing and business experience designed to make your business thrive.
The Coterie is an invitation-only mastermind designed for a six-figure plus revenue who is business ready to take things to the next level!
1. Be a member of a mastermind or membership community yourself.
Amber tells us in this interview that the best place to start if you are wanting to build a successful mastermind or membership community is to be a part of a few of them FIRST. It is important to explore many different kinds of groups and different coaches so you can understand the different approaches or experiences. This allows you to bring different elements to the table to create your own new opportunity.
Being a part of several different programs before you start your own will also help you understand that there isn’t just one way to do things. This really applies to anything you want to sell in your business. Trying some on for size yourself, as Amber says, helps you cherry-pick the best pieces that YOU LOVE to bring to your community.
2. Have a shared framework/path/plan/course to follow.
There are really two pieces to this tip that Amber addressed in our chat. She says having some sort of overall purpose or focus is for the time together so everyone is on the same page is really important.
But also, just having a unified goal isn’t all that you need. Her team has created a more formal process for her programs that are specific to the way she is able to teach as a coach and the way her students and clients are able to learn. This includes making things really easy for them to find and engage with.
Your membership community or mastermind needs an overview or onboarding process, intake forms, audit form submission process, calendar of all events in advance. You do not want this to feel like a free for all of your time and energy.
Having these steps helps the retention of members and clients as well as makes it easier for them to win!
Tune in to the full episode to hear Amber talk about how and why she has made changes to her programs along the way!
3. Help your students and clients understand what success looks like in your program.
Tell them what you want them to know or believe. The last thing you want is an all or nothing. Amber says she encourages her students to unsubscribe from anyone else who is trying to sell them anything at this time and just focus on the investment they are making here!
4. Know your own personal strengths and weaknesses and get support where you need it.
Amber really likes teaching. She found that the Q&A style or coaching is good but when she has more structure on a particular topic or focus of a call, it flows much better. Your students will thrive when you can teach them in a way that you are working from your strengths.
Build a successful mastermind takes time and sometimes takes a little bit of just trying things to figure out how you can deliver BEST! That might not mean that the other ways you did it were bad or wrong, but your community will have a better experience when you are working from your strengths.
5. Check your own goals for the experience.
Amber tells us that you need a servant's heart in order to build a successful mastermind or membership community. You need a desire to help others reach their goals or show them the path.
If you are just in it for the money or just looking for recurring revenue then this might not be for you.
Ask yourself “What is my intention behind this?” Amber says that some people think she is crazy for leaving money on the table (because she doesn’t offer all of her programs all of the time), but money doesn’t motivate her to sacrifice her day-to-day life.
Instead, Amber chooses to offer her programs in seasons where she can be her best self and not feel distracted or tugged away by life.
6. Understand you are not responsible for others' success.
THIS is so important!!
Amber reminds us in this conversation that we are not here to babysit other people’s investments. You are there when they are ready to do the work and to help them get where they are going faster than they could on their own.
You are here to put them on the path, lead them up the steps and to the front door, but THEY have to walk through it. You are just going to equip them with the tools and resources they need.
Business and Motherhood:
What have you learned about running a successful business AND being a present parent? How do you manage both?
As I am preparing to be a mom myself, I am soaking in all of the wisdom I can from experienced moms around me, especially those who are running their own business well and balancing life alongside that. Tune in to the full episode to hear Amber explain her balance of life, motherhood, and business.
Here are Amber’s biggest tips for balancing motherhood and business:
- Remind yourself often that you’re not going to do any of this perfectly. Your kids will have their own life experience and you don’t have to manage them or be guilted by that. It is not your job to manage their life experiences.
- Shared Google Calendars for EVERYTHING far in advance so everyone can be on the same page and you can plan life and business with all of your events in mind.
- If you can, split up responsibilities for kid’s pickup, homework, and all life things. Don’t try to do everything on your own.
I hope you have enjoyed this episode and all of the beautiful wisdom Amber brought to the table in this conversation from building a successful mastermind and membership community, what the differences are, and how to balance life, motherhood, and business!
Meet Amber!
Amber Housley empowers women business owners to create a life & business on their terms, fueled by strategy and sisterhood. Through our detail-rich coaching programs, courses, and live experiences, we help female founders collaborate, uplevel, and scale their business. Our focus is on smart and simplified marketing strategy, alongside proven frameworks of success. Join our #SweetLifeSisterhood of brilliant female founders who are flourishing in business AND life!
