Being part of an entrepreneur community is essential to your journey. A crucial aspect is the people you hang out with in both real life and digital one.
The hard truth is that you cannot do it alone, whether you are a technical entrepreneur or a non-technical one.
Building web applications is about bringing value to your potential customers. This value translates into solving problems for them, improving their workflow, productivity, or even life.
How can a community help you on your entrepreneurship journey?
Let me tell you a story that might seem unrelated initially but relatable to entrepreneurship.
A friend of mine (29 years old) started to learn coding 12 months ago by himself, looking for tutorials online and slowly learning about HTML, CSS, Javascript, TypeScript, and ReactJs.
Coming from a sales career, he often found himself discouraged and lonely on his journey. He regularly took pauses, causing even more frustration due to the forgotten aspects he had just learned.
He then took an essential action to join a Twitter challenge called the #100daysofcode challenge, a community of people that learn to code by doing small incremental steps in web development daily.
He then started doing coding-related challenges daily, posting them on Twitter, and sharing them with think-alike people who were on the same journey.
Through constant engagement in an environment healthy for him, one that was focused on growth and a common goal (becoming a web developer), he quickly understood something significant: he was not alone. He soon realized others experienced similar feelings, doubts, and motivational roller coasters.
Supporting each other in the community made it easier for everyone to keep going when they felt discouraged or down, especially when the long-term goal had no tangible confirmation of success. Sounds familiar?
But he kept going. He can now look back and smile because he landed his first job as a web developer, starting on September 1st.
Ok, but what does it have to do with online businesses?
Having no tangible signs that the work you invest time in is worth it and feeling lonely are often part of the entrepreneurship journey, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
We are humans, and we sometimes feel discouraged and unmotivated no matter what we do or how much we love it, especially in the current digital environment where everyone seems to have it figured out to have multi-million businesses and appear successful, making it look easy. It’s not.
Passion doesn’t always mean butterflies in the stomach. Passion means going through challenging periods, keeping your head up, and going on to validate no matter how painful it feels.
Other people are going through what you go through – success, failure, or discouragement. You have to join them, engage and be part of a community of people thinking alike.
Building an online business often feels like a solitary pursuit, but it doesn’t need to be. Entrepreneur communities, both digital and in-person, can offer a wealth of support and resources. They open pathways to collaborative thinking, shared experiences, and collective wisdom.
They remind us that highs and lows are part of the journey, and everyone experiences them. Communities can provide that necessary push to keep you moving when the going gets tough. Passion is not always about feeling ecstatic; it involves persistence through challenging times. Sharing these moments with others going through the same journey can be highly motivating and comforting.
I created a list of Facebook groups that I find helpful, and you can join for free. You can find the post here.
What communities are you part of? Looking forward to hearing from you in the comment section below.