Community Update - Giving Business Sisters more visibility

Two weeks ago, the subject line of our e-newsletter asked, "What is community to you?"

Within literally five minutes of pressing send, one Business Sister replied with a single word: SUPPORT.

I knew immediately what she meant because we'd spoken the day before.

She's an entrepreneur who has spent years giving back to her community as a business owner, volunteer, and active citizen. Through her business, she has supported countless causes since opening her doors. But with rising costs and changing economic realities, she's no longer feeling that support returned.

People still want what she offers. Increasingly, though, they don't want to pay what it costs.

For a business owner, that's a bitter wake-up call.

But entrepreneurs’ public complaints rarely attract much sympathy. Consumer habits change, markets shift, and businesses must adapt is the prevalent view. Kind of a harsh reality, isn't it?

It certainly makes you think about how community is not only created, but how it is maintained over the long term.

If you missed the story that sparked so many thoughtful responses, you can read it as a blog post here.

From that last e-newsletter message, I am immensely grateful for the feedback you shared. Many of your comments included practical ideas that we can implement right away to strengthen the support we provide YOU through Business Sisters.

Here's what we're introducing immediately:

• More member spotlights featuring your events, achievements, milestones, and success stories in our social media and newsletter. We're developing policies about how what you can submit to publish and how often. For now, you can check out two member events below!

• A display area at events where participants can share business cards, postcards, and promotional materials.

• A regular Ask & Give segment at every event, creating more opportunities to seek support, share resources, and help one another succeed. (If you're wondering what that is, you'll have to come experience it for yourself at an event!).

We will also be looking for more ways to increase visibility for service-based businesses. Many of our current promotional opportunities naturally highlight Main Street businesses through venue partnerships and catering. We want to ensure that professional service providers and home-based businesses receive meaningful visibility as well.

If you have ideas, we'd love to hear them.

Community isn't something we build once. It's something we build together, continuously.

If you have more thoughts on how Business Sisters can strengthen that sense of connection and support, please reply to this email, comment on the blog post, or join the conversation in the Inner Circle.