This community is still brand new, but I have big aspirations for where it can go. To make it really thrive with consistent, lively discussions and engagement, we need to hit a critical mass of active members participating. My goal is to organically grow us to a core group of 50 members within the next 30 days through strategic cold outreach and promotion. Only by hitting a critical mass of people will the discussions become frequent, dynamic and active. Why 50? Based on established online community statistics, that's around the minimum number required for a small community to have enough voices contributing that it stays energetic and ongoing. To get there, I'll be implementing a high volume cold outreach strategy of directly messaging professionals in our niche with a simple invite to join this collaborative group. I know it's a numbers game - more quality outreach leads to more yeses. I'll be posting weekly updates here to keep myself accountable, sharing: - Cold outreach message/pitch I'm using - Total outreach attempts that week - New member signup numbers - What's working/not working with my approach Because at the end of the day, growing an audience is one of the most crucial factors for any creator or community builder. But with an engaged core group, the momentum creates a self-perpetuating cycle. My belief is that with 50+ passionate professionals in our niche offering insights, feedback and accountability to each other, this community will truly thrive. The discussions will be richer, connections will form, and people will keep coming back for more. So I'm gonna share the process and the progress. Showing up daily. Telling you about my activities with it. Tweaking my pitch and approach. Publicly tracking my progress like this serves two important purposes: 1) It keeps me accountable and motivated to show up and put in the work consistently. And 2) It provides insights you can apply to your own audience growth efforts. I'll be back next week with my first progress update.

This is a friendly reminder to NOT stop creating content and putting yourself out there consistently. I know it's tempting to give up or look for the next big thing when you feel stuck. But your ideal customers are already out there wanting what you offer - you just have to stay visible so they can find you. Don't waste time constantly chasing new opportunities or strategies. The truth is, you just need to do MORE of what you're already doing, over and over so you’ll get better. The more active reps you put in, the better you'll get and the higher your chances of reaching those ideal customers. I heard this great example recently: A photography class was split into two groups. One group had to just keep taking as many photos as possible. The other group's only goal was to get that one perfect shot. Guess which group ended up with the best overall photographs? It was the high-volume, never-stop-shooting group who could choose the cream of the crop. More attempts = more potential for something exceptional. It's a numbers game. The same applies to your content, marketing, and sales. The more pitches you make, videos you publish, work you put out there - the higher the likelihood of hitting bullseyes with your intended audience. Don't overcomplicate it. So stay laser-focused on your current offerings. Stick to “The Boring Work” and provide consistent value through your content and services. Trust that if you simply show up daily with high volume and execution, everything else will click into place. And each day, get obsessed with getting just 1% better than the day before. Relentlessly improve your products, services, and customer satisfaction. When you live with an intense daily desire to level up, even small incremental gains compound into significant growth over time. Stay motivated, keep delivering, and don't let up on showing your work to the world. I'll be right there alongside you putting in the hard reps. Consistent winning always follows consistent effort. We've got this!

Have you ever lost out on a potential client to another architect or designer, even though you knew you could have done a better job on the project? It's not a good feeling, isn't it? I've seen it happen too many times - someone else gets hired not because their work is superior, but simply because they were more visible and accessible to the client. Maybe their marketing was on point, clearly communicating their services. Maybe they had an attractive packaged offer listed with pricing. Or maybe they just showed up higher in online searches. The tough reality is that in a competitive market, simply being good at what you do isn't enough anymore. Even if people are actively looking for what you offer, you have to make it easy for them to find you and hire you. The main lesson for me has been: If you're in a growing market with lots of competition, you can't just do great work and trust on referrals or word of mouth. To stand out, you need to: 1. Have a visible online presence and strong brand. 2. Clearly showcase your services and what makes you different. A USP or UVP as it’s known (Unique Selling/Value Proposition) 3. Provide packaged, easy-to-understand offers with pricing. 4. Solve a painful problem your clients are desperately seeking relief from. 5. Implement strategic marketing to get in front of your ideal audience. Some additional strategies to increase visibility: A) Consistently reach out to people already on your lists/networks. Known as warm outreach. B) Create organic, valuable content that builds your authority. Content creation. C) Directly cold email/message potential new customer targets. Known as cold outreach. D) Use paid advertising on platforms like Google, Facebook, etc. E) Optimize your web presence for high search engine rankings. SEO techniques. It's not enough to just be really good at design work. You have to couple that with smart, compelling marketing that quickly answers… "Who are you?", "What do you offer?", and "How can I hire you?". So outstanding writing, also known as copywriting really becomes valuable.

Quick story: It was Super Bowl Sunday and my family was upstairs just about to watch the game on TV. I was downstairs trying a couple of new things, experimenting with capcut, some Ai tools, and my phone. Trying for the first time something totally new and exciting - filming myself in front of the camera for a headshot video… I had created many videos before but this was the first one with my face looking straight to the camera. I had just launched a fresh Instagram account all about creative marketing for luxury real estate, using 3D images and campaigns. As the commercials played during breaks I got inspired with an idea for a video. So there I was, scripting out my concept on my phone, and I started recording, with a green backdrop hung up on the wall. Nothing fancy, but I was determined to make it work! By the end of that Sunday night, I had shot and roughly edited my first headshot video. With a huge sense of accomplishment, I posted that first headshot video on that almost new Instagram account, and wrote the caption and details. I waited. The views started trickling in slowly...and today with a total of 25 to be exact. Then the very next day, luxury real estate Broker Ryan Serhant dropped a quick car video covering essentially the same topic I had just posted the day before. Unsurprisingly, his video had thousands of views. But rather than get discouraged, it motivated me even more. The lesson for me: Having a solid message is crucial, but building an actual audience of engaged followers is what really creates success. From that moment, I committed myself to consistently creating valuable video content that would gradually grow my voice and personal brand. In the months that followed, that's exactly what I have been doing - experimenting with diverse formats, using video techniques and editing styles, sometimes even simpler and complex videos. It has been a slow process to start gaining traction in that niche, but stick-with-it persistence paid off.