Turning $0 Partnerships Into $1M Communities

Human beings are organic systems. You know, we're all much more like growing a garden than running a car. You gotta make sure you got the right sunlight and the right watering and the right conditions by which people feel good and they feel like they can do their best work and that they are getting something really great out of your relationship with them and vice versa. Hi, I'm Gina Bianchini. This is People Magic, where I'm going to show you just how easy it is to create a $1 million community.

Hey, Gina, I love your take on not investing too much money besides your time. I want to collaborate with somebody as I develop my business, but I don't necessarily want them to be my business partner. How would you approach other alternatives that don't make them feel used, but also don't break my budget?

So this is a tough one because if you don't want to pay someone, trying to figure out what is the right kind of relationship that is mutually beneficial. This is a topic that I think is super important, whether you're creating communities, whether you are building a retail business or anything else in the entrepreneurial world. So a couple of frameworks that I really like to use. Number one is I always want to start with, who is that person? What is motivating to them? What would they get from working with me in any capacity? So not starting with the logistics, not starting with the, okay, well, how exactly would it work? But just being able to. To look out a year in the future or two years in the future and say, what does success look like? What has this person been able to accomplish or able to do that they have wanted to do or what they have wanted to learn? And the clearer I am about who that person is, what's motivating to them? I always think about it this way of, like, what would they need to be thinking about in a meeting with me and picturing for them to get really excited. And so I like to spend time in that person's future, state who they are, how I want them to feel, what I think is going to be really motivating to them. And then the second step is, okay, what do I have to give? So, again, I love and I believe that this is true for all communities, but especially if you're building a community that is. Is something that you're charging for. And again, monetizing or charging for through courses, memberships, challenges, and events. Just, again, keep it real simple. Really understanding what your gives are, I think is really important. Your gives can't be. You get to work with me and I'm an expert on this thing that you want to be a little careful about the self serving gives. Like somebody should be really excited to work with me. No, like I get it. And especially like in this sort of moment and world we have of so many coaches of like, oh, I'll be able to coach you. I think you have to push further beyond that to. No, no, no. What really do I have to give? What is this person going to be able to do a year from now that they cannot do today as a result of the experiences that I'm able to create or facilitate? So that's where I like to start. So as I think about the way you just showed up of I don't want to do the work myself but I don't want to bring somebody on as a partner and I don't want to pay them. If you were my friend or somebody I was coaching, the number one thing I would want to start with for my own confidence is do you just want to use somebody? Let's get that off the table because that's just not that cool and it's not going to be ultimately very successful. So number one, would it be somebody like what kinds of transitions would somebody who would want to collaborate with you, where would they be? So for example, are they trying to get a foot in the door? Are they trying to understand what they want out of their next five years or their next three years or their next one year? Is there something really specific that they want to learn and they're hungry to learn, whether that is email marketing or how to build a social media presence or how to create a people magic kind of of company, really getting clear on those things I think is important. And then coming back to what do you have to give? And it may be that you find a way to pay them in the future. You might find a way, for example to say, hey, I can't pay you right now. I think that this is a great opportunity for you to be able to learn. A foundation that you just shared with me is really important to you for where you want to be in a year and what you are going to be able to do a year from now that you're not able to do today. And I think I can give that to you. This isn't as a business partner but what I want to offer is if you are able to accomplish what we would work together on, I could envision a situation where we could pay X kind of commission in the future. We could do Y kind of rev share or that I could help you with all of these things that are, you know, not about money, like introductions to another job, being able to say amazing things about you on the Internet. And when I say the Internet, I mean social media and other things, making introductions, other things that this person is motivated or could be motivated by that is authentic to them, which is valuable to them and easy for you to do when you find those opportunities, that's when you've really created value. And you know, it's interesting, like we're sitting here and we're talking about this only by starting with that question. What is this person going to be able to do a year from now that they can't do today? What and how do they want to evolve, develop, and what do I have to give? 3 ideas just came out of nowhere. Well, they came out of probably experience and things that I've actually done for people. But fundamentally, thinking about how you get creative starts by listening. It starts by understanding that person and also being able to profile in your prep work the kinds of people that you're looking for and the kinds of people that are going to be attracted to what you can give and the things that are easy for you to give and you're, you're excited to give. And if money needs to be involved in that, then really thinking about and looking at how do you create win win situations where, for example, if they were able to be really successful with your community's social media marketing or really good at creating that ambassador program, that ambassador culture of your community where your members are inviting in other members, all of those things, if they have something to be quantified, take advantage of it. So anytime there's that win win opportunity, take advantage of that. Finally, I will say make sure that whatever you are doing, especially if it includes money or does not include money, is put into writing. And the way I like to do that and really again, create those mutually beneficial relationships is by starting with, let's sit down and build out some, some agreements around what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how we want to work together. And the more time you take up front to be able to be really clear about what is important to you and what is important to them, or how I like to actually do it, which is starting with what is important to them and then what is important to me, documenting it and also documenting how we get out of this, how we get out of this so that there's clarity that we are adult human beings that are entering into this relationship for mutual benefits. We see and we're clear about what you're going to get out of it and what you want to get out of it. What I want to get out of it. We are entering into this consensually and mutually excited. Here are the things that we are agreeing to in terms of how we're going to work together. Human beings are organic systems. We're all much more like growing a garden than running a car. You gotta make sure you got the right sunlight and the right watering and the right conditions by which people feel good and they feel like they can do their best work and that they are getting something really great out of your relationship with them and vice versa. So having those agreements in place, really important. And then talking about how you get out of it. What are the agreements we're making if this isn't working out? That's also really important. So that, number one, you remove stress. Number two, you have something to point to if and when things get bad. And ultimately, you've got the organic operating manual for how we're going to run this relationship. The final thing I would offer is something that I have seen over the last decade. Working with engineers initially and then increasingly watching people who operate in a text first kind of environment. And it's this. Don't try to navigate difficult conversations over text message, not over email, not over text message. Call the person and make that one of the agreements that you put in place at the beginning. We will call each other, we will talk it through. As hard as that is, we are not going to try to solve problems over text message. Now, that might sound harsh. And also, I have had long debates with people who are under the age of 30 who are like, Gina, that just makes you sound old. And I go back to them and I say, no, it doesn't. It is human nature. The best way to navigate and build trust, even under more challenging circumstances, is if you are able to have a conversation. It saves so much time and energy. In fact, actually, one mentee of mine has now come around and I feel a great sense of accomplishment. And he has now been able to build a incredible business where he was getting in his own way when he was trying to solve things over text message, just by starting to be able to call people on the phone and talk something through. And it will also take less time. So efficient. Much more in line with human nature and who we are as people. And something that starts with, who is that person? Where do they want to be a year from now? What are they able to do that they can't what do they want to be able to do a year from now that they can't do today? And what do you have to give to help them get there? Most of the time, conversations around, you know, partnerships or employees don't start there. It starts with here's what I need. Doesn't mean you don't need it, but it does mean if you want to create the conditions to get the absolute best kinds of relationships, best kinds of partnerships and best performance and best work out of people, making sure that you start with them, not you, and build in some of these things, it just becomes incredibly effective. I'm Gina Bianchini. Thanks for tuning in. This is is People Magic. Thank you for being a part of People Magic. If you want more of a deep dive in any of these topics, but certainly having the framework of People Magic prophet, head on over to the website. The link is in the show notes. Have your own burning question about creating People Magic? Well, I want to answer it. So here's what you're going to do. You're going to just drop your question in the review section, wherever you're listening to this podcast, and keep tuning in.