Comments on: Laura Petrolino: Small Business Community

By: 10 Tips for a Relaxing Small Business Community | BizSugar Blog

10 Tips for a Relaxing Small Business Community | BizSugar Blog — Wed, 25 May 2011 02:56:51 +0000

[...] talked recently to both Laura Petrolino of 365 Days of Startups and Scott Fox of ClickMillionaires about how to create and manage small business communities that [...]

By: Laura Petrolino

Laura Petrolino — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 02:11:08 +0000

Thanks Nicole! You bring up a great point here as well. With community building and any part of business…..it is all about the ‘long run’

By: Nicole Fende

Nicole Fende — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:14:59 +0000

Laura thanks for reminding all of us the value of community. Most importantly I appreciate you stating that people don’t need to do a hard sell to be successful. Building a community and network with trust will pay off in the long run.

By: Laura Petrolino

Laura Petrolino — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:45:12 +0000

Exactly! Thanks Kathy!!

By: Kathy

Kathy — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:35:19 +0000

I love your comment about building relationships. Relationship implies trust, wanting to help each other and a partnership in business.

By: Laura Petrolino

Laura Petrolino — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:56:43 +0000

Thanks so much for your comments Anita, and yes, what you said nails it exactly. Any of my clients will tell you that across the board I’m fairly anti- “advertising” and “selling”. Instead I believe in teaching and building relationships, both of which are highlighted when you create and foster a community. Advertising breaks down trust with the consumer, whereas community building creates it.

By: Laura Petrolino

Laura Petrolino — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:51:57 +0000

Glad this was helpful for you Kristen! Keep us updated as you put together your community! Best of luck!

By: Anita Campbell

Anita Campbell — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:14:31 +0000

Laura, this is a terrific interview. I especially love this point:

“Always make it about them (the consumer). When building a community you need to see yourself as a moderator to extend your brand, on a personal level. Your job is to facilitate the discussion, guide it, educate, continue to fuel it … but never, ‘sell’ it.”

It’s so counter-intuitive and yet so true: if you stop thinking about yourself but instead think about who you’re trying to attract to your community, in the end it will “promote” you — without you having to promote yourself. Because your community will see you as so valuable they will sing your praises for you. You will not have to praise yourself.

Thanks for taking the time to share your insights, Laura.

- Anita

By: Small Business News: Great Tips and Tools

Small Business News: Great Tips and Tools — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 09:32:08 +0000

[...] Have you built a community? You should, you know! Communities can serve so many functions for a small business from networking to cultivating prospects that may become customers. But most important they give small businesses the edge over big companies by making direct and personal connections that convert into future business down the road. BizSugar Blog [...]

By: Kirsten Peck

Kirsten Peck — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:02:34 +0000

I love working with startups and am currently putting together a more formal “community”. Thanks for confirming all of my suspicions about why we do what we do!