The best businesses create communities around their businesses. I did this in my business. You should do the same for your business, too.
An excellent example of creating a community around your business would be Disney. Disney understands how powerful communities can be for business growth. They have actually created multiple "Disney" communities. One of these communities is Celebration, Florida. Celebration, Florida is a planned community including single family homes, condominiums, retail stores – all built around a small lake. The town of Celebration is very close to Orlando – the home of Disney World. Here is a short video highlighting the community:
The Celebration community includes a beautiful swimming pool for residents, a five star hotel, a highly rated school walking distance from most residences. It’s truly a master piece. If you head to Disney, plan a night in Celebration and you’ll see what I mean.
The "Celebration News," which is the official newsletter of the community, features stories about residents, information on festivals and community gatherings like the "2008 Great American Pie Festival" and more. It’s the kind of place people dream of raising a family.
Now for the business side of the community…
How value could a community be for your business? Well, I believe Celebration has around 9,000 residents. They’ve sold 3,500 homes and condos. They’ve also filled 1.1 million square feet of commercial space. The community was originally designed for 12,000 residents.
Let’s assume that Disney profited by say $20,000 per home/condo. This would amount to a whopping $70,000,000. Not too much, huh?
Yes, creating a community around your business takes a lot of time, work and effort. However, it’s one of the most profitable things you can do. More importantly, it helps you insulate your business from competitors. Your clients (community) won’t want to leave you because they’ll have to disconnect from your community.
So the obvious question I’ll leave you with is:
How can you create a community around your business?
