The Momentum Memo
Off The Charts Business Podcast with Nathalie Lussier
From Chaos to Clarity: How Dana Malstaff Built a Successful Community-Based Membership
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From Chaos to Clarity: How Dana Malstaff Built a Successful Community-Based Membership

In this episode of Off The Charts Business, Nathalie Lussier and guest Dana Malstaff reveal some groundbreaking insights on building a successful community and creating a thriving membership. 

About Dana Malstaff

Dana Malstaff is founder of the Nurture to Convert Society and author of the bestselling book, Boss Mom. She is a successful entrepreneur who, after being laid off from her job due to a company restructuring, decided to take the opportunity to start her own business.

As she embarked on this new journey, she also discovered that she was expecting a child. Determined to navigate the challenges of being a working mom, Dana sought to create a community and support system for other like-minded women who wanted to balance motherhood and entrepreneurship.

In 2015, she wrote the acclaimed book, Boss Mom, which gained significant recognition and attracted a loyal following. Drawing from her experience in community building and her understanding of how people work, Dana developed the highly successful Boss Mom community.

Her passion for nurturing and supporting women in various industries inspired her to create the nurture to convert society, a membership program designed to help women grow their businesses and support one another. She has demonstrated that support and community are not just buzzwords, but integral components of building a successful business and finding fulfillment as a mompreneur.


Timestamps

[00:00:54] New mom starts own company, builds community.

[00:10:36] Membership success relies on having your own system. Provide valuable support and release content strategically to enhance the system. Aim for 80% member self-sufficiency. Launching a certification program to meet member needs. Create loyalty to keep members engaged.

[00:21:32] Flexible integration for entrepreneur growth and engagement.

[00:26:02] Building directory, badges, certifications, and templates marketplace.

[00:31:41] Certification solves friction problem, controls growth.

[00:35:43] Scaling is not about getting bigger, but about getting bigger without extra effort. Being a one-on-one coach is unscalable because it is limited, while building a membership allows for scalability without additional overhead. Scaling is about increasing profits while providing good service, and making more money with less effort.

[00:38:28] Community engagement and vulnerability are crucial for membership success.

[00:44:11] Main website: Boss Mom. Facebook group and podcast included. Podcast nearing 2 million downloads. Exciting new blogging course launched. Opportunities for members to blog. Pinterest expert hired to increase visibility. Creating a business ecosystem for support.


Highlights from this episode

1. Building a Successful Membership

  • A membership should supplement a system and aim to create self-sufficiency.

  • Points can be used to unlock content templates and hot seats with the creator.

  • The ultimate goal is to create a loyal membership that never wants to leave.

2. The Power of Community Building

  • Dana started a community for moms who want to build something outside of being a stay-at-home mom.

  • Building a community around meaningful support is crucial.

  • Incentivizing testimonials and fostering loyalty can enhance the success of a membership.

3. Creating a Scalable Business

  • Scaling is about making more money with less effort.

  • Building a membership allows for scalability without extra overhead.

  • Every month, improving the system can lead to increased profitability and less effort.

4. Leveraging Tools and Systems

  • AccessAlly is praised for its integration with WordPress and flexibility.

  • Implementing a software-like approach to updates has improved the business and reduced stress.

  • Simplifying and guiding members through a system is more desirable than overwhelming them with content.

Discussion about this podcast

The Momentum Memo
Off The Charts Business Podcast with Nathalie Lussier
The Off The Charts Business Podcast is for multi-passionate entrepreneurs. Here you’ll learn how to design a scalable business to spend more time outside away from the screen, through actionable ideas, real-world examples, and pep talks from your host Nathalie Lussier, founder of AccessAlly.
Nathalie Lussier started making websites when she was 12 years old, and graduated with a degree in Software Engineering and a job offer from Wall Street. In a gutsy move, she turned down this job to start her own business right out of college.
Today, Nathalie is the CEO of the AccessAlly WordPress plugin for ambitious course creators, membership site owners, and community builders. She has been featured in Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Venture Beat, Mashable, Business Insider, Yahoo! Finance, and Under 30 CEO.