We all have some kind of membership whether it’s to a gym, library, professional association, school alumni association, sorority/fraternity, or vacation club.
Somewhere in your life, you are probably paying membership dues, so why not start your own membership group.
The more that we spend time online, the more we are looking for ways to create authentic connections with people of similar interests through online communities.
While the pandemic caused the trend in online communities to skyrocket, they were already a well established and growing phenomenon.
In fact, earlier this year Facebook began certifying people to be online community managers.
There are membership groups that operate like professional associations. For example, there are groups of nonprofit Executive Directors sharing ideas and challenges, forums for attorneys, and membership groups of entrepreneurs and solopreneurs to have a community of colleagues.
There are sports-related membership groups run by people who have expert knowledge in soccer, basketball, tennis, golf, and so much more. In these groups, you can discuss your favorite sport 24-7 with people around the globe who love the sport as much as you do.
There are membership groups for the parents of LGBTQ youth to educate and support the parents so that they can support their children. A parent, who started one of these groups, is the mother of a gender-fluid child.
She had no expertise when she started. She simply knew that there were other mothers out there, who were uninformed, but wanted to support their children. She wanted to help them navigate the waters she was still navigating herself.
At Changing Course, we know that business ideas often come from challenges that we are experiencing or that we see others experiencing.
Another way to generate ideas for possible membership groups is to look at worldwide holidays and observances calendars. Here are two popular ones:
- Time and Date – You can view official holidays as well as observances from now through 2030.
- Holidays and Observances – Use the left side navigation bar to find holidays or observances by month, topic, or country.
There are holiday and observances for every interest – from fun to silly to serious.
This week’s observances included Eat a Red Apple Day, which would be a great time to start a membership group around healthy eating, vegan diets, or nutrition.
We are also celebrating Hanukah, commemorating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development this week.
What holiday or observance inspires you?