Diary of a Community Builder

Entry 030: Days Too Big to Carry Alone

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

A little confession about this entry: I recorded it early. Because by the time you're hearing it, our family will have just had the biggest day we've had in a long time. Yesterday, we will have moved Bella into college. And the same exact morning, my son will have started his senior year of high school. Both things. One day. Thank you, God, for that scheduling. So I'm telling you what I know Friday will look like, and whatever actually happens, I'll tell you next week. Deal? Deal.

In this entry:

• Recording from the before: what I already know about the biggest day

• Senior year photos in the front yard, next to a car packed with his sister's entire life

• Two kids, two milestones, one mom trying to be present for both (the honest version)

• This is why community: days too big to carry alone, and the people who hold you through them

• We build this thing for other people, and this week it's holding me. It works.

• No big assignment, just this: send the "thinking of you today" text

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, family milestones, why community matters, and the honest, in-between moments, without the highlight reel.

Want to take it one step further? The Diary lives inside coCreator Society too. Each day's question drops in the community, you leave your own entries, and we support one another while we build our community-based businesses, together, out loud.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

The Diary of a Community Builder is a free daily podcast from Rachel, a Circle Expert and founder of coCreator Society. Every weekday at 6am Eastern, a new entry drops: musings, behind-the-scenes moments, and lessons from inside real membership communities and community-led businesses, plus one question to noodle on in your own day of building. It's the messy, honest, in-between of building something that lasts. For full-length strategy episodes, listen to the Community at Heart podcast wherever you get your shows.

Entry 029: Here's My Girl

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

You have a new host today. As you're listening to this, I am moving my eldest daughter into college, so before she left, Bella sat down at the microphone and recorded today's entry herself. She talks about her dream school, the mom who raised her solo and clapped first at everything, leaving behind two stinky boys (her words), and her four tips for every mom whose really cool daughter is heading to college. I'll be back tomorrow. Today belongs to her.

In this entry:

• A new host: Bella takes the mic on moving day

• Her dream school, journalism and political science, and maybe someday DC

• A tribute to the mom who's first to clap, first to cry, first to say "you did amazing"

• Bella's four tips for moms of college-bound daughters: the reels, the voice memos, the dog pictures, and the I-love-you texts

• "I will always be clapping you on, Mom"

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, the founder life behind the business, family, and the honest, in-between moments, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 028: I Built That

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Tomorrow, we drive Bella to college. So today, a story I don't tell very often: two college experiences, hers and mine. Mine had no dorm room, I couldn't afford to live on campus. No shopping trip with my mom for throw pillows and string lights. Full-time work alongside a full course load, and student loans that followed me for years. And somewhere along the way I made a quiet promise, the kind you make to a kid who doesn't exist yet: she will not do it this way.

In this entry:

• My college story: commuting, working full time, and the rites of passage that weren't part of it

• Said with love: a mother who did what she could, grandparents who did even more

• The quiet promise, and Bella's version: campus, no loans, no job, and the shopping trip we finally got to take

• Why I choke on "I'm so grateful," and what I'm practicing saying instead

• The words founders (especially mothers) need to say out loud: I built that

• Something to noodle on: what has your business made possible that you've never taken credit for?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, the founder life behind the business, what the work makes possible, and the honest, in-between moments, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 027: Whatever Your Nails Are

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Yesterday I left work early. Laptop closed, out the door, gone, to get my nails done with my girl, two days before she leaves for college. And since I promised you a feelings week: I'm not sleeping great, the three a.m. wake-ups run the packing list and the memories at the same time, and the strange part is nothing is wrong. Everything is going right. She's ready. This is the plan working. And my body is still treating it like an emergency.

In this entry:

• Leaving early for the nail appointment nobody schedules for you

• The three a.m. brain: did we get the mattress topper, and also, wasn't she just five?

• Excitement and grief holding hands, both true all day long

• Mother, friend, founder: why sharp is not the assignment this week, present is

• Something to noodle on: what's your version of the nail appointment?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, founder life and family, big transitions, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 026: A Brain That Is Completely Full

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

I'm being honest right out of the gate: I'm recording this with a brain that is completely full. There is so much going on in the business, and the organizing itself has become a job. So I've been building ways to leverage AI to carry some of it, meeting notes, a daily brief, little systems that take things off my brain. But the real reason I want it all off my plate? It's a big week at our house. Maybe the biggest in a long time. Bella, my eldest, leaves for college this Thursday.

In this entry:

• When there's so much good stuff happening that getting organized hurts your brain

• The AI systems I've been building to carry the busywork (meeting notes, daily briefs, more soon)

• The real motivation: being present for the last few days before a very big goodbye

• A heads up: the diary gets personal this week, we're doing feelings, y'all

• Something to noodle on: what could a system carry so you can be present for what only you can be present for?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, AI systems, founder life and family, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 025: Don't Be an Island

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

This Friday was really special: I took the whole day out of the office to brainstorm with a colleague. Full whiteboard situation, markers out, total back-and-forth, and by the end we had planned all the way to the end of the year. And oh boy, did it give me the energy I needed after this week. So today is about whiteboard people, why different brains multiply each other, and the thing I most want to put out there: do not be an island.

In this entry:

• A full whiteboard day, and a plan mapped to the end of the year

• Why a day of thinking together gave back more energy than a day off

• How different working styles multiply: where I spiral, they push; where they'd settle, I poke

• The default trap of building alone (your own head has the same furniture every day)

• Something to noodle on: who's your whiteboard person, and when did you last get in a room with them?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, collaboration, planning, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 024: The Workflow Funded Jason

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

This little community of ours is growing, fresh faces everywhere, and it is so fun. But my biggest win this week is a Jason story. If you don't know Jason, he's our amazing community manager in the Society, and you should get to know him. The digest workflow I built freed up a lot of his time, and he took that time and created the most epic Friday wins post I have ever seen. And I've seen a lot of Friday wins posts, friends. It's basically a genre.

In this entry:

• The Society is growing, and what fresh faces do to a room

• How the community digest workflow quietly handed Jason his hours back

• The most epic Friday wins post I've ever seen (and the engagement to match)

• The line I'll be repeating forever: the workflow didn't replace Jason, it funded him

• Automate around the humans, so the humans do what only humans do

• Something to noodle on: if a workflow gave you back three hours a week, what would you actually do with them?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, AI workflows, community managers, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 023: Little Teammates

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

What a day. Wednesday was our first live session over in the Circle community, and it was unbelievably fun. I was incredibly nervous (the instant yes and the butterflies, you know how I'm built), and it all worked out, and it was fantastic. Minds were blown when I showed the community digest setup. And the other big news: all my Claude + MCP projects, converted into Circle AI projects, launch today. As you're listening, they're going live. They're like your little teammates, each one helping you get a specific thing done quicker.

In this entry:

• The first live Circle session: nerves, nerdy joy, and a chat that lit up

• The community digest moment that blew people's minds

• The launch: my projects, converted to Circle AI projects, live the day this drops

• Little teammates: what they are and what they help you do

• Double the RSVPs already in for next week's session (what is my life)

• Something to noodle on: if you had one little teammate for one job, what would you hand them first?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, Circle AI projects, live sessions, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 022: I Took My Own Medicine

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

I spent Tuesday doing something I make everybody else do and almost never do for myself: I built out my own blueprint. My community has pivoted, we've added things, we've leaned heavily into AI, and my documented version was describing a community from a whole chapter ago. So I sat down, ran my own process, attached it to the Circle MCP, and friends, it was remarkable how much quicker it went. Also: the fill-in-the-blanks. Thank you, Molli. Could you have made it any more seamless?

In this entry:

• Finally doing my own Community AI Blueprint (a to-do list loop, officially closed)

• Running the process with the Circle MCP: refining instead of excavating

• Why this jumped the queue: new Circle AI projects, a.k.a. mini agents, coming tomorrow

• AI is only as good as the context you give it, so the context has to be current

• Something to noodle on: what process do you run everyone else through that hasn't been pointed at you lately?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, Circle AI and MCP workflows, taking your own medicine, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 021: The Dream Is Expensive

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

It's happening. This week is my first live session inside the Circle community, the partnership I cried at my desk about and finally announced. We've been prepping like crazy, running prompts, nerding out, playing with my favorite toys and calling it my job. And also: Monday turned into a sixteen hour day, and boy, did I feel it. Both things are true, and I'm sitting with what that means.

In this entry:

• Prep week for my first live Circle session: prompts, testing, full unapologetic nerding out

• The sixteen hour Monday, and why excitement is sneaky fuel

• The part nobody puts on the vision board: the dream came true, and the dream is expensive

• An honest word on the health journey during a big season (the messy middle, no pretending)

• Something to noodle on: what's your tell that you've blown past your limit?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, Circle AI, big seasons and their costs, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 020: What a Treat, What a Treat

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

We made it, friends, to another Friday!! I try to keep my Fridays light, a gentle off-ramp into the weekend. This one was not that. Deliverables to multiple clients, recording, proposals, and wrapping up our big launch (yes, there's a big launch coming, a whole AI toolkit for Circle AI, and you'll hear plenty about it here). But the thing I can't stop thinking about is something Molli and I landed on this week: I never put work things off. Ever. My health things? Another day, every time. Same brain. Same woman.

In this entry:

• The long Friday: client deliverables, proposals, and the AI toolkit launch wrap-up

• The "health journey," said in that tone on purpose

• The Molli conversation: closing every loop for clients while my own slide

• The sentence I didn't love saying out loud: I treat my clients better than I treat myself

• The special water, the powders, the kiwis, and the first hit of coffee (what a treat)

• Something to noodle on: what would change if you treated yourself like your best client?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, founder wellbeing, launches, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 019: The Instant Yes and the Butterflies

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

This week I live demoed inside the Circle community, and to say I was nervous would be an understatement. I said yes immediately when the invite came, easiest yes ever. Then demo day arrived and I felt like I was gonna vomit most of it, while my team and clients filled Slack and my DMs with "you're gonna kill it," which was so kind and somehow cranked the pressure higher. So, did I kill it? Yeah. And then Circle's cofounder posted about it on LinkedIn.

In this entry:

• Live demoing Circle AI inside the Circle community, building a summit live

• When support turns into pressure: everyone deciding you'll be great before you believe it

• The nerves, the practice reps that carried me, and the LinkedIn post I stared at

• The honest Thursday routine report I promised Monday: a 6:30am call, a squeezed morning, and a wobbly floor under a big win

• Something to noodle on: what would you say yes to instantly, and then be terrified about?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, Circle AI, visibility and nerves, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 018: The Book Club Flop

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

I hosted a book club get-together this week, and it was meh at best. Basically nobody came. And I want to talk about it, because a fraction of the things I come up with actually work, far more flop than land, and if I only bring you the wins, that's just a highlight reel. So let's take apart what actually went wrong, because it wasn't the book, and it wasn't really the timing either.

In this entry:

• The book club launch that started with real momentum and fizzled by mid-month

• The get-together nobody came to (thanks for the timing, Circle Eclipse)

• The real lesson: they told me what they wanted, I built something bigger than the want

• The most community-builder mistake in the book: giving a spark of interest a clubhouse with bylaws

• Next month's lighter-touch attempt: Unreasonable Hospitality, just announced in the Society

• Something to noodle on: where have you wrapped a real want in too much container?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, engagement experiments, honest flops and fixes, and the in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 017: I Should Be on a Plane Right Now

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

As I'm recording this, I should have flown to Seattle to support an old friend at her movie launch. Yes, I have a friend cool enough to have a movie premiere. And I'm at my desk instead, mid-launch on a beast of a client project, after finally admitting my hop-there-hop-back itinerary was delusional. This one stings a little, so let's talk about it.

In this entry:

• The Seattle premiere I'm missing, and the truly delusional itinerary I almost attempted

• The beast of a launch: a custom course and credentialing platform layered into a Circle community

• Put-on-your-big-girl-pants decisions, when the business you love keeps you from people you love

• The nervous flyer honesty: why what it costs YOU belongs in the decision

• Something to noodle on: when two things you love pull against each other, how do you decide?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, client launches, hard founder decisions, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 016: You Have to Have a Day One

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Accountability buddy check-in. Last week I told you I was making some changes, and around here we keep our word. Today was day one, and I'm recording this fresh off of it: yoga, deep breaths, Bucky's walk, and a slightly later arrival at the desk where, it turns out, the world did not end. It's just day one, of course. But you have to have a day one. That's the whole point.

In this entry:

• Day one of the new morning: yoga, stretching, deep breaths, and one very happy puppy

• Getting to the desk later than usual, and the world not ending

• Pumping the brakes on the day-one glow (the real story is Thursday)

• Why every effortless-looking habit started with an unremarkable day one nobody clapped for

• Accountability buddies, report in: has your day one happened yet?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, founder wellbeing, building new routines, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 015: I Left My House This Week

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Friends, it's Friday, and I have an announcement that is going to sound very silly: I left my house this week. If you work from home, you know. I typically hit my desk and that's it, all day, coming up for air, more coffee, and bathroom breaks. But this week I had coffee out with a colleague, got sun on my face, and remembered what the hustle and bustle does for you. And I want to be honest about the other side of it too, because it is hard for me to people.

In this entry:

• The desk-coffee-repeat rotation of working from home

• Coffee with a colleague, and the whole-body good of being out in the world

• The honest part: peopling takes activation energy, even when the people are wonderful

• The paradox: the thing that drains me to start is the thing that fills me up

• Something to noodle on: when's the last time you left the house for no urgent reason?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, working from home, founder wellbeing, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 014: Ten Minutes at a Time

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

On Thursdays, we take Bucky to dog training. And let's be honest about what dog training actually is: it's not training for the dog, it's training for us. The whole game is consistency, everybody on the same playbook. And friends, I've been sitting with that all week, because I'm actively trying to become a better leader and get my processes in place, and I feel like I run out of time every single week.

In this entry:

• Thursday dog training, where Bucky is thriving and the humans are the project

• Why the dog isn't confused because he's a bad dog (the team hasn't agreed on the playbook)

• The quiet work that keeps losing to the loud work

• What puppy training taught me about building processes: ten minutes a day, not a magical free week

• Something to noodle on: what's your quiet work, and what's its ten-minutes-a-day version?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, leadership, processes and consistency, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 013: The Ball Has Tipped

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

We just wrapped my last Founder's Table call, the mastermind Circle has been hosting for a few of us community builders all summer. And the final question we sat with, what would you tell yourself at the beginning of this?, cracked something open. Because at the start of the summer I felt like I was talking to the void. And remember that email I cried about at my desk in Entry 005? It's signed, friends. I can finally tell you.

In this entry:

• The last Founder's Table call, and the question that landed hardest

• The talking-to-the-void season: plugging away while everyone else gets their flowers

• The news: I've officially signed a partnership with Circle 🎉

• Co-hosting weekly live AI sessions with Mathilde, Circle's head of community, through August and September

• Something to noodle on: what would you tell yourself from the beginning of this year?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, partnerships, the long game of being seen, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 012: Who's With Me?

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Today we're talking about being tired. I've found myself going, going, going, and by the end of the day I'm exhausted, physically, emotionally, mentally, and just not the person I want to be. So I made a plan, and here's the fun part: I recorded this last week, and the changes start now. As you're listening, it's already happening. And I want you to be my accountability buddy.

In this entry:

• The checked-out-by-evening feeling, and deciding to change it

• The new morning: a real workout, Bucky's walk, and something in the morning that's for me

• Curbing the people-pleasing reflex of replying to everything immediately

• The confession: I haven't really been eating dinner, and that changes now

• Something to answer: who's with me? What's your one change?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, founder wellbeing, sustainable routines, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 011: One Part Sad, One Part Excited

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

We kicked off the challenge inside the community this week and held our first live session, and it did not go the way I planned. I set it up as a co-working session, mic on, ready to help everyone through their voice guides. And then the questions just... didn't come. Friends, we went and innovated ourselves right out of anybody needing our help. So strange, right?

In this entry:

• Our first live challenge session, and why live sessions are some of my favorite things

• The interactive workbook (and the fill-in-the-blanks Molli made even cooler)

• What it feels like when nobody needs you, one part sad, one part excited

• Something to noodle on: where could you bake the help in so people don't get stuck at all?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, live sessions, member experience design, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 010: The Stress of Success

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Friends, it's Friday, and I have a confession: I've been having trouble with work-life balance lately. This is a season of growth, the diary just launched, client projects are humming, exciting things are rolling out for the team over the next few weeks and months. And nobody warns you that everything going right is still weight. By the end of the day, my brain just hurts. Does anybody else feel like this?

In this entry:

• The stress of success: why good stress is still weight your nervous system has to carry

• The dream coming true and the exhaustion, both at once

• My very simple weekend plan: the farmers market, the pretty flowers, and (let's be honest) a dress

• Something to noodle on over the weekend: what could you do to make space for yourself?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, founder wellbeing, seasons of growth, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 009: What Walks Out the Door

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

We had a fantastic hot seat inside coCreator Society this week, and I'm still thinking about it. Partly because the conversation was so rich. Partly because it called me out a little bit. A member is transitioning between community managers after four years, and here's what a handoff like that exposes: everything your CM knows that was never written down.

In this entry:

• The four-year community manager handoff that turned into a systems conversation

• Everything a good CM carries that lives nowhere but their head

• Making the next transition a non-event: people come and go, knowledge shouldn't

• The moment my own advice called me out (add it to the to-do list, officially)

• Something to noodle on: what exists only in your head, or your CM's?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, community managers, systems and documentation, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 008: Community Is Hard to Hold Up

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

I've been having some hard conversations with clients lately. Good hard, but hard. They're all circling (no pun intended) the same question: what is community actually worth? And one client's little sentence, "I wouldn't pay that much for that," has been sitting with me all week, because I've seen it everywhere. I've felt it myself.

In this entry:

• The client whose members keep voting yes with their wallets, while the founder hesitates

• Why community value is so hard to point at (you can't screenshot belonging)

• The real consulting work: helping founders see what their members already see

• Something to noodle on: what does your community make possible that members couldn't get anywhere else?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, membership pricing, the value of connection, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 007: The Dog Walker Relocated

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

This week has been kind of a tough one at our house, and it's for the silliest-sounding reason: our dog walker relocated, suddenly. I know how bougie that sounds. Stay with me. Because between the Instagram-influenced puppy, missing our sweet Harper, and a week without help, this entry ended up being about the thing I struggle with most: asking for help at all.

In this entry:

• The puppy, the sudden relocation, and a week without the help I'd finally allowed myself

• Why hiring that first dog walker was emotionally hard, not logistically hard

• The pressure on female entrepreneurs to do everything, all at once, beautifully

• Something to sit with: what are you white-knuckling that someone else could carry?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, the founder life behind the business, asking for help, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 006: The Data Did Not Lie

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

hit my desk around 6am most mornings, iced coffee in hand. In this entry: the Christmas gift that ended up changing how I build my weeks. An Oura ring, some stress data that did not lie, and why my almost-call-free Mondays are now one of the most productive days of my week.

In this entry:

• Why I stopped packing Mondays with back-to-back calls

• What my Oura ring's stress data showed me about stacked-meeting days

• Gated Mondays and 6am mornings, where the actual building happens

• Something to noodle on: where are your protected pockets of focus time?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, founder routines, focus and sustainable growth, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 005: The Email Finally Came

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Woof. We made it, one full week of the Diary. And I saved something for Friday. This week, an email landed in my inbox. The one you quietly wait for through months and years of building. The one that says, hey, we see you. I can't share details yet (first steps are fragile little things), but I can tell you I busted into tears at my desk, and why.

In this entry:

• One week of the Diary, done

• The email I've been building toward for years, and what it felt like when it landed

• A confession: I don't talk about how I got here. I'm going to.

• No question this week. Just a send-off for everyone in the quiet building years: don't give up.

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, partnerships, the long game of building a business, and the honest, in-between moments nobody posts about, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 004: Beautiful, Not Functional

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

I have a custom client dashboard that Molli and I built, and it is gorgeous. Really, really pretty. There's just one problem: it doesn't work for my brain. In this entry, the confession of how I spent an afternoon this week, why I worked around a broken system for way too long, and the sentence I finally had to say out loud.

In this entry:

• The beautiful client portal that everyone was slightly confused inside of

• Why pretty and functional are not the same thing

• The maintenance work nobody posts about (and why it counts)

• Something to chew on: what's one thing in your systems you could update?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, systems and workflows, client experience, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 003: The Pizza Button

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

We just kicked off our very first book club inside coCreator Society (a little dream, quietly checked off), and our first pick followed me straight onto vacation. In this entry: a button on a hotel room phone, a 17-year-old lighting up like a six-year-old, and the thing that actually makes communities sticky. Hint: it's not your content calendar.

In this entry:

• Our first Society book club pick, The Power of Moments, and how Maggie brought it into my life

• The pizza button, and why the button is the memory, not the pizza

• Why tiny moments of delight bring members back more than the big launches do

• Something to noodle on: what's the pizza button in your community?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, member experience, retention, engagement, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 002: A Place People Were Hoping Existed

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

We just launched a beautiful new community for Cathy Heller, and within hours, the first real post landed. What two members said in that thread, completely unprompted, had me sitting at my desk with goosebumps, and immediately voice noting my team. Some entries are strategy. This one is why we do any of this.

In this entry:

Behind the scenes of launching Cathy Heller's new community and app
The first real post, and the unprompted conversation it started
Why what people say unprompted is the truest data your business has
Something to noodle on: what has someone said about your work that you never asked for?

✨ Explore Cathy Heller: https://cathyheller.com/cathys-circle/

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, community launches, member engagement, retention, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER

Entry 001: Why This Diary Exists

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0400

For years, when something happened in my day, I'd Slack a voice note to my team or my business girlies. The goosebump moments. The hard days. The wins that got celebrated loudly. And those voice notes were more honest than anything I ever published.

So I started keeping track of them. And now they're yours too.

In this first entry:

The habit that started it all
Why this isn't another Instagram, Threads, or Substack
What's waiting for you every weekday at 6am Eastern
Something to noodle on: what happened in your business last week that made you pause?

The Diary of a Community Builder is a daily, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build and run a membership community and a community-led business. Real entries about community building on Circle, member engagement, retention, launches, working with AI as a community builder, and the honest, in-between moments of growing an online business, without the highlight reel.

Come join us 💛 https://cocreatorsociety.com/

ABOUT THE DIARY OF A COMMUNITY BUILDER