The Importance of Community with Community Builder, Danielle Wallington

DC: How did community become such a big part of your life and why?

DW: Before I set up my business, I was an event manager for about 15 years in the corporate world and I've just always loved bringing people together. I suppose I didn't really realize then what it was, I just always love like, bringing people together and seeing the conversations they would have and collaborations and friendships and when I was pregnant with my first son, I felt really kind of that lack of identity and sense of self.

I didn't really know who I was anymore, I wasn't working in that kind of full-time role, going in day today and I started to look for people like me who didn't want to just be referred to as a mom.

I still had ambition and I still wanted to go out and speak to people other than what my baby's nappy looked like. So I wanted to kind of find like-minded people, like-minded people. And I started to organize events for mums in my local area for that reason and just started to kind of find people. And community to me is that sense of belonging.

So it's finding other people that felt like they belong to something kind of bigger than them, and I suppose it's just connection and wanting to be with other people that have similar mindsets, similar aspirations, and yeah. Feeling connected with people, I think was kind of where it started from, and then it's kind of kind of grown from there.

DC: And then The Kindred Community, you introduced that, it started five years ago, you set the stage, it's non "networky" network for female founders and freelancers. But how did that community building turn into The Kindred Community?

DW: So when I was running these events for mums, as you do, you start to kind of do things and not have a big grand plan. It just all happens organically. And I was starting to meet other women who were in similar positions to me, who were starting a business, who couldn't go back to their full-time jobs after kids. And there wasn't really anything there were lots of great groups around, but there wasn't really anything that was a bit more informal, that you didn't have to stand up and do, like a pitch to people or it felt a bit cringy and a bit like salesy.

There was a bit of a gap for that. And I thought, I'd like to do something where it's a bit non-networking, basically, which is where it came from, because there are so many women that are building amazing businesses. But they tend to be put off by the traditional networking events that are around or the events that start at half seven in the morning when you've got kids to look after and school drops to do. So I wanted to create something that was kind of a bit more female-focused and something that wasn't as stuffy as maybe the other groups.

DC: And I think that's the thing we're seeing now more of too is more people. There are women's social clubs where it's maybe not so much work-focused, but maybe it's just women coming together. Because I think especially I've noticed that, I'm 26 years old, you get out of college, you start working full-time jobs, you kind of look around you're like it is not as easy to make friends or get to know people as it was when we were in school or doing all of these things. And so I feel like we've seen more of this women networking, women social clubs or whatever it may be, communities coming together with the need of just being together.

DW: Yeah, I think connection is something that we all, and there are so many studies about actually what creates a really happy life and it's not being super rich, it's the relationships that you have. So the connection and especially the last few years we've had with lockdown and stuff, people are really craving that connection. It's being part of something else, being part of other people's lives. And that the bigger picture is really important.

Listen to more of Danielle Wallington's story on the latest episode of?The Conversation Series Podcast.

Love, Dani