The Truth About Community Builders

“You’re JUST a community builder…”

I've seen and received similar message many times already. I don’t take it personally. I don’t care. But I still think it’s worth talking about it.

Let me explain what this “JUST” means…

What’s the value of a “JUST community builder” in the ecosystem.

• they break the barriers between people & cultures
• they help build teams & businesses
• they help allocate resources more effectively (access to information, money, etc.)

It’s hard to do the above-mentioned things well. Companies & consultancies normally charge a lot of money for such services and these “JUST community builders” usually do it for FREE. Crazy, right?

So what's the problem

Most of the people take these amazing human beings for granted, DON’T allow them to grow (personally or professionally) or limit their upside from the projects and businesses they enable or help build.

We DON’T give “JUST community builders” the credit they deserve.

I understand it may be hard to measure the impact “JUST community builders” have. But it has been proven many times they bring enormous value to the ecosystem/economy.

If you are skeptical or don't know how to measure the impact, please start by reading these books:

Give & Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant

Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City by Brad Feld

The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley by Victor Hwang

Let's change it

From my experience, the best and most genuine “JUST community builders” won’t ever ask for the credit. They’re shy or afraid to ask for help because their motto is “to give first and NEVER ask for anything in return”. They’re afraid to ask because they feel people would stop to respect them. They think their only value is TO GIVE and CONNECT and that anybody can replace them in a second if they don't (not true!).

If we blindly exploit these insecurities of theirs (and yes, sadly many people do), we’ll end up destroying the whole system (karma) and it will come at the expense of all of us. The ecosystem. Community. Businesses.

It's easy to prevent that from happening.

We need to be more proactive in supporting “JUST community builders” because if we don’t, they’ll burn out (yes, they also have some bills to pay), stop doing what they’re so good at and even discourage other people from doing so.

I challenge you

If you ever meet somebody who genuinely helps others, please ask them how you can help them and don’t give up after they tell you they don’t need anything.

Try again.

Mentor them for 10 minutes, introduce them to one person in your network, or just send them to me if you’re too busy or don’t know how to help them. We’ll take care of them.

We need to change how people treat “JUST community builders” and make sure people won’t ever say “you’re JUST a community builder” again…