It’s from here, your concrete foundation— your why —that you’ll make plans for your business or organization’s work ahead. 

In his texts and record-breaking presentations, author and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek introduces an approach to leadership built on a clear vision and purposeful action that, as his best-selling book states in its title, Starts with Why.

He explains a Golden Rule, drawn in three concentric circles marked and centered around why, followed by How, and lastly What. The concept, rooted in neuroscience, asks us to lead with heart, even before words—a practice The Local Crowd has adopted with Tender Loving arms.

In a podcast with a research professor, best-selling author, and inspiring leader, Dr. Brené Brown digs into why-centered work alongside Sinek. Here Sinek compares the importance of knowing the true origin story of your work—why am I doing the work I’m doing in the world?—to the structure and process of constructing a home. 

Your why is the foundation—poured concrete marking the permanent shape of what will become a house—built up with choices in how to move forward and with what tools and fixtures. Your vision for what’s built on top or placed inside may change with time, much like the shutter’s paint or the fixture’s finish is altered over the years, but the foundation won’t change. It’s from here, your concrete foundation—your unique why—that you’ll make plans for your business or organization’s work ahead. 

We believe, as Sinek tells, each launch, project, pivot, or move within the walls of your business is no different; at The Local Crowd we start every campaign with you at your unique why.

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Did you know a successful crowdfunding campaign can reap many benefits beyond capital for your business, professional networks, and community?

 

Did you know that a successful crowdfunding campaign can reap benefits for your business, professional networks, and community?

While a need for capital is what brings many to the innovative tool, the power of crowdfunding extends far beyond raising funds.

As you begin to set your campaign goals, collect resources, and make a plan, consider these ways your successful crowdfunding campaign can make an impact. 

• It builds a community of supportive followers who rally around your project thanks to shared interest and investment in their neighborhood.
• It attracts new collaborative partnerships and opens doors for conversation around your mission with individuals and organizations who are intrigued by the work you’re doing. 
• It allows you to crowdsource ideas and feedback on your project or offering and creates a space to market test an idea or product with presales. 
• It creates a centralized platform for you to formulate and tell your unique and compelling story with the use of multimedia like video, social media, and email campaigns.
• It broadens your audience and potential customer base with shareable content, cultivating a more robust brand awareness within your community.
• Last but not least, it allows you to reach toward your network of cheerleaders within your community and exchange your irresistible rewards for funds in support of your future success!

 

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Because asking for support can feel uncomfortable, here are a few concepts to consider when reaching to your neighbors to ask for a hand.

 

One of The Local Crowd’s unique features is the opportunity for local businesses to contribute rewards in support of a campaign’s goal. 

For example, imagine a neighborhood bakery raising funds to purchase a display case for additional baked goods with help from their peers at the coffee roastery next door. The roastery can donate a few pounds of coffee for their friends to offer for sale on their campaign, and benefit from the exposure and potential for gaining a new customer in a mutually beneficial exchange that Michael H. Shuman calls “the gateway for challenging economic behavior.”

Because asking for support can feel uncomfortable, here are a few concepts to consider when reaching to your neighbors to ask for a hand:

Keep it Conversational: Explore your potential collaboration with an open mind and approach your neighbors with a conversational tone, as opposed to rigidly asking in a way that could appear demanding or harsh.

Transparency is Key: Avoid any illusions of smoke in mirrors by remaining open about the goals of your campaign and the intention of your request for support. You may be surprised who is willing to offer support when it’s clear that their contribution will go to something they genuinely want to see succeed.

Focus on the Mutual Exchange: In the end, everyone wants to win, and fortunately, they can! As you brainstorm with your neighbors, explore how you can highlight their endeavors, products, or goals for their business in exchange for their support toward yours. 

 

 

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Your crowdfunding campaign’s strategy must include time and effort dedicated to building connections with your community.

One of the fundamentals of successful crowdfunding is a high-quality connection with your community of potential supporters. Whether you’re staying in touch with thoughtful email notes, personalized thank yous, or quick conversations over coffee, your campaign’s strategy must include time and effort dedicated to the relationships at hand. 

Here are a few tools to streamline your connections and create dynamic and effective conversations with your crowd:

• Social Media Scheduling Apps: Create a dynamic content marketing calendar and schedule your Facebook and Instagram posts across your social media channels with a scheduling app like Later or Hootesuite. Both businesses offer free versions of their tools and can help you drastically increase your productivity by batch creating your content and scheduling ahead of time.
• Email Templates: Cut down on your email writing time by creating templates to copy, paste, and add personalized messaging to. Gmail users can save template emails with just a few simple steps detailed here, or you can create a folder of pre-written texts to keep nearby on your desktop when you’re sending your messages to your connections throughout your campaign.
• Online Design Software: In digital communications, compelling visuals are as important as text, but graphic design isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Tools like Canva offer a free, intuitive platform with a diverse library of templates for graphics to add to your social media posts, email messages, or even print off as notes or flyers to pass out in your community.

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Create marketing content that inspires your audience to take immediate action.

 

A call to action (CTA) is a strategic part of marketing strategy that inspires your audience to take immediate action upon responding to the content you’re sharing on your social media feeds, press releases, digital content, or traditional advertising mediums. This small but mighty sentence is the workhorse of your content and ideally, you’ll include one in every social media post you share. 

Curious about how to inspire your audience to leap into action? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when our campaign launches and take advantage of our early-bird rewards! 
• Visit the link below by Friday at midnight to pre-order this one-of-a-kind product and support our business’ crowdfunding campaign!
• Share our campaign on your favorite social media platform and help us spread the word as we near our crowdfunding goal! 
• Comment below with what menu item you’re most excited to try once we meet our campaign goal and launch our food truck! (Tag your friends who will join you for an afternoon treat!)

Take a look at how businesses have inspired their communities to lend a hand of support on our campaign page. Don’t forget to sign up for The Local Crowd newsletter with the form below, and follow along on Facebook to stay connected and learn more!

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