In this episode, we’re hearing from Overwhelmed on the Delegation Struggle Bus. Our letter today deals with figuring out how to get the right type of help to make sure your community will thrive even when you're not there.

To better help Overwhelmed on the Delegation Struggle Bus, I invited Kristen Pavle as my guest expert. She is a relational designer transforming community-driven businesses into creative, self-sustaining ecosystems. As a community strategist, she has experience founding and creating her own communities, as well as supporting  fresh new communities into a life of growth and thriving.

So, tune in to better understand the different types of community management help available and which one makes the most sense for you and your community. You'll also be the first to know the details on the Ember community's newest program, Ember Fractionals.

In this episode:

(05:21) The communitea: Overwhelmed on the Delegation Struggle Bus’s letter

(07:20) The 3 buckets people who run communities fall into

(08:59) Kristen's experience of taking a step back as a DIY founder/community creator

(12:53) The value of leadership development within your community and asking for help

(17:19) Bri's experience and insights on getting help from virtual assistants for your community

(20:10) The identity and mindset shift behind allowing yourself to ask for help

(24:02) Hiring for your internal community versus your external community

(25:04) Bringing in the strategy piece with a fractional  community manager

(32:00) How you can break into the next level of your community skills

(33:22) A sneak peek into the game-changing Ember Fractionals Program

(38:33) It's never too late to turn your community around

Resources Mentioned:

❤️ Sign up for Heartbeat. Bri’s recommended all-in-one community platform.

💛 Join Ember. The place for go-getter community creators building community-powered businesses.

🔥 Ready to hear the stories we almost kept to ourselves? Here's this week's secret episode with Kristen!

Kristen Pavle

🖥️ Website

📱 LinkedIn

Bri Leever

🖥️ Website

📩 Newsletter

📹 Youtube

📱LinkedIn

And before you go…

💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

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That helps the podcast more than you know and I deeply appreciate it. 🙏

Want your story to be next? Submit an anonymous letter about your community conundrum, fiasco, drama, or other dilemma here.

*Dear Bri is produced by Ideablossoms.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

This week on Dear Bri, we hear from Seeking Community Connection, and they’re in the middle of one of the most universal dilemmas in online community management: how to foster peer-to-peer connection and learning.

To solve this community conundrum, Bri invited community strategist and business coach Diana Davis, founder of Recess for Creatives. With a background in photography, graphic design, and seven years of community-building behind her, Diana has cracked the code on what it takes to create an online community that doesn’t orbit around the founder, but thrives because of thoughtful, playful structure.

In this episode:

(3:43) The communitea: Seeking Community Connection’s letter

(6:55) Connection-centric design: Letting go of the spotlight

(10:24) Being a professional nudger: The value of proactive outreach

(19:04) Community tips: Competition and family/friends discounts

(24:01) Craving the spotlight vs. creating sustainable community

(26:02) Teaching kickball: Coaching vs. facilitating in community

(27:20) Is it a membership or a community? Key distinctions

(34:00) Community product design: Mixing the flour before the eggs

(38:01) Why Diana made her community paid (and why free communities can fail)

(40:01) Building boundaries: RSVP culture and the cost of flakiness

(43:02) Events as the cheese plate: Using synchronous experiences to convert

(46:02) Nudging and teaching members how to show up

Resources Mentioned:

🧲 Check Diana’s Free Attraction Masterclass: magnetize dream clients with ease and alignment.

❤️ Sign up for Heartbeat. Bri’s recommended all-in-one community platform.

💛 Join Ember. The place for go-getter community creators building community-powered businesses.

🔥 Diana Davis gets real about almost walking away from her community. Watch the conversation.

Diana Davis

🖥️ Website

📱 Instagram

🎙️ Podcast

Bri Leever

🖥️ Website

📩 Newsletter

📹 Youtube

📱LinkedIn

Want your story to be next? Submit an anonymous letter about your community conundrum, fiasco, drama, or other dilemma here.

*Dear Bri is produced by Ideablossoms.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In this episode, we’re hearing from Ready to Retreat. Their letter explores how to deepen connection in a thriving online community through an in-person retreat.

To better support them, I invited Eric Plantenberg as my guest expert. He’s a client, friend, and mentor—and the founder of the deeply transformative Abundant Living Retreat. I’ve been to many retreats, but none like his. Tune in to hear how Eric creates powerful containers for in-person retreats, what it takes to be a great facilitator, and a fresh, liberating way to approach goals and meaningful connection.

In this episode:

(04:36) The communitea: Ready to Retreat’s letter

(07:43) It's critical to have both an online and an offline experience

(10:02) What makes a great facilitator of in-person experiences

(12:10) The seemingly contradictory way to having the best experience

(16:11) How to effectively draw people into a retreat

(18:06) The gap between aspirational and actual values

(20:45) Matching retreat leadership to real-life leadership

(23:54) Eric's journey of founding Abundant Living and Humm Kombucha

(28:37) The commitments behind such a transformative container

(32:36) Holding the tension is critical for a valuable community

(34:15) It's your job to provide value, not make people comfortable or not

(39:24) It's better to have fewer but truly engaged members

(42:39) Goal setting, releasing the outcome, and becoming who you want to be

Resources Mentioned:

👥 Join Izozi Membership.

🌄 Get Your Ticket to Abundant Living (and join Bri there!)

📕 Check out the Way of the Peaceful Warrior.

📺 Watch Eric's TEDxTalk, The Anatomy of Results.

❤️ Sign up for Heartbeat. Bri’s recommended community platform.

💛 Join Ember. Community creators building community-powered businesses.

🔥 Ready to hear the stories we almost kept to ourselves? Here's this week's secret episode with Eric!

Eric Plantenberg

🖥️ Website

📱 LinkedIn

Bri Leever

🖥️ Website

📹 Youtube

📱LinkedIn

Want your story to be next? Submit an anonymous letter about your community conundrum, fiasco, drama, or other dilemma here.

*Dear Bri is produced by Ideablossoms.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.