CASE STUDY: Exactly How I'm Reinventing the Membership Model

IN THIS EMAIL:

👀 HOW TO COME UP WITH INDUSTRY DISRUPTING IDEAS: There’s not a set formula here, but there are some things I want you to focus on.
⭐️ WTH IS THIS [ONE] MEMBERSHIP AND HOW, SPECIFICALLY, I DESIGNED IT TO SHAKE THINGS UP: I’m gonna break this down for you in detail so you can see the BTS of our thinking.
🌈 AN EXAMPLE OF OUR UNIQUE LAUNCH PLAN USING “FOUNDER” SPOTS: Which is a framework that you should def steal when you’re launching a brand new product/offer.

Introducing the [One] Membership
Soho House meets Netflix meets the Masterclass platform meets WeWork

[One] is a unique, first of its kind membership collective for innovation obsessed, “allergic to doing shit like everyone else” grown-up entrepreneurs who are alllll the hell in on the idea of becoming a category of one.

Let’s talk about how we’ve intentionally created this [One] membership offer to be a true industry disruption.

EXAMPLE OF #1: MEETING A NEED NOT BEING MET IN OUR SPACE
The [One] Membership tackles a topic that many people are curious about, but no one else is addressing: How to become a “category of one” in your business.

I’ve sworn for 6 years that I was never going to do a membership in my biz. Why?

They just didn’t appeal to me at alllll.

I didn’t love the long term commitment, I found the framework of a typical membership boring AF, and simply because of the way a typical membership is designed, I basically started immediately thinking about when I was going to leave the second I’d join.

The truth is: there ARE a lot of killer memberships out there—and I’ve enjoyed my time in a few of them. But the thing that was always missing for me are that most memberships are built around the idea of teaching you ONE skill.

Things like: mastering sales in your biz, becoming a crazy good conversion copywriter or learning how to be a Linkedin ninja.

And along with that, there’s typically hours of content to consume [which, if we’re all being honest: we never fully catch up on and then feel bad about it] as well as a very rigid framework of monthly events.

We’re creating a membership that’s aimed at actually teaching you how to be innovative…in an online biz space that’s, at least right now, completely ignoring innovation as a practice.

YOUR TAKE AWAY:

Brainstorm some needs not being met in your industry or space. Set a timer for 15 mins, grab a notebook and really think h-a-r-d about what needs are not being met in your own industry based on everything you’re seeing RN. If money was no object and you had no time or resource restrictions, what problem could you potentially solve that EVERYONE else is either ignoring or refusing to address? What are the questions you’re always getting or the things you’re always noticing people need more help with? How could you potentially come up with a solution that addressed these head on?

EXAMPLE OF #2: WHAT’S THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IN MY SPACE IS DOING?
The [One] Membership tackles the industry standard model of a membership that typically has: a set # of zooms every month, a set type of topics [1 class, 1 Q&A etc] and reinvents it with a straight up “Netflix” type schedule that will keep you guessing

Again: it’s not like I don’t understand WHY this framework [with a set # of zooms on set days with set topics] is the industry standard⬆️.

It’s way the hell easier to manage, way the hell easier to explain and, as a result, before someone even starts to explain what their membership is, your brain kinda, sorta already understands it.

💥Why [One] is choosing to strategically do the opposite of this 💥

➡️ We’re all busy AF. 

And while Fridays at 3pm EST every week might have worked for you a few months ago, the second it doesn’t, you’re starting to pack your bags.🧳

If you’re missing sessions cause things are busy…AND you never even finished the hours of curriculum and video you were supposed to watch…ANNNND maybe you’re also not super duper into the community [which was fine before, but now added to the first two issues it becomes clear]—you’re Audi 5000.🚗

➡️ This standard structure can also start to feel boring after awhile.

Especially if you’re attending Q&A sessions where people are asking, uhm, dumb questions…or no one is talking at all. Or if the quality of guest speakers leaves something to be desired. Or maybe it feels like some of the masterclasses don’t apply to you, but if you miss the monthly masterclass why are you there?

🔥 Here’s how we’re doing things differently in [One] 🔥

✅ Our schedule is going to be Netflix style.

So just like when you open up Netflix on a Friday evening and you have no idea what you’re going to find, the same will be true with our monthly calendar in [One]. Each month it will switch up entirely and the third week of the month you will get an email filling you in on next month’s calendar.

Sidenote: my fantasy is that as soon as you see that email drop you’re going to be giddy with excitement to open up your gcal and add all of the events that seem most dope to you.

✅ Our monthly events will all be built around a theme…and the sorts of events offered will shift based on what’s required of that month’s theme/goal.

So sure: there are still going to be things like masterclasses, Q&A’s and more but we’re not limiting things to a set monthly offering of “3 calls and that’s it.”

We’ll also have: workshops, town hall type discussions, social events, “board meetings” [to share insider scoop about our own biz], tech trainings, co-working sessions, and honestly: whatever TF is needed to get everyone into action and moving the needle in their biz according to that monthly theme.

So for example: February’s theme is going to be: Get that crazy biz project of yours D-O-N-E. The idea is that I want to get us all moving, taking action [and for some of us with smaller projects, getting the damn things done] with a fun, exciting, biz project of ours that we’ve been letting get dusty up on a shelf. I’m guessing you have one of these too, just like I do?

[For the record, I’ve already decided I’ll be working on my new podcast launch: Brand Pop.]

Based on that month’s theme/goal, maybe this will require 3 co-working sessions per week? Maybe we’ll plan 5 to REALLY keep us on track? So perhaps just for that month we’ll do 20 co-working sessions [along with other events, of course], but then the following month we’ll have way fewer co-working sessions because they won’t be required.

YOUR TAKE AWAY:

Again, remember the example I gave above of the web designer who looked around and saw that everyone else in her space was offering 1-2 revisions on projects and she decided to offer unlimited revisions? Look: This “opposite” thing doesn’t necessarily work for every scenario, but you’ll be surprised by what a gigantic shake-up and disruption [in a good way!] you can bring about just by doing things differently than everyone else. Try doing a poll [or ask a question] on Instagram stories to your community and ask them this: If I said to you I was going to add a juicy new service on to all of my existing packages for FREE [or I was going to add a new product to our product line…etc], what would you choose and why? The answers you get will probably be hella interesting and may actually include your “opposite” idea.

EXAMPLE OF #3: WHAT NEW, CREATIVE SPIN COULD I PUT ON ALL THE STANDARD ISSUE PRODUCTS, OFFERS OR SERVICES IN MY INDUSTRY?
We’re addressing this one in a bunch of different ways in the [One] Membership

Before I dive into the examples of our strategy here, remember: just because we’re talking about industry disruption and “category of one” moves does NOT mean that every single thing on your list needs to be an idea more creative than the iPhone or a move that’s bigger than the creation of the internet.

Because the bar is so low…and because most other biz owners are not even paying ANY attention to this shit, often your moves here can be simple AF.

💥Here are some things we’re doing in [One] to put a new spin on the standard issue Membership Model 💥

➡️ Different days and times for events every single month 

Again, as entrepreneurs [with families, responsibilities, hobbies, hell even with ever changing Bravo TV watching schedules] we’re all busy AF. And our flavor of “busy” this month may look totally different than our flavor of busy next month.

We all also live in different time zones…and have different times of days when we’re at our best. So each month the days and times of our events will switch up [and yep: of course everything will be recorded.

➡️ Non “cumulative” schedule and structure

Because there’s no curriculum to consume…or b.s. “exclusive proprietary framework” of mine you need to learn, nothing in [One] is going to be cumulative. This means if you were on a vacay and missed every event the first two weeks of the month, you’re not going to be “lost or behind” if you attend events in the last two weeks of the month.

➡️ No requirement or expectation that all members come to EVERY event

We want you to look at the monthly schedule and ONLY put things on your cal that feel fun, relevant and aligned. We don’t expect you to come to every single sesh [and, in fact, don’t even think you should try].

➡️ Because our schedule and offering are switching up all the time, no one’s gonna get bored

At least that’s the gameplan [and for the record: Greg & I don’t wanna get bored either!]. We’re taking the planning of our monthly events and themes VERY seriously. And we’re going to paying very close attention to what’s working, what’s not and what YOU and the rest of the community need in order to keep moving toward that “category of one” status.

YOUR TAKE AWAY:

Take the pressure of yourself to come up with the most earth shattering, game changing new “spins” that you can put on your product and offers and simply challenge yourself to come up with a few meaningful, standout things that you can use to further differentiate yourself. Creativity is key here, but stay away from complicated [trust me: that’s my specialty and it always makes shit way harder]. Brainstorm 5 ideas and then choose 1 and try it out.

WE’RE OFFERING 100 [ONE] MEMBERSHIP FOUNDER SPOTS AND ARE USING THIS AS OUR LAUNCH STRATEGY

We’re using our tried and true “Founder” launch strategy for this new membership after seeing big success with this in past launches.

This basically means we’re offering 100 “exclusive” Founder spots for the first people who join [One]. And in order to reward this first group [who’s willing to throw their hat into the ring on a brand new, yet to be “proven” offer], we’ve created some juicy ass bonuses that make doing so an absolute no brainer.

[One] officially kicks off in January, 2024, however, for Founders who sign up in December, they get a 30 min 1:1 coaching session with me [that normally go for $1000] for the price of one month of the membership [which is currently priced at $197].

They also get: Founder’s office hours, access to my two most recent masterclass, an opportunity to join our “Founder’s Council” that will shape the future of [One] and probably lots of other good shit that we haven’t even thought of yet.

There’s even a fun “exclusivity” element to it.

This “Founders strategy” is a killer one to use for any new item, offer or program that you’re getting out into the world and you should seriously consider stealing it if you have something coming up that’s also brand new.

But let’s get back to [One] for a hot sec cause I have a feeling that you actually may wanna grab one of those Founder’s spots for yourself.👀

HERE’S SOME MORE DOPE [ONE] STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT:

➡️ A killer community: And in case you’re thinking FB group…don’t. We’re going to bring you and all of your amazing “category of one” fellow entrepreneurs together to learn from, get inspired by and support in Skool.

➡️ A curated monthly inspo and trend “stack”: I’m going to curate for you all of the monthly trends, updates, genius branding and marketing moves, creators to watch, podcasts to listen to and more. Basically everything I think is important for you to know about as an innovation obsessed entrepreneur.

➡️ Private Instagram account Thanks to the recent updates Instagram has made, I’m going to be ditching everyone currently on my Close Friends List and replacing them with YOU and other [One] members. This means we’re going to have a private space for me to share stories, Reels and even posts where we can all interact.

➡️ Monthly Content Club Instead of a monthly book club, we’ll have a [totally optional] monthly content club. Sure, sometimes we will read books, but sometimes we will listen to a series of podcast episodes, or read a series of essays around our monthly theme and then discuss them all together on a zoom to share takeaways and lessons.

Trust me: this ain’t yo momma’s typical membership.

So, if this feels like this could be a fit for you…

HERE ARE YOUR NEXT STEPS:

➡️ Click on over HERE to our [One] Application. At the top of the page you will see a link to our 18 page [One] magazine that includes lots more scoop, our first 6 months of themes as well as January’s schedule.

➡️ Then you can APPLY and become a Founding Member of [One]! You’re under no obligation to join just by applying, but that is the first step in the process.

We’re kicking off our first event on December 19th, and as per uzsh, I’m saving your ass a seat there.

**If you have any questions about [One] just hit reply and ask away!

p.s. If you missed my How to Become A Category of One in 2024 Masterclass and you wanna watch the replay, you can do that HERE [password= ONE]