Oh my goodness. It’s Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday. People sing about, thank God it’s Friday all the time. Look, I got my nails done, aren’t they fancy. 

Today we are talking about growing your community consistently even when you are not consistent. And I think especially for my neurodiverse entrepreneurs, this is one of those big struggles that we have.

I’ve had a whole bunch of new people joining my email list and Facebook group and all this stuff. And one of the challenges I keep seeing over and over again is consistency. Especially if you’re an inconsistent person, especially if you’re neurodiverse with ADHD or anything like that. Consistency is not in our nature. It’s not who we are. And the thing that makes us feel bad about being inconsistent is the fact that so many of the gurus and the experts out there say, oh my goodness. Consistency is key. 

And so today I’m gonna break down why inconsistency is key, but how you can keep growing consistently even as somebody who isn’t consistent. Because discipline is not in my nature, even though I’ve been really stretching myself to show up and do these lives every Friday. I’ve been doing them for almost two years. And I gotta tell you guys, big announcement. I’m not gonna be going live on Friday anymore. I’m not gonna be going live consistently next year on Fridays. 

I will show up consistency live, but it won’t be on Fridays and it won’t be at the same time. Because one of the things that I have discovered is the beauty of designing and defining what consistency looks like. 

So many of the experts out there say you need to show up consistently and you wanna ask yourself the question why? If you don’t know the answer of why they’re saying, consistency is so important because those of us who aren’t consistent people are making ourselves wrong for not being consistent. And so here’s the thing, this is why they say it. Because consistently showing up or showing up consistently helps create that level of know, like and trust factor.

Define What Consistency Is to You

And that’s important when we’re showing up for our audience to have a sense of consistency so that they trust us. So that they know us and know that we’re gonna show up for them in a consistent manner. So one of the things is one way that you show up consistently, even when you’re an inconsistent person, is that you define what consistency looks like for you. Then, you share that expectation that you know you can meet. That’s first and foremost. 

If for example, you have been showing up every Friday at 12:15 every week, live for for two years, your people might expect it. I know I have somebody here who’s watching me either because you saw the thing or you knew it was this time I was gonna be live.

The important thing to understand is I can still be consistent, show up for my community consistently by redefining what consistency looks like to me. I can say if you join the email list, you’ll get a weekly email. I can say I am going to have a free mastermind for you guys to come and get coaching.

I can change the frequency of what that consistency looks like as long as I define it, set it up and meet the expectation. 

If You Struggle to be Consistent…

So if you’re somebody who doesn’t have the type of discipline to show up at the same time every day, week or month, don’t do it. Don’t do it. 

So this first step to really creating that consistency is know thyself and really understand.

Especially with your neuro diversities. What can you do? What feels like it? Especially because a lot of us, we don’t wanna be tied down. We don’t want to have that. Like I don’t wanna have to show up every week at the same time in the same day. So membership may or may not be the right thing for you, or you set it up so that it has flexibility. 

So one of the things I want you to get really, really clear on is defining what you can handle to create consistency. So that’s your first step. Absolutely. The first step in what you wanna do is to define what consistency looks like for you. And if you don’t know what it is, give yourself a month or two months to see where your energy ebbs and flows and how you can show up. 

It’s about designing it based on who you are, knowing your nature. We don’t need to put ourselves into somebody else’s definition of consistency. Define it yourself. Step one, define what consistency looks and feels like for you.

And then step two is to set up the expectation of what that looks like for your community so that you can meet that expectation. So I think that’s part one and part two right there. But you have to have that understanding. 

So for example, the last two years I’ve been showing up at 12:15 every Friday at the same time in the same place hoping that I have consistent internet access.

It looks like I might not have a consistent internet connection today. We’ll see, hopefully I didn’t blip out on you guys. Consistency, reliability. But it could be that I set you up powerfully and say, I’m gonna show up live three times a week and I don’t know when they’re going to be, or I’m gonna show up live once a week, anytime randomly.

So make sure that you click the get notifications if you wanna catch me live so you can watch it. So I could say, I’m gonna come live every week once a week. It’s no longer gonna be at 12:15 on Fridays. That’s what 2023 is gonna look like guys. And I might start showing up a little more vertically.

I’m growing. So you wanna have that, have the ability to grow. If you wanna hear from me regularly, I am committed to showing up once a month for you guys to be able to coach and mentor for you for free. Becuase I still value that. And I want you guys to have access to somebody to help you move your business forward so that I am promising that I can meet that expectation.

I already put them on the calendar and once a month feels good, I gotta say I’ve been doing twice a month. And before that it was four times felt like too much, it was too hard. I want more freedom in my schedule, which is why I moved it down to once a month. But you guys have that expectation. You now know that yes, you can still come for free once a month and I’m even gonna make it so that you guys can see the schedule, lock it into your thing so that if you wanna show up consistently, you can. 

Consistency is Not Discipline

So it’s not discipline. And I really want that one to be clear for you guys. For all of you who are struggling with consistency, God bless, do not try to make yourself something you’re not. Because that’s where we make ourselves wrong. 

Oh, I can’t start my business because I can’t show up. I don’t have the capacity I have. I have illnesses, or I have children, or I have life. That makes it impossible for me to carve out a specific time in a specific day.

Okay, great. Define that consistency, set the expectation and then live up to it. And when you can’t let people know that you’re making a change, that still creates the trust, the know, like and trust factor, that consistency is meant to create the other thing that you might need. 

Binge Produce

Step number two is to be able to, once you understand who you are, then figure out. Well once a month or twice a month, I have the energy and I can binge create content. I love the idea of binging. Like I can binge a Netflix series like nobody’s business. There are those days where I’m like, I don’t feel like working. I’m gonna watch 10 episodes of something. Yes I have. Yes I do. We all do it. 

And sometimes we have those creative juices that are flowing, whether it’s once a month or once a quarter, whatever it is. I love the idea of batching content, whether it’s shooting films and shooting videos. So coming in 2023, I’m gonna start a podcast so I can batch the content that will come out regularly.

I don’t have to show up regularly. And I don’t know when that is yet, and I’m probably gonna take a month off to get it all done. But I can at least do content batching, whether it’s once a month, once a quarter. We’ll see how much I get done this first time and then it will come out. 

So the second step is when you have the energy, because a lot of us neurodiverse folks get into hyperfocus channel, your hyper-focus energy, create as much as you can, and then you can drip it out and release it consistently. Whether you release it as a podcast of log, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, whatever it is that you’re doing. 

Create Your Own System

And step number three is to create the system.

Design the system around you and the amount of content that you have. Now, I have created 15 pieces of content. Well, I can’t do it every week in the quarter. Maybe I can’t. Maybe I what? Can’t do it for six months. Maybe I do it every 10 days. And then you let people know, hey, this new content is coming out of this interval because that’s the capacity at which you have energy.

I’m just gonna keep saying this over and over again for my inconsistent folks. Design the system that works for you. Stop making yourself wrong. I’m not disciplined. My discipline is not anywhere in the realm of anything that I A) value or B) have the capacity to do. I can’t even do my dishes regularly. No, never.

But what can I do? What is the support system and structure that I can do. For me, Saturday morning’s, dishes day, that’s the energy and the capacity that I have. That’s the system that I have created because that’s the only thing that works for me. And to do it, I have to have a really good audiobook that I wanna keep listening to cuz I gotta have an audible in my ears, something juicy and good to keep me motivated for the very dull and boring dishes. 

So again, I come back to know thyself. It’s not discipline. Just know what you have and then design the support structures that you need so that the content can be delivered consistently.

The thing that I struggled the most with was my emails. You guys know how much I struggle with writing. I have reading disabilities, I have dysgraphia. I have difficulty actually getting and typing out that regular content. So instead, the system that I need is, I hired a campaign manager. And so I have a campaign manager and she and I talk like it is well worth my money to pay her for me to talk out our content plan, tell her what to write. She’s nailed my voice. There are days I read emails and I was like, did I write that or did she write that? Oh my goodness, awesome. 

And it’s a system that works. It was well worth my time and value to have something show up consistently. We don’t necessarily meet consistently on a weekly basis. We don’t necessarily meet on the same day every week every time. But she’s the support system that I needed for the emails to go out consistently. So it could be that you hire a person with consistency or you do a trade with somebody who can do the things that you can’t do.

Again, it’s about designing it based on who you are. Because I spent a good year every Sunday night going, oh flip, I didn’t do my email and I gotta write it right now at night before it gets out on Monday. And that so didn’t work for me. But having the Monday deadline that it goes out every Monday at 9:15 did.

It even sometimes shows up at a different time, but at least it shows up every Monday. You guys know to expect an email from me every Monday, and sometimes we might have a few more. And now it’s announced in the emails when you sign up to the email list, you guys know this is what to expect. So you know how I can show up and full disclosure, I have somebody on my team who helps me write the stuff I talk about, what we’re gonna talk about. I create the content, I talk it through. Sometimes she pulls it outta stuff I’ve just said off of other videos or things like that. And we’re using systems that work for me. 

For me, creating video content is really easy. That’s the best way. I don’t have to read anything. I don’t have to look at anything. I have a few notes here, so I remember what I’m saying, but I usually come up with my three bullet points and just wing it. 

Quick Recap

So just to start kind of recapping. So the first and foremost is you don’t need to be disciplined.

You don’t need to show up consistently. You need to know yourself. You need to figure out what consistency can look like for you. That’s an expectation that you can meet. And then you let the community know what that looks like because you know you can meet it. Therefore, it continues to create that know, like and trust factor because that’s why consistency is important.

It’s not about you showing up at the same day every time. It’s not about that. It’s not about discipline. It’s not about forcing yourself into a box that’s uncomfortable for you. I’m not doing the Friday lives, I want more freedom on Friday. I do. 

I did not have time to get ready. I threw some lipstick on and I was just cleaning out the car. So I’m also a little sweaty. 

And then once you have that understanding, then it’s about designing the support structures and understanding what it is that you need. Following your flow of energy, tapping into your hyper-focused moments and creating a bunch of stuff when you have the energy.

Support Systems Based on What You are Capable of

And then from there, taking all of that stuff again, reiterating what the content expectation is and creating the support systems So step number three is, creating the support systems based on what you are capable of. Don’t follow somebody else’s definition of consistency. Define your own and show up that way. Create the support systems that you need based on your own neurodiversity.

Maybe you’re a writing genius and you can write it all in one day and then schedule it out, but oh my goodness. Maybe how to schedule in your blog system you need a little help with, or having somebody to remind yourself to set it. Schedule the stuff in Facebook and social media, Instagram, TikTok, whatever it is that you’re doing, I get help with that stuff.

I get help with that stuff because it’s not all, oh man, that stuff changes all the time. So understand and what is it that you can do to automate things. I have things that are pre-written things that I’ve written before that really landed, posts that have gone before, why we can automate and pre schedule them for us to come out, especially when we’re lost and have no idea what to say.

And I’m always looking at what content do you guys need. I’ve been collecting a lot of data as my Facebook group has been growing. I think we’re about to hit the 1000 mark as soon as I admit everybody into the group that’s waiting and pending, because yeah, you’ve had a lot of growth in the last month or so. Sweet. And so that’s the thing, once you have the support systems that are really working, so another good example is, so I have this amazing ad that’s running right now and people are really zinging with it. We’re getting a lot of growth in my list and a lot of growth.

Use Automation to Create Consistency

It’s automated. And so automations are a great thing to help with that consistency. And there’s still some things to tweak inside those automations before I scale it even more. So the other thing is to understand that it’s a process. You don’t have to get it right the first time. You just have to get it going. 

And again, as you start to define how it is, you can show up and you let people know what’s going on. That is your consistency as long as you’re meeting the expectation and when you can’t, you redefine it. 

Canaanukkah is going to be every day at four o’clock. If you haven’t set your calendar starting December 18th, it is my holiday season. I am Jewish, I have Hanukkah coming up. I set it for every day at four o’clock to be consistent, and I’m gonna be on the road for four days of it in my rv, living my life. We’ll see what happens on those last four days while we drive. So I’m setting up the expectation those last four days could be rescheduled based on internet across the country, on the drive, and or I may have, my community could show up and help me out. 

So that’s the thing in terms of designing your support system, once you’ve designed it, then you can look to see can I scale it? Is it ready for the next level? Is it ready? Is it supporting in enough ways that it’s giving that consistency?

So if you’ve been struggling, the biggest takeaway I want you to understand is you do not have to be consistent. So you can consistently grow a community, even if you’re not consistent, absolutely do it. Understand what your consistency could look like, set the expectation.

Know thyself so you can set the expectation and meet that expectation. And if you can’t meet it, redesign it. Let everybody know so that you’re showing up authentically as you, if I forgot to say that, let people know. 

People know to expect spelling errors in my ads, in my emails, in my things, guys, I’m dyslexic and I don’t catch it. Even though I have somebody else on my team, she might still not catch things and see things, et cetera. It happens all over the place, especially in the things I write. Oh my goodness, if I write a quick text, expect spelling errors. But that’s me being consistently spelling things wrong. But if you know that about me, I’m meeting your expectations, showing up authentically. 

Those types of things, it’s really important. It’s not about forcing yourself into a box, you’re not. It’s about designing your consistency around who you are and then creating the structures to support what works for you. Having systems, whether it’s outsourcing and team, whether it’s automating systems, so that it shows up at any given time. Whether it’s having whatever it is that gives you what you need and just letting people know. And then when you need to make the changes, make the changes, and when it’s working and you’re getting that know like and trust factor. People keep showing up to listen and have conversations with you, then it’s time to scale that. Take it to the next level.

Once you know the system is working for you, then you can scale up. Because those of us with ADHD and other types of neuro diversities, once we have a system that really works, we have a tendency to wanna break it. As long as you let people know that you’re breaking it and you’re changing it.

Just like I said, the Friday live Facebook lives, we got like maybe two more weeks of this. That’s it. And then it’s gonna be something new. And I will show up live weekly, and I don’t know when, and we’ll see how it goes. But I am going to take my own advice and start building a system that feels more free for me because you wanna support structure as a neurodiverse person that your consistency is inside of a support structure that gives you freedom and flexibility because a lot of us value freedom and flexibility.

I don’t wanna beat box in, I don’t wanna have to show up every day. I don’t wanna have to show up every week. So what feels good for you? That’s the gist. 

All right, so those are my tips on how to grow your community consistently, even when you’re inconsistent. I did mention step number two was when you have the energy and the creativity and that like hyper focus, batch the stuff, write a whole bunch of emails, record a whole bunch of videos, make a bunch of posts. I just had some really cool ideas on some memes that I might do. I at least captured it so that when I have the energy to create, I can create it and get support, whether it’s trade, somebody else doing a trade for you.

Depending on where you are in your business, you can always lean on team, even if you don’t have money. We’ll do another one about that one later. 

I will see you if you’re interested in finding out more about Canaanukkah, learning a little bit about the Jewish holidays from a lady who converted to Judaism, and we are absolutely gonna have ourselves lit up about our businesses.

It’s meredithcanaan.com/canaanukkah, and I will, and we will talk about growing our community as well. So if this is a topic that lights you up and it’s something that you’re interested in, I think I forgot to see, I constantly forget to put the links in things. And so I will give you the link if you wanna find out more about Canaanukkah.

Where I will do my darndest to show up every day at four o’clock, because Hanukkah is a nighttime after dark celebration. So this year we’re trying it every day at the same time of day, even though the last four days. Be flexible, guys. I’m setting the expectation to be flexible. Because guys, I’m gonna be on the road in an RV, living my life and my lifestyle to get to Florida, see my family. And yes, the last day of Canaanukkah is on Christmas, and that’s okay. All right. I love you guys. I will see you soon. Check out Canaanukkah. It is Canaan, my last name, which in other places they pronounce Canan, which is why we call it Canaanukkah because it rhymes Hanukkah. All right, I love you. I will see you soon.