The Emotional Labour of Community Building with Frankie Tortora from Doing it for the Kids

In this episode, I chat with Frankie Tortora, the founder of the Doing it for the Kids community and fellow graphic designer and podcaster!

Frankie shares her experiences, challenges, and rewards in building a thriving community for freelancing parents and, as I’m sure you’d expect, is super honest about some of the harsh realities of it.

Whether you’re considering starting a membership or a community, this episode is a really juicy deep dive into what it takes to do it.

Key Takeaways:

• Building a community is not as easy as it looks; it requires a lot of emotional labor and dedication.

• It is important to differentiate between building a community and building an audience, as they are not the same.

• Engaging with the community and modeling desired behavior is crucial for creating a positive and supportive environment.

• Dealing with churn is one of the biggest challenges of running a community.

• The rewards of building a community, such as seeing members connect and support each other, are invaluable.

Episode Highlights:

01:47 Frankie's Journey: From Freelancer to Community Builder

04:09 Challenges and Triumphs of Managing a Growing Community

07:17 Transitioning to a Paid Community Model 

09:52 Understanding the Difference Between Community and Audience

22:06 Balancing Community Management with Freelance Work