See how Alissa overcame her fear of failure by nurturing a close-knit membership
Alissa Daire Nelson wanted to shift from a one-on-one coaching model to a one-to-many membership model for one simple reason: to help more people. But she was afraid her first launch might not achieve the numbers she had hoped for.
It wasn’t until she made a crucial mindset switch that she faced her fears and successfully launched her membership community. Rather than chasing numbers, she shifted her focus to serving an intimate community with her first launch—and it paid off in a big way, generating a deeper connection with her members which positioned her for significant growth.
We hear from people all the time who are thinking about making the membership leap, asking for advice on how to overcome the fear of failure—
what if they launch and no one joins?
Like Alissa, if you’re thinking that racking up membership numbers is the only way to create a sustainable community—stop right there. You need to shift your mindset and understand that your role as a community creator, first and foremost, is to serve your members by delivering value.
Truth be told, serving smaller memberships, in the beginning, is a unique opportunity to go deep with a manageable number of truly committed people—your raving fans. And raving fans are what you need for your membership numbers to grow and your recurring revenue to soar.
So what
do you do when a membership launch falls short of the numbers you had your sights set on?
In this story, we’ll break down how Alissa launched her first membership site despite fears of failure and rejection. And along the way, she learned an amazing lesson about the true purpose and value of memberships.
Meet Alissa
After a divorce, Alissa was searching for a new start. She needed a job that could not only pay the bills but also fulfill her desire to inspire others to overcome their own difficult circumstances.
Her job as a nurse had provided security and a steady salary, but the rewards never increased with effort. She did what so many of us would do. She worked long hours, took on more responsibilities, and hoped that
one day she would wake up feeling fulfilled. But something was missing. She felt as if she was locked-in to someone else’s priorities but longed for a way to release her inner spark.
Nevertheless, Alissa held tightly to her dream of helping to inspire others, not just in the hospital, but in her hometown, across the country and around the world.
She started one-on-one life coaching and began experiencing some success—she had found her passion. However, she quickly realized she couldn’t effectively scale that achievement. She was doing what she loved but was still stuck trading time for money.
That all changed when she discovered the membership business model and launched
Daire 2 Succeed. Finally—something personal, impactful, and primed for growth on her own terms! The one-to-many membership model seemed to be the answer to her problems and the right path to achieving her goal of freeing herself to help more people.
What If No One Comes to My Membership Party?
Alissa’s goal was to grow a massive membership site to support her family and to spread positive empowerment as far as possible.
Like many new entrepreneurs, Alissa’s hope was that her work would quickly capture attention and instantly create a profitable site, one with hundreds and thousands of new members.
“You can be an inspiration even in the midst of your mess simply by being courageous enough to be in the mess.”
Her hope also brought fear. Hesitation. Even anxiety.
What would she do if only three people joined her community? Did that mean she had failed? Would that mean her idea was a bad one? Would she have to return to her nursing job?
Alissa’s fear is a common one that everyone faces at one time or another. What if no one else has the same passion? What if she throws the party and no one comes? But she kept moving forward, knowing that no one could follow her until she started walking. So she kept taking the next step.
Alissa persevered through all the doubts and kept pushing forward. Her first launch resulted in 16 founding members.
The Mindset Shift Solution
At first, Alissa battled with resurgent fears. She hadn’t achieved the overwhelming numbers she had hoped for, but she had engaged with new members who loved what she delivered.
Plus, she now had a stream of additional monthly income that she didn’t have before and the confidence of knowing people were willing to pay for what she was offering.
She remembered something TRIBE founder
Stu McLaren said when she first connected with TRIBE: “You need to know your people. You need to love your people. You need to celebrate your people.”
That’s when it clicked in Alissa’s head, her ‘ah-ha’ moment that changed everything. She realized she had to get out of marketing mode and into service mode.
Her first launch
had attracted 16 excited, curious, and committed members—and she seized the opportunity with gusto!
“I knew I could get to know my people, I could love my people, and I could celebrate them.”
Her coaching passion kicked into full gear. A membership of this size meant that she could devote time and energy into investing in every single member. She shifted her focus to serving her community.
Alissa’s deepest motivation all along had been to have a ripple effect of connection, helping people in her community to accomplish more.
Now she leaned into this opportunity to provide an amazing and unique membership experience to all her members.
“They’re members, but they’re also human beings. What they get to accomplish in the world as a result of having your attention and your time is immeasurable.”
Alissa sent every new member a handwritten “Welcome!” note and gave them all a personal phone call—some lasting an hour or more! Everyone was blown away by Alissa’s above-and-beyond service. If they were interested before, they were hooked now!
Alissa discovered the secret recipe for getting a thriving membership site up and off the ground: putting people first. Making meaningful, human connections. And each lesson learned informed Alissa’s next launch.
The Results
Alissa’s perseverance through her fears reaped incredible returns. Her mindset shift from quantity to quality produced:
- A fully-engaged, intimate community
- Breakthrough marketing revelations
- A deeper understanding of her membership audience
- Greater confidence in her next launch effort
She found herself stronger, smarter, and more confident than ever before—and already planning her next launch!
She learned that when your goal is serving other people, you’re never alone, even when faced with fears of failure.
A people-first mindset not only fueled her passion but also created deep connections with her new members. Thanks to this shift, she was empowered to overcome fears and move forward with confidence.
