Creating a paid community flywheel with diverse pathways

You may or may not know, I have a not so secret love for flywheels.

One thing I've been thinking about recently are the struggles paid communities often have with growth and how those can be combined with flywheels.

I have no doubt that I've struggled with mine, there have been a whole bunch of reasons why.

I'm guilty of trying to do too much. Custom building stuff for Rosieland is cool and feels right, but it comes with its costs — for me it's meant a somewhat stalling growth. Keeping a schedule of writing has been a struggle and often left me wondering whether that is even the right approach longer term.

However, perhaps my biggest struggle is convincing people of the value that the community brings. It is hard when the majority of the activity is behind a paid wall. Personally, I understand the value of community and what it can bring. If I'm after something and trust the source, then I have no issue paying for things that help me grow. Of course, not everyone has my worldview.

There are two points to tap into here for thinking about building a flywheel.