Ben Anderson didn't set out to build a community venue. He set out to buy a house near the seacoast and do more of the work he'd been doing his entire career — connecting people through music and live events. The Word Barn, located in Exeter, New Hampshire, happened almost by accident: a band needed a place to play, all the other venues were booked, and the energy that night made it clear something real was possible in a small, intimate space.

Thirteen years later, The Word Barn hosts over 115 events a year — concerts, poetry readings, theater camp, owl encounters, farm-to-table dinners, and more. It's become one of the most beloved gathering spaces on the seacoast, and the way it got there is a story worth paying attention to.

Ben joins Wheeler and Colin to talk about the organic, non-linear path from idea to full-time business, why slow growth often produces more durable results than a fast launch, what the difference between a scene and a community actually means in practice, and how a venue built around the arts quietly turned into a model for intentional entrepreneurship. Cofi Advisors is a proud sponsor of The Word Barn.

Check out the Word Barn here: https://www.thewordbarn.com/

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Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell