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Action builds confidence. Action builds confidence. I think a lot of fear around, oh my gosh, am I going to launch? Is this the best kind of business? What should I do? Do I really even want a community? Really stems from this concern? Am I going to sign up and market a party, an annual membership no one's going to show up to, or worse, I'm going to get 10 people and they're not going to be 10 people I'm stoked to spend the next year with. And you're worried that you're going to be able to provide those 10 people with enough value that they're going to be excited about what they've purchased? If that resonates with you, I have a solution. Don't start with an annual membership. Do something smaller one time first. If you are worried at all that you're only going to get 10 people and you're not sure, is your audience going to follow you? Is this the best thing for you to be spending time on? There is a olution. Launch a 30 day challenge. Host one event. Think about having a mini course or a workshop. What do all of these things have in common? They have an end date. So let's say you offer a 30 day challenge and you do all the things that we talk about here. In People Magic, you start with a transition. So you're going to bring people together in this 30 day challenge who are all going through the same transition. It's first time engineering managers or it's first time parents or somebody who is building their first business as a solo entrepreneur and you take them through a 30 day challenge. So for example, we're going to do this 30 day challenge to put you on the path towards that best year ever. So you want to actually make sure you still have people in a transition. You still have best year ever. You pull that together to launch your 30 day challenge with your big purpose. In the big purpose formula, which is I or we bring together who you're bringing together those first time engineering managers so that we can have our best year ever. So for a 30 day challenge, it's also I, are we bringing together first time engineering managers so that we can plan our 2025 or plan our 2026 or plan our 2027 and organize our goals, you can accomplish that in 30 days in a really, really compelling way. Then normally in People Magic, when we're creating a community that can become a million dollar community, we would have monthly themes, a weekly calendar, daily polls and questions. In the case of a 30 day challenge, you would just have something for people to do every day. We've also run challenges and seen people do challenges really effectively. When you could even have almost like a live session right at the beginning of the day or a mantra or action for that day, then you have your offer. So you get to build the muscle around charging for that 30 day challenge so that you can go and validate or prove to yourself that you can charge money and people will pay you the money that you would like to charge. So you want to have your offer. As we've talked about before, pricing has three Rs. So it's results. What are the results that they are going to get in this 30 day challenge and how would they value those results? Number two, the second R is replacement. So what does your 30 day challenge give them that is going to get them those results, but also what are they spending money on today to get those same results? So it might be a book, it might be a workshop, it might be an annual membership. You want to charge a price that creates respect. Respect for you to invest heavily in making that 30 day challenge as compelling and awesome and valuable as you can possibly make it. And we know people pay attention to what they pay for. This is a universal human action. So you want to charge enough that they're going to pay attention to the 30 day challenge. Then you have your launch. So you would have the same two week launch timeframe which we recommend with launching anything. An annual membership or a 30 day challenge or an event or a course. And then what's beautiful, especially if you are on a mighty network, is you will have a magical first experience. You do not have to announce anything after or set any kind of expectations after this 30 day challenge. You can just go market the 30 day challenge and prove to yourself whether your audience, if you have one, or an email list if you have one and if you are starting from scratch, it's even better to start with a 30 day challenge because it means that you can practice without any fear. What's the worst that can happen? You have a 30 day challenge that doesn't go that well. You will learn more by having a 30 day challenge where you've gone through those steps of people magic and you get five people or you get 10 people or you get zero people, then if you just keep kicking the can down the road and you're like, oh my gosh, I know I can help people. I know what I can offer is valuable. I know I love, love to teach, but I'll launch my membership next month or I'll launch my membership after I get back from travel or I'll launch my membership once I get through the holidays. You are so much better off building the muscle around launching, inviting people in, talking to people about a 30 day challenge, then waiting until after the holidays or waiting until you're through the next set of travel. You want to get this going because you will learn in a way that you won't if you keep putting it off. So what's great about a 30 day challenge is again, you don't have to announce anything after it. You don't have to set expectations for people. You can just have a 30 day challenge and guess what? When it achieves your goals. Notice how I said when it achieves your goals, not if it achieves your goals. But let's say you're able to get 30 people paying you $159 for a 30 day challenge and they fit that criteria of your ideal member. They are motivated by the results and transformation that you have offered them. Well, guess what, now you announce a surprise session on day 31 and what are you gonna do on day 31? You are going to unveil a membership. So you've already validated that people want this and then you just tack on the ongoing membership. Not only should you have those 30 people who are a part of it and who have gotten value and actually now are building relationships with each other, because that's gonna be the key in a challenge. It's why a challenge is probably alternative to validate an annual membership than say a mini course. Because in a mini course you'll get stuck on. But what about all of my content? And my content has to be perfect and it's all about me with a challenge. It's like, hey, I'm bringing people together and we're going to go through this together and we're going to get this specific result. Then unveil your longer term business opportunity, the longer term thing that they could do. And then as you do that, maybe do something really cool like you say for these first 30 people, it's free for the first year. If you bring in three more people, that's a deal to do every day of the week. So now those 30 people, let's say 20 of them, brought in three people each. Well now you're sitting at a heck of a lot more than 30 people and it is starting to grow itself self. So this is just one example of looking for solutions. When you are procrastinating, you're putting it off. You know, you want to do something and you know that it's going to be really lucrative and valuable, but also you're going to be able to help a lot of amazing people and yet you just can't get it done when you find yourself in that situation. Break down the problem. First of all, I'm a big believer. I just did this on a different project. Name your fears. Name the things that are getting you stuck. The fear of, oh, my gosh, I'm going to launch something I'm going to be stuck with 10 people I'm not that excited about for a year that is easily addressable with something like a challenge or an event. But if you don't name your fears when you are finding yourself stuck and putting things off and like kicking it down the road, then you won't be able to find those solutions. And finally, if you are finding yourself procrastinating or putting something off or just being afraid, join a community. Join a community. Get stories, experiences, ideas from other people. Someone who has run a really successful challenge, maybe open your eyes to, not just that as a solution to what's a way I can test my way into having an annual membership, but they might also be able to offer you all sorts of really interesting ideas around how to market a challenge. But when you can get it out of your head, get it onto a piece of paper, get it into a community, you are going to be able to move so much faster and, and with so much more confidence. And this is the thing. I. I have learned this lesson more times in the last two weeks, which is action builds confidence. So taking an action, getting a response, even if that response is somebody's not interested, you will have more confidence because you took an action than if you let that. That gap exists between the thing you want to do and your present moment and not doing the thing. That's what I would recommend. This is people magic. I'm Gina Bianchini and we'll see you in the next episode.
Podcast: People Magic: How to Build a $1M Community
Host: Mighty Networks
Episode: A 30 Day Challenge Is The Only Way To Launch
Date: April 30, 2026
Featured Speaker: Gina Bianchini, Founder & CEO of Mighty Networks
In this episode, Gina Bianchini discusses the single most effective way to launch a profitable and engaging digital community: starting with a focused 30-day challenge. She explains why smaller, time-bound initiatives are the antidote to hesitation and anxiety around community-building, and delivers actionable steps and frameworks for testing, validating, and growing a thriving paid community. Throughout, Gina emphasizes practical action, community-driven value, and building confidence through doing.
Why a 30-Day Challenge?
“If you are worried at all that you're only going to get 10 people and you're not sure, is your audience going to follow you? ... Launch a 30 day challenge. Host one event. Think about having a mini course or a workshop. What do all of these things have in common? They have an end date.” (00:44)
Who to Target: Bring together people at the same life or career transition for a shared, specific outcome.
Example: First-time engineering managers, new parents, solo entrepreneurs.
“You're going to bring people together in this 30 day challenge who are all going through the same transition ... We’re going to do this 30 day challenge to put you on the path towards that best year ever.” (01:10)
Formulate a Compelling Purpose:
Use the ‘Big Purpose Formula’:
“I/we bring together [who] so that we can [outcome].”
“In the big purpose formula, which is I or we bring together who you're bringing together... so that we can have our best year ever.” (01:40)
Set Up an Engaging Structure:
Pricing with Intention:
The Three R’s:
“People pay attention to what they pay for. This is a universal human action. So you want to charge enough that they're going to pay attention to the 30 day challenge.” (03:28)
Recommended Launch Sequence:
Two weeks prior to start, begin inviting and marketing.
Use your existing list or start from scratch.
View low turnout as a learning opportunity.
“You will learn more by having a 30 day challenge where you've gone through those steps... than if you just keep kicking the can down the road.” (04:40)
Immediate Feedback:
Know quickly whether your audience is interested before committing to a long-term model.
Surprise & Delight:
If the challenge works, invite and upsell members into a membership community on “Day 31.”
“Now you announce a surprise session on day 31 and what are you gonna do on day 31? You are going to unveil a membership.” (06:10)
Reward Early Adopters:
Example: Give first 30 members a special offer (e.g., a free year if they invite friends).
“Maybe do something really cool like you say for these first 30 people, it’s free for the first year. If you bring in three more people, that’s a deal to do every day of the week.” (07:00)
Name Your Fears:
Write down what's stopping you so you can find practical solutions.
“Name your fears. Name the things that are getting you stuck. ... But if you don't name your fears ... you won't be able to find those solutions.” (08:10)
Join a Community:
Connect with others to gather ideas, encouragement, and accountability.
“If you are finding yourself procrastinating or putting something off or just being afraid, join a community. ... You are going to be able to move so much faster and with so much more confidence.” (08:55)
Key Takeaway: Don't wait for the perfect idea or right moment—start small, act, and iterate.
“Action builds confidence. So taking an action, getting a response, even if that response is somebody's not interested, you will have more confidence because you took an action than if you let that... gap exist between the thing you want to do and your present moment and not doing the thing.” (09:30)
Gina Bianchini lays out a pragmatic, energizing roadmap for anyone aiming to build a paid online community—from first action to scalable success. Her mantra is clear: start with meaningful, time-bound challenges to validate demand, build confidence, and create “people magic” around real transformation and connection.
This episode serves as both motivational kickstart and practical playbook for getting out of your head and building something remarkable, one bold step at a time.