Let’s face it, no matter how many people we might be working with, we all need a community of friends outside of the day to day that we can share with. If it were not for Facebook groups over the last few years, I as an agency owner would have struggled through many issues alone.
We are all so lucky to work in an industry where instead of competing, being secretive and spiteful, we openly share and encourage one another. Perhaps it’s roots are inspired by the open source software that have enabled us all to develop our businesses over the years.
Over the years, the groups in this post have helped me with the following:
- Loneliness
- Mental health
- Contracts
- Processes
- Technical issues
- Lead generation
- Friendship
Having a place to belong is invaluable. Below is a list of Facebook groups that we have personally been a part of, added value to and benefited from.
A few words of warning from and ex Facebook addict!
Before you join tonnes of groups heed this warning. If you join too many groups then you are in danger of creating too much noise and distraction for yourself on social media. Read the descriptions and join only the 2 – 3 groups that you feel you can add value to and of course build up relationships in.
I recommend you focus only on a few communities rather than spreading yourself across too many. I made the mistake myself in the past of being a part of every group I could find out there frankly due to FOMO.
This lead to:
- Extended times on social media
- Way too many notifications
- Repetitive posting
- Stress in trying to help too many people in different groups
- Feelings of inadequacy when comparing other peoples stories and comments
- Ongoing bombardment of new ideas and tools I had no capacity to implement
So in the following list, check them out, make your decision wisely then enjoy being a part of the community. If you feel any of the above symptoms, take a sanity check and ensure that what you are doing is serving you and the community you are a part of.
And finally the Facebook group list
Here goes. These are Facebook groups run by leaders in our industry who are good friends of mine. Enjoy!
The Admin Bar
Launched by my friend Kyle Van Deusen and his buddy Matt Sebert, the Admin Bar has a weekly live show and a Facebook group that they dedicate hours of every week to providing amazing value. If you are a web developer and are looking for new technology, ideas and strategy, this is a great group to be a part of. Highly recommended group because of the amount of input from it’s leadership.
WP Builds
Run by close friends of mine Nathan and David, this group has a heavy focus on WordPress as well as online products that will help you run your business. This group has a particularly fun vibe and a lovely family feel. Another of my top recommended groups.
Supercharge Your Web Agency
Launched by my good friend Chris Castillo, this group is perfect for web agency owners who are looking for help with processes and procedures for their agency as well as long term strategy. Chris puts a lot of work into the resources he provides and is highly respected in the community.
Grow Your Web Design Business
With a heavy focus on content, James Rose from Content Snare administers this community of over 4000 web agencies and designers. There are a mixture of conversations that happen here including systems, processes, contracts and Jame’s favourite topic of automation.
Make Money With Web Design
Huge community run by the team at Fox Web School. As of this blog there are over 9000 members and the content is very much focused around improving the way you work as an agency to maximise the value you offer and increase profits. Rob the community leader invests a huge amount of time both in the group and creating tonnes of valuable content on Youtube and other channels.
Sell Your Service
Expert training from Mike Killen on selling and building funnels. Perfect to learn the art of selling online both for your agency as well as adding value to your clients.
Marketing Development
Pete Everitt is my go-to expert when it comes to marketing my agency. His podcast is fantastic and he’s launched a small but valuable group that focuses on marketing strategy. He is very generous in sharing his expertise, great tools and of course has fantastic content on his podcast. Unlike the other groups this one is new which is always a good time to become a part of a community.
Design for Geeks
A group focused on teaching web developers the principles of design. Many developers get frustrated by their own web design skills as they started off as geeks who code. This group helps them up skill and is run by my close friend Piccia Neri.
Elementor Design Community
Although this is tool specific, this group Mor Cohen goes beyond just Elementor. She shares great tools and design inspiration. She’s a wonderful teacher and community lead. Great place to be if you either use Elementor in your agency or want to keep up-to-date with design trends.
Honourable mentions
Depending on your needs here are a extra few groups you may benefit from.
- Content Creators – Focused on generating traffic from your content
- Better Proposals – Does what it says on the tin
- Turnkey Websites – Helping you develop websites as a service
- Logo Geek – A place to ‘geek out’ about logo design
- Beaver Builders – For those peeps that rock Beaver Builder in their agency
Now I cannot hope to list every group ever. I know there will be a few I have missed out (don’t take it personally)!
If you’d like to share a group you think is utterly fantastic, please share it in the comments below.
