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I never actually knew there could be a community career, when I started out. It was very new in 2014 and honestly, I thought it was such a fun job-description – it can’t be right… Yelp had an opening in my hometown for a Community Manager position and immediately I knew – I have to apply! And I guess I must have done something right, because I got in! Yelp was an amazing journey, and the best place to learn about community. After 3 years, I took my knowledge & expertise to do my own thing and worked with startups in my city. And as of 2022 I am leading the Creators community in Germany for Canva which is an absolute dream!

I think the biggest challenge, if you are consulting, is getting businesses to sometimes see the value of communities… Also there is always a lot of misunderstandings from people on what community management realy means and it gets mixed up with social media too often.

A mix of reading, researching, connecting with other folks in the industry. At the beginning of my career there wasn’t too much learning around this topic, whereas now there is so much!

I like Slack actually a lot! But I can’t say it’s my favorite..

Be authentic and ask members for what they want / need instead of guessing. This will help you pinpoint engagement strategies much easier!

Community is having a group of people with shared characteristics and goals uniting and sharing experiences together.

Connect with others in the industry & ask for help, so you don’t feel lonely! It can be hard, so it’s great to have people to lean on. And always ask for help when you need it!