Starting a Membership When You Don’t Feel Ready: My Step-by-Step Story

In early 2024, I was staring down the digital education space wondering where to begin. A course? Workshop? Coaching?

So I chose what I thought would be the simplest, lowest-barrier path: a membership.

Just one problem: I had no idea how to set it up and run it on my own.

But I knew one thing—I wanted consistent (dare I say, passive) income without having to pitch constantly. And I wanted to create something sustainable that aligned with how my brain worked as a systems-loving, methodical STEM entrepreneur.

So I built a recurring revenue offer. Here’s what that looked like.

Step 1: Recognize and Ignore Other People Limiting Projections

When I first told a mentor I was thinking about launching a membership, their response was:

"You won't be able to build anything on your own for at least five years. Come lead [free] workshops in my community."

That comment felt like a punch to the gut. But it told me more about them than it did about me. They wanted me to stay small—under their wing, in their system, on their path—so they can keep profiting from my contributions.

Trusting my instincts, I respectfully declined, and moved on to work with other mentors who were willing to show me the way.

Step 2: Find a Framework That Resonates

Instagram recommended The Membership Masterclass by Stu McLaren. And I loved the simplicity of his message:

Launch before you're ready. Let your people build it with you. Your clients' success stories will become your strongest marketing assets.

You don’t need a polished Kajabi backend, a content calendar planned to 2027, or 20 pre-recorded modules.

Step 3: Test the Idea Publicly (Before You Build Anything)

I posted on LinkedIn:

My inbox quickly flooded with support and encouragement.

Within 48 hours, three people signed up. Within a week, five.

No ads. No email list. No funnels.

Just relationships, trust, and a clear problem to solve.

Step 4: Make it Easy to Say Yes

I launched the Sure Strides Society with a founding member rate of $32/month.

I used Kajabi to a sales page and host it, Stripe to process payments, and Airtable to organize all the resources I wanted to share.

There were no prerecorded masterclasses, onboarding sequences, or promises of perfection. Only genuine real-time support, curated tools, and a space for all of us to grow.

Step 5: Deliver Value Before You Scale

What began as biweekly Q&A sessions naturally expanded into weekly calls that became the heartbeat of the community. 

Sometimes I coach.
Sometimes we mastermind.
Sometimes we talk about life.

60 sessions later, we’ve laughed and cried, shared mom stories and job transitions, developed tools and templates, and made money doing work that actually matters.

"Rosalba supports members with motivational insights, tackling challenges, and by teaching us how to use different websites, platforms, and software to fast-track our freelancing success." - Negar A., PharmD

 

"Rosalba's creative ways of looking for clients is a huge help for developing an abundance mindset, which I will keep with me moving forward. She has such a warm light and fantastic energy that comes across in all the Sure Stride Society meetings." Julia C., PhD

 

Why Recurring Revenue Models Work (Especially for STEM Professionals)

Membership-based business models can exponentially compound your revenue if you deliver valuable content and retain clients. The global subscription economy market size is projected to be worth $1.5 Trillion in 2025, and Zuora's 2025 Subscription Economy Index™ (SEI) report found subscription models outperformed S&P 500 companies by 11%.

If you’re used to project-based work or one-off services, a membership can give you:

• Consistent monthly income
• Predictable workload
• Opportunities to deepen client relationships
• Space to test content before turning it into higher-ticket offers

It also reduces the pressure to constantly pitch or launch. Instead, your marketing becomes an invitation to join something bigger.

What Helped Me Grow Fast (and Get Invited to Teach This Framework)

After a year of running the Sure Strides Society, I was invited to speak at a women’s business retreat in Canmore, Alberta, hosted by Sarah Lebrecque.

Social Siren's AI Retreat
(Top: Melanie, Tania, Rosalba; Bottom: Sandy, Sarah, Ruth Ann)

I taught my exact model for creating recurring revenue and deep connection through community.

Standing in that mountain condo with powerhouse women around me, I realized: this wasn’t just about memberships. It was about reclaiming the way we do business and creating offers that solve a specific problem and feel good to deliver. 

That weekend didn’t just feel like validation. It was expansive. Proof that my story could become my strategy. Proof that the thing I built from scratch—despite all the doubts and projections—can ripple out and inspire others.

How to Start Your Own Online Community: A Simple Roadmap

1. Choose a Niche You Know Deeply

Don’t pick a trend. Your past profession(s), pain, and passions can all be monetized. My community was born from my journey as a scientist trying to approach business like an experiment that needed every step optimized before results could be published.

2. Invite People Into the Vision

Write a post. Send a DM. Host a live on social media. You don’t need 10,000 followers. You need 5 aligned people who trust you.

3. Price for Growth

Start with a beta rate that rewards early adopters. You can always raise it as the value grows.

4. Keep It Simple

You can start a free Facebook community or you can invest in platforms like Kajabi if you want to consolidate all your digital offers and marketing (membership, courses, digital products, website, email marketing, etc.). 

5. Focus on Connection Over Content

Pre-recording tutorials are great, but the real conversations, support, and co-regulation happens inside a live community.

Final Thoughts: You’re More Ready Than You Think

If you’re waiting to feel 100% confident before launching something new...you’ll be waiting forever.

Your community doesn’t need you to be perfectly polished. They need your authentic presence.

They need a leader who goes first.
Even when she’s scared.
Even when the roadmap is fuzzy.

You don’t have to build it all at once. Just start with baby steps and let it evolve with you.