“Become the Fire” Book Signing at The Book Stall: Building Community Has Never Been So Much Fun by Elisa Schmitz

As an entrepreneur, one of the things I love most about what I do is building community. At my first business, iParenting, we built a community for expectant and new parents that grew into one of the biggest parenting communities online. After iParenting was acquired by Disney, it was tucked into the larger community of the Disney Family Group. At 30Seconds, we’re growing a community for those who want to inspire and be inspired, and I’m grateful that our community includes you!

With my book, Become the Fire: Transform Life’s Chaos into Business and Personal Success, we’re building a community of diverse leaders who give back by sharing their stories and mentoring others via their experiences along the path to success. We’re also growing a community of readers who benefit from the stories and lessons shared in the book, and there’s nothing that feels better than making a difference like that in someone’s life.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to have book signings that enable us to build community in a fun and interactive way. At a recent book signing at The Book Stall in Winnetka, Ill., I got to connect with our growing Become the Fire community. Sharing stories, lessons and takeaways from the book, and answering questions and giving individual feedback to attendees, resulted in new or deeper relationships – and several “aha moments” for all of us.

If you read the book, you know this is because I believe inspiration is a two-way street. By sharing ideas and insights, opinions and feedback, together you can inspire and be inspired. That’s exactly what happened as we built community at The Book Stall, and growing a community has never been so much fun.

The Book Stall staff members were warm and inviting. They’d set up a table and chairs for me and our attendees in the back of the store, so it felt like we were there for a “book club” – friendly and engaging. It was the perfect venue to sign books, give away Become the Fire prizes and have a lively discussion.

The staff put signed copies of the book in the store’s Business section – as well as right up front by the register – where it may be discovered by an entirely different audience. The Book Stall also helped me send signed copies of the book to family members as gifts for the holidays.

I’m thankful for friends who turned out to support me, and for attendees I’d never met before who have now become part of our growing Become the Fire community. Several have already reached out to connect after the event, and I’m grateful to include them in our circle going forward.

As challenges, chaos and fires continue to confront us, we need to rely on each other for support and inspiration. By sharing our stories and hard-earned wisdom, we can motivate each other to continue growing and making an impact. After all, making life better is what community is all about.

Take 30 seconds and join the 30Seconds community, and follow us on Facebook to get inspiration in your newsfeed daily. Inspire and be inspired.

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Order your copy of Become the Fire: Transform Life’s Chaos into Business and Personal Success.

You can visit my author website at ElisaSchmitz.com, and learn more about my book on achieving career and life success at BecomeTheFire.com.