business building via community

Could be a freemium model or just free tools related to your business, like budgeting spreadsheets for an accounting firm

YouTube, blog, etc. Teach and add value for your potential customers. 

Slack, discord, somewhere for the community to be together and share ideas

Work together so you come together. Clean up a road, build a trail, house a fundraiser. 

Shine the light on individuals doing cool stuff. There stories will inspire.  

Online or in the flesh, bring people together, bring in special guests to speak, give people a reason to get excited.

Encourage people to connect and encourage people to connect others. Leverage those that are out going to bring wallflowers into the light. 

Many groups are anti-promotion, but they can serve a purpose. Bring in outside promotions that might be valuable to the community. Promote what members are doing to help them grow their careers.

Keep track of all the work you are doing. Catalog. Make it accessible. After a few years, you will have a treasure trove of information and resources that new members can use. That's useful for sure!

There is a tendency to guilt people into sticking around. What you really want is those people that are there because of the value created, not a guilty conscience. Make it okay to go, but make it so good nobody leaves..