A Bright Idea
In this feature, we bring you a bright idea from a CFA member – a simple tip, piece of advice, or business / life hack that you might want to adopt. If you have a ‘Bright Idea’ you’d like to share with CFA members, please send an email to editor@cfa.ca highlighting your idea.

Dani’s Bright Idea: Joining Clubhouse:
The Platform That Everyone in Business Should Be On

Clubhouse is a growing platform which started with only 1,500 users in May 2020,
and has grown to have more than 600,000 registered users in 2021. At this current
trend, the platform may be at two billion users by June.

Engaging on Clubhouse is like live podcasting mixed with a conference call. Users can
listen to conversations, join in, ask questions, and host their rooms. It is made up of Clubs,
Rooms, and Followers. Clubs are topic-based, allowing like-minded people to share advice,
topics, and interests. Rooms are the live-hosted conversations, which can be created on
the spot or scheduled out. Users are notified when someone they follow joins as a speaker
in a room so that they can listen in.

What you need to know if you are currently using or thinking about getting on Clubhouse:

1. Expect to be there more to learn than you are there to teach. You should
envision Clubhouse like a conference.

Clubhouse has quickly become my favourite social and business app. When other media
has become a lot of work and ultimately draining, Clubhouse is the opposite. It is motivating,
inspiring, and engaging. Every user on the app is giving their time to support their network,
share their insight, and get to know others. It is as authentic to a conference as you can get,
so don’t underestimate the learning and motivation that speakers have.
Remember when you are at a conference in a keynote speaker room with thousands of
others, it is not necessarily a space to network. Networking happens in small and medium-sized rooms where you can speak, share, and ask questions.

2. Respect the rules and each other.
Clubhouse is currently invite-only, and there are rules on the platform and in clubs. It is
also in Beta mode and works only on iPhones. These rules are built to protect the value
of Clubhouse and ensure that the conversations are positive, meaningful, and on topic. If
you are in a room about lead generation, do not veer off into a sales conversation trying to
sell your business products. If you break rules, you can be removed from a room, a club,
or taken off the app entirely.

3. Maximize your profile and the tools in your biography.
Your biography is the first look into who you are and what you do, and it needs to represent
you. Most Clubhouse bios are about 20 lines of information, but the first two are what they
see when they first click on your profile. Here are my tips for crafting an effective biography:

• Make your picture pop. A single colour background with a professional headshot is a good way to go.

• Share your pronouns. Like most social media platforms, gender identification is not available. Share your pronouns to create an inclusive environment on the app.

• Make the first two lines of your bio impactful. Share the most known thing about you. It could be your role, your passion, or your organization.

• Brag about yourself in your bio. Include your awards, accolades, areas of expertise, and anything that will encourage someone to follow you, or to hear more about those potential topics.

• Attach your public profiles, and make them public! There is currently no one-on-one messaging on Clubhouse. Everyone takes their conversations offline to Instagram DMs, so your profiles need to be public and be an accurate photographic representation of who you are on Clubhouse. To connect more with others, it is pertinent to be open to messages.

4. Create meaningful connections.

This app is worldwide and its algorithm is based on whom you follow and the clubs that you are in, so you can meet people from all over the world with like-minded interests. Currently, with the app at under five per cent of its potential user-ship by end-of-year, there is a greater opportunity to meet others. There are many great conversations about franchising, marketing, and leadership. I try to host a room once a week or more to facilitate conversations about these topics. Each user has something to offer and interacting with like-minded individuals helps you join more meaningful conversations in the future. If you are interested in hosting a room on a topic that interests you or that you specialize in, invite other speakers to grow the audience and to create a more diverse panel of speakers.

5. The platform is going to grow, which is going to cause a lot of change.

Many of the existing features and flow of the app will not be functional with a larger number of users – which increases daily. We will likely see moderators become paid roles or partnerships with the app, creating clubs will be nearly impossible, and highly-followed keynote speakers will eventually come at a cost. Enjoy the app as it is now, and be patient as the changes come and the app becomes something very different in the next 10 months. Follow me at @danibazely to join our conversation on Clubhouse and direct message me to connect further!