A new way to network
Janna Carlson on gradual growth and building meaningful connections
The Sustainable Solopreneur is a weekly newsletter about seasonal, cyclical, supportive business strategy for solopreneurs and creative souls who want more out of life than the status quo, hosted by business coach and strategist Jenni Gritters.
A few weeks back, the incredible Jamie Cox invited me to connect with Janna Carlson. I have to be honest: In this season of life, which is super full up, I’ve been saying no to most coffee chat invitations. But when I saw what Janna was working on, I was intrigued. And I loved our chat so much that I even joined Janna’s new program, which I can’t wait for you to hear about today!
Janna is the founder of The Co-Promotion Club, a curated networking club for experienced small business owners who want to build high-quality referral partnerships. She also co-owns Studio Rocket Web Design with her husband, Jeremy, where they build two-week websites on Squarespace for small and mid-sized businesses.
In this conversation, Janna shares how she transformed her personal networking challenge into a thriving business model that's helping entrepreneurs build their own "superpower networks." Enjoy!
Janna, can you tell us about The Co-Promotion Club? How did this idea come about?
The Co-Promotion Club was born because I was a web designer with a coffee chat problem.
Early last year, I realized that all of our clients came to us from personal referrals. So I quit my broadcast marketing efforts (social media, blogging, podcasting, newsletters) and put my effort into building a rolodex filled with likeminded referral partners. What followed was 100 coffee chats in 2024.
Whoa, 100! Did it help bring you clients?
Not quite. After meeting each person for the first time, I’d follow up with an email to thank them. Then I’d share our one sheet and ask how I could support them in the coming months. Finally, I’d drop a card in the mail to thank them for being on our team.
As my referral rolodex filled, I started to see the problem: I’d planted seeds of mutually supportive relationships, but they weren’t growing or producing anything. I realized it was going to take a long time (and consistent effort) for these relationships to start bearing fruit.
My challenge became taking my acquaintanceships to functioning referral partnerships. So I started The Co-Promotion Club.
Each month, I’d invite my referral partners to meet with me in groups of four or five. We would share about our work and get to know each other better. We also shared easy, lightweight requests for support. As I got to know my referral partners better (and vice versa) they also started forming new, valuable connections with each other. Over time, we gained a deeper understanding of what made our work unique and valuable.
Then, it became easier to refer each other, and the feedback I got was overwhelmingly positive. In December of last year, I officially launched The Co-Promotion Club to the public. It must’ve resonated, because founding memberships sold out quickly!
Tell us more about the Co-Pro Club. I loved my first experience with it earlier this month!
It’s difficult to describe The Co-Pro Club in a few words. It’s not just a networking group, even though we network. It’s not really a community, even though we are a community. The Co-Promotion Club is a supportive, welcoming space to find and grow high-quality referral partnerships.
It’s also become a place where experienced business owners can feel safe being themselves, bring their challenges and questions, and find targeted (and kind) support.
We meet in small groups once a month and we do three things: We introduce ourselves, we share about a specific aspect of our business, and we make a low-lift request for support. We also have special events to help jumpstart referral partnerships in creative ways. And we have a Slack group where people can ask for resources and make referrals.
It’s like being surrounded by several dozen trusted friends who are creative, resourceful business owners. These people GET IT and they’re here to support you. If I’d stumbled on The Co-Promotion Club a year ago, I would’ve felt like I’d won the networking lottery. I created the perfect solution for my former self.
Creating businesses for our former selves is my favorite way to build. I’m curious: What business practices have you use while building the Co-Pro Club that are "non traditional" but effective?
The first area is in growth and marketing. I’d previously spent a year in a growth experimentation program, and that transformed the way I think about this. I learned to identify and prioritize only what’s actually moving the needle.
I currently have three growth mechanisms that are working in The Co-Promotion Club:
LinkedIn
Word of mouth
Open house events
Since I’m now running two businesses, I have to be clear about where I’m investing my time and energy. These are the only three growth mechanisms that currently pass the test.
The second area of non-traditional business practice is around member retention. I pay close attention to the people in The Co-Pro Club and ask for feedback frequently. Members have been generous and kind with their insights, and it’s helped me shape the experience to meet their needs.
I focus on a meaningful, supportive experience and trust that people will stick around for as long as they’re getting value. It’s allowed me to shift my focus from member retention to member experience, which is a subtle shift that’s lifted the stress of having to convince members to stick around. When founding members reached the end of their initial membership term, 90% of them renewed, which tells me I’m on the right track!
What does "growth" look like for you, with this venture?
For me, successful growth is gradual. It allows me to remain closely connected with what Co-Pro Club members are experiencing without burning myself out.
This matters to me because I come from 25+ years of running an independent piano studio, and for most of those years I was completely burned out as a teacher. While there were aspects of teaching music that I loved, the demand on my mental energy left me drained. Later in my career, I moved toward a group piano lesson model. Being part of collaborative music-making allowed me to rediscover some of my passion before retiring a couple of years ago.
Facilitating Co-Pro Club groups brings back the best elements of teaching. I love it and am extremely protective of that energy! It will likely keep me from scaling The Co-Promotion Club very far, and I’m fine with that. I’d prefer to keep it small and love what I do.
Okay, since you’re deep in networking philosophy: What do you think people get wrong about networking and sales in this climate? What do you believe actually works?
I think we’re emerging from an era of social media that has successfully convinced us that growth can (and should) be quick. While we seem to be coming out of that, damage has been done. We still expect quick results in networking and referral partnerships as well as in selling, and I think some of the patience required has been lost.
Trust has always taken time to build. It’s an essential piece that can’t be rushed. My goal is to provide a space and experience that fosters trust-building. Having a network of people who know, like, and trust you is a solopreneur superpower.
That doesn’t happen overnight, and it requires that you show up consistently and generously! But the day you look around and realize you’ve got this superpower network, you feel unstoppable. It’s the power of the whole village, whether you’re raising a child or running a sustainable business.
That makes me tear up because we all want a village right now, so badly. I’d love to hear about how the Co-Pro Club plays with the other offers/businesses in your life!
I launched The Co-Pro Club during a quiet season in our web design work. (I co-own that business with my husband.) It allowed me the space to experiment and reflect on how this new business would mesh with our existing work and the lifestyle we want.
I intentionally kept everything manual at first, so I knew exactly what members needed at each step. I’ve gradually introduced automation and tools that enhance the experience while requiring less time from me. Through that process, I’ve also been able to evaluate where our web design work can better serve our lifestyle and goals.
Now that web design season is ramping up again, we’re focusing on fewer, larger projects and paying close attention to making sure there’s breathing room for both our family and our work.
What advice would you give to someone who's struggling with "standard" or traditional paths and wants to make a change?
Two recommendations:
First, find a couple of people who are excellent listeners and talk with them. I highly recommend choosing people who ask insightful questions over giving advice. Pay attention to what emerges in those conversations. Take notes. Spend some time by yourself and observe how you’re feeling after each conversation.
Second, take all the time you feel you need to think through things, and then go for it. Start the thing, make the pivot, commit. Perfectionism quickly kills the best ideas.
You’ll make mistakes, and you’ll probably make some of them publicly. It’s unavoidable and it’s okay. It’s also part of the reason to surround yourself with people you trust; they’ll be a soft place to land when you mess up and will help you learn more quickly.
Above all, pay attention to what feels sustainable to you, what allows you to find joy in your work and in your life! While there are many moments of stress and doubt in the solopreneur life, we are capable of protecting the spark that brought us here in the first place.
Janna Carlson is the founder of The Co-Promotion Club, a curated networking club for experienced small business owners who want to build high-quality referral partnerships. Originally from the U.S., Janna currently lives in Portugal where she’s benefited tremendously from learning patience and drinking great wine.
Connect with Janna on LinkedIn here.
Curious about my (Jenni’s) background? I’m a writer and business coach living in Central Oregon. My goal is to teach everyone who will listen that it’s possible to build a simple, stable, successful business that supports your human needs first. Join my group coaching program, SUSTAIN, for more conversations like this (and a community of people who are all about the path less taken), and follow me on LinkedIn & Instagram.
COPRO CLUB FOREVER! Janna is so great at what she does and I love learning from her!