Theresa built a 51-member paid community in her small Wisconsin hometown in a matter of months. She wanted a business community where small-town female entrepreneurs didn’t feel completely alone, and there wasn’t one. So she decided to create it herself.
When she came to us to brand Made Here, her story stuck out to us. We’re both from small towns ourselves, and there was a time we thought success meant getting on a plane, flying to a place like NYC, and being in the room for “real” networking events and conferences.
Turns out that’s not true. Just because you’re from a small town doesn’t mean your dreams have to be small too.
We brought her on the pod to talk about what it actually looks like to build a real community, the kind where people enjoy networking instead of dreading it, and walk away with real friendships instead of a stack of business cards they’ll never look at again.
If you’ve ever felt like you have to leave your hometown or hop on a plane to build something that matters, this one’s for you.
What We Talk About In This Episode:
- What made you decide to build Made Here instead of joining an existing community?
- How is Made Here different from the big, name-tag-and-business-cards style of networking event?
- What was the moment you realized you didn’t have to leave your small town to build something big?
- Why did you decide against building your own brand in Canva?
- What’s been the hardest part of building this from scratch?
- If someone’s listening from outside Wisconsin, what’s the one thing you want them to take away from this episode?
Human First, Always
One of Theresa’s mentors used to tell her “human first, always,” and it stuck with her enough that it became the whole design principle behind Made Here.
Before the first event, she made sure to tell everyone to show up as they are. She wanted people to walk in already knowing they have a seat at this table.
And it worked. Theresa only knew one person walking into that first event. By the end of it, the whole room felt like longtime friends.
That’s the part most networking events miss. You can build a room that looks impressive, or you can build a room where people feel like they can let their guard down. That’s the kind of room we love.
Build It in Public, Even Before It Was Ready
Theresa didn’t wait until Made Here was fully built to start talking about it. She recorded a simple talking-head video and just said it out loud: “I have this crazy idea, I’m thinking about doing this, this is what I’m kind of picturing. Would any Wisconsin ladies be interested?”
It blew up. Viral videos aren’t the norm or the goal, but it happened to work for Theresa.
And instead of building the rest of it behind the scenes, she kept bringing her audience into every step, even the branding process with us.
That’s the move most of us skip. We sit on an idea until it’s “ready,” then whip open the curtain and announce it, and wonder why nobody feels invested.
Theresa built Made Here in front of everybody instead. By the time it launched, her audience had already decided they wanted in, and 51 people joined.
Why a Canva Logo Wasn’t Enough
Theresa loves Canva, but when it came time to build Made Here’s brand, she knew a DIY logo wasn’t going to get her where she wanted to go.
She didn’t want to just pick colors and an icon and call it done. She wanted to get clear on her actual vision, her mission, and how she wanted people to feel the second they found her.
Part of what pushed her there was that classic elevator pitch problem, the one where someone asks what you do and you freeze. Getting real clarity on who Made Here is for and what it stands for was the thing that finally made her stop choking on that question.
We are totally obsessed with her new brand!
Staying Small on Purpose
Made Here isn’t trying to be everything. Theresa priced it lower than competitors on purpose, because she wanted this business community to be accessible, not exclusive.
But she’s still working out the balance in real time, and it’s a tension every community builder knows.
- Too many events and people feel guilty for not showing up to all of them, so they cancel.
- Too little and it doesn’t feel worth staying for.
It’s a good reminder that the doubt doesn’t go away once something’s working. You just learn to keep building anyway.
Find Your Local Business Community
You don’t have to build your own Made Here to get the benefits of one. Theresa’s advice for anyone who feels like she’s the only entrepreneur in her town:
- Search Instagram or TikTok for a local networking or social group near you: There’s probably more out there than you think
- Look into community orgs that already exist locally: Theresa’s been eyeing her town’s local Toastmasters group for exactly this reason
- If nothing local exists yet, you’re allowed to start it: That’s the entire origin story of Made Here.
There’s a room out there for you. You just have to find it, or maybe even build your own.
Meet Theresa
I am a married mom of two. I’ve been in the online space since 2015, before reels and stories were even a thing. I’ve pivoted along the way but the through line of everything has been growing my personal brand. It always came back to finding a business community and that’s where Made Here was created.
Listen to Us Chat With Theresa!
Apple Podcasts | Spotify
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Abbey Oslin and Courtney Petersen are Minnesota-based marketing experts with over 20+ years of combined experience working with big brands. They are educators and co-founders of Duo Collective; a boutique organic marketing agency specializing in SEO, branding, and custom websites for women-led small businesses and creative entrepreneurs.
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