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When Desirée Pais first launched Benshen in 2015, her plan was to run an all-natural skincare company. “It was the first time I ever did anything like that, and there were so many incredible Squarespace tools I could utilize as a new business owner, from the design aspect to the easy-to-use ecommerce,” Desirée says. But by 2017 her vision had developed into something more holistic: an online platform for coaching and personal empowerment. “I wanted to focus on helping people feel powerful and confident in a different way—from within,” she says.
Benshen has since grown into a community of hundreds of women, attending monthly coaching courses, virtual events, and one-on-one mentoring with Desirée. Learn how Desirée built a business that thrives on mutual support and personal growth, and how Squarespace Member Sites helps her keep it all connected and running smoothly.
A community-first approach to business growth
One of the key forces behind Benshen’s ongoing success is Desirée’s ability to observe and adapt to her community’s needs. “After coaching women one-on-one, I realized there was something missing: daily accountability,” she says. “Clients would have to wait a full week or more until they saw me again for sessions and I thought, wouldn’t it be so cool if they could actually hold each other accountable daily rather than having to wait until our next session, which would allow them to keep up the momentum?”
That realization led Desirée to design and launch her most popular offering—a four-week course called Benshen Course, which includes morning meditation livestreams, small accountability groups of 3 to 4 women called PODS, and weekly workshops.
“With Benshen, I thought and continue to think all the time of what I would want, what I felt and feel is missing, especially around women connecting with and supporting one another, and try to create a space for that,” Desirée says.
Teaching made simple with Member Sites and Scheduling
Squarespace has been integral to creating the digital spaces where Benshen’s community gathers and learns. Gated Member Sites help Desirée share course materials, no matter where her members are located. “We are truly obsessed with the Member Sites,” she says. “Every month people can sign up for the course and access their Member Sites to find weekly PDFs and workshop videos, which we embed into different pages so that members can watch the replays no matter which time zone they are in. The pages help us organize our course content in a beautiful and easy-to-navigate way for members. We use Member Sites for our intensive mentorship, MASTERY, in a similar way, allowing members to access the pages to find links for our weekly meetings and replay videos to watch at their own leisure.”
It doesn’t just help members stay organized either—Desirée credits Member Sites for helping her streamline the many tasks that go into teaching a course. “I am such a visual person and membership sites really help us to organize everything in one place,” she says. “It was a mess before! We sent out PDFs via emails, emails bounced, went to Junk, people couldn’t find the material, we had to remember to send out meeting links and information. With Member Sites, we can just duplicate pages and build it out with ease each month. It saves us so many headaches, and we get to make it look aesthetically beautiful too.”
For one-on-one coaching sessions, Desirée uses Scheduling for easy booking and appointment management. “Scheduling is a game changer,” she says. “It gives clients the ability to choose sessions and times that work for them and plugs it right into our calendar.” Taking advantage of these tools helps her stay on top of running her business while giving her the flexibility to put her focus and energy into what matters—her community.
How intentional habits foster a supportive community
Benshen is, in some ways, empowered by its community as much as the courses empower its members. “So many of us are working on different things in our lives and we can often feel alone in our pursuits,” Desirée says. “But with our monthly course container and the accountability groups, members are able to support each other and cheer each other on.”
Desirée has also put a lot of thought into creating boundaries and tools that help members maintain the positive nature of the Benshen community. “We teach how to support one another powerfully with POD RULES, such as: no gossip/complaining (stating facts is different than complaining), no giving advice—only sharing from personal experience, and showing up for one another daily,” she says. “We also have practices like sharing gratitude daily, celebrating each other’s wins, and cheering each other on in pursuit of our visions.”
What’s developed, with her guidance, is a supportive and open group of individuals that intentionally works on empowering themselves and others equally. “COVID-19 actually showed us the power of community and how the internet can be a powerful tool rather than a detrimental one, depending on how we use it,” Desirée says. “With Benshen.co, we’ve created a space for people to connect through stepping into their power, creating the life of their dreams, and learning how to support one another along the way.”
Advice on launching a community-centered business
As Desirée sees it, being in community with others is a natural desire for most people. “The best way to build community, from what I have learned, is to try to give people a way to connect with one another over a common interest and uplift each other,” she says. “People want to be part of a community—we want to feel like we belong somewhere.” Sometimes, it just takes a passionate individual with a vision to create that space of belonging for others.
For anyone who wants to start their own community-focused business, her advice is to trust yourself and practice patience. “Stay true to you,” Desirée says. “Don’t try to be like other people and how others are doing things. I promise if you show up authentically and create something powerful because you feel it will help make people’s lives more meaningful, people will always want to be a part of it. And don’t rush the process—it takes time for things to grow! We started with 30 women and grew to over 200 per month in three years. Keep going.”
Inspired by Desirée’s story? Start building your own brand on Squarespace.