Community-Minded or Just Community-Branded?

Everywhere you turn, you hear it: “Nobody supports me.

My own people don’t show up for me.

Strangers treat me better than folks I grew up with.” 

This is what growth looks like—collaboration over competition.

It’s a familiar refrain in creative industries, especially in small cities where everyone is hustling for visibility. I’ve seen these posts, I’ve scrolled past the heartbreak emojis, I’ve read the rants about being overlooked. And sometimes, the frustration is valid—because yes, support for creatives can feel uneven.

 But here’s the question that always sticks with me: when you say no one supports you, are you actually paying attention to the people who already do? Or are you so fixated on who isn’t clapping that you’re blind to the ones who are?

 And more importantly—are you supporting anybody else with the same energy you expect for yourself?

 That’s where the difference lies between being community-minded and just community-branded.

Support Isn’t Owed

The entitlement illusion is the idea that because you’re grinding, people automatically owe you their money, time, and attention.

 But support in business isn’t an entitlement package. It’s not a direct deposit you can demand on the 1st and 15th. It’s built on relationship, reciprocity, and genuine connection.

 Support doesn’t have to be dollar-for-dollar. Sometimes it’s as simple as sharing a flyer, leaving a review, making an introduction, or just clapping when someone else wins. That’s reciprocity in community.

 The entitlement illusion reduces support to one thing: what can you do for me right now? And that mindset drains trust.

Walking the Talk vs. Selling the Talk

 Here’s the difference:

• Community-Minded: Accessible, collaborative, invested in mutual growth. You give without demanding a receipt. You understand that when one person shines, it reflects on the whole community.

• Community-Branded: Polished branding, inflated prices, gatekeeping. You market the idea of community but rarely live it. You expect others to boost you, but your calendar is empty when it’s your turn to clap.

 In short, being community-branded is about optics. Being community-minded is about impact.

 This distinction matters for entrepreneurs, media creators, and local business owners because audiences can feel the difference. One builds loyalty. The other breeds resentment.

Real support looks like showing up, listening, and building together

The Cost of Double Vision

 When your vision is double-sided, you see every way people fail to support you—but you’re blind to the ways you fail to support them.

• To the entitled, it always feels like no one does enough.

• To the supporters, it feels like their efforts are invisible.

 That imbalance kills trust. And without trust, you can’t build authentic community.

I’ve Seen This Play Out Up Close

 Community is cyclical. If you only ask, “What can I get?” and never, “What can I give?” you eventually dry up your own network.

 Being community-minded doesn’t mean doing everything for free. But it does mean:

• Offering something within reach while you grow your premium services.

• Acknowledging the people who clap for you, even if the crowd is small.

• Showing up for others with the same energy you expect.

• Building bridges, not just billboards.

When your audience sees you as authentic and reciprocal, they’ll not only support you, they’ll bring others with them.

Clout Won’t Build a Village

For Black creatives, entrepreneurs, and small business owners, community is all we’ve got. We don’t always have mainstream platforms or endless budgets. What we do have is each other.

When people pull up and pour in, the vibe is unmatched.

If we waste that by turning community into a marketing slogan while gatekeeping access, we lose the one thing that actually sustains us.

What I Dare You to Ask Yourself

 Before you post another rant about being unsupported, pause and ask:

• Have I acknowledged the people who do show up?

• When’s the last time I supported someone else without expecting it back?

• Do my offerings actually make space for the community I claim to serve?

• Am I truly community-minded—or just community-branded?

Because the truth is, no one owes us support. We earn it by the way we show up for others.

Clout Can’t Clap for You

Community is not a buzzword. It’s not a hashtag. It’s not a prop for your brand photoshoot.

 It’s how you live. It’s how you give.

 If we say we want thriving communities, then support has to be a two-way street. Otherwise, we’re just performing the word community while leaving it empty.

 And sometimes, the people who scream the loudest about not being supported are the very same ones who never clap for anybody else.

Community feels like this! Lifting each other up without keeping score.