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 After consecutive quarters of negative and uncertainty, the third quarter of Q3 marks a significant development regarding the outlook for the future of the economy of membership.

The membership economy has been going through one of the most turbulent times in its times. Rising inflation, heightened risk of uncertainty, and a more cautious consumer have been dominating the trends through 2022. The downstream effects of these developments, as well as extreme volatility of the financial markets have now spread to virtually every industry.

Membership is no exception. As the 2022 projections of revenue created during the membership boom of 2021 began to quickly appear out of reach the year, members have been forced to look deeper than ever before into each aspect of their overall strategy.

In a nutshell: If you're a membership operator, 2022 has repeatedly test your belief - over and over again.

The majority of the stories until now will have you believing that 2022 will be overwhelmingly negative for members and we need to be prepared for a downturn across all consumer sectors each market, and in all company.

It's not that easy.

Are you looking for that moment?

You see, in difficult market conditions and in business, we always look for indications, indicators and signs that a turning point is imminent or near. Although we rarely realize a turn has occurred until months or even weeks following it happens There's one element that always coincides with such turns -- a moment.

The Q3 moment was exactly that.

It was a moment where membership operators saw extremely positive outcomes despite extremely negative feelings. It was a time when silence was greater than the chaotic. It was a time when people confirmed that their product was so valuable that customers simply couldn't live without it.

It was a time that marked a discord.

The most significant risk facing members operating in the midst of economic downturns is becoming too negative. Customers who were steadfast and confident about their businesses during this tough year continue to create, plan and plan for this moment without knowing the exact date it might happen. And now that Q3 is completed it's possible to gaze into the rearview mirror and know with certainty that it is, actually, happening.

Uncertainty opens opportunities

The customer's memberships performed significantly better than ours in Q3. In our entire portfolio, we've seen these memberships break records for their revenues, retention rates as well as member count. Being consistent and non-reactive to larger narratives allowed our customers to benefit from the growth in membership that we witnessed in Q3.

Sound management of overall member strategy can be a driving factor of membership results in difficult environments. We see the best payoffs coming from operators who decide to make a big investment in their operations during downturns but remain more cautious in times of rapid growth. This approach has enabled our customers to have the resources on-hand to invest into their businesses at opportune moments like the ones we saw during the first half of 2022.

Membership is a long game and customers who operate with this mindset realize that external uncertainty and negative moods create long-lasting chances for sustainable growth in membership.

Being a member-based operator it is impossible to predict the exact timing of upwards and downswings such as that we experienced during Q3 however you can anticipate them.

One thing you can guarantee is that moments like this are going to happen just when you least think about them.

Keep on building.