What would you say to yourself at your first community role?

Such a good question! Mine might be a bit different than what you're expecting.

The first ~4 years that I spent building community, I didn't even realize what I was doing. The community building sort of happened accidentally, which led to missteps in building what should have been built. I'd go back and tell myself "you're building a community-first business dummy!" and pointed myself towards resources to learn and be intentional about what I was doing.

I do think that happens at times in the community space, where folks from marketing, support, success, etc sort of fall into community and don't realize it for quite a while.

Ohhh this is a great question. I would tell myself so many things, but I think the most important would be:

Don't let your job consume you.

It's really easy to let a community management role take over most of your life because there's always something that needs doing. In my particular role I was contending with so many users from all over the world that I would get anxious going to sleep because I knew that I would miss things that would either escalate in my absence or just pile up by the time I was awake. It was a vicious cycle, and one that was difficult to break. Eventually I found a decent enough balance, but I wish I had taken the time to do that earlier so I could have enjoyed life a bit more.

I would say be personable, build relationships with all different types of profiles in your community, keep testing, keep learning.

Also, I had no idea you are a gin enthusiast, what exactly does a gin enthusiast do?

I would say don't expect this to happen quickly. Community building takes A LOT of time and effort, so be patient and enjoy watching the community grow :)