Welcome back to the BLAB Blog!
Ooh, it feels good to be back out in the world. Who’s with me? People are craving that face-to-face human interaction, and after three long years of connecting behind the Zoom screen, it feels. So good to be back. I know I love getting out there in real life, but it has definitely been a bit of an adjustment for me.
One of my biggest goals for 2023 is to put myself out there and get back into the community and what better way to do this than hosting and attending some community events. We just wrapped up our series about the biggest business trends for 2023, and this one is definitely something that I have been seeing happening a lot already this year.
Why You Should Be Attending Community Events
So, I feel like a broken record here, but I talk about the power of community all the time, and community is one of the most powerful things that you can add into your business. And finding the right community, immersing yourself, surrounding yourself with other like-minded people, is going to 10x your success in your life and your business.
This is the time to stop doing everything on your own and lean into support from people around you. We've been doing this digitally for a couple years now, but why not get out of the house and see who's waiting to connect with you out there in your real physical community? I promise there is a whole world of people who are waiting to meet you and the collabs that are just waiting to be discovered are going to be so amazing.
Finding Events
Now when you're thinking about getting out there, you might start by looking for an event to attend, and this is a pretty comfortable way to take the first step and start meeting people.
Honestly, my age is probably showing when I say this, but my favorite place to search for events happening in my community is good old Facebook. Either searching local event pages or going into some of my favorite Facebook groups full of my ideal clients or like-minded people, and I look for things happening around me.
In spaces like that. There are definitely things happening. It's just a matter of finding them and then actually showing up for them. And it doesn't even have to be a formal “networking event.”
Think about what kind of vendor type shows or craft fairs or night markets or community building events are happening in your area?
Just put it out there, put some feelers out there, start looking around. This is a really great place to start showing up. You can even try to spark up some conversation with people around you and see what kind of events they know are happening too. If you really feel brave and like putting yourself out there a little bit more.
Just have an open ear. What do they say? Keep your ear to the pavement and see what's going on in your community.
Then the key is to actually show.
Start Your Own Event
Now, if you're having a hard time finding something that you're looking for as far as an event goes, it might be time for you to actually host an event.
Now, I just did this recently and it was amazing. I actually had a dream of doing this right before Covid hit. So being able to finally put something together that I've been dreaming about for years. So, so good. I met a couple women on Facebook, put some feelers out... It really does work. And we started chatting about how we could collaborate in our area.
I loved that they wanted to do this, so I also brought in a friend of mine who's an active member in my digital community, Boss Ladies and Babies Headquarters, and she happens to live in the same city as me. And so we all met up on Zoom, we brought our ideas to the table. Then we took the next step. We met up in person at a coffee shop.
We planned it all out over some delicious coffee, and we recorded some content together! We actually shared some stories on the Valentine's Day episode about “Building a Business with Your Bestie.” Oh my gosh, we recorded a reel and it was hilarious. So make sure you go listen to that episode.
Then we worked through the rest of the details all over messengers, right? Uh, you know, we're all moms. We all have small kiddos. We couldn't plan the whole thing in person, which also isn't necessary. There's really no need to do that. And so we just laid out our goals, the details of what we needed, who was gonna be working on what, and then we planned how to market it.
And then, It happened, it all came together. This event had a theme for Valentine's Day, but it was designed to be a casual networking meetup for working moms in our area, and it was absolutely incredible. I cannot wait to create and host another event just like this. It was wonderful, and I would highly suggest giving this a try if you've been thinking about it.
Maintaining Relationships
So attending an event is the first step, but it's what you do after the event that's going to make all the difference. If you hosted the event, you want to make sure you grab the contact info of everyone who attends, and of course thank them for coming. Then you want to have a plan for keeping in touch with them, and there was a reason that they came to your event to start with.
So you want to continue to nurture that new relationship. You want to think about what worked for you at the event and what you might add or change next time. And then you want to assess your ROI, not just financially, but also you know, as a whole picture and decide when you want to do this.
Summary
Again, if you are a guest at an event, take some time to organize your thoughts and your new connections. What was your goal from the event? What was the outcome? What things would you change if you hosted this event yourself? How would you plan, or how do you plan to nurture your new connections that you made at this event that you attended?
And then either way, make sure you're sharing what you're doing with your audience. People love to see you out in the world, and you might inspire them to get out in their own community as. Now besides building community and getting to know people in your community, physically, hosting and attending community events is a great way to grow your audience, to get more eyes on what you do and to meet future clients and partners.
Showing up and confidently talking about what you do is going to draw people into your circle and give you the chance to show them how great you are and how connecting with you will bring value to their life. It's also amazing on a personal level because you're putting yourself out there and who knows?
You might even meet a new best friend, find a new play date for your kiddos, or meet someone with a hobby that you've always wanted to try. . The more you get out there, the more opportunity there is for both you personally and professionally. So what are you waiting for? This is the time. Get out there in the community and start making these connections.
I would love to know how you feel about events in your community. Have you hosted one? Do you plan to host one? I would love to hear. So please send me a message at Megan@bossladiesandbabies.com and until next time, stay bossy.