A first-time Meetup organizer shares his journey of building his first community and his business network during a pandemic. Travis Lee (organizer of DMV Homeowners Community) shares what it takes to become an organizer, best practices on hosting a successful first event, and advice for other first-time organizers hosting online and developing their business networking skills.
Main Takeaways
- Travis on his first event:
- My first event was incredible. It was an intimate setting where I was able to converse and get a pulse on the local market. It was a candid honest discussion and I received some really great feedback. Even after that one event, I’ve had several people reach out to talk more and I had more people join the group.
- My first event was incredible. It was an intimate setting where I was able to converse and get a pulse on the local market. It was a candid honest discussion and I received some really great feedback. Even after that one event, I’ve had several people reach out to talk more and I had more people join the group.
- Tips from Travis before you start a new group:
- Conduct research to learn more about your area of interest.
- Create a strategy.
- Market your group through other social platforms.
- Think about member outreach (send a survey to get to know your members).
- Tips for first-time online event hosts:
- Get to know your audience and do some prep work before the event.
- Make a checklist to help you stay organized.
- Enlist the help of others and assign tasks.
- Have a dry run prior to the actual event.
- Check sound quality and technology
- Test the content
- Be prepared 20 minutes prior to the event.
Top Q&A Questions
- What’s the advantage of using the Meetup platform?
- You get to create the tribe and narrative. In business, there’s always disruptors trying to take your clientele, and it’s not a bad thing. On Meetup, I get to create a space. I can become the brand of choice. Marketing is usually just a one-way conversation but when you create a platform and you’re in conversation with your members, you can become what the customers want.
Learn how to start a group on Meetup.
- You get to create the tribe and narrative. In business, there’s always disruptors trying to take your clientele, and it’s not a bad thing. On Meetup, I get to create a space. I can become the brand of choice. Marketing is usually just a one-way conversation but when you create a platform and you’re in conversation with your members, you can become what the customers want.
- Knowing what you know, what would you do differently? Any advice for non-business groups?
- I would have started a couple of years ago and I would have joined more groups, and looked into what groups had done to be successful. If there’s something you’re passionate about, and if you have a group of people in real life, bring it online.
Get started. There’s a lot of cool ideas that never materialize because people strive for perfection. I’d say just go for it.
- I would have started a couple of years ago and I would have joined more groups, and looked into what groups had done to be successful. If there’s something you’re passionate about, and if you have a group of people in real life, bring it online.
- What have been your time and and money costs?
- When it comes to time-cost, I’ve gotten time back. This is because in real estate, it’s usually a one-on-one conversation. Thanks to COVID, instead of one-off or one-on-one conversation, it’s become a community of conversation—a safe space to discuss real estate together.
Also, there are so many really inexpensive online ads, it’s ridiculous. Thanks to technology, you can leverage it so it’s not a lot of money out of pocket.
- When it comes to time-cost, I’ve gotten time back. This is because in real estate, it’s usually a one-on-one conversation. Thanks to COVID, instead of one-off or one-on-one conversation, it’s become a community of conversation—a safe space to discuss real estate together.
Last modified on June 23, 2021
