Socially Awkward Hour is back!! This was the first one this year, & I've been sitting w/ how it went since I got home. I want to tell y'all about the night, but I also want to tell you why I brought it back at all, bc that part matters to me more than the event itself.
Why I brought it back
I started Socially Awkward Hour a while ago & then let it sit. It came back this year when I finally admitted something to myself: I want friends. I want community.
I want ppl around me who are also creative entrepreneurs. People who understand what I'm working toward, who have a similar mission, so it feels like I'm building something with ppl. I miss having coworkers, honestly.
That came up while I was thinking about how lonely this work can feel. This year I had a few virtual co-working sessions that felt really good. I also have a biz bestie I feel really understood by, & I understand where she's at too. That relationship never felt like it was only business. We got to be humans together.
I wanted more of that. And I wanted it in person. Up until now, so much of my connection has been virtual.
I said it out loud
So I got vulnerable & posted about it. On Threads first, then across all my pages. I basically said: I need friends. Friends I can touch. Friends who get entrepreneurship & get what it's like to be a creative.
The part I'd been missing
After that post I had a conversation w/ someone who helped me see what I actually want out of friendship. And it clicked again what I'm building w/ Socially Awkward Hour.
I'd been so focused on making it strategic from a business standpoint that I lost sight of something. I don't only want to serve. I don't want every relationship in my life to be one where I'm the service provider.
I want to be connected w/ ppl too, & I want it to go both ways. Clients are clients, & I love my clients. Having peers is something different, & I wanted room for that in my life as well.
Organic networking
I recently learned a term that gave me words for all of this: organic networking.
Traditional networking events have a clear function. You come together in a professional setting, you help each other get clients & business, & everyone understands the transaction. We all know why we're here.
Organic networking keeps that part. We all have things we're building. We all want connections, clients, partnerships, all of those good things.
There's also another side to it, where you connect just as ppl. You build relationships where you feel like you have peers, maybe even coworkers. You connect w/ someone bc you like their vibe & you're feeling their energy.
The way these events actually go is more relaxed. Nobody is trading business cards or running their elevator pitch. People connect over the things that interest them, like hobbies, the same food, the same drink order, or doing something together.
When I learned that phrase, it felt like the clearest, most beautiful way to describe what I want Socially Awkward Hour to be.
This one was about loneliness
The theme for this first meetup was loneliness & entrepreneurship. We talked about offline connection & what it means to be physically around ppl & feel connected. We talked about getting to share the real & raw side of being an entrepreneur.
No facade, no mask, no performing how put together we are. Just being. That is all you need to bring.
The conversations & the quality of ppl in that room were a clear sign that I made the right decision.
Co-hosting w/ Kaila the Angel
To top it off, I got to co-host this one w/ Kaila the Angel. Her energy, her joy, & her love for events covered the parts where I lack. Especially the actual putting-the-event-together part.
Event coordination is not my strong suit. I always say I do better coming up w/ the ideas & the subject matter, & then just being the talent. With our different skill sets, we both got to do the parts we enjoy, & you could feel that in the room.
What felt off the first time
I wanted this to be a space that felt truly intentional. I didn't want to have to change who I am to make it happen, or force something I didn't really want to do.
The first one I hosted, I felt some of that. I felt the disconnect, & some mismatch in who I wanted in the room. At the time I didn't have the language to say why.
I knew I didn't want it to be purely for fun. But every other version I came up w/ put me in the teacher seat or the strategist seat. That created a separation, & it stopped feeling like I was with my peers.
Peers can be clients too. I don't believe there has to be a wall between those. I just didn't want to lead w/ that, or take on the structure that comes w/ it.
I'm here for this too
More than anything, I wanted this to accurately describe what I want. I'm someone who needs this space as well.
I'm a recipient of Socially Awkward Hour, not just the curator or the host. I wanted a space where I'm getting that too, instead of building one more place where it's missing for me.
And based on how the night ended... I think I found it.