Breaking into Iconic Events: Why the Fear of Networking Means You’re on the Right Track

I hate admitting that networking still makes me uncomfortable sometimes which might sound surprising coming from me. I’m always the one saying, “Networking is a major part of getting roles at iconic events, and I’ll help you do it!” And I genuinely love guest facing roles at events.

A lot of people avoid networking because it feels salesy. Transactional. Gives them the ick. They don’t know how to do it. I get it. For a long time, networking was my weak spot, and then, I got good at it. But 'good' becomes a ceiling, and I'll explain why.

I still feel the fear when I walk into a new room or meet someone who could open doors for me because these days I’m stepping into entirely new territory as I expand into sectors beyond sports events (before that it was corporate events). The good thing about fear, though, is that it?means?you’re doing something right.

My biggest moments came from fear. In January 2011 when I moved to Peru to teach English, I was super scared. I cried when I was on the way and when I landed because I had no idea what I was doing. I got comfortable and happy of course, but I did it again by moving to China and worked in pharmaceuticals. I had to start all over! I left pharma and went into events which was an entirely new world. But I was not done yet. I moved to the UK, too. There has been a lot of fear in my life followed by comfort, and the cycle repeats itself. And that is okay. Networking should be like that, too.

If networking feels easy, it’s probably because you’re talking to the same people, in the same rooms, in the same sector. And that’s fine until it starts limiting you. It's a ceiling.

I know that fear shows up when you’re breaking out of your bubble and you’re walking into a room where no one knows you. When you’re stepping across industry lines that don't feel like they should?be crossed or when you’re shifting into a space where you don’t have instant credibility, that is super scary. But you know you’re meant to be there anyway so you keep at it.

A few years ago, my entire networking strategy was focused on people who either did exactly what I did or corporate event planners and suppliers because they’re the ones who fill the big industry networking events. And FOMO is a thing when your event besties are all in a room and you want to be too.?I felt like I had to stay in those circles, to keep talking to the same kinds of people, working with the same types of clients.

And yet, I couldn’t find the actual people working at the events I wanted to be part of.

I had to flip my whole strategy and start intentionally networking in a different sector. It was scary at first, like that time I took two suitcases to Peru and had no idea what I was doing. But the second I got outside my comfort zone and focused on sports, the pressure to stay in corporate events hit. Kind of like when you go abroad and people say, "you should just come home".

I didn't sign up for big industry networking events and trade shows, and suddenly, people were saying I wasn’t taking networking or my event career seriously. Seriously? Have you met me? Not going doesn’t mean I won’t ever work a certain type of event again. It doesn't mean I'm throwing in the towel and burning everything to the ground. It means I’m focusing on where I need to grow. I already had a strong network in corporate, but if I wanted to break into new spaces, I couldn't stay there forever.

Of course, there will always be times and places you will meet someone surprising that can make an introduction or maybe they used to work at your dream iconic event themselves and have moved into a sector you're expanding from. This happens a lot, and everyone moves in different directions. But I am pretty adamant about protecting my time and energy by not feeling obligated to be at every trade show or industry event.

You don’t have to go to every event to be taken seriously in this industry.?And you definitely don’t have to feel guilty if you’re trying to expand beyond your sector.

If you know who your new audience is and where they actually hang out, that’s where you should be networking. Event sectors are massive. You can build an entire career inside one sector, and for a lot of people, that’s enough especially if their expertise is tied to a specific type of event. Others, like me, develop expertise in a role or skill set that applies across multiple event types and sectors. Growth isn’t tied to just one sector, and if you want to expand, shift roles, or explore different event worlds, staying in one sector can become a limitation rather than a strength.

And that’s where a lot of event pros get stuck.

The event industry is siloed, and those silos create barriers. If you’re already nervous about networking, those barriers feel even bigger. If you’re ready to expand or even pivot entirely, they make it feel impossible. I could talk about industry siloes for 10 hours. I'll have to write my thoughts on that for next time.

But anyways, here’s my final advice: Don’t let yourself get boxed in by the pressure to network in the “right” way or only with people in your sector. Expand your circle even if it feels awkward and even if you feel like you don’t belong at first. Fear is a signal that you’re moving in the right direction. Keep going.

Cheers to a career as bold, exciting, and iconic as the events you dream about.

Now, go be iconic!

Laura

And if you’re ready to work at iconic events and break out of your current bubble but don’t know where to start, that’s exactly what A FLAIR for Iconic Events is for. It’s the strategy, networking, and mindset to help you figure out how to land roles at iconic events. Interested? DM me the word ICONIC!