An Unexpected Way to Expand your Networking Horizons

With the constant presence of technology and social media, there are more known business events than ever before. Many entrepreneurs receive too many invitations to count and end up disregarding most of them. Some of the events they do choose to attend have hundreds of guests, making it difficult to socialize and truly connect. 

Business leaders are slowly fixing this problem by creating more intimate events with fewer people and a maximum number of attendees that cannot be surpassed. Although entrepreneurs meet fewer people this way, they form valuable relationships that lead to longer lasting collaborations. These events are also much less expensive, usually costing no more than $10,000.

Other get-togethers include dinners, several day workshops, and exotic retreats, all of which cost around $3,000 and accommodate ten to fifty people, depending on the location and nature of the event. Because the numbers are smaller, these events allow entrepreneurs and professionals to share their true thoughts and discuss industry-related topics more thoroughly, making them more valuable than the quick, formal exchanges of a large conference.

For extremely selective events, most attendees are invited via referrals from people in the business world with whom they’ve built and maintained a connection. Having said that, trying to form a relationship with every person at a given event isn’t a smart move, as you won’t have time to get to know each other. You must connect with good people to earn the privilege of connecting with great people. 

Keeping business conventions small while preserving their value is a delicate balance achieved by examining each potential attendee’s work and personality. Larger events are bound to have pushy or uncooperative people, but they can easily be escaped. Smaller events should only have professional, committed people to avoid upsetting the atmosphere. 

In some cases, entrepreneurs must complete interviews, calls, or forms to ensure they’re a good fit for the event they’ve been informed of. These methods are usually implemented to determine each person’s strengths and weaknesses so they can be paired up with others who can help or be helped. Not only are events small this way, but they become exponentially more useful for each attendee. 

Smaller events with reputed professionals benefit entrepreneurs far more than other options. This strategy improves businesses faster while creating a sense of value and belonging for all participating entrepreneurs.