🤝 Build a community. Build a business.
A year and a half ago, I started a meetup group. Today, it has 2,000 members, this newsletter, and resulted in consulting and free Python and SQL classes hosted in NYC.
Name in lights on Broadway
I relocated to New York City in 2019 for new opportunities but quickly found myself looking for new communities as well. After resetting my long-forgotten password to meetup.com, I quickly found a vast number of groups ranging from different ages and interests happening nightly in my new city. I tried a few out: meetups for startups, board game icebreakers, meditation, and running. It was a great way to make new friends who already liked the same things I did.
Then the pandemic hit. In-person meetups shut down overnight. Over time, the longing for connections became too powerful, and I noticed new outdoor meetups popping up in the city. I joined a new running group in January 2020, in the middle of NYC winter. At my first run, there were over 40 people in attendance (covered from head to toe in hats, scarves, and multiple layers), standing in a small circle introducing themselves.
It hit me then. If these people wanted a workout, if they wanted to run, they would have just gone to the gym or run in the park on their own later in the day, instead of congregating at the southern end of Central Park at 9:00 AM on a Sunday in 40-degree temperatures. These people wanted connections. They wanted community. There was something here.
A few months later, I decided to finally start my own meetup. Initially, all I wanted was to have some beers with other people who wanted to chat about what was new in tech. I set up a recurring happy hour every two weeks on Wednesday at a small local bar.
The first happy hour had 6 people. The second had 12. The sixth had over 40. The number of members in the group was growing by an average of 100 a month. I started a newsletter. A sponsor noticed our growth and started sponsoring the events and newsletter. We started a Discord server, did group events with other similar organizers. We experimented with some apps, did some giveaways, and continue to grow.
This formula can be applied to any kind of group. People want to connect over the things they love: Golden Retrievers Club, Rock Climbers, Painting, Board Games. The amount of groups is endless. And the best part is, if you truly love your community topic, you will be getting paid to do what you love.
How to get started:
- Register for meetup.com
- Attend 2–3 events this month
- Brainstorm ideas of one you would like to start
I’ll revisit next steps in future editions.
