I Created the Networking Space I Couldn’t Find w/ Lauren Najar

Most networking events leave you with a stack of business cards and very little real connection.

After years of attending networking groups that felt surface level, transactional, or completely misaligned, I realized the kind of space I was looking for didn’t actually exist. In this episode, I’m sharing the real story behind why I created Growth & Connect dinners and retreats after walking away from networking experiences that left me feeling disconnected, frustrated, and craving something more intentional.

This conversation goes far beyond hosting events. I’m diving into what felt missing in traditional networking spaces, the pressure to fit into environments that never felt right, and the moment I stopped waiting for someone else to create the kind of community I wanted to be part of. I’m also sharing what people are truly craving right now in business, why intentional connection matters more than surface-level visibility, and how creating the right environment changes the entire experience people walk away with.

So, if you’ve been craving deeper connection, more meaningful conversations, or spaces where people genuinely see and support each other, this episode will encourage you to stop waiting for the right room to appear and start creating it yourself. 

Upcoming Events:

Chicago Retreat - July 14-16, 2026 - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/iid9wbr2yc

Napa Retreat - October 5-8, 2026 - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/cetj223rsr

Growth & Connect Events - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/hb2a0mwbqw

Chapters:

00:40 Introduction and upcoming retreats/events

03:40 Why I wanted deeper connection

05:40 The first networking event that changed everything

09:40 Feeling disconnected from traditional expectations

15:40 Starting a business in Chicago

17:20 Returning to Northwest Indiana after motherhood

18:40 Trying local networking groups again

21:20 Why some networking events felt empty

24:00 The event that made me rethink networking 

26:40 Realizing I could create something better

29:40 The beginning of Growth & Connect

31:40 What makes meaningful events different

34:40 The impact of intentional connection

35:20 Why there is room for more community leaders

37:00 Create the thing you feel is missing 

Let’s Stay Connected:
→ Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar
→ Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com
→ Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails
→ Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hey there and welcome to Business Over Cocktails. I'm Laura Najar, your host and hype woman, bringing you real talk about entrepreneurship. This is the podcast where we dive into the bold whys, the messy middles, and the game-changing aha moments that lead to success. You'll hear unfiltered stories from entrepreneurs plus bite-sized solo episodes inside the Business Chaser series, where we cut through the noise and get straight to what actually drives sales, visibility, and growth. So whether you're here to get fired up or finally feel seen in your business journey, pull up a seat, pour your favorite drink, and let's have a real conversation. Hello, hello. Welcome back to Business Over Cocktails. I am Lauren Najar. And if this is the first time you are listening to this podcast, welcome, welcome. If you have been listening, I appreciate you. Thank you. Welcome back. So if we don't know each other real quick, I'm a business coach. I own a marketing agency where we offer Dem4U services. I'm the host of this podcast. And I host in-person retreats and dinners. And I've been doing that for about a year and a half now. And at the time of this recording, in a few days, I will be uh hosting the Growth and Connect retreat in May in Chicago, May 11th through the 14th. This is a retreat that has been sold out for a year. And this is the technically third retreat I'm hosting in the last year and a half that has essentially been sold out. So I want to take you through today's episode, and that's exactly what I want to talk about today is retreats and events. And I think at the time this airs as of now, if you want to come to any of my events, right now we have a Chicago retreat in July, July 14th through the 16th, 2026. There are two spots left, truly just keeping them very small. And then in October, from the 5th through the 8th, we are going to Napa, California. And that currently has three spots left. That one is a little bit higher priced because we are going to California, and your hotel is actually included in the pricing as well. So we have those two retreats, and then there is a third retreat happening April 2027 in Dallas, Texas. That was something that I just hosted last month for the first time with my co-host Jana Blager. She is native to Dallas down there and was able to connect with her group down there. And we co-hosted a retreat together. So lots of events coming up. This is also going to air, I believe, the week of the next Growth and Connect dinner, which is in Northwest Indiana. There are two other dinners happening this year. One will be in Chicago, another one will be in November in Northwest Indiana. So make sure if you are local to any of those places, or if you know you want to fly in and come, you're more than welcome to. But also we'll be linked in the show notes are all of my events and my website where you can get more information into that as well. Okay, so got all the stuff out of the way. I want to talk about why I created growth and connect events. So my it's not necessarily a separate business, but the separate arm to my business where I call this growth and connect. The name, it's not anything profound. Like to be totally honest, like I'm trying to like think about really the moment that I decided I'm like, I'm just going to do this. I've had other episodes, especially solo episodes, where I've explained about like networking events, and like I did a short episode on how to host a good event, which came out a couple months ago. This is really more in-depth about why and my story and why I created events. And I'm going to be not like super vulnerable, but I'm going to be super real here. And I'm going to share my experiences. And I know for a fact that people have also experienced these things in similar events with similar people or the same people or then just sit in general, right? And I want it to be, I just want to be very transparent. And then this is really what ended up fueling me to create something that is meaningful and something that if people come to, they're not going to leave and be like, why did I even leave my house for that? So, all in all, all that to say is I'm going to tell a story. I decided that, you know, I don't, I guess like there was never a moment where I'm like, oh, I want to do in-person events. I think it was like, I think it would be cool if I did these intimate meetups. And I wanted to do that when I lived in Chicago. I started my business in Chicago. When I was living in Chicago, I was not getting in person at all. One of the things that I did though is there was a local networking event. It wasn't like an official networking group or anything. It was just like this entrepreneur lives in Chicago, ended up living like three buildings away from me, where it was like a super short walk, you know, lived in my neighborhood, and I was going to meet a bunch of other women business owners that also lived in Chicago. And I ended up meeting, who I just mentioned, I met Jana there, and we've been connected ever since. So that this was 2018. I was a brand new baby entrepreneur. And I feel like that night, you know, we drank like wine and it was called like Rose. I forget what the name of it was called. It was like Rose and oh man, it was something a play on Rose or whatever. But we drank a lot of Rose. And I remember I got home at like midnight. Darren was traveling for work. And I was just like, man, I can't believe I did that because I was so nervous to go. I showed up late because I was still at my nine to five job. I had to work until like six or seven that evening. Didn't get home, didn't eat dinner, and I went to this girl's apartment. Like, and none of these people I knew, like I had not even met them. I only met them online. So it was so new for me, and I'm so happy that I did that. So then I think from that moment, I'm like, that was so good. Cause then we met up to co-work a couple more times and I met some of the girls too for coffee and stuff. But then they all kind of like moved away. Jana being one of them that moved away too. But a lot of them moved away. None of them live in Chicago anymore, especially the ones I connected with. Like they're all over, like Miami and California and Michigan. And so kept in touch with Jana for the most part throughout those years and obviously now. But everyone else I lost touch with. And, you know, so about like 2020, it was 2020, it was right before the pandemic. And I decided I'm gonna do this. Like in 2020, I'm gonna start doing in-person events. And I just thought it would be cool to do like wine bar meetups and stuff and just like grab a drink and talk about business. It wasn't gonna be anything super formal. And I had myself, two of my clients that I never met in person, and then another one of my like really good business friends came in from she lives in like upper peninsula, Michigan, drove down to meet me there and do it. And I thought it was really cool, and it was so good. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna do this once a month, and like these are gonna grow. Well, you know, this was February 2020. And so then, of course, like a few weeks later, the world shut down, and then that didn't happen ever again. I was in a mastermind beginning in 2020 as well, and we were all supposed to do a retreat somewhere at the end of this mastermind. That was kind of like the thing to do, was like everyone who had a retreat, I'm sorry, everyone who had a mastermind ended up having a retreat at the end. That was a very popular thing to do. And we couldn't. Like my business coach lived in Australia, everyone lived in the United States, but originally it was supposed to be like, oh yeah, we're gonna go somewhere like Florida or California or something, and she couldn't travel, she couldn't leave Australia, so we didn't do that. So then I actually then did a mastermind the following year, and I was planning on doing a retreat in Chicago at the end, but this was fall of 2021, and the world shut down, or at least not the world, I'm sorry, Chicago shut down, similar to like New York and LA. Chicago was, if you didn't know, Chicago was very strict with regulations and masks and everything. So like there were a lot of lockdowns, even in 2021 in the fall, because there was an uptick in cases of COVID. So that ended up being a virtual retreat as well. This was 2021, this was late 2021. My husband and I, we were planning on potentially moving back to the suburbs and leaving the city, and that ended up happening about six months later. Went on a journey of like, you know, getting pregnant, miscarriage, pregnancy again, having Danny, new mom. So the thought at that time, like I was not planning on doing anything in person, just kind of like getting my bearings, be back in the suburbs, leaving the city, identity crisis. Now I'm a mom, trying to figure out what the next iteration of my business is. And I really had a distaste for Northwest Indiana, and I could not wait to leave it fast enough when I moved to Chicago. And I, like I said, I didn't start my business until I lived in Chicago. But the reason why I couldn't wait to leave is because I truly thought I thought differently, and I felt very alone here. My husband and I, like, if you don't know, my parents passed away when I was in my early 20s, and they passed away separately and both unexpected. I then had cancer afterwards. And me coming out of all of those years of like heartache and grief and all the things, like I really truly was on this journey to find something that I really wanted to do with my life. And I met my husband shortly after all of those things. I was cancer free for about a year. I started dating, who is now my my now husband, and was on this journey for myself to really find something that would really fulfill me. And I was chasing impact. And it sounds really fluffy, and I know a lot of people are like that doesn't exist. But I was around people who really liked what they did for a living, and I was definitely inspired by that. And so I really was trying to find something that I could do, and I really liked the idea of working for myself. And it really like, and I know I said this in an earlier episode, like I didn't necessarily want to be an entrepreneur. It was just like I wanted to have my own schedule and like make a bunch of money, and that was kind of like all I thought about. So I kind of like went on the again, went on this journey, tried a bunch of things, and you know, I found business coaching. But again, went on this journey, but didn't have any intention on starting my own business until I was actually in Chicago. Like I really didn't find business coaching again until I was actually already living like in Chicago for a while, and just being around different people and different things that people do and in city life. Like I think like slowly but surely I was introduced to that way of life. And I was really unhappy with my job that I currently had. Like I knew I wasn't gonna be there long term, but I didn't really know what else I wanted to do, so I was just staying there. But the reason and back to the reason why I did not like Northwest Indiana is like because no one understood, like everyone just seemed unhappy with their jobs. Like everyone just seems like they work for a living. Like, here's what people do they go to college or they go into a trade, someone graduates college, or you guys have been dating for a really long time, everyone gets married very young, and then you immediately have children and you move in together and all the things, like before you're 27 years old. And for me, my life completely like was shattered in my early 20s. By the time I was 26, I was a two-time cancer survivor and my parents were gone. And my long-term relationship did not exist. Marriage, babies, all the things, not on my radar whatsoever. House ownership, nothing either, like trying to pay off medical bills and stuff too. So, like, it was just like I felt so behind, but I was also like, I never have been the person to do what everyone else does. And so the fact that everyone was just kind of like, this is what we're supposed to do, like it really turned me off to a lot of that stuff. And if you're not familiar with where I'm from and where I live, like it is your typical suburb of a large city. We're not out in the country by any means. Like there are pockets here and there farmland, but like it's like you drive past a farm and then you're like by another McDonald's. For me to drive from here to the state line, it takes about 35 minutes. Because I'm pretty, I'm pretty southeast now. Where I grew up, I'm I was right on the state line. But literally, you drive five minutes and you have passed two McDonald's. Like there's so many chain restaurants, there's so many things. But there's a there are a lot of small businesses now. But growing up, this is not farmland. This is not like cornfields of Indiana. Like we are, it's a very almost like urban kind of vibe where there's a lot of things to do. There's nightlife, there's like little downtown areas, definitely not farmland by any means. Kind of a small town vibe, but like also not really in some of the towns that are around here. So I do think though, that people just like living here because of the slowness of life and they don't like city life, and that's okay. And at the time, I really just had like I just didn't want any of that. And so I just couldn't get out of here fast enough. And I was just so bored and I didn't like being here, and there was nothing to do. And no one understood what I wanted to do because also my husband and I we owned my parents' house. We bought my parents' house. We took that over and we were selling it. It was a four-bedroom house in a really good school district that people still are trying to get into. And everyone thought that, like, oh, you're getting married, but like now you're downsizing and you're only going to one bedroom apartment. Like, when are you guys gonna have kids? Like, how long are you gonna be in the city? Like, when are you gonna be back in northwest Indiana? And I'm just like, I don't know, never. And I just felt like everyone was judging us. And I know people were judging us, people I worked with. And again, I was 29, 30 years old at the time, and so a lot of that stuff bothered me. And maybe, you know, I wasn't confident, maybe wasn't confident in myself, but I knew that's what I wanted to do, and that wasn't going to stop me. I did have people that support mine, but I definitely had a lot of people that had like issues with me leaving, especially people at work and the people I saw every day. But anyway, so I just couldn't wait to leave. And fast forward to Chicago, I started my business, and it started to give me those feelings of, oh, cool, like I can work in coffee shops during the day. Like, how cool would that be? And my dream started to change a little bit more and more and more. And I wouldn't say again, like that was never like, oh, I want to host events and stuff. So I started my business in 2018, and then I had that experience at that person's apartment in 2018, and I really, I really enjoyed what I had there, and I really wanted to like network and meet people in person again in this city. I did not have any friends in the city. All of my friends lived in the suburbs, my family lived in the suburbs, so like it was just me and my husband, and we were doing stuff, and then our friends would come and visit us on the weekend. So, and I will say this too. So I think that this is a little different than a lot of other people, but I have been the friend for as long as I remember, the one that organizes and plans everything. Literally everything. Everyone's 21st birthday. I'm planning where we're going, what we're doing. I plan my whole wedding by myself. I did a lot of my decorations by myself, thought about the wedding from the consumer standpoint versus, you know, what everyone else is focused on. Like, not just doing it for me, but thinking of like the wedding guests, I should say. And I I truly, like, I truly love planning that stuff. And I like plan my friend's bachelorette party in Vegas. And I had never been to Vegas before. And I was just always the friend with the dinner reservations and organization and organizing all of us to hang out on the weekends and and all of the events, right? Like that comes easy to me and I love doing that. So I would say eventually at some point that decided to come about. I'm like, oh yeah, this is easy. I know where to go and what to do, and we're just gonna meet up and we're gonna do this. So I want to fast forward now back to present day. So I have a love for events. It's event planning is very easy to me. Planning my friends' birthdays or just regular outings anywhere. Like, I can do that in less than a day and make it really good. And I have every confidence in myself. I actually really love the movie The Wedding Planner. And that was like life goals to be like Jennifer Lopez in that movie and be a wedding planner. However, I did not want to work weekends, but now I'm an entrepreneur and I work all the time, I guess. So jokes on me. So when I went, when I came back to Northwest Indiana, instead of running away from it and despising it, I decided I'm like, you know what? A lot of small businesses here need my help. And I know that I can help a lot of people. And so I started to make connections with people that I already knew here in Northwest Indiana. I said, hey, like, what are some networking groups that I can be a part of? And then I was referred to a group. I'm not gonna name any names in here. I'm going to explain my experiences and what I experienced. And if you want to deduct clues from it, you can. But I asked a friend and I said, hey, like what are the networking groups that you're a part of? And I knew of a couple because I used to be, I used to have to go to chamber events when I worked at the bank here in Northwest Indiana. I had a banking job here, one of the banks here. And I would have to go to chamber. And so I was aware of some of some groups and obviously aware of chambers. So I asked this person, like, hey, like I reached out to this one group. I emailed them because there's an email on their website to find out more information about joining their group. And that was the only group that I knew of at the time. And I said, Yeah, like I haven't heard back from them. I would love to join like their membership. And it was like, I don't know, I forget how much it is a year, but I'm like, I would love to join it. I think that'd be really cool. And like go to their events, and and that person then gave me the advice, like, oh yeah, it's so weird that they haven't emailed you back. You should just reach out via social media. Well, this group's social media is not very active, and but I still reached out because I didn't know what else to do. And I never heard back. So obviously to this day, I'm still not a member. So then I found another group, which was definitely more of my style. And I wanted to join, and I feel like I just like instantly, it was like they had like an enrollment period and it was at a discount. And I'm like, yes, I want to join this. This sounds really cool. So I actually joined without ever going to an event. I went to like their onboarding call, and that was really good. But I was six months pregnant, and a lot of their events are not here in Lake County. I'm still a member of this group to this day. I've gone to a lot of events now. They're lovely, lovely, lovely. I wish I can go to more, but a lot of their events are in the evenings and they're not around where I live. So I love going and I love the people there. And I don't get to connect with them as much as I want to, but I love going. And so that was a really good group to join. But I didn't go to one of my first events until like almost a year after I had Danny. Like it was a long time. I had been a member for like two years almost, and I hadn't gone to an event yet. But I did like a workshop or something for them, like a virtual workshop. And I've done a couple since then. So around that time, like it was about like Danny was about a year old, and I went to like my very first in person networking event. And I went with one of my girlfriends, again, around here, and she invited me to come because she was a member of this group. And I went And I met some people, but the majority of the people I met all have corporate jobs. And that's fine. Visibility is great, but me meeting them and networking those people, there's no benefit for them to know me. And there's no benefit for me to meet them. Like there's nothing that we can do. And they were like not the decision makers either. But I met some people. I actually signed a client from this networking group too. But the vibe that I got at this particular event just felt like women were there to just drink wine and drink a lot of wine, and that's it. For me, I'm there to like I want to build relationships and not have surface level connections and just like drink wine. I can do that at home, or I do that with my friends. And for me personally, that was not the vibe of what I wanted to do. Therefore, I did not go back to another event there. It was just like the person that was running it was clearly inebriated. It was just not a great time. So it was just not my vibe. I get there are people that want to do that. That is like that is what they want to do in life. Good on them. Then I met a friend who is still my friend to this day. I found someone that lived around here that was like, oh my gosh, he does something similar to what I do. And we met up for coffee, we talked for like four hours, and then we started to go to events together. There, all of a sudden, were all of these like women's networking groups popping up in the area, which again, so awesome because they felt like they were more of my speed of like, hey, like we're women who we're all like millennials and Gen Z, and you know, we're all like in our 20s and 30s, and we want to meet up and we want to do stuff. And I'm like, oh my God, all of these sound really cool. And I went to that first event for one of the groups, and it was good, but it was just really confusing as to what this was going to be. I thought we were coming to, I don't know what I expected. I don't remember that far back, but it was just like, you know, I get in my head, this is when I started thinking. I started having these ideas of like, and this is something I do all the time. My friends know this, but I was just like, I would have done this differently. This is how I would have done this, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I also was being very hard on myself at the time because I also am a little introverted and I will stand back and I won't talk to people. And I still do that to this day. So, and people are always like surprised to hear that. But it's hard for me to just like go up to people and like start a conversation. So I just found myself like me and this other girl, we're just kind of like talking through, like, and there were actually there were a couple other people that I knew that went, and you know, we were just kind of talking afterwards. We're like, yeah, like what is this group about? We're not sure. But, you know, I'll go to a next event or whatever and see what it's all about. And I even like stepped up to help them a little bit. They needed some help with like some of their social media platforms and stuff. And I was like, yeah, like I want to get involved. Like, you know, I want to make connections. Like, that's what I'm here for. So I definitely got involved a little bit. But in my head, I'm just like, oh yeah, like I would do this differently. But I wasn't in the mode of like, I'm gonna do my own group. I was just like, I would do this differently. And like I hope that like, you know, maybe they'll find value in me helping them because I don't mind supporting people and giving them ideas. So then I went to like another, another group event soon after, and that one was so good. And I feel like I got to talk to a lot of people. The vibe was definitely vibe. Like it was really cool to go there. And I actually had people that were like, oh, like I've seen you on Instagram. Like, oh yeah, I've seen you on Instagram too. And we had really good connections. I had some really good connections with people that evening. And so I was like, cool, like this sounds really cool. Like they already have dates planned, they already have memberships planned. Like, I want to like make sure and go to like these events as well. And like I went home and all of the dates that they had on their event, like I put all the events that they had dates-wise, I put it on my calendar as soon as I got home. So I went to another event. And this one event, I walked in and it was just like, you know, a group that I had been to before, but I had never met like people that ran it. And I walked in and like there weren't that many people there. And the person that was running the event made me feel like she wanted to be anywhere else but this event. Like it did no talking, and it was me and like two other people that were talking the whole time, and that's all that was there. But I just got like the weirdest vibes because like I've connected with this person before, like online and stuff, but like this person, that particular moment, this was like her event, and like she could have been anywhere else. And that event was the moment I started thinking I can do this better. And I felt like, why did I even come here? And the person could care less that I was even here, probably wanted to cancel it. So I was like, I could have been anywhere else. And so then, like, I I start having those thoughts and feelings, and then I have a I have a really rough experience with another group where I felt like I wasn't being valued for the time that I was giving. And I'm just like, what am I even doing? Like, who am I taking orders from? Like, this is crazy. Like, this is crazy that I'm donating my time and like they have a problem with it, like essentially. And I'm just like, yep, good, I'm good. Thank you for this opportunity, but I'm not going to do this anymore. I didn't leave the group. I still went to events afterwards because it was very good for my business, and I made really good connections, but like that person also made me feel that I was like always doing something wrong. And so I'm like, man, like this is not someone who values partnership either. And people that create groups that talk about oh, like acceptance and sisterhood and diversity and like accepting of everyone. And like, it's wild. It's wild to me to see people and put that out there, and then you like literally have experienced awful things. Like it's so crazy to me, and that happens at every scale, right? I know that there are so many people, not just like here, right? Like, again, not like specifically ever going to name anything, but there are so many people who put on groups or events and they're like sisterhood and like welcoming, and you know, you're seen and supported and get in the room and all of these other taglines, but like you go and it's bullshit. Like you go and it's awful. And I like that's easy to say. Yes, I know I could be better than that, but there are things where I'm like, I never want people to feel like they're not valued, and that was what that person was doing to me. And like shortly after found out that like she was saying stuff about me, and like I'm and again, I'm not gonna say what I what I heard or whatever it is, because that is irrelevant, but like really damaging things about me, and who knows who she told about that stuff, but it was just like really insane and crazy, and that just speaks to her own insecurities and like her own relationship. So laughable, crazy. That happened like I don't know, like a year and a half ago at this point. But it just was so wild to me. Again, I had all of these really like crazy experiences where then I felt like the universe was just like, Lauren, like wake the F up. It is time for you to host your own stuff. So this was like October-ish, November-ish of 2024. And I started to really think, yep, I'm hosting dinners. Yep, I'm gonna host a retreat. And so I launched a retreat and a dinner January of 2025, because at that point, I'm like, there is a real gap here in this area of like real, like business owners, not real business owners, but real people coming together and not doing the stuffy networking stuff of like shaking hands, name badges, surface level conversations. I wanted deep conversations. That's me. That's what I want to do. I don't want you to come here and we're not gonna talk, right? Like you're not gonna stay in the corner. Everyone's gonna get to know everyone. So I created rooms and dinners and retreats for people to feel safe, no matter what walk of life you are, no matter what your background is, no matter what your business is, no matter how much money you have. I curated these rooms with the right people. And I'm very specific. If I feel that someone is not right to come, I will not invite them. Andor I will have a conversation and just kind of like explain, like, hey, like I want to make sure that the best people are here in this room. And if you're not gonna have the values of like supporting everyone else without judgment, then sorry, like you're not gonna come in here. So I'm very particular with who I specifically invite sometimes. And if I ever catch anyone like that comes to my dinners that's being disrespectful, like absolutely getting the boot immediately. The reason why I create these events and these types of events, it's because there is a huge gap that I see that is not being filled. It's very easy to put on networking events and have massive events. It's not easy to put on those events, but it is like where you are not being intentional. Anyone can host an event. Anybody can, but it's the transformation as to why someone comes to an event. That's the thing that people will remember. They're not going to remember the swag bags that you gave them. They're not going to remember all the other things. They're going to remember why they invested money and time to leave their house, to leave their families, and what are they going to get at the end of the day? Regardless if it's business or personal, for me, it's business. I'm helping business owners in almost like a non-businessy way, mindset way. So, how am I going to give people that transformation and make them feel seen, supported, and heard at every step at every event that I do? Everything's personalized. Everything is going to be super personalized for you. And you're going to hopefully feel welcomed again, regardless of what you look like, who you are, what business you have, your relationship with me. Because I have different relationships with different people at different levels, but I don't care if I know you for five minutes or five years. Like I want to know you if you come to my dinner and everything is personalized what I do, up to the gifts, the handwritten notes. Everyone gets to see the guest list before the events. So they all know who's coming and they can all connect beforehand. So there's no like awkwardness or minimize awkwardness. So all of that connection, the real connection, the real support, somebody to have walked the walk where all of these people have been, that was missing. And I wanted to create that. That is why I created Growth and Connect. And how I led off this episode of Growth and Connect. Growth and Connect is just like a random name I thought of. And now it's sticking because now we have four dinners down. I've hosted four dinners. I have hosted three retreats, or I'm about to host a third retreat at this point. And then I have two more on the books that are happening. People are coming. And we have two more dinners this year. So I didn't realize how much I needed these. I didn't realize how big this would get and how much people were actually missing this because people know that networking helps, but what if you can network and but actually be in environments that foster conversation and connection versus just here's my business card, like let's chat some time, and then like that never happens. It's such a waste of energy. So I created Growth and Connect specifically to fill that gap of surface level connection and to foster relationships. There are people that have come to my dinners, they went to a Beyonce concert together and they met at my dinner. Or there are people that do collaborations now that met at my dinners. There are people that have hired each other from coming to the retreats and they would never have met if it weren't for coming to the retreat and flying in and doing all the things. And so I just want to leave you with this. I don't care if somebody else creates more events around me. And I know for whatever reason that it has been the case in a lot of things I've seen through my clients that they're scared to create other networking groups or similar things, even to me, because of fear of competition. I want you to know right now if you want to host an event or if you want to host a dinner or something, it is needed. And you're going to do it different than other people. I don't want you to copy. You should never do that. But if you're fearing of like stepping on toes, stop thinking that. And I did have a little bit of a fear of doing that because I was close to some people that were creating events. But I know I'm doing it completely different. And my events are completely different. And I gave them the courtesy, actually, and I didn't need to do this, but I gave them the courtesy of, hey, like I'm gonna do a dinner this day. Like, you guys don't have any events, do you? And like, yes, it's nice to do, but I did not need to do that, right? And so I'm telling you, you don't need to do that. You can do whatever you want, you can do whatever it is that you want to do. Currently, like I have I have business friends that are actually hosting an event the same night as my next dinner. I don't care. Like, we're all gonna do the same thing, and there's so many dates that work for so many people. Like, who cares? And if you are wanting to create a networking group that looks similar, but you know you can do it better, please freaking do it. I want you to do it, I dare you to do it. And there are people that will come by and if you they see your success, they're gonna want to copy it. And I say let them because it does not matter if they think they're copying you and they have the same workshop titles or the same dinner titles or they're doing the same thing, they're not you. And if you execute it correctly, and if you do it right, it's gonna be wonderful, it's gonna be beautiful. And copiers are exactly that, they're copiers, and they're not gonna, it's not gonna amount to anything. And if you're not doing the thing that you have originally set out to do and you just keep your blinders on and you're doing your own thing, it's just not gonna work out for you. If you just keep your head down, it's gonna work. So that's what I'm gonna leave you with is that if you feel that you're going to events and you feel like there's a lack of something that's missing, please create it. Or talk to somebody and get contracts lined up. If you have a partnership, please, for the love of God, get a contract in place, get an agreement in place, get all the legal things in place into a partnership. But make sure that you are creating the thing that you think is missing. There's no fear of something on toes, you're not gonna make anyone uncomfortable, it does not matter, even if you do. Create the thing that you think is missing. And that that goes beyond events too, I guess. Please do it because I guarantee it's gonna be so good. If it's in your head and you're dreaming of it and you want to do it, I guarantee, guarantee it's gonna be so good. If you want to talk about this more, please. I will be your biggest rally champion cheerleader, and I'll say freaking do it because it's gonna be so good. So thank you for listening, and I will be back on Friday with a business chaser. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Business Over Cocktails, where real stories and bold business moves come to life. If this episode lit something up in you, share it with a friend, tag me at Laurenajar, or the podcast page at business over cocktails. Make sure to leave a quick review as well. It helps more than you know. Until next time, keep chasing what matters and building the business that feels like you. Cheers.