The More People I Meet at Luke's Diner (I Mean Local Coffee Shops)...

A few weeks ago, I started something I'm calling The First Fifty. I've been grabbing smoothies (because I'm not a coffee drinker) with people who plan events, attend events, sponsor events, manage brands, or are part of committees and boards that volunteer to put on events. I thought we'd spend most of our time talking about events, but we haven't.

We've talked about community traditions, businesses trying something new, people who should know each other, why some experiences stick with us for years, and why others are forgotten before we even make it to the parking lot.

One thing has come up over and over again in these conversations is that events are all starting to feel the same. (I call this the sea of sameness).

I'm always asking myself why this is (and as a new entrepreneur I spend a lot of time talking to myself!). Its not because people have run out of ideas, I think it's because so much time is spent planning events that we forget to ask the people they're for what they want first.

The First Fifty has reminded me how much you can learn by listening and having conversations...no strings attached. Me personally by talking to people who attend lots of events, sponsors, people who volunteer their time at events, people who manage brands, and for sure the people that are starting to say they'd rather stay home.

Their answers are so much better than making assumptions. Every invitation is competing with real life...baseball games, dance recitals, dinner with friends, weekends at the cabin, and quiet nights on the couch (although these days for me, I'm not familiar with the word quiet because our house is always loud!). If we're asking someone to give up those things to attend an event, I think we owe them more than another event they forget by Monday.

Maybe that's why I keep coming back to Stars Hollow.

All of my favorite pens live in a Stars Hollow coffee mug on my desk. Every time I reach for one, I'm reminded of the kind of experiences people are craving...the kind that feel a little like Stars Hollow. (Gilmore Girls...IYKYK.)

That town had a way of making people feel like they belonged. Every festival, town meeting, and quirky tradition felt like it existed for the people who lived there, not because someone needed another event on the calendar.

That's what the best events do...they make people feel like the event was built for them.