The impact of hosting and attending live events

Earlier this month, we did something we had promised the Platform Launchers Members' Club we were going to do sometime this year. We hosted our first live event, and let me tell you, it was a wonderful experience.

As you often hear me mention during our weekly podcasts, the episodes are recorded before a live audience. Our Members' Club gets together on Zoom each Tuesday evening to celebrate our wins, learn new platform development skills, experience some group coaching, and then refine what we're doing through our Q&A sessions. It's a very helpful time on our weekly schedule, and it helps keep us all on track with what we're building.

And as much as we're all grateful for that weekly experience, there's still nothing quite like spending time together in person. So, several months ago, we decided it was time to organize our first live event. We decided to host a 2-day event in Charlotte, NC that offered specialized training related to platform monetization and how to eventually earn at least $250/day from your online business.

We started each day with a light breakfast together, then trained and brainstormed throughout the course of the day, right up through (and even a little past) dinner time. We shared our ideas, developed action plans, learned new concepts, ate meals together, and agreed to hold each other accountable on some of our future goals. Honestly, when the event was over, I don't think any of us were rushing to leave. I think we all felt rather tired, but we were also energized and ready to take action.

If you have the opportunity to attend live events geared toward personal and professional development, definitely attend them if they're high quality. And if you're leading a membership community or developing a message-based online platform, let me encourage you to consider hosting an event of your own someday. I suspect you'll be glad you did, and I'm convinced your group will find it highly beneficial. Here's a few reasons why I think that's the case...

1. It will help your group to focus on a specific task without distraction.

Our major task during our first live event was to develop a blueprint to help each attendee understand the path to significant monetization of their platform. That was our overall theme, and that was the concept that undergirded our training sessions, mealtime conversations, and small-group brainstorming sessions.

Each member left with a specific plan to help them get to that level. They were able to become clear on what it would take to put together a recipe of online services, content, and marketing that could directly lead to that financial reality, and they got there quicker because they weren't distracted with the normal cares and responsibilities of daily life.

2. It will improve the nature of your overall community by fostering deeper relationships.

One of my favorite realizations throughout the live event was the fact that our group members were growing closer and getting to know each other better. People talk to each other differently once they've spent a few days together. I'm convinced that our live event was the catalyst that helped several group members forge brand-new, life-long friendships.

This is already having a positive impact on our overall membership community, and I believe this will continue to grow as we make plans to host additional live events.

3. If you're in a funk, it will help you snap out of it.

Several of our members admitted to feeling like they were in a content-creation funk before attending the live-event, but now, that fog has been lifting. Learning new ideas and being inspired by the attitudes and actions of other members was a major contributor to this. I'm convinced that even though we were all probably quite tired after the event ended, we were simultaneously energized by the time spent together.

4. It could become a source of revenue in your overall platform.

When many of us are developing online platforms, we tend to think of our primary sources of revenue coming from what we offer and deliver digitally. For the most part, that's true, but live-events can certainly become a significant piece of the overall financial pie that goes into funding your business.

I know of one content creator who has been developing his online platform for years. I was told, off the record, that he recently hosted a large in-person event that netted him approximately $165,000 in profit. How amazing is that? I bet he never would have thought that was possible just a few short years ago.

As far as the live-event I just hosted, I will confess that I didn't make any money from it, but I didn't lose anything either. When I did the math on what it cost to rent the venue, feed our guests, print our materials, purchase books, and travel back and forth, the price I charged covered my expenses almost to the penny. But even if this event cost me money, I was still willing to host it because I considered it a good investment in my business. The benefits definitely outweighed the potential cost.

5. It will lead to breakthroughs and personal transformation.

I was amazed to see the breakthroughs some of our members experienced and how that translated into swift action as soon as they returned home from the event. New business ideas were discovered through our time of training and interaction. The feedback we got from each other helped us refine what we're working on and narrow our focus so we're only spending time on what has the potential to produce the best results.

6. It will add new energy to your online meetings and mid-week interactions.

In some ways, it feels like the event never ended because the conversations are ongoing. Some of our members no longer see each other as acquaintances, but as friends. This is already changing the way our group interacts. There's a new energy in the online meetings as well as greater mid-week engagement in our forums, Facebook group, and one-on-one chats.

So if you've ever considered hosting a live-event, I'd strongly encourage you to go for it. If it's your first time doing this, you might want to keep it small, and you'll definitely want to arrange for some organizational help. I was most definitely blessed to have my wife's help and support all throughout our event, and that definitely made a positive difference for all of us. But all-in-all, it was a great experience that has benefitted Platform Launchers in major ways. Going forward, it's our intention to make live events a significant part of our yearly calendar.

-John