Shelly Najjar March 14, 2018 6:04am

Sometimes the best things start on accident.

A few years ago, I noticed I had a lot of friends working on entrepreneurial or “business-ish” projects. Since I wanted to go that direction myself, I invited them to hang out and meet other like-minded people.

It was a hit, so I repeated it the next month, this time inviting a few strangers I found via an online entrepreneurship group. One of them suggested I list the group publicly, on Facebook and Meetup, which I hesitated to do at first, since it was basically “just friends hanging out.”

But eventually, I listed it, and the group (now with an official title!), grew rapidly from there.

Today, the community has more than 400 members, although I keep each monthly event small, remaining true to the original vision of the small group discussion. We meet interesting, like-minded people across multiple industries, participate in great conversation, and actually get to know each other.

It definitely helps that many other local networking groups are industry-specific or host mostly large events. I’ve heard from many members that they’ve enjoyed the more personal setting and the chance to get multiple perspectives from the various industries represented.

For monthly networking events, I also love the smaller group, but that doesn’t stop me from also wanting and organizing the occasional larger event. At these events, we learn from experts, meet larger numbers of people, and get motivated by the energy that comes from a bigger group.

One of those events is the Seattle Entrepreneur Conference, which takes place at the Ballard Public Library on Friday, April 27. This full-day event will help Seattle-area business owners build their confidence, connections, customers and cash. I’m very excited to put on this event, and I want to personally invite you to come!

You’ll meet other Seattle entrepreneurs and learn from experts about topics like…
• Increasing your confidence
• Using storytelling in business
• Finding high-level mentors
• Online marketing that brings in leads
• Social media for business (Pinterest, Instagram, and Youtube)
• PR, accounting, and legal for small business

We have a packed schedule, but after the conference, there will be plenty of time at the no-host social hour to mingle and discuss what you learned.

Tickets are free, and available from Eventbrite or Facebook. RSVP early – space is limited due to the fire code. Hope to see you there!

(This event is not sponsored by The Seattle Public Library.)