We’re Not Perfect. That’s Exactly the Point.

Can I tell you about the worst event I’ve ever run?

Actually, scratch that. It wasn’t the worst event. It just felt like it at the time. And the fact that it turned out to be amazing with great connections, maybe one of the best, is kind of the whole point of this blog.

Here’s what happened. We had a venue agreement in place. The lovely manager at the time  who had contacted me, offering us the space, promised us full exclusivity so the noise of the public wouldn’t interrupt our guest speaker, suddenly left her role, leaving another manager to take over. We got everything sorted before she left her role. What I didn’t know was that the new manager — who had never once contacted me, by the way — had quietly decided that agreement no longer applied.

I found out a week before the event, not from him, but from an assistant manager I happened to text to double-check everything was okay.

It wasn’t.

I arrived on the morning of the event to a cafe packed with the public, no reserved space, no plan, and a manager who shrugged and said “just pick a table.” I had twenty women arriving. I needed ten tables together. I was running around stressed, apologising to newbies, pulling furniture across a busy cafe floor while trying to hold it together and pretend everything was fine.

It was not fine.

And yet — it was the best attended event we’d ever had at that location. Twenty-one women. Incredible feedback. One lady told me afterwards it was the best WIN event she’d been to yet.

I’ve been thinking about why ever since.

Polished doesn’t make people feel comfortable. Real does instead.

Gemma — our brilliant Felixstowe leader — said something to me when I was recounting the whole disaster that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.

She said: “A super polished event is lovely, but it doesn’t always make people feel comfortable. The bloopers, the chaos, the moments where things go slightly sideways — those are the icebreakers. Seeing that you’re imperfect too, that sometimes stuff goes awry — it might have helped those new people. You never know.”

And she was right. The newbies told me afterwards: “we didn’t know any different.” They just walked into a warm room full of women who were happy to see them, and they had a brilliant time. The chaos I was living inside my own head was completely invisible to them.

Because here’s the thing about WIN. It has never been about the venue, the decor, the perfectly curated agenda, or any of the things that make a corporate event look impressive on paper. It’s about the people. The energy. The genuine welcome you get when you walk through the door.

And those things don’t disappear just because the manager forgot to reserve the tables.

We adapt. Every single time.

On the morning of that event, I found us a new venue for our next event. Just like that. I was stressed, I was frustrated, and I was absolutely determined that those twenty women were going to have a good experience regardless of what the morning had thrown at us.

That’s what we do. Things go wrong — in business, in life, at networking events — and we find a way through. Not because we’re superhuman. Because we care too much to give up.

I think that’s something the women who come to WIN events understand instinctively. Because most of them are doing exactly the same thing in their own businesses every single day. Adapting. Pivoting. Holding it together on the outside while quietly figuring it out on the inside.

We don’t judge each other for the messy bits. We celebrate the fact that we’re still here.

The regulars said it all

When the women who come to WIN regularly could see how stressed I was, do you know what they did? They came over and said: “It’s okay. We’ll go anywhere. It doesn’t matter. It’s about you and the energy you bring. It’s not about the venue.”

I nearly cried.

Not because it was a particularly dramatic moment, but because it was such a clear reminder of what WIN actually is. It’s not a polished product. It’s a community. And communities show up for each other when things get hard.

One woman sent me a message afterwards that said: “These events are so inspiring. Today was my second time and it was again brilliant. You’ve created a wonderful network of incredible women.”

From the disaster event. That message came from the disaster event.

So that’s what you get at WIN.

Real, honest conversations.  That honesty and kindness that WIN attracts, is what leads to the incredible connections that develop during every event.  And its those incredible connections that will always lead to the most magical collaborations.  

Not because anyone is perfect, but because they open, being authentically themselves and because they are curious to what these connections could lead to.

Want to hear the full conversation?

Gemma and I talked through all of this honestly in the latest episode of Women Inspired Networking Conversations. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo

Or on youtube if you prefer video

https://youtube.com/@womeninspirednetwork-o3b?si=oadkKbAuWLS9RMPz 

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🌐 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events

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