Lately being all cooped up in my apartment with my wife, kid, and in-laws I have finally gotten the need to get out and network a bit.
Years ago, people would see me at every startup event and conference. And a lot of them I was an organizer!
After having a kid and some other shifts from thinking online business rather than offline, most of my event organizing and attending has gone to a halt.
Well, I’m back – and today let’s talk about some events you can check out.
Recently had An Opening Party for Global From Asia Office in Hong Kong
Been inspired by 999DCBKK conference and wanted to “level up” so took an opportunity to get a dedicated office in Kowloon district of Hong Kong.
What better way to get the word out, as well as meet friends and listeners, than to throw a small party.
On Nov 14th we hosted a small meetup in the quaint little office and had about 15 people in attendance.
Some food and drinks. Networking and name card trading. But the main event was a live podcast recording.
My partner in the office space, Andre Martin, is a great handyman! With just a couple weeks notice he converted the main office gathering room into a full blown studio! Curtains for backdrops, camera tripods, lighting, the whole shebang!
I invited Mike the Greek on the show and we discussed local marketing / packaging as well as his story of freelancing to a more standardized service. It got even more fun when we asked people in the studio audience if they had something to share. And it took a little bit but we got Jon Buford to come up and share a story.
Quite funny, and I’ll leave it for those who want to listen to the audio podcast – but I am excited to do these more often and engage the studio audience to add some different angles to the show.
Hosting a Second Meetup & Live Recording in HK – Tuesday Dec 15
So we all seemed to have a good time. No pressure, no dress code. Chris Moore said it was like he was in the basement recording of scene from the classic Wayne’s World movie. Ya man! We don’t need any fancy stuff, keep it real, keep it raw.
So we’ll do it again, and keep the same format. Small entrance fee of $20 US dollars to cover the food, drink and the venue a bit. Another live podcast recording in front of the audience. We have to limit this to only 15 – 20 people max as the Hong Kong office just can’t handle more.
I know already a lot of people are leaving Hong Kong for the Christmas holiday season. But even if just 5 or 10 people show up, it will still be a lot of fun!
Try to Do These Live Recording Meetups On a Monthly Basis
Yet you guys reading this, many are not local in Hong Kong – but if you want to get over to do your business meetings or travel plans, maybe check if it can be done during a time we’re recording! I made a place on the Global From Asia site with all the upcoming and recent events so try to check it out and let me know!
It could grow to something bigger – but for now I am just having a lot of fun getting a small group of people to watch a live recording. When I’m doing the interview, it changes the vibe as well. At first I thought I would be more nervous – but now I’m more confident.
I’ll keep testing out different ways to do it and keep it interesting.
Planning An Annual Conference – Pencil in April 2016 in HK/SZ
For about a month now my wife Wendy and I have been working on an outline for a new yearly conference for Global From Asia. Get some of the great guest who have been on the show and invite blog readers and podcast listeners to come over and enjoy.
We picked April because it is in the middle of the Trade show season – so we know a lot of people interested in this kind of conference are in China already.
We’re still working out the details of the venue, but probably will be in Tencent’s Headquarters in Shenzhen, China. Two day event, with speakers and networking sessions. A big project, we’re putting together an organizing team and if this is something interesting to you – please reach out. The sooner the better.
Here is our event page for the First GFA Annual Summit.
You Like Events? Any Ideas or Suggestions?
So what do you think of the updates. I love the internet, but nothing really beats meeting in person and shaking hands and meeting someone face to face.
There is a lot of demand to do more events in China, in English. I’m excited to bridge Chinese business people with Westerners, we will of course invite a lot of great speakers.
As always, I love your feedback and suggestions. Am I crazy to get back into the rather backbreaking role of event organizing? It was just a matter of time as far as I’m concerned before this happened.