Mod Note (Andy): To become a social chair email me [email protected] or send me a pm (AndyLouis) and I'll get you more info. The cities we most need the help are: SF, LA, Houston, Dallas, Beijing and Singapore. London could use 1-2 additional hosts when Asatar isn't available to host. NYC, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, DC, HK, Shanghai each have a good group of hosts but if you'd like to help out let me know.
The Los Angeles Happy Hour chair wrote to me a few weeks ago to introduce himself and ask about “best practices” for planning and executing a WSO Happy Hour. It was his first time hosting the event, and he wanted to ramp up the participation, as the LA events in the past had been relatively small and low-key.
My response surprised him: It really isn’t hard to plan and host a knockout WSO Happy Hour.
Let’s assume that you’re a relatively social human being and you have a few fun places in mind (bars and restaurants only; no keggers in your apartment, please). Ideally, this venue will have a space you can reserve for free with a drink discount for your group. Good food is a plus, too.
Great. Book it, and put up the event page on WSO (http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/events)
Or take a guess at how many people you’ll have and reserve a table for a few chairs less than that number of people to adjust for those who cancel last-minute.
In addition to promoting the event on WSO, there are other optional ways you could get the word out. In Toronto, for instance, one well-connected member used an email directory for one of the young professional networking groups at her school to get the word out (there were over 20 people at that event, including me). They also passed around a tablet with the Happy Hour signup form to encourage repeat visits, which is definitely a best practice.
All these things the LA chairman knew.
But what he needed to hear was this: the key to a successful WSO Happy Hour is to just make sure those who show up have a great time.
If it’s a small group of people, order a round of shots. Get to know each other on a personal level—yes, this is a form of networking, but I’ve actually met a number of close friends at the more sparsely-attended Happy Hours. Talk about non-work stuff. Get numbers and stay in touch. Hang out outside of Happy Hours, even.
It may be a bit slow at first, but if you keep at it and build the core of regulars, you’ll get to watch these events really grow. And it’s a very rewarding thing.
If you’re looking for a way to help give back to WSO and build the more human side of the website in your city, I heartily encourage you to give the Social Chair a shot. Good times are always appreciated by those who attend!
And in case you’re wondering…the LA Happy Hour was a RESOUNDING success!
Andy again, a couple other notes:
1) Make sure in the event page you mention how the group can find you. Let the bar staff know + have this tabletop flyer visible.
2) We have been collecting contact info for numerous cities for awhile now so chances are there's a decent amount of people on your city's list. We send out reminders 1 week before and the morning of the event. Sign up on the form below:
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