What CultureCon Taught Me About Networking With Intention
Whewww. It's been four days since I got back home to South Carolina from CultureCon, and I'm still sitting with it.
If you're not familiar, CultureCon is the world's largest creative homecoming and conference celebrating Black creatives, entrepreneurs, and culture shifters. It usually takes over Brooklyn, New York for a couple of days every October. I'd heard about it for years. But in a 15 year career where I've attended plenty of conferences this size, it never pulled me. Not until this year.
It Was Her Story for Me
Earlier this year I joined the Creatives of Faith community, and Imani Ellis, the founder and CEO of CultureCon, came through to teach a masterclass. I walked away thinking, hmm. I gotta go to this event.
It really was her story that did it for me. CultureCon started in Imani's living room with a handful of her friends. Now it draws 12,000 creatives from all over the world. And she built it while working in corporate America. As someone who has been in and out of corporate life without ever giving up on my creative dreams, I felt seen. Watching how she did both with excellence was inspiring, to say the least. After that class, I went down a rabbit hole reading her story and watching her interviews. By the time I came up for air, I'd decided I was going to this year's CultureCon.
Honestly, I needed it. I had done a lot of creative output this year and not much input. I'd been complaining to my circle that my cup felt empty and I wasn't feeling inspired. My creative cup was no different. I needed a breath of fresh inspiration air.
So I hit up my friend Trenise, told her my plans, and she was down. Hotel booked. Flight booked. CultureCon ticket secured.
The Class Nobody Signed Up For
Several weeks before the event, I saw a post on CultureCon's Instagram. They were accepting submissions for Braindates: community-led breakout groups where attendees host their own conversations. I jumped on it immediately, because of course I had something to say. LOL.
Here's the backstory. A month or so before, I'd put together a virtual class called Summer Skool: Podcast Klass. I was going to teach my audience the exact system I use to turn every podcast episode into weeks of intentional content. And guess what? Not one person signed up.
I'm not gonna lie, although this isn't my first time putting something together and nobody showed up, I felt defeated. People ask me podcasting questions in my DMs all the time, so I figured I was providing a solution. When nobody signed up, I felt like I'd missed the mark.
So when that Braindate post came across my screen, I immediately thought about that class. Yes, I'd be teaching it for free. But what a stage to teach it on! I knew this kinda move all too well. In fact, it's the same move I made over and over earlier in my career that opened some of the biggest doors.
I applied and after some time went by and I didn't hear back I figured they'd already picked the topics they wanted. Then one night the email hit my inbox: "Congratulations! You've been selected to host a CultureCon Braindate." My mouth dropped to the floor. And when the app launched, my Braindate filled up the very first day.
The same lesson nobody signed up for in my own space had a full room waiting for it in Brooklyn. It's funny how God works, huh?
Missed my Braindate? Whether you couldn't grab a seat or couldn't make it to CultureCon at all, I've got you. The handout I shared with my attendees, Build Beyond Your Podcast Episode with AI, is yours as a free download. [Grab it here.]
Not Without Intention
As the days crept closer, my anxiety about being around 12,000 people started giving me bubble guts. So I slowed down and made myself a vow: I would not step foot on the Brooklyn Navy Yard without intention and at least one goal.
CultureCon had this amazing app where you could build your schedule for both days: panels, workshops, Braindates, all of it. I built mine right away. But instead of making plans to run to every room with a celebrity or well-known name, I only picked things that lined up with the goals right in front of me today.
I remember a time when I'd go to events just because of who was on the flyer. Even if they were talking about something I had zero interest in, I'd go for the content. I had more content than connections and looking back, that was not working smarter.
But you live and you learn, right? After about 15 years of being on this creative journey, I can tell you this: you'll keep chasing your tail if you don't set goals and move with intention.
I think as creatives in this day and age, we've become gluttonous when it comes to content. We absorb so much information and do nothing with it. I'm at a point where I refuse to go anywhere just for content if I'm not getting paid for that content. CultureCon was no different. I had a full schedule, but not so I could literally go to every single thing on it.
Here are the two goals I set for the weekend:
Study the people conducting the interviews on stage.
Meet at least five new people each day who could be assets to what I'm building, or who I could be an asset to.
Now, someone could look at that list and say, "That's it?" LOL. Let me break it down.
Yes, the information shared on CultureCon's stages was gold. But I'm heavily focused on podcasting and on becoming a better interviewer and conversationalist in general, and I like to study the people doing it better than I am. If I could take notes on how they maneuvered on stage, I'd hit my goal. If the guests dropped gold too, that was icing on the cake.
The second goal? Well, I think that one speaks for itself.
Day 1: The Moderator I Didn't Know I Came For
On Day 1, I knew I had to show up and serve my Braindate attendees, so I didn't want to overconsume on panels and talks. I made it to maybe three of the eight things on my schedule.
The very first stage we sat in on was moderated by Ashley Dunn. I had never seen or heard of her until I sat down in my seat and she walked out. The panel was Legacy on Lock: Protecting the Stories That Made Us, presented by Prime Video, featuring Omari Hardwick, Brett Gray, and Jermaine Fowler.
Her energy. Her confidence. The questions she asked. I took more notes than I could count. Now THIS is what I came for.
And it wouldn't be God if He didn't allow me to walk right past Ashley on my way out of the building. I pushed my nerves to the side, walked up to her, and told her how much I enjoyed her stage and how I loved taking notes as a podcaster. We followed each other on Instagram, and I went on with my day.
Two birds, one stone. I got my notes and a connection that's an asset to what I'm building. You see how that works?
No shade, but I've encountered so many creatives doing it all wrong. They wanted to capture the viral moments and be in the room when Michael B. Jordan walked in. And trust me, I get it. The man is FINEEEEE. But is that gonna get you closer to your goal?
I think we've lost the plot a lil bit in the age of content creation. I come from a time when we weren't content driven. We were really in the trenches trying to get into certain rooms. This weekend, I literally watched aspiring photographers literally run past CultureCon team members (with badges on, might I add) to get to the stage when the big name celebrities came out.
That is not working smarter. The truth is sometimes you have to go through the less attractive door to get the connections you want. Needless to say, after I hosted my Braindate, I went back to my hotel room. My goals for the day had already been met.
Day 2: The Cards I Usually Roll My Eyes At
On the morning of Day 2, I woke up early to get in line before doors opened. I wanted to enjoy the activations and explore what I couldn't get to on Day 1. One of the sessions I sat in on was the conversation with Jackie Aina and her stylist Amirra Vee. When it wrapped, about 90% of the audience ran up to the stage for photos, a closer glimpse, or a word with the duo. I looked back instead and noticed her husband, Dennis, just standing there. He's the one helping to run the business of Jackie Aina in the background.
Remember that less attractive door? There it was. Everybody was rushing toward the face of the brand, and the man running the business was standing right there with nobody in his ear. So I walked up to him, shook his hand, and introduced myself.
I made a couple more connections after that, and then the rain came, so I headed back to my hotel. I wasn't worried about cutting the day short. That evening I'd be at the brunch co-hosted by my good sis Gia Peppers and Creatives of Faith, and I figured I'd meet more people there.
When I arrived, there were cards on the table asking the kinds of questions I'd usually roll my eyes at and ignore. For a multi-hyphenate creative, they can be some of the hardest questions to answer:
What is your gift/brand/next project?
Name three types of people you need to help with your brand/business.
Find people in the room who can help you and jot down their name, email, or IG.
I sat there for a minute. Then I finally wrote down my next project and what my brand is, plus two types of people who could help.
As the event got going, people started coming over to the table where I was sitting with Gia and Trenise. One of them happened to be an event planner. In conversation, I shared my next project, and lo and behold, she offered to help me.
Later in the evening, a gentleman came and sat directly across from me. As we talked, I noticed his name tag: "Coodie / Film Director." And it hit me. This is the man behind Kanye's documentary jeen-yuhs! Five years ago, I made a whole video about how inspired I was by the way he put Kanye's story together. I never actually thought I'd meet him in person. Mind blowingggg.
Only Eat What's in Your Diet
The moral of what I'm trying to say is this: you don't need a long list of goals. Set one, or a few. And when you walk into spaces like CultureCon, don't try to eat everything on the table. Only eat what's in your diet for right now.
Two simple goals got me a stage for the class nobody signed up for, a notebook full of interviewing lessons, a moderator I'll be studying for a long time, an event planner ready to help with my next project, and a seat across from a filmmaker who inspired me years ago. That's what intention did.
CultureCon was an experience I'm so glad I got to have, and I plan to be back every year I'm able. My cup is full again.
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