What I’m learning about building a community
What I’ve learned so far hosting the Home Barista Show in four very different cities
I didn’t send a newsletter last Saturday. I was in Johannesburg running the Home Barista Show.
What the Home Barista Show is
It’s for people who brew coffee at home and want to get better.
They don’t watch. They make coffee. Ask questions. Get it wrong. Try again.
That’s the point.
What happened in Johannesburg
We capped it at 70 people. Tickets sold out in two days. A waiting list followed.
People arrived early. And as soon as they could, they got stuck in.
Four cities, four different rooms
I’ve done this in Dubai, Sharjah, Cape Town, and now Johannesburg.
Dubai and Sharjah were packed.
Cape Town was the biggest. One hundred tickets sold online. Forty more walked in. One hundred and forty in total.
Johannesburg was smaller by design.
The rooms felt different. The way people behaved once they were inside didn’t.
What I’ve taken from this so far
I had some time after Johannesburg to think about the Home Barista Show. Not just the Johannesburg event. All of them.
Here’s what I’ve learnt so far:
1. A good location gets people in once. It doesn’t bring them back
These events move cities. People still show up. So it’s not the location. They come for something else.
2. A specific audience is easier to build around
The Home Barista Show is clear about who it’s for. People who brew at home and want to get better.
That makes it easy for the right person to say yes. And easy for everyone else to ignore it.
3. People feel more connected when they take part
The best parts of every event come from people doing something. They make coffee. They ask. They compare.
That’s what keeps them there.
4. If your idea isn’t clear, nothing else will save it
Each event had a different partner. Different setup. Same response.
So it’s not the venue. It’s not the sponsor.
People are responding to the idea.
5. A strong idea can bring new people
In Johannesburg, most people in the room were new to Bean There. But they didn’t come for the café. They came for the event.
If you have something that people want to be part of, it can bring in people who wouldn’t have walked in otherwise.
The plan is simple
The plan is simple. Keep going. Take the Home Barista Show to more cities. Different countries. See what holds up when the context keeps changing.
I want to take this as far as it can go.
And as I do that, I’ll keep writing about what I’m seeing. The parts that work. The parts that don’t. The things I get wrong along the way.
If you’re building something of your own, you’ll get a front row seat to it here.