When was the last time you went out and felt really good afterward?
I’m not talking about a date night with your husband or a feel-good visit to your grandma’s for dinner.
When was the last time you went out with a group of ladies and just left refreshed?
No drama, cattiness or B.S?
Well, it’s been a while for me, just like it probably has been for you.
COVID-19 made socializing harder for everyone, especially for women.
That’s why I decided to create an event to help women connect with one another.
I surveyed millennial women in 2020 and found that 80% are looking for more meaningful friendships. I also fall into this category.
So I promised myself that when things open up and women felt more comfortable attending events, I would host my first event.
After lots of brainstorming and writing names in my notes app, I decided to call this project, Delectable Dialogues.
I want to offer women a great meal, drink, and conversation. Delectable seemed like the most fitting word to describe my vision.
As someone who loves food, cocktails, and great connections, I felt it was the most appropriate name on my list!
Creative Women’s Co.
At the end of 2019, I found myself Googling ‘Networking Events in Chicago.’ At the time, I was working at a job where I felt detached. I was looking for more connections and meaningful relationships with other professionals. I had already started thinking about quitting my job and getting to a side hustle.
Creative Women’s Co. is a community project of Chykalophia. It’s where creative women entrepreneurs can discuss topics relating to business, freelancing, self-improvement, and much more.
Their previous events included masterminds, networking, mentorship, and panel-style collaborations.
I found Creative Women’s Co. Within a day of visiting their website, I bought my ticket to their speed mentoring event. I was nervous but excited to be around people outside my job.
I met many great women and was surrounded by lots of powerful energy. Definitely, the type of atmosphere I was looking for.
Within a week of attending the event, I was hired to be the event coordinator and started planning events.
Fortunately, I was able to host and plan two events before COVID-19 hit.
March of 2020, we moved all our events to virtual ticketing. There were months when only a handful of people joined. There were other months when we had over 20 people on Zoom.
I learned a lot about how to coordinate, plan and prepare for events. It also helped me with public speaking. Most of the time, I had to introduce our events, speakers, and our team to our guests.
During this time, I came up with my own idea on an event that I think would really resonate with women.
Delectable Dialogues – New Women’s Events in Chicago
As a woman who loves food, drink and spends way too much time on Eater and Thrillist, I knew I wanted to come up with a special event.
It would be a fun, safe place where women can talk about topics like relationships, sexual health, career, and more.
I want the event to have a theme. I want to incorporate the food and drink with the topic of the event.
The truth is we lost a year of socializing in 2020. There weren’t any networking events or places where could go. Everything was on Zoom.
While I appreciate the amazing women I’ve been this past year, one being my finance coach, Nadine Zumot, of Save a Million Cents, I really craved that in-person connection.
So last year, I started doing market research. I interviewed and surveyed women from across the country. I found that almost 80% of women in my sample mentioned they are looking for more meaningful connections in their life.
And some of the topics that women are looking to learn more about include spirituality, health and wellness, relationships, and finance.
Why not offer these topics as part of a series of events that touches on these topics and others?
How to Make Friends an Adult Woman Event
For this first event, we will talk about a common challenge for adult women. How to make new, meaningful friendships.
Making friends as an adult is hard because life is typically more complicated and creating new friendships takes work and up lots of time. Women may feel nervous about making new friends because they don’t want to face rejection or feeling awkward.
I want this event to bring women together. To get them out of the house and have them start the first step in finding their new friends.
Experts say one of the best ways for women to find friends is for them to put themselves ‘out there.’
This event gives women the opportunity to get out of the house and meet other like-minded women in their community. It will serve great conversations, food, and drink.
I imagine this event very casual. I see it as going to a girlfriend’s house. Come in, grab a glass of wine and sit on the couch.
There won’t be any podiums, lanyards, or name tags. Although there might be a variation of them.
I want the space, atmosphere, and conversations to be casual and genuine.
Supporting Women with Digital Marketing & Social Events
Since quitting my 9-5, my passion has been to support women. Marketing and events. I knew from my time working at Creative Women’s Co., I wanted to be part of a community that empowers women. I knew from my time working in the corporate world, I was missing that connection. It was very cutthroat, uninspiring, and dull.
I am so happy to be working with women-business owners on their SEO and marketing strategies, so they can get more customers and sales. As a marketing consultant, I am able to work with businesses across the country and internationally. It truly is something so special.
In the middle of 2020, I knew that I wanted to step away from the corporate world and work more closely with women-owned businesses.
Delectable Dialogue events can help women on a social and professional level. The events offer education, engagement, and the ability to meet other women in the community.
I am excited about this in-person event that Belinda Sanmiguel Consulting is hosting.
I hope that these events will be hosted regularly across Chicago.
Only time will tell! Stay tuned for upcoming events on the site!
Need help with your content marketing, copywriting or SEO? Feel free to email me at belinda@belindasanmiguel.com.