Yes, host your own event, because it moves every advantage to your side of the table. You pick the room, the topic, and the guest list, and you’re the one standing in the middle of it. A breakfast for eight to fifteen ideal clients can cost you under $200, which is a whole lot cheaper than one qualified lead from a booth at a big expo.
You’ve had the other experience. You go to the chamber breakfast, talk to two or three people, hand out a few business cards, and leave. You didn’t pick the format or the topic, and you weren’t the host. You were in somebody else’s room.
Is hosting your own event actually worth the money?
Run the math. A qualified lead from a booth at one of the big conferences or expos can run you around $400. You might get ten or twelve, but they aren’t cheap.
Now do it yourself, in the morning, because breakfast is way cheaper to cater than lunch or dinner. A spread from Panera and a couple jugs of coffee and you’re under $200. When’s the last time you sat down and had a bagel with an ideal client? What about eight of them? The math absolutely maths.
How do I start small?
That’s exactly how I started. My first event was the Breakthrough Breakfast. It was me and three people with coffee and bagels, and we brainstormed for 90 minutes. I kept doing it so people would know who I am and what I do. That grew into a series we called Brand Crafted, where I interviewed people at a craft brewery, and then it grew into the conference. Six years of little event, bigger event, way bigger event, and the relationships grew right along with it.
What should I figure out before I invite anybody?
Run every event through one test first. Will it save the people in the room time, make them money, or build their network? If it doesn’t do one of those, you’re not ready to host it. Because if you say “Hey, come to my thing,” the first thing they’re thinking is “Why would I come to your thing?”
Then pick your format. Conversation, straight education, networking, a mastermind, a speaker with Q&A. I’m a little selfish here. I host the kinds of events I like.
Who should be in the room?
Curate it. My events are for owners. You don’t have to be a member of the Small Business Owners Community, but you do have to run a business, because only the people who sign the checks understand the other people who sign the checks. A bookkeeper might curate a morning just for people who run blue-collar businesses. That’s the power of picking.
Then over-invite. About 20% of the people who say yes won’t show up. Ten yeses usually means eight people on game day, and that’s being conservative.
How do I run it so people come back?
Know whether you’re throwing a community or an audience. A community is there for the room you built and the people you invited. An audience is there to hear one expert. Neither one is wrong, but if people came for the speaker and you hog the microphone, you’ve lost them.
Keep the talking short. I’m souring on the 60 minute presentation, because by minute 15 everybody is taking pictures of slides and asking if they’ll get emailed. Ten minutes from the expert, then let the room grill them.
And before anybody leaves, announce the next one. “Our next event is December first. Who’s signing up right now?” I learned this way too late. People will never be more excited about your event than when they’re sitting in it.
Here is the homework
Pick a morning, pick the one type of client you want in the room, and write down whether it saves them time, makes them money, or builds their network. Then invite more people than you think you need.
Questions owners ask
Should I host alone or partner with another business?
I’d rather you do it on your own, because as soon as you partner, you’re sharing the vision and compromising right away. If it’s a skill or capacity problem, or you’ve got a business BFF you’re totally in sync with, partner up. You can also sponsor someone else’s event and get in front of the room without doing all the organizing.
How many people do I need for it to be worth it?
Fewer than you think. Eight to fifteen of the right people is plenty. Three people and some bagels is how I started.
What time of day is best for a small business event?
Morning. Breakfast is the cheapest meal to cater, and people haven’t been pulled into the rest of their day yet.
How long should the presentation part be?
About ten minutes, then open it up for questions. Make it fun, engaging, and interactive, and let the room get what it needs from the expert.
Related
This one came from the Businessing episode on Thursday, September 10, 2026. You can watch the full episode here.
Full episode with transcript: Host Your Own Event for Under $200: Businessing, September 10, 2026
Businessing is the weekly show where small business owners figure out what to do next. Hosted by Pat Miller, founder of the Small Business Owners Community: owners only, nobody pitching, $19 a month.
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