DEAR INDUSTRY: WHAT IF WE CHOSE COLLABORATION INSTEAD OF COMPETITION?

Dear Industry,

I've been sitting with this one for a while.

Every year, I watch talented people with incredible ideas work tirelessly to build something meaningful for this community. They spend months securing venues, finding sponsors, booking talent, promoting their events, and hoping people will show up.

Then, almost like clockwork, another event suddenly appears. Not six months later. Not even a month later. Sometimes it's the exact same weekend. Sometimes it's the day before. Sometimes it's in the very same city. And then everyone wonders why attendance is low.

We've somehow convinced ourselves that creating another event is the only way to make our mark. Instead of asking, "How can I add value to what's already happening?" we ask, "How can I create my own version?" That's not always innovation. Sometimes it’s just duplication.

What's even more frustrating is when these competing events intentionally overlap dates that have already been announced. By doing that, you're not just competing with another producer. You're asking attendees to choose. You're asking vendors to split their budgets. You're asking designers, models, photographers, media outlets, sponsors, and volunteers to pick a side. Nobody wins.

Our industry isn't large enough to keep dividing itself into smaller and smaller pieces. Imagine what could happen if we stopped seeing every successful event as something to compete against and started seeing it as an opportunity to collaborate.

Imagine two producers joining forces instead of fighting over the same audience. Imagine sharing resources instead of stretching them thin. Imagine introducing your audience to someone else's audience because you believe there's room for both of you to succeed. Imagine what sponsors would think if they saw an industry working together instead of pulling itself apart. Collaboration doesn't mean giving up your vision. It doesn't mean losing your identity. It doesn't mean your name has to disappear from the flyer. It means understanding that together we can create experiences far greater than what many of us can accomplish alone.

I've learned that the people who are truly confident in what they've built aren't threatened by partnerships. They understand that another person's success doesn't diminish their own. Scarcity creates competition. Purpose creates collaboration.

If your event can only succeed by taking attendees away from someone else's event, maybe the problem isn't the calendar. Maybe the problem is the value proposition. Let's also stop pretending these scheduling conflicts are always accidents. Many events are announced months in advance. Social media exists. Websites exist. If you knowingly schedule your event on top of someone else's, that's a decision. And decisions have consequences. Not just for you, but for everyone connected to both events.

The full-figured industry has spent decades fighting for seats at tables that didn't want us there.

Now let me be clear, because I know how these conversations tend to go.

I'm not saying people shouldn't create their own events. New ideas are how industries evolve, and fresh perspectives are always welcome. If producing events is truly your calling, then produce. Build something original. Fill a need that isn't being met. Raise the standard. But let's also be honest with ourselves. Not everyone is a producer. Producing an event isn't about creating a flyer, booking a venue, or choosing a date. It's about leadership, logistics, budgeting, crisis management, marketing, relationship building, fundraising, problem-solving, and creating an experience people actually want to return to. It requires vision, but it also requires execution.

Sometimes the greatest contribution you can make isn't creating another event; it's helping make an existing one even better. There is no shame in collaborating. There is no shame in bringing your talents, your audience, your creativity, or your expertise to a project that's already in motion. In fact, that's often how stronger events and stronger communities are built.

We've somehow made collaboration look like settling, when in reality, it takes just as much confidence to build alongside someone else as it does to build something on your own.

Until next time…..