Failure is not an option for your supper club. Or at least it shouldn’t be. In talking with people about supper clubs I often hear that: “We used to have a great supper club, but… “. Following is a list of the top five reasons (tomorrow’s blog will outline another 5) a supper club fails and some fixes to avoid them:
Fixes to Supper Club failures
Loss of interest
The fix is involvement and variety. Talking with those that are losing interest and getting their input is a great way to renew commitment. Make changes or maybe partial changes to add variety. When people feel that their ideas are being heard they take ownership and reengage
Too much work
Quite often you will hear that hosting a dinner party is too much work and not a priority. This might be an opportunity to insert a “low work option”. In Impromptu Friday Nights we outline what I call a “I don’t cook but I know where to buy” option. This is a club where everything is bought via takeout or at a market. Make it easy.
Scheduling conflicts
Everyone is busy and has conflicting interests. It becomes a real pain if you or other club members can’t make a dinner party. Finding substitutes can be a nightmare. One very easy solution can be having a dinner party on a night other than Saturday. We have had club meetings on Friday and Sunday nights and folks were generally more available.
People move
A big challenge when you have clubs where people are career centric is that people will move quite often to further their careers. This really becomes a challenge when key people in the club move. The answer to this challenge is to be constantly encouraging new members. Talk up your club with friends and acquaintances. Encourage people to become subs to have them find out how much fun it is
Personality conflicts
It is human nature for people to not get along. It just happens. We have been in clubs where folks have had major differences. The easy solution is to schedule your way around conflicts. If you know Harry and Sally have a problem with Joe and Kathy keep them apart. Keep it simple.
When things look really bad and you need to pull in the heavy artillery to save your supper club you can always serve the Spiced Chocolate Mousse.This will make everyone happy and save the day. I hope!
Tomorrow’s blog will go through another five challenges and outline fixes. Just remember:
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!
If you enjoy this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and be on the look out for my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs due out from Morgan James Publishing on January 30, 2018.