Lyndsey Clay shares the story of Connected Brighton to mark International Women’s Day

Connected Brighton is a social network creating lasting personal and professional relationships through bespoke events that support local businesses.

The idea for Connected Brighton came to me in lockdown 2020. I found myself single, surrounded by couples and families, wondering what life post pandemic would look like. I had more anxiety at the lockdown ending than continuing as being let out highlighted that I didn’t have the same social circle to be let out with. 

Deciding that I couldn’t be the only one who was looking for new connections, I started floating the idea on many a lockdown walk with friends who’d moved to the city and had needed a network when they’d first arrived here, but didn’t know where to start. 

Seeing an opportunity to support those moving to Brighton & Hove on mass (thanks to home working) I started writing a newsletter on city tips to help those new to the city acclimatise. This proved popular with my subscribers list and social media with followers growing quickly.

At this point, I believed so strongly that the business would be needed by those who had been impacted by the pandemic that I set up as a Limited Company before I’d even held a single event or had worked out how the business would make money. 

Build it and they will come was my attitude, it still is, and they have come. We’ve attracted wonderful professionals and academics, who are new to the city in singles or couples, who are looking for a network, friendship and to make meaningful connections. 

Our first event was a picnic in the April lockdown, then we played petanque outside in May and June, before finally in July we were allowed small groups indoors. Now I personally host 3 events a week, every week for our community of members and guests. We are also a proud Visit Brighton partner helping tourists make the most of their Brighton experience. And I still write my weekly newsletter with city tips (our subscribers list is now almost 1000). 

From the very start I wanted to make sure that everything we did supported local businesses. I had watched my favourite places pivot in every direction to survive through the darker days and decided I wanted to do something positive to show my support. 

All our events are hosted with local, independent and small businesses. We work on bespoke menus and activities to make it more interesting and test new ideas all the time. Our events include kayaking, Mexican Bingo, brunches, lunches, fancy dinners, games nights, Ping Pong tournaments, cooking classes, pottery, foraging and tours to name a few!

In December we launched a membership scheme which gives our members access to all our events and experiences, plus special offers from our local business partners. Encouraging people to shop small and support local. Our Founding 50 members joined within 8 weeks of launch, and our membership grows every week with new partner offers every month.

The benefits of Connected Brighton for our members has been amazing. We’ve watched great friendships form, relationships blossom, some of our members spent Christmas together, referred work to each other and have become a close and supportive community. Our testimonials talk about needing connection, not knowing where to find it and now feeling a sense of belonging. 

I’m really proud of what we do, how we do it and the impact we have. And especially of myself, because I made this. I’ve never run a business before, I’m green but keen to learn because I believe in what I’m offering. Every day is a school day when you run your own business and I am loving that journey (even when it’s tough).

Realising we had a trusted voice and could do more to promote local we launched our marketing & sponsorship packages in February this year. This offers brands who share our values of inclusivity, premium experiences and supporting local a chance to access our engaged audience. And giving us a chance to cheerlead and champion more local businesses.

As well as supporting local on all our events we also started a monthly podcast to share Brighton stories from local celebrities and entrepreneurs (check us out on Spotify). Plus we run two regular networking events a month to support small businesses. And I am also a BIPC Expert providing Entrepreneur Wellbeing Coaching through the Jubilee Library.

This year our focus is to grow our membership and sponsors, offer Connected Brighton as an employee benefit for management teams who want to be part of our professional social network and growing our member offers to support local and shop small.

Our long term plan is to franchise into other cities, supporting more businesses and connecting more people across the UK. If you want to sponsor us or if your business could benefit from giving membership to your employees get in touch letsconnect@connectedbrighton.com

To see what we do and join Connected Brighton check out all our events and membership plans online 

www.connectedbrighton.com

Lets connect.