Can You Build a Business Around Joy? Club Ichi Did | Nicole Osibodu & Liz Lathan
What happens when you build a business around friendship, connection and the choice to find joy?
Get To Know Nicole Osibodu & Liz Lathan
Liz Lathan and Nicole Osibodu created Club Ichi to bring people in the events industry together without job titles or formal networking. Their approach has led to spontaneous think tanks, parties and a secret business trip where guests learned their destination only after arriving at the airport.
Build Connections Without Job Titles
At Club Ichi gatherings, Liz Lathan and Nicole Osibodu ask people to use first names and leave their companies and titles out of the introduction. They want conversations to begin with the person, rather than a job description or a sales pitch. Nicole says that change gives people permission to talk differently. Business may follow once they get to know each other, but it does not have to be the reason they meet.
“The power of removing that starts conversations differently.”
Their approach gives people room to:
Meet without immediately explaining what they do
Ask questions beyond the usual networking script
Discover shared interests
Build friendships before discussing business
Liz and Nicole have found that when people know and trust one another, opportunities can develop without making every gathering a business development event.
Give People a Reason to Talk
Club Ichi’s Secret Family Reunion took 80 people to Tuscany without telling them the destination in advance. Liz and Nicole planned the trip to show that an event could create lasting connections without relying on a ballroom or a traditional conference schedule.
The surprise got people talking, but the conversations did not happen by accident. At Club Ichi events, Liz and Nicole welcome guests at the door, make introductions and watch for anyone who might need help joining a group.
“Anybody can fill a room with the ‘right people,’ but that does not mean at all that that’s facilitated by the people that are there.”
An event organizer can help those connections happen by:
Welcoming people as they arrive
Introducing guests with shared interests
Making space for conversation in the schedule
Checking on people who are standing alone
Letting guests choose how they want to participate
Liz says business came out of the Tuscany trip even though that was never its purpose. For her and Nicole, the lesson was to create the conditions for people to connect, then give those relationships room to grow.
Participate in the Community You Join
Amani asks what Club Ichi members could use more often. Liz’s answer is participation. Members can join online gatherings, meet the people they recognize from Slack and bring a question or goal to the group.
Nicole adds that members sometimes hesitate to ask for help, even when someone in the community could make an introduction or help them find an answer.
“You get out of it what you put into it.”
Members can start by:
Knowing why they joined
Attending an online gathering if they cannot meet in person
Asking for a specific introduction or recommendation
Sharing a challenge they are working through
Helping someone else when they can
Club Ichi’s conversations extend beyond work, too. Liz and Nicole describe channels where members talk about caregiving, neurodiversity and everyday life. Those exchanges help people get to know one another beyond their roles.
Choose Joy Together
When Mandi asks how Liz and Nicole cultivate joy outside their business, Liz points to an ordinary morning challenge with her daughter. She cannot control every frustrating moment, but she can choose how she responds. Nicole talks about her friendship with Liz. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, support each other through difficult days and have one rule: they are not both allowed to be down at the same time.
“Joy is a choice.”
For Liz and Nicole, that choice shows up in how they:
Respond to everyday frustrations
Support each other when one is struggling
Make time for friendship
Stay curious about new experiences
Bring that energy into the community they have built
Nicole says joy fuels their friendship and curiosity, which then carries into Club Ichi. Their business reflects the way they want to spend their lives and the kinds of relationships they want to share with others.
Resources Mentioned
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