We recently connected with Megan Hawkey and have shared our conversation below.

Megan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I’m a party and event producer and promoter. Every event I throw is a financial gamble. You never know if people will vibe with a theme, if the weather will keep people away, if there will be other competing events, etc. Over the years, I’ve learned that it’s okay to take a risk, but it’s much less of a blow when you truly believe in the idea.

Megan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been a dance party producer/promoter in Philadelphia for eight years. My business, Riot Nerd, started as an entertainment blog, and I started looking for ways to promote it. I decided to throw some shows, dance parties, movie nights, etc, to get the name out there. I quickly fell in love with throwing events and let the blog die out so I could focus on this new passion. When I first started, a lot of my parties were geared towards more “nerdy” interests (like Marvel movies, cult classic movies and shows, video games, etc). This taught me how to tie pop culture into events. I have since branched out, throwing parties for everything from Goth to K-Pop to Taylor Swift to Nu-Metal to Pop Girls of Summer, Beyonce, etc.

I’ve also had the honor of working for and/or collaborating with big-name event producers and promoters over the years.

Riot Nerd’s mission is to create a community of like-minded people to keep entertainment alive, safe, and inclusive while also supporting other local event professionals and artists by creating worthwhile opportunities. We’re known for mixing pop culture themes into our events and creating a unique, all-encompassing experience. We are inclusive and welcoming to everyone. We do not have dress codes because we want people to be themselves and feel comfortable, we do not offer gender-specific discounts, and all events are LGBTQ+ friendly.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The success of Riot Nerd didn’t happen overnight. I’ve been throwing events for eight years because I truly love it. I love making people happy, giving them a safe place to blow off steam after a long work week, and providing an inclusive environment. Throwing events can also bring a lot of anxiety. Financial concerns (will it turn a profit, will it break even, will I lose money on this) and concerns about wanting to make the event worthwhile for venues, talent, bartenders, etc. In my first year, I had events with as few as eight attendees. I learned a lot about what events work, keeping my cool when attendance is low despite the anxiety that brings, and how to budget for events.

I really believe that the fact that I kept pushing through all of those hard times, solely because I loved what I was doing, eventually made things turn around for Riot Nerd. It’s true what people say—just stick with it, even when it gets hard and seems impossible. Just keep going, and eventually, it’ll pay off.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Riot Nerd is a part-time/side business. I started my business with zero dollars. I’ve never had a business partner or taken on any debts for this. I fund all of my events out of pocket, and when events have flopped, I’ve paid talent out of pocket. I work a full-time day job because it takes the financial stress of Riot Nerd off of my shoulders. I quickly learned that solely relying on my business financially took the joy out of it, and I felt less productive overall, so I went back to working full-time for stability / peace of mind.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.riotnerdphilly.com
• Instagram: @riotnerdphilly
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiotNerdPhilly/
• Twitter: @riotnerdphilly