In this month’s Meet The Expat, we talk with Gary Joy, an entrepreneur and founder of Social Expat.
Gary is the man responsible for improving expatriate networking activities and effectively bringing thousands of people together. Check out our exclusive interview
Tell us a little about yourself:
I’ve been living in Indonesia since 2012, originally coming for a gap year from my busy career back in England as a financial advisor. I wanted to try something new and live outside my comfort zone, so thought a year in Asia would be enlightening for me.
What made you stay so long?
I planned to leave multiple times in my early years, but a good friend of mine once took me to a sky bar in Jakarta and asked me to describe what I saw when I looked at the city, my answer was simply “opportunity”, he asked, “Then why would you leave?”. Since then I have been focused on multiple business opportunities and have learned so many new things.
What did you do before founding Social Expat?
Prior to leaving England, I used to work in real estate, insurance, investment banking and financial services.
Since living in Indonesia, I have started and still operate a variety of businesses in different arenas. My brands include Lets Move Indonesia, The Lets Move Group, Tax-Indo, Purple Pineapple Studio and Social Expat.
Additionally, I run 2 large Facebook groups Visa & Law Indonesia and Jakarta Apartment & Housing for Expats.
Why did you start Social Expat?
As a solo entrepreneur, when I started my first business, I realised quite quickly that to be successful you needed a lot of initiative and a good network. I started frequenting InterNations and Jakarta Business Network, eventually becoming the Ambassador of InterNations and the host of Jakarta Business Networkers.
Additionally, I used to write content for expatriate magazines and news outlets.
As an expat and entrepreneur living in Indonesia alone, I truly understood how networking and social platforms can help individuals make their lives easier. I therefore wanted to create a better platform that focused on helping expatriates’ needs.
What makes Social Expat different?
Having worked with social, business and news platforms for years, I noticed that although the concepts were good, none of them was complete and none of them truly focused on comprehensively helping people. I decided to create the most comprehensive platform in Indonesia and encapsulate all the needs people would need in one place.
At Social Expat, the goal is to ensure people feel welcome, involved and happy when attending our events. The events are not for our benefit, they are for the participants.
How has the growth been so far?
So far, we have grown significantly! We have become the most popular networking platform in Indonesia and improved the quality of Networking events by adding themes, activities, quality videography and photography and focusing on the participant’s needs.
We have been learning a lot along the way and we haven’t always been perfect, but it is very clear to see that we alone have been leading the way in building a better community.
We have been copied and replicated repeatedly, but as they say, “if no one is copying you, you aren’t doing it right!”.
Our website users are approximately 50,000 users per month and we have grown our social media following rapidly. Our Instagram account is almost at 20,000 followers, which is a great achievement considering we have built it organically.
What are the plans for continued growth?
The plans are to continue looking at self-improvement first. We have identified areas we can improve and this year will ensure we cover participant’s needs better at events and improve the content of our media.
This year we will incorporate more after-parties at events, vary the event content further, look at ways to enhance our guests’ experience and ensure we remain one step ahead of the competition by using initiative and listening to our audience.
Lastly, we will look to expand our reach, so watch out for future updates soon!
What do you enjoy the most about the platform?
For me, I enjoy meeting new people and helping them. As someone who benefitted from expatriate platforms in the past, I want to do the same for others.
I love to see people making new friends, and new connections, enhancing their business and making great memories. We have been responsible for countless memories and new relationships, that is what makes this special for me.
This platform isn’t for my ego or desire to be a “media mogul”, it is quite simply to give back to others and to enhance people’s lives.
What notes would you give someone who hasn’t attended Social Expat events before?
I would say, to relax and come with an open mind. The purpose of going is to make new friends and expand your network. Feel free to talk to anyone, be nice to everyone and try to attend regularly so you can enhance your network.
Relationships are built over time, relationships are built on trust and relationships are built on frequency.
Try to come alone and try to leave your phone in your pocket or in your bag, so you can focus on the moment. Network with purpose and involve yourself in the activities and games.
Lastly, if you are coming for business purposes, don’t try and sell to people, focus on building your network. Don’t get disheartened if you don’t sell something or meet the person you were hoping to meet, focus on building your network.
Try to give, more than you take. Refer people, give recommendations, and provide solutions to people’s problems, the goal is to create the best community and the best community thinks about helping others, not just ourselves.
Any further notes to add?
Just to say thank you to everyone who contributes to our platform, whether that be our team, our followers, our readers or the people that attend our events.
We will continue to improve, continue to lead the way and continue to help enhance the lives of everyone who is affected by what we do.
I look forward to meeting more people in 2024, so make sure you say hi to me when you see me at an event!
