Building A Business 101 - Creating Connection
I recently got asked:
“What do people in your age range and demographic like to do?”
For reference: I was born in January 2000. I’m a single female, small business owner, living in Nashville Tennessee.
The answer came pretty quickly.
1. We're broke, so we like free stuff.
2. We crave connection, especially in a big city full of transplants where making real friends isn’t always easy.
With Nashville’s median age sitting at 34 and 36% of the population falling between 19–39, businesses can’t afford to ignore who’s actually living here.
2000 Age Range History
We grew up watching technology evolve in real time. Landlines and phonebooks became flip phones, BlackBerrys, and eventually iPhones. We saw the fall of MySpace and the rise of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter (it will always be Twitter), Instagram, Vine, VSCO, and TikTok. We went from tapes and burned CDs to SiriusXM, Bluetooth, and CarPlay. From paper maps to getting anywhere with a tap of a screen. VHS, DVDs, rental stores, cable, DVRs and now streaming services galore. Needless to say, we’ve lived through a lot of digital change.
But we also grew up knocking on neighbors’ doors to ask if they could play. Trampoline meetups. Late-night flashlight tag. Riding bikes to the neighborhood store when our parents left us alone for the first time over summer break. Meeting kids from other schools at the community pool. Competition teams that didn’t film TikToks before practice. Extracurriculars without schedules posted on Facebook. Sneaking out to teepee our crush’s house, because Find My Friends didn’t exist yet (thank God). Prom after-parties where we weren’t posting Instagram stories because we were so present we only checked our phones to reassure our parents we were not drunk.
Define Your Audience
All of that to say, businesses need to seriously evaluate who they’re trying to serve. An upscale restaurant catering to an established older crowd should look, feel, and price itself very differently than a bar targeting people in their 20s and 30s. I can’t tell you how often my friends say, “I can’t go, I’m trying to save money,” or “I can’t afford that right now.”
According to USA Today, 66% of 18–29-year-olds don’t feel pressure to spend beyond their means, and 42% are comfortable declining plans because of cost. Transparency matters. Happy hours, specials, free events: these aren’t bonuses. They’re core needs for this generation.
We’ve watched the world evolve at our fingertips, but one thing hasn’t changed, we crave connection. Real, in-person bonding. The nostalgia of life before social media ran everything. When creating a business, restaurant, or event, the number one
goal should be connection, whether that leads to a new friendship, a date, a business idea, or a “let’s grab another drink after this.” At its core, it’s all about connection.
Don’t get me wrong, we’re still deeply plugged into the digital world. Influencer posts work. High-profile faces draw crowds. Instagram ads increase visibility. Those things get people in the door. But getting them to keep coming back? That’s about their experience - and that part is on you.
If you’re ready to define your niche, truly cater to your audience, and create spaces that foster connection, you’ve ventured down the right street. ;)
