I was wondering if those who attend meet-ups regularly get much business from them. I joined one of our groups but some of the meet-ups are 45 min to an hour away. With the price of gas is this worth it or should I ramp up my other marketing plans to draw more business.

Lee

Any networking is good networking. That doesn't mean you can expect to have people clammoring to use your services immediately. The point is to get to know people and let them get to know you. I have been networking for over a year and have only received a couple of actual clients from it, so far, but I keep doing it.

I have made some great connections and I meet new people all the time, you never know what can come out of it. It may not be a new client directly, maybe it will be an opportunity. You might meet someone who is willing to give you free advertising or do an interview with you, invite you to another event or even invite you to help put on an event to showcase your talents, etc.

The more people get to know you the more comfortable they will feel recommending you and vice versa.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services

Thanks Rebecka, a new perspective is always helpful. I will definetly now try this avenue.

Lee

Originally Posted by leedrozak

I was wondering if those who attend meet-ups regularly get much business from them. I joined one of our groups but some of the meet-ups are 45 min to an hour away. With the price of gas is this worth it or should I ramp up my other marketing plans to draw more business. Lee

Do you mean meetup.com? I joined a couple of groups near me and went to one meeting for one of them. Both groups folded because the organizers didn't want to keep them going because there wasn't enough people showing up for the meetings. If you can find meetups in your area, it may be worth a visit.

One thing I found about the meet up group I went to though was that many of the members were multi-level marketers which I don't like, they're just busy trying to sell you the opportunity to sell.

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Julia

I did join the small business women's group which seems to be alot of self-promotion of their products but I was also thinking of joining some personal interest groups to see where that would take me. I have moved to a more rural area and it would also help me to get acquanted with my new surroundings. The more I think about it the more I am motivated.

Lee

Originally Posted by leedrozak

I did join the small business women's group which seems to be alot of self-promotion of their products but I was also thinking of joining some personal interest groups to see where that would take me. I have moved to a more rural area and it would also help me to get acquanted with my new surroundings. The more I think about it the more I am motivated. Lee

That's actually something I have found with all organized networking groups. Everyone seems to be there to sell themselves or their products and not really interested in buying/using services. That's why I've cancelled all the expensive networking groups (except my local Chamber of Commerce) because it's just not worth it.

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Julia

How effective is the Chamber of Commerce for you? That is actually on my list of things to do.

Lee

I think you just have to try out a few and see what works for you. I have been to a few that seemed to have their own agenda and discontinued them. I have found some though that aren't. Each chamber is different too, some are very cliquish and some aren't.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services

The Chamber of Commerce is okay - I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to renew in January.

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Julia

Looking into becoming a member is part of my reworked marketing plan so I think I will leave it there for now and look into the local one. If nothing else I can get some good local resources.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant