networking and ecademy
I recently discovered an online networking group called ecademy which I think was founded by the guys who wrote a book the beermat entrepreneur. They have a free part to their site which allows one to go to a free networking evening.
The event was last night and was held in a bar near canon street. I found everyone friendly and probably managed to speak to about one third of the participants. The event I do not believe will create immediate contacts as a rule. However I do think it provides a means to build up ones networks which will in the long run lead to more business for all.
For a small business this is a useful and direct way to create a part of ones marketing mix. Strange using the word mix as it makes me think of the cinema and the pick and mix sweet section.
As you can see I think this is a good idea. With one proviso any networking event requires that you know a little about how to behave in this type of environment. With this in mind I would recommend a book called endless referrals and is written by Bob Burg.
posted by the clown @ 4:26 pm
4 Comments:
Hi there,
My name is Simon Graham. I co-founded Beermat Monday (the networking event you mention above) with Mike Southon. He did indeed write "The Beermat Entrepreneur", along with Chris West.
You are spot on about not making immediate contacts. We find it takes time to get to know people (so they can get to know you and build up a level of trust). After a while, you will start getting calls from their contacts - “I understand you make widgets, so and so who met you at Beermat Monday said you might be able to help”. It still blows my mind when I get a call like that.
The excellent Ecademy site was founded by Penny Power, Glenn Watkins and Thomas Power. We can't take the glory for that I am afraid. We just list our events on there (suddenly I feel like an underachiever!!!). We also list our events on the official Beermat site - Beermat.biz.
I am glad you had a good evening and hope you come along to another one soon!
Kind regards,
Simon
I recently discovered a huge spelling mistake (I had thought academy was incorrectly spelt but of course it is like ARThive - a clever reinvention of archive...) BUT more to the point - entrepreneur has 3 r's and not two(2). I guess you were slow with reading riting and rithmatic (the ancient 3 r's). Never mind we will all make allowances for you in the future.
Maybe my networking is not directed correctly. I always have a word with my Beagles whenever I meet anyone of note. I never receive any feedback which is the way I like it. However, I can see the benefit of ecademy and their networking advantages - should you happen to be a non-Queen. I will let my Butler and Groom know of their website and maybe they will pass it on to others - who in turn may pass it on to others in a logarithmic fashion (or is it tiered?). When you consider the power of the pyramid wheeze and how effective it can be (what a con it is too) - consider how networking can work for you (and it's NOT a con and can work for all).
What 3 R's
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