Last Thursday really brought to my forefront the necessity of having a diversified networking plan. NetWorks! Boise Valley fills what I like to call the “Business-Social” networking slot that many folks are accustomed to. Our groups meet weekly and our focus is business. Still, I am always encouraging our members to get out and network outside of our group settings. These activities should include:
- Social media
- One-on-one face-to-face networking lunches and coffee
- “Social-Business” events like the Chamber of Commerce
- Business Shows
- Professional Groups
- Service Groups
- Virtually any opportunity you have to get out and meet people. Go “nose to nose and toes to toes”
This past Thursday presented our members with a wide selection of networking opportunities as three events were scheduled that day and all three had direction connections to Networks! Boise Valley and it’s members…..
Our annual golf scramble this year was special as we now have three groups. In setting the teams, I tried my best to pair up members from our different groups so that everybody would have the opportunity to expand their circle of connections. I think that all who were able to attend had a blast and, as we did last year in lieu of prizes, we collected dollar contributions from each participant and will donate that to a designated charity. This year we chose “Promise Olives” which is a project in South Africa that was founded to a larger degree by one of our members, Thomas Gay. You can read about Monte Christo Ministries and their great work by clicking here.
Thursday was also a special edition of the monthly “Ultra Clean Smoke Out” and was held a Hawk’s Stadium. Many of our members who could not participate in golf attended this larger networking event (300 plus folks) that is also sponsored by a NetWorks! Boise Valley member and his company, Brandon Wright. In fact, a number of our members left the golf scramble and went directly to the stadium which always provides for a great networking opportunity.
Finally, at 4:00PM, an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the offices of another NetWorks! Boise Valley member and his company …. John Allsbury from Pro Power Clean. What a great event! I met a bunch of new folks and also had the opportunity to further solidify relationships with even more people that I rarely get to see face-to-face. Great food and drink and they had this one-man guitar band that was fabulous! I’m telling you, this guy was good! He played a lot of classic rock and, well, the Craigmeister only listens to classic rock (smile).
All of these events did have two things in common. They were all face-to-face and promoted “engagement”. Social media is a great tool but only if you are willing to follow it’s lead in to the next level.
Thanks for visiting!
Craig
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