The Trouble With Networking Groups
Maybe I’m a cynic, but I’m always immediately suspicious of networking groups.
Over the last few years a growing number of structured networking organisations have sprung up around the UK. These range from small local breakfast clubs to national networks with branches all over the country.
There have been many success stories from networking. People have built thriving businesses on the back of the contacts they have generated through networking groups and some business owners are convinced they would have failed without them.
But I’m not alone in my cynicism. Many business people still shy away from breakfast meetings and networking events and remain sceptical of them. One of the main barriers for some people, myself included, is the cost. I find it difficult to place my trust in a networking organisation that is run as a business, to make a profit for itself through membership subscriptions. When I first started out I was overwhelmed with invitations to join my local BNI or whatever – sometimes several from different members of the same group. It wasn’t until later I found out that they weren’t asking me out of kindness, they were doing it for the referral commission they would have earned.
In some cases, it doesn’t end at your annual subscription, there’s also a charge for each weekly meeting. I worked out that the total annual cost to me for joining one particular group wouldn’t have been far short of £1,000.
Some groups are very strict too, with their own set of rules and regulations. I find it very restricting being told that I’d have to turn up every Wednesday morning at 7am for a breakfast meeting at a golf club, or failing that send a representative in my place. In some groups, places are restricted, only one member from each business category is allowed. And there are no criteria for judging if a member is good enough to be in that position. It’s simply a case of whoever gets there first gets the place.
Then there are the meetings themselves. I went along as a guest to a local meeting, and was amazed to find that each member has to stand up and ‘sell’ their business in front of everyone by giving a one minute speech. Every week. Repeating yourself week in week out in front of the same people, and listening to the same speeches by the same people.
Sorry but it’s just not me. It makes me cringe. Maybe my business is less successful for not grasping the bull by the horns, throwing away my prejudices and jumping in with these groups. Perhaps I wouldn’t ever have to worry about ‘a slow week’ if I were less insular. Maybe I just don’t have the right personality to run a business.
But I’d rather be someone who breaks the rules than just one of the herd. I’ve always wanted to do things my way, not someone elses. That was the whole point of working for myself. And that’s what Business and Social Networking Club is all about. The name is satirical, a stab at the more serious groups. (Some of you may notice that BS also stands for something else). The aim is simply to socialise with a group of like minded people who run their own businesses, and help each other out if we can. No rules, no rigid format, no costs except you buy your own lunch and a beer.
Now that’s my kind of group.
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Networking Groups!!! I’ve been to a few and that’s been enough for me too. I seemed to attract bankers, advertising gurus and marketing execs like bees to a honey pot and paid through the nose for their services and got stung!!! Ouch !!!!! Maybe networking group meetings work for local businesses with premises or shops in the High Street where you need to get your face known but being an internet retailer I want to reach out to a wider audience so online networking seems to be the way forward.
Good for you for being different – times are tough for everyone at the moment and every penny counts when you are running your own business . Anyway we need to save up for the next lunch and a beer!!