Networking is a passion of mine. I have always been someone
who enjoys visiting with others and learning about them and their lives, so
when I started my first business it was a natural fit. I enjoy the encounter with strong personalities and the sharing of ideas. I love being a connector and continually look for new ways to put people into the path of partners for their mutual profit. Pursuing new business and staying in the hunt for great relationships has become a passion of mine.
Jim Messner the founder
of the Calgary Business Network became a dear friend and a trusted Mentor. I
was so green and had little experience in business so having a coffee with Jim
stimulated great discussions and helped to stretch my thinking toward success.
Jim is an incredible networker and has been a great example for me. He
introduced me to books and to concepts that helped refine my networking skills.
As a result of our friendship I had gotten the account to do the email and
social media marketing for the CBN and the groups had enjoyed some increases.
Christmas 2011 Jim decided it was time to spend more time
travelling in the US and it was time to move on from the CBN. That was when we
decided that I would take over the company. For me it was an exciting prospect.
I absolutely love the interaction with business people and growing the numbers of
members is a challenge that I enjoy. Systems and marketing needed to be created
and creativity is also an ongoing passion for me so I went right to work developing
a team and monetizing the CBN.
The work has paid off. We took a small list of about 500 participants
and turned the email list into 3300. We grew the LinkedIn group from 300 to
1500. We monetized a completely money-less system and had a 300% growth rate.
When annual memberships went on sale last fall we had members opting in
immediately and the number one seller was the high value MasterMind Level at
$2000, even though we had an entry level of $350 on the table as well. We had
found a niche where business owners, entrepreneurs and corporate executives
felt they were getting superb value and they were willing to join us in a
higher vision that meant increased success for all involved.
When Craig Chandler first approached me about buying the
PGIB business clubs it was an intriguing concept. He had 13 chapters in operation
and most of them had strong leadership in place with a loyal following of
committed members. As I visited the groups I found the business owners to be
sharp men and women of high integrity who shared my passion for networking.
They were open to new ideas and many had years of experience and offered
valuable opinions on how to grow the organization. Really the decision to buy
these groups was a no-brainer right from the start. They are a phenomenal group
of people who add additional value to all that we were already envisioning for
networking in the Calgary market. So we are absolutely delighted to announce
that the papers have been signed and the process is moving forward.
2013 is going to be a year of exciting growth. I and my team
will be visiting each of the chapters over the next few weeks getting to know the
members and listening to their thoughts and gathering information. It is not
our intention to change what works. Many of these groups have fantastic leaders
and processes that have served them well. We will be looking for ideas however
on how to hone things to make everything work even better. We want to see the
weekly participation be over the 20 member mark in each chapter. We want to
develop additional groups in new areas of the city as well as in Red Deer and
Lethbridge. We want to see that value is added to every member’s experience and
that each business owner is getting leads and referrals. These are our goals
for 2013 and we are anticipating great success in this venture.
Thank you for stopping by to read about my passion for
networking today. This is my personal blog where I talk about business and
sometimes share other more private workings of my mind. Feel free to follow it
to keep up with me. We also have a blog on our networking website that is all
about business and we not only feature my articles but also the articles of our
paid annual members as they submit them to us. I would also encourage you to
visit our LinkedIn page. It is a great way to see what other members are doing
in the community and have some lively discussions about networking and
business. Facebook also has a group for those of you that prefer that.
On our website on the right side you will always be able to
see the educational events that we put on for business owners, entrepreneurs,
salespeople, and corporate executives. The calendar as well features these
items as well as the events that some of our members provide and now many of
the PGIB weekly meetings are posted as well.
We look forward to a long and rewarding relationship with
you. See you at the next event!
Always Loyal2U,
Kerry George
