Small Business Networking

I always get very excited when I discover people who are living their passion and creating money from it.

Earlier this week, I attended a small business networking event hosted by  Bonni Ross-Parker of The Joy of Connecting. This smart and amazing business woman, created the Joy of Connecting and it is a different model for small business networking groups.

After owning several businesses, she discovered that she really enjoyed networking. She started having networking events in her home and gained an excellent reputation for having great meetings.

She then franchised the opportunity and invited other women to be licensees of the The Joy of Connecting. She started in Atlanta and now has licensees throughout Georgia and in several states throughout the US.

To attend, you pay $25 and you have a wonderful dinner and you meet other open-hearted women that are seeking safe environments in which to conduct business.

This month, she is proud to host the first Latino Joy of Connecting meeting in the Atlanta area to support small business networking in the Spanish speaking community.

Now, let us do an analysis of this model.

I have heard of small business networking groups that have different rules. They are leads groups. There can only be one of a kind of profession represented. You must send leads during the week to other members of the group.

Now, Boni Ross-Parker took that model and built on it. I believe she said she had hosted 2300 women in her home in the last seven years.

1. She was clear on what she was passionate about – connecting and empowering  women who had small businesses.

2. She took and existing model and tweaked it to suit what she had learned and what she liked.

3. She placed a high value on what others were doing for free.

4. She charged a workable price with a low entry barrier: $25

5. She exponentially expanded the opportunity. She has licensees in various states now.

6. It is an easy investment of her time and energy. The group meets once a month in her home.

7. She does it in service to other women and their dreams.

Finally, she made something wonderful out of nothing!

What a remarkable woman!

You can do the same with your unique set of talents and interests.

What kind of small business networking are you engaged in?

What can you create out of nothing?