We are upgrading the site today and expect to be done by this evening, however there might be some portions of the site that are not accessible until tomorrow.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

I just added the Pasco Book Fair contact information to the site, the deadline for signing up looks like it’s June 30.

We are so happy to announce this week’s
Featured Business of the Week! Each week we will be highlighting one of our members as the Featured Business of the Week. This week’s Featured Business of the Week is …
Jan Ward’s KidzWorxx!

Click Here for more information about Jan and her business…

Outline is available here

I find it fascinating that one person read this and commented, “Oh good, so we’ll have some structure now.”

I honestly don’t see where it says that. Maybe I’m just too close to the whole thing to see it any way but how it is meant to be?

I think that some people are not quite understanding the whole purpose and some people are really trying to make the group into something it’s not. Letting go of the recent model for networking (which countless people claim just does not work) and getting back to networking to build relationships would benefit us so much more.

Our meetings do not have an agenda. We usually arrive in a staggered attempt to be on time. We introduce ourselves as we arrive and then we just start chatting. We do not spend time on the “three minute advertisement” from each member because it’s not really very effective. After belonging to over 40 networking groups via meetup.com over the last 5 years…that model is always the one that gives me a headache. It’s not worked for me, or for anyone that I’ve asked. There are a few slightly pushy people who claim it works, but no one I know will do business with them so I have to wonder if they aren’t being entirely honest.

We are working on ways to make sure we each have more information about who we met with at the meetings. We discussed goodie bags today. I think this might be a good way to let people review what you do in their own time. Goodie bags could also include samples of products so you know that everyone understands what you do.

I also wonder if people who join the group understand what is involved with starting a networking group of this nature. I know of a few people who have undergone such a venture and they also have commented on the subject. This is not an idea that just sort of became a site that sort of became a project that sort of got really big. This is a planned out project. It has a series of goals. It has a business plan.. It’s been researched, changed, researched, changed…you get the idea. I, personally, have spent hundreds of hours on just getting this started. Jessica and I have spent tons of money and countless hours at Starbucks for our brainstorming and weekly business meetings. This is a well thought out plan, and we are sure it will work.

So, please give the group a chance before you decide it’s not for you. You don’t have to stick around if you don’t want to, but it’s not going to cost you anything if you do. We are getting a new member every other day at this point. I would say that by the end of July, we will be getting at least 2 new members a day. We are also adding 4 new cities in the near future.

We are expanding at a healthy rate, and we will keep going until we make it.

So, hang on and enjoy the ride! We are bound for some great destinations!!

As incentive for bringing people with you to the meetings, we are offering the following special:

Bring a Guest to a meeting and we will give you one month’s worth of Free Advertising Space 

Details are available by clicking that link.

We are so happy to announce this week’s
Featured Business of the Week! Each week we will be highlighting one of our members as the Featured Business of the Week. This week’s Featured Business of the Week is …
Christine Eisenman of Send Out Cards!

Click Here for more information about Christine and her business…

We are so happy to announce this week’s
Featured Business of the Week! Each week we will be highlighting one of our members as the Featured Business of the Week. This week’s Featured Business of the Week is …
Bertha Buckley of Lia Sophia Jewelry!

Click Here for more information about Bertha and her business…

We are so happy to announce our new Featured Business of the Week! Each week we will be highlighting one of our members as the Featured Business of the Week. Our first Featured Business of the Week is a long time member (from Meetup.com days)…
Sheryl Chelena of My Pocketbook Party!

Click Here for more information about Sheryl and her business…

Flyers are extremely versatile. You can use them for almost anything!

They could be used as a quick and cheap way to advertise a one-time event. Maybe you need to boost sales and want to offer 25% off your retail merchandise for the next 48 hours. Printing an expensive full color flyer wouldn’t be time or cost effective, but putting together a quick, eye catching flyer that you can just get copied at a local office supply store would be both time and cost effective.

[read more here]

Restaurants need menus. Whether it’s a board on the wall or something you hand out, you have to tell your customers what you are serving.

A menu should reflect the attitude of the restaurant. A tropical, breezy, colorful restaurant should have a menu that fits that same theme. A boring, text only, black and white menu just wouldn’t quite do it. A corporate cafe in a downtown complex might want to appeal to the business crowd who is in a hurry to just get their lunch and get back to work. You should consider what you want to convey to your customers. Are you there to entertain them? Get them fed and out in a hurry? Wine and dine them for the evening? A menu does so much more than tell someone what food you are serving, it sets a mood for their dining experience.

[read more here]