Love it or hate it, networking and building relationships is an essential part of being in business.
People often ask me about networking events in New Plymouth, so I thought I’d give a bit of a run down on the ones I go to and find valuable for C7 Design.
1. Taranaki Chamber of Commerce www.taranakichamber.co.nz
The Chamber holds a variety of events over the year, aimed to help your business to build networking contacts, business support and knowledge. The main ones I attend are the BA-5’s (Business After 5’s). These are held once a month and are hosted by a different business each time at their premises. They generally run from 5 till 7pm and are networking over drinks and nibbles with a few speeches from the host. Numbers of attendees varies from around 50-200 people depending on the venue capacity. It can be a bit intimidating going to these at first but you soon get to know the regulars. My tip would be to take a friend if you’re shy and get there early so it’s easier to spark up a conversation with someone. Also make sure you have business cards to hand out.
2. Business Networking International (BNI) www.bni.co.nz
BNI is a business and professional networking organisation that allows only one person from each profession to join any group or chapter. The primary purpose of BNI is to exchange qualified business referrals and develop word-of-mouth marketing techniques in a structured environment. There are 3 chapters in New Plymouth and C7 belongs to the “Late for Breakfast” chapter which meets every Wednesday at the BNZ Centre at 8.45am. The best way to find out more about BNI is to come along as a visitor so sing out and I can invite you along as my guest.
3. New Plymouth Business & Professional Women’s Network.
This is a free networking group on Facebook for women which has over 350 members. It was set up to help assist in the networking of New Plymouth Business owners and Professional women. The main event for this is a lunch currently held at Arborio on the first Wednesday of the month. There are normally around 20-30 people at the lunches and they are a casual way to build relationships over good food!
4. Social Media Taranaki. Facebook group on www.facebook.com
Social Media Taranaki (SMT) is a Social Media Information Portal where the community of users assist each other to develop & build their social media skills. The networking side of this which I attend are the “Smeet Ups”. These Smeet Ups (or Social Media meet ups) are held roughly once a month after work. They are usually at a local bar or sometimes can be hosted at someones home. The number of people that go ranges from between around 10-20. The core group are fairly passionate about social media and involved with Twitter but the group is open to anyone. It can be a great opportunity to meet some of the local faces on Twitter and build relationships with people. Check out my twitter at twitter.com.
These are just the groups that I have found beneficial to my business but there are plenty of other networking groups in New Plymouth. Feel free to comment and let me know which ones you enjoy.
By Karen McEldowney
Great info Karen. Useful to anyone trying to break into the local networking scene! I was involved in a new BNI New Plymouth group earlier in the year but it was canned due to lack of members/interest, it felt like NP had reached saturation point and another group was a step to far.
Well done on starting your blog Karen! This coupled with your expertise, brilliant design work and massive list of contacts will no doubt lead to even more networking – a snowball effect! All the best 😉