Networking Groups in Victoria and Duncan BC
If you do business locally then regular face-to-face networking with your ideal clients and with those people who are connected to your ideal clients is a must. My personal practice is to attend one networking event per week.
Some formal networking groups such as Business Networking International (BNI) or the Chamber of Commerce require an annual membership fee and on top of that you pay $10 or so per meeting. Others are free to join.
Which Groups to Attend
Depending on your target market, certain networking groups are going to be more suitable (and profitable) than others. For example, my ideal clients are small business owners and self-employed men and women aged 35 to 60 with annual revenues of $50K to $1M who are looking for cost-effective ways to grow their business.
I have discovered that I can connect with my ideal clients at BNI, my local Chamber of Commerce, Roaring Women, local Entrepreneur groups listed on Meetup.com and industry association groups.
Attending BNI as a guest is free and is a great way to see if there is a fit with your business.
Meetup.com is a great free service that has hundreds of niche groups that you can join in your area (right). You can also start a Meetup group of your own.
