Networking: Take Two

Today was my second week attending the new networking meeting.  While Ryan and Bert were slaving away making more inventory for Ireland, I met up with the group at the pizza place. 

Initially I thought that joining a group like this would allow Ryan and I to interact with other business owners, bounce ideas off fresh minds and get out of the office once a week.  Unfortunately after today's meeting I began to wonder whether or not this is the group for us.

Don't get me wrong, the people are all super nice and enthusiast about their businesses and networking, that isn't the problem.  The thing is that over the last 3 years I've forced myself to become a master of my craft.  From designing our website, teaching myself the ins and outs of online marketing and learning the ways of SEO, to having to perfect the art of accounting (well, trying to).  Even with all this knowledge I have a long way to go and I'm always looking to expand and grow.  Here in-lies the problem.

A lot of the business owners in the group are sole proprietorship companies much like we were a couple of years ago.  They focus on referral based leads in the immediate area near their prospective businesses.  We on the other hand have graduated to larger commerce and are working on building relationships with like minded fields and companies in addition to our maintaining and growing our existing client based. Our business and the other businesses in the group are worlds apart.  After talking with a couple group members today this "truth" came into focus and as much as I hate to admit it I think that next weeks meeting will be our last.

Coming to this realization today really disturbed me.  My initial reaction to the thoughts going through my head was, "wow, what a business snob!"  I'm the first to admit that I do not know everything there is to know about how to run a business but I also know that the balance of benefit is not in my favor and now I'm left wondering where we will find the "right" group of people to add our 'Mastermind'.  If you aren't familiar with what a Mastermind is, it was something I picked up from the book Think and Grow Rich.  The philosophy that you surround yourself with success and thus become successful in return.  Basically, you fake it until you make it or assimilate with those you admire and learn from them to grow yourself.  The trouble now is, how do we find these people? Oh, well I'll save that task for another day -  To Be Continued...