Have you heard of Meetup??
Google…what an amazing tool. Not too long ago I entered a google search “South Florida fashion networking” and found this great website called Meetup. It’s a site where Meetup groups are organized within various industries, activities, etc. across the U.S. You can search the database for a Meetup group near you and find out when that organization is hosting events.
I have been to two Meetup events for a group I joined and I love it! The networking events are pretty intimate, the first was only 10 people but last night there were 27 attendees. The event was held at a great design your own purse boutique SassyBB. Amongst the attendees were fashion designers, jewelry designers, a stylist/creative director, photographers, a web designer and manufacturing consultant, an event planner, and a magazine publicist among others. It is a fabulous way to meet people within your industry and develop a network of professionals to work with. Everyone is very friendly and open to offering their expertise.
It’s very exciting to be in an atmosphere with creative, entrepreneurial minded people. I highly recommend investigating a Meetup Group in your area!
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Thanks Kristin for the resource. I visited the site and joined some of the groups. After I attend the meetings, I will provide feedback.
Argina
October 4th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Great Argina!
October 4th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Hi everyone - this is my first time participating in a blog. I could use advice. I am starting a business to help small business owners generate more profit and I would like to speak with some of you in the form of marketing research to be sure I am heading in the right direction. If you would be interested/willing to participate in a phone interview, i would greatly appreciate it. You can reach me at (cwcarlson@sbcglobal.net)
Thank you and best of luck in your business success.
October 4th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Hi Kristin,
Thanks so much for sharing your personal experience with Meetup. I have not yet attended a meetup or tweetup but have recommended them to my job search clients. It’s nice to hear that it was a positive experience!
October 5th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
thanks for sharing info about meetups, Kristin. Love meetup! It’s a fabulous way to meet people. Meetups and tweetups happen often in my area. I organize 3 meetup groups with a total of about 130 members. Two are entrepreneur groups and 1 is a social group. Meetups are ideal for anybody who wants to get out and meet like-mindeds.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Hi Kristin,
Thanks for sharing.
October 6th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Interestingly enough, I just found my way to Meetup yesterday, and can’t wait to attend my first meeting on Thursday.
What the heck are tweetups? I’m assuming that’s something to do with Twitter?
Blessings,
Andrea
October 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I’m sure it has something to do with Twitter, but I’m not exactly sure how the tweetups work.
October 9th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
The Portland Graphic Designer Meetup group has been a great way to network with others in my profession locally. I highly recommend that others check into Meetup as a business resource.
Independent business people might also want to look into biznik (biznik.com). It’s an online networking site that also schedules local networking events, seminars and workshops around the country.
Jeff Fisher
Engineer of Creative Identity
Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
October 12th, 2008 at 1:05 am
I’ve found the “networking” meetups to be a bit hit or miss, but there are some great purely social groups too.
We created our own two months ago and it has been a real interesting experience; I let anyone in, but I only tell the ones I “like” know where the meeting spot is because of how many people we get who just to sell/market to “us” when that’s not the point of the meetup (something I make real clear on the group). Our meetup: Arizona Fight Club
October 13th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Thanks for your feedback everyone! It’s great to hear muliple experiences with MeetUp.