In times when business can be hard to find for some sectors in Grimsby, some are using local networking opportunities such as the one held at the The Europarc Innovation Centre.

Business Generation Group Grimsby or ‘BGG’ is a weekly breakfast meet held every Friday morning from 7:30am till 9:00am at The Europarc Innovation Centre in Grimsby.
On their website they describe themselves to be a great way to make friends, contacts and introduce business.. They go on to say unlike many other networking groups the Business Generation Group is not like an army drill or to be high pressured.

“We do not demand that members bring a piece of business every week. We are far more interested in high quality, qualified referrals that have a high probability of generating business for the recipient.”

A typical meeting runs along these lines.

• 07:30 – 08:00 Breakfast & Open Networking – general introductions.
• 08:00 – 08:02 Chairman’s welcome to members and guests. Explain general format and purpose of BGG. Introduce 1 minute presentations.
• 08:02 – 08:20 1 minute presentations – What is your company looking for this week.
• 0820 – 08:24 Membership secretary – Welcomes new members and focuses on vacant position
  within the group.
• 08:24 – 08:27 1 to 1 secretary – Updates on meetings and books forthcoming 1 to 1’s.
• 08:27 – 08:30 Treasurer – Reports on finance and explain fees.
• 08:30 – 08:32 10 minute secretary – Introduces 10 minute presentations and this week’s presenter.
  Update on future 10 minute presenters.
• 08:32 – 08:45 10 minute presentation – One member from the group has the floor for 10 minutes to promote their company and answer questions.
• 08:45 – 09:00 Referral section – Referral secretary explains the system and gives everyone the
  opportunity to pass business tips, leads, recommendations & referrals.
• 09:00 Chairman – Announcements & close meeting.

All there members can be found on their members page

The group is in need of businesses in the following areas

• Alternative Health
• Architect
• B&B
• Builder
• Business Consultants
• Car Hire / Leasing
• Carpet & Flooring Contractor
• Cleaning Services
• Corporate Clothing
• Couriers
• Decorator
• Dentist
• Electrical Contractor
• Estate Agents
• Fire, Alarm & Safety Systems
• Hypnotherapist
• Interior Design
• Insolvency and Business Recovery
• IT Consultant
• Landscaper
• Locksmith
• Mobile Phones
• Office Furniture
• Photographer
• Plumber
• Public Relations
• Recruitment Agency
• Secretarial
• Security Products
• Tradesmen
• Travel Agent
• Windows / Doors / Conservatories
• Wine Importer

Interested in this Grimsby business networking meeting? Then contact them!
The Innovation Centre
Innovation Way
Grimsby
South Humberside
DN37 9TT
Telephone:     0800 2800 129

Local businesses have decided to ignore talk of doom, gloom and recession and are meeting up fortnightly to see if there are opportunities for them to work together, or to create business through joint ventures.

Tom Salter of thebestofhull explains “business has slowed down for all of us, but instead of moaning about it, a few of us decided to get together with other likeminded local businesses. The truth is that there is still business out there, you might just have to look a bit harder for it. Sitting down over an informal breakfast and talking to each other, we often find opportunities that, individually, would have passed us by”.

“To be honest, we could get really bogged down by talk of a recession, but we decided months ago to see if, by sticking together, we could continue to thrive, and, so far so good, some of our members are actually doing better than they did last year.”

Instead of going it alone, the local businesses involved decided to sign up with national networking group 4Networking – “rather than just concentrating on local businesses, 4Networking has put us in touch with like minded business people all over the country, all of whom are determined to fight through any recession, rather than just accept it! Members here in Hull can go out to any other meeting anywhere in the country to pitch for business and we have a regular stream of visitors from all over the country to our meeting, some of whom end up buying services here”.

A simple solution to a national problem? As Tom tells us “what’s the worst that can happen? Rather than sitting waiting for the ‘phone to ring, at the very least I get to lift my spirits and share a joke and breakfast with the others. And any local business is welcome, they can call me, or just turn up on the day”.

Our next meeting is at 8am on Friday 13th February at the Brewers Fayre in Hessle.
For further information contact:
Tom Salter – 4Networking Area Leader, Yorkshire