Building A Business on Bacon and Eggs

The Work Copyright copyright 2005 rests with the Authors

The rights of Andy Lopata, Terence P. O’Halloran and Stephen Harvard Davis as authors of this work has be asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form whatsoever, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing to the publisher.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Foreword

"As the president of a very successful global Internet Consultant franchise company, I have learned from our consultants just how crucial networking meetings are to the growth of their businesses, regardless of where they relocated. Almost two-thirds of our consultants have told us that networking is their most successful sales lead generation method. None of the other typically used sales generation methods such as mail, telephone or e-mail run a close second.

Having been a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) for almost 20 years, I have learned how important regular attendance, active participation and most of all leadership in the running of a successful meeting can be to personal and corporate success. Each meeting is an opportunity to showcase yourself and your business - done well it is a catalyst for even greater success. That is why a book that is designed to help business leaders better utilize meetings to build their business is needed not just by our 1000 plus Internet Consultants worldwide but others looking to grow personally and professionally. "

Ron McArthur

President

WSI Internet Consulting and Education

www.WSIcorporate.com

Contents

Foreword by Ron MacArthur

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Why it’s worth getting up in the morning

Getting out of your cave • Why attend a network meeting?• The perfect environment • A chance to leave your comfort zone• A chance to interact • Like-minded people • Different people• Be heard • a A personal development tool • And think of allthose contacts • Expand your potential • Far-reaching benefits • In summary • Checklist

Chapter 2 – What is a business breakfast?

Breakfast is booming • It’s about networking isn’t it? • What is networking anyway? • Strength from diverse skills • The Scrummies principle • Types of networking event • How muchand how good? • Types of networking organisation • A chance tohear a speaker • Part of your plan • It doesn’t happen overnight • In summary • Checklist

Chapter 3 – Who should be in your team?

Getting it off the ground • Who will run it? • Who will be on your start-up team? • Organising a committee • Delegation is key • The Chairperson Chairman’s role • The Treasurer’s role • The Membership Co-ordinator’s role • The Programme Co-ordinator’s role • The Publicity Organiser’s role • The Secretary’s role • The Webmaster’s role • In summary • Checklist

Chapter 4 – When should you meet?

When should you hold your first meeting? • It’s all about timing• Start the day off well • How early? • Which day? • Avoid clashes • How often? • And when should you call it a day? • In summary • Checklist

Chapter 5 – Where will you meet? Will your golf club do?

Getting the venue right attracts members • Choose the rightlocation • Hotels are not the only choice • Choose a venue withthe right facilities • Take a closer look before you decide • Negotiate with the venue • Guaranteeing numbers • Paying forit • Give members value for money • Agree all the terms inwriting • In summary • Checklist

Chapter 6 – How to get it all organised

Keep your head and your focus • How long? • Meeting structure • … and if you have a speaker • …but if you want to be informal • What to charge • Collecting the money • Bank accounts • Choosing a bank • The chequebook • Cash only • Under-attendance • Over-attendance • Time to tell everyone • Setting out the room • Welcome people and money • Badges • After the meeting • In summary • Checklist

Chapter 7 – Someone worth hearing

The importance of having a good speaker • Finding a speaker • No fee is a good deal • Dealing with speakers • Home-grownspeakers • Promote your speakers • Introducing speakers • Insummary • Checklist • The advantages of a regular sponsor • In summary • Checklist

Chapter 8 – Other people’s money

Attracting sponsorship • Help with money • Finding a sponsor • The advantages of a regular sponsor • In summary • Checklist

Chapter 9 – Writing the rules

Compiling your rules • Rules of responsibility • Do not drive people away with complex rules • Committees • Membership fees• Making payments • Absentees • Breakeven • Belonging to alarger group • Paying speakers • Handling disputes • In summary • Checklist

Chapter 10 – Burnt bacon & eggs

When you’re the boss and things go wrong • The root of all evil • Get the price right • Get the money up front • Avoid arguments • Maintain a good relationship with the venue • Getbuy-in from the venue • Keep adding value • In summary • Checklist

Chapter 11 – How to be an active member

Get involved • But what could I do? • Be a linchpin • Make agood first impression • Prepare for meetings • In summary • Checklist

Appendices

The day before the meeting

The day of the meeting

After the meeting

Example of a meeting agenda

Membership information sheet

Speaker’s booking form

Building a Business on Bacon & Eggs

Introduction

It's not about bacon and eggs

Some people, like Andy Lopata, who is the Managing Director of Business Referral Exchange (BRE) Networking, are employed to run breakfast meetings. Andy has made a business out of helping others to build their business over a plate of bacon and eggs. As a result, he spends his entire working day focused upon and building a community of strong contact breakfast groups, which meet weekly around the UK.

Andy is not just focused on ensuring that each of BRE’s groups meets at the designated time and place each week, but also on putting into place a national infrastructure of training, communication and marketing to support every member and help them to achieve their goals from the meetings.

Terry O’Halloran, on the other hand, is busy running a Financial Services Practice where he is Senior Partner. Only a fraction of his time is devoted to running the local breakfast club for which he is responsible. It took him three years to get his club started a little less than 18 years ago. Today he runs six breakfast meetings a year on the very successful format he has devised.

Time management is the essence of a good organiser. And the exceptional time management skills shared by Terry and his personal assistants during that time (Pam, Louise and Nick) bear testimony to the fact that once you get the right people involved and the organisation and time management right, then the breakfast club format delivers cost effective benefits for all participants.

Stephen Harvard Davis is a Business Relationship Specialist who began his working life training at the Savoy Hotel in London. Later he managed hotels that accommodated up to 600 guests and which regularly hosted conferences for up to 1,000 delegates. He is now the Managing Partner of The Business Relationship Consultancy, which advises individuals and organisations on how to increase profits through their business relationships.

A significant part of his working practice consists of getting people together. The breakfast meeting is just one of the tools that he uses. With his experience in organising large and small business meetings for others and his understanding of the mechanics of hosting a meeting, Stephen brings to this book his expertise for organising a successful business events. You can see evidence of this in the comprehensive check-lists we have added throughout the this book and as well as at the end of every chapter.

Whether running breakfast meetings is your job, you merely wish to learn from the business experiences of other people, or you want to expand your knowledge, the business breakfast club should be, in these three writers’ minds, an essential part of your business strategy.

‘Building a Business on Bacon & Eggs’ is not about eating a cooked breakfast, but it does help us to remember that the pig is committed and the chicken merely contributes. In addition, while bacon and eggs may at first seem to have nothing in common, together, they are both a feast and a catalyst for