March Meeting Schedule and Event $5.00 increasee explained
Lehigh Valley
Elite Network - Starting in March, there will no longer be monthly
meetings held at Buca di Beppo in Reading or Gaetano's restaurant
in Bath. Growing this networking group to eight locations has
become more time consuming than I anticipated, and I have been
unable to focus on and grow my Legal Shield business,
and other
ventures that I am working on. Unlike other Networking
Organizations, Lehigh Valley Elite Network members enjoy tremendous
internet exposure through the social platforms and news feeds, at
no cost to them. This has proven to be highly beneficial for those
who participate, however it comes at a great expense of my time to
maintain the following platforms for 240 Plus active
members.
I raised the fee
to $20 per meeting, however, I have heard from many people that
this will be an issue for them. I encourage them to investigate the
costs of other organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce,
charging $35 for members/$60 for nonmembers. Please keep in mind
that the cost of these events in no way covers the expense of
maintaining the above social media platforms, and the website,
which averages 30,000 plus views per month.
The original
purpose of the Lehigh Valley Elite Network and why it was founded
was to give an opportunity for members to have a systematic way to
develop productive relationships with contacts
and acquaintances they met outside the group. For many it has
become an opportunity to attend the groups with the largest
attendance for the opportunity to meet
someone else's contact, never to attend again. This inconsistant
attendance makes it challenging to give an accurate count to the
restaurant,but also adds additional
expense in time to maintaining administration of the group. The
more damaging aspect, is the impression on that group's existing
members, that they are unreliable and opportunistic. This
behaviour is extremely counterproductive to growing a business and
threatens the integrity of this organization. Although this has
been allowed, It is my responsibility to put
thisorganization
on a sustainable path forward.
At this time,
this is the only logical step forward and I will be making
additional adjustments to the schedule. This decision will be based
on 1) attendance at each location, and 2) how well I can
efficiently run the existing meetings.
My goal in the
next few months is to limit the meetings and develop monthly
training's on Basic Networking, Social Media and Internet Marketing
Strategies so members can develop the skills necessary to take
advantage of these opportunities.
1) Everyone who
attendents multiple groups will pick a home group to attend, and to
find a suitable substitute if you cannot. However, you will not be
responsible for paying for a missed meeting at this time.
2) All events
starting in March will be $20.00 (Cash or Check - payable at the
door)
3) All members who wish to attend another location other than their home group will be asked to bring a guest attendee to that event. This will help eliminate the opportunistic intentions of those not interested in building and maintaining relationships.
