Once upon a time…

…there was a business owner, who’d been told that networking would help boost her business. She had many years of experience, was well qualified in her respective field & ran a successful small company. This business owner was reaching a turning point, wanting to grow her business by elevating its profile & building brand awareness, so she asked for some advice on how to achieve it.

She asked some fellow business owners, & they told her to network, network, network! She asked some marketing experts, & they also told her to network, network, network! So off she went, armed with advice that she didn’t know how to action. She set about her research, finding a Business Buzz networking event in her local area &, after much soul searching, she signed up to attend. She promptly forgot about it, blocking this daunting challenge out of her mind. Reminded of the event via email, she learned that as much as she wanted to forget networking, networking had not forgotten her.

The Day Dawned With A Palpable Sense Of Anticipation

The day of the Buzz event dawned, & the business owner awoke, engulfed in a sense of anticipation. Full of self-doubt with a side of imposter syndrome, she made her way to the networking event. Feeling totally out of her depth, she made her first tentative steps towards the door. Once inside she was greeted by a friendly face, she signed in, desperately hoping she could scurry away to a quiet corner & disappear. This was not to be, as the Buzz host that greeted her on the door had taken the time to ask her about her business. It wasn’t long before the host came to find her, with a contact he thought might be useful connection. Despite wishing the ground would open up & swallow her, the business owner started to chat to her new connection – another small business owner from the local area.

The first few minutes felt like hours, but soon enough the business owner forgot her fears, & started finding common ground with her new connection. Before she knew it, half of the networking event had passed, & there was a break at 11 o’clock for a few words form the local Business Buzz team including their sponsors. Realising this sponsor could help with her own business, she plucked up the courage to approach this sponsor. They clicked instantly, & although is the same sector, much of what they did, did not overlap.

As the event drew to a close, the host came to find the business owner, to see how she got on & to let her know he was always at the end of the phone should she have a question.

What Next?

The business owner left the event, armed with business cards for potential 1-2-1 meetings. The self-doubt crept in again once more, & the business owner put the business cards in a drawer for another day. If she forgot them, maybe they would forget her too. This was not to be, for her two new significant connections initiated 1-2-1 meetings with her, as did the host of the event, who was also a local business owner. As each 1-2-1 dawned, the business owner woke with butterflies in the stomach. Was this really of any value? The 1-2-1s happened with ease once the conversation started, & the business owner felt a renewed sense of confidence. Not only did she find the conversations useful, but her connections found it useful too & they began meeting regularly, sharing insights & offering advice to one another. The real magic always happens after the networking event, where those relaxed conversations transform into lasting relationships.

Our business owner saw the power of Business Buzz & the opportunity it presented. Being a visitor was a truly uplifting & welcoming experience, but she wanted more & to get a piece of the action. Could Buzz help her overcome her own confidence demons? Could Buzz make her business thrive?

There was only one way to find out! She put her head above the parapet & took up the local event host’s offer of a phone call & stepped out onto a journey that would change her life forever. She chose to be a Business Buzz host.

& They All Loved Happily Ever After!

Our business owner is now the welcoming face of networking & of Buzz in her town. She has become a person everyone wants to connect with, so raising her profile locally. At no point on this road to prosperity & success has she been alone. The Buzz community rallied to build a fellowship of success with her at the centre.

Being a Buzz Host puts you on a road of discovery, to finding new friends, of building amazing working & collaborative relationships, of finding new skills, but mostly a road (a yellow brick road) to a better way of working, where there is less selling & more support that you can imagine. A true fellowship in the complete sense of the word.

Our business owner is more confident as a result of becoming part of the Buzz Family, the challenges of running a small business far less daunting & she can sleep soundly knowing that the worries of just a few months ago are a long-distance memory. Embracing the opportunity, taking up the local mantle, & allowing the Buzz team to support her means that our new Buzz host, her team & her visitors can all rest easy & live happily ever after.

Want to know more about becoming a Buzz Host?

Your Costs
• Single license fee for operating Buzz in your local town, which is significantly less than the annual membership fee for some other networking organisations.
• An on-going monthly subscription fee to Buzz HQ.
• Venue hire fees are negotiated by your Regional Lead, they’ll be the same per head across your region.

Your Profits
Once you’ve paid the venue hire & monthly subscription fees, the event door takings at £5 per person are profit entirely for you. So, the more attendees you get through the door, the more profit you make.

Your Commitment
We require a 12-month commitment to being a Business Buzz host. Within this time, Buzz hosts generally recover their initial outlay.

Building Local Business Communities
As a host, you have the opportunity to give another local business an elevated profile at your event. Introducing another local business owner to your Regional Lead is the first step towards them becoming a sponsor at your event. Their participation forms an integral part of your local business community & will when they champion Buzz they will bring diversity & a fresh vibrancy to your event.

Buzz events run monthly, so you have an ongoing opportunity to put Buzz’s 3-2-1 principle to good use. This tried & tested method should be adopted by all Buzz parties & we encourage hosts to be doing this, advocating the Buzz method & leading by example.
We have various opportunities to become a Business Host for towns across Northamptonshire including Corby, Daventry, Kettering & Towcester, so if you’re interested in hosting a Buzz, & bringing business networking to your town, get in touch with James now by calling him on 07770 876300 or emailing him on northamptonshire@business-buzz.org.