Networking in Dartmouth just got easier

By Jon Tattrie - The Weekly News
Dartmouth now has its very own free weekly business networking group, and you'll get a free breakfast just for checking it out.
Starting Jan. 17, DartNet will provide a chance for small and medium businesses to make connections, exchange ideas and expand their business networks. The group meets Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon at ProductPod Cafe at 71 Tacoma Drive.
DartNet was started by Richard Black, owner of Rich Graphics, an independent graphic-design company.
"I've done a lot of networking. I went to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, the junior chamber and a few events of that nature," Black said last week.
He also attended a weekly Halifax networking meeting, but he found it tricky to break into the established group. As he lives on the Dartmouth side of HRM, he decided it was time to start Dartmouth's first free weekly networking group. The two groups meet at the same time, so participants can switch back and forth.
"Some people will probably go to one one week, the other the next, and then take a week off. There's no rigid schedule to it."
Bring a stack of business cards, Black advised. In Halifax, he was going through up to 60 a week. "You'll meet a lot of people and everyone is there for the same reason. It's a very comfortable place to hand out your card and tell people what you do."
Black has landed jobs directly as a result of networking groups and notes that making face-to-face contact means when they need to hire someone to do what you do, your name will be top of mind.
"People can expect to have a coffee and schmooze - they should have their 'elevator speech' down to a tee!" Black laughed.
It also works in reverse: it's a great place to find a web-builder, virtual assistant or photographer when the need arises. And yes, there's a free breakfast for first-time attendees, courtesy of the ProductPod Cafe.
Kathy Colaiacvo runs her virtual assistant business Time on Task (Timeontaskva.com) in Dartmouth and is excited about the new network.
"It seems like it's going to be a nice, informal networking located here in Dartmouth," she said. Colaiacvo provides administrative support for clients in B.C., P.E.I. and across Nova Scotia, and she wants to grow her client base locally. She also goes to a business breakfast club and various Halifax events. "It just allows you to access a broader base of business people."
Colaiacvo has gotten jobs and good leads from her other networking activities and expects to find more via DartNet.
Check out the DartNet Facebook group or visit Richgraphics.ca/dartnet.html.
jon@jontattrie.ca