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A guide to starting your own business networking event
How I Created One of the World’s Biggest Networking Events
I wanted to get all of the local people using LinkedIn in one room…
I think I succeeded.
In 2018, I started a networking event called LinkedIn Local Hamilton.
I would have been happy to get 50 people in a room. One hundred attended, and then over 300 people attended my third event. The attendees transcended LinkedIn.
I have now been doing it for three years.
Despite COVID-19 and being lucky to call New Zealand home, I did five in-person events in 2020.
Over those events, I have had around 35 respected local business people as speakers. We’ve raised over $15,000 for charity. Over 2,000 people in total have attended in a city of around 160,000 people.
I wrote this article to give my strategy away to other people who want to start a business networking event.
It’s an excellent way for an entrepreneur, business owner, or consultant to grow their personal brand with a relevant target market — the local business community.
