About Oakville Networking

If you’re interested in growing your business by joining our referral business networking, please fill out this membership form.

Here are the Membership Guidelines as of May 1, 2010.

• Oakville Networking is a structured group: meaning, there will be an agenda to follow at every meeting, as opposed to just free networking and chatting around. See agenda below.
• Free membership. There are no membership fees, however, members will be required to pay a $5 cover charge for the use of the meeting room, food and beverages served.
• Category Exclusivity: Normally only one member per business category, but each individual member can choose to have his/her category open to accept up to one more member in the same or similar category. Please check the Members Directory to see if your category is available.
• Membership in other referral networking organizations is not encouraged. This includes organizations such as BNI, BCX, RQ and similar referral networking groups.
• Members are free to join non-exclusive business-building networking groups, such as a Chamber of Commerce, women’s groups, professional organizations, etc.
• Only full-time business owners, or full-time employees can be members. If you have a day job, and are just starting your business, please see us once your new venture is a full-time business.
• Attendance: We’re meeting every other Friday, so members should be able to arrange their schedules accordingly and make every effort to be present.
• Substitutes: If you can’t make it to a meeting, please consider sending a substitute. At a minimum, please advise a member who will be attending that you cannot make it. If you’re sending a substitute it will count as you being present. Also, as a courtesy to your substitute, make sure you have pre-paid so that your sub doesn’t have to pay the $5 charge.
• Commitment: We want to be able to share referrals and information with all our members. We therefore find it important that members show up to our meetings. Non-presence thus also needs to have consequences and if a member do not show up for 3 consecutive meetings, the membership is on probation, and after the 4th missed meeting in a row, the member is removed from membership list and web site and the category is reopened. Additionally, members are allowed to miss up to 7 meetings in a year.
• Timekeeping for infomercials: You will have about 1 minute, depending on the available time (the more members we have, the shorter the infomercials) timed by a volunteer member.
• Referrals will be not be recorded, but we still expect all members to be conscious about the group in all areas of life and to give referrals to other group members at every opportunity. After all that is why we are here and why the group is a success.
• Referral follow ups: Members are not required to report on the success (or failure) of a referral, but the group encourages you to do so, as this lets new members/visitors know that we are doing business.
• Venue: e-Spot, 353 Iroquois Shore Road, Suite 200 (above Artisano’s), Oakville, ON L6H 1M3
• Cost: $5 per person is payable to the cashier at every meeting. To facilitate faster entry to the meeting, members are encouraged to pre-pay for their meetings. Receipts will be issued by e-Spot quarterly.
• All members are encouraged to join our online networking group on Linkedin.com
• Members are encouraged to contribute articles, images, videos and other content to our blog. There is no charge for hosting your content on our blog. If you’re not familiar with blogs, contact our member Boris Mahovac for more info on how to contribute. If you have a web site or blog, please create a link to http://OakvilleNetworking.com.
• Free advertising spots will be provided on the blog to any member who wishes to participate.
• Members are encouraged to contribute to the group. The group is run by an executive committee elected each year in January at the regular meeting. The group recognizes Manuela Coelho as the founder of the group.
• Meetings are to run not more than 90 minutes.
• Visitors/potential members: You are welcome to visit at any time, just drop in. A $5 cover charge applies for food/beverages payable at the door.

Agenda (8:45am – 10:30am)

8:45 Open networking & Coffee

9:00 Welcome

9:05 Infomercials – 60 seconds presentation of your business.

9:30 Shared Education and Marketing Tips

9:40 Short break

9:45 Two 5 minutes presentations by members of the Group.

10:00 One-on-One: members will be randomly assigned in pairs, and will have a total of 10 minutes to learn about each other.

10:15 What do we have to give – referrals and thank-you’s. If you have a referral, do not wait for the meeting to give it, pass it along as soon as you have it, then stand up and share it with the group at the meeting.

10:25 Announcements of upcoming events.

What’s next?

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