A Guide to Local Business Groups

Whether you’ve recently ventured into the world of entrepreneurship or you’ve had your business for a while, there’s no doubt that if you want your business to grow, you have to get down to the business of ‘running’ your business.  Back to basics, that means you want more customers, fast, and to do that, you must find a way to build relationships, both with new customers and other businesses in your area.

So how can you find all of this and more?  It may be time to consider a local business networking group. When you consider that 80% of all business comes from word-of-mouth referrals, these small business groups can be highly beneficial, not only in creating connections with like-minded people, (…and getting you time away from your computer….) but also by helping facilitate further business growth and supporting you to navigate complex, or not so complex, issues that pop up in the day-to-day running of your business.

What is a Local Business Group?

Local business networking groups are a collaboration of local business owners, who come together to discuss topics relating to their business and their own professional development.  These groups provide networking opportunities, offer business support, education and resources, engage with the community, share information and promote the members’ businesses. Being part of a local business group allows business owners to connect, grow and collectively influence the local business landscape.

These meetings and events allow you to showcase your business, the work you do and how you assist others. They offer opportunities to work with other businesses, as well as the chance to leverage off each other’s knowledge, and even gain access to more customers who might need your services or products.  Whether it’s a face-to-face meeting over breakfast or lunch, or a virtual meeting online, local business groups offer business owners a wealth of options to get their business noticed.  

The Benefits of Joining A Local Business Networking Group

One benefit of networking with a broad range of local business owners, is that their businesses are different sizes and at different stages of development. Insights received from a small technology start-up will vary to a well-established accounting firm, so you can learn from all these businesses and apply best practices to your brand. With all the varying perspectives of its members, local business networks allow you to holistically review your business and make the best decisions to ensure your future success.

Here are just a few common benefits amongst a wealth of opportunity:

• Increased Visibility

Local business networks help your business to become more visible within the community. This can lead to increased brand awareness and customer recognition.

• More Referrals and Leads

Businesses in a networking community refer customers to each other. When you build relationships and people get to know who you are, you are top of mind when someone is looking for a product or service you provide.

• Collaboration

Local business networks often encourage collaboration between businesses. You can work with other businesses on marketing campaigns, events or joint ventures that are mutually beneficial. You never know what opportunities may arise.

• Access to Resources

Businesses in a local network can share resources and information. This can include sharing best practices, accessing local market data or even pooling resources for bulk purchasing.

• Community Support

Being part of a local network can provide a sense of community, which gives you a level of emotional support when you may be facing professional, or even personal, challenges.  It can be reassuring to know that other local business owners may have faced similar situations, and they can offer advice and encouragement based on their experiences.

• Local Market Insights

Local business networks are well-positioned to provide insights into the local market. They can support your business to understand the unique preferences and needs of the local customer base.

• Business Development

A business networking community is known for organising events, seminars or workshops that can aid in business development and growth. These events often provide opportunities for training, education and networking with potential new customers and partners.

• Leverage the knowledge and connections of others

Being a part of a business networking group, your reach and visibility grows exponentially, because suddenly, you’re not just connecting with your own database, but potentially the database of every member in the group. People like to spread the word of good service to their friends and family, especially if they have developed good rapport with you, so becoming a trusted member of a group can have far-reaching outcomes.

Being part of a local business networking group allows you to improve both as a business and as a professional, giving you a boost to your confidence, which in turn will support more successful outcomes for your business.

Why Should You Join a Local Business Network?

With market trends changing frequently and the needs of consumers constantly shifting, it’s easy to see how becoming a member of a local business networking group can support your business to grow.

Professionally, this is your chance to get your business in front of a group of people who are actually interested in what you do. With local business networking groups, just like you, members are there because they want value from their attendance. By regularly attending meetings, you just have to show up and you will start building relationships that can lead to more referrals, more leads, and ultimately, more business.  You have the opportunity to pitch your business, along with new ideas, to your group, and with productive feedback, you will gain more confidence and clarity around your business offering.  You’ll get the opportunity to tailor aspects of your brand and pitch to find the right fit, depending on your audience.  Don’t just put your brand out into a marketplace filled with competition and attention-seeking, you can now experiment with how to share your message to a targeted audience. The outcomes can be amazing when you are part of a group that wants to get to know you; one that is prepared to learn what you do and who you can help.

And don’t forget the opportunities these groups offer for collaboration and growth. You will meet high-level professionals who are willing to support you, as well as providing goods and services that you, and your clients, can benefit from.

On a personal level – if you’ve been running your own business for a while, you may have been through periods of loneliness, boredom and, possibly, feelings of wanting to give up. Connecting with like-minded professionals in these small business groups can provide the support you need to bring back the enthusiasm for who you want to help and what you want to achieve. They can give you and your business a boost you didn’t realise you needed. The barrier to joining is low and finding a group can be as simple as searching for ‘business groups near me’ on the internet.

District32’s Local Business Groups

If you’re just searching for local groups, though, it may take some ‘trial and error’ to find the best type of local business networking group that is the right fit you and your business.

But if you want to get more customers, faster, a great place to start is with a local business network that already has hundreds of happy members. Imagine a place where business dreams don’t just stay dreams, where aspirations don’t remain in the shadows, and where success stories aren’t just the stuff of fairytales; a community that holds your hand, propels your potential, and transforms your challenges into triumphs.

As Australia’s biggest business growth community, District32 holds over 25 face-to-face events every month, across Perth and the Gold Coast, as well as weekly online events, accessible to business owners across the world.   These meetings and events help you to get in front of more people for more conversations, which ultimately leads to more customers. But not only that, District32 makes it easy – they tell you what to say and how to say it – all you have to do is ‘show up’.

Now with nearly 9 years in business, discovering what works and what doesn’t, District32 supports its members to amazing business growth outcomes, but it’s the members who genuinely want to support each other and do business together that have created such a prosperous and successful community.

With memberships available catering for every stage of business, District32 makes it easy for you to find where you fit in the community – they even have a quick quiz you can take to discover exactly how they can support you.

You’ll find more information here: https://www.district32.com.au/memberships/

And we’d love to see you at one of our events. Join us as our guest at any of our business growth events in Perth or the Gold Coast.  Contact us by emailing Lorraine@district32.com.au when you are ready to network with businesses of all sizes, from entrepreneurial start-ups to multi-million-dollar organisations.