The BBX blogs are back for 2020! And we have been busy at the Devon HQ welcoming new partners to the BBX community. This includes a few networking groups.
Networking is a big part of building your business, keeping your name at the forefront of fellow business owners minds not only so that you could possibly do business together but for them to refer you to others, a referral is a powerful business lead for anyone.
There are many groups around the South West covering breakfast times, lunches, early evenings, coffee mornings and even brunches! Some are for ladies, some are profession specific, quite a few are groups that you join and some you book and pay for the event without any joining fee. It can be quite a full-time profession!
We have been lucky enough to welcome a few networking groups to BBX recently – Business@Breakfast with Martin Crockett being one. This is a non-profit making, networking and referral who meet, as they title says, over breakfast. This is a long-standing and popular group who have meetings in Exeter, one in East Devon and another in Mid Devon. They meet fortnightly and happy to greet visitors who want to check them out, they are a group who only allows one industry specific profession at each group, check out their website at www.businessatbreakfast.co.uk and we are happy to be a member.
Your Partnerships is nothing short of a South West business success story. Starting out two years ago as the Cornish Partnerships bringing the businesses together in our neighbouring county, they branched out last year with the Devon Partnerships, this group boomed under the navigation of Lee Randall-Pybus who has had to split the county into four areas and this franchise has exploded covering Torbay & Teignbridge which is still spear headed by Lee and now Your Partnerships Plymouth has joined BBX with Jade Scott at the helm and also Your Partnerships Exeter & East Devon being led by the lovely Lisa Bailey-Brown, both ladies are doing a fantastic job to promote, grow and connect the networking groups and other business with regular meetings but also looking for different and alternative events to keep the interest alive and not so formal. The events they run can be viewed and booked through their website www.yourpartnerships.co.uk
We are lucky to have a couple of other long-standing partners with BBX, who are also fantastic networking groups, sharing the passion of connecting businesses together and encouraging the growth of the South West in the business world. The biggest by far is the group you are reading this blog in – The Best of Exeter & South West Business Connections, responsible and running several different avenues of how you can promote your business and also the South West Business Expo, the biggest business expo outside of London www.swbconnections.co.uk
Also, out in the country a bit, we have the Devon Education and Business Centre that is the home of the 373 Group who are also partners with BBX and meet monthly with an informal gathering, refreshments and a fascinating speaker. They also hold an award ceremony annually where local businesses will be recognised in different categories. www.373group.com
And of course, we couldn't go on without plugging our own networking events! We hold a monthly event at a partner's premises, with refreshments supplied by a partner where we can, so that they can showcase their goods and services.
And it’s great fun! January saw us being hosted at Crackshot in Newton Abbot, the local air gun centre tucked away in the depths of the Heathfield trading estate, where all our attending partners could have a go on the pistol range, the rifle range, the simulation and then there was a competition for the best and worse shots with prizes and certificates. It was a great evening and a chance for our business owners to get to know each other and sample the food from Sundowners Café in Exmouth.
February is going to be amazing as well – on the 26th we are being hosted in the village of Clyst Hydon just outside of Exeter at the Five Bells Inn whose food is delicious and has helped them make their way into the top 50 gastropubs in the country, visitors are encouraged and welcome, so if you want to come along please contact us to get booked in. Don’t be shy!
BBX Devon is a fun and friendly business community who has grown and grown through networking and we love having so many groups on board who back this up. If you are looking for more opportunities to grow your business please do not hesitate to contact us, we are always happy to have a chat.
