New Networking Group Forms in Chicago, Quickly Expands within the Midwest

The Growth Company Meetings is a new group that helps business owners with ideas, contacts and leads that will help their companies grow. The group's motto is "no selling for yourself, only others." Its next meeting is scheduled for 7 AM on July 24 in Naperville, IL. For more information, visit www.growingco.com.

Helping local business grow is the ambitious goal of GrowingCo (www.growingco.com -- still under construction). Started as a single email invitation to just ten business owners, the organization now provides a forum for 1300 people that are starting or growing businesses.

The group was formed informally in February of 2002 when Ben Bradley, the founder, made the decision to have dinner every night with his wife and kids. "I was frustrated with networking events. I dont want to go somewhere just so someone can sell me something or give me their resume. I want to talk to people and understand what they are trying to do so I can be useful to them." Bradley sent an email to ten entrepreneurs and suggested an early morning get-together.
The word got out and new people started showing up. Now, there are more than 1300 people on the mailing list and each meeting draws between 35 and 70 people.

Growingco is different than traditional networking. Instead of making a pitch to peddle your services, angling for a job or having a social hour, participants gather to offer advice to problems and issues posed by others. Participants derive satisfaction from knowing that they have helped others and that others are there to help.

Unlike most groups, GrowingCo is proud of the fact that they have no revenue. "The original idea was 10 people meeting for breakfast. We never expected it to grow so rapidly. Nor did we expect that the meetings would be so valuable for all the members. So we made the decision to be really cheap and just let it grow on its own," said Bradley.

When asked about what is next for GrowingCo, Bradley says, "The original goal was to improve the businesses of the 10 original participants. Now that there are 1300 people involved, were in a position to make a much bigger impact on the community. I dont know what the impact will be but were all working hard to be valuable and useful to others."

Contact

Ben Bradley, Founder
Growingco.com
ben@growingco.com