Time to Say Goodbye
Well, this is it.
I have “retired” and moved to Ocala, and I can’t think of a way to attend the networking meetings from 5 hours away. So this is the end of the Business Buzz website.
It has been a wonderful 7 years for me, first writing this weekly in the Miami Herald, and then on this MiamiBusinessGroups.com website for the past three years. I have made many friends, and it is hard to leave.
I want to give special thanks to my silent partners in this website, Carol Simicich of Artege.com and technology consultant Wilson Alvarez.
Wilson had the idea of moving the column to a website when the Herald column ended, and I was reluctant. But he convinced me and provided the domain name from the more than 1,000 he owns, and he has been an important part of making this a success.
Carol designed the website and maintained it over the years, making it easy for me. If you like the Business Buzz website, send business to Carol.
Thanks, also, to Karen Nercess of All Star Event Photography, the photographer for so many of the business groups, for providing the special photos that I needed to go with the column.
I also want to thank the advertisers, over there on the left, for supporting this website, and the leadership of the various business organizations for making me welcome and providing me with the information that I have shared with you.
In particular, Mary Scott Russell of Chamber South, Jorge Pena of the West Kendall Business Association, Larry Barditch of the Pinecrest Business Association and Eleanor Winhold of the Palmetto Bay Business Association. Thanks, also, to Liede DeValdivielso, the incoming chair in Palmetto Bay, for selling our house in a month! It’s her fault that I had to move away and can’t write the column anymore.
A special thanks also to Michael and Grant Miller and David Berkowitz at Community Newspapers for offering the public a print version of this web column. It extended the readership to many more people and, let’s face it, people like seeing their picture in the newspaper!
I was hoping to find a replacement to take over the website before this sad day arrived, but it did not happen. Maybe sometime in the future. I do hope that someone steps up to fill the void, since this has been the only place where business people can find out what’s going on in the networking groups. I know the Herald is working on something, but I don’t know if it will ever be real.
I turn MiamiBusinessGroups.com back to Wilson to recycle. I think he will leave this goodbye message up for awhile until everyone knows about it, and then perhaps use it for another purpose. But if you ever need to access an old column in the archives, Carol will maintain this website at her www.artege.com website as an example of her work, so you can find it there. Also, I think it will continue to be available at www.edgorin.com.
So now I have gotten active in the Ocala chamber and I’m on the marketing committee and we have a meeting coming up about an idea I had for the chamber to do a new resident mailing with coupons from members. Maybe I will start a Business Buzz website here! I think Wilson already has OcalaBusinessGroups.com waiting for me!
To all of you who have been so supportive over the years, thank you for your friendship. I will miss you. Please keep in touch.

Stranger in the room
I was a stranger in the room last week for the first time in many years. I know that’s something many of you face on a regular basis, so perhaps my experience might prove helpful to you.

Dominic Lamberti, Padgett Business Services, treasurer of the Business Referral Group, welcomes potential members Natasha Bravo, occupational therapist, left, and Onelia Collazo Mendive, Coral Gables Gazette, to the after-hours BRG event.

In the beginning, I was having a hard time deciding last week between two conflicting after-hours events: the Chamber South event at On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, or the Business Referral Group party at Anacapri on Ponce, to introduce potential new members to the organization. I heard afterwards that both were well-attended, but I ended up going to neither.
Instead, I spent the week at our vacation home in Ocala, where we ultimately will retire. I noticed that the local chamber there, the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce, was having an after-hours event, so I decided to go. Why not? Maybe I will do some business after I move, but even if I decide to really retire and not have a business there, networking is also great for meeting the business community and finding all of the services I will need.
It was a good opportunity to practice the basic networking skills. I go to so many events in Miami that I always know many people. Even when I go to a group for the first time, I can always count on knowing a couple of people from elsewhere.
It has been a long time since I’ve been a stranger in the room. As you know, it’s never a comfortable experience. But if you follow the networking basics, you will do OK.
The event was at the Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club, which was just as nice as it sounds. I drove to the guard gate and said: “Is the chamber event here?” and he replied: “Yes, the clubhouse is a mile down that road.”
The place was packed! Easily 300 people. Wow! Overwhelming! Where do you begin?
I saw a woman with a green ribbon on her name tag. “You look important,” I said, and that began a conversation with Heidi Meeks, vice president of Compass Bank. Turns out she is an ambassador, there to greet newcomers. Also, Dennis Pfeiffer of Orkin Pest Control was greeting newcomers at the door, and proved very helpful during my visit.
In all, during the two hours, I met several real estate agents and bankers, a computer repair person, two house cleaning services, the owner of a comedy club, a financial advisor, the sales manager for Dale Carnegie and someone who operates a high-end limo service. I got invited to join several other networking groups and the chamber’s marketing committee. Not a bad start.
If you want to be successful at networking in a room where you know nobody, follow tried-and-true guidelines. Bring plenty of business cards, develop your 30-second commercial, and be assertive. Have the courage to insert yourself into conversations. All these people know each other, and you can spend the whole event alone in a corner if you don’t step up.
One easy trick: “Is this the end of the drink line?” That starts a conversation, and you have a few minutes to chat while the line waits its turn. You can do that several times.
Another suggestion: Get people talking about themselves. Have a couple of conversation starters. For me, at this event, they were: “I really like this community. How long have you been here?” and “What’s the economy like here? How is your business doing in this downturn?” Then you just have to listen.
Best to know someone who will take charge of you at the event and introduce you around the room, but you will do just fine even if you are all alone.
Chamber group wants more education

Among those attending the Business Skills Workshop reunion at Chamber South were, from left, TK Heatley, First National Bank of South Miami; Larry Barditch, Aqua Marketing; Sara Granzotti, Health Pure & Simple; Ed Gorin, and Adam Ruff, Falconwind Consulting.

There will be no leads group within Chamber South, at least for now.
Participants in the “reunion” meeting of last year’s Business Skills Workshops instead decided that they want more practical education – lots of it – and the group turned into a committee that will plan for this in the future. Adam Ruff of Falconwind Consulting and the Small Business Committee will take the lead on this.
I was surprised by the outcome, since I thought a leads group within the Chamber would make sense. A leads group is a small group, usually one person per industry, that meets frequently (usually weekly), with members taking turns talking about their businesses. It’s an intense networking experience, different from the usual Chamber “large group” networking, and I recommend that everyone belong to at least one big group and one small one.
A leads group within the Chamber would allow members to have both experiences at no additional cost, which would be a significant added benefit to Chamber membership. But the reunion group decided that there were enough networking groups out there, and the real need was for programs that help members improve their business skills, like the programs we did at the Chamber last fall.
Those programs focused on networking and marketing skills, and were interactive and fun. The participants stayed long after the meetings ended, bonding into sort of a leads group, which is why I thought that would be a natural next step. But the participants felt that if they just continued the educational programs, the rest would take care of itself.
So stay tuned for further developments.