Networking meetings and groups can be a turn-off for some people. After all, you have to spend a good amount of time with people you don’t know, making small talk about things in hopes of finding an opportunity to further your business endeavours. However, networking is about so much more than just that, and Martin Whiskin from The Creative Collective networking group has shared his top three reasons why you should start your own networking group.
Why Networking Needed To Change
Traditionally, networking meetings involved dozens of people meeting in a tiny, stuffy venue, feeling the need to talk about anything related to their business niche. Meetings were loud, intimidating, and very difficult to get into. Eventually, they turned business owners off from the idea rather than encouraging it, but this had to change.
Nowadays, networking is much more casual. Networking meetings are closer to hangouts than professional business ventures, and with online platforms like Zoom, it’s easier than ever to join one, listen, and share when you need to.
This is where networking groups like The Creative Collective came in to embrace modernity and bring a sense of comfort and community to the then-ultra-professional world of networking. With the success of these groups, here are three reasons you should start your own:
1. Building a Community
In networking, you usually have two choices: you either make money or build a community and foster its growth. Now, while most people will go for money, it’s actually the latter that has the greater long-term impact.
Treating your networking group like a community means you have tons of like-minded people who can relate much quicker to anything you’re doing or anything you’re going through in your business niche. It’s always easier to converse with people who work in the same playground as you, and a networking group guarantees that.
It’s easy to think that networking groups can turn competitive because, after all, they are all people doing the same thing as you. However, you quickly find out that it’s more the opposite; everyone may be doing the same work as you, but they can all bring a different and special voice that helps bring the community together.
Another benefit of being in a room with so many people who do the same thing as you is that it is the optimal opportunity to learn and grow. You may have three accountants: one who has been doing it for three years, one who has been doing it for ten, and one who has been doing it for twenty. It’s almost inescapable that the three-year one will learn from the ten-year one and the ten-year one will learn from the twenty-year one. It can even work in reverse.
A networking group doesn’t solely consist of people doing the same jobs, though, and that’s an even bigger advantage. For example, The Creative Collective worked on a project for mental health awareness week and ended up having 16 or 17 people from different backgrounds like animation, copywriting, editing, and voice acting all working together to bring the project to life.
It’s always a good thing to know different people who can do different things because you may end up needing them and they may end up needing you. This is especially true when you have created a sense of trust and comfort among your networking community.
2. Peer Support
A networking group isn’t just people you talk to about work; it’s a whole team that is ready to provide advice, support, ideas, and even work and collaboration opportunities. Some groups interact beyond the virtual or in-person meetings; they have group chats where they can interact 24/7 with anyone asking for help, advice, or support.
This level of activity and interaction makes working a much less stressful and more enjoyable process because any time you run into an issue or a complication, you can have a dozen people supporting you. For freelancers, this is especially important because you’re always trying to navigate different environments and running into different issues.
In this sense, networking groups aren’t just an opportunity to get more out of people, but to give back, as well. It’s always a good feeling when you help others, especially if you have reached a certain level of experience and have the opportunity to help someone who is on the same path as you, experiencing the same obstacles and opportunities for the first time.
3. It’s Fun
Yes, running a business doesn’t always have to be boring. Sure, you can get all the work opportunities and support from a networking group, but it still has to be enjoyable. If you’re not having fun discussing these topics that you formed the group for, then it was meaningless.
Besides the shop talk, your meetings and group chats could and should be filled with laughs, relationships, banter, and all the elements of a fun group activity. You could even go beyond the professionalism and hang out with members of your networking group by just asking if anyone is available.
This is the beauty of treating your team less like a business group and more like a community, especially when everyone around you is on the same wavelength with the same thinking. A big part of having your own business is having a better life, and that means having a good time.
Now, when it comes to starting the networking group itself, there’s only one rule: Pick a date and go for it. If you start thinking and worrying about the logistics of everything, you will never start one. It’s one of those shot-in-the-dark decisions where you just go for it and see how things unfold. Just make a page or a post, set up a Zoom link, send it to everyone on social media or LinkedIn and go from there.
Once your networking group is there, though, you need to keep it interesting and valuable for everyone. You need to make sure people want to come back, and that is done by putting your team first and constantly grinding to get more people in.
Conclusion
Starting a networking group doesn’t have to be a complicated process, but it’s very much worth it. A networking group is a free ticket to more work opportunities, greater collaboration, and deep connections with people who can understand and relate to what you do. By building a community, supporting peers and having fun, you will be on your way to a healthy and long-lasting networking family.
Last Updated on May 27, 2025
