Fast or slow? Choose your networking options

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 1, 2006 7:36 PM PST ∞

NORTH COUNTY ----- Sit down and go. It's five minutes (actually four minutes and 30 seconds) to make your pitch, and hear a pitch in return. That's the allure of 5-Minute Networking, a company that promotes rapid business networking. The company demonstrated its technique for the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday evening.

Or take your time. Meet people from complementary professions on a regular basis, and learn how you can help each other. That's what a new networking group is doing in the fast-growing San Elijo Hills community of San Marcos. The group, formed a month ago, has already reached 18 members, President Carl Constantine Kahn said at Wednesday's 7 a.m. meeting.

Structured interaction


The 5-Minute Networking mini-interviews make communication easy by providing structure and focus, said participants in Tuesday's event, held at the El Camino Country Club. Participants talked in pairs at a number of small tables.

When the five minutes were up, each moved to a different table in a prearranged fashion. This ensured that everyone got to talk to everyone. A North County Times reporter participated in the interviews, moving with the rest.

"I like the fact that you can meet so many people and not feel pressured," said Jennifer Reed, a mortgage planning consultant at American Pacific Homes in Carlsbad. Reed is looking to expand her company's reach beyond its traditional base of home-builder clients.

"We don't want to be known just as a builder's lender," Reed said.

A. Lee Watson of Carlsbad describes his organization, the National Organization for the Self Employed.

"It's a nonprofit service organization with 1 million members," Watson said. The group pools members' purchasing power to provide indemnity health insurance and other benefits.

"Our motto is, you're in business for yourself, but not by yourself."

5 Minute Networking is good for newcomers "who don't feel comfortable walking up to a stranger," Watson said. "It's like a business square dance."

Andy Yates of Oceanside is new to the investment property business. He was in construction for 30 years, a job where the normal communication mode with workers was "point, yell and scream."

But talking with business people requires a more refined method of conversation. That's what he's trying to learn through networking events.

More information about 5 Minute Networking is available here: tinyurl.com/mggrv.

Building a team


At the cafe in San Elijo Hills, a team is bonding. It's well-diversified, including a photographer, the owners of a Central American art gallery, a Realtor, a chiropractor, a financial adviser and an executive of a medical spa.

They're looking at the cafe's computer, where Bill Downing explained the Web site and personal pages that each networking member gets.

"This is your Web site," Downing said, encouraging members to submit their professional information. "It's free advertising for you."

Downing came far to be there; his company, South Bay IT consulting, is in Chula Vista. Kahn, the president and the mortgage lender, works in Mission Valley.

At the meeting, Kahn encouraged the new members to introduce themselves, and asks the group what kind of referrals they hope to get.

"We're trying to get our name out," said Sharon Pierro, spa director of Revita Medical Spa in Del Mar. "We're in a quiet location in a medical office building."

K. Saltman (she goes by the initial), the photographer, displayed a portfolio and two framed photos. Children feature prominently in them.

"What kind of referrals are you looking for?" Kahn asked.

"Breeders," Saltman quipped, meaning families.

Besides meeting at the cafe, Kahn also encouraged members to visit one another's businesses and homes. By knowing each other better, he said, the members can be better advocates for one another.

Already, the group has grown beyond expectations, Kahn said: It was formed a month ago, with just three members. Now, it may have to find a new venue, because it is growing too large for the San Elijo Hills cafe.

For more information about the San Elijo Hills networking group, call Kahn at (619) 325-7444.

5 Minute Networking


http://tinyurl.com/mggrv

San Elijo Hills networking group

Carl Constantine Kahn (619) 325-7444

Rick Paul (619) 297-2003

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.