Networking helping local businesses stay busy

Saturday, March 14, 2009

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Ed Gleason, one of the owners at The Home Improvement Source in St. Petersburg, says he gets plenty of business from referrals.

BAY AREA (Bay News 9) -- Some local business owners say a networking group is helping them stay afloat during these tough economic times.

Their motto: "I refuse to participate in a recession."

Ed Gleason, one of the owners at The Home Improvement Source in St. Petersburg, started as a handy man six years ago. He says much of his business comes from referrals.

"We're doing about $4 million in annual revenues, and 80 percent of our business comes from referrals," Gleason said.

A big portion of those home improvement referrals are coming from a networking group he belongs to called Business Networking International.

His fellow members send him business and he returns the favor.

"We all carry each others business cards, so that if someone is looking for their services, I've got something I can hand them," Gleason said. "But the real power is when I talk about them."

Attorney Shawn Yesner says it's worked for him.

"If I can help generate referrals for them, I know that they will in turn generate referrals for me," Yesner said.

The networking group has several chapters across central Florida. Each chapter only allows one seat per profession so members aren't competing with each other.

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Member Tiffanie Kellog, who owns Thread Art in Pasco County, says the recession is about attitude.

"It says 'I refuse to participate in the recession,' and I do," Kellog said. "I mean we understand there is a recession going on, but it's more about the attitude."

She says the word-of-mouth advertising is like having extra employees.

"Add 20 to 50 people to your sales team without having to put them on your salary," she said.

Contact Information

Business Networking International

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