A group of early-rising Donegal businesspeople have put their heads together to create a million euro’s worth of business opportunities in one year.
The network, which has been in operation since 2012, is made up of local business owners who network at dawn and work together to create new working relationships and refer new business.
Any money that the businesses generate as a result of being a member is recorded so that they can monitor their progress.
Current director of the group, Ruth Graham, said she is delighted to see the group reach this historic milestone.
Ruth said: “It’s sometimes easier to see the benefits of coming to the network like this in terms of our own personal development as members and the new skills that we gain; so this is a brilliant way to acknowledge that coming here is also worth our time from a financial standpoint – and that’s a big part of why our members are so motivated.”
The network decided to set an ambitious goal for themselves at the start of 2018 to break all of their existing records.
“We hit 3 quarters of a million in 2017, which was already incredible but we knew that this year we wanted to challenge ourselves to do even better, and that’s where the million euro target came in. For a small network, we’re extremely active!” said Ruth.
The group meets at 6.45am every Wednesday morning in Letterkenny. “Yes, I know it’s early,” says Ruth, “But we have coffee! And we’re the early birds getting the worm before our competitors have even rolled out of bed, so honestly that doesn’t bother me… too much.”
Members get to know each other through weekly, structured meetings that allow each individual to tell the group who they are, what they do and what businesses they are looking to make contact with. They also hold workshops and other training events throughout the year and are always welcoming to new faces.
“Visitors to the group are always welcome – we love to see new faces coming in the door to tell us what they do because it keeps us on our toes and keeps it fresh. Business can be a lonely place and having this group of like-minded people to come and set goals with is one of the highlights of my working week and gives both myself and my business an incredible boost.”
So what’s next for Donegal Business Network?
“It’s the season of New Year’s Resolutions so who knows what new target we’re going to set ourselves for 2019 – you’ll just have to come along to find out!”
Donegal Business Network starts back on Wednesday the 9th of January at 6.45am in The Radisson Hotel, Letterkenny. Send them a message Facebook: @donegalbusinessnetwork to book your place at one of their meetings.