Another group working away quietly to provide a mutually beneficial trading and business environment is the North Cork Referral Group, NRG Networking.  Set up in October 2009 in response to the recession, the aim was to grow business through forging links with others in the business sector in the region. It works by having members pass information, advice, ideas and work referrals to each other. 

NRG Networking is less formal than some other business development and mentoring groups. Members work their way up to referrals. Nor is the group just about referrals. They share business information, there’s mentoring and they also have guest speakers dealing with pertinent issues and matters of interest to members.

There’s also the benefit of solidarity and the positives of being involved with fellow professionals taking a proactive approach to developing their business in these challenging times. Another important aspect is the social element, particularly for sole traders who can sometimes feel they operate in isolation.

The group meet weekly – at 8 am on Thursday mornings at the Community Youth Centre in Fermoy. The hour a week is a small and manageable commitment, they feel, when it is advantageous to business.

Another means the group employs to support members is affording them the opportunity to showcase their business or service in the ten minute slots offered at weekly meetings.

The weekly get-togethers start with breakfast. Members then get the opportunity to brief the meeting on the nature of their business and update members on any news. Any referrals are then passed to the chairman and positive contributions invited. That’s followed by the ten-minute presentation on their business by a member or a talk by a guest speaker. Before meetings and afterwards, there’s time for members to interact informally, a good time for the all-important networking to take place. 

Chairmanship of the group rotates every six months to allow equal participation by all.

The tangible benefits of membership were calculated earlier this year at twenty thousand euro in extra business generated each month through NRG Networking. That’s €240,000 per annum and close to €1M in additional income in the four years the group has been in existence. The financial benefit, combined with the positives of shared interest, advice, mentoring and inclusion make a compelling case for membership.

Only one person is allowed from each profession, business or service, to maximise the benefit to members. The group has some vacancies at present. Anyone interested in becoming a member can attend as a visitor twice before they are requested to apply to join. The group can be contacted via their website www.nrgnetworking.ie or through their Facebook page.