I am the organizer of the Entrepreneur & Small Business Academy (a Meetup group) and tonight is our July “content meeting”.  We have one primary meeting each month and it takes place on the first Monday of the month, starting at 7:00 in the evening.  We meet at the New York Life offices located in Emeryville.

As of this morning, we have 596 members and it’s growing all the time.  These people all find our group on the Meetup platform.  I have never done any real marketing for the group.  People ask me why my group is so successful and I usually respond with three primary factors: content, structure and communication.  We have one of the most active meetups in the area and our members keep coming back because they get good information in a predictable format.

Last November, the Entrepreneur & Small Business Academy got sponsored by American Express.  They selected the 50 largest entrepreneur clubs across the country and put a program together to support them while building awareness for their OPEN program.  I never solicited their sponsorship.  They found me.  This is just another example of the power of Meetup.

Our members are all entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs or established business owners.  We have a great group of people and I truly enjoy the role I play.  It’s been a great experience and has allowed me to meet a ton of people I would’ve never come across in my regular business life.  Today, I have people I can call for almost anything I might need in my business, all from my Meetup group.

When I became the organizer, I was hoping the group would be a source of business for me.  I wanted to use it to promote myself and find new clients.  As it turns out, I have yet to make any money from the group but the benefits are far greater than I ever expected.  The underlying objective behind the group is to allow members to share and benefit from each other’s expertise.  We facilitate that very well and I have learned incredible things from their presentations and contributions.

Meetup is a fantastic platform for creating and building clubs.  With valuable content, a little structure and good regular communication, you can build a successful Meetup group and gain exposure for yourself while meeting tons of new people.  Further, the experience will help you build confidence and improve your leadership skills.  Planning, coordinating, holding effective meetings - all valuable skills for your career.

What’s your passion?  What are you interested in?  What are you good at?  Think about these questions and then consider starting a Meetup group around that topic.  You’ll probably be surprised how many people find your group and if you deliver value to your audience, you’ll see that group grow and grow.  And as Meetup becomes better known, your audience will grow even more.

Last July, my Meetup had about 170 members.  Today, it has almost 600.  I’d bet the Entrepreneur & Small Business Academy will have over 2000 members by this time 2009 and I can’t wait.  I want to hold bigger events with more content and more attendees, and I have no doubt it will grow into that naturally.  In the meantime, I have to finalize my agenda for this evening and invite you all to come by and visit.

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