On January 28, Business & Beer (BNB) met at Brewco, a gastropub in Manhattan Beach, for the first time. I have to admit, since this was the first time we held a gathering there and it is on the outer reaches of the self-imposed boundaries we set up, I was not really sure how many people would show up. This was amplified a little because I had not been able to attend BNB lately due to prior obligations. When we had four people show up early, with each of them being first time attendees, my fears were quickly erased. We had about 15 people show up and almost half were first time attendees! We owe this to our regular attendees and those following us on Facebook who have been spreading the word; we definitely appreciate it.
Set up and ready for Business & Beer at Brewco
Besides the new faces that joined us, I observed new business leads being made. At one point, Tanya was talking to a first time attendee that mentioned she needed a plumber. Tanya asked me if the plumber that comes once in a while was there or not; he wasn’t, but one of our first timers was a plumber so I introduced the two. As it turns out, the plumber had brought a friend that has a stained glass studio. One of our regular attendees had introduced himself to the table of new attendees and asked them what they did for a living. When he discovered that one of them had a stained glass studio another lead was completed as he had been looking for someone to do some stained glass-work for his home. The funny thing is that the stained glass studio owner had been wondering what benefit Business & Beer might have for him. As I frequently say, it is all about the networking. Your results may not be instant, but it is safe to say that someone in our group will have a need for your services at some point in time or will know someone that does. Business & Beer is truly about the business as well as the beer.
First time introductions resulting in business leads
This Thursday, January 31, Business & Beer will return to Sophie’s Place in the Riviera Village portion of Redondo Beach. Sophie’s Place is a very nice gastropub that always has eight craft beers on tap, with about 50 others available in bottles. We always have a nice time at Sophie’s and usually have a fairly large group in attendance. There is plenty of free parking [after 6:00 PM] so that should be a non-issue for those concerned with such things. We hope to see you there and we will do our best to introduce you to others that might benefit from what your business offers.
All the photos from our visit to Brewco, Manhattan Beach can be found on GotBaddog.com.
Please join us for Business & Beer a small business networking event which will be held at The Rockefeller on March 14, 2013 at 6 PM. The Rockefeller is located at 422 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, California. Please RSVP by commenting below that you will be there.
Join us at The Rockefeller at 6 PM on March 14, 2013
Please join us for Business & Beer a small business networking event which will be held at Alpine Inn on March 7, 2013 at 6 PM. Alpine Inn is located at 833 West Torrance Blvd Torrance, California. Please RSVP by commenting below that you will be there or let us know on our Business N Beer Facebook page .
Join us at Alpine Inn at 6 PM on March 7, 2013
Please join us for Business & Beer a small business networking event which will be held at Tortilla Cantina. on February 7, 2013 at 6 PM. Tortilla Cantina is located at 1225 El Prado Ave, Old Torrance, California. Please RSVP by commenting below that you will be there.
Join us at Tortilla Cantina at 6PM on February 7, 2013
Last Thursday, Business & Beer returned to Sophie’s Place, a gastropub in Redondo Beach, CA. Ever since the end of Daylight Savings Time, the attendance level at our gatherings had been less than stellar. There were times that Tanya and I would discuss whether or not we were being too ambitious in attempting to have weekly gatherings; after the nice turnout we had Thursday we decided that weekly meetups was a format we would continue with. We know that there are other events our members are involved with that occur on Thursdays, so some weeks are just naturally going to have better turnouts than others. We will just have to take into account things like weather, Christmas shopping and competing events. After all, if we decided to meet bi-weekly we would only risk picking the rotation that would always be a conflict with Business & Beer, so for the time being, we will continue to meet weekly.
8 Rotating Taps at Sophie’s Place
Tomorrow night, Thursday December 20, we will be returning to Strand Brewing Company, one of our favorite microbreweries in Torrance. Strand Brewing specializes in creating various ales; including their popular 24th Street Pale Ale and Atticus IPA. If you have not visited Strand Brewing lately, they have two new releases; Bagheera-East India Pale Ale and Black Sand Double IPA. Bagheera-East is their 3rd Anniversary Ale, featuring an exotic spice blend of curry, cumin, cinnamon and cloves accented with toasted coconut and tamarind. I would venture to say that this is Tanya’s favorite from Strand because it is not as hoppy as their typical brews. The Black Sand Double IPA is hoppy but balanced by a malty backbone. It reminds me a little of a half and half using an Atticus and Batch 100. Suffice it to say, Strand Brewing Co will have something you like; especially if you are a hophead.
Another good group at Sophie’s Place, Redondo Beach
Naturally, this will be our last gathering before Christmas and I know there are some that will be unavailable, but we always seem to get nice groups when we come to Strand Brewing, so come on down and have a beer and maybe do some business. Remember to sign up for our mailing list and Like us on Facebook to make sure you stay in the loop. I expect 2013 to have several special events for Business & Beer attendees. You can see all the photos from our visit to Sophie’s Place on GotBaddog.com
