Why we do it the way we do it

We’ve mentioned before that, prior to establishing the MetalBC, we did a lot of research. The original idea dates back to 2009, and over the years we decided several times that we weren’t ready for it yet. Partly due to busyness in our businesses (from David and Richard, myself that is), but also because we felt we didn’t yet understand enough about business networking.

When we wrote the business plan in 2016 (for which we hired Christiaan at the time), we decided to first join existing business clubs to learn all about them. What do they do well? What could be done better? Why do people join? Why do they quit again?

David and I live in very different areas in the Netherlands, so this also gave us the opportunity to check out VERY different clubs, even if they belonged to the same organization. We joined clubs with weekly (breakfast) meetings, we joined service clubs, but also smaller, less constructive clubs, with only a few meetings per year and mainly focused on having fun together.

We talked to our fellow members, but also to the people behind the clubs. We took a seat on the board. We learned A LOT.

Factors involved in networking

To begin, I’ll dive a little deeper into the factors we identified as important components of business networking. Like someone I interviewed who said, “When I go to a meeting in the evening I want to drive home amazed. If it was just entertaining I’d rather stay home with my family.”

Involvement – being a part of something
Fun – conviviality and enjoyment
Business – finding customers, suppliers and partners
Connection – getting to know new people
Creativity – getting new ideas and new ways of doing things
Growth – improving and learning skills, personal development

What people are looking for in a business club

We found that the motives for joining a networking club vary from person to person. Some of those motives, by the way, carry a lot more weight than others.

For example, we learned that people valued their personal growth higher than finding customers or suppliers, even if that was the very reason for joining a business club in principle. Fun is also very important, and of course getting to know new people is essential.

Types of members we have identified

Find a friend – particularly wants to get to know people, for a variety of reasons
Bit of work, bit of fun – experienced entrepreneurs who, without pressure, want to do quite a bit of business
Work hard play harder – entrepreneurs with a drive for sales, new customers and suppliers
Personal growth – people who want to develop and improve their skillset
Just for fun – like the club and want to be part of it

A networking club like ours basically attracts all of these types of members, and thus our offerings should meet, and preferably exceed, all of their needs.

Types of memberships and how people feel about them

There was a huge difference between the membership fees at the various clubs David and I have (been) members of. From more inexpensive (€250 per year) to seriously priced (€2,500 per year and often even more with sponsorship or partner deals). Incidentally, we did see that the clubs with higher membership fees also had a higher standard in events and the quality of networking varied considerably.

We also saw that the members of the money-driven clubs (with higher membership fees) often remain members purely because they get a lot of business out of it. Some of these clubs also have a lot of rules and demand an enormous amount from their members (e.g. mandatory weekly breakfast meetings), so it happens regularly that people, but also complete departments, say goodbye to this club.

At the more advantageous clubs, there were a lot fewer meetings, and networking is often less constructive. People often become members because they already know someone in this club and would like to meet more people, and stay members until they no longer like it. They only come to the meetings they can make sense of and time for, and the club itself doesn’t mean particularly much to them.

We knew we wanted to be somewhere in between here. The space to facilitate constructive networking and a high standard in events, but at the same time accessible to all companies, from freelancers and startups to established entrepreneurs.

We went looking for a ‘happy fee’:

Lock in fee – you pay a lot but you also earn it back (thanks to constructive networking with rules)
Forgotten fee – you don’t pay very much but there is also no pressure (like a gym membership)
Happy fee – proud members who renew their membership every year with a smile

So we want happy members, but how do we approach that?

For starters, we decided to offer a wide range of events to suit all the “types of members” I mentioned here earlier. Sometimes constructive business networking with an agenda, but also many social gatherings with a small(er) business element, where we often encourage connection, but also creativity and engagement.

In addition, we have chosen to have as few rules and obligations as possible. We do our best to organize meetings of which you should drive home with that smile on your face with the feeling of having had a valuable morning/afternoon/evening from which you have made some business (and/or personal) progress.

For that reason, we organize ‘quite a lot’. Cluster meetings and online meetings to stimulate constructive business networking, but also company visits to our members, of course an annual BBQ and also a conference.

In addition, in cooperation with various festivals and events, we organize meetings at and around these events. From a backstage drink to a network meeting.

We hope to offer our members the opportunity to ‘cherry pick’ what best suits their needs. For business and personal growth we offer structured meetings, on our platform you can easily make connections to go to concerts together and at our casual events (at festivals for example) you get to know people in a casual and non-committal way.

Only one thing is really important to us, and that is satisfied members.