Looking For an Answer to Business Challenges?  Leverage Your Peers.

Tired of paying big bucks to attend trade events that are crowded and dull? Done with the seminar circuits that host misleading or poor presenters? Here’s my two cents: create your own peer-based Industry Group!

Leaders of nearly every small business do quite a bit of networking.  This typically includes attending seminars, network building events and visiting industry trade shows throughout the year.  Yet with all this networking under our belts, how many of us are also tapping into a strong peer group as well?

We all have peers in organizations like our own that we talk to from time to time about business issues.  As a Vice President for a Texas-based video production company it can be a challenge to have an opportunity to really get down to meaningful conversations with other leaders like myself.  I am referring to the real conversations about how another company handles anything from billing to purchasing new production cameras, why sales are going up or down, or how another organizations search for new talent or changes their video server network.  What best practices really work, well…best?

I can’t talk too deeply with my competitors (the keyword here being competitors) in my own market about business issues, yikes!  And, the competition at big shows and seminars for face time with peers and presenters is always a challenge.

Solution

Start a national peer-based business group. For me, that’s eCamp (Executives in Creative and Media Production). It’s one of the most powerful learning experiences I’ve had in my time at AMS Pictures.

It all started several years ago with the disbanding of ITS, the International Teleproduction Society, a trade group made up of industry leaders with seminars and presentations addressing issues within the video and film production world.  Conversations at ITS were always enlightening, the information meaningful and, of course, there were the typical equipment sponsors and hospitality events.  But, as a large meeting event, sponsorship dollars were tight, venues expensive and away ITS went.

Soon after ITS fell apart, AMS Pictures owner Andy Streitfeld and Ken Mills, co-owner of Mills James Productions in Columbus, Ohio were determined to create a new, scaled down group of facility leaders.  And thus eCamp was born.

So what makes eCamp different?

It’s based on a few simple principles; open dialog, sharing, and taking ownership in a portion of the meeting through hosting duties and by taking the time to do prep for presentations. And of course there is always time for a little fun.

Our group is made up of about 10 or so shops from around the country with 2 to 3 people usually representing from each.  Meeting twice a year, the event is hosted at a different host city of one of the group. Being small and focused, this has become a powerful opportunity to share best practices, learn techniques and see first-hand how other like-minded organizations succeed in producing great work for great clients while running a profitable business.  Imagine in your business if you could select 10 other businesses like your own from around the country and then meet for 2 days in one conference room.  You would control the agenda, ask the questions most important to that group, hear firsthand the successes and challenges from your peer running a company just like yours and, you’d make some great friends and build relationships you can connect with all year long.  That’s eCamp!

So why am I sharing this story?

Because if you’re not doing this in your industry, if you’re not sharing your ideas and learning from others in your category and if you’re not building relationships with peers around the country, you should be.  If you can build your own peer based business group in your own town, great, do it.  If, like our industry, your local competitors are all that’s available consider going regional or national.

How to do it – why eCamp works:

Members

The first step – building your members – is the hardest part.  This works best if you have another relationship to start with so the two of you can determine a mission for the group, discuss the make-up of companies and outline the first meeting.  Then, just get on the phone and sell it.

Structure

With eCamp, we’ve always built an event around a basic structure – two or three subjects that are covered at every event; your business profile, successes and challenges of the past year, sales success, technology and a showcase of your work.  The rest of the agenda is determined by polling members in the weeks leading up to the event.

Rotate Responsibility

Hosting can be challenging but, if everyone does it than it lessens the load and it can be a lot of fun. We move eCamp to a different city for each event.  The company located in that city plays host in that they provide the facility for the meeting, organize meals, transportation at times and, of course, the fun stuff. The host pays for meals and events and then simply divides the total by number of people and invoices back accordingly.

Take it seriously

eCamp works because everyone does their part to prepare on the subjects featured in the agenda.  Some are tougher than others but everyone contributes, asks questions and the host typically facilitates.

Be prepared to be open and honest

We talk about numbers, sales and share the bad stories too. Again, eCamp has excelled as a group learning experience because there is trust and an openness to share.

Include some fun

We meet for 2 and ½ days typically and that includes about 75% meeting time and 25% fun through events, local tours or (insert local tourist thing here) museums.

I guarantee that if you’re not getting what you want from the typical networking groups and trade events, and if you’re ready for the challenge of starting one, being part of a peer based business group is an outstanding way to build momentum and inspiration for your business. It’s less expensive than you might think, highly rewarding and you’ll find new friends that share common business goals you will come to rely on for a long time to come.