To stay competitive with all of the other new networking events happening in Dartmouth and around the HRM, DartNet is moving to a FREE ATTENDANCE model.

We are hoping this eases the financial burden placed on long-standing members, and encourages new businesses (such as the ones starting up through CEED) to attend. DartNet’s relaxed atmosphere is perfect for those new to networking – and our networking veterans have been know to mentor those new to B2B networking.

So please share, tag, post and tell your colleague! Let’s spread the word – and keep DartNet strong and growing!

Starting in January of 2012, DartNet will be downsizing and only holding one networking event each month. The DartNet meeting will take place the second Thursday of each month at Sweet Smiles Pastry Cafe from 6:00-8:00pm. By downsizing, it allows us to put more focus on the meetings we do have, as we strive to evolve to meet your business networking needs here in Dartmouth.

Thank you for your continued support, and we hope to see you on January 12th at Sweet Smiles Pastry Cafe!

DartNet has recently expanded it’s offering with another series of meetings -- the first DartNet AfterHours meeting was such a huge success, that Cheryl and I have decided to continue with them. These meetings will take place every second Thursday from 6:00-8:00pm at Sweet Smiles Pastry Cafe in Dartmouth. A website update is in order, which will feature the locations of our meetings each month, and an event calendar -- so please keep checking in at dartnet.ca. Events will also be posted on our facebook group and tweeted about via twitter -- @dartnet @richgraphics . Lots of exciting networking is in store with the DartNet series of events, so please join us!

Special Thanks to Charlie Mac Productions for the incredible job on the video!

February 17th marked our first-ever DartNet AfterHours event. This event was put together by Richard Black of Rich Graphics, and Cheryl Pace who recently opened the Sweet Smiles Pastry Cafe right here in Dartmouth, NS. We pulled together the event in a mere week and a half  – to amazing results! Advertising via newsletter, email, facebook and twitter we attracted over 20 local business people who came on down to check out the cafe and network. It’s something we will be doing again, likely on a monthly basis to supplement the regular morning DartNet events.

The best part of the evening format is that we attract both DartNet regulars, as well as those who can’t make a morning meeting. And Sweet Smiles is an amazing location! The homemade pastries and treats were a big hit, as was the delicious coffee and tea blends. In fact, they even make homemade hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows there!

Stay tuned for future AfterHours meetings – and thanks as always for your continued support. DartNet is a great networking forum because of you, it’s members.

Till next time,

Richard Black, Owner of Rich Graphics and organizer of DartNet and now DartNet: AfterHours!

Please check out our photos in SNAP Halifax by clicking here.

They were kind enough to cover the DartNet One Year Anniversary Meeting!

DartNet celebrated it’s first year anniversary at Rocco’s Restaurant in Dartmouth. To celebrate this momentous occasion, there were prize draws and complimentary coffee and muffins at the anniversary meeting. DartNet provides small and medium sized businesses a monthly networking forum. Thank you to all of the members that came our and joined in the celebration. For more information please visit http://dartnet.ca

This month, Charlie Mac Productions presents a vodcast featuring new original content including a stop animation guide on getting to Dartmouth, an interview with Richard Black who runs Dartnet, a Dartmouth networking organization, and Rich Graphics, a scenic glimpse of Sullivan’s Pond and the story behind the Dartmouth Ferry.

Charlie Mac Productions is a Nova Scotia-based film and video production company that grew out of Tara MacDonald’s experience at Mount Saint Vincent University as well as the various filmmaking workshops and courses she has attended from AFCOOP and other organizations. Established in Dartmouth in 2007, the company produces content for TV, film/video and the Internet.

By Jon Tattrie – The Weekly News

Dartmouth now has its very own free weekly business networking group, and you’ll get a free breakfast just for checking it out.

Starting Jan. 17, DartNet will provide a chance for small and medium businesses to make connections, exchange ideas and expand their business networks. The group meets Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon at ProductPod Cafe at 71 Tacoma Drive.

DartNet was started by Richard Black, owner of Rich Graphics, an independent graphic-design company.

“I’ve done a lot of networking. I went to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, the junior chamber and a few events of that nature,” Black said last week.

He also attended a weekly Halifax networking meeting, but he found it tricky to break into the established group. As he lives on the Dartmouth side of HRM, he decided it was time to start Dartmouth’s first free weekly networking group. The two groups meet at the same time, so participants can switch back and forth.

“Some people will probably go to one one week, the other the next, and then take a week off. There’s no rigid schedule to it.”

Bring a stack of business cards, Black advised. In Halifax, he was going through up to 60 a week. “You’ll meet a lot of people and everyone is there for the same reason. It’s a very comfortable place to hand out your card and tell people what you do.”

Black has landed jobs directly as a result of networking groups and notes that making face-to-face contact means when they need to hire someone to do what you do, your name will be top of mind.
“People can expect to have a coffee and schmooze – they should have their ‘elevator speech’ down to a tee!” Black laughed.

It also works in reverse: it’s a great place to find a web-builder, virtual assistant or photographer when the need arises. And yes, there’s a free breakfast for first-time attendees, courtesy of the ProductPod Cafe.

Kathy Colaiacvo runs her virtual assistant business Time on Task (Timeontaskva.com) in Dartmouth and is excited about the new network.

“It seems like it’s going to be a nice, informal networking located here in Dartmouth,” she said. Colaiacvo provides administrative support for clients in B.C., P.E.I. and across Nova Scotia, and she wants to grow her client base locally. She also goes to a business breakfast club and various Halifax events. “It just allows you to access a broader base of business people.”
Colaiacvo has gotten jobs and good leads from her other networking activities and expects to find more via DartNet.

Check out the DartNet Facebook group or visit dartnet.ca.

Read the full article at it’s Halifax Newsnet home.