San Diego Business Networking Groups:
Meeting Guidelines and Format

PURPOSE:

Meeting Guidelines

1. Any member of the BNG must be a member in good standing of the GSDBA. (4/17/02)

2. Members operate under the GSDBA professional code of ethics. (4/17/02)

3. Show loyalty to BNG member whenever you need a product or service.

4. Be an active listener in business and social settings (Tip, Tip, Tip).

5. A requirement of a total of either 2 tips or 2 guests per month. (2/21/01)

6. A BNG member, absent exigent circumstances, can be absent from a maximum of four BNG meetings per trimester. If a current member reaches 3 absences in a trimester, the Group Facilitator shall contact the member by phone or in person, confirm that the member is aware of the group’s attendance requirements, and ascertain what business and/or personal issues may be affecting that member’s meeting attendance. The Group facilitator must first confer with both the GSDBA Executive Director and the current GSDBA Chair of the BNG Committee prior to taking any action to terminate the member of the BNG.
If and only if by a majority vote they determine that termination action is appropriate, the Group Facilitator shall send the member a letter informing him/her that any further absence that trimester will result in loss of that member’s membership in that particular BNG for a period of one year (three trimesters). Such letter must also advise the member that he/she has the right to be heard at the next monthly BNG Committee Meeting upon submission of a written request. (8/18/04)

7. Be on time - meeting begins promptly. Arriving 15 minutes after the start of the meeting, or later, will be considered an absence. (4/17/02)

8. Infomercials are limited to 1 minute to allow special speakers enough time for their presentation. (2/21/01)

9. Dues are not refundable, in whole or in part. Dues will be collected at the first meeting of the trimester or upon joining. Failure to pay dues within two weeks will result in the loss of member’s position in the BNG for three trimesters from the date of removal. 4/17/02)

10. Complaints about other members will not be discussed in the group forum. Issues between members must be dealt with privately. GSDBA politics will not be discussed.
The Facilitator should be notified if a complaint exists and he/she should try to act as a moderator to assist with the problem or concern. If the Facilitator is not able to resolve the issue, the problem or concern should be directed to the GSDBA Board Member who is acting as the Committee Chair of the BNGs. (2/21/01)

11. Members may occupy one (BNG) and only one Specialty Category. A business cannot be represented in more than one BNG. Independent contractor(s) within one company is recognized as an individual.
Business members’ discussion will be limited to the one Specialty Category that they designated on their Member Agreement signed at the beginning of each trimester, even if other categories area not yet represented in the group. (8/20/03)
Failure to do so after three warnings will result in the loss of the member’s position in the BNG for three trimesters from the date of removal. (4/17/02)

12. Member is responsible for attendance and tip requirements. A replacement representative who must be a GSDBA member is permissible; however, an absence is issued against the primary member. If the allotted number of absences is exceeded, the result will be loss of the member’s position in the BNG for three trimesters from the date of removal. (4/17/02)
A member may appoint a permanent replacement from his/her business to cover the same specialty. The replacement must be a member in good standing in the GSDBA. The replacement member will inherit absences from the previous member. The replaced member may return to a BNG after three trimesters from the date of replacement. (4/17/02)

13. For special situations, a leave of absence may be granted to a member of a BNG. Each facilitator may use his or her discretion for issuing a leave of absence. (4/17/02)

14. BNGs are limited to 35 members. (8/20/03)

15. Beginning January 1, 2004, there will be a term limit of two consecutive trimesters for being a BNG facilitator unless no other BNG member would like to facilitate.
In the event that more than one person would like to facilitate, the group facilitator will be decided by a vote of the BNG members present at that meeting.
The facilitator for the next trimester will be decided on at the last meeting of the current trimester. (10/15/03)

16. Once a BNG reaches the maximum number of members, any person wishing to enter that BNG must have his/her name on a wait list kept at the GSDBA office. It is the member’s responsibility to contact the office and also designate a category. When an opening becomes available the facilitator will contact the office for the wait lists and contact those members in chronological order, to offer them to join the group. (3/24/04)

17. Visitors: GSDBA Members may visit a BNG for the purpose of making a short announcement, e.g., non-profit events. This visit must be approved by the group facilitator prior to the BNG meeting. A visitor should never be allowed to bring up business which is in direct conflict with a member of the group. (5/19/04)

18. All printed material put out by a BNG must have prior approval by the GSDBA Executive Director. (5/19/04)

19. Guests may visit a BNG one time only before joining. (Rev. 6/15/05)

20. All BNG Members must be GSDBA Members in good standing throughout their BNG Membership. (Rev. 6/15/05)

21. Each BNG may determine its membership, within the parameters of BNG membership rules. Before turning anyone away or before terminating a member, the facilitator will first discuss the situation with the member and then with the Executive Director and the GSDBA Chair of the BNG Committee. If the Group Facilitator, the ED and the Chair of the BNG Committee agree to refuse membership in a BNG or if they agree to the termination of a current member, the facilitator will contact the member informing him/her of the decision.  The facilitator will also inform the member that he/she has the right to be heard at the next monthly BNG Committee Meeting upon submission of a written request. (01/18/2006)

22. Anyone leaving a group at any point in a trimester may not join another group until the beginning of the next trimester.  Only one move per person is permitted in a calendar year.

BNG Meeting Format

1. Facilitator welcomes everyone and explains the purpose of the BNG. meetings. Introduction of guest(s) by the person who invited them.

2. Once a Month, Tipmaster reads what the definition of a "qualified tip" is, and explains how to fill out the tip sheet. At the first meeting of each month the Tipmaster will also give a report on how many total tips had been passed for the previous month. He/she will hand out a written report totaling the tips received and given by each member. (2/21/01)

3. Facilitator announces the speakers with a short introduction of each one. Each speaker will have 7 minutes to speak, with 2 minutes of questions & answers, if needed.

4. New members are congratulated and Facilitator will present them with their official GSDBA business card caddie. (2/21/01)

5. Each member will have a 1-minute "infomercial" to describe her/his business and tell us how we can best "tip" them for the week.

6. Round table discussion and testimonials given if time permits. (2/21/01)

back | top