There is nothing simple about the moniker Greater San Diego Business Association, San Diego Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
They’re one and the same. But the association, also known by the acronym GSDBA, has come up with a simplified spinoff of the standard business networking event.
Called Affinity for Business Groups, they are geared to folks within a specific or allied field, says Joyce Marieb, GSDBA’s executive director.
“We did a focus study last year, a needs assessment, and learned that the majority of people said they got the best information from people within their own industry,” Marieb said.
So the association decided to form groups involving people in specific or allied industries.
“At first we wondered, ‘Is this going to be competitive?’ ” she said. “But no, what we found is that these people really do want to talk to one another.
“We started with real estate and home improvement in February. What people get out of this is relationship building and learning of experiences that might be helpful to them.
“Hopefully they will also get mentoring and information on best practices — what works and what doesn’t.”
Two more groups, one involving people in the health care industry and another for those in financial services, are scheduled to start meeting April 17 and 24, respectively.
The cost for attending the once-monthly, hour-and-a-half meetings is $50 for four months, Marieb said.
To generate interest in the affinity groups, GSDBA spread the word via its seven long-standing networking groups, newsletters and telephoning.
“We actually picked up our membership directory and called people to see if they were interested,” she added.
The result was 24 people showed up at each of the first two affinity group meetings. While the sessions are somewhat informal, the plan is to have experts in such fields as marketing or insurance come in during the first 20 minutes to answer any questions attendees might have.
Founded in 1979, the nonprofit GSDBA boasts 800 members.
“We are the second largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender chamber in the country, and therefore the second largest in the world,” Marieb said. “Seattle is the first largest and we’re the second and there are no other (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) chambers that are larger.”
GSDBA’s annual budget is $425,000.
“Once in awhile we get a small-business grant from the city for a specific program, but membership dues and advertising primarily in the directory is how we stay afloat,” she said.
Aside from networking and affinity group meetings, the chamber conducts mixers that “are always well attended,” she added.
For more information, call the GSDBA at (619) 296-4543, or visit its Web site: www.gsdba.org.