Starting a Meet Up, Adding Value, & Making it Count

[Danny Randazzo]

In the Fall of 2017, I started a real estate meet up in Charleston, SC based on encouragement from a mentor. My mentor suggested I start a meet up for several reasons which are:

• Control your time (have the meeting work with your schedule and where you want to be)
• Become a well-known connector of people
• Gain thought leadership and authority in topics discussed
• Give back to help others get started and close more real estate deals
• Build relationships with like-minded individuals

My real estate breakfast meeting has been going strong and will continue to meet on the first and third Friday of each month. As the host, I get to know everyone who attends and determine what topics we speak about at each meeting. Here is a photo from a March 2019 meeting where I was speaking and sharing my experience on partnership structures and syndication fees.

We had a great turn out and really good feedback from attendees gaining a lot of value from their participation. My meet up has been successful and here are a few great outcomes we’ve had:

• Multiple people closed their first deal once they started attending
• Several people purchased apartment communities since joining
• Phenomenal relationships and friendships have been formed
• Attendees have a support network to share ideas and help each other close more deals
• Connected hundreds of like-minded individuals
• Many people invested in opportunities or partnered on deals through relationships built from the meeting

What successful outcomes have others had from having a local meet up?