Commerce Club expanding to Mooresville

By: Bethany Fuller | Statesville Record & Landmark
Published: January 11, 2012

Business owners will soon have another opportunity to network in February when a local radio station expands its business group to Mooresville.

The WSIC 1400 Commerce Club will start holding meetings in Mooresville starting Feb. 9 at Fat Boys Restaurant off Exit 36 from 3:30-5 p.m.

The radio station has held meetings at Fox Den Country Club for WSIC Commerce Club members almost every Tuesday morning since June.

Morrow Insurance and Associates Agent Craig Morrow said the networking group doesn’t target a specific geographic area, which allows him to network with people from other counties. Since he joined in June, he said he has made contacts with businesses in Mecklenburg County, Mooresville and Catawba.

“I have gotten a lot of different ideas,” he said. “The energy of this group is just unbelievable.”

WSIC Social Connections Manager Brian Weiss said the networking group is just a small piece of a bigger idea the radio station has been playing around with for years.

He said the Tuesday morning meetings at Fox Den Country Club are structured networking opportunities that resemble a Business Before Hours and a Business Networking International group. Since not everyone could fit the morning sessions into their schedule, the station decided to add an evening one in Mooresville, Weiss said.

“Everyone has been very happy with the group,” Weiss said. “I think businesses have to take networking and social media into their own hands these days.”

The club also has an education component. Weiss said commerce club members and speakers are asked to speak on a number of topics that relate to the business the club is doing.

Morrow said business owners realize the growing importance of making their own connections by networking. Through the WSIC Commerce Club, members of the group have been able to build confidence in one another to find ways to serve their customers better.

Fox Den Country Club Sales Manager Kaime Lynch said hosting the WSIC Commerce Club each Tuesday morning from 8-10 a.m. was a good way of exposing the semi-private golf club to the business community.

“A lot of people didn’t know about us,” she said. “It’s been great, really great.”

Overall, Weiss said the business communities in Statesville and Mooresville have responded well to the group. They are able to make deals among each other and the “infomercials” at the end of each meeting expose small-to-medium business owners to new services.

Some members are discussing forming smaller “cell” groups, which would be specialized by industry, to help meet their customers’ needs, Weiss said.

It cost $5 per meeting to attend the club, and $125 to attend the meetings all year, Weiss said.

For more information, contact Weiss at (704) 872-6345 extension 238.