About Us
The Edge Networking Group was formed in May of 2006 by me, Susan Vick. I had just started a new job in outside sales and had been in Des Moines for less then a year. So I didn’t know many people or have any business connections to speak of. I didn’t want to break into an existing group, or pay hefty fees and be burdened with lots of rules, so I decided to form my own group. I went around to different Chamber events and picked people I thought would be a good match for the group. We started out with 8 members. My vision for the group was to find people who would say “How can I help everyone else here” and not “what’s in this for me?” I felt that charging fees to join the group would cause the latter to happen. I also did not like the idea of attendance rules, simply because the best sales people are very busy and might find it difficult to attend every meeting. I also wanted people to WANT to attend – not be FORCED to.
So we started out meeting twice a month over lunch. Over the next two years we made many changes to improve not only attendance, but also the quality of the meetings. We have grown to approximately 50 members spread over almost every possible field. Our membership is made up of approximately 70% sales people, and 30% business owners. We meet every second and fourth Friday at 11:30. Each meeting is hosted by a different member of the group, who decides on the location and does a 20 minute presentation about their specific business.
We continue to operate with as few rules as possible. There are no fees or attendance rules. We also don’t have committees, elected officers, or anything else that would complicate a very simple vision: Competent and enthusiastic people getting together to build relationships and help each other succeed in business!
Susan Vick, Founder