Sip, eat, meet and greet =96 in 60 seconds | = TheNewsTribune.com

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E-mail=20 this story Print=20 this story Text=20 only

Sip, eat, meet and greet =96 in 60=20 seconds

KELLY KEARSLEY; The News=20 Tribune
Published: September 6th, 2006 01:00 AM =

Enlarge=20 image

WineStyles owner Tim Nunnemaker discusses a = red=20 wine with speed networker Libby Lindstrom. =

Networking=20 events can be a gamble. You could connect with a potential = new=20 client or hear of a job opening. You could also end up = talking to=20 people you already know =96 or worse, hovering on the edge = of a group,=20 not talking to anyone.=20

Tim Nunnemaker, the owner of WineStyles, a North End wine = shop,=20 has found a way to combat the latter and promote his new = store. For=20 the past few months his shop has been hosting =93speed = networking=94=20 nights =96 similar to speed dating =96 where business people = move around=20 the room, talking one-on-one for a set time before moving to = the=20 next person.

=93You can=92t be a wallflower,=94 Nunnemaker said. = =93You have to=20 speak.=94

Last Thursday a dozen women gathered at his shop for an = evening=20 of Networking, Women and Wine. Most came by themselves. They = were=20 real estate agents, mortgage brokers, financial advisers and = job=20 seekers. The night began with glasses of wine, and cheese = and=20 crackers. Then the fun started.

=93You get to speak for one minute,=94 Nunnemaker = instructed as the=20 women found their seats. =93Talk about whatever your heart = wants.=94=20

The shop=92s event, held the last Thursday of every = month, is only=20 for women. The first speed networking event for men is = scheduled for=20 this Thursday.

=93When you have just women or men, you don=92t have the = flirtation,=94=20 Nunnemaker said.

The women paired off. They sat back in leather chairs, = facing=20 their partners. Wine glasses rested on tables between. Each = person=20 speaks for the allotted time. The partner listens. Once the = speakers=20 have rotated around the room, the others take a turn = talking.

Tory Mason slipped into her seat as the minute started. = The=20 42-year-old financial adviser has done speed networking = before, and=20 she wasted no time. She introduced herself, noted that = she=92d been a=20 financial adviser for 20 years and slid a brochure for = Modern=20 Woodmen of America Fraternal Financial Services across the = table.=20 She listed the services she could provide and noted the = importance=20 of a savings plan.

=93I want to help people protect their biggest asset, = which is=20 themselves,=94 Mason said.

Time. Her minute up, Mason moved to the next chair and = Lisa=20 Dreyer, a real estate agent, took her place.

Speed networking is not a new idea, though some say the = events=20 are becoming more common.

Judy Singley, event planner for the Tacoma-Pierce County = Chamber=20 of Commerce, knew of at least three upcoming, local events = that=20 included speed networking. Organized, fast-paced networking = forces=20 people out of their comfort zone, she added.

=93We gravitate toward people we know, but if the purpose = is to=20 make business relationships then we need to meet as many = people as=20 we can,=94 Singley said.

Michael Slater has made a business of speed networking. = Based in=20 Chicago, Slater=92s company, Speednetworking.com,=20 organizes events for trade associations, chambers of = commerce and=20 companies. His company also uses software to preselect whom = people=20 should meet based on common business interests.

Slater said the concept has gained momentum in the past = year. He=20 estimates his five-year-old company will do almost 100 speed = networking events this year.

=93People are finding new job opportunities and new = business=20 partners,=94 Slater said. =93It=92s not the expectation that = you come out=20 and get a new job, but that you are forming the = relationships with=20 the right people.=94

Nunnemaker, the WineStyles owner, said the biggest = challenge of=20 coordinating a speed networking event is holding people to = the time=20 frame. The events have drawn up to 30 people. He offers the=20 participants a chance to follow up with the people they=92ve = met over=20 more wine and cheese after the networking is finished.

Mason has found events to be worthwhile. She=92s made a = few=20 friendships and met several interesting women.

=93This has been one of the warmer networking events = I=92ve been to,=94=20 she said.

Kathleen Roark, a mortgage consultant, said she was = surprised how=20 much she=92d learned about people in such a short time span. =

=93You can learn quite a bit in a minute,=94 she said. = =93A few times I=20 didn=92t have enough time to talk.=94

Shannon Stell, a real estate agent, found herself running = into=20 many other Realtors. The evening didn=92t provide too many = leads and=20 reminded Stell of why she likes to be referral-based = only.

=93There=92s still value in meeting and working with = other Realtors,=94=20 Stell said as the evening came to a close. =93And if nothing = else, I=20 found two good bottles of wine.=94

Kelly Kearsley: 253-597-8573

kelly.kearsley@thenewst= ribune.com=20

WineStyles Speed Networking

For men: WineStyles has a Networking, Wine and Men event=20 scheduled from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

For women: Networking, Wine and Women happens on the last = Thursday of the month. The next one is scheduled for Sept. = 28.

Cost: The event costs $12.50 in advance or $15 at the = door.

Informaton: Call 253-756-1922 or go to www.winestyles.net/westgate=20

1950 South State = Street,=20 Tacoma, Washington 98405 253-597-8742
=A9 Copyright=20 2006 Tacoma News, Inc. A subsidiary of The = McClatchy=20 Company