A YEAR after establishing Better Networking Hubs, marketeer Tracy Heatley has been approached by a franchisee wanting to launch in London. Tracy, Lancashire, has run networking groups for more than 20 years, but when the Business Over Breakfast announced it was closing, she had to devise a strategy quickly and prepare to launch something new.

At the inaugural Rossendale Means Business Expo, held in June 2024 at The Whitaker Art Gallery and Museum, BoB clubs closed and Tracy used the expo to launch her new company. She celebrated its first anniversary on Tuesday June 10 by attending the second Rossendale Means Business Expo at Futures Park, Bacup. Tracy said: “When I knew I had to find a new direction, I came up with a name and got Orbital Design to do the branding. It has taken the last 12 months to get systems in place to track flows, monitor customer relationship management and get the website up and running with detailed member profiles in place.”

Tracy and Business Administrator Sarah Spedding launched four Better Networking Hubs in Accrington, Preston, Rochdale and Rossendale. The first three have 12 to 15 members while in Rossendale we have 25.

Tracy said: “My short-term plan for growth is to see all of the current hubs having around 30 members.

“I have also been approached by a business in London wanting to become our first franchisee, and I am looking to arrange this towards the end of this year, which will give us time to perfect the model.

“We will then look to be ready to offer franchises to other parts of the country by next June, which will be our second anniversary.

“From the beginning our motto has been – we are better today than yesterday, but not as good as we will be tomorrow.”

As well as hosting networking meetings in hotels and cafes, hubs also meet outdoors when members are invited to go ‘netwalking’ with Abi Thompson from Abigail’s Trails.

Tracy said: “I see successes in the members all the time and not just through referrals leading to new business, but in the support everyone shows to each other, that was evident in the support for Rossendale members Christine Smith when she left the Body Shop and became a Templespa Skincare consultant. “There are two members who met at the Preston Better Networking Hub who are now business partners. One of our members, Richard Singleton from whY Us? Marketing, in Accrington, has been networking for years, but said he gets more business from the Accrington Hub than anywhere else.” Regular newsletters are produced, which focus on the members success stories as well as keeping everyone updated on news about Better Networking Hubs.

Tracy also runs Better Marketing with Tracy Heatley offering bespoke marketing & AI consultancy, training, and mentoring for business development and growth.

For more information visit https://betternetworking.co.uk/ where there are links to the current hubs, dates and times of meetings and online access to book attendance or email enquiries@betternetworking.co.uk