PSA: the $300 chamber mixer membership did nothing for my referrals, cold coffee chats did way more
Everybody in this networking group keeps pushing the paid mixer memberships like they're the only way to meet people in Detroit, and I just don't buy it anymore. I paid $300 for a year at one of those downtown chambers back in January, went to maybe eight events, and got exactly one lukewarm lead out of it that never called me back. Meanwhile the $4 coffees I bought sitting down with folks one on one in Ferndale and Corktown have turned into two actual clients and a guy who sends me work every few months. The room at those big mixers is too loud to talk, everybody's handing out cards and nobody's listening, and half the people are there because their company paid for it. I get that the membership looks good on a website and the breakfast spread is decent, but I can't pretend it paid for itself. I'm not saying skip the events completely, just that the pricey badge isn't what makes the relationship. What spots around here have actually gotten you real work, and did you pay to be there or just show up?