TIL the average Detroit business owner spends 18 hours a week on networking events

I was at that coffee shop on Woodward last Tuesday talking to a guy who runs a local print shop. He dropped this stat on me that blew my mind. He said he tracked his time for a month and found out he was spending almost half a work week just going to mixers, chamber meetings, and coffee chats. I looked it up later and a few small biz surveys back it up too. That's crazy when you think about how much actual work gets pushed aside. I mean I get that relationships matter here in Detroit but 18 hours seems excessive. Has anyone else actually tracked their networking time or am I the only one shocked by this?

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1 Comment

leow9013d ago

My print shop buddy probably looks at it different because those 18 hours are what keeps his phones ringing. If he skipped half those coffee chats his small biz would lose out on the referrals that keep his shop busy in a city where everyone knows someone. Yeah it sounds like a lot but for a Detroit small operation those handshakes are cheaper than any ad buy.