Greg Pogonowski

Feb 29, 2012 by admin

“When economic times are tough, as they say, if you keep doing the same things over and over, you will keep getting the same results, so you have to do something different if you want different results. So, I founded the LLC in July 2009 not because business was not good, but because I felt a number of the leading business people in Dubai, who were fed up with the way some people do business (or rather do not do business properly) wanted to also do something different and better. The pinnacle achievement, however, is that the club is owned and run by the members – it is not someone’s “show” so it evolves as required by modern business demands, by the will of the group.

There are many networking groups in the UAE but too many seem to pander to the lowest common denominator and the people who joined with me to form this club wanted to work to the highest business standards – turn up, turn up on time, only get up during a comfort break in meetings not in the middle when someone is presenting, have phones switched off (the world WILL go on without you for 2 hours – it did before and it will after you are gone!), etc, etc. We just found it rude that some people thought they were so important that they couldn’t bear to switch themselves off from “chit chat” and concentrate on helping other business people, and by default each other.

Low and behold, it seemed that the industry leaders in Dubai thought likewise and have joined the LLC in significant numbers. What is good is that volume is not the key, but rather the quality of the people. It is easy to fill a room with suspects and throw referrals around like confetti, but that has been tried and it has failed in Dubai. Much better to get one or two quality introductions (rather than referrals) in a year, than 100 leads that just waste your time.

This is what you get with the LLC.

How is this done? By really getting to know another professional business person over a period of time, who like me, adheres to western business standards. Primarily because they are qualified and experts in their field, they are looked up to by their peers and so these are the people I want to do business with and with the people they know. This is achieved through the unique LLC Mentoring programme, which means one-on-one objective help from another member, as well as general introductions.

Personally, my business has improved measurably because of the sage advice I have been given by fellow members, to say nothing of the introductions. We also have fun when doing business, which in this day and age seems lacking. The people at the top are in the LLC and are really great to be with. They all seem to be problem solvers offering so much more than “just another lead” by being able to educate other members with the transferrable skills they have.

My call to action is come and see for yourself – two of my biggest three pieces of business in the last three years have resulted from direct introductions from LLC members – I cannot say more!”