The Curry Club
I met with Steve Kettle, Director of The Curry Club, to delve behind the scenes and learn more about Knutsford's newest networking opportunity, including who can attend, what to expect at each event, plus the benefits of sponsorship.
What is The Curry Club?
The Curry Club is an informal business networking event for the professional services which brings people together over lunch for a chance to build contacts and develop relationships with like-minded individuals.
I'm guessing by the name that it's a curry lunch.
Yes, all our events take place at high end Indian restaurants, which means pleasant surroundings and great food.
How often do the events take place?
Events take place bi-monthly in small regions for local meetings, and monthly in big cities. There's no membership required - you simply pay as you go for each meet-up you wish to attend.
Once I've booked my ticket, what can I expect to happen at each Curry Club event?
Upon arrival, you'll be greeted by one of The Curry Club hosts, given a name badge and a guest list, then you're free to network for around an hour before sitting down for lunch.
To get the most out of this time, I recommend arriving a few minutes early so you can scan the guest list and connect with the right people from the start.
Just before lunch is served, everyone quickly introduces themselves and their business, giving you the opportunity to hear from those you may not have chatted with yet.
There's often a 10 minute talk from an attendee after lunch, followed by a bit more time to network before the event finishes.
Who can attend The Curry Club?
The Curry Club was first set up in 1976 for business professionals and remains open to anyone who wants to expand their network and meet new business contacts.
It's clearly been running a long time. How successful has The Curry Club been over the years?
During the 20 years I've been involved in The Curry Club, I've seen 1000's of connections being made, which have resulted in numerous business transactions. Many of these relationships are still going strong today.
As well as Knutsford, where else are the events held?
Locally, there are Curry Clubs in Hale and Wilmslow. Further afield, The Curry Club also meet in London, Bristol and Milton Keynes.
We're always looking for more people to run their own Curry Club, so if anyone wants to start one up in their own area, we'll support them every step of the way.
This includes booking and paying the restaurant, ticket administration, providing name badges and guests lists. You host the event on the day and leave everything else to us.
Are there any other ways businesses can get involved?
Sponsorship is the ideal way to get even more out of the Curry Club. Our sponsors gain a great deal of publicity as their logo is added to The Curry Club website, the invitational email, and the promotional banner.
We also provide our sponsors with 2 free lunches at every event, plus we include them on our social media posts, making them a focus of each meet-up.
This sounds like the perfect way to network and promote a business. Where can people book their tickets or learn more about sponsorship?
The Sponsorship Brochure, more details about The Curry Club, and links to book on each event are all on The Curry Club website: thecurryclubs.co.uk