Where in the Region can professionals go to meet other professionals, share stories, and build support in a relaxed, growth-driven environment? Up until the beginning of 2019, there really weren’t too many options.
"When we met a few years back, we realized that there was not a lot of places for us to go to network and meet different people throughout the Region," said Alex Nickla, President and Owner of The Nickla Group. "We wanted to bring something together that allows anyone, whether they are a business person, an entrepreneur, an investor, an artist, or a musician, who is trying to do something different in their life."
Thus was born the idea for the Region Hustle, co-founded by Nickla and True Mtn Marketing CEO and Co-Founder John White to help business people and entrepreneurs in the Region make connections and build relationships, without having to navigate a sales-oriented networking environment.
"We're not selling anybody anything. We're not making any money off of this. We're doing it for fun because we thought this was a big need in the area," White said. "This is more of a modern approach. We told people right away that this is for those who want to grow themselves and succeed."
True Mtn Marketing Partner and event co-organizer Jono Gross agreed, explaining that a big part of the purpose of the event was to bring like-minded people together to share struggles and solutions.
"We started this event just to see what other creative people were in the area, connect with other professionals, and grow as a community," Gross said.
They held their second quarterly Networking Event Tuesday evening at Crown Point’s new community gathering venue, Bulldog Park. The recently opened multi-use park boasts an impressive amount of space for attendees to mingle, making it the perfect location to host the growing event.
"This venue really showcases the heartbeat of our community, which is our downtown square," said attendee and Crown Point Mayor David F. Uran. “We get to show it front and center here tonight with a lot of business owners who are looking for their next location to expand their business or relocate.”
The first Region Hustle Networking night, held earlier this year in February, drew over 300 guests.
"It's great getting out and meeting people in our industry that we don't get to see day-to-day make new contacts, and start new friendships to grow over time," said attendee Mike Tezak, Broker/Owner at Realty Executives Premier in Valparaiso and Crown Point.
After seeing the success of February’s gathering, GreatNews.Life jumped on board as media sponsor for Tuesday’s night of networking, alongside Crown Point Printing, Roeda Signs, WIN Home Inspection, Peoples Bank, Elite Vision Consultants, and Richter Dental.
“It is awesome to see good people bringing a fun, new style of networking to the Region,” said Jenny Craig-Brown, Executive Team Leader at GreatNews.Life. “This type of event makes it so much easier and more comfortable to network and meet new people. John White, Alex Nickla, and all the people putting this on are young and innovative and that helps with the success of the event.”
Thanks to their support, the event was free to attend and featured a cash bar for those 21+ and a free headshot photo booth.
More information about Regional Hustle events and sponsorship opportunities can be found on their website at regionhustle.com.