Rob Weinberg
Managing Partner, Write Away Books
Since 2018 I’ve been an active supporter of Chairmen’s RoundTable, and consider it to be one of the smartest business decisions I’ve made in years.
When I first heard of CRT I was blown away. For the asking, here was an organization dedicated to providing completely free business mentoring services to San Diego companies and non-profits. CEOs could receive long-term, personalized coaching from some of the smartest people in San Diego County. They covered every industry and every imaginable discipline, willingly sharing their time, expertise, and decades of knowledge and contacts.
True, over 700 businesses had profited from CRT mentorships, and some had returned repeatedly to “tighten the bolts,” as one CEO put it. Yet despite these services provided by retired or semi-retired leaders of both domestic and multi-national organizations, two things puzzled me:
- Why did so few people know about them?
- Why didn’t more companies take advantage of their resources?
To address both issues, I stepped in as a supporter, taking them on as a client for my marketing agency and helping improve social media, drip campaigns, websites, collateral, and the like.
I’ll confess that my initial reasons for being in the room were to help grow my bottom line. As I saw it, the organization’s clients were privately held, not in start-up mode, profitable and looking to grow…exactly my target audience. Both of us being industry-neutral persuaded me that a certain percentage of CRT clients whom I would meet would need my services.
My logic was impeccable. Buying a seat at the table was well-worth the investment on my part, and I have picked up some business from being in that room. This didn’t just happen, of course, but derived from my attendance at most of the monthly meetings, building relationships at social events, and proving I was able to deliver on the promises I made. Everyone saw me participating in client growth, regardless of whether I received any financial benefit, and I quickly became accepted as one of the family.
But the full story is I’ve gotten SO much more than revenues from my affiliation with this amazing all-volunteer organization. I’ve become friends with REALLY intelligent people whom I never would have been able to meet under normal circumstances. These are business leaders all dedicated to the betterment of small- and mid-sized companies and, despite their respective successes, all willingly check their egos at the door.
And because I’d shown I was there for more than just a source of business leads, these same mentors were eager to help me whenever I’ve had my own business questions. Whether grabbing a beer or chatting over Zoom, everyone in that room has put their wisdom at my disposal.
Thus when my latest venture was on a rocky road, dozens of my business friends and associates happily weighed in to help me. Today, I attribute much of the success of my start-up to the people in that room.
Whether your business is financial or manufacturing, people resources or operations, sales or marketing, you too can benefit from sponsoring Chairmen’s RoundTable. I can unequivocally state that every dollar I’ve invested in supporting this group has been returned to me many times, and I expect to be in this room and at that table for a long time to come.
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Get more information about Chairmen’s RoundTable at www.chairmensroundtable.com, or contact Rob at rob@writeawaybooks to learn more about his experiences.