A Networking Kickoff

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Genesis Block kicks off its first small business meetup, Meet the Neighborz, tonight from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Elevate Coworking, a coworking space for women. 

SAMM SAWYER, the owner and executive director of BizCo Studio (shown above), a Wilmington-based creative agency, has attended several Genesis Block events and says she looks forward to attending the inaugural Meet the Neighborz event.

“As the founder of BizCo Studio, I spend so much time working in my business – helping clients refine their branding, messaging, and digital presence – that I don’t always step back to work on it,” Sawyer says. “Events like this give me the space to do that. They’re not about networking but about having real conversations that help you move forward in business while learning more about how to grow, scale, and nurture your business.” 

TRACEY NEWKIRK, co-founder and president of Genesis Block, says organizers hope to have fifty to seventy-five participants at the first one “and have it grow to become Wilmington’s quarterly small business meetup, where founders, small business owners, community leaders, and small business support organizations come to collaborate, support, and help grow our small businesses.” 

Meet the Neighborz will be a quarterly gathering open to anyone launching a startup, expanding their business, or looking to support the local economy.

“All small business owners, support organizations, community leaders, etc., are invited to attend,” Newkirk says. “If you have a passion for and desire to see a strong, thriving small business community, this event is for you.”  

The event features several roundtable discussions with dedicated time for sharing, and a networking session afterward. 

“This event is primarily about connecting for the purpose of knowledge sharing and knowledge spillover,” Newkirk says. “As individuals register, they receive an email asking them what opportunity areas or table topics they would like to discuss and get feedback from other small business owners or subject matter experts.” 

Genesis Block, founded in 2019 by husband-and-wife team Girard and Tracey Newkirk, offers business development services for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and early-stage startups. Its mission is to create an inclusive entrepreneurial community in Wilmington, emphasizing ventures led by minorities and women. 

 “As we have worked with small businesses for the last five years, we have recognized that true small business owners – the backbone of our community, the mom-and-pops, the brick-and-mortar, your local neighborhood economy entrepreneurs – are typically head-down, working and grinding day after day,” says Newkirk. “And since they are so busy and don’t have the time to plan these types of collaborative, fun knowledge-sharing environments for themselves…we decided to do it for them.”

Elevate Coworking is located at 2512 Independence Boulevard, #100. In partnership with local coworking spaces, Genesis Block plans to hold each Meet the Neighborz event at a different Wilmington coworking location. 

Click here to register for the first one.

To view more of photographer Daria Amato’s work, go to dariaphoto.com

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