A Higher Calling

By Glen Gould, Southeast Bureau Chief          Glen's Bio

Imagine how Michael Eilerman felt when he was told he couldn’t join the networking group because he was “doing a Christian thing.”

Outcast by his faith, Michael faced a dilemma. On one hand he was being told he couldn’t participate; on the other he was being called by scripture. So in 2001 he began a journey that would lead him to develop three separate businesses, each of them focused on networking and spreading the good news.

The Atlanta Christians in Business Network www.acibn.net is a pure networking group. With two networking luncheons—in Gwinnett (first Wednesday) and Cobb (last Wednesday) counties—one might expect that the ACIBN is just another networking group of like-minded Christians meeting with the expectation of doing business with other Christians. Well, think again.

ACIBN believes that Christians are called to support one another in life, spiritually and in business. So it stands to reason that when the group gets together there’s a lot more going on than just business networking. The members discuss how to help each other in all areas of their lives, not just business. This provides the opportunity to build stronger and deeper relationships that are rooted in common belief.

But there is more to the story of ACIBN. Michael is a “fix it” man. Through the process of developing his own network, he found it difficult to keep up with all those business cards. So he developed the Networkers Tool Kit and eventually partnered with a software developer to create a computer-based contact management program. Both are available at www.acibn.net. There you will also find a link to www.atlanta-ves.com (Atlanta Video Elevator Speeches), an online host of prerecorded “elevator speeches” (brief personal introductions).

Members of ACIBN receive a desktop manager including a daily inspiration, member announcements, a membership directory with business card, a full bio and picture on the members-only access area, a public listing, a weekly newsletter, and member marketing assistance. To learn more about Atlanta Christians in Business Network, visit www.acibn.net.


 

Glen can be reached at GlenG@TheNationalNetworker.com or Post a Comment on TNNW Blog.