In 2008, a small group of entrepreneurial business owners and professionals who already knew each other agreed that a new type of organization was needed to realize their vision of networking in northern New Jersey. Other networking groups in the area were transactional, stressing the “score-carding” of business referrals and leads between individuals. The founders of NJBA envisioned a member-driven entity that was based on building relationships and trust in each other and the fundamental desire to help each other in any way they could.
They were committed to using their network of connections to share their expertise and experience with the goal of helping to solve each other’s challenges and build each other’s businesses. This meant that networking was not limited to purchasing goods and services from each other’s organizations. It also meant that members should not be in the same or overlapping industries or sectors so as to avoid having to compete with one another while also trying to help each other.
On the basis of this common understanding NJBA was founded. Over more than a decade, NJBA has selectively grown to almost three dozen members who are a combination of owners, executives, and senior sales professionals across just as many business sectors.