Info

The Business Exchange, Northeast Ohio's original business development and networking organization was founded in June of 1989 by Loretta Kirkwood. After starting an administrative office service company, Loretta was looking for ways to develop her business and obtain new customers. One day a close friend told her that networking is the key to success. After reading every book and article that she could find on the topic, she recognized a recurring theme - networking is about sharing information and forming strategic alliances and relationships. Loretta decided to form a group with a clearly defined purpose - SALES! She grew the group from 6 to 24 people in 6 weeks and called the group "Lead Exchange." She was soon turning people away because of the "no-compete" membership and decided to open up more chapters. Within a year, Lead Exchange had 8 chapters in 3 different counties. She renamed the company "Business Exchange", because members were gaining so much more than merely referrals from their participation.