You never know where you’ll find opportunity, and since it’s been said that opportunity only knocks once, you better be ready to grab for it, or like Lynda Colόn, you can create your own opportunity.

Colόn is a freelance graphic designer and marketing communications specialist who works out of her home in Easley. “There is a lot of business going on in Easley,” she said, “Easley is more of an extension of Greenville business-wise and it’s time that we start to build on those important relationships.”

Colόn recently formed the Easley Business Network to do just that. “The Easley Business Network gives us the opportunity to form professional business relationships to obtain leads and referrals,” she said. “We will offer members, not only the chance to network and build on those relationships, but the opportunity to attend industry-specific educational seminars.”

Colόn stressed that membership will be category specific. “There are a lot of free networking groups that are not run according to any particular agenda and are not category exclusive,” she said. She feels a business-to-business group will bring added value to the members as Easley continues to grow.

Mayor Larry Bagwell agrees that Easley is growing. “According to the last census, Easley grew 12 to 13 per cent while Pickens County grew six to seven per cent,” he said. Easley has a population of approximately 20,000 people and hosts the Upper South Carolina State Fair each year and, for the last several years, the Big League World Series. “We’re on the move,” said Bagwell.

Colόn, who spent more than twelve years in Chicago, returned to Easley so that her children could experience the small-town life-style she enjoyed growing up. She noted that she had met a lot of people who had left at one time and are now returning to this area.

Angie Knight, Vice President of Membership for the Easley Business Network, lived in Atlanta for ten years before returning to the Upstate because she considers this area “home.” Knight, a realtor/broker for CommunityFirst Real Estate in Easley, said “it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Knight plans to attract new members using the old fashioned word-of-mouth technique along with social media network sites. “We meet every second and fourth Thursday of the month,” she said.

The Easley Business Network will operate under the umbrella of Professional Network Connections (PNC). PNC has been established in South Carolina for more than seven years and currently has networks in North Carolina and Georgia.

Colόn was pleased at the number of people who attended the first meeting. If you want to learn more about the Easley Business Network, you can contact Colόn at lcolon@pnconnections.org