Couldn’t come to The Synergize Experience on October 12? Don’t worry! This article sums up all the changes we announced that night.
If you’d rather watch a video of the evening, you can find one here.
THE VISION
From the beginning, Synergize has been a place where professionals can go to find real, authentic relationships and help make the world a better place. We share a vision of a more united and connected future with relationships at the center. We’ve tried multiple different structures and strategies to create this vision efficiently, and it’s been hard to settle on one.
When Shaun and Tiffany Goodyear came on as co-owners, it became the perfect opportunity to sit down and reframe our operations. We’ve come up with some awesome new systems and structures that will help our members get a lot more value out of the organization, while helping us serve you in a deeper way!
Why are all these changes necessary?
This is a year where a lot of small businesses are struggling, and while we have an abundance of relationships that we’re deeply grateful for, we, too, were having a hard time justifying some of our expenses – including keeping the lights on at the Synergize Hub.
Shaun and Tiffany came on as co-owners just in time to keep Synergize in the building! Because of their help, we get to keep our little spot on Range Line… and make quite a few other changes to set Synergize up for long-term growth and sustainability.
THE HUB
For the past year and a half, the Synergize Hub has been an office space for Arron, Heather, and Matt Allen of Iconic Insurance. It’s been awesome, but our original vision for the space looked very different. We envisioned the Hub as a social center of Synergize, where members could come and go, spend time through the workday, take meetings, hang out with friends, and bring clients. But the current design and use of the Hub doesn’t lend itself to those kinds of activities.
To make the Hub a more comfortable, fun place, we will be redecorating it! It will no longer serve as our team’s office space; our employees will be working out of other spaces in Carmel. Instead, it’ll have new furniture and amenities, both inside and outside, that makes the Hub a comfortable spot for our members to spend time together and build deeper relationships. Our members will have keyed access to the doors, and entry will become a benefit of Synergize membership.
This will be another awesome way for all of you to build better relationships with each other throughout the week, on your time! It’ll also be the place to go for a lot of awesome new events.
OUR NEW EVENTS & CHANGES TO EXISTING EVENTS
Our events are probably what most people think of when they think of Synergize. As we’ve thought about the Synergize events we’ve planned in the past, and the events we want to start planning in the future, we’ve come up with seven different categories of events that each serve a different purpose for our members:
- Direct Events. These are events hosted by Synergize, run by Synergize, and often have something to do with Synergize – like the 4:30 Meetup or The Synergize Experience.
- Social Events. These are events with no agenda beyond hanging out and building deeper relationships. Some events we’ve hosted in the past include our 4th of July parties and EmpowHer Brunches, and some we plan to add in the future include regular happy hours at the Hub and dinner meetups!
- Member-led Events. These are events spearheaded by members. They include home get-togethers, impact breakfasts, or volunteering groups led by members, to name a few.
- Educational Events. All of our CommUNiTY Meetups are classified as educational events, along with any local or one-off speaking events.
- Co-hosted events. These are events held in partnership with other organizations in the community. Any of our Impact Challenges are co-hosted events, as well as our recent events with the Indiana Small Business Expo!
- Piggyback Events. These are events that aren’t at all planned by Synergize, but are attended in a group by Synergize members. Any local event can be a piggyback event (community events like Artomobilia, charity galas, concerts, festivals, other local networking events), and one of our big goals for this new era of Synergize is to make it easier for you to get involved in them!
- Field Trips! These events will be irregular, large-scale outings. One example is the Synergize Family Vacation to MacBeth’s Cabins in Pennsylvania, but we’re throwing around ideas for more; an adventure to Bourbon Country, touring a local business or factory, local sports events, and professional workshops (possibly even Tony Robbins).
Our goal is to not only have more regular, pre-planned events, but to make it easy for you to create your own and attend other people’s events too.
In other news, we are also reassessing our ticketing and check-in process to make it flow more smoothly. We are also decreasing the 4:30 Meetup non-member ticket price to $49 instead of $100 – and getting rid of the fees!
THE SYNERGIZE EXPERIENCE
This month’s Synergize Experience was unique because it included seating and food. That was because we had a lot of big announcements to make, and we knew it would take longer than usual.
Normally, The Synergize Experience will be a large-scale social event, much like the 4:30 Meetup. We’ll speak for a brief period in the middle about what Synergize is, and share any news we have for the upcoming month. That means this is a perfect event for you to bring your friends so that they can experience Synergize!
We created this event partly for the members we know have trouble attending events at 4:30, and partly because it’s difficult to explain what Synergize is to someone whose first event is a 4:30 Meetup. They have an awesome time supporting a great cause (as they should!), but often leave confused about what the group does. The Synergize Experience is the perfect alternative.
OTHER CHANGES
We’ll also be making our social media groups a member-exclusive benefit, which will give our members another space to connect authentically with each other. We have one more big project in the works regarding online spaces to connect… but we’re waiting to drop that news until we have a more solid timeline. Rest assured, though, it’s exciting!!
MEMBERSHIPS
Thanks to your feedback over the past 3.5 years, we’ve realized that our membership model has a few holes that make it impossible for every single person or company to find a membership that fully serves them.
To build a better experience for everyone, we have expanded to four memberships instead of two!
- Social Membership: This membership is for people who want to give Synergize a try, or maybe just enjoy a few social aspects of it.
- Impact Membership: This membership is for individuals and professionals who value building deep, close relationships with the people around them, with an emphasis on impacting the world together.
- Unity Membership: This membership is for individuals and professionals who want better relationships and a bigger impact, but also value opportunities for personal and professional growth alongside like-minded people.
- Heritage Membership: This membership is for individuals, professionals and leaders who desire to serve the community and build relationships at the highest level. They want to grow a close, core group of professional and personal friends who share the desire to make the biggest impact.
Additionally, we now have three levels of corporate membership for businesses of all sizes. All of them include multiple individual memberships for their teams!
In addition to creating new memberships, we’ve clearly defined the benefits between each of them, which is something we’ve been lacking in the past. You can view all the benefits and sign up for a new level of membership on our website.
WHAT IF I’M ALREADY A MEMBER?
Beginning November 1, 2023, all current Movement and Legacy Memberships will be cancelled. Between now and November 1, we’d love for everyone to choose a new membership that works for them and their relationship needs!
To our members: If you’ve already paid your October membership, it will be refunded upon your purchase of a new membership. If your payment date is upcoming, and you purchase a new membership before that date hits, we will cancel your upcoming payment or refund it if it’s too late to cancel. All members, at all levels, are still welcome to attend any of October’s events – including the 4:30 Meetup on October 24!
Memberships have been, and always will be, vital to the success of Synergize. Because of our members, we can create more opportunities for relationships within Synergize, support local non-profits, and bring the joy of genuine relationship to people outside of the group. You provide value to this group, and we are looking forward to making this organization one that continues to serve you well for a long time to come.
THANK YOU, from the bottom of our hearts, for helping us continue to create spaces that put #RelationshipsOverEverything!!