Business and Community Networking in Las Colinas
The concept began with Las Colinas Online, a site intended to bring the Las Colinas area-business and residents alike-together in a virtual space.
Las Colinas Online is a point of reference to find out about development projects, discover businesses in the area and give residents a dedicated space for classified ads.
Las Colinas has over 50 multinational businesses listed in the top 100 global companies in the world. These and the many other businesses spurred the influx of the residents that followed.
With very few networking groups in the area, fewer still with a business focus and none geared toward businesses located in Las Colinas, Cicort saw a need and set out to fill it.
Thus the Las Colinas Professional Business Networking Group was born. The purpose of the group is two-fold:
- To promote Las Colinas Online.
- To link that online community to a network of professionals and business people specifically in Las Colinas.
The project has met with a notable measure of success. Both the website and the group are in a growing phase, attracting new visitors and members every day. Future plans include organized events and functions.
"We have, on average, over 15,000 views monthly," Adina Cicort comments.
Cicort aims to make Las Colinas Online and its offline networking counterpart the main business and community group in Las Colinas. And so far it has been well-received. "This group has a wonderful enthusiastic organizer and is going to grow fast together with the area," says member Oksana Little.
This, of course, doesn't mean that the group is limited to the Las Colinas population. Several members of Las Colinas Professional Business Networking Group are from other parts of the Metroplex, and many of the Las Colinas Online visitors are from different parts of the country.
Our economy is seeing many jobs disappear, but the upside is that many are being created as well. And according to CNBC, over half of those new spots were generated here in Texas... roughly 262,000.
Las Colinas is home to over 10,000 corporate headquarters, including Nokia, Exxon/Mobil, GTE/Verizon and Kimberly Clark. Among their neighbors are Abbot Laboratories, University of Dallas, Citigroup and Microsoft.
The value of Las Colinas Online and its associated offline group is easy to see: over 75% of job seekers find positions by word of mouth.
Las Colinas Online Founders
So who is Adina Cicort?
"I'm a marketing professional, event organizer, and I'm also a journalist for the Romanian Diaspora worldwide. And when I still have time, I'm also a publicist and a visual artist."
About five years ago, the Cicorts came to Las Colinas and found a home. "I love the fact that it reminds me of Europe a little bit... especially the urban center."
The architecture, the space and the general feel were appealing, but Ben Carpenter's vision for Las Colinas was especially important in making Adina Cicort feel that she was in fact in the right place.
Carpenter, a former rancher, businessman, world traveler and owner of present-day Las Colinas, imagined a European-style living space configured to allow people to both work and find entertainment in the same area.
And the efforts don't stop with Las Colinas Online. Co-Founder Marcel Cicort, Business Analyst and Software Developer, has recently launched an IT networking group called DFW Technical IT Networking Group. This proactive couple has embraced Las Colinas, and they intend to nurture its prosperity.
