OUTSIDE THE CLUBHOUSE BUSINESS NETWORKING TREND SPREADS FROM GOLF COURSES TO INTERNET FIRMS AND BEYOND.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

Lowell Trask majored in marketing, but his true passion is repairing vacuums.

Trask's conundrum: The vacuums he repairs rarely lose their oomph, but his ability to spread the word about his expertise isn't always as robust as he'd like.

``So I started playing golf and networking,'' said Trask, 51, who opened Vacuums Etc. in Highland nearly eight years ago.

Networking isn't just for Corporate America. Try vacuum repairmen in need of a little mojo for their bottom lines. The question is whether the golf course still reigns supreme for networking. Trask thinks so. But others are ditching the links and resorting to the Internet and public-speaking forums to fish for new business.

Dozens of Internet companies have cropped up in recent years, offering services that facilitate relationships among like-minded professionals. Call it vocational dating.

``It's as if the Internet is being used as a referral network,'' said Allen Weiss, professor of marketing at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. Web sites such as Jobster are becoming the business equivalent of social networking sites like Friendster. ``But the Internet doesn't take the place of face-to-face contact.''

Tom Self, general manager of the San Bernardino Golf Club, is well aware of good face time. The club has long been the backdrop to myriad business deals, and Self often serves as pseudo-broker.

A sign at the golf course reads: ``You are about to play the greatest game in the world.'' But that sign could easily be changed to ``the greatest place to network is on the golf course,'' Self said.

On Fridays, the golf course is filled with singles in search of a tee time. Many players are looking to link up with potential business partners. ``I try to partner similar personalities together,'' Self said. ``The basis of the game is social, and you're probably going to want to play with people that want to do business with each other.''

That's essentially how the Inland Empire Executives' Association got its start. On Tuesday mornings, the networking group meets at the clubhouse for breakfast and kibbitzing about business.

Trask has been a member of the association for seven years, and ``it has vastly helped build my business,'' he said, also noting that he secured a $10,000 account because of the group.

Of course, meeting for breakfast and networking isn't free. Members of the association must pay a $100 initiation fee and $75 per month. The group is also selective in that membership isn't open to everyone who applies.

``We like to make sure the business has been in existence long enough that it's going to produce,'' said Bill Graham, executive director of the association. ``And if we reject you, we'll keep your name on the list for future consideration.''

Not all networking groups are as exclusive. For example, Toastmasters International, which doesn't categorize itself as a networking group, facilitates more communication than an average drink-in-hand get-together, said Natalie Woodson, a member of a Toastmasters club in Long Beach.

The administrative aide at Southern California Edison began meeting with the Diagonal Toastmasters Club several months ago and ``professionally, it's helped me a lot,'' she said.

Not that Woodson, 36, has fetched a lot of leads for Southern California Edison. Instead, her ability to deliver speeches through Toastmasters has enhanced her communication skills at work. ``So I look at the club as more of a social network. And my supervisors even brought up my experience (with Toastmasters) in my review.''

To date, there are approximately 211,000 members in Toastmasters. The fact that some people use the organization as means to net business is ``a byproduct, as would be with any community organization.

``It's particularly more effective if you want to talk about your business because you'll have a built-in audience,'' said Suzanne Frey, publications manager of the Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based Toastmasters. Membership runs about $54 a year.

Despite the perks of Toastmasters, many professionals prefer having more control of their networking group. And that's the niche introNetworks Inc. is trying to cull.

The Carpinteria company designs Web sites that help professionals meet before a conference even begins. The theory is that conference-goers will essentially pre-network online, then physically meet at the event.

``We match people with people, and people with content,'' said Kymberlee Weil, chief operating officer and co-founder of introNetworks. The company charges conference hosts about a dollar for every person that logs on to the service at intronetworks.com.

The iHollywood Forum, a Los Angeles-based producer of digital media conferences and forums, partakes of introNetworks' services. The reason: Executives pay $295 to $1,295 to attend an iHollywood event. ``And we design our events to maximize opportunities,'' said Zahava Stroud, president of iHollywood.

But it's not only technology that enhances networking at an iHollywood conference. Try ice cream. The conference stocks its buffet with food that makes people feel decadent. ``If you feel good, you're more likely to socialize,'' Stroud said.

In fact, most networking groups use food and drink as a selling point for professionals. The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce hosted a breakfast and a luncheon on back-to-back days. And the meals are usually attended by more than 85 people.

``I will say that networking has changed from years ago when it was an old boys' network - the type of thing where you'd have a drink in your hand,'' said Jon Catalani, external affairs manager at the chamber.

Yet some things haven't changed at all.

At Elks Lodge 2190 in Canoga Park, several hundred members meet regularly to discuss charitable needs. Networking for personal business is secondary.

``I mean, there are plumbers here who may help another member with plumbing or some other business,'' said Vern Swenson, exalted ruler of Elks Lodge 2190. ``But we usually don't allow any promoting of one's personal business.''

So Zach Zacharias, a massage therapist from San Bernardino, will continue to stick with the Inland Empire Executives' Association.

``It's built my business,'' he said. ``The quality of clientele I get from the association is important. I have a full schedule.''

Evan Pondel, [phone]

evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Inland Empire Executives' Association members, from left, include Bill Graham, Tom Kelly, Jim Tuff, Peggy Stapleton and Roland Nemo.

Eric Reed/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Natalie Woodson, an administrative aide at Southern California Edison, gives a speech to fellow members of Toastmasters in Long Beach.

Scott Smeltzer/Special to the Daily News