So Happy I Brought The Business, Twice!
Following our new series of interviews with BWN member’s (to be a member you just have to turn up every month. Learn more here ) here we meet new Saturday North Essex Coordinator Dawn Moss.
What made you join Utility Warehouse as a partner?
I signed up as a customer with Utility Warehouse (The Discount Club) in March 2014 having just started my first home based business (Your Interview Coach!) because at the time it was extremely important for me to reduce my outgoings. I was so happy with the savings and service that I decided to join The Discount Club as a 
partner because I wanted to share all the benefits with my personal network.
I immediately saw the benefit of a business model that builds a residual income. Longer term this residual income will create more time for me to do the things I’m really passionate about (volunteering, coaching, training, horse riding, travelling across Europe and beyond!!)
I’ve always enjoyed supporting people to improve their lives in some way – so for me it was a no brainer to show home owners how they too could reduce their household bills with little effort on the services they already use – so they can spend their hard earned income on the nicer things in life (holidays, weekend’s away, family days out, meals out, etc).
How many years have you been in business?
I’ve been a business partner with Utility Warehouse since September 2014.
What do you love most about running your own business?
I like meeting new people and its rewarding being able to share the benefits of the business with my friends, family and business associates alike and there are lots of benefits – Savings, Simplicity, & Award Winning Customer Service.
What do you hate most about running your own business?
I’m not very good at cold calling – luckily there are lots of other options to grow a business that don’t require making those dreaded calls most people hate receiving!
What benefits do you get from networking?
I really enjoy building long term relationships and getting to know people in both formal and informal environments. For me networking is the best and most effective way of building trust and credibility. I’ve also been lucky enough to make some very good friends through networking.
What was the reason that you decided to be a member at The BWN?
The BWN has gained a very good reputation over the years (all credit to its founder Mandie Holgate) and I’ve always heard good feedback from the women who have attended the events.
What really works for me is that there is the right balance between having a structured format and time to have genuine conversations and network informally.
There’s always a slot for personal development and a chance to gain valuable information for running your business from the wonderful expert speakers.
The BWN events also offer a variety of options to promote and present your business – from a 60 second promo slot, to sponsoring an event or having your own stand.
There is also a guaranteed warm welcome to everyone attending the events – I like that too!
What do you see the future holding for your business?
I’m very excited about the future (putting the BWN Saturday Networking Events aside!) I’m very much looking forward to growing my business and showing as many people as possible the benefits of joining the discount club and I’m also very focused on recruiting more driven and enthusiastic people to join my existing team.
All members are welcome to answer these 7 questions and feature in our blog along with on our social media and you may even get a mention in our newsletter too. Just send your answers to us at info@thebusinesswomansnetwork.co.uk
What is the BWN ethos
I was asked to sum up the BWN ethos. If you feel I’ve missed something please advise;
I wanted an environment where any business woman could get the answers that she needed for her success. 
Whether start up, or pre start up, unemployed, self-made millionaire, hobbyist business, corporate business woman or employed women.
You are expected to be an expert in everything, well I want to help business women to feel confident in every area of their business and their life.
I want the BWN to be all welcoming and inclusive. I don’t want it to be “clicky”. Thus I ensure that whomever I am talking to at an event, as the host I have my eye on the door so that everyone gets a warm welcome, because I really appreciate how scary walking into a networking event can be. I often tell the person I’m speaking to “I’m genuinely very interested in getting to know you and hearing how I and the BWN can assist, but I must keep an eye on the door so that everyone gets greeted by the host.”
I want to empower, motivate and support.
I want myself and my coordinators to go out of our way to get to know every business woman that walks through that door so that we can help that business woman get the connections, new business and success she wants and deserves.
I want to do all this with no big membership fee. I want us to help business women make 
money and increase their profit, not spend their profits on overpriced networking.
Between events I want to ensure that our network talk to us through social media so that we are able to like and share their great content. And I want to ensure that the business women that walk in the door every month are our absolute priority so that we know them and help in every way that we can.
I want to ensure that not only do we promote and support our business women, we also promote and support our venues, speakers and suppliers. Business has to create win win relationships and we will work hard to achieve that.
No question is stupid, no concern dismissed. This is THE environment to get the solutions, connections and business to get the business success you want. Our tagline is “As Passionate About Your Success As You Are” and our business women will tell you that we mean it.
Quick Top 5 Of Why Networking May Not Be Working For You
1. You keep selling. Seriously stop selling. Networking is about building good relationships and getting to know people, you need to stop putting you
on your agenda and start putting other people on your agenda. Who do they want to know? What do they need? What are they looking for? Etc, etc. The more you learn about your fellow networkers, the more powerful your network and more useful you become.
2. Just flip Top Tip 1 on its head. You have no agenda, so know your agenda. Most people rock up to a networking event, head for the coffee, and the people they already know and generally chat, that is great and really good to build good relationships but have you thought prior to the event what your goal is? How does this networking event fit in with your marketing strategy? Go knowing what you want to achieve, but don’t start selling!
3. You are not prepared. Prepare a elevator pitch of around 45 seconds regardless. This helps focus your mind on what you want to talk about, what will your call to action be? What do you want people to be doing? What results would you like to see? (And the results you want to see after one networking event is 15 new clients, unless you are selling Ferraris for a £1, its not likely to happen, so think through what you really want to see happen.)
4. You can say what you like right? Wrong. People know people. And the whole point of networking is that people get to know you. If you turn up and start bad mouthing another person or network, it is highly likely to get back to them. Respect everyone and be aware that you are a walking bill board
for your business. Did you know it takes 300 to 500 millionth of second for a person on the word “Hello” To decide what they think of you. So what are you projecting? How do you look after your reputation and get known for the right reasons?
5. You don’t follow up. It’s no good going once and assuming sales will start falling from the sky. (We are back to the Ferrari’s for a £1 aren’t we!) Going once is not enough. You need to go to the same network at least 4 times to find out if it is right for you, don’t make assumptions that these people are no good for your business, you don’t know yet who they know. So go regularly to really benefit and follow up effectively. Connect on social media, get to know them. If you said you would send a great top tip or share a link to a funny story, do it!
Networking is not rocket science but it does take respect, knowledge, strategy, focus and action. There are a ton of other things it needs, but for now get noisy about other people. Get engaging, take action and let us know how you get on.
This article was written by our Founder Mandie Holgate. To learn more about Mandie Holgate visit the Essex page or www.mandieholgate.co.uk
Maldon Soap Company – Ethos, passion, goals & networking.
Our blog is always packed with great ideas, our business women and their ideas and now we introduce The Interview. Here Sue McKenna, tells us why she joined the BWN after just one event, why Sue is so passionate about her business and the ethos behind Maldon Soap Company ;
What made you set up Maldon Soap Company?
I have always been interested in health and beauty. I was doing some research
into cosmetic ingredients, what they do and why they are in our cosmetics. I discovered that the soaps and cosmetics I was using from a popular ‘natural’ beauty company were not as pure and natural as they claimed so I decided that I just didn’t want to subject my skin to those chemicals any more. I couldn’t find anything that was suitable for my incredibly sensitive skin that was affordable so I decided to have a go at making my own.
I started with lip balms and then created a hand cream – which is my best selling product today! I wanted to make soap the traditional way without any additives or added foaming agents so in January 2013 I made my first batch of cold process soap and never looked back!
At first I made things for friends and family but when demand began to outstrip supply I realized that I might be able to create a little business out of it and I did! 🙂
How many years have you been in business?
I began making soap in January 2013 and started selling it properly 
(once I’d had all my safety assessments done) in June 2013 so I’m coming up for my second anniversary.
What do you love most about running your own business?
I love the fact that I am doing something I love and that people seem to love what I do. I love the freedom I have to make my own decisions and that what I do is fun and exciting. I love helping people choose the right products for their skin and it’s a wonderful feeling when they come back to buy more, saying that my products work perfectly without the need for any nasty additives. I love that I use local ingredients that have not had to travel far and that, by buying locally, I can give money to the local community which benefits everyone locally. I also love that my products are affordable to all, they’re not elitist and they and don’t price anyone out of the market, so everyone can have natural, paraben and additive free products that help their skin. And of course nothing is tested on animals.
What do you hate most about running your own business?
I hate the fact that I don’t have enough hours in the day to do everything that I need to do. I still work part time which I have to do to pay the bills but, until I give that up, I can’t devote myself full time to the soap business and make it make money. Catch 22 situation.
What benefits do you get from networking?
It’s great to meet with other women who have businesses because it makes me realize I’m not alone! I like the diversity of situations that the members are in, some are struggling like me (I’m not alone) and some are doing really well (something to aspire to).
What was the reason that you decided to be a member at The BWN?
I attended a meeting by invitation and felt comfortable straight away. I have been to networking meetings where I have felt like a fish out of water but it wasn’t the case at BWN. Everyone is very friendly and interesting to talk to.
What do you see the future holding for Maldon Soap Company?
Well I’m not looking to take over the world! I would like to have more 
outlets to sell the products and eventually expand enough to be able to afford a shop on Maldon High Street and maybe expand the local aspect of the business to source and grow more local ingredients. I’d like to be able to afford to pay for some help within the company to make things easier for me and I definitely want to give up my part time job.
We love Sue’s honesty and passion for her business and the future and want to be a part of making the big dreams happen. To learn more about Sue you can meet Sue at our Essex events and say Hi and “great interview” on Sue’s social media here;
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/maldonsoap.co.uk
Website Link: http://www.maldonsoap.co.uk/
Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/MaldonSoap
Sign up form for Maldon Soap Company monthly newsletter mailing list: http://eepurl.com/bkju3n
Essex Business Woman Goes North (Well Norfolk.)
Susan Pattrick has been a member of the BWN since its launch in 2009 and is a passionate believer in our ethos and power to help all women in business succeed in all areas of business.
As Founder of Dancing Giraffe Susan wants to help all people with any disability access the services and support they need to. Here Susan shares why she jumped in her car and visited Norfolk’s Coordinator Denise Bretton and her events.
On 7th May I went up to Norwich to attend The Business Woman’s 
Network meeting held at Caister Hall Hotel at Caister St Edmund near Norwich. I set off at about 7.15 am not knowing how long it was going to take me to get there. It was a beautiful sunny day and the birds were singing in the trees – although I have to say I didn’t hear much of that because I had Radio 2 on. I love singing along in the car to cheerful songs as I am driving but I cannot sing in tune to save my life. It’s a good job that no one else can hear me.
I had to leave Gerald in the shed again (for those of you that don’t know, Gerald is my organisations mascot since our logo is a Dancing Giraffe and he loves attending Essex BWN events with me) he was most unhappy about that and sulked because I wouldn’t take him along. Of course it was polling day and he wanted me to take him along to the polls! He isn’t registered to vote, which is why I was trying to explain to him that he couldn’t cast his vote and even if he did it wouldn’t count! Anyway I managed to calm him down with a few tasty morsels of green shoots – that’s his favourite food and he seemed satisfied! At least when I got home he was pleased to see me – but that’s getting ahead of myself!
When I arrived at the hotel, (it was being used as a polling station), I was confronted with this beautiful old building set in the most gorgeous grounds and set back from the road in a very quiet area. It was 9.30 am when I arrived (half an hour before the meeting was due to start). I was the first one there – isn’t it always the way, the furthest away was the first one who arrived! The hotel reception staff were lovely and offered me a cup of coffee or tea whilst I waited for Denise Bretton to arrive. Unfortunately Mandie Holgate couldn’t make it because she had a client to coach. She was really miffed at missing out on the presentation. The photo 
here is the one with Mandie and I at the recent BWN event at the Crowne Plaza, Maldon where the Colchester BWN is held.
There was general networking to start with and about 10.30 Denise asked everyone to take their seats in readiness for Sophie Jewry’s presentation. Sophie Jewry, is a fabulous Business Brand Consultant. For the next hour she was very entertaining, explaining how to identify your ideal client (you need to do this for every client profile that you have) and put yourself in their shoes even down to personal things like who your ideal client loves, what they eat and how they dress. We were given a printed guide on how to identify your ideal client which is very useful to me. I didn’t realise how in depth it was just to ensure that you don’t waste money on clients that are never going to use your services. It was an absolutely brilliant hour and well worth the two and a bit hours driving time. I made several good contacts there including the Norfolk Knitters! If you get the chance to go and listen to Sophie then do take it. It is absolutely brilliant! Mandie did say that Sophie was going to come to Colchester BWN at some stage so don’t miss it! Thanks to Jayne Lloyd our fabulous photographer for the pic too. I’m the one in the branded yellow hoodie!
Join us at our events in Norfolk and Essex and if you are in any county in the UK, we would love to help you get paid to network. Learn more here.
Say Hi to Susan and learn more at Dancing Giraffes website – www.dancinggiraffe.com
Real Words From An Awesome Photographer
We loved this email, that much we are sharing it in its entirety here as a blog article:
I have been attending the BWN regularly for over a year now and have found it has had a
hugely positive effect on my business. Each meeting has a master class with knowledgeable speakers who give genuinely useful information I can then put into practice to improve my working methods, whether that be social media, public speaking or time management – I always come away with a set of action points.
The format of the meetings works particularly well, allowing for free networking and the opportunity for most (if not all) attendees to speak about their business in front of the whole group. By attending regularly I have built up relationships with many members, as a network of expert support and advice as well as gaining several new clients, who have since gone on to give me wonderful testimonials that I can now use in my future marketing.
Mandie Holgate and The BWN’s commitment to sharing
and promoting members’ updates and connecting people who can truly work well together is beyond any I have seen at other network groups, and as photographer for the group I am particularly proud to be a part of the continued conversations beyond the meetings themselves.
Thank you Mandie and the BWN for your valuable support and promotion!
Jayne Lloyd Photography @Jaynelloyd
If you would like more than just business card swapping, if you would like the network, connections, support, ideas to achieve more then The BWN could be for you. Our tagline is As Passionate About Your Success As You Are, why not let us prove it to you too.
Check out the fabulous corporate photographer Jayne LLoyd here
Happy Birthday Us! What does that mean for you?
The Business Womans Network is 6 years old today. In that time we’ve;
Raised over £8000+ for charities like 
Farleigh’s Hospice, Little Havens, Colchester Mind, Colchester Food Bank, Dancing Giraffe, Children in Need, Comic Relief and others. Sometimes sensibly collecting non perishable foods, other times exposing our perishables!
We’ve helped you raise money for the charities of your choice, because we know charities want to get their organisation loved, so even if money was not raised we’ve been a part of your charitable activity to get you, your business and the charity known.
We’ve taken your viewpoint to the Bank of England, the Home Secretary and the Home Office.
We’ve got Business women on ITV1, BBC Radio Essex, BBC Radio Herts, BBC Radio Suffolk and BBC Radio London.
We’ve helped business women win awards both locally and nationally.
We’ve helped business women literally too scared to speak, stand up and speak eloquently to a room full of business women. To the point that they now do it for a living!
We introduced you to some of the leader business speakers and experts in the UK including speakers that are best selling authors and one speaker who has been on the Oprah Winfrey Show so that you 
get real answers and solutions to grow your business, enhance your performance and increase your confidence.
We’ve connected you to organisations that have given you opportunities that you couldn’t have got if you didn’t walk through our door every month.
Above all we know what matters to you most is to increase sales, gain customers, increase profit and not be too exhausted to have a life outside of work and you tell us we help you achieve that!
But above all, in the last 6 years we’ve met hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of businesses and given them support to get the results they want, always with our tagline in our heads “
AS PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR SUCCESS AS YOU!”
On our 6th birthday knowing the support and results we bring to your business puts a warm glow in a hearts and a smile on our faces. Because we can’t wait to see what the next 6 years will bring.
We are now actively looking to launch the BWN in other countie so that more business women can get paid to network. And if you are lucky enough to be able to join us in Essex this Friday, we are so honoured to know you, help you and network with you.
As Annabelle Catchpole from International Organisation Mancroft International once so 
eloquently put it; “If Carlsberg did networking it would like The Business Wommans Network”
Go on let us prove to you that this is the best network, that is not a girlie chat* but a motivational, great environment to help you in every area of your success from confidence and self belief, to business skills and Success methodology. This is your network, Happy Birthday!
*We can’t guarantee that conversation won’t turn to how gorgeous a business woman’s shoes are, but hey we all know great networking is about great communication and showing you care about others so they know you, like you and trust you, right?
Not booked for this Friday at Five Lakes Crowne Plaza, Colchester, 10am? Book here.
46 business women confirmed, 14 stands. (£25 exhibitors stand includes 1 ticket)
Exhibiting With The BWN – Your Questions Answered
You are welcome to have a stand at any BWN event. The great ones to exhibit at are our Birthday events, our big summer events in July and our Christmas events in November (We moved them from December because you told us you wanted to shop early for Christmas!)
But what can you expect?
- You can expect between 30 and 70+ business women in one room to show case your business to.
- You are welcome to offer mini sessions of what you do as long as it fits on to 1 table.
- You are welcome to bring your banner, again as long as it fits next to your table.
- You can bring your products along.
If you would like confirmation of the room we are in, please feel free to text your area coordinator to confirm, however the reception staff will be more than happy to inform you which room we are in and we aim to post this on our Twitter account on the day too – @BWNcouk
The event starts at 10am but you are welcome to arrive at 9.30am to get set up.
Officially the event finishes at 12.30 however most business women stay on until 1pm.
We request that you do not dismantle your stand until 12.30pm.
Only the first 25 business women to book and pay are guaranteed a speaking slot of 60 seconds, so booking in advance is advisable.
If you have any concerns or further questions contact your area coordinator.
You are able to further benefit by sponsoring any event – £100 (Golden Ticket price £75) includes a 10 minute speaking slot, your business literature and goodies on each place setting, logo on the marketing material for that event and an exhibition stand.
Good ideas to make it really good for your business.
If you are exhibiting with us its a good idea to set up some social media mentioning us because everything we see, we are happy to share, like and retweet. All of our social media is accessible on the home page of our website.
Read our guide How To Stand Out An Exhibition. Click here to read it now.
It is a good idea to send out an email to your database letting everyone know where they can learn more about your business and that you will be attending this event.
You are welcome to request a copy of the event poster to add to your marketing in the run up to the event and it’s a great idea to post on the Facebook event page for that event too.
We look forward to helping to promote your business.
How To Get People Buying
As a business womans coach I’m often with a client who has fabulous products and services and yet for some reason people just aren’t buying from their business.
When I run Business Growth Training Programmes at some stage this question will come up and my Sales Mountain helps business owners ask questions like “How can I help people be more aware of our products and services?”
“People aren’t buying our products that really generate profit, how can I turn that around?”
So if you would like to increase sales at the top with the flag flying high for your business success and profit margin, ask yourself how do you get people buying at all levels?
Want more advice like this? I’m at every Essex BWN event and happy to talk about your business. You can also work with me from £8 here or invest £750 + VAT and become one of my Growth Accelerator clients. Learn more here.
PA Angels Fly’s Through the Sky for Farleigh Hospice
PA Angels Fly’s Through the Sky for Farleigh Hospice
Jenny Sjollema, 41, of Heybridge Basin, Maldon, Essex flew through the freezing cold sky’s in Beecles, Suffolk on Friday 20th February to raise money for Farleigh Hospice as part of the £50 Birkett Long Business Challenge in Mid-Essex.
“I decided to do the challenge, after my friend Stella Bradbrook had been diagnosed with liver and bowel cancer earlier in the year. And I decided to do the skydive having overheard another lady at the cheque presentation evening that she was doing one, and I thought, well why not!”, Jenny said.
She reached speeds of up to 120mph on her free fall, and was on the ground in less than two minutes!
Jenny took over About My Area Maldon and Burnham from Stella in the Summer, having taken over Chelmsford and Witham previously, she now runs Mid-Essex websites. About My Area is a community based website, supported by local news.
“Once I’d decided to do the skydive, I went full steam ahead, promoting it on the website, social media and the local press,” Jenny said. “I have raised over £800 to date for this AMAZing cause, that have supported Stella and her family over the last few months.”
If you would like to support Jenny to raise funds for Farleigh Hospice, you can do so by going to www.virginmoneygiving.com/JennySjollema
Or feel free to give Jenny your money when you network with her at The BWN in Essex!