What The BWN does for Business Women – FACT

As Essex Coordinator I often get told “There are so many networks to chose from, how do I know yours is any good?”

And its a fair point. There is a ton of choice out there – which is great for the consumer…..and the network. You see we never placed ourselves as a rival, on the contrary we regularly promote other networks and business groups, why? Because if its good for business we want to be telling you about it.

A different approach you may say, well yes, but then it works. You see we are here to do the hard work for you. Try out the networks, the seminars and workshops and we share with you the good stuff. You can expect to hear about those ideas at every event in the business ops slot at 10.30.

But lets get down to the nitty gritty – you network because ultimately it leads to leads and sales and profit and success. On top of those things at the BWN you can expect support (it can be a lonely world for a business woman – and its great to know what you are experiencing or finding tough someone else has the answers to – probably because they have been through it too!)

You get motivated into action – so often women say to me, thanks to coming to The BWN last week, I picked up the phone/got in touch/changed my website/got up and spoke about my company/challenged their decision/went for it/took my business to the next level. And that results in even more success.

The BWN blogs and “What Business Women Say” pages of our website are packed with testimonials of how we have helped business women get what they want for their business and their success – all in an environment that is always welcoming (never clicky!) motivational and business focussed – we may mention what gorgeous heels you are wearing but then its straight back to business. Because we know that’s what matters to you.

Why bother with Hootsuite?

Is a question I got asked today from someone new to Twitter who was yet to get to grips with how wonderful social media and social networking is for business, but then its a question I get asked a lot.

But really why bother with Hootsuite (or Tweetdeck – the choice is yours, and personally I love Hootsuite) and the reason why to bother with Hootsuite, the why I love it?

Well…..

I can schedule messages – so I can share some tasty top tips, advice, ideas and pearls of wisdom while I’m busy with a client or at a BWN networking event – which if you get it right means you get targeted traffic to your website and the ping ping of people buying from you.

I can keep all my social media in one place – ensuring I comment and interact with all the fabulous business people I know on a regular basis – remember my rule – “You can’t dictate when someone is ready to buy, but you can have a say in who they buy from.”

I can follow key words and join in the important and relevant conversations to me, my target audience and people that I want to engage with.

I can schedule messages – I know I have already said this, but seriously how great is it that I can share some great ideas to motivate and inspire business women, while being out and about working in my job motivating and inspiring business women! I love that, I  know us women are notoriously good at multi tasking but Hootsuite allows you to take that to a whole new level.

And now for a word of caution (because this a blog post not an indepth how to use Hootsuite lesson – although I do offers those since I’m so in love with social media!) Hootsuite is a tool to make social media easier, to make it fit into your busy life. It is not an alternative to listening to conversations, to interacting and RT-ing what others have to say. Its an accompanient.

And those that forget that, forget at their peril. People don’t want to be sold at in your tweets – its the fastest way to turn people off of you and stop engaging with you. The days of repeating your business promo literature are long gone!

So get in there and have a go – as I often tell newbies to social media success a) you can’t break it and b) you will always be learning and c) (if you get it right) you will love it too, for what it delivers to your business success.

I run social media workshops, 1 to 1’s and a ton of other stuff along side the work I do to support business women to get more customers and grow their business, so if you would like to power up your results, say hi at a Essex BWN event or give me a call for a chat – BTW I find a lot of time when you get your marketing message clear to the right target audience things start to slot into place rather nicely!

Mandie Holgate mandie@thebusinesswomannetwork.co.uk

07989 935556

When Life Gets In The Way….

New Year – New Life?

It must be the New Year! Suddenly, stories are everywhere of women making big transitions in their lives. I open Good Housekeeping, and there’s a piece on four women who successfully made it through their own personal transitions. One of them won a national triathlon just after she turned 50.

Another walked away from a six-figure salary in banking in order to teach prisoners to bake bread. A third became a guitarist in a rock band, and a woman who’d been made redundant set up her own business developing children’s products. In the Sunday Times Style magazine, there’s a piece about Martine Wright, who lost both her legs in the London tube bombings. Before the bombings, Martine was a marketing manager. Afterwards, she vowed to grab every opportunity that came her way, and now she’s part of the national women’s sitting volleyball team and hopes to be chosen to take part in this year’s Paralympics. Another article in Good Housekeeping features Natalie Ellis, who recovered from a mini-stroke to set up an international business designing and selling canine products. A measure of her success is that her non-spill dog bowl is used by the Obamas’ dog, Bo.

Of these six women, three chose to go through a transition – from being unfit to being a triathlon winner, from banking to bread-making and from yummy-mummy to rock guitarist – and three had a transition forced upon them. All six left their previous way of life behind and created a new one. Each of their transitions began with an ending, continued with a period of reflection when they weighed up possibilities and options for the future, and ended with a new beginning. That’s typical of transitions, and typical, too, is that sometimes they’re easy, and sometimes they’re difficult. It’s when you get stuck in the middle that a Transitions Coach can be really helpful!

Jan King is a qualified Life Transitions Coach with extensive experience of working with individuals, couples and groups. If you’d like to contact her, you can email her at jan@janking.co.uk or call her on 01787 222540 or on 07949 821 670. And you can visit her website at www.janking.co.uk

IFA’s need something extra special to benefit…..

Bridget Greenwood is not just our fabulous Norwich BWN coorindator, she is also a Go To Girl and with years of experiences in the financial industry as an IFA has created a tailor made course for IFA’s to benefit from social media, here Bridget explains why IFA’s need something extra special….

“As of 2012, we are amidst the baby stages of a similar social media age – parallel to the initial birth of the Internet, a revolutionary shift in how we communicate, seek, and obtain clients in the business world.

Social media is no longer an option. If you want to be competitive in your industry—it’s a “must”. 

Don’t let compliance and regulatory issues stop you from jumping on the social media bandwagon: According to many studies and surveys, compliance issues are the primary chains holding back the use of social media in the financial industry.

Given the monumental impact of social media, Go To Girls have designed this webinar to take you through the compliance issues and show you the strategies that you can use in your business as a financial adviser and start attracting more clients today.

The webinar is limited in space, to register now to ensure your spot Click here.

To learn more about Bridget Click here.

The Business woman that neglects her body neglects her business

The Business woman that neglects her body neglects her business. No it wasn’t Confucius that said that but Brenda Seaborn.

Brenda Seaborn from Banish Stress has worked for corporate clients such as • ACE • Magnox • BBC Essex • Colchester Borough Council • Colchester Hospital University Foundation Trust, working throughout North East Essex and Suffolk offering her unique corporate therapy days as part of company’s occupational health or team building events.  Brenda first hand sees the impact of neglecting the body.

“You can only for so long get away with not listening to your body, before you really start to suffer. So many times business women say to me, but I don’t have time. But if you end up in bed you will have no choice but to stop working, why wait for that to happen? With a bit of TLC to your body, listening to its needs and a bit of time out, you can ensure you are fit and well to always be there for your business.”

Brenda has run a busy, private practice from her home in Colchester since 1997; providing complementary healthcare to both individual and corporate clients. Corporate clients such as Sandra Meakins from Magnox said “She is always gladly, welcomed by our staff and provides them with nurturing respite from an otherwise hectic days work. She offers them a chance to offload, unwind and refocus; enabling them to continue their days work completely refreshed.”

Combining a wealth of therapies such as Reiki, Reflexology, Manicure, pedicure (don’t dismiss how relaxing and important your nails can be!) Indian Head Massage,  Holistic Facial Massage, Advanced Reflexology inc. Maternity & Fertility and teaching Reiki and meditation. Business women often forget to create space to unwind, de-stress, re-balance and look after their health or to speed up the healing process during or after illness, surgery or the loss of a loved one.

So Brenda (or Confusicious) is right the Business Woman that neglects her health neglects her success. Now’s the time to get THAT in your business plan!??!

To learn more about time out, relaxing and caring for Number 1 (because you so often are at the bottom of the pile!) Get in touch with Brenda – 01206 512280 Email: banishstress@ntlworld.com Website: www.banishstress.co.uk

What Can BWN Networking Do For You?

Elene Marsden comes to our Suffolk events. Elene cornered us at the end of the event this week to tell us what The BWN was doing for her business success. And we just love to hear that it’s not just business ideas, support, motivation and empowerment…..

I just love attending the Business Women’s Networking sessions. Networking for me is not all about making a sale, it’s about developing relationships and connecting with likeminded businesses. So when I attended the December BWN meeting in Essex I was especially pleased when Kathy Ennis from Ennvision listened to my 60 seconds promo slot about ACT and immediately placed an order with me.

Kathy had been looking for a way to organise her contact information, have all her emails stored in one place and most importantly she wanted a way to group her contacts for her marketing campaigns. She’d heard about ACT from Robert Craven, a business guru and was pleased to find she could buy the software from a fellow BWN member. I know Kathy is happy with her purchase and will tell her business associates about it.

Networking is all about planting the seeds and waiting for them to grow and sometimes they grow like sunflowers- fast and strong! And that’s the power of networking and in particular the BWN – serious networking for serious business people 

To learn more about getting your business cards organised (from that mountain on the edge of your desk!)

 http://www.betteractnow.com/uk/6ACTfacts.php http:/

/www.betteractnow.com/uk/DontBuyACTUntil.php www.corazonit.com www.youtube.com/elenemarsden

To Meet Kathy and learn more about what Kathy does – www.preparetogrow.co.uk 

Great that great networking gained Elene a client and Kathy solutions – love it!

What Can An Apprentice Do For Your Business?

Stuart Goudge from The Light Bulb got in touch, because they want to spread the news about how beneficial a apprentice can be to your business growth and success. To prove a point they sent us a testimonial from an Essex based business on the benefits. Not only good for your bottom line, but good for the local economy and community – now what’s not to like about that!

Mark Williamson from Floor Coverings Essex took on 2 Apprentices in 2011 and has given them both a glowing report and high praise:

 “When the guys started with us they had no knowledge of the floor industry.  They were shy around customers and struggled engaging them in conversation. In conjunction with TheLightBulb they have progressed so much and picked up so many new skills that have really helped the business.  After the different stages of training they relieved some of the pressure that comes with running a business and I now see them as assets rather than apprentices.  I can’t see why anyone would not want to take on an apprentice.  As well as providing an individual with a chance in life, from a business perspective you are seen to be doing something that adds values to people’s lives”. 

And the great thing is that at The BWN, your staff are able to access great training at every event – because every event includs a 45 minute workshop targetting a key area of business. So your staff can become effective communicators, networkers, great ambassadors for your company AND learn new skills and ideas to grow your business from us all for as little as £11 an event!

No wonder we are attracting new women in business every month!

To learn more about Floor Coverings Essex visit their website here – http://www.floorsessex.co.uk/index.aspx 

 To learn more about TheLightBulb apprentices visit their website or contact us –  www.thelightbulb.net TheLightBulb offer a large range of Fully Government Funded work based NVQ’s and Adult Apprenticeships in such areas as; Business Admin,  Customer Service, Beauty Therapy, Nail Services, Team Leader, Management

Survey Results 2011 – Benefits of BWN Networking to Business Women

 

Thanks for sharing with us what BWN networking does for you and your business – we look forward to doing a ton more to help you and your business success in 2012.

By The Way – Other included – motivating you, inspiring, supporting you, being there when you felt isolated and like no one understood what running a business was like and how tough it was – and included some great comments like:

Why Jill Poet backs Richard Branson’s Answer for Good Business.

If you missed our most recent newsletter then you missed Jill Poet from Organisation for Responsible Business Owners talking about how to stand out from the crowd and care for your community, the environment and it all be good for your business (that includes your bottom line.)

Thanks for sharing Jill…..

Will you stand out from the crowd in 2012?

Richard Branson has the answer! As he says: “Screw Business as Usual – Doing Good is Good for Business!”

The Organisation for Responsible Businesses is delighted to announce that Certified ORB Auditors across the UK are able to take businesses through The Responsible Business Standard. This auditable certification, validated by Anglia Ruskin University, is designed specifically for small businesses who want to demonstrate they are socially and environmentally responsible.

If you want to stand out from the crowd by demonstrating that you operate a “Good Business,” visit www.ResponsibleBusinessstandard.org.uk for more information.

Would you like your business showcased here?

Got some great news to share? A great idea?  A solution that all women in business should know about?

If you have the Business Premier Pack then send us your blog articles anytime – lovely pictures to support your story are always great – and we will be happy to share with The Business Womans Network world.

Aaaaa The Procrastinators are coming!

There seems to be this new breed of people – the procrastinators (sounds like something out of Star Trek doesn’t it?) A lot of business women describe themselves as procrastinators and search for ideas and ways to deal with what they procrastinate about because of the impact it can have on their business success.

If you find yourself exploring the realms of “procrastinator” what can you do to ensure it doesn’t get in the way of what you wish to achieve?

Firstly even procrastinators do not procrastinate about everything. They successfully get up and get dressed and drive a car to arrive at meetings, shops etc. This proves that they do not procrastinate about everything, just certain areas of their life.

What areas of your life do you procrastinate about?

What areas of your life do you always get on and achieve what you wish to?

If you can become aware of this you can start to address the obstacles that are there.

Be aware of the way you think. When we procrastinate we constantly reinforce what our mind has already said to us. “That job is going to take ages and is going to be a real headache” our mind tells us, and we allow it to increase these feelings by reinforcing them. So be aware of this and stop them in their tracks.

Do you even want it? Another reason that we put things off is because in actual fact it’s something that we do not even want. There are many external influences on our lives, from friends and family to media and the internet, it can be hard to listen to our internal voice. How many times have you thought something would be great and you have been shot down by someone and then gone on to dismiss it all together? Before you ask other people what they think debate the pros and cons with yourself and find out what you really want.

Are you procrastinating or are you subconsciously listening to your gut instinct?

Remember the sticker charts you gave your kids, or were given yourself? Ever thought about why they are so successful and popular? They work!

Visual stimulation works a treat with procrastination. If you know the area that you procrastinate in create your own sticker chart. (You don’t need to show anyone. You can stick it to the inside of your wardrobe.) Make it fun, if it makes you laugh when you stick a smiley face sticker (or our personal favourite the all hallowed Gold Star) on your chart when you actually do it, you are more likely to do it again. You are creating a subconscious link to being happy with getting the job done, and every sticker reinforces that.

Lastly when you succeed over the procrastinator in you, however small the accomplishment acknowledge it. Revel in your successes. These will reinforce that you can beat procrastination and achieve what you wish to.

Let us know how you get on and if you wish to discuss more ways to help you beat the procrastinators get in touch.