Top Alternative Investments for Today’s Business Women
Investing can provide an effective way to maximize capital and generate an additional stream of revenue. Of course, the trickiest part of investing is deciding exactly what to invest in and what level of risk to take. If you want to move away from traditional options, like stocks and shares, take a look at these three alternative investments that are ideal for today’s businesswomen:
1. Cryptocurrency
If you already have experience in Forex trading, investing in cryptocurrency could be a natural transition. Buying, selling, or holding digital currency allows you to increase your capital, providing the value of your currency rises. To do this, you will need a secure cryptocurrency wallet to hold your funds.
2. Seed Investments
Becoming a seed investor gives you the opportunity to grow your capital and use your business expertise to help other entrepreneurs succeed. Millions of startups are actively looking for funding and many of them present lucrative opportunities for the right investors. When you can use your professional experience to help grow the company, you increase the likelihood of generating an impressive return.
3. Peer-to-Peer Lending
As the financial industry evolves, people are borrowing money in different ways. Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending gives you the opportunity to loan funds to borrowers and to generate a return in the form of interest. Numerous P2P lending marketplaces are already up and running, so it’s easy to establish yourself as a lender. Furthermore, you can choose to lend as much or as little as you like, so you can familiarize yourself with the process before you decide whether to invest a significant amount.
Are Alternative Investments Risky?
The level of risk involved in alternative investments varies. P2P lending, cryptocurrency, and seed investing are considered relatively high risk but there are other alternative investment opportunities that are lower risk. Real estate is considered to be an alternative investment, for example, but is rarely seen as high risk.
Although many alternative investments do involve a moderate or high level of risk, this does mean that they can offer high returns too. While you may not want to invest all of your capital in a high-risk investment opportunity, it could be an effective way to diversify your portfolio and increase your returns.
Finding the Right Investment Opportunity
The right investment for you will depend on a number of factors, such as the amount you want to invest, the level of risk you’re comfortable with, and how quickly you want to withdraw your funds. If you’re unsure what type of investment is most suited to your needs, it’s well worth getting professional advice. By talking to a financial adviser or an investment manager, for example, you can create a bespoke portfolio that matches your goals and gives you the best chance of growing your capital.
Fantastic opportunity for your business – support young people back to work.
Here we hear from CAVS on their input into the Government’s new kick starter scheme, could you company benefit?
“25 hours of work per week will be paid for by the government to those companies who can provide high quality 6 month job placements for young people. This is a fantastic opportunity for employers who can create new opportunities within their business through the Kick-Start scheme.
CAVS, a not-for-profit charity and Council for Voluntary Services is joining the national effort to assist young people aged 16-24 into employment by supporting this initiative, with the ambition of being able to place 30 young people.
Employers from all industries and across the private and third sector are being encouraged to support this initiative and in the first instance by sending CAVS your expression of interest email.
CAVS assists many young people through our Family Mentoring Scheme and understand how important employment is to them in such difficult times. In registering your interest, you will be on the way to helping young people with potential to develop vital skills and experience, enabling them to move into sustained employment when the Kickstart funding ends.
Please send your expression of interest to: office@CAVSorg.uk by 27th October.
If you have any questions, please view the following link: https://kickstartrepresentative.com/how-the-kickstart-scheme-works/
or alternatively, ask the question when returning your expression of interest. Thank you.
We are always looking for ways to raise the profile of the services we offer so if you can assist in any way please do get in touch. We believe in supporting one another in these tough times.”
So do we CAV and we look forward to hearing which Essex business women get involved in this iniativive.
If you’ve an innovative idea on how we can help those that have been made redundant or are struggling to find employment please do get in touch. We have ways you can access our networking and business growth events for free or just a small donation and lots of other ways to upskills and stay positive which is so important.
Why I’ve networked with the BWN for 10 years…
Sarah Travers from Ajax Wealth Management was the second person to buy a 2021 Golden Ticket for our networking and business growth events. As we sent the invoice we noticed that Sarah has been networking with us since 2010!
We asked Sarah why she networked with us so much and this is the reply Sarah sent us.
“I have had the pleasure of being involved with the Business Woman’s Network for 10 years. Wow! That time has flown by and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Read on to find out why I still network with the BWN after all these years.
Support
One of the most important aspects for me is that the business women (and men) who regularly attend the BWN are incredibly supportive of each other. Whether that is helping with ideas, connecting with others, or simply just being a sounding board, the members are genuinely interested in each other’s businesses and want to help them thrive. Who wouldn’t want to meet people like that?
Mandie Holgate, who founded the BWN, also cannot do more to promote and support the BWN members. She has a passion for helping businesses to succeed and her energy and enthusiasm brings a real buzz to the meetings.
Education
As I am constantly telling my children, we never stop learning and the BWN meetings have excellent guest speakers covering a variety of subjects aimed to support people in business. I cannot think of a meeting where I have not learned something and always feel it is time well spent.
The confidential Insider group on Facebook is also a great place to ask questions, find resources, learn and grow without any selling at other members.
Fun and Friendship
Over the years I have got to know many lovely people that I have met through the BWN and consider them to be friends as well as business associates. Although the meetings are for serious business, they also have a generous helping of fun; one of the most memorable for me being a visit from Mary Poppins (aka Nicola Goodchild) who had us all feeling like slightly naughty, giggly children. Laughter really is the best medicine, even for serious business owners!
Networking That Works
When I first started networking, I would dip in and out, attend a meeting here and there then get too busy to attend. That doesn’t work. I am now a Golden Ticket holder for the Colchester events and make sure I attend every month. It takes time to build relationships and trust, that can only be achieved by being consistent, being yourself and being reliable.
Golden Ticket holders can also write for the BWN blog and attend other BWN meetings for a minimal fee. With the meetings being held virtually at present location is not important and I am getting to meet even more fantastic business owners.
If you haven’t tried networking, or have tried in the past but didn’t get anything from it, I wholeheartedly recommend you give the BWN a go, I’m sure you won’t regret it.
Sarah Travers, Independent Financial Adviser, Ajax Wealth Management
To learn more about our Golden Ticket click here
To join us on the confidential mastermind group click here.
Our events are virtual and are the 1st Wed, 2nd Thurs, 3rd Fri and 4th Thurs of every month. We also have exclusive events for our mastermind group – The Insiders that you can watch again whenever you like from top international speakers and business experts.
And Sarah’s investment with us this year has been £190!
The Paper Tax Self-Assessment Tax Return – What you need to know.
Here our Insiders Affiliate Simple Tax share essential advice…
The paper return deadline is this month, 31st October, therefore we thought it would be useful to invite Mike Parkes from GoSimpleTax to explain how best to prepare for the Self-Assessment tax return submission and file with confidence.
New comers to submitting Self-Assessment tax returns, should know it pays to know that there are three ways of filing. Firstly, you can submit via the HMRC site and receive instant acknowledgement post-submission. You can also use commercial software to do this for you. Or, you can send a paper tax return to HMRC in the post.
Whichever method you choose, it’s important to understand your exact responsibility. For those who are self-employed sole traders or Landlords letting out UK property, paper submissions can be complicated as they involve additional forms and documentation.
1. Be conscious of the deadline
Should you choose to file a paper tax return, don’t forget to file before the 31st October deadline. We would recommend sending your paper submission prior to the October deadline, either through recorded delivery or with some proof of posting in order to prove your compliancy.
If you miss the deadline for submitting your paper return, don’t be tempted to file it late – you have until 31st January to complete one online. Just don’t submit both. You will be charged penalties from the 1st February for any late submissions.
2. Organise supplementary pages
Remember, it isn’t enough to submit the main SA100 tax return. You need to bundle it together with the rest of your documentation that references your property or self-employment income.
For any income as a landlord, all that’s required is to file an additional form (SA105) and submit it alongside your regular Self-Assessment tax return.
However, with self-employment, the additional sections required of you could be either the SA103S or the SA103F. The difference between the two is that the former is for those who had an annual turnover below the VAT threshold for the tax year (£85,000 as of 2019/20), and the latter is for those who earn above the VAT threshold.
3. Be open to online and prepare for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
While you may have historically always submitted your tax return by paper, the vast majority of tax returns are now submitted online. Improvements in technology and the extra three months to file are the main incentives to submit an online tax return.
Having an online account with HMRC allows you to not only extend your filing deadline but also check your details at any time to see how much tax is due and act accordingly.
If you’re happy to tweak the way in which you keep your records and adopt digital record-keeping, this will help minimise admin further, as well as enable you to submit your tax returns and automatically calculate your tax.
Going forward as of April 2023 you will have to file your self-assessment digitally to HMRC providing updates every quarter via your digital platform.
Preparation is key, adopt the right approach now it could save both time and money, make the move to digital ahead of the deadline for MTD for Income Tax.
About GoSimpleTax
GoSimpleTax software submits directly to HMRC and is the solution for self-employed sole traders and anyone with income outside of PAYE to log all their income and expenses. The software will provide you with hints and tips that could save you money on allowances and expenses you may have missed.
Insider members receive a 10% discount off GoSimpleTax, simply register to trial the software and your discount code will be emailed to you. Not joined the Insiders yet? Join here.
Trial the software today for free – add up to five income and expense transactions per month and see your tax liability in real time at no cost to you. Pay only when you are ready to submit or use other key features such as receipt uploading.
A Guide To Record-Keeping And Expenses For Self-Employed Sole Traders
Whether you’re new or not to self-employment, record-keeping might sound like hard work. And while that may be true, it does come with its own reward – namely, that sole traders can claim back allowable expenses and pay less tax on their earnings.
HMRC has a number of rules about record-keeping though. Mostly, they relate to the storage of receipts and other documentation after you’ve filed your Self Assessment tax return for that tax year. By not adhering to them, you run the risk of losing out on any tax relief – or worse, being penalised by HMRC.
So, to ensure you get the tax-saving benefit of expenses, we’ve asked Mike Parkes from GoSimpleTax to set the record straight on record-keeping and provide guidance on how to claim.
What expenses can sole traders claim for?
There’s a whole host of expenses you can claim as a sole trader, and they can potentially net you big savings if you utilise all that are available to you. Generally, people are aware that equipment purchases qualify as expenses, but there are many others.
They include:
Travel and accommodation
As a sole trader you may have to cross up and down the country for long stints at a time, basing yourself near a site far from home. Luckily, HMRC considers hotel stays viable expenditure. The accommodation records (how long you’ve booked) should be as close as possible to the proposed timescale of the project you’re there to oversee.
You can also claim tax relief on mileage or travel bookings made over the year, as well as meals on overnight trips. To ensure you stay within the bounds of eligible allowances, it’s worth consulting the gov.uk website.
Legal and financial costs
- If you need to hire an accountant to support you in your venture, you can claim on their total costs. This may also be the case for any other professional services you may need for business purposes. Likewise, you can claim against bank costs such as overdraft and credit card charges. Costs like professional indemnity insurance premiums and lease payments can be claimed back, although there are rules if you’re using cash basis accounting.
Marketing costs
As you are using these services purely for the purpose of driving your business forward, HMRC will permit marketing exercises as eligible expenses. That’s great news for sole traders who use flyers to drum up work, for example, or need a website that advertises their services.
Clothing Expense
While you operate as a self-employed individual, you may also represent certain authorities when you’re caring for patients or vulnerable people. As a result, you may be expected to purchase a uniform or your own PPE.
Fortunately, you’re able to claim for it as an allowable business expense. Provided that what you’re purchasing is either a uniform or necessary protective clothing needed for your work, you’ll qualify for tax relief.
What’s more, if you need to purchase any additional PPE for your role (say, gloves and face masks), this is also considered an allowable expense.
Rent for premises
If you rent a space purely for business purposes, then that too can be classed as an allowable expense.
Utilities
If you work from home, you’re entitled to claim a proportion of your gas, electric, water, broadband and telephone bills as allowable expenses. There’s no exact science to this, but generally you’d divide the bill by the number of rooms in your house and then divide that figure based on the amount of time you work from home. The GOV.UK website has a good example. If that sounds too complex, then you can claim simplified expenses.
Subscriptions
If your freelance work requires you to pay a membership fee or would benefit from you purchasing a trade publication, these costs can be claimed back on. However, this does not extend to political party subscriptions.
These are just some of the examples of expenditure that you can claim on, but they highlight the wealth of opportunities available to all sole traders – provided they keep the relevant records. Claiming these expenses through your Self Assessment tax return helps to further reduce your tax liability and maximise your take-home pay.
Over on the Insiders we share their in depth advice on what records to keep, how long you must keep them for, how you should store this information and what HMRC would want from you if they launched an investigation. Essential knowledge for every business owner.
About GoSimpleTax
GoSimpleTax software submits directly to HMRC and is the solution for freelancers and the self-employed alike to log all their income and expenses. The software will provide you with hints and tips that could save you money on allowances and expenses you may have missed.
Trial the software today for free – add up to five income and expense transactions per month and see your tax liability in real time at no cost to you. Pay only when you are ready to submit or use other key features such as receipt uploading.
INsiders members receive a 15% discount – to get your discount code simply sign-up to try our software above and it will be emailed to you.
Not an Insider?
Networking doesn’t work!
How can one person walk out of an event and think “That was awesome and so good for business!”
And another walk out and think “What a waste of 2 hours, that did nothing for my business!”
How is that possible?
Who is right?
The BWN has hosted thousands of events across the East of England (and are now in London and Warwickshire too and we never thought we would say this but thanks to Covid 19 we are now seeing business owners from often 7 counties and 3 countries attending our events – recently we had guests from Ireland, Dubai, America, Sri Lanka, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgshire, Lincolnshire, Hertfordshire, London, Warwickshire and Kent!) Our events for women in business around networking and business growth and are now in our 12th year and yet we still hear comments from both extremes. (Mostly we hasten to add exceptionally positive ones with women saying it’s the one thing in the month they will never miss.)
So what makes networking powerful and how can you ensure it wasn’t a waste of two hours?
No one bought anything from me!
If no one is buying from you it is not the fault of the networking organisation, it’s your fault. (Sorry to be blunt) We actually heard someone say “The people in this group don’t spend money” and the very next conversation our coordinator had that day was with a woman in business who told us that she realised that in a year and half she had made just over £50k of sales from our network alone. (She is not alone in results like that we have members making over £100k of sales every year with us! Someone was definitely spending money!)
So how could it be so different for these 2 business women in the same room of people?
A number of things impact on your networking success for sales;
- You have to be comfortable with your price. If your prices are too low then you will
make people nervous that what you sell “isn’t very good”. Interestingly if you are comfortable with your price we rarely hear of a price that is too high, because if you know you offer an exceptional experience, care deeply about your customers, deliver exceptional standards and results, then people will pay. So yes, get comfortable with your price. (Interestingly it is often a conversation we see on the Insiders “I’m scared to put my prices up!” So if you are an Insider you can do some market research and test your pricing there confidentially.) If you aren’t comfortable with your prices, your potential customers won’t be either! Learn more about the Insiders click here. - You have to be comfortable with your product. Another reason that you aren’t selling (or people aren’t buying – depending on your viewpoint) is because you aren’t comfortable with what you offer. (Again the Insiders is somewhere we see people hone their offerings to get this just right.) If you are trying to sell something that no one wants then it’s going to be tough. On the other hand if you use your networking to carry out some market research with the people that you have grown to know, like and trust then you can hone your offerings to sell more. If you are comfortable with your products (and love them!) the passion will rub off on your network.
- You are there to build relationships not empires. Okay so we are more than happy to help you build
your empire (as big as you like!) but before you can build empires you need to build a network. And if you speak to the most powerful and successful women in the world they will tell you there biggest mistake they have made in their careers was that they thought they could stop networking. Networking builds relationships. It nurtures your reputation. It ensure people know who you are, what you do and why you do it. They are people you want to enable to see they can trust you and if you don’t turn up every month to every event, that can’t happen. As our Founder Mandie Holgate often says networking is a marathon not a sprint. (There are things you can do to speed up results, but you will need to turn up regularly to achieve great sales results and create new opportunities for your business.) - Control your brand. We hear people say “It’s so frustrating that people don’t get what we can do for them” it’s not other peoples job to understand what you do, it is your job to help people to appreciate how you can help. An elevator pitch is a great opportunity to break down the barriers to what people think about your business and your products. Again you need to do this every month to ensure that after each elevator pitch you can find out what people thought. Did they understand what you do? What didn’t they understand? What did they think it was all about? On the Insiders Facebook page you will find a great worksheet to help you ensure your sales pitch in the elevator pitch section is spot on and our Founders course on elevator ptiches – “Supercharge your 60 seconds – how to sell well in 60 seconds” has been proven time and time again to work. One business woman said she had only done half the course and was already selling more at networking events – Learn more and buy here.
- If you are not in the room, you can’t control the conversation around your business. We c
an not stand gossip. However we’ve heard conversations in the room like these “I hear they aren’t trading any more” “I hear they don’t do that any more” “I don’t think they work with people like you anymore” If you aren’t in the room, you can’t control the conversation. Gossip does happen so if you want your brand to be positively represented you need to be visible. Great networking enables you to visible. (Even if you aren’t talking a great deal!) And as a side note, as a good networker we have fed back to the business that wasn’t in the room the incorrect gossip that was being spread. It was most definitely not an easy thing to do however as a great networker you want to help your network achieve great things and you should want to protect their businesses too. We also don’t tolerate gossip or clickiness at our events and our coordinators are taught how to ensure our events remain inclusive for all. Some conversations are not easy in business, it does not mean you shy away from them. (Again it’s a great chance to build your reputation and credibility as business women appreciate how much you will stand up for and protect their business, their brand and their reputations.) - Listening. The business women that we see do really well are often the ones that don’t speak a lot about their needs or business. They are the ones that are actively listening. They are likely to be thinking “How can I help this person?”
“Who would it be good for this person to know?” “I will follow up with this person like this”To get the best out of networking know in the back of your mind what you want out of that networking event and then side step that to be on every other businesses agenda. - Follow up. Those that do well out of networking, follow up just the way they said they would. Building relationships is the most important thing you can do to grow your business and your network. The bigger the network, the more opportunities, the more potential clients, the more knowledge, etc, etc. Build your reputation as someone that can be trusted by doing what you said you would do. Create a clear follow up strategy that you stick to – our BWN success manual can really help with this. You can buy your copy here
- New. The business women that benefit the greatest from networking know that it is not just about sales, reputation and building strong relationships in a strong network. It is also about learning new skills and knowing what is going on in the business world. When we are busy and profitable as a business we can take the decision to drop the networking. However you can get as much benefit out of the free flowing conversations after the structured content as you can out of the masterclass because other business women will know what’s happening in the US (If it’s over there, it will be over here soon and you can be ahead of the wave!). You can find out about latest legislation that may have slipped by your offices attention. You can even find that another business woman faces exactly the same issues as you and have ideas on how to fix it. Stay in the office and yes the to do list shrinks, but you don’t get the opportunities that aren’t so clearly definable. And we’ve seen this first hand be the case for literally hundreds and hundreds of business women. As one business woman said to us, “Yes the BWN helps me makes sales, but it also keeps me sane and stops me from living and working in a bubble!” We love how we saw 2 Tropic Ambassadors in a virtual networking event give advice to a new Tropic Ambassador on how to sell more – all in the same company, should be considered as competition, all working together – that’s powerful networking!
- In it to win it. It will always make us a little sad to see someone attend for 3 months
(a whole 7.5 hours of their 90 (ish) days) and get to know people and then they don’t make it one month, no big deal right? Except that is the month that the person you’ve had a general chit chat with has decided they are ready to buy and you aren’t there! The FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is real on this occasion! We’ve seen so many business owners miss out from VA’s, Accountants and printers, to cosmetics companies, web designers to residual income opportunities. It’s shocking how easy it happens and depressing how easy it is to fix. If you are going to network, network every month and don’t let anything move it. It is as important as any other aspect of your business. You wouldn’t miss seeing the dentist, would you? Why because you want to look after your teeth all of the time.
So can a network be good for one and not another? We think there is enough space for all of the networks and that ensures every business owner can network in a style that suits them. We also think that some business women don’t appreciate the full value of networking to grow a successful business and alas as the saying goes “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” And for us, our careers have rocketed since we networked regularly at The BWN and yet we never miss the events we say we will attend. We know the true value of networking and how to maximise the benefits for you too. We are happy to have a chat about that anytime so you can get maximum benefit too.
If you are struggling we have the following additional learning to help your business;
Course – How to find your target audience and get them buying
Course – How to rocket your confidence
Course – Highly effective ways to rocket sales with no cost / low cost marketing strategies.
Course – Supercharge your 60 seconds.
Course – How to be a powerful successful public speaker – anywhere!
Course – Foundation blocks to a highly successful business.
Book – Your Daily Dose of Business Woman’s Confident And Success
Book – Fight the fear – how to beat your negative mindset and win in life.
Book – The BWN Networking Success Manual – the genius book to get the most out of networking.
Book – Taking Control of your mind – lifehacks to resilience, confidence and success.
You can learn more and buy the courses here.
And you can buy the books here.
This article was written by Mandie Holgate, Founder of The Business Womans Network, International speaker and author, her books are highly acclaimed by business leaders, leading authors, a good few celebrities and business owners around the world. Fight the fear (the book that looks at the top 12 fears that impact on success) and Taking Control Of Your Mind are just 2 of the must read books that make business and success easier. You can meet Mandie at the Colchester and Braintree events and she pops into as many events across our network as she can each month now delivering an hour free of coaching and mentoring for all of our guests. Mandie is happy to connect with all women in business so feel free to do this via her website – www.mandieholgate.co.uk
Essex Business Woman’s unique business As Seen On TV!
As you may know we pride ourselves on being as passionate about your success as you and we aim to prove that to as many women in business as possible. Our Insiders are a small group of 90 business women that work together 24/7 when and how they want to grow their businesses and learn new skills to top up what they get from our face to face networking events and business growth events. Here we hear from Amanda Rutland from Gorgeous Gourds, a more unique business you may struggle to find!
What made you set up your business?
I loved my hobby & friends & family liked what I did & as my house was being overrun with gourds…..
How many years have you been in business?
Officially 1 year but I’ve been gradually growing & making for about 4 years now.
What do you love most about running your own business?
Doing something I love with a passion & selling to people who love what I do.
What do you hate most about running your own business?
Paperwork and trying to get my name out there to the people who would buy my art.
What benefits do you get from networking?
Still very new to this so not sure.
What would you say your greatest skill is? (Be honest you have lots!)
Difficult one this…. maybe my imagination & the fact there is so many aspects to creating a lamp, I can do most of them!
What was the reason that you decided to be a member at The BWN?
To meet other ladies who share the same struggles & share what we do.
What do you see the future holding for your business?
My ultimate goal would be for my partner & I to give up our jobs & do the gourds full time.
Who would it be good to for you to know?
Interior designers, anyone who would appreciate & afford my work!
We love Amanda’s honest answers. And will do all we can to help you make them a reality Amanda.
Did you know we helped members buy their first house, buy their first premises, take on their first staff and even quit their day job!
What could we help you to achieve?
Bring us your big ambitions and we will do all we can to ensure you get to meet the right experts to help you achieve your business dreams.
If you would like to feature in this interview that is promoted across our social media and in our newsletters, get in touch. We just ask that you have a Golden Ticket, sponsor the BWN website or are an Insider. We would love to write about you too!
The BWN Love your business – here’s why
Here we hear from a member on why they love the BWN after all these years of being with us.
Why do you love the BWN so much?
There are many reasons that I love the BWN so much, I had never been to a networking event of any kind and
the BWN was my first foray into this world. Initially for me it was the timing and the financial aspects that appealed, that was before I got to know more about the ethos of BWN. So many other networking groups run very early in the morning (not suitable when you’re a single mum that needs to get children to school) and often come packaged with some rather steep membership fees and rules. The fact that the BWN doesn’t charge a membership and doesn’t incur a penalty if you can’t make a meeting is the flexibility that I need to have.
How does it help your business?
The BWN has helped me in so many areas of my business. The biggest, aside from the natural progression of gaining new customers, is it has helped my confidence levels rise in general which has helped me enormously with my work. Just this week I hosted my businesses regional monthly meeting with around 40 people, I would never have said yes to doing this had I not had the positive experiences with the BWN.
For what reasons do you love being involved?
I wanted to try get involved to develop and push my own personal skills further. Public speaking has always been something that has filled me with dread, even the 60 second pitches would scare me. Rather than running away from something that made me uncomfortable I knew that the only way I could get better was to face it head on and actively look to improve myself by taking on new challenges. I love being with the BWN business men and women because it’s a great morning, filled with relevant information that is key to them not only in business but on a personal level too. Being able to connect women who could really help each other out is a great feeling.
Would you recommend it to business women (and men!) and why?
It’s helped me to grow as a person and develop my skills. Being totally honest, there were moments when I wondered why on earth I had taken this on, and thought there were some things that a technophobe like me would never get the hang of! However there was, and continues to be as much support as I need in order to make a success of it. I would recommend to any business women who is thinking getting involved with BWN networking events and our mastermind group to stop thinking, and start doing! Obviously it is great for raising your own profile, but the biggest reward for me is helping other business men and women and helping my own business too.
What is your best/happiest moment of hosting a BWN event?
My first ever event was in November 2018, and I was terrified! But I was also excited! 
It went brilliantly, and for the first time I allowed myself to believe that I could actually do this! But my happiest moment from being involved with the BWN has got to be when I was poorly in December 2018. Mandie sent me a video clip of all the BWN ladies singing, just for me as I couldn’t be there due to my incarceration in the local hospital. For me it sums up the true ethos of the BWN. Yes, we are all about business, and effectively helping each other, but we are also about looking out for each other, and that for me is where it all begins.
Google My Business – your how to guide courtesy of Kate Everett – Colchester networking event
We are keen to ensure our speakers at our events never sell at you and deliver high quality business and professional development ideas and solutions for women in business. We are already lining 2020 speakers and if you know of one you’d love to see at The BWN please do get in touch.
Here Kate Everett from TWI talks about Google My Business for women in business. It was fascinating and really useful stuff. Let us know how you get on and already over on the Insiders we are looking at ways to maximise on this. Not in yet? You can learn more about our confidential mastermind group here. It’s 24/7 and it’s epic – not our words, the Insiders!
Change and your success – How the inside impacts on the outside
Here our Founder Mandie Holgate shares some top tips on the impact of what is going on in your head and how it can even damage sales and networking success;
If you feel good you do good. In a lousy mood? Feeling fat or ugly? Trust me it can massively impact on your results.
Sometimes we deal with the outside of our body to try and make ourselves feel good however if we don’t deal with the way we feel about ourselves on the inside then the results will fade and you won’t sustain the results.
To look great on the outside you have to feel great on the inside. Here’s a quick top tip guide to feeling great all the time;
- If you want to change something about yourself, before you do anything, question the reason why.
What is your foundation for wanting to make this change?
Is it a realistic change that you wish to make?
What would you gain from it?
What feelings do you connect with the way you currently feel about this and how do you think this would change?
Answering these questions not only analyses your reasons for wanting to change, to establish if there is an underlining cause to your desire for change, but also when you know these answers you can ensure that you use methods to pull on the emotional strings that affect you to maintain momentum when working towards achieving your new goal.
If you are a member of our mastermind group you will know I ask a lot of questions. Questions help you understand what is really going on instead of what someone wants you to think is going on. That’s when change and success really happen.
2. Know the person you really are.
We all want to fit in and be liked, but when you understand the person you are it can help you appreciate your unique skills and the qualities that you possess. When you admire these in yourself you can truly appreciate the person you already are. It’s not vanity it’s a quick route to success. Shhh you don’t need to tell anyone!
3. We all have rough days, but it’s not the day’s fault, it’s just the mood that you are in that makes the day seem worse – so acknowledge that.
Know what really makes you happy (and not just a glass of wine or a bar of choccy!) Inside the larder cupboard, or somewhere else prominent, put pictures that make you smile, postcards to remind you of happy holidays, drawings the children did, anything that breaks your moods pattern for a split second. And if all else fails get those endorphins flowing and that can be done with more than just chocolate!
4. To feel fantastic on the inside we need to feel loved, appreciated and valued. Do you?
If not what can you do so that you do?
When we do not feel these things it can directly affect the way we feel about ourselves. So what do you need to do?
We often hear that no matter how busy, no matter how sick you won’t miss our events? Why?
Because we boost your confidence, make you feel loved, appreciate your time and help you remind yourself of why you rock. Never forget that your network is not just about gaining sales and new business it’s also about keeping you motivated, inspired, supported, focused and accountable.
As our Insiders will tell you they know they’ve a safe space to talk about anything and appreciate how much they are valued 24/7. It’s essential in business to know where you can get good quality support and advice.
5. What inspires you?
When you feel inspired you feel passionate and fulfilled. When this happens very little can affect our self esteem and our self confidence. So ask yourself this and get connected to what really matters to you. If you are struggling there are lots of articles on mindset, confidence and resilience over on my website – they are strategies that work – help yourself here.
We hope this quick read inspires you and supports a motivated getting results day. Need more support? Then get in touch, we are here to help you and the Insiders is our 24/7 mastermind group where magic happens!