Molly Olly’s Wishes
Charities are really struggling thanks to Covid-19. Here our Warwickshire coordinator Amanda Miller shares why Amanda has chosen Molly Olly’s Wishes STELLA WOMEN – Rachel Ollerenshaw
Amanda Miller and the Warwickshire The BWN group are raising awareness of Molly Ollys Wishes, a local charity founded by Rachel Ollerenshaw. Amanda is aiming to arrange a Promises Auction later in the year.
Rachel and her husband Tim set up the charity after their daughter, Molly lost her fight with Wilms Tumour in 2011. She was just 8. They had spent a large part of the preceding 5 years in and out of hospital, and Molly wanted to help other children who did not have the support that she and her family had.
Money raised helps support children from birth to 18 and their families who need additional help to ease the burdens of living with a terminal or life threating illness.
Learn more about their activities at http://www.mollyolly.co.uk And you can join their online world too. Even sharing their posts can help them raise their profile.
At this time you may not be able to give money but you can give time. Maybe share a few posts, like their pages, if you have skills in IT, admin, social media, PR, blogging, marketing, fund raising – give just 1 hour a month. That could mean the difference between your local charities being here in 6 months time and them closing their doors.
Advice to stay motivated, productive and grow despite Covid – 19
Here our Founder Mandie Holgate shares two articles on how to stay positive, be productive (and probably get more done) what warning signs to look out for and how to cope with home working. For good measures Mandie has added some ways you could actually grow your business despite this tough global situation.
We’ve all seen tough times but this is possibly unprecedented so we are upping the content we create to help you learn new skills, stay positive, access high quality proven experts to help you and your business find practical ways to survive and thrive.
Read Corona Virus and working from home – how to stay motivated, productive and achieve more here.
Read Corona Virus and practical support for your small business here.
Don’t forget we also have a webinar series over on the Insiders.
Could Covid-19 effect your cyber security?
As Covid-19 takes its grip on small businesses around the world, your data security could be at greater risk.
Jayne Meek from Spritzmonkey shares some guidance on safer homeworking for businesses.
https://www.spritzmonkey.com/blog/2020/3/18/coronavirus-and-homeworking
Jayne attends our Suffolk and Essex events and is happy to answer questions. If you have concerns around any aspect of your personal and professional life right now and we will find an expert to share some ideas and top tips. Stay safe, lean on your network, ask for help and let us know how we can help.
We’ve lots of ways and most of them are free or very low cost.
Covid 19, Importing & Small Business – is it all bad news?
Chris Murphy from Tide attends our Essex events. Chris has big ambitions to support local small businesses with his “Ethical” approach to importing. Here Chris shares his own personal views on Covid – 19 and our businesses.
We appreciate the situation is changing very fast with this pandemic and as such wish to confirm these views were shared on Wednesday 11th of March.
As international authorities track COVID-19 through Europe, even the most affected countries such as Italy are reporting incidences of less than 0.02% of the total population with a death rate of just 0.001%.
Of course people must be responsible and vigilant in order to limit the spread of any disease, particularly at this time of year. But amidst the panic one very important part of the jigsaw is being omitted from the information we are receiving through the media. In order to understand the potential consequences of this pandemic in this part of the world should we not be focusing on it’s origin – China?
- How has the situation been handled there?
- What has been the effect?
- And most importantly, what is the situation there now?
I work with China on a daily basis, I talk to colleagues and friends throughout the country constantly. The situation took hold around 6 weeks ago, action was taken and, from where I’m sitting, things now seem to be returning to normal.
Working in the shipping industry you start to notice patterns in global trade. The UK is a consumer economy and by monitoring import volumes from China at the point of departure it is possible to successfully forecast peaks and troughs in British economic fortunes several months ahead of official reports.
February / March is always a slow time for global trade due to the impact of the Chinese New Year holiday, when nothing ships from China for around 2 weeks in late January / early February.
Businesses have learned to factor this in to their plans and forecasts. The Coronavirus situation effectively extended the Chinese New Year holiday period by around 2 weeks this year, since then there has undoubtedly been further delays and disruption but now, as the spread of the virus in China subsides, trade is starting to move again.
After CNY, Tide would normally expect to receive the first stock from China at our warehouse in Essex around mid to late March. As it is, this year we are now expecting shipments to start arriving in mid April.
Sure we’ve got a few tough weeks in front of us but the light at the end of the tunnel is booked on a ship from Ningbo next week!
I fully expect this outlook to be reflected in the wider economy; Coronavirus will be one of those situations that we look back on and learn from.
Take care of yourselves but don’t panic!
Thanks for sharing your view Chris. We are now actively looking to collect your thoughts and fears around Covid 19. In light of this research we are putting together a series of online training opportunities specifically aimed at supporting you through this tough time with international speakers!
This will all be accessible on the Insiders which remains at £5 a month so it is accessible to all.
Complete survey here – feel free to share this survey so we can help more business owners.
Happy International Women’s Day – a word from our founder
Mandie Holgate didn’t mean to set up the BWN, but it was a lucky accident that came from a conversation with a local newspaper that has shaped her career.
When you considered first experienced success as one of the UK’s youngest bodyshop managers in the automotive industry it is a ironic twist of fate that she set up The BWN.
Here she shares how we can all play a part in International Women’s Day – men, women and children and the benefits it could bring to you, your business, communities, charities and even help save lives.
Business Cards, Data Protection and Networking – What you need to know.
We do our best to put the finest quality experts in front of you our business women (and increasingly business men) because we want to ensure whatever the law or the trend you are bang up to date.
Here Robyn Banks from Adavista shares some essential information for every business owner around data protection legislation, networking and business cards.
I have recently been made aware that there’s still a lot of misunderstanding about the impact of the UK data protection legislation on businesses, particularly when business owners are networking.
At The BWN I know they strive to ensure that they act appropriately with the data they hold on behalf of their members and contacts. (I’m The Data Protection Specialist that Mandie Holgate – Founder of The Business Womans Network and her team use for their own compliance.) The success and building of the businesses of our “members” is fundamental to our ethics and every month I network with The BWN I do my best to ensure everyone is getting it right.
As a data protection implementation specialist I know how the law is supposed to work however I can also see how complicated and confusing it can appear for business women.
When Mandie and I spoke recently I decided to write this article to give some guidance to remind business owners of the protocols around networking and business cards. (These are the “rules” that I help The BWN, Mandie and her team follow.)
Networking is big business in today’s corporate world as we all strive to take our place in the workplace. For many small business owners (and even some larger corporates) networking and learning about other people’s businesses and how they can complement our own is a vital, or even the only, marketing tool we use.
To help a person remember us and what we do, we hand out business cards at networking events. A business card holds personal data as defined in UK data protection legislation, including the UK Abridged “GDPR” – but the concepts around the protocols of utilising this data have been around in previous legislation too –namely the Data Protection Act 1998. The new legislation of May 2018 did not change these protocols.
If I am given a business card at a networking event, then that is “consent” from the individual to contact them and either
a) seek more information on what they do.
or
b) market my services to them.
This I can do once without seeking further consent from them. If they do not wish to receive further information from me, then they should send a polite email asking me to desist from sending them “stuff”.
If I ignore this request and send more, they should ensure I have received their request to stop! If I have and still persist in sending them information, then they have the right to take this further with the supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
ICO are very unlikely to take any action, even investigate, if the person has not “unsubscribed” and ensure I have received the “unsubscribe”!
I was at a BWN event recently where the respect for data was taken even one step further – and for the record, it was not just because I was there!
One lady present at the event really did not feel comfortable being included in any of the photos taken by the event photographer – and so she wasn’t. No fuss, just noted and no follow up needed as no pictures of the lady concerned have been included in any of the “publicity” for the event. That’s respecting Data.
The key point here is to be professional and not use a misunderstanding of the law to “put down” others – especially competitors. However well meant it just causes aggro and can be avoided if everyone respects the protocols in the first place.
Let me sign off by saying that there are still a lot of business owners out there who think they have the premium knowledge on data protection impacts on business – only to show themselves up as non-professional in their approach. This then impacts more on their business than those they are trying to “harm” as it damages their credibility and reputation more than those they were trying to be clever about.
Data protection is not a new thing, business owners need to be interested in it, is. If in doubt ask an expert not someone that “heard a talk once.” I find that the companies (and I include Mandie’s here) that get it right easily are those that were already getting it right.
I know that The BWN does not add people to it’s data base and uses platforms like Mailchimp to ensure when they do get in touch they are doing it in an ethical, professional and legal way – something that the law now looks to enforce, I feel that the smart businesses already have a respectful approach and that makes my job easier!
I attend many BWN events and I’m happy to have a chat anytime. I will also be one of the experts on hand on the 20th of March at The BWN’s 11th birthday so feel free to pose questions on the day too.
Networking & Collaboration In Action
We love it when Golden Ticket members* write for our website. It’s a great chance for us to see networking and business from women in businesses viewpoint.
Here Helen Clyde and Alexandra Stanley share why collaborating with other businesses doesn’t always mean you are obliged to buy each other’s product and why that’s good for business.
We met back in late 2019 at The BWN event in Colchester and immediately made a connection.
We met again in January and set a date in the diary to meet for lunch.
During our conversation we learnt about each other’s businesses and how our week had been, which then led to brainstorming ideas on how we could support each other.
“Alexandra mentioned that she was looking to set up social media workshops that gave business owners an overview of the basics to get them started for an affordable price. Social media is an area that I needed to up my game so I realised that with my Utility Warehouse team and local business owners that I knew, I could help make this happen. I offered my home as a venue to keep costs down and off I went inviting people to attend” Helen.
“Our meeting was successful. I had this idea for the workshops and together we turned it into a reality. Once Helen had sent the invitations, I set up a WhatsApp group for those people to communicate with. Helen had kindly offered a free venue with tea and coffee thrown in which I was grateful for as this is often a stumbling block when setting pricing. The turn-out was great, we had a room of seven business owners all looking to improve their Social Media skills and the buzz was electric.” Alexandra.
We both gained from this experience. Helen improved her Social Media knowledge and went away with an action plan and Alexandra had the opportunity to deliver something she had been looking to expand into within her business.
“On the day a couple of people were unable to attend so Helen offered for me to have her house as a venue again. She then wrote a recommendation on my Facebook business page which resulted in more of her connections wishing to join the next workshop”. Alexandra
When attending networking events, you don’t always have to feel obliged to buy from the people you connect with as there are lots of ways that you can still support each other. Having a 1:1 with someone can result in so much more.
If you would like to find out more about our collaboration, please feel free to get in contact with either of us.
Helen Clyde – Utility Warehouse – 07789 000209
Alexandra Stanley – Alexandra Stanley Social Media – 07769 805579
We love that Helen and Alexandra are seeing the deeper level of benefits of networking in their business. In our experience we often see what starts out as a 1 to 1 and then a little bit of partnership can quickly escalate into some great opportunities.
Getting to know other business owners is an important part of networking and you can always arrive early or leave late and sit and have lunch and get to know people at our events. We won’t disturb you.
Helen from Utility Warehouse is exhibiting at our 11th Birthday event on the 20th March.
With a Golden Ticket it is just £13.50 to exhibit and without it is £35 and that includes 1 ticket. To learn more click here
*Anyone that walks through the door is a member, with a golden ticket you get discounts on attending our events, all BWN offers and a chance to write for our blog free of charge. To book your Golden Ticket for 2020 speak to your coordinator or head here.
“Eek I’ve booked to attend a BWN event and now I’m full of nerves and anxiety about it!”
We hear this a lot and we want to share with you some tips, useful information and ideas so you love The Business Womans Network too.
- Our Founder Mandie Holgate used to be so scared of networking if she could get herself in the room of “grey suits” she needed every great song on in the car, her best heels and to really work on her own mindset to get in the door before she even could work out what she was supposed to say when networking! The 60 seconds was a whole new level of fear that would see Mandie pretending she had an “urgent call from school, so sorry, miss me out” So when we say we know networking fears, we really mean it! And that is why we work hard to ensure you enjoy every second at the BWN, a popular statement we hear at our events is “I wasn’t going to attend today but I’m so glad that I did!”
- That is why at the BWN we have a policy that all coordinators are actively taught “Watch the door!” All our coordinators have a clipboard and they hang out at the door ready with a smile. So, they can greet you and share with you how the morning will run.
- When they greet you, they will say something like “Lovely to see you today, did you book online? No worries I can send you an invoice, could I get your business card or your email address? If you’d like to make yourself at home, you can put your coat on any chair, tea and coffee are there and the Business Promo Table is there feel free to add your business literature just ensure you take it when you go. We sit down at 10.30 and I will guide you through the morning”.
- We know a big source of fear and anxiety is around the dreaded 60 seconds. Why is it everyone else looks at home and is brilliant and you feel like a 4-year-old bumbling over your words! Fear not, Mandie had a phobia of public speaking and knows how to fix it. Mandie coaches businesswomen in how to overcome that fear of public speaking and speak at international conferences so we have lots of top tips to help you overcome your fear too. Your coordinator will ask “Would you like a 60 seconds slot to speak with the audience?” And if you don’t want it, don’t have it. We do encourage you to stand up and say something like “Hello my name is…. And I’m pleased to be here today.” Break down your fear anyway that suits you – and we will help you too. But if you really don’t feel up to it, your coordinator will ensure you don’t speak. There is no issue with this at all. We want you to feel happy and relaxed while networking with us. It is a popular (scary!) activity on the Insiders getting businesswomen to go live and deliver a 60 seconds so they can get feedback, practice and learn to feel comfortable and confident talking about their business.
- Tell your coordinator you are nervous. They will either encourage you to “Stick with them” or introduce you to a regular attendee. Our regulars want you to feel at home. So, they are quick to befriend people. We are very familiar with New people being nervous and want you to enjoy your time with the BWN – it’s easier to make sales and talk business that way.
- No clickyness policy. It is actually written into our Coordinators Handbook that we don’t tolerate clickyness. If you are on the inside it can feel great to be part of the cool crowd but we aren’t on the playground and it all it does is isolate people. Being in business is isolating enough so we work hard to ensure you never experience it at the BWN.
- Prepare a 60 seconds – even if you don’t want to speak it will help you focus your mind on what to talk about and give you a place to start.
- Good questions to rehearse so you don’t have to do the talking and can relax a bit include “Have you been attending the BWN for long?” “This is my first time do you have any advice for me?” The obvious is “What do you do?” but don’t feel you’ve got to start there. Some amazing sales have taken place because a businesswoman has said “I love your brooch…” What questions could feel natural to you that are open questions.
- Don’t feel obliged to talk. Being in a group of business owners, just listening is a great way to get to know people. Ask for their business cards so you can get to know them online. Our members are very active on our social media and it will help you feel more connected to the group before next time. (You can find all of our social media on our site – do get involved and share your news and blog articles.)
- Post to the Facebook event. Say something like “I’m attending The BWN for the first time, any advice for me?” or “Looking forward to meeting you all – it’s my first time!” People will be keen to support you.
- It is very important to us that if you don’t feel completely at home you tell us. If you are nervous to do that then you can email our Founder. Mandie set up the BWN because she wanted us to be an inclusive organisation helping women in business achieve what they truly wanted to without the big price tag – so if you don’t get that feeling from day one we want to learn. Email our Founder here.
And that is the important thing to remember. As businesswomen we are naturally supportive and caring and want others to benefit from the things we benefit from. That is why increasingly we see businessmen at our networking events because they know they can be honest, network, gain business and learn new skills.
You can’t learn new ideas for your business if you are petrified so congratulations for being honest, we will do all we can to ensure you feel right at home in no time. And then you will be one of the smiley people watching the door for Newbies too!
Dear Boris Johnson, we’ve a free way to help women in business…
We are lucky enough to work closely with NatWest and their regional Business Growth Enablers. You don’t even have to bank with them to experience their genuine passion for women in business (and no we aren’t getting paid to write this!)
So when NatWest told us about the Alison Rose Review we wanted to know more. It makes for shocking and worrying reading for women in business and so when we heard Boris was keen to support this intiative and make big changes a reality for business women in the UK, we had a few thoughts we wanted to share.
So Boris, what do you think?
“Dear Boris Johnson,
We welcome your address for more female entrepreneurs. Many can recite facts on the importance of women setting up their own businesses and scaling them. And many will be able to cite what stands in their way.
While many will tell you Mr Prime Minister that we need more investment and more initiatives and more and more and more, take a moment to look at success stories already happening around the UK. And you can see that what needs to happen is a lot simpler (and a lot more cost effective.)
The Business Womans Network was established in 2009 to help women in business do the very things you look to achieve. The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship that was bought to our attention by local NatWest Business Growth Enablers who have supported our work for many years, highlights many of the issues that we see impacting on a woman’s ability to thrive in business. And we know first hand what impacts on women in business and have been helping to obliterate those obstacles with great success.
You are looking to help women;
- Set up businesses.
- Scale up businesses.
- Take on staff.
- Take on premises.
- Challenge themselves to go for big contracts.
- Create innovative solutions that enable the UK to be at the forefront of industry and technology.
- And a lot more besides.
We saw your speech at Make Business Your Own event filmed by Oscar Fairchild and know exactly what you are talking about when you mention the fear of failure. Our Founder Mandie Holgate has a book that has been translated into 5 languages that looks at the 12 biggest fears that impact on success and a whole chapter is dedicated to the fear of failure. Our members know how to override that fear, have faith in their capabilities and access the support they need to ensure they achieve. It is a big part of our ethos and mission.
If you are looking to help create 600,000 female entrepreneurs and help the UK Economy to the tune of £250 billion we are here to say we can help, and best of all it is not going to cost you a single penny.
As hard as it has been at times, we’ve never had a membership or increased our prices since 2010, so that we are accessible to all women in business. We should register as a CIC or charity however all coordinators also run their own businesses so we concentrate on getting results for our members and our own businesses.
We were ridiculed for being a “Bunch of women sat around drinking coffee” when one business woman in the room makes over £100k of sales through just 1 event they attend in 2019 we would say that is one hell of a coffee!
We don’t want any money, just to show you how we are helping women and how easy that is to replicate to help your mission. We help women to;
- Have courage and overrule that negative voice in their heads that says “You can’t do this.”
- Access some of the Top speakers and business leaders in our masterclasses to help them be inspired, motivated and empowered and learn new skills to ensure they are always ahead of the game.
- If childcare lets our members down and their children aren’t poorly they are welcome to attend our events, because we believe their children are the next generation of entrepreneurs and we want to “Get in there early” to ensure they start young with the entrepreneurial can do mindset. We have offered our services to local schools, alas apparently this is not their focus?
- We are lucky enough to have had MP’s, Councils, investors, funders and banks that have wanted to know how they can support our members with many attending on a regular basis so our members feel confident to discuss their financial needs.
- We share local and national events that could be good for business even those that are considered our competitors – our ethos is that if it is good for business, then we want business women to know about it – this includes initiatives from WE Connect and the NHS Entrepreneurial Programme (which our founder Mandie Holgate has been a speaker and mentor for as well.)
- Our members know how to communicate powerful to get the best out of networking and opportunities for business.
We are keen to launch in new areas and all we ask from you, is that you tell people we exist and if you’d like you could come along to see what our women are achieving.
Our members (anyone that walks through the door is a member) achieve all the things you are looking for women in business to do and a lot more.
On top of the essential skills that women are considered to need we build confidence and create the mindset that ensures that no matter what we know we can survive and thrive in business.
We are inclusive organisation and so business men often attend too. And if childcare lets our members down then they are welcome to bring them along (just to be mindful during our masterclasses – since our speakers are exceptional and include international entrepreneurs, TV presenters, best selling authors and top Forbes 100 writers.)
We actively encourage public sector organisations to attend and offer discounts to charities so they don’t miss out too. Ensuring people learn best practices. As mentioend in the Rose Review we are keen to promote all opportunities for women in business and so have a Business Ops Slot at every event sharing local and national opportunities too.
600000 female entrepreneurs is worth 250 billion to UK economy and all we ask to help us help more female entrepreneurs is tell people we exist. We are happy to supply you with 100’s of successes stories to showcase to you this is not about a coffee morning!
Thank you for your time Mr Johnson, we hope you will get in touch.
Best wishes,
Mandie Holgate and the growing BWN team.
01206 381482
07989 935556
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