Business Growth – Page 2 – The Business Woman's Network

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Nicky West suffolk BWN networking coordinator and photographer

All change in Suffolk

All businesses go through change and our organisation is no different. In fact we actively look to hear from every woman in business that attends our Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk events to know what you want and if we are delivering it. (And our apologies if we are not in your region yet, we would love to be in your area, so get in touch to learn about getting paid to network.)

Therefore when Linda had to step down from our stunning Ickworth House, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk events it was a quiet moment in the BWN offices. Mandie instantly decided that we had been supporting the success of women in business in this area for over 4 years and we didn’t want to see it stop. So Mandie hosted our September event and announced “Who would like to get paid to network?”

2 offers came forward on the day so we never got to spread the opportunity to the wider community (further proof you have to be in it to win it!) and we are delighted to welcome Nicky West, a corporate Suffolk based photographer to the team. Nicky said “I’ve decided to become a BWN co-ordinator! Let me sum up why. I believe networking is a wonderful way to empower and connect local business owners to be inspired by and inspire each other, in a friendly supportive environment, and I’m so excited to be a part of that process and grow my own business along the way too!”

We are very happy to welcome you Nicky and look forward to seeing your fabulous images and hearing your 2019 plans.

We have more exciting news coming soon and if you would like to learn more about joining the growing BWN team, we would love to hear from you. Just complete the contact us form or give us a call.

Looking For Creative Inspiration – How To Find It!

I know that for Insiders the issue of coming up with great content and what to write comes up a lot. Have you ever found yourself sat in front of the screen and thought “I’ve got 2 hours to come up with the content here, why can’t I think of anything?”

“I only need to think of the name for this and I can crack on, why won’t my brain work!”

“Aaaaa I haven’t got a single good idea in my head!”

If you have faced any of these scenarios you will know how frustrating it is. You’ve made some space in your mega busy diary to get creative and move your business forward but your brain won’t help and before you know it you’ve commented on someone’s Facebook video of a cute dog and not wrote a single word!

But you know that right? And so you end up getting more and more frustrated, staring at the minutes wasted away and worry some more. So how can you overcome writers’ block and come up with the great ideas?

Stop panicking and looking at the clock and worrying about how much time you’ve wasted. It makes you worry more. It clags up your busy brain with negative emotions which further shut down your brain to be able to think productively. If you have been at it for more than 10 minutes and achieved nothing, walk away from the location you are in for 10 minutes. Do some filing (you know you never get round to it!) phone that person you were going to just email, check your to do list for the day/week. Get your brain concentrating on something else, and let it do that for at least 10 minutes. Studies show that working on something else creates mental space. Basically your brain is shouting “I know you need the answers, give me 10 minutes and I will keep hunting okay!” Have you ever struggled to remember someone’s name only for it to come to you in the middle of the night or randomly when you are doing something else? Your brain doesn’t stop looking for the answers you want, but it does need the time to process the request.
Grab a pen and paper (this is ideal for the way it makes your brain work) and list every possible idea you have already come up with. They can be the obvious ones that you have dismissed, the stupid ones, the unrealistic ones, the unaffordable ones. Write them all down. If you have 2 pages of A4 paper filled then you are letting your mind think freely. It’s highly likely the first few that you come up with you will dismiss but the longer you write the more likely you are to come up with content you know your readers will love!
Don’t dismiss anything, write it all down. And not just ideas. Random words. Random thoughts that you have no idea how it could become an article or a series of posts. Just get it down. We so often dismiss thoughts without fully exploring the answers they are trying to provide.
Not one for lists? Draw a picture, use a mind map, cut pictures out of a magazine and create a mood board. Allow your creative juices to flow in a way that works for you, but keep it visual. This in itself could make a great article. Remember not all content is the written word, it could be a short video of you sharing how you come up with your ideas and what you will be talking about in the coming months thanks to your mood board.
Ask others. Friends and relatives are not the best people to ask for ideas from. They love and adore you and have their own agenda and viewpoint already. As I always say your Nan loves you so whatever you come up with she will say “That’s nice darling.” So ask yourself who would be good to ask? Get along to a network like The Business Womans Network. Share your thoughts on social media groups where you feel you will get useful feedback. Ask us, Insiders. Create a focus group – that’s basically a neutral place where you invite some people along to share their views. I tend to give a free half hour session to say thank you, make sure there are goodies in the middle of the room and lots of beverages! Takes up about 2 hours.
Think of one client. The one that said “xxx” how were they feeling, what were the issues they told you about? How did they find you? What were they scared of? What were they looking forward to? Thinking of one client can create enough ideas for the list in Top tip 2 for months!
Research online, don’t steal other people’s ideas and creativity, however, it’s a great way to see what other people do and to helps you understand your creative needs.
What worked in the past? This won’t be the first time you have felt stuck. What helped in the past? How could you recreate that environment to get the results you want?
CTA. Call to Action. Ask people what do they want you to write about. Make sure they know they can ask you confidentially and you will let them get access to it and that no one will ever know you wrote that just for them.
Years ago everyone wanted short blogs. Now I’m asked to write longer and longer blogs. In fact the one that had 40,000 views in less than a month was 1800 words! I would still say that at the start if you have no audience keep them short, keep them top tip format, short and snappy and easy to read. As you gain a following them write longer articles and more in depth content.
Structure – A bit like the essay’s we hated as students! You want to explain what you are going to cover, why you are covering it, what you can expect if you don’t do it and if you do the results you could get. Then layout in easy short paragraphs the top tips and finish with a recap and a this is what you should see conclusion. A call to action like “let me know how you get on” or “what would you like me to cover next?” can get the conversation going. And remember your blogs are there forever, keep it relevant. I get people sending me messages to work with me from blog articles that are 5 years old.

It’s commendable to sit at your desk for hours looking to get your business seen and loved. But with some things in life it’s better to lean on others and find experts to help you get where you want to go. Just because you know what your dentist is doing you wouldn’t start sticking appliances in your mouth and doing it yourself, would you?

Sometimes it’s a good idea to outsource what is really challenging you. If you are finding this is consuming your precious time, it’s time to ask yourself how can I get the results I need faster? But remember even if you outsource it you are still going to have to tell that VA, PR company, copywriter or marketing company the following;

Who am I speaking to?

What do I want them to do?

What results do I want to get?

What do I want them to learn?

What matters to my target audience (s)?

How often do they want to hear from me?

Hope this helps. This is a confidential article for Insiders only. Please do not share this content. However please do share on the Insiders Facebook page how it helps, what you need next and your articles for us to read and review too.

The Insiders Week Planner

You have a busy week ahead how can you ensure you are not just busy but focused, accountable and actually working on the things that will grow your business?

If you want to help create some focus here is our one page INsiders planner for each week.

Don’t add too many tasks or actions to any one day.

Remember to factoring in follow up time after networking events.

Remember you are human and will need to eat, rest and not ignore your loved ones.

Use the Insiders Planner well and you could be ahead by Thursday!

Ensure you keep in mind your longterm goals, and if you don’t know what they are, ask for some help on the INsiders. We are here to help.

Download your INsiders Weekly Planner here

How to get paid faster

There are many good reasons for getting your customer invoices paid faster, the best of which is to keep your business afloat. There are also lots of good ways to achieve faster payment. Here are my top 7:

1 Credit-check the customer before beginning work. There are many credit reference agencies who will supply a credit report for a fee. Whilst these can be useful, they should not be relied on exclusively. Get market intelligence of the customer, such as speaking to peers, your bank, or trade bodies. If possible, get the customer’s latest data such as its monthly management accounts.

If the customer is found to be a habitual late payer, perhaps with County Court Judgements or worse, then you might prefer to pass on the opportunity, or take greater precautions. These could range from payment on delivery, shorter credit, splitting up your sales, or demanding a deposit.

2 Make terms and conditions of the contract, invoice, and late payment, complete and unambiguous, so there is no room for misunderstanding or dispute by the customer. For example, avoid ambiguous terms such as ‘30d-net’ or ‘payment due on receipt’. State consequences of late payment such as penalty interest, legal action, or cessation of further supplies. State early payment discounts, bank accounts, and acceptable methods of payment such as card, online, or cheque.

3 Invoice the moment you sell a good or service – before the customer (and you) forget. Make invoicing an automatic step at the point of dispatch or completion of a service.

4 Sell your invoice for cash – this is now possible with single invoice finance. It can be quicker and simpler than conventional debt factoring facilities because (if you use Cash for Invoices Limited for example), no security is required, you sell invoices only when you want to, and you pay just one fee. Invoices from as little as £250 can be sold.

5 Build a rapport with the customer. They are more likely to pay you before a faceless business they also owe money to.

6 Have an action plan prepared in case payment is not made on the due date. This broadly will be 1) contact the debtor for an explanation and simultaneously resend the invoice 2) if still unpaid then contact the debtor and state consequences of further delay 3) if still unpaid then take legal steps to collect payment.

7 Whatever the circumstances, always deal professionally and calmly with the customer and an attitude that is realistic, not stubborn. If communication breaks down payment is likely to be delayed further or even withheld entirely. In such circumstances, consider arbitration.

There is no commercial sense in stubbornly pursuing a debtor who is unable to pay in full, when a voluntary agreement to pay over a longer period would recover at least some of the amount owed and would avoid costly debt collection and legal fees.

Dr P Singh is director at single invoice finance provider Cash for Invoices Limited and an Affiliate of the Business Woman’s Network which means you can work with Cash for Invoices and get a discount.

www.cashforinvoices.co.uk

Sources

Forbes;Business.com; Sage; Entrepreneur.com; Xero.com; Huffington Post

3 Invoice the moment you sell a good or service – before the customer (and you) forget. Make invoicing an automatic step at the point of dispatch or completion of a service.

4 Sell your invoice for cash – this is now possible with single invoice finance. It can be quicker and simpler than conventional debt factoring facilities because (if you use Cash for Invoices Limited), no security is required, you sell invoices only when you want to, and you pay just one fee. Invoices from as little as £250 can be sold.

5 Build a rapport with the customer. They are more likely to pay you before a faceless business they also owe money to.

7 Whatever the circumstances, always deal professionally and calmly with the customer, and an attitude that is realistic not stubborn. If communication breaks down payment is likely to be delayed further or even withheld entirely. In such circumstances, consider arbitration.

There is no commercial sense in stubbornly pursuing a debtor who is unable to pay in full, when a voluntary agreement to pay over a longer period would recover at least some of the amount owed, and would avoid costly debt collection and legal fees.

Dr P Singh is director at single invoice finance provider Cash for Invoices Limited and an Affiliate of the Business Woman’s Network

www.cashforinvoices.co.uk

Sources

Forbes;Business.com; Sage; Entrepreneur.com; Xero.com; Huffington Post

Launch of The Business Mans Network!

We are so excited to announce the Launch of The Business Mans Network. It matters to us greatly that we are there to support your sales, confidence and success. And for years Founder Mandie Holgate had been asked to set an event aimed at men in business. So its exciting to announce this launch on Monday the 8th May at our Wivenhoe House venue.

We know that we will have to work hard to get the right balance and create events as powerful as the ones we already host. The BMN events will have the same structure as The BWN events and there will still be no membership and lots of extra ways we can support you.

We’ve already had a policy that if a business man books a ticket then they are not turned away. We attract some of the top speakers in the UK and feel The BWN has always be inclusive and not exclusive. And the same will apply here. Although we would request that for the first event women in business given business men the chance to create their own core group before you consider attending.

It has also important to us that we do not drop the standard of support, motivation and ideas we give to women in business so please do keep in touch if you feel there is more we could be doing to support you and your success.

Here you can read the full article that appeared in the Gazette this week about the launch. Launch BMN May 2017

To book visit this page. See you there!

Help!

Help

A small word. If you were being chased by a tiger you would be screaming it.

If your house was on fire you would be screaming it.

And it would appear they are about the only times us business women say that word.

Why is that?

What stops us very talented, educated, successful women from saying four letters?

Why are we so frightened of saying help?

I’ve learnt recently that I don’t say the word at all. And its become natural just to “get on with it”. I’m capable and able so I just do it. That’s good right?

or is it?

You see going it alone is fabulous for so many reasons, however never saying help is dangerous when it comes to success. I worked on my own success 2 weeks ago with a mentor, because I am always looking for ways to power up my own success as I do for those of my clients and that of the women attending the BWN, and I realised working with this business woman that I just don’t ask for help. And even if its offered I tend to say “I’m okay, thanks for the offer.” So I set a goal to change that and ask for help. It’s already paying off dividends in my business. (I really recommend creating clear goals, you are far more likely to achieve them that way and they don’t turn into gaols, which is a goal gone wrong if you aren’t clear enough about it!)

I know you are mega busy so let’s look at why you should accept help and how to do it in easy quick top tips;

If you ask for help then you can do the things you are good at, which means you can get through your to do list faster. Which means more brain space to come up with more creative solutions. More you time. And more time to do the money making bits of your business. All positives right?
If you ask for help you are enabling someone else. Letting someone else be good at things is good for other people too. It’s not fair that you do all the work and get all the praise. Spread the work, spread the praise, spread the opportunities. If someone else does the work then could get an opportunity off of the back of it. Remember success is better shared. (It really is!)
Create a strong enough sense of pain to make you ask for help. If you don’t ask for help what are you agreeing to? Less success? Less money? Less free time? Less family time? More work? More time in front of the screen?
What are your long term goals? Are they really achievable if you do everything yourself? Can you physically do it all alone? Tot up the hours. When I work with clients its amazing how often they over or under estimate how long a task is going to take.
Fear of what people will think of you could be stopping you from asking from help. What are you assuming people are going to be thinking? Power up your self belief and what you tell yourself about you. If you love yourself enough (and we are not talking about a big head here, just a genuine appreciation of doing what’s right for you) then you would respect you as much as you do anyone else at work, right?
New skills and ideas could be yours if you take on board someone elses help. As brilliant as you are (and yes you are brilliant) by getting someone else’s input you could learn a new way of doing tasks that could make you more productive and give you new skills. There fore powering up your success.
Success really is better shared. By letting someone else help you, you grow your network in a sustainable way. And by doing that, you grow a trusted network. If you really need help in the future, by having taking the leap of faith and trusted someone before you will know who you can rely on in the future.

A brilliant business woman reminded me of these points when I posted a public thank you. Because as people help you I think its always good to say thank you. (My thank you’s don’t tend to be thank you cards, I tend to give testimonials on LinkedIn and Facebook so that they can grow their business and use them powerfully in their marketing to gain more happy customers – just a thought for you there!) This lady said;

You’re very welcome – I’m pleased my diary allowed me to help. I can relate to the whole asking for help. I’m incredibly independent which is positive. There are times when working as a team gets much better and bigger results and you get to enjoy the journey so much more when you have great people around you (cheesy I know but true!!) Xx

You know what? I don’t think its cheesy at all. A Business woman with a powerful network is far more likely to be successful. See you at some BWN networking events this month, let’s help each other, network together and do business. It’s going to be an awesome month for business.

I’m on TV speaking about issues impacting on women in business and at Mums Net Work Fest national conference. And we have a very special BBC Essex Radio 30th Birthday show being broadcast live from my house on the 13th May. So much good stuff for business!

To get my book to help increase sales, confidence and success the 6 week course or learning about coaching and training visit. www.mandieholgate.co.uk and do say hi on social media too (all accessible via my website) its great to connect and grow my network!

How to create a successful YouTube Channel

Elene Marsden rocked it at our Marks Tey Hotel event in Colchester this January with 50+ business women left wanting more. And 2 lucky business women will be featuring in Elene’s YouTube TV Show very soon. Well done Melanie Winning and Sandra Sparrowhawk! Sandra will be presenting a 10 minute how to use scarves to make a statement and Melanie (award winninng Make Up Artist) will be sharing how to create the Audrey Hepburn look!

(Well done ladies and we look forward to seeing more!)

Elene loves the BWN so much, that Elene has signed up to be a member too! Here Elene shares how to create a successful YouTube Channel, thank you Elene!

With over 1 billion users on YouTube and viewers spending on average 40 minutes a day watching videos, isn’t it time you looked at using YouTube in your business?

What are the benefits?

Educate customers and prospects
Entertain your viewers
Demonstrate your professionalism
Be a leader in your field and inspire others

Once you decide to use YouTube you’ll need to create your own channel. Follow this link to set things up https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1646861?hl=en-GB

It’s also important to set goals, e.g. how many subscribers do you want, by when?

Follow these steps once you’ve created your YouTube channel

Fill out the About section
Upload channel art
Add social and blog links

Creating the channel art can be tricky, here’s a link to create a template using the correct dimensions

https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2972003?hl=en-GB

Now it’s time to OPTIMISE YOUR CHANNEL

Add a channel trailer
Add sections
Consider using Featured Channels
Create playlists

Divide your own content into playlists and also create playlists using videos that you’ve curated from other channels that complement your own content.

Follow these steps to upload your videos to YouTube

Edit video before uploading
Add title
Add description
Include links to websites and other videos
Add keywords
Watch and like your own video
Share on social media

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to our Preloved Chica Channel where you’ll see these recommendations being put into practice

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBZVyOE7BSpCFaBkoRJDoVg

Best Wishes

“Share our Passion for Fashion.”

www.prelovedchica.com

Why The BWN Likes Competition (And Yes We Know That’s Scary!)

As scary as it may feel having your competitors in the same room as you is not bad for business. It can actually seriously improve your business success.

It’s all very well to walk into a networking event and be the only person in the room that does what you do, however real life is not like that. And we don’t want to sugar coat business, we want to help you make it really work.

And to do that, you need to be able to effectively deal with the competition.

(We also think its important that you know that we care about ALL women in business and as such although we are known as a very proactive environment to gain new business we are also about business growth and don’t want to exclude someone from the opportunity to hear one of our master class speakers just because they were not first through the door with a fat membership fee – hence the no membership ever policy!)

So how can you effectively deal with completion?

Firstly as much as Tescos or Sainsburys would love to be the only supermarket in your town they are not. And the profits rise and fall as they respect and care for their customers, suppliers and staff. (Worth noting right?)

Years ago when I lived in a one street of shops town , there was one clothes shop for ladies, Dorothy Perkins. When we heard that they were building a row of shops opposite this and one of them would be New Look, the local Chamber Commerce said it would doom the town centre.

How could a town support 2 ladies fashion stores?

The fact is it had the opposite effect. Instead of people leaving our tiny town to shop elsewhere, suddenly there was choice. It didn’t damage the town, it enhanced it and caused more shops to be built. The town, grew. (Something else worth noting right?)

Lots of business women make the mistake of assuming that because there is competition in the room, they will lose out on business opportunities, on the contrary its your chance to shine. To showcase why you.

So tell me, Why you?

What do you give your customers that no one else can or does?

How do you make your clients feel truly loved?

Knowing this and getting it across in your marketing strategy is imperative. And when networking the same language, words, and attitude should shine through everything you say too. Remember people buy from people, not businesses, so in the words of your happiest favourite customers why you?

How do you fix peoples woes, worries, stresses and problems?

Power up your success rate by talking about real time solutions, happy customers and top tips for a happier life and/or business.

When it comes to Value Added Marketing the end goal is not just a sale. How do you make people feel special? Do you keep in touch effectively so that they naturally only want to work with you?

The lovely Di Gilbranch (The Doggy Dinner Lady from Trophy Pet Food Colchester) makes a point of getting in touch by text (because she knows that’s easy for me) and checks up on our dog food supply. I don’t ever have to place an order. Di does the leg work and even delivers to my door. Now that is service that I am happy to pay for and I recommend. So a national store could have my custom, but you can guess who gets it!

Tell me are Mick Jagger & Madonna the best singers in the world?

Sorry Madge but there are better, however Mick and Madge are still making records (and money) because they keep up to date and in touch with their target audience. The biggest brands in the world don’t just advertise to get your business, they advertise to keep it.

If you want to deal with the competition, you accept they exist, raise your game and keep visual. And that’s not just turning up at an event. How do you keep on peoples radar between events?

Is it consistent?

Do you go on about your products and services or are you useful, relevant and interesting?

Be confident.

The hardest thing to deal with, when you see competition in the same room is that overwhelming thing that us women are so good at, and that is to convince yourself that they are better than you, and everyone will love them more. It’s just not true. Be really confident about your price, products and services and remember that people have already chosen you. Why shouldn’t they again? (Unless your competition is offering free Ferraris with every purchase!)

I accept that I’m not the right business coach for everyone. As I like to say there are over 66 million people in the UK and I’m not coaching all of them. Horses for courses right? So accept you are the perfect horse for the perfect client.

Meeting compeititon is also good for you in the sense that it makes you raise your game. Are you doing all you could for your clients? Do you use the latest marketing technques to ensure client retention? Do you know the state of the art technologies for your industry? By meeting my competition I get to hear what other people are doing. What they are learning about. What new techniques they’ve tried. How they deal with their business problems. I don’t see competition as a problem I see competition as an opportunity. To learn and share.

If competition was so bad for business, why does every professional body have a yearly conference? Makes you think right?

If you are really confident in the person you are, the company you own and the abilities you and you company have to be just perfect for your customers, then you could really freak the competition out and work with them. What about a joint event or venture? Some of the best opportunities and most fun I’ve had in business is when I’ve worked with someone who is considered as direct competition. I get to have a great time, learn and share. And support even more people to success. So could you go so far as to work with your competition?

Could your competition lead to new opportunities? When you have too much work on (what a lovely problem to have!) could you pass on work and take a % cut? Could you work with someone prepared to be white labelled to your company because they had to do no work to gain that client?

I get it, I understand that scary “gosh did my heart just stop moment” when you meet someone networking who does what you do. However instead of hiding your head in the sand pretending you are the only person in your county that does what you do your competition is your chance to really shine.

Get known as the thought leader.

And really get known for all the right reasons.

If there are a hundred suited business men and women in the room it is not by accident that I will wear a bright colour. I’m prepared to stand out and accept horses for courses, and boy does the competition teach me so much. Especially how to prove to customers old, new and potential that I’ m right for them and more than anyone else on the planet I genuinely care about their success.

So don’t hide from the competition, accept they exist and use The BWN events to showcase that you are ready for anything. Because let’s be honest in business you need to be.

My name is Mandie Holgate and I’m the founder of The BWN. I always want to do my very best for women in business, so if you think I’ve lost the plot by inviting the competition to events, and not having block outs, I’m very happy to hear your viewpoint (negative or positive) And of course support you to effectively deal with the competition too. See you at a BWN soon!

Meet Essex Business Woman Michelle Taylor with an unusual goal…

Meet Michelle Taylor, Essex Marks Tey Hotel member. Michelle has changed careers and you could never guess her career choice! And we do hope Michelle gets her big wish. You can meet Michelle at our Essex events, and get to know her now and hear her big ambitions! WHAT MADE YOU SET UP YOUR BUSINESS? My husband Kev, is a retired Essex Police Sgt and when he first retired he was thumb twiddling for some time, not knowing what to do with himself…He all but fell into Wedding Photography 7 years ago and is now making great inroads into the business locally. Not wanting to be in the same position when I retired from the police, I started to think about what I wanted to do post retirement, it was still over 5 years away at the time, but I knew I did not want to be one of those retired officers that took up a Civvy post just to stay employed or focused. Kev suggested I picked up a camera and followed in his footsteps, I could not think of anything worse….Just like my cake decorating skills , I could picture in my minds eye a fantastic finished product, but lacked the skills to create said product from scratch…..I said ‘Id rather marry people’……So began my research. I had heard of Humanists, but I believe in something rather than nothing so ruled them out of my equation…I stumbled by chance across the Fellowship of Professional Celebrants a small but upcoming organization, the cost of training was reasonable, so I took the plunge. I completed my Wedding and Family Celebrancy training in July 2011 and have not looked back since. I love spreading the love and joy that abounds at any family celebration and I was finally able to put my skills and creativity to good use, I can write a good story and what better story to tell of how two people met, fell in love and decided to get married. As well as Weddings I also write and conduct, Naming Ceremonies, Vow Renewals, Commitment Ceremonies and have (on one occasion only, I hasten to add) conducted a Doggy Wedding as a publicity stunt for the dogs owners. WHAT WAS THE REASON THAT YOU DECIDED TO BE A MEMBER OF THE BWN? In a word…… NETWORKING!!! I know someone who had attended a couple of meetings at the beginning of 2015 and she told me that the BWN was a great way to get myself ‘out there’ …Meet likeminded business women and to pick up some tips and contacts along the way. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR YOUR BUSINESS? GROWTH & MORE GROWTH! I retired from the day job in October 2015 after a very hectic year, all of my spare time that year had been spent writing and conducting ceremonies. I always knew 2015 was going to be a tough year, two jobs and NO spare time, but it has been worth it. In my 1st 12 months I conducted just one ceremony, last year I did 16, this year I already have 20 booked in! I don’t want to be flat out like I was last year, I want to grow but at my pace, allowing me more time for family and friends, socializing etc, something that is very hard as a shift worker. I think I will find my work/ life balance…Finally…. As a self employed and very fulfilled Wedding Celebrant. I want to spread the word about Celebrants, not many have heard of us, I want the whole of Essex and beyond to learn that there is more to a good wedding than just the party after the ceremony. The ceremony itself should reflect each couple, their unique quirks and should be fun and laughter filled, not JUST a formality so we can say ‘We’re married’. I have had some cracking venues over the past few years, with more to come this year. I have worked and will be working with some awesome couples and families, and there is nothing the puts a cheesy grin on my face like saying at the end of a wedding ceremony, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen please make some noise and be upstanding as I introduce to you Mr and Mrs………’ WHAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR YOU TO KNOW? ‘HOW, WHY, WHAT, WHEN, WHO’ We all need a helping hand to get our businesses seen and I want to learn it all….OK that may be a bit unrealistic, but each meeting is about learning

HOW to expand your business WHY you should do certain things to make your business grow WHAT you need to know to make a success of your business WHEN is the best time to do it……NOW !! WHO’S going to do it….ME!!

I’m always on the lookout for couples who want to step outside of the ‘normal’ box . I want venues to realise the worth of a Celebrant and I want to know how best to promote myself in this expanding industry… I want to be a cut above the rest and being a member of the BWN helps me to achieve all of the above. I’m up for any challenge, and the one I’ve set for this year? …Well, that’s to find a couple as mad as me who really, really want a Harry Potter themed ceremony… I have the wand, the cape and even some props…..I just need the couple now.

The BWN is a brand of excellence as far as I am concerned, and being a member shows to the outside world that I am wanting to expand my horizons, mix with some awesome women and LEARN.

Wow! Thanks Michelle, we are so pleased to hear of the benefits you get from our events and we hope you get your dream wedding!

Shhh The Secret Keys To Success In 2016

I’m speaking at the University for the Institute of Directors next week and I’ve been asked to share my top tips for networking success. Planning what I will talk about makes me think of my clients and the business women I get to be with at The BWN networking events. And I will share next week the same great stuff I do with you guys all the time. But hey these students will not have me there with them once a month, so what are the most important things I could say to someone that wants success?

And I realised it is the same things that I work with clients on all the time. Ready for the big secrets?

Ready to find out what I think are the keys to your success?

And what is more scary they are things within in our control!
Ready?

The keys to success are confidence and communication.

I’ve had everyone from CEO’s and start up’s tell me that when they communicate effectively they can get what they want. They can get solutions. Ask the right questions to move their business and success forward.

Many people think that networking is something that you do in a snazzy hotel with coffee and business cards. And yet networking is everywhere. In the queue at the bank, having your nails done, or waiting for a client (all of those have happened to me and delivered a new client.) So the first thing you need to master to be a successful business woman is your ability to communicate effectively.

I bet right about now there are a good few readers saying easier said than done. Okay so I get it can be scary and tricky, but anything you want in life has an element of fear and nervousness attached, its how you know you really want it.

I would also say that every single person that I’ve worked with this year has been coached to communicate effectively. From the business owner that wanted to renegotiate one of their biggest contracts (for more money with less work – and yes they got it!) to the business owner that went to a national conference and targeted the dream contract and yes things are happening! You see communicating what you want is what matters, so find out what you really want, who can help you get it and how to get that message across effectively.

But even more important than communication is…

Confidence!
If you have inner confidence you don’t care if you make a fool of yourself and get it wrong, because getting it wrong is on the road to getting it right, right?

Inner confidence means you have the confidence to go up to that person you know you want to work with and say “Lets talk”.

So my big gift to you this Christmas is to know and accept that you need to boost your communication and cocnfidence. And I promise with every cell in my body that if you walk through the doors of The BWN events me and my cooridndators will do all that we can to boost your confidence aand success.

Sales, SEO, Marketing, Social media, PR, Awards, Profit, Time Management, Vision and Mission Statements, Phone and Public speaking fears, branding, Business structure and strategy can all be learnt, but without communication skills and confidence, you will always be able to undermine your success. So let’s power up your success today.

I’ve had so many women say to me “Mandie I can’t do it.” and even if I don’t coach them I’m there for them, and we chat and I share ideas at The BWN and what do you know, suddenly they can do it and they do. Your success deserves that too!

See you soon and Merry Christmas and here’s to a very profitable successful 2016

Stick around aand we could make that happen for you too!

My name is Mandie Holgate and as founder of The BWN, everything that enables success for business women matters to me and I will share it with you. Attracting some of the best speakers in Europe. Yes there are other networks, but ours is the most powerful motivator and supporter of success in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. Our business women, venues and speakers tell us that this is true, I can’t wait to help you too.

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